The Raja of Sarawak : An account of Sir James Brooke, K.C.B.,LL.D., given chiefly through letters and journals

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THE RAJA OF SARAWAK.

AN ACCOUNT OF SIR JAMES BROOKE, K.C.b.. LLl).,
GIVEN CHIEFLY THROUGH LETTERS

AND JOURNALS.

/ ^(\

By GERTRUDE I^. JACOB.

IX TWO VOLUMES,
VOL. II.

WITH PORTRAIT AND MAFS.

Hontron :
MACMILLAN AND CO*

187G.

(JU riffhtt reterccd.)

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u

THE RAJA OF SARAWAK.

CHAPTEB XIX.

1849, 1850.

The feyer contracted at Labuan was followed in most cases
by ague, and the Eaja suffered so severely from this that Mr.
McDougall urged him to go for a change of air to Penang.

Through letters written early in December, 1849, before he
left Sarawak in pursuance of this advice, we learn something
of other troubles.

" This detestable fever has turned into ague, which none
of us manage to throw off, and which recurs on the least
exposure, fatigue, or bodily derangement. We have likewise
been hard worked, never having been a month in one place
during the last year, and I have suffered from much anxiety of
mind, from what I cannot but consider as a petty opposition
from high local authorities, and the mean calumnies of the
press.

"You must not think, my dear Charley" (he is writing to
his nephew, Charles Johnson), "that I now take these things
much to heart. At first they told upon me ; they appeared so
infamous, so mean, so base, that they excited the scorn and
indignation which every generous mind must feel ; but this
has passed, and I look forward with calmness to anything
which may occur, and I have that firm self-rehance which can

VOL. n. B

2 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1849—

only be derived from pure motives and upright actions. At
the same time, I am not the least inclined to become a
martyr, and I always mean to speak out and hit hard, when
it is worth my while, and can be of use to the public service.*'

(To Mr. Templer.) — " I will not say anything of my futui-e
intentions, but you may rest assured that I will judge coolly
and act decidedly; and, as Burke or somebody else says, * it
may so happen that a departure from the ordinary rules of
prudence is sometimes the highest order of prudence.* It
appears as if every cause of anxiety had been heaped upon
me during the last year. Some are past, others passing, and
I shall fight through my difficulties if I recover health. I
hope the Government will give me an efficient support.
I always have and shall always fear lukewarmness ; and
support we must have, or the sooner the Government undoes
all that has been done the better. We do not want much,
but what little we have must be properly dispensed, active,
and certain. If it is not so, the Government is wasting its
money and sacrificing me, for you will readily see, unless I
am really supported I am clogged in my proceedings. I will
not have a repetition of Sir Stamford Baffles' fruitless labours
revived in my person."

From Labuan, which it was necessary for him to visit first,
and where he found himself detained, he wrote (Jan. 8, 1850)
to Mrs. Johnson —

''This great evil [piracy] appears to be di-awing to a
close ; and all along I have been so resolute to crush it that
I have risked life, given money, sacrificed health, and borne
with malicious tongues, to effect a great object. I have all
along known the extent of the mischief, and the utter folly of
expecting to do by preaching what could be only done by
force. You might as well preach the Emperor of Bussia out
of his ambition, or stop a predatory horde of Tartars with a
tract, as turn these pirates from their love of plunder and
blood (renown they caU it) by gentle means. Now I can
afford to be merciful without sacrificing the innocent to the
guilty ; and you, my sister, know that by nature I am neither

1850.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 3

harsh nor cruel, nor Ukely to misuse the power I possess by
over-severity. I am convinced that men, however strong their
impressions of justice and mercy may be intuitively, rise in
their notions and apprehensions of these qualities by practice
on a large scale, and become less apt to confound them. I
really hope I improve, and perceive more clearly what is due
to my fellow-creatures, and that I have nerve and firmness to
do now what I should have shrunk from a dozen years ago.
I hoi)e, too, that I improve in being more regardless of the
consequences which may accrue to myself from acting rightly,
and less inclined to follow my bent of adulterating justice by
a mixture of spurious compassion. Justice should be tem-
pered by mercy, but should never be warped by it. My time
]ias been fully occupied since my return, by bringing up arrears
of business which ought not to have been allowed to accumu-
late. For many days I was ten, and sometimes twelve, hours
in office, and so weak and worn out as to be obliged to go to
bed directly afterwards. The worst business I have had is
a public inquiry on the conduct of the Lieutenant-Governor
during my absence. Such an inquiry is painful at all times,
and doubly painful when the object is an old friend."

We must turn now to the "malicious tongues" here
alluded to, and trace the origin of an attack that, with an
acrimony hardly credible, was from this time made on the Baja.

It has been already shown that his relations with Mr.
Henry Wise were occasionally uneasy. Mr. Templer*s dis-
trust was early aroused, but the Eaja, by nature imsuspicious,
and feeling under obligations to Mr. Wise for exertions in
his behalf, continued to bear with him, and heard unmoved
that, while outwardly loud in his praise, he was stating
privately that his opinion of him had entirely changed.

Something, however, that touched Brooke more nearly
than personal abuse could ever do at length occurred.

The Sar&wak antimony mines had been leased through
Mr. Wise, in the face of his instructions, to parties with
insufficient capital, and, in consequence, uninterrupted opera-

4 THE EAJA OF SAKIwAK. [1849—

tions were impossible; added to which, ill-considered and
contradictory orders perplexed and injured the native workers.
While at Singapore, on his way to Sarawak in 1848, the Raja
learned that instructions had been received at Kuching from
Mr. Wise, in connection with this business, which he foresaw
could but do harm to all parties concerned ; he therefore took
upon himself to suspend them, and wrote accordingly to Mr.
Wise. In this letter, dated Singapore, August 26, 1848, he
points out the mischief that had already fallen on the native
traders, and which, if the instructions in question were carried
out, would again ensue, even to the ruin of some. '* Will their
distress," he asks, ''be alleviated by the consideration that it
was my influence which induced them to renew an employ-
ment subject to sudden and capricious changes ? No. They
will consider it as amounting to a breach of faith, and I must
explain to them, that if I have been the innocent cause of
their misfortune once, I will never be so again."

Taking this matter in connection with the apparent im-
possibility of coming to any understanding with Mr. Wise as
to the principle of his management, or of obtaining any clear
insight into pecuniary affairs that appeared to grow more
complex the more earnestly simplicity was desired, he tells his
agent that he feels '' as much in the dark as ever," and then
says —

'' I now propose to arrive at a clear and final understand-
ing of my position. I must go over the matter again, and
allow Mr. Cameron * to judge for me what is best to be done ;
for I have no leisure to attend to the details, and my ignorance
of technicalities and forms precludes my arriving at a proper
conclusion on the subject. You will obUge me, therefore, by
furnishing Mr. Cameron with every particular respecting my
affairs, and showing the agreement or lease granted by me to
Mr. Melville and Mr. Street. I have already told Mr. Cameron
all that I know of the matter, and have made him acquainted
with my views and wishes.

• The Baja*B lepal ndviser, J. C. Cameron, Esq., of the firm of Cameron and
Bootj, Raymond Buildings, Gray's Inn.

1850.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 5

" I wish a final settlement of my accounts ; I wish to know
who are responsible for the balance you allow to be due ;
I wish to know who are the lessees, and what is the proper
and legal interpretation of the lease they hold under me for
the next three years.

" You will be pleased personally to explain these matters to
Mr. Cameron, as, besides saving you a good deal of trouble,
you will then have a gentleman to deal with well acquainted
with business, and in whom I have the greatest confidence.
I trust everything may be explained, and my mind relieved
from the doubts which have lately oppressed it, in consequence
of the, to me, apparently intricate nature of the accounts. . . .
I have little more to say. I trust that you will fully explain
to Mr. Cameron the entire subject I have written on, and that
the explanation may be satisfactory and conclusive ; nothing
will give me greater pleasure. Your expressions have caused
some distrust, easily to be removed, and I shall await with
patience, and a mind ready to judge with candour. I am
aware of the value of your services. I sincerely wish to retain
the same high opinion of you I have ever held, and to be con-
vinced that my pecuniary interests have not suffered in your
keeping. I have been long aware of your inimical feeling
towards myself, and of your suspicion that I am seeking an
occasion to discard you; but it is not so. Your opinion
cannot influence my conduct ; it cannot make me forgetful
of what is due to you for your services ; and, after a satisfac-
tory explanation, I shall be happy to see you attain the object
of your ambition. I repeat ^gain, I wish to act with justice
and with candour. — Believe me, etc."

The object of Mr. Wise's ambition was the success of the
Eastern Archipelago Company, of which he was the managing
director. The Eaja's refusal to join this company had long
been a sore point with his agent. In the early days of the
connection Sir James had, as we have seen, been willing to go
into a kind of partnership, but in proportion as the bait grew
tempting he shrunk from it, and it was not from want of out-
spokenness that Mr. Wise continued to hope against hope.

6 THE RAJA OF SAUAWAK. [1849—

WTien entering somewhat later into this matter with Mr.
Henry Drummond, M.P. for West Surrey, the Eaja says —

'* On the 1st March, 1846, after alluding to the proposed
company by means of which I was to become *one of the
wealthiest commoners in England,* I wrote as follows —

" ' You may rightly reap an advantage from this or any
other enterprise of a similar nature, but so essentially different
is the position in which I am placed that I could not do
BO without the loss of reputation, not only in the opinion of
the world, but likewise in my own estimation. I am pledged
to the good government of Sarawak, and I am bound not
to risk the welfare of this people for any motive, whether of
cupidity or of ambition. I repeat again, I can in no wise par-
ticipate in profits which may arise out of the formation of a
company, or any other project which may be started in
England, for it is incumbent on me to remain independent.'

" The truth is " (he oontinues to Mr. Drummond) " that pre-
viously to these projects being started, and the offer made of
realizing vast wealth, ' a princely fortune,* by my participation
in them, I had never seriously considered the duty which I
had to perform towards Sarawak, and, I may add, towards
England. Circumstances altered with a rapidity unknown
under established Governments. To afford protection to
Sarawak, and to save myself from the ruin which threatened,
I would, in 1842 or 1848, have made over the Government,
which had cost me thousands, to a company for a few shares
in the scheme ; but in 1846 I would not have done so, for the
people were happy, diflSiculties and dangers had been sur-
moimted, and there was an approach to the permanency
which I desired in the state of things. The diflBculties of
my position, with the change of circumstances, should be
borne in mind when a judgment is formed of any particular
event, as separated from the general course of my career."

Several letters to Mr. Wise are to be found in the Blue-book
"Borneo.'* They refer chiefly to business matters, but here
and there come sentences so characteristic as to be worth
preserving. In a long communication from the Eaja, dated
Sarawak, February 10, 1846, we read —

1860.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 7

" In your letter of November you express yourself pleased
at receiving my assui*ance of the high confidence I repose
in you, and I could repeat the same sentiments on the present
occasion did it not appear to me that you have overlooked
that confidence in any person is quite compatible with a
difference of opinions and views. I have great confidence in
you to carry out my views, or views which have been fully
discussed, and to which I have acceded; but I have no con-
fidence in any living being who originates measures for which
I am alone responsible, and who carries them into execution
without reference to me. ... If you wiU act against a man's
nature instead of with it, you must expect to fail in your
projects !

" I urge you, in conclusion, to make the arrangements I
have decided on, reserving any advantage you intended for me
for yourself. You may trust to my friendly feeling, and my
sincere desire to serve you as far as I can ; but I urge you again
and again not to commit the mistake of shutting your eyes to
my habits and temper. Make use of agents here who know the
natives ; trust to gradual advancement and prosperity ; and,
above all, I pray you not to decide on any serious matter
without my concurrence.

" No man relinquishes the golden dreams you have held up
to my eyes without a sigh ; no man would relinquish them
excepting from a sense that he was doing right."

The letter from Singapore of August 26, 1848, received by
Mr. Wise in the October following, was answered by a refusal
on his part to make, or to attempt to make, any explanation
whatever. As a natural consequence his agency ceased, and
from this time he became the open enemy of one whom, for
two years previously, he had abused in private while lauding
him, as before, in public. The private abuse dated from 1846,
in which year, by a great inadvertence, some letters from the
Eaja to Mr. Templer fell into his hands. Long' letters, not
always very legibly written, and on thin paper, take time and
patience to decipher, and these were made over by a third
darty, ta whom they had been lent for the verification of some

8 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK [1849—

names and dates, to Mr. Wise, in ignorance or forgetfulness
that they contained passages not intended for his eyes. On
this becoming known to Mr. Templer, he desired Mr. Wise to
return them at once to him, whereon he made answer that,
finding himself mentioned unfavourably, he should retain
them. Mr. Templer, moved by his own distrust of the man,
had endeavoured to sever his connection with the Raja : the
letters in question commented on the arguments employed,
and allowed certain causes for discontent, while not agreeing
that there were sufficient for a rupture.

Only under threat of immediate legal proceedings did
Mr. Wise give up the packet. Writing, however, at the
time to the Eaja, he simply complained that such letters
should be shown about ; on which Brooke expressed his
surprise and concern at the occurrence, and, in writing to
Mr. Templer, begged that care might be taken and nothing
said or done that would in any way injure his agent. The
matter appeared to pass over. The Raja came to England,
and was greeted with laudations and congratulations from Mr.
Wise, who probably saw in the honours conferred a bright
prospect for his own future. To be prepared, however, for the
worst, he had had the letters secretly copied before returning
them, apparently with the idea that a breach might come
between himself and his principal, when they could be turned
to account ; for these letters were written, as were all Brooke's
letters to his friends, not for the eye of the public, but for
those who understood him, and to whom therefore there was
no need to pick and choose his words. What he thought of the
acts of public men, and of the character of the men themselves,
that he said, sometimes when the boy -like element was upper-
most, with a boy-like disregard of conventional terms. Had
Mr. Wise dared to publish them as a whole, they would have
injured only himself; but, through the medium of The Straits
TimeSy at Singapore, sentences torn from their context, and
playful allusions to the peculiarities of public men, were
brought forward at times most likely to cause personal
irritation against the Raja, and in articles where language of

1850.] THE RAJA OF SABAwAK. 9

no measured kind was employed to arouse public indignation
against a course previously encouraged by Mr. Wise himself.

After the action under Captain Farquhar, in July, 1849,
described in the last chapter, and which was followed, as we
have seen, by the submission of the tribes attacked, and the
request from some that Brooke would send them a ruler, Mr.
Wise wrote to the Premier, Lord John Eussell : —

34, Cornhill, NoYember 26, 1849.

"My Lord, — Having been the channel of communication
in the highly important matters which resulted in the acquisi-
tion of Labuan as a British Colony and the appointment of
Sir James Brooke as governor thereof, I deem it due to my
respect for your lordship's Government, as also to my own
character, to express a deep feeling of regret at the recent
dreadful proceedings against some of the Dyaks in Borneo.
And I beg respectfully to state that, in common with others
who, from much experience in the East, are capable of form-
ing an opinion thereon, I believe such proceedings to be not
more inconsistent with Sir James Brooke's previous pro-
fessions as a Christian philanthropist, incompatible with his
duties as Governor of Labuan (upwards of three hundred
miles distant from the scene of the late slaughter), and
unjustifiable on the ground of justice and humanity, than
they are unwise, impoUtic, and mischievous, as affecting
commerce and civilization, and the high reputation of this
country. I have, etc. — Henry Wise."

The action of July, 1849, at Point Marro and Kaluka, in
which the Nemesis and the boats of the Albatross, with a force
from Sarawak, attacked the Sarebus and Sakarran pirates,
is the one alluded to by Mr. Wise under the head of " dreadful
proceedings." Hitherto we have seen these proceedings from
a Sarawak point of view ; we must now turn to the aspect
under which they were presented to some in England.

By an Act passed in the reign of George IV., prize-money
was granted to the navy for the death and capture of pirates, at

10 THE RAJA OF SARXwAK. [1860.

the rate of £20 and £5 respectively. Under no circumstance
could Eaja Brooke or his followers benefit by this Act.

It has been popularly believed that the clamour raised at
this time resulted in the abolition of head-money. The large
sum of dE100,000 having been allowed for 1849 by Sir Chris-
. topher Eawlinson, Jlecorder of Singapore, before whose court
the claims were brought, Lord Eussell's Government intro-
duced, early in the session of 1850, a bill, not for the abolition,
but amendment, of the Act referred to ; the amendment being
that, instead of a definite sum per head, each encounter should
be decided, in regard to prize-money claims, on its general
merits, and by the Admiralty in connection with the Treasury.
This bill passed its second reading on February 11th, and
its debate gave Mr. Hume and Mr. Cobden the opportunity
they desired.

An extract from Mr. Gobden's speech shows the line taken.
"He had," he said, "presented a petition from a public meet-
ing held in London, calling the attention of the House to the
Borneo massacres. He was prepared to show that there was
no evidence that these parties who had been murdered ever
molested English commerce. It affected only Sarebus and
Sakarran Dyaks. It did not affect the Malays, but was
simply a question affecting two small tribes who had the
misfortune to live contiguous to a place taken possession of

by a man called the Baja of Sarawak He believed

that if we allowed acts of injustice to be perpetrated, whether
in Borneo or elsewhere, and we did not take some steps to
remedy those acts of injustice, there was an overruling Provi-
dence who ruled the world on principles of justice, and that
there would surely be retribution on this island."

Sir Harry Vemey, in reply, recommended the study of Sir
Stamford Baffles, " who knew more of the condition of that
part of the world than the honourable gentleman who had
just sat down, or than any member in that House." This
was true ; but Golonel Thompson probably expressed a feeling
prevalent in some minds when he said, " All we wanted was
proof that these men were pirates. The fear people had

I860.] THE BAJA OF SABIwAK. 11

respecting the head-money was that it held out a temptation
to men who were going about the world in command of her
Majesty's forces to say, 'Is there anybody we can kill for
you under the name of pirates, and charge them in the
bill?'"

The public meeting mentioned by Mr. Cob den was pro-
bably that summoned by the Peace Society, where everybody
having convinced himself and his neighbour very comfortably
that piracy was a myth, there rose from the midst of the
assembly a certain Aaron Smith. He was, he said, the
captain of a merchant vessel, and from his experience of
Eastern waters could bear direct testimony that piracy was
not a myth, but a very substantial reality. The meeting
digested this testimony as best it might. It must have been
a little awkward at the time.

On March 21st Mr. Hume moved in the House for certain
papers in connection with Borneo : Admiral Sir Francis
Collyer's instructions to Captain Farquhar, and the Admiral's
own report ; Sir James Brooke's despatch to Lord Palmer-
ston (Foreign Secretary) concerning the fort at Sakarran
(that fort was a great distress to Mr. Hume), and Lord
Palmerston's reply; the depositions taken before the Re-
corder of Singapore, etc. The papers already presented were,
he said, "garbled," and he protested against prize-money
being paid for illegal proceedings without more inquiry into
the question of the people being pirates, for he was prepared
to show " that they were not pirates, but injured and innocent
persons."

May 23rd, the subject was again brought forward, this
time in connection with the Navy Estimates, when, under
the head of "miscellaneous services," the Government asked
for £100,000 bounty, for capture and destruction of pirates,
slavers, and vessels, £20,000 having been asked in the
previous year.

Mr. Cobden, in the course of a speech opposing the vote,
said — "A gentleman named Brooke, who was sometimes
styled Eaja Brooke, became possessed, by means which he

\

12 THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. [1850.

would not now stop to describe, of a district of country north-
west of the coast of Borneo. He had certain disputes with
his next neighbours, whom he was pleased to call pirates.
Now, these people were just as much pirates when Sir James
Brooke knew them as they had ever been before. They were
tribes who had been in a state of predatory warfare with each
other for many years, but had never attacked any of our
vessels. This was the real point at issue. . . . There was no
proof whatever that the men were pirates, and Sir James
Brooke himself admitted that the prisoners whom he had
captured — and who, if they were pirates, ought to have been
hanged — were treated by him with the greatest kindness, and
then sent home. He (Mr. Cobden) declared the men had been
murdered without one tittle of evidence that they had ever
molested us, and that the evidence against them would not
have been sufficient for petty larceny." Later in the debate he
explained that he did not mean to say they were all innocent
traders, but engaged in intertribal wars.

** We are told they are innocent free-traders," returned
Mr. Drummond. "They dealt in men and women, to be sure;
and their last act of trade before they were attacked by Sir
James Brooke was that they seized upon a body of persons
who were really trading, and put them all to death. . . .
Because Sir James Brooke was carrying on most successfully
and meritoriously a most thriving colony, which a certain
person wanted to turn mto a matter for his own aggrandize-
ment, taking shares, and making Sir James Brooke a joint
jobber with him, that man had been an anonymous slanderer
of Sir James Brooke for the last three years — and that was
the truth of the matter. As to our having no right to attack
persons unless they were pirates against our commerce, why,
then, did we send Lord Exmouth out against pirates who
never touched any person sailing imder the English flag ? "

Mr. C. Plowden " thought that in such discussions they
would always be better for having Captain Aaron Smith
among them; whereon Mr. Cobden rose again. Aaron
Smith's testimony was worth nothing ; he had himself been

I860.] THE BAJA OF SARAwAK. 13

an atrocious pirate, tried for piracy" **and acquitted,"

said an honourable member.

Mr. McGregor, chairman of the Eastern Archipelago
Company, said " He should oppose the vote. He believed the
time would come when Sir James Brooke would be tried in
this country for the massacre, and that at the next election
gentlemen would hear more on this subject."

Mr. Sidney Herbert said, " If they thought the whole of
these proceedings unjust they should appeal, if that were
possible, from the decision of the Court of Admiralty of
Singapore, or address the Crown for the removal of Sir
Christopher Eawlinson for having made an unjust decision.
But if neither of these steps was taken, they could not, in
common justice, refuse to allot to the officers the money which
the Act awarded them. But he would like to ask the Govern-
ment a question, which he had no doubt they would be able
to answer. It was alleged that Sir James Brooke was en-
gaged in extensive mercantile speculations in Sarawak, while
the piratical tribes which he had been repressing were
principally in the neighbourhood of that locality."

Mr. Bright, in speaking, avoided reference to Sir James
Brooke, and groimded his opposition to the vote on an as-
sertion *' that iE100,000 head-money meant 6000 men killed,
and that before payment the coimtry ought to know the
reason why." An assertion more effective than accurate, for
the money included prahus destroyed and captives taken
ahve.

On the committee dividing, the Ayes were 145 — Noes, 20 ;
and the vote, therefore, passed by a majority of 125.

On the 12th of July Mr. Hume moved for an address to
the Queen, '* to appoint a Koyal Commission to inquire into
the causes which led, since the year 1841, to the employment
of the naval and military forces of her Majesty and the
Honourable Company on the north-west coast of the island of
Borneo, and which resulted in a heavy loss of life on the part
of certain native tribes of that island, called Sarebus and
Sakarrans, alleged to be pirates." In his speech he said he

14 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1860.

had already moved for papers "to elucidate the terrible
massacre," but had not yet succeeded in getting them,
although he had applied to various quarters and departments.
He denied being moved by the private malice of any one.
" Mr. Wise was a political agent (?), and when he (Wise) saw
the accounts in the newspapers on this subject he was
astonished. He wrote to the noble lord at the head of the
Government, but though that letter had been asked for it had
not been produced."

Mr. Cobden, in seconding the motion, "repudiated the
idea that he must pay homage to Sir James Brooke as being
a great philanthropist, seeing that he had no other arguments
for the savages among whom he went but extermination."

Sir Francis Baring, replying for the Admiralty, said
"that he had asked Mr. Hume to point out where the
papers already produced were * garbled,' and he had not
done so. Did he know that there was a treaty with the
Netherlands Government, by which we were bound to repress
piracy ? — ^that the Chambers of Commerce of Leeds, Manches-
ter, Glasgow, and other large towns, had memorialized the
Government on the subject of effective repression, and that
the merchants of Singapore had done the same ? Had there
not been inquiry? What better could they have had than
a plain and open inquiry before an English judge and an
English lawyer? Sir Christopher Eawlinson had at first
decided there was not sufficient evidence, but afterwards had
been satisfied there was. They had the declarations of the
Chambers of Commerce in this country, the address of mer-
chants residing in the neighbourhood of these people, and
they had the decision of a court of justice which had carefully
inquired into the whole circumstances of the case, and were
satisfied as to these people being pirates ; and yet honourable
gentlemen stood up and declared in the coolest manner that
there was not a tittle of evidence to support such an asser-
tion."

Sir T. E. Colebrook "thought the best course for the
Government was to instruct Sir James Brooke to return to

1850.] THE BAJA OF SARAWAK. 15

his settlement of Labuan. Believing that the settlement
of Sar&wak was a mere incumbrance, and that it would be
well if our connection with that part of the country were
abandoned, he should support the honourable member for
Montrose (Mr. Hume)."

The Raja was warmly defended by Mr. Plowden, Sir
Robert Inglis, Sir Harry Vemey, and others, and Mr. Hume
was defeated by a majority of 140, 29 members voting with him.

Between these debates Lord Palmerston, as Foreign
Secretary, wrote to the Raja.

" April 23, 1850.

"Sir, — I have to acknowledge the receipt of your despatches
to that of the 5th inclusive ; and I have to inform you that
the explanations and statements contained in your despatches
of February 2nd and March 5th are considered by her
Majesty's Government to be perfectly satisfactory ; and that
her Majesty's Government fully approve the course which
you have pursued for the suppression of the system of whole-
sale piracy in the seas adjoining to Borneo ; and I have to
instruct you to follow the same course whenever a similar
necessity shall arise.

" I am, etc.,
" (Signed) Palmerston."

The debate of July has been anticipated in order to have an
unbroken account of the action of Parliament during the year,
and we return now to February 1st, on .which day the subject
of so much discussion was writing from Labuan to Mr.
Templer —

" I wrote you by the last opportunity, and now wish to
write briefly on the subject of the clamour raised by the
humanity-mongers, as I understand that I am to be personally
assailed in Parliament, and the whole policy pursued is to be
called into question.

" Is it not rather late in the day to object, when the same
poUcy has been pursued and pursuing ever since Keppel's

16 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1860.

attack on Sarebus, so highly and so generally approved in
1843 ? Are circumstances altered, or what new enlighten-
ment or revelation have these bastard sympathizers from
above or below on the subject, for certainly they have never
got any on the earth's surface ?

" To be serious, however, my dear Jack, here is a fact —
a plain simple fact — of the general piratical character of a
community, and numerous facts of particular cases of piracy,
testified by admirals, captains, and gentlemen in numbers,
either from proofs adduced or from personal examination or
experience. There is testimony, more than it is possible to
record, from persons attacked upon the high sea, and from
the very pirates themselves. Above all, there is the decision
of the High Court of Admiralty in England, in Keppel's case,
and the recent decision of the Admiralty Court of Singapore,
pronouncing these hordes to be pirates. On the other side
there is the anonymous information of some person who dares
not come forward, whispered into the public ear through the
medium of a low newspaper in Singapore, and through that
source expanded into some newspapers in England. This
is monstrous, and absurd enough ; but what shall I say when
I come to the particular statements advanced against me —
the charge of want of humanity — and the instances about a
toothless old man being killed, a party of captives murdered
in cold blood, and of my having delivered over a woman and
her children, made prisoners, into hopeless slavery ! ... If
Mr. Cobden does not like Dyak allies to punish Dyak pirates,
let him propose an increase of navy estimates. Would he
sacrifice the innocent to the guilty? Would they, by obstructing
the punishment of the pirates, encourage their depredations ?
Being suppressed, or nearly so, by vigorous action, do they
desire a renewal of slaughter? Taken in any light it is
sacrificing the innocent to the guilty. On the question of
humanity it may be stated that every step has been taken
to save life and diminish the cruelty of warfare.' It is true that
war causes loss of life, and that many pirates lost their lives
in fighting or in flight. It is equally true that many un-

1850] THE RAJA OF SAUAWAK. 17

oflFonding people wonld have lost their lives had the pirates
been spared, and that yearly a slaughter of the innocent takes
place. It is demonstrated that the vigorous measures taken
by Captain Keppel checked the system of depredation, and for
live years greatly reduced the annual loss of life; that a
relaxation of severity led to renewed atrocities and renewed
depredations, which have resulted in the defeat of the pirates
and the loss of life ; but this is to be attributed to relaxhig
from our vigilance. One severe lesson has nearly ended the
system, and has led to the submission of the pirates ; undo
what has been done, and the loss of life would be yearly
larger than it has been to the pu'ates this [last] year, and
with the sliffht difference that it would fall on the unoffending,
instead of the offending.

"Do not imagine that this [clamour] disturbs my repose
properly so called. No man conscious of right motives is
likely to be chicken-hearted ; and for my part I am no tamo
lion, to be cowed by the baying of a pack of hounds, or the
shouts of the huntsmen, and I would turn round and rend my
pursuers, or give them such gentle pats with my affectionate
paw as to teach them truth and manners ; but the misfortune
is, they are baying on the other side of Lake Atlantic, and
won't take water, whilst I cannot. What would you advise
me to do then ? Do you advise patience, or ferocity, or facts,
or an action at law ? I shall write to Cameron on the latter
point, who will advise with you if necessary. Locally, I shall
take a few steps, and use every endeavour to drag forward the
anonjTnous opponent, whom I know, or rather can guess,
though not able to prove it on him.

" I continue better, but my health is not robust, and I shall

be greatly improved by a little quiet ; and could I get on the

hill at Penang, I should in a day or two forget all the bustle,

and tiunnoil, and talk, and abuse going on in London, and

enjoy myself with old dame Nature as though I were a quiet,

humane, inoffensive creature, instead of a ' monster in human

form/ eating babies and drinking blood, and killing innocent

pirates with a gusto appreciated by the Autocrat of Eussia,

VOL. n. c

A

18 THE RAJA OF BARAwAK. [1850.

and a few other nobs, who can afford to hold Cobden cheap,
and laugh at the idea of the world being ruled by a bag of
wind or a clap of state thunder.

" God bless thee, my friend, and with my kind regards to
Mrs. Templer, and all the dear folks I know or who know me
and still believe me to be indifferently honest — I remain, etc.'*

A fortnight later he wrote to Major Stuart — " A man so
popular as I was a short time since, ought, as a reasoning
creature, to have looked forward to a turn of the wheel of the
fickle goddess ; and I assure you I am by no means surprised
at suddenly being converted, from something better than
mortal man, into a blood-stained, slaughter-loving monster in
human form. The comfort is, that as the wheel has turned
once, it will in the course of events turn again and bring mo
from the bottom to the top ; and that, wherever the place may
be, the value of public opinion is not great, and the censure of
faction and ignorance of little moment. I have never courted
popular applause, and I would never turn from my course in
consequence of popular condemnation. I am certain of my
ground — I know what I am doing. I am supported by the
consciousness of being of use to thousands of my fellow-men,
and I can judge the difference between the good and the bad
amongst whom I live, in the same way as the erudite philan-
thropists distinguish the police from the swell-mob, or the
Lord Chief Baron from a felon. My astonishment is that all
this outcry is raised in the name of philanthropy. We really
must have some new names for the virtues as opposed to the
vices, for fear of their becoming utterly confounded."

The dilatory operations of the Eastern Archipelago Com-
pany were now a continual source of worry. " That laggard
Company keeps us back : it does nothing itself, and deters
others from coming here [LabuanJ , and one of our elements of
success is at present our poison and hindrance.'*

Early in March the Eaja was at Singapore, and there
learnt from the English papers the virulence of the attack
on him, led chiefly by the Daily News,

1850.] THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. 19

'*I do not doubt," he says, **tlie good sense of tho
country ; but I begin to feel there is no distinction, no wealth,
no sphere of usefulness, which can repay a gentleman for the
disgrace of his name and character bandied about in the
mouths of demagogues.''

From Singapore, March 15th, he wrote as follows to Mrs.
Nicholetts. Captain Brooke had been for some months in
China, for he also, having suffered from the Labuan fever, had
sought relief in change of climate.

" Brooke has returned to Sarawak, but I believe will join
me when I am well enough to go to Siam, to which Court I
have been appointed Envoy to form a new treaty. I do not
above half like the job, and shall be glad when it is over one
way or another. I trust Brooke will like Sarawak ; but as yet
he cannot know whether he will do so or not, for he has never
been there long at one time, and he was ill whilst living there
alone. But, after all, it is not a life which many people would
like: it is a life of monotonous quiet, of trial, forbearance,
and of comparative poverty ; it is a life that stem duty may
make pleasant, and imagination may gild with dehght ; but it
is a life far from the pomps and vanities of life, and any one
whose portion is in the Eiuropean world will never settle to it.
Will Brooke like all this ? Will he, if need be, cast off country,
wife, children, friends, and lay down life itself for the good of
those he is called to rule over ? WiU he rise above that paltry
world in which we live ? I trust he will, and I am sure that if
he does not like the Ufe he will say so ; for he is noble and
manly.

" I often long to see some of you, and perhaps some day
we shall be able to meet when money grows plentiful. I
hope I shall not be too old or too sick to be joyful and
merry — at present I could be both if I could got away from
the shop and all the trouble it brings. Neither you nor Gilbert
must be annoyed by what the newspapers say. They cannot
turn right into wrong, truth into falsehood, so we may let them
abuse and vilify without heeding them. God bless you,

20 THE KAJA OF SARAwAK. [1850.

dearest. I am glad to hear that you liked your scarf : do pray
wear it often, for it is not fine."

Eeference to this letter is made in a later one — Singapore,
June 16, 1860—

" 1 wish you could come and see us, and judge for yourself
whether Brooke would be justified in asking a lady to share
his fate. My opinion is that it would be quite right for him
to get a wife as soon as ever we have funds to support her. It
is not every woman, however, who would be content with a
Sarawak life, for there are ladies in the world who love dancing
and gossiping, and fine clothes, and gay company. The
danger is he may light on such a one ; and if he does, why
then he must give up his wife for his country, his own grati-
fication and happiness for the happiness of tens of thousands.
This is what I meant when I said he must give .up wife and
children, and country — that is, if need be ; but I hope he may
have a better fate, and choose a dear little wife like you, who
would be content to go with her husband to Sierra Leone, or
even a hotter place."

Again referring to something in a previous letter, he con-
tinues —

**I quite forget what I said, but I suppose it was an
account of Dickey, my Malacca thrush, who is the most
impertinent and tamest of birds : sings, and is learning to
whistle, and chuckles, and, besides, he makes every curious
noise under the sun. It is a species of mocking-bird found at
Malacca, and, I think, at Sarawak. I have been very extrava-
gant in horse-flesh lately, having bought a grey Arab, a
middling bad one, and a large Australian horse, sixteen and a
half hands high, and a gig — all for Labuan. I bought the
horse because he was cheap, and now the horse is too big for
the gig. Brooke has the very ugliest beast of a pony that ever
was seen. The head and eyes are like a pig's, and his coat
is more of bristles than of hairs. Grant is not mounted.
St. John, my assistant, has a three-legged one, about fifty
years of age, of quiet temper, demure habits, serious disj)osi-
tion, and slow paces. What is the name of your pet Arab ?

I860.] THE RAJA OF SARIwAK. 21

Has he a name yet? Is it Laura, or Conrad, or Beppo, or
what?

" I do not do much here. We daily try, with our stupid
interpreter, to translate English letters into Siamese. The
day before yesterday he had to translate — * Palmerston, the
Minister of the Queen of England, salutes the chief minister
of the King of Siam,' and for ' salutes ' he said, ' fires guns in
honour of the chief minister of Siam ! '

Sir James Brooke was at this time waiting at Singapore
for the arrival of H.M.S. Hastings, which was to convey him
to Siam. The United States had failed in an attempt to
enter into a treaty with the Siamese, and the Baja was not
sanguine of success.

" I am anxious,*' he wrote, " to get this mission over,
once more to return to Borneo, which is my proper sphere,
and where I can do most good. Siam is, however, a country
well worthy of attention, and, in a commercial point of view,
second only to China; but the Government is as arrogant
as that of China, and the King, by report, is inimical to
Europeans. The difficulty is rendered greater by twenty-
seven years of non-intercourse, which has served to encourage
the Siamese in their self-conceit, and which has lowered us in
their good opinion. I shall try every means to conciliate their
good opinion, and not force a treaty upon the King, which
when concluded would be but wasted parchment if not enforced,
and, if enforced, would inevitably lead to a war, though a
petty one. On the contrary, I consider that time should be
given to the work of conciliation, that their prejudices should
be gradually undermined rather than violently upset, and
that (as we have delayed for thirty years doing anything) in
the course of this policy we may wait till the demise of the
Bang brings about a new order of things. Above all, it would
be well to prepare for the change, and to place our own king
on the throne ; and the king of our choice is, fortunately, the
legitimate sovereign, whose crown was usurped by his elder
illegitimate brother. This prince, Cliow-Fa-Mungkuk, is now

22 THE RAJA OF BAlilWAK. [1850.

a priest, and a highly accomplished gentleman for a semi-
barbarian. He reads and writes English ; is instructed in our
astronomy, and has a very high opinion of our arts, learning,
and government. This prince we ought to place on the throne,
and through him we might, beyond doubt, gain all we desire."

The accounts that now reached the Baja of Labuan and of
8ardwak were all good, and he longed to get the Siam mission
over and be ofif to various rivers whosQ tribes were opening to
peaceful influences. It is strange to turn from Mr. Cobden's
commiseration of the natives that had ''the misfortune to
live contiguous to a place taken possession of by a man
called the Baja of Sarawak," and to find the Eaja himself
writing that Sakarran, Sarebus, Eanowit, and the Eayans of
Barram must all be visited, because —

" All these people have sent to me, desiring my friendship,
offering to make me their chief, and professing their great
desire to be allowed to trade as the folks at Sarawak trade.
They are quite independent of Brune, and carry on a war
against the Sultan, and are year by year driving in the Borneo
outposts and appropriating territory. This intertribal war is
not piracy ; but, if my influence can lessen its horrors, I shall
endeavour my best in hard-hearted cruelty to do so. The
Borneon Government deserves little of good at my hands, but
I would fain keep them up if I can, and the succession of Muda
Hassim*s son will perhaps afford an opportunity of raising
them above their present miserable position, brought about
by their outrageously bad Government."

The unnecessary delay at Singapore and the uncertainty
of its termination were wearying. Nor was it pleasant to find
himself "completely humbugged," waiting for a vessel that
never came. Meanwhile each mail brought its account of
attack and defence on his character and policy. Extracts
from various letters will show his feeling. The first is dated
Penang, April 1, 1850.

*' The mere personal attacks trouble me no longer, and in
the period of reflection, caused by sickness and promoted
by solitude, I can freely forgive those who have thought it

ItfSa] TUE BAJA OF SAKAwAK. 23

wortb their while to become my enemies^ and the enemies of
as just and righteous a cause as man ever strove to advance.

*' I sincerely desire to see my way clearly, and to do my
duty without being influenced by passion or any other base
motive ; and I am quite certain that the sort of ambition
which would influence the multitude, and be attractive to men
of my class and rank, would not sway me for an instant. As
long as I am out of the world, I can set a right value on its
distinctions and applause. 1 would not answer for myself if
drawn into the vortex of paltry ambition or personal rivalry,
for I have passions strong enough to mislead me, and an
imagination vivid enough to convert tinsel into gold, and to
deck the struggle of faction or opinion with the halo of
principle. Lucky, therefore, I esteem myself that I am far
from the scene of petty strife, and able to devote myself to the
performance of actual and tangible good in Sarawak and its
neighbourhood.

** The time will come when no gentleman will servo the
public, and your blackguards and your imbeciles may have a
monoi)oly of appointments ; though I beUeve there is not a
cozy demagogue amongst the pack who would lead the life I
lead for double the lucre I receive. It would not suit any of
these ranting lovers of peace and popularity, either in its
exposure to danger and climate, or its monotony. What do
they know of the jungle — its sights, or its sounds, its intense
quiet at mid-day, or its noisy waking at daylight and at set of
sun ! Away with them, dear Jack ; let's banish their worldly
ambition, their love of pelf, their noisy excitement, the breath
of their declamation, the shadows they pursue in the midst of
empty sound and turmoil, their calculating heads, and hard
hearts ! — ^Ict us banish all these far from us, and look for peace
and beauty and God in this lower world.

** April 7th. — I have been suffering much since I wrote
this, and do not yet write with comfort. I try to bear as well
as I can, and not to complain. Suffering is good for us all,
for it lifts the veil which hides eternity, and makes us desire
an existence better and beyond this one."

24 THE RAJA OF SAliAWAK. [1850.

*' If it is necessary, you may mention that often and often
I have been tempted to foment an intertribal war between
Sakarran and Sarebus, in order to divert their attention frpm
the coast; that I had the means of so doing — at least I think
so — and that I rejected it as being too bloody in its results.

'* When I assert people to be pirates, I am bound to prove
it, which has been done ; but when Cobden asserts that un-
necessary acts of inhumanity have been committed which
could have been avoided, he is bound to prove that, against
my flat co ntra diction.*'

" The action '* (at Point MarrOy " was a night action ; the
pirates were entirely surrounded, and, after their first panic,
dashed at Point Marro and engaged our native force guard-
ing it ; but, failing to force a passage at once, they ran their
prahus ashore to the number of ninety, and fled into the
jungle. In this encounter several of our people were wounded,
and one or two killed. The remains of this large fleet, trying
to escape by sea, were cut up by the steamer Nemesis. The
total loss during the night engagement, on the part of the
pirates, was three hundred men killed — two hundred and fifty
by the steamer and fifty by the natives. They could not resist
the steamer, but they did engage the natives, and would not
have abandoned their prahus so easily excepting from the
dread of being attacked Ealuka side.

" I held firm in the Kaluka river,* with my division, to
prevent any of the pirates ascending it, or returning along the
coast to the Rejang. I was iU of ague when the fight com-
menced, and during the whole night information was brought
me that a desperate struggle had taken place between the
pirates and our people at Point Marro, and rumours were
rife that we had been defeated. During this time there was
no water for our heavy boats between the Kaluka and Sarebus,
without going a very long way round and leaving the Kaluka
open. The morning assured us of victory. Now, will any one
state at what time the action should have been discontinued ?
Should all the pirates have been allowed to escape, or half of

* Four miles from whore tho Nemesis was engaged.

/

/

/

/

/
/

185a] THE KAJA OF SABIwAK.

/

r

them, or a quarter, and by what patent means is an action ^
be stopped at any given moment ?

" In the morning, when the result was known, our fleet
gathered together, and, with the pirate prahus captured, wo
moved up the river, passed the Rembas, and ascended tho
Paku, thus drawing oflf our force as much as possible from tho
pursuit. Had I taken possession of the neck of land between
Sarebus and Palo, the three thousand men must have fought
and been killed, or died of starvation. Had we gone uj) the
Eembas we might have killed the fugitives by hundreds. As
it was, some thirty to fifty of these fugitives were killed by
our stragglers, but how was this to be avoided ? Stragglers
and loose fish are to be found with every body of men,
whether European or native, and the number thus killed
appears to me exceedingly small considering the circum-
stances, and our natives behaved with great humanity.

"We had one prahu from Sadong manned by Malays,
every one of whom had lost a near relative, killed by the
Sarebus during the year !

" I know very well that these people are to bo reclaimed
by punishment and by kindness, and there is no chance of
their being ' exterminated,' though there is a certainty of all
the poorer and peaceful Dyak tribes being exterminated if the
Sarebus and Sakarran are countenanced by the English
philanthropists, and encouraged to slaughter their neighbours.

" Tho Peace Society and the Aborigines' Protection So-
ciety are the aiders and abettors and advocates of as bloody
a set of murderers and pirates as ever put to sea to cut
throats or capture vessels. All that the people of tho north-
west coast of Borneo ask of these societies is peace and
security for trade ; and if the navy and people of Sarawak,
etc., are not allowed to deal with these pirates, the Peace
Society and the Philo-Aborigines' Society must deal with them
themselves, and if they will act instead of talk, they are very
welcome to have it all to themselves !

"N.B. — Mr. says I am actuated by * sinister motives.'

What does he mean? Does he mean that I share in the

26 THE BAJA OF SAUAWAK. [1860.

head-money, or that anybody with me or about me, or other
than the navy, share in what is given them by Act of Parlia-
ment ? If he means this, he is notoriously wrong. Does he
mean that I gain money from the pirates, or that I have
some object to serve beyond the professed and ostensible and
most desirable one ? He will find this assertion diflScult of
proof. The Government of Brune is acquainted and approves
of what is done, and to establish Sarawak influence is to
establish peace and security. Those who come to Sarawak
can judge the tendency of Sarawak influence and the benefits
of firm government."

'* All that is said amounts to this : —

*' 1st. The Sarebus are not pirates.

** Ansiver. A Court of Admiralty has said they are pirates.

** 2nd. That these excursions are in consequence of petty
feuds between tribes.

'* Answer. If this be so, these tribes are at war with the
Netherlands Government, and with every other community,
along a coast line of one thousand miles.

" 3rd. That there is no difference between the Malays and
Dyaks of Sarebus and the Malays and Dyaks of other com-
munities, in the mode of conducting these warlike forays.

" Answer. The difference is this — that the other thirty or
forty communities do not go to sea on warlike or piratical
expeditions, and all live at peace one with another ; whilst
the Sarebus constantly go to sea on piratical cruises, and
devastate the other countries ; and also, that the other tribes
do not slaughter indiscriminately, which the Sarebus do.
When I say Sarebus, I mean Sakarran too.

** The other tribes of Dyaks and the communities of
Malays are not at war with each other, or with any one else ;
but the Sarebus are. The Sarebus pirate or war ('tis but
a name) on every other tribe and community: on the Dutch
territory, on the island of Natunas, on the Chinese — who
never retort — on the Malays, on the Dyaks, on their own
sovereign of Bnme; in short, they pirate indiscriminately,

1850.] THE RAJA OF SAJiAWAK. 27

or they make war against their world ; and what do other
pirates do ?

" It is true these tribes are not well armed, but they are
as well armed as their opponents, excepting a few Malay
communities. They are very numerous, and let them, through
the kindness of Mr. Cobden, obtain firearms — and blood and
treasure, soldiers as well as sailors, will be required to cope
with them. The Malanaus, the last people attacked at Matu,
are a peaceful, quiet, unwarlike race, who can no more cope
against the Sarebus than the Sarebus can cope against us.

" When they talk of private motives of gain and wealth,
etc. (Wise's hobby), tell them that I am £10,000 out of pocket
by Sarawak; and that the revenue of Sarawak is, like the
revenue of any other place, applied for public purposes ; and
if it were twenty times as large as at present I could dispose
of it for pubUc purposes, strictly to advance the good of the
country and people, and to cement the foundations of a
government which shall last when I have crumbled to dust.
If they say I derive money from any other river besides
Sarawak it is false, and they must prove it ; and, besides,
every step I have taken is known to our Government, and
approved by the rulers of Brun6."

"I entertain well-grounded expectations that their [the
Sarebus] depredations at sea can be entirely put a stop to,
and that the coast can be rendered both safe and peaceful.
This will be done by the severe lesson they have received
and by a surveillance over them in future, and, instead of the
brutal inhumanity of allowing this struggle to continue to the
destruction and extinction of Sarebus or of the other com-
munities, by checking these pirates, and only insisting upon
one point, but insisting upon that firmly. We must insist upon
their abandoning piracy, and we must force them to do so.
The consequences will naturally follow : trade will be secure ;
these rivers will add their quota to the general stock; and,
instead of the miserable dribbling commerce now carried on,
we shall develop a commerce worth having.

28 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1850.

"Take Sarawak as an example. It produced nothing
under native rule; now its exports yearly may be fairly
reckoned from 200,000 to 250,000 dollars, and the native
tonnage yearly at 2000. Sarawak is by no means superior to
most of the rivers, and greatly inferior to several, and
Sarawak is only in its infancy, and as yet has never had any
capital to advance its development ; a little good government
has done it all. But without going further, if every river on
this coast produced as much as Sarawak, we should have
a million sterling of exports, and the same of imports, and
the greater part flowing to our markets.

"Brune is another example in point. When Sir Thomas
Cochrane forced them to respect our ships and merchants, it
rose to the dignity of an exporting country, and the trade
trebled directly. But we must have peace on the coast."

" How shall I thank you, my dear friend [Mr. Templer] !
Not in words, for I could not express the every-day aflFection
I have for you, and much less my sense of the stand you have
made in defence of my character and honour, against the
reproaches cast upon both by men whose motives I cannot
even guess at, but whose falsehood and shamelessness and
unfairness must ultimately injure themselves far more than
they can injure me. I can only thank you from my heart,
and you must judge my heart by your own.

" If I were to say that I expected you to do less than you
have done, I should do an injustice both to your friendship
and to my own ; and more, I am sur6, you could not do than
has been done, and done so judiciously and well.

" The articles in the Times are quite perfect — cool, judicious,
and well-reasoned upon the ground of general character of the
journals as a whole. I need not say more, for I have sent you
so many crushing Gobden documents, that as far as facts go
the question is at rest."

" The debate in Parliament is probably over, but remem-
ber that if a shadow of doubt ever entered or now exists in the
minds of Ministers, I am the party soliciting inquiry and
investigation."

1850.] THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. 29

"This clamour and obloquy does not in the slightest
degree annoy or vex me. At first I was indignant and sur-
prised, thinking the shafts came from Mr. Wise's hands.
When they continued, I felt sorrow and uneasiness that any
persons could conscientiously so distort facts and think so
ill of me; but when I discovered that they were personal
and spiteful, without reference to truth or justice, my regret
passed away. I was prepared to proceed a Voutrance with
these defamers, and to defy them to do their worst. They are
asses to have pushed the attack with such perceptible
malignity and personality; a cooler tone would have answered
their purpose better, and probably put me to the trouble of
defending myself before a committee of the House, which,
after all, would not have been disagreeable, as the country
would, I presume, have paid my expenses, and I should have
had a run home."

" July 26th, Singapore. — I have been rather surprised by an
order from the Foreign Office to send copies of my corres-
pondence to Mr. Of course I have declined, or rather

requested to be allowed to act as heretofore, independently,
and if not, of course I shall resign. This will not grieve me,
for the public service is a nuisance, and my time, instead of
being usefully employed, is frittered away in trifles, and I
hurry from Labuan to Sarawak, to Sulu, Siam, Cochin China,
and Heaven knows where else ; and the truth is, if our policy
were as vigorous and earnest as I wish it to be, three men as
clever and younger than myself should be engaged watching
our political relations, and suppressing piracy with a strong
hand. With my abilities concentrated on Sarawak, and my
time devoted to advance its best interests, more good could be
done than running from place to place, controlled and fettered,
opposed and persecuted. Eemembcr, too, my love of books,
of quiet, of the society of a few friends, the joy I have in
nature. Why should I sacrifice these pleasures and feelings
for anything short of a positive and tangible life of useful-
ness? Men often deceive themselves with the idea of their
usefulness and the value of their services, and cloak under it

30 THE RAJA OF SABAwAK. [1860.

a warm spring of ambition ; but I do not deceive myself. If I
am ambitious at aU, it is on such a grand scale as to scorn
stars, garters, and coronets. I feel very like simple honest
J. B., though I am an acknowledged sovereign by the United
States.

'^I shall not mind, therefore, having a fair excuse for
requesting my conge; and, at any rate, when Labuan has
advanced I shall not, of course, continue to hold the
governorship. I wish, however, to see Labuan fairly through
its difficulties, and these difficulties are caused by the Eastern
Archipelago Company, which, from being in Mr. Wise's hands,
of course failed.

" I will teU you the steps I have taken from a sense of duty.
The charter was granted for two purposes — 1st. For the rapid
development of the resources of Labuan. 2nd. That we
might avail ourselves of the new branches of commerce opened
by my relations with Sarawak.

" It appears that in 1848, H. and J. Henderson, of Mincing
Lane, and nine other influential firms, offered to pay down
the £100,000 required by the charter, and that their capital
was withdrawn in consequence of a misunderstanding as to
the remuneration to be paid to Mr. Wise for his privileges, his
individual rights, said to have been granted by Government.
Mr. Wise contended that the company should be formed first,
and his remuneration be afterwards discussed ; the capitalists,
that they must clearly know the amount and shape of remune-
ration before they stirred. Thus, for Mr. Wise's sake, the
public object was wrecked, and the confidence of the moneyed
world lost, and since that time, the Eastern Archipelago
Company has been a bubble, and unable to rise to the dignity
of a bankrupt company.

" This story tells itself. After urging Government to render
the Company effective, I have, in consequence of Mr. McGregor
the Chairman's speech, and Wise's known enmity, come
forward with all this history, and said that I look with
distrust and suspicion on the character and conduct of the
Company as at present managed.

1850.] THE BAJA OF SARAwAK. 31

"Of course this is a public and not a private story, and the
evils attending a collision between the Company and myself
must be apparent. It is monstrous, however, that the public
purposes should have been postponed and lost sight of to suit
the pocket of Mr. Wise. This must recoil upon Wise, and if
Messrs. H. and J. Henderson are now allowed they will still
take the Company in hand, and produce the necessary capital,
but they will not have anything to do with him."

In contrast to the opposition of a small party in England,
the friendliness of the United States was at this time shown.
Their President had already addressed Sir James Brooke as
the "Ruler of the State of Sarawak;" and their Envoy, coming
to Kuching, had congratulated him on the success of his endea-
vours to suppress piracy, and proposed a Convention between
the two countries which should give to the flag of Sarawak
the same privileges in the ports of the United States as the
American flag, and vice versa. Wishing first to know the
mind of the British Government, the Eaja had kept these
advances private, but now the United States Envoy himself
publicly mentioned the proposal.

The despatch from Lord Palmerston, in reply to the Eaja's
on the subject, is dated October 24, 1850. The Foreign Secre-
tary was "not exactly aware of the precise nature of the Eaja's
position at Sardwak, and whether it was such with relation to
the Sultan of Borneo, as to entitle him to make a Treaty with
a foreign power touching matters connected with the territory
of Sarawak, but there seemed nothing objectionable in the
general terms of the arrangement proposed by the Government
of the United States."

Another encouragement lay in the fact that on July 81st,
the first anniversary of the Point Marro engagement, the
Raja could write that during that year not a single inno-
cent life had been taken by pirates, nor a single vessel fallen
into their hands. " The substantial good of our victory has
been greater than that of many victories famous in story."

82 THE RAJA OF SAKAwAK. [1860.

CHAPTER XX.

1850—1852.

H.M.S. Sphynx arrived at length in the place of the Hastings^
■'^ and Sir James Brooke, leaving Singapore, proceeded to Siam

early in August. Some account of the mission is found in
two of his letters, written in October, on his return to Singa-
pore, to Mr. Templer and to the Eev. Eichard Coxe.

" The mission in Siam is a dead failure ; they must be
taught a lesson, as they are committing frightful outrages on
British subjects. I had a very trying time of it, and alto-
gether got out of an unpleasant and critical position without
loss of national or individual credit, although I was sore
tempted and my temper sorely tried. You may fancy how

' . bad it was when I mention that I secluded myself, and never

breathed the fresh air of heaven during a long month of my

[ stay. This was a defensive measure to avoid all chance of

insult, and that inevitable lowering in public estimation which
these arrogant and semi-barbarous people always attempt
with Europeans.

" The more experience I acquire the more I am convinced
that our policy should be commanding, and our power exerted
when necessary. My policy in Sarawak has been high-
handed against evil-doers, and there, and in England, and in
Siam, there are bad to be punished, as well as good to be
cared for. Your slip-shod policy is in the end a bloody and a
cruel one. Civilization and power in our hands authorize us

ISSa] THE EAJA OF SARAWAK. 33

to punish, to correct, as well as to foster, native governments;
and, practically, there can be no greater folly than talking and
acting on the principle of non-intervention with governments
which by their ordinary action destroy trade, impede progress,
and shed more blood habitually and wantonly, than any
course of stringent and commanding measures could shed
to attain security for the native population and peace for
ourselves. Our Eastern policy is nothing but a sUp-shod
expediency, which we shall some day rue ; for it will force us
into strong measures when the cup of insult and humiliation
has been drained to the dregs. I would be just but command-
ing. I would use the power we undoubtedly possess to
amend native governments whose existence is a prolonged
cruelty to mankind, and a shadow to us at which we start."

Through the mails that had reached Singapore during his
absence at Siam, Brooke must on his return have received the
report of the debate on Mr. Hume's motion of July 12th.

"I do not attempt to thank you,** he wrote to Mr. Templer,
who had done all in his power to organize a defence for
his friend, and to let the facts of the case be known to
members of the House of Commons and others, "for I am
unable to do so, and have done so before ; but I feel that I like
to be obliged to you, and would do as much for you as you
have done for me, provided you are unlucky enough to give
me the chance.

** I express what I feel, a warm gratitude to those who
have defended me — who have taken the trouble to inquire into
the truth, and to expose the falsehood. Amongst these pro-
minently are Henry Drummond. . . . But is it not strange
that I have no Government defender, not one influential
Ministerial voice in the House of Commons to support my
reputation and to avow the approbation of Ministers. Am I
right, dear Jack, in feeling hurt at this, in regarding it as less
than my due, and beneath their dignity ? In a position more
responsible perhaps than any under the Crown, as being
solely dependent on my own judgment, and beyond the reach
of Ministerial assistance or advice to guide or rule, am I to be
VOL. n. D

34 THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. [1850.

left half disowned ? Or is it the support which Government
finds from Cobden and his party that cools its zeal, and
renders it unrighteously cautious ?

" The man persecuted in his own country is respected and
loved in Borneo, and, I may say, throughout the Archipelago.
And what assistance have I had ? A weak and vacillating
course has been pursued for thirty years past, and will be
pursued still. There are no systematic meaRures taken, no
power granted, no real confidence manifested in myself or
any one else — no efl&cient support given.

" I feel, I know instinctively, that the war of words will
supersede all the benefits of action ; that supineness and
indifference to distant spheres render England unfit to carry
out a consistent course of policy in the East. The age of
noble confidence is gone, and the bagman distrust of Man-
chester has taken its place ; yet, whilst I live will I not turn
my hand from the plough, nor do I wish to complain. There
is a moral might developed in a man's soul by persecution in
a right cause, which is superior to fortune's gifts or earthly
treasure. There is a self-reliance, and a rehance on a good
cause, which raise us above the world's opinion and men's
judgment. I trust I am learning something of this, and I can
sincerely say that, beyond a just indignation, I entertain no
vindictive feeling towards those who are pleased to be my
enemies. They may injure me in prospects and in peace,
but they cannot deprive me of the consciousness of right, the
love of my friends, the attachment and respect of the native
communities, or the gratification of duty done. They cannot
reduce me to their own level of feeling and language. That I
have faults enough. Heaven knows. I have a fixedness of
purpose, and a devotion in any cause I embrace, so unfortu-
nately mixed up with a lightness of temper, and a scoflSng
playfulness, and an abhorrence of cant, that the solemn and
silly will never comprehend my character, and the susiricioua
and worldly never will trust and always will abuse me.

" Eemember, that I am ready to come home at any time
to face my enemies if it be necessary ; but I do not desire to

1850.] TUE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 35

mix myself up in these wordy contentions, unless it be
advisable.

** I often tjiink what would have been the end had I not
had you to advocate my cause, and to arrange a defence
against this unworthy and malignant persecution. I should
have been condemned unheard — too proud to volunteer a
defence, and too careless and too ignorant to seek the means
necessary for rebutting false accusations. And this would
have been justice ! I often ask myself, how can these men,
Hume and Cobden, reconcile it befor j God to their own con-
sciences to denounce an absent man, or to condemn a man
unheard ? And this is what they call fair play, and manly
EngUsh feeling ! They preach of peace, whilst they banish
charity from the earth ! "

Mr. Hume had quoted in his speech from letters of the
Baja, supplied by Mr. Wise, and as these were also used against
their author in the Straits Times at Singapore, it was thought
advisable to publish them in full, with others. The idea
appears to have originated among friends in England, and
it was carried out by Mr. Templer in 1853. ** There should
be a preface by you, and a running commentary. I leave it,
and everything in your hands, and you need only refer to me
when you think necessary," Brooke wrote i^October 6th). " I
send you some other letters ; you will see that they are to my
mother, and she treasm-ed them, and I found them when she
left the world. What pain would all this have given her, for
she was sensitive in the extreme.

**How I rejoiced to hear such good accounts of your dear
folks," is the conclusion of this letter ; " and how much I
should have liked to have made that excursion with you to
Devonshire !

** Think you. Jack, we can take together a week's walking
excursion to the westward of Penzance, when the heather
and the furze are in full blossom, and when crag and cliff
are lighted up with a bright sunshine, and the dark rocks
and green sea are merry on a May day ? In former years I
went by myself on this little trip and rejoiced greatly therein.

86 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1860.

" There is, indeed, pleasure in looking back at these things
and the feelings they inspired, though Hume and Cobden bark^
and Wise doth pull the string.*'

On October 26th the Eaja reached Sarawak, very glad to
be back after ten months' absence. Everything was prosper-
ing, and the coimtry advancing more than he had dreamed of
witnessing in his lifetime. Shortly before his return about
four thousand Chinese had made their appearance, not to the
unmingled satisfaction of Sarawak. They had been attacked
by their own countrymen at Sambas, and, getting the worst
of it, came to the universal refuge. Captain Brooke, joined by
Mr. McDougall, had in vain tried to persuade them to settle
at the mouth of the Sarawak Eiver ; they must needs swarm up
to Kuching, where the Government supphed them with rice till
they could settle and get to work. For lodging they suited
themselves, and Mr. McDougall going one night to take
a last look of his little church, now nearly finished, and a
conspicuous object in the scene, found it filled with mats
containing sleeping Chinese. It is needless to say that they
were dislodged from their retreat.

The Eaja's first work was to visit the Quop River and its
tribes. These were now at the summit of Dyak ideas of
happiness, and the next step would be to raise that idea a
little higher. Then the Chinese arrivals had to be located,
and the old Kunsis looked after. At Sakarran, meanwhile, Mr.
Brereton had been joined by a Mr. Lee, and on the footsteps
of these two there followed before long the missionary Mr.
Chambers.* Mr. Brereton was now living on his own private
means, and spending what revenue the wild tribes brought in
on the expenses of their government. At present this was
little. It was the Eaja*s desire that when more could be
raised the Brune Government should have its fair proportion.
The scrupulous care taken that this shadow of a power,

• The Rev. W. Chambers reached Sarawak in 1851. After many years of
devoted labour he was, in 1870, consecrated Bishop of Laboan and Sarawak in
snocession to Dr. McDougall.

1850.] THE RAJA OF SARIwAK. 37

unable to injure him save through intrigue, and at his mercy,
should be not only justly but generously treated, is worthy of
note. The fort which formed Mr. Brereton's head-quarters
had been built chiefly at the Raja*s expense. It was situated
at the junction of the Sakarran with the Batang Lupar, on
the site of the old stronghold of Sheriff Muller, destroyed by
Captain Keppel in 1844. Sheriff Muller had then taken
flight, but, now a wiser man, he returned and settled down
under the shadow of the new foit. Here, too, came the
widow of Sheriff Sahib to pass the latter years of her life in
peace, and hence she now sent her young son, in the company
of Mr. Grant, to spend a fortnight at KuchiDg on a visit to
the Baja.

At this portion of our history we have to look to Borneo
for our facts, and to the House of Commons for the deductions
therefrom. We learn from Mr. Hume, that Sir James
Brooke*s whole action in this matter was an ** aggression " on
Sakarran. Be that as it may, the tribes of the great river
Eejang now courted an aggression of the same nature, for they
petitioned the Raja to let them have a fort, too ; and a Kayan
chief named Kiun Nipa, living far up the river, sent word that
he would help in its erection, and, further, that if Brooke
governed he would leave his old haunts in the interior and
settle near the coast for the advantage of trade. These
Eayans were very friendly, and other tribes hitherto unknown
sent embassies to Sarawak asking assistance or advice, and
getting what of the former the Eaja could gi-ant, with a groan
that it could not be more, and much of the latter, given in
words that came home to them; while for practical effect,
beyond all counsel, there was the sight of the contentment of
Sarawak.

" I ask but one thing of them, that is, to renounce piracy,"
Brooke wrote, with special reference to Sakarran ; **and if I am
not prevented, and my life be spared, I do not doubt being able
to extend the benefits of good government along the entire
coast. I have power, great power, but I maintain that I use
it for the benefit of the mass of the people, for the benefit of

38 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1851.

the miserable Brune government, and for the extension of our
national commerce.

"Ask Mr. Cobden whether this is not better than in-
security and bloodshed and piracy and intertribal wars?
And whisper in Mr. Hume's ear, that what I have done for
Sakarran I intend doing for other rivers ; and that I am proud
to see my o\N'n countrj^men ruUng a willing people ; and that
I don't suspect every Englishmen of being a rascal ; nay, I am
inclined to believe that Joseph himself is not a bad fellow,
barring his obstinacy and suspicious turn of mind.*'

Labuan was to a certain extent prospering now, and
Brune the darkest spot. Brooke grieved over the people.
** It is miserable to be the witness of human suffering, to feel
the power of being able to relieve this misery and to know
that forms and shadows prevent one doing so."

Unhappily, fever again attacked him, and, after a partial
recovery, there came a relapse, followed by such weakness
that, finding himself useless for work, and being able to leave
everything in Captain Brooke's hands, he decided to go home,
but not to be a lion again — ** the work is too hard, and it does
not pay at the price," — and not to live in London if it could
possibly be avoided. There was at Greenwich a cottage with
three bedrooms — Eose Cottage, by name — kept by a good old
Mrs. Crofts, who would, he, was persuaded, take care of him,
and this Mr. Templer was asked to engage for him at once,
for if Eose Cottage was to be had no other cottage in all
England would do.

Late in December he was at Labuan, and in January,
1851, at Singapore, where he learned that the editor of the
Straits Times, a Mr. Woods, had been appointed deputy
sheriff, and messenger of the Bankruptcy Coui't. For three
years his paper had been the channel of the most unscrupu-
lous imputations on the motives and actions of Sir James
Brooke and of the ofi&cers of the Nemesis, If he were right,
they were murderers and felons. Although repeatedly chal-
lenged to give proof of statements absolutely denied, and, in
particular, to show his authority for the account given of the

1851.] THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. 39

expedition up the Kaluka in May, 1849, Mr. Woods had
declined doing so, thereby making himself responsible for
them. A correspondence followed between the Raja, as
Governor of Labuan, and the Governor of Singapore, the
former objecting on public grounds to the appointment, and
the latter declining to interfere.

After his appointment Mr. Woods collected signatures to a
memorial, signed also by himself, addressed to Mr. Hume,
cordially approving of that gentleman's previous action, and
setting forth the necessity of inquiry into the so-called piracy
of the Sarebus and Sakarran Dyaks, when inquiry had been
already made and judgment given by the court of which Mr.
Woods had become an officer. Of this memorial we shall
hear again.

Before leaving Singapore the Eaja wrote to Mr. McDougall,
asking that missionaries might be sent to the more distant
rivers, where the field of labour seemed to him great and
promising. Kanovrit and Sakarran were ripe for harvest,
but great prudence and forbearance would be necessary in
gathering it in. " I must say," he wrote, " that any measure
that tends to satisfy the craving at home for spurious and
speedy results, by showing a list of converts monthly and
yearly, should be discouraged and suppressed. It is building
the superstructure on a foundation of sand; it would be
permanently injurious to the ultimate object of the mission,
and it would be dangerous to the pubhc peace." He then goes
on to suggest that Mr. McDougall should become Bishop of
Sarawak. *' There would be no objection on my part ; and I
consider certainly that some authority within the church itself
is necessary to control the clergy, and to offer to the Govern-
ment a responsible person with whom it could treat, and in
whom it could confide.

"Farewell; may peace and goodwill be with you in
Sarawak ! and, if God so will, I shall once more return.*'

From Malta (March 80th) he wrote again — ^no more advice,
but in simple friendliness. '*My mind," he says, "is generally
far away from my body, and lingers with you all, in Sardwak

40 THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. [1861.

and Borneo. What are cities and temples to jungles and
Dyaks ! And what are the knightly remains of Malta com-
pared to our little church ! What is all the ruhbish of the
past compared to the hopes of the future ! I am a man of
one idea — Borneo; everything else in life is a Uttle snuflf
which tickles my nostrils ; or a little sound, or a little sight,
•for amusement ; but I am not in earnest in anything else. I
care not for Ministerial crises saving as they touch on Bomeon
prospects. I hope you are all happy, and have a little society,
and are gay — for I don't like solemn people; and I hope Mrs.
McDougall continues strong and well. How does our
school progress? That is my delight, and I often think of the
'Good night, sir,* which greeted me in my evening drives.
What is Mr. Chambers doing ? I hope you will send him to
Sakarran — he will be a great support to Brereton."

Another letter, also written at this time, is to an old
schoolfellow, the Eev. W. Wyatt ; part of it has been already
given in the first chapter, as it referred to the life at Norwich.
"I should have been sorry indeed had you forgotten our
younger days, and addressed me in any other fashion than as
an old schoolfellow. Mr. Chambers brought me your letter,
and I did what I could to be useful to him, and I doubt not
his life will be a cheerful and happy one, for we are a con-
tented community, though a small one, and the trials of the
life look far more formidable at a distance than they are in
reality. ... I hope to be at the next Valpeian dinner, and at
any rate to meet you there, if not before. I entertain a warm
feeling towards our old school and to my old schoolfellows,
and indeed cannot feel like a stranger towards them. I really
beheve that our association and the warmth of our feeling
towards the school has done something to rouse the
authorities towards attempting a restoration. Do you remem-
ber John Longe? I was staying with him when I was at
Norwich, and I assure you the sight of the place and the
sound of the organ in the cathedral shook my nerves by
recalling the past.

**I will tell you all about myself when we meet ; my career

1851.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 41

has indeed been an active and remarkable one, and even now
I know not where it is leading me, for it is very diflBcult to
stop at any given point, and it would be a pity to stop whilst
one can do any real good. I beg you, however, not to believe
that I am a thorough-going canting philanthropist, or that I
have any merit in making a great sacrifice to attain great
ends. It is not so, for all along I have only followed the
impulses of a nature not wanting in generosity, and tried to
regulate them by the dictates of a head not wanting in judg-
ment. As for those who abuse me, it is a matter of little con-
sequence if limited to that, but it would become detrimental
if their clamour affected the native mind, and led the worst
portion of the community to look up to them as friends."

Rose Cottage not being vacant, Mrs. Templer was asked to
look out in her walks for "some nice, damp, dreary-looking
abode, away from the haunts of men ; for I hate Uving in a
row, and I like a little garden."

From Malta Brooke visited Sicily, in pleasant company,
and on his return to Malta, in April, received information that
Labuan was threatened by the Sulus — the newly settled native
population in terror, and no English vessel at hand. ** The
exertions of the navy have been damped, and obstacles thrown
in our way. The pirates are daily gaining strength and
courage while I am employed answering my calumniators.
Parsimony has led to the danger of the island, and if taken by
the pirate force let the nation thank these her patriots. If
the English flag be insulted, who is to blame ? "

By the same mail, apparently, that brought these tidings,
there arrived also an address to the Eaja, from Java,
signed by aU the English firms there, by some Dutch and
one Chinese — an address of a different and more flattering
character than that on which Mr. Woods was employing his
energies.

On May 6th the Eaja reached England. Many thoughts
occupied his mind.

I. — ^Would the Government place him in a less anomalous

42 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1851.

position? The d^ facio ruler over five hundred miles of
Bomeon coast was nominally a Consul-General.

II. — Would they back him in carrying the principles of
the Government of Sarawak into other places ready and
anxious for it ?

III. — Would they act consistently and strictly against the
pirates of the Archipelago ?

*' I am afraid I was hard upon the Ministers," he sums up
with; ** they have always been very kind and very considerate
to me ; but in the effort merely to hold their own in England,
they allow the extremities of the empire to get cold. In the
East, especially in the Hindu-Chinese nations and China, we
ought to do everything or nothing; and the outcry, on the
score of humanity, roared forth by Cobden and Sturge, is
humanity to vicious governments, but not to the mass of the
people. The more experience I gain, the more I despise half-
and-half measures. In private life it leads to the ruin of
those who pursue this course, and it is no better in public
affairs. We can retrograde or we can advance, but we caiinot
stand still any more than the globe. Stillness is the type of
death — motion, of life; and, whether in the moral or physical
world, we can no more remain stationary than we can remain
asleep all our lives."

On reaching England he found it necessary to remain at
first in London, and consoled himself with the Great Exhi-
bition, just opened, and ** so wonderful and so beautiful that
everybody ought to see it ; " and by the hope of a family
gathering, to be accompUshed later in the summer in some
quiet country place. The juniors at Lackington Vicarage
seem to have had forebodings of dulness, and persuaded
Mrs. Johnson to suggest Lyme Regis as being sufficiently out
of the world.

** There is a little misunderstanding of terms between us,"
Brooke wrote in reply. '* The truth is, that what I call quiet the
girls will caU gay. Your seaside plan will suit me excellently.
The Dorsetshire downs are very agreeable, and we will dip
in the sea; and go fishing till we are all sea-sick^ and have

1851.] THE BAJA OF SARAWAK. 43

picnics till we are all sick of roast goose and pigeon pies, and
we will walk in the sun till we get fevers, and sit in the shade
till we catch our death of cold !

'* If we can get a cottage and garden," was his next idea
(July 1st), ** it would be very snug. Would a little yacht
amuse you, because I could have one for a couple of months.
I am not myself so fond of the sea as of yore, but papa and
Stuart might catch fish.

** I enjoy Hillingdon much, it is so quiet, and they are so
kind as not to invite any stupid people, so we are at home*
I shall leave this on the 4th, and until the 10th we shall
be involved in the hateful discussions which give rise to
hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness. After that, I have
work to do officially till the 16th, and on the 17th, D.V. (as
Charles writes), I hope to be with you."

Early in the session Mr. Hume had given notice of his
intention to move again for a Eoyal Commission —

** To inquire into the proceedings of Sir James Brooke on
the north-west coast of Borneo, since his appointment as her
Majesty's Commissioner and Consul-General, especially into
the attack of the Honourable East India Company's steamer
Nemesis, And further, that her Majesty will graciously com-
mand that the opinion of her Majesty's judges be taken, and
laid by her Majesty's Ministers before the House, touching
the legahty or otherwise of the holding by Sir James Brooke,
at one and the same time, of the following apparently incom-
patible offices, viz. : Sovereign Euler of Sarawak, he being a
British subject ; of her Majesty's Commissioner, he. Sir James
Brooke, residing at Sarawak, where there is no independent
chief; and also of the appointment of Governor of Labuan,
distant three hundred miles from Sarawak, at which British
settlement he has not been actually present more than a few
months during the last three years."

On the 10th of July this motion was before the House of
Commons, and, after a debate of seven hours, was rejected by
a majority of 211, 18 voting with Mr. Hume.

44 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1851.

It is only possible to give here such portions of the debate
as touched the Baja most nearly.

Mr. Hume deprecated the subject having been made a
question of squabbles between private individuals. It was
a public question of great importance, affecting the character
of this country. He was not, as had been asserted, the tool
of any man. His attention had been first aroused by an
extract from a Singapore paper,* appearing in the Daily News
of June 25, 1849, which stated that in March and April the
Nemesis steamer had joined a collection of prahus with Sir
James Brooke, and attacked the Dyaks of Sarebus and Sakar-
ran, and asked whether it was creditable to our naval forces
to aid or take part in cruel butcheries and brutal murders of
the helpless and defenceless.

Since the debate of the previous session he had received
an address signed by fifty-three merchants and others of
Singapore, which the House should hear.

[The address bore date " Singapore, January, 1851." t It
testified the cordial approval of the memorialists of Mr.
Hume's valuable and persevering exertions ; and stated that
not one of those who signed had ever heard the captain of a
merchant vessel, or the nakoda of a trading prahu, mention
his having, at any time, seen a Dyak pirate. The memorial
continued — " Whatever language may have been employed to
describe the depredations of the Dyaks of Sarebus and Sakar-
ran, it is impossible, with the facts we have before us, that we
can consider the continuance of the same destructive measures
that have been pursued against them as 'consonant with
humanity, with the interests of commerce, and the mainten-
ance of our national position in the Archipelago.'! We
think, on the contrary, that these measures are much to be
lamented, and that a more humane and considerate policy
will better tend to the promotion of the true interests of
trade.

• The Straits Times. Mr. Woods' account, before allnded to.
t The address is that mentioned on p. 39.

X The quotation is from a despatch, from Sir James Brooke to Lord
PalmerstOD, of Febraorj 2, 18id.

1851.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 45

" The pacification of the north-west coast of Borneo 'so long
disturbed by intestine wars and other disorders arising from
the absence of any regular government, and where lawless
violence of the most flagrant kind has been daily exercised by
the rulers and chiefs, is certainly an object to be greatly
desired ' for the sake of common humanity and for the
advancement of British commerce.

"But we are of opinion that the course of policy to be
pursued for the attainment of that desirable end will be best
ascertained by means of that inquiry which it is your object
to institute."

The memorialists would not undertake to say that the
Pyaks slaughtered on the 31st of July were not pirates;
*'butwe confidently affirm our opinion that the evidence of
their being pirates is the very opposite of being satisfactory.

" We conclude these observations with the expression of an
earnest hope that Parliament will see fit to accede to your
motion for inquiry, without which there can be no issue of
this question satisfactory to the public mind.*']

In addition to this address, Mr. Hume had received a
letter from a Mr. William Henry Miles, whom he described as
a gentleman resident seven years in Singapore, and two and
a half in Labuan, and this he would also read out.

[It stated that there could be only one opinion about the
late massacre, formed by anybody acquainted with Sir James
Brooke — that it was to murder the Dyaks into subjection to the
Sarawak Government. Further, that Sir James Brooke was
very much opposed to any Europeans settling on the coast of
Borneo, as was shown by his treatment of a Mr. Bums,
and that Europeans were not allowed to visit or reside in
Sarawak.]

Mr. Hume continued by stating that inquiry was due to Sir
James Brooke, whose character, with such charges against it,
would otherwise be blasted. Let Commissioners be sent out
to take evidence, and the country be freed from the stigma
that rested on it. Sir James Brooke had observed that there
was no question of the existence of piracy or of the necessity

46 THE EAJA OF SARIwAK. [1851.

for its suppression. No doubt of that — ^the Dutch and the
Spanish had been employed praiseworthily in attacking and
destroying the real pirates, the lUanuns and Solus. Did Sir
James Brooke ever attack the real pirates ? No, he attacked
none but the poor Dyaks. " I have been invited to appear in
Sarawak. What business have I there ? If I were to go there
I should expect — I won't say what."

"Mr. Wilham Henry Miles," remarked Mr. Drummond,
*' is a gentleman who follows the occupation of a butcher, to
which he unites the more honourable profession of a boxer.
It so happened that, owing to a httle misfortune, he went
abroad at the Queen's expense. Lord Bacon said there were
two ways of making a man wise — by books and by travel. It
had been Mr. Miles's fortune to profit by the latter. He (Mr.
Drummond) declared that this man Miles could neither have
written nor spelt the letter read out by Mr. Hume, which must
be a forgery."

Mr. Headlam pointed out the compound nature of the
inquiry proposed. As a lawyer, he could say that it was not
usual in England to combine a question of policy with an
indictment for murder, and so only could he call the motion.
He, also, had a letter that he would read to the House; it was
from Dr. Wilson, the Bishop of Calcutta, and was addressed
to the Eev. C. D. Brereton, Hon. Secretary to the Borneo
Church Mission.

[This letter was dated, Semiramis, War Steamer, Sarawak
to Singapore, January 24, 1851. The Bishop had been to
Sarawak to consecrate the first church, and words seemed
poor to express his enthusiasm as he thought of the country
he had just visited. ** It is my full persuasion that there is
no mission on the face of the earth to be compared to that
of Borneo." It had been " thrown open to Christian enter-
prise almost by a miracle," and he who had done this thing
was now recognized as the ruler of a people to whom he was
devoting **his time, his fortune, his zeal, his health, his body
and soul."]

'* There is nothing to show," said Mr. Cobden, "that Sir

1851.] THE BAJA OF SARAWAK. 47

James Brooke has been engaged in putting down piracy for
the sake of British commerce, but, on the contrary, that he
was engaged in war with his neighbours for the purpose
of becoming possessed of their land."

Colonel Thompson said he did not believe in the exist-
ence of Dyak pirates in Borneo. " Who likes may enact St.
George, but I don't believe in the Dragon."

Mr. Gladstone separated the character and position of the
Eaja from the question of piracy and its suppression. Into
the latter he considered inquiry should be made, but ** in
the personal feeling of hostility to the character of Sir James
Brooke I do not share. I look on him with great respect as
a man of an energy truly British ; and I believe that in his
heart and intentions, however Uable he may be to errors
of judgment, he is a man of philanthropy truly Christian.
.... I cannot think an address to the Crown would be
expedient, either upon general principles, or altogether just
to Sir James Brooke."

Lord Palmerston said he had never heard a debate in
which the arguments were so entirely on one side, and he
could not but suspect that Mr. Hume himself did not feel so
confident of his position as in the previous session. He
(Lord Palmerston) had received a despatch from the Consul at
Manilla, stating that, in consequence of the recent operations
of our ships of war, joined to those of Holland and Spain,
trade was becoming secure, and piracy was at least checked.
Lord Palmerston's concluding words were — '* Well, then, I
say the whole accusations fall to the ground ; there is really
nothing to inquire into, unless it be an inquiry — which I do
not wish to pursue — into what could have been the source
whence the various and persevering and malignant persecu-
tions proceeded. I do not apply that word to any course
which has been taken in this House, but I must denounce
these charges as malignant and persevering persecutions of
an innocent man. Sir, I am convinced that this House will,
by an overwhelming majority, negative the motion of my hon-
ourable friend, and by so doing they will proclaim to the world

48 THE RAJA OF SAlllWAK. [1851.

that Sir James Brooke retires from this investigation with an
untarnished character, and with unblemished honour. And
I am persuaded that he will continue to enjoy the esteem
of his countrymen as a man who, by braving difficulties,
by facing dangers in distant climates, and in previously
imknown lands, has done much to promote the commercial
interests of his country, and to diffuse the light of civili-
zation in regions which have been before in the darkness of
barbarism."

It will be remembered that in 1844, the pirates being out
in force, Brooke had found himself obliged to wait for
Captain Keppel and the Dido, because Captain Hastings, in.
whose vessel he had returned fi'om Singapore, felt himself un-
able to take action. The robber band was gathered together
and might have been destroyed before mischief was done ; and
as, after Captain Hastings' departure, tales of pillage grew rife,
Brooke groaned over it, and through entries in his Journal, as
well as in letters, expressed sore regret that such an opportunity
should have been lost. By the publication of his Journal all
this had become known, that part not having been omitted
but added to by a letter to Captain Keppel on the subject,
also published; and popular feeling sympathized with Brooke,
and blamed Captain Hastings. Such being the case, in
February, 1851, Mr. Hume wrote to Captain Hastings that
he intended to bring before the House ** the conduct of Sir
James Brooke on the occasion of the massacre of the Dyaks
on July 81, 1849," and as Captain Hastings* conduct had
been publicly reflected on he hoped he would not object
to state the circumstances that had induced him to refuse
comphance with Sir James Brooke's request.

A short reply from Captain Hastings, stating that he had
at the time reported his reasons to the Admiralty, was
returned to Mr. Hume; while, to the Eaja he wrote in a
tone so manly and so generous, that his letter must be given
here.

1851.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 49

" Union Club, May 12, 1861.

" Dear Sir James Brooke, — I hardly know how you will
receive a letter from me, but at any rate I venture to write, as
I think it due to you, hearing you have just arrived in this
country, to send for your perusal a note I received from Mr.
Hume, upon the subject of his intended motion in the House
of Commons.

** The enclosures which he alludes to were copies of your
letters to Mr. Wise, and the late Sir Robert Peel's observation
on the subject of my refusing you assistance in the year 1844,
which, by the bye, did me some harm in the Admiralty, as
well as showing me up in Keppel's and Mundy's books ; but
of that I have long ceased to think, and only remember the
many acts of kindness and friendship which I received from
you in the East.

" I refused any information to Mr. Hume ; but if I can be
of the smallest service to you, in giving any assistance to
avert the cruel and unjust persecution which some evil-
disposed persons are waging against you, I beg you will
command the services of, my dear Sir James Brooke,

** Yours faithfully,

" Sir James Brooke, K.C.B.*' " Geo. HASTINGS.

" How should I receive a letter, and so generous a letter,
excepting with the liveliest pleasure?" the Baja replied; and,
in allusion to the publication, " I was irritated and harassed
by circumstances, and if anything I said — foolishly made
public — caused you pain, I am sincerely sorry for it, and you
have truly heaped coals of fire upon my head."

The family gathering at Lyme Eegis was prevented by the
uncertainty of the Eaja's movements. The old and obstruc-
tive Bong of Siam had died, and the British Government
were disposed to send Sir James Brooke again to that Court to
make friends with his successor, the brother before spoken of.

" It is of such importance," the Baja wrote in allusion to
this, " in a public point of view, that there ought to be no

VOL. II. E

50 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1862.

private regrets, and I shall stipulate for my return when the
mission is accomplished. I do not think it is ungrateful to
Old England, but my heart throbs with delight at the prospect
of seeing them again in the East ; the unpleasant passage is
lost sight of; and thus the ills of life should be forgotten in
the prospect of arriving at a better."

He undertook to leave England in October, and the neces-
sary vessels were under orders to convey him, when fresh
accounts from Siam, received in September, showed that
nothing would be gained by haste, for until the prolonged
funeral obsequies were performed, a new king could not attend
to other matters.

August was spent at Lackington, and October in Scotland.
He seems to have been in good health and spirits, and his
peace was not disturbed by a speech of Mr. Cobden at Bir-
mingham, reported in the Times of November 29, 1851.

"There is another thing," Mr. Cobden said, "I wish to
draw your attention to, because it is at these meetings that we
ought to endeavour to raise pubUc opinion in impending
dangers. I allude to the poUcy which this country is pursuing
in the East. (Cheers.) You heard last year a good deal
about a motion of Mr. Hume to inquire into the conduct of
Sir James Brooke, who had gone out to the Eastern Archi-
pelago as a private adventurer, had seized upon a territory as
large as Yorkshire, and then drove out the natives ; and who,
under the pretence that they were pirates, had subsequently
sent for our fleet and men to massacre them. (Cheers.) . . .
If they allowed any more mmrderous executions to be carried
on in the East — in Borneo, Siam, Japan, or elsewhere — it would
end the same way — in increased cost. . . . Yes, and let him
tell them another fact, and it was this — that the atrocities
perpetrated by Sir James Brooke in Borneo had been con-
tinually quoted in the Austrian newspapers as something
which threw into the shade the horrible atrocities of Haynau
himself."

Mr. Hume meanwhile carried on his attack through the
press, calling forth some vigorous rejoinders from the Raja ;

1862.] THE BAJA OF BARAwAK. 51

and in March, 1852, moved in the House for copies of a
correspondence between Lord Pahnerston and a Mr. Bums.
The latter wished to settle in Borneo and trade, but *' obstruc-
tions and discouragements " had been put in his way by
Sir James Brooke.*

On this occasion Mr. Henry Drummond declared it too
bad that an honourable gentleman, estieemed — as ho believed
deservedly — by his friends as a man of benevolence and
kindness, should be possessed of such a monomania as to
take a delight in blackening in that House the character of
one of the most valuable servants whom the country had ever
possessed.

" The honourable member (Mr. Hume) has written me a
private letter, begging me to take the earUest opportunity of
making an amende to Mr. William Henry Miles. My only
apology shall be a stronger assertion that the man is a
runaway convict, and perfectly worthless.

" The honourable member has not clean hands with respect
to this man Miles, for he has published in the papers read in
this House a letter from Miles, which I had shown to be a
forgery from the handwriting of that gentleman — a gentleman
I will not call him — of that man, and that he could neither

* " The fifth charge nrg^d by Mr. Hume rests on a complaint made by
Mr. Boms, of my having impeded his trading operations in the Bintnln Hiver.
Mr. Nicol (a partner in the firm of Messrs. Hamilton, Gray, & Co.), the
emplojer of Mr. Boms, has stated that 'as the speculation was a mere delusion,
he made up his mind to have nothing more to do with it,' and ' he ouiphatically
denied that I ever, to his knowledge, evinced the least jealousy of the under-
taking, or attempted to thwart it ; but, on the contrary, that I was willing to
promote it as far as lay in my power.' . . . Mr. Bums stated, in a letter to
Lord Fblmerston, Jxme, 28, 1851, ' that during my absence in England, a letter
had been sent from Sarawak, menacing the chiefs of Bvntuln, $hould they permit
a white mem to reside in their country* This letter Mr. Bums stated that ho
heard read early in the year 1848, although no complaint was made until June
1851. So important was this letter considered, that a sum of eighty i)ounds
was offered for a copy by Mr. Motley, the superintendent of the Eastern
Archipelago Company, and Mr. Bums subsequently offered money for it.
Whether they succeeded in obtaining the information which they sought must
eontinne a matter of doubt, but the truth of Mr. Bums's statement may now be
judged by the copy of the letter which has been forwarded from Sarawak.'' —
Letter from Sir James Brooke to Henry Drummond, Esq., M.F.

52 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1862.

write nor spell. Nevertheless, that false testimony the
honourable member made use of, and he has never explained
to Sir James Brooke or to the House why he has brought
it forward."

[Mr. Drummond then read an affidavit from Henry Adams,
of the Western Australian police force, dated Perth, W.A.,
October 10, 1851, which stated that W. H. Miles's real name
was Peter Loyd, that he had been imprisoned for various
thefts, was a very bad character and well known to the
police.]

'' It is upon the authority of this man that the honourable
member brings forward his charges against Sir James Brooke,
and it is this man that I am called upon, on the authority
of a respectable London merchant, to do justice to. The
respectable London merchant stands godfather to Peter Loyd,
a partner in his veracity and respectability. Will the honour-
able member be so good as to tell the House who this
respectable English merchant is ? Bespectable ! yes ; per-
haps he kept a gig ! "

Mr. Hume, in reply, said that he did not believe a word of
the affidavit. Did Mr. Drummond know that Mr. Miles had
brought an action against Sir James Brooke at Singapore ?
He would not give up the name of the London merchant.
Mr. Miles's letter was not altogether correctly spelt.

''As to Sir James Brooke, his conduct has continued as
monstrous as it began. Before any satisfaction had been
made for his previous excesses. Sir James Brooke, on the 81st
of July, had had an ambush laid for four thousand persons,
whom, in order to create a pretext for plundering, he chose
to call pirates, whereas they were not pirates nor anything of
the sort — they were Dyaks. If there are any pirates they
are Malays. Of those four thousand people, five hundred were
barbarously slaughtered, and fifteen hundred more or less
injured. For the massacre and injury of these poor people
the Government has had to pay £20,700, yet no inquiry is to
be granted into this barbarous and disgraceful outrage."

1852.] THE BAJA OF SARIwAR. 53

Here the House was counted out. Further information
confirmed the statement that Miles was identical with Peter
Sidd, of Western AustraUa. The name in Adams's affidavit
was difficult to decipher ; in the copy given to Mr. Drummond
Sidd had been written Soyd, and was read by him as Loyd.
The letter to Mr. Hume, whether written for the man, or
forged, or genuine, stands for what it is worth.

In April, 1852, an advertisement appeared in the news-
papers : —

" In order to mark the sense entertained by the mercantile
and shipping body, as well as by other members of the com-
munity, of the eminent services rendered by Sir James Brooke
to the interests of conmierce and humanity, in his endeavours
to put down the evils of piracy in the Eastern Archipelago,
and in his labours to advance the interests of civilization in
that part of this world — a pubhc dinner will be given to that
gentleman at the London Tavern, Bishopsgate Street, on
Friday, April 80th; Eobert Wigram Crawford, Esq., in the
chair.*'

After which came the names of one hundred and twenty-
four gentkman as stewards.

Two hundred met at this dinner — Members of ParUament,
Governors of the Bank of England, East India Company
directors, officers of the army and navy, barristers, clergymen,
as well as merchants and others.

The burden of the speeches was naturally sympathy with
the Raja. Perhaps the highest ground was taken by Baron

Alderson : —

" I am sorry to say that in one respect^ I differ from Sir
James Brooke and the Chairman, in that they expressed
something of regret that our distinguished guest had not the
approbation of all mankind. I do not think Sir James Brooke
would deserve it if he had it ; for I have always observed—
and I believe history will confirm me — ^that the greatest
benefactors of the human race have been most abused in their
own time, and I therefore think Sir James Brooke ought to be
congratulated because he is abused. I look to the future

54 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1852.

and not to the present, because I look to the time when he
will come out as the sun from behind the clouds. When this
takes place, his calumniators and detractors will be obscured
in the oblivion of their own insignificance. Then will come
the time when full justice will be done him. I cannot hold
out any hope to him that this will occur in his lifetime or
mine. I cannot promise to him universal approbation,
because that does not generally accompany desert; but
I think I can promise him the approbation of his own
conscience, the approbation of all good and reasonable men,
and of Almighty God, who does justice and who will re-
ward.**

Among those who heard the Baja himself speak were some
who had marked his whole career with a keen personal interest,
and to these it was a pure delight to watch him show to others
something of the power that was in him. Apart from tone,
and look, and manner, here is a portion of the speech : —

** I will not pretend, gentlemen, to that species of pride
which apes humility; I will not humble myself that you may
exalt me. I will not say that I am utterly unworthy of your
regard ; but I will venture to tell you something of my own
feelings, and something of the position I hold in the East.
Your approval of my conduct is no light condemnation of the
conduct of those who have sought by every means, fair and
unfair, to blast my reputation, even at the risk of injuring
their own; who, under the pretence of humanity, have
screened their injustice, and, on the plea of inquiry, have been
unscrupulous enough to charge murder. It is now but Kttle
more than four years since I was the idol of a spurious popu-
larity; it is more than three years that I have been the object,
but happily not the victim, of an unprecedented persecution ;
and it will afford me no Hght satisfaction if this night a fair
and moderate estimate can be formed of my motives and of
my conduct. Praise and blame have been lavished upon me
with no sparing hand. I have been accused of every crime
from murder to merchandise. I have been held up as a
prodigy of perfection, and I have been cast down as a monster

1852.] THE BAJA OF SABIWAK. 55

of iniquity. These, gentlemen, are the extremes which human
folly delights in ; these are the distortions which the tribunes
of the people represent as Bible truths to the multitude;
these the delusions which a hackneyed poUtician uses Ughtly,
to wound feelings he has long outUved, and to cast a slur
upon her Majesty's servants. The evil, I fear, is inevi-
table ; but it is no less an evil, that pubUc morals, in such
hands, should sink like water to its lowest and its dirtiest
level ; and, Mr. Chairman, you will always find some sapient
senator, when he has infringed upon public principle, and
when he has trampled upon private feeling — you will always
find one who will tell you that it is his duty as a member of
Parliament to act as a scavenger to the vices of other men.

" There are principles of justice supposed to be implanted
in the hiunan heart, and which are certainly acknowledged by
the virtuous of all nations. It is a principle of justice, that
an accusation of crime shall not be disposed of by one com-
petent tribunal and again and again prefen*ed year after year.
It is a principle of justice that suspicion is no proof of truth,
that ignorance is no ground of inquiry, and it is a principle of
justice that trivial ojQfences shall not be mixed up in the
category of deadly crimes. It is a principle of justice that
trial shall precede condemnation; and it is a commandment of
God, as well as a principle of justice, that ' Thou shalt not
bear false witness against thy neighbour.'

" These, gentlemen, are the eternal principles upon which
the foundation of society rests, and to violate them is to injure
society ; and yet, if you will weigh what has passed with those
principles, and try them by their balance, you will find that
there is one member of the House of Commons who has not
only abused his privilege as a member of ParHament, but who
has made unto himself a new law. There are principles more
important than the welfare of nations, and there are plain
rules for the guidance of mankind ; but we all know that men's
passions and men's moral obliquity cause a departure from
these grand truths. There is a duty which teaches one man
to filch his neighbour's purse — there is a duty which teaches

56 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1862.

another man to steal his neighbour's good name ; but, until
this new code of morals be established, I shall continue to call
things by their right names — I shall call persecution, per-
secution; and the persecution which has pursued me has
been as dogged and as fierce as though it had been caused by
religious hatred ; it has overleaped the barriers of testimony,
defied the voice of reason, till honest men loathe the injustice
done, and you, gentlemen, have marked your sense of prin-
ciples violated, and of feelings outraged. Had I said less
I should not have conveyed what I wish to express. I feel
that those principles cannot be lightly violated ; but for those
personally, who have honoured me by their suspicions, I wish
to dismiss them from my thoughts with the charitable con-
tempt I feel. If I have suffered — and I do not deny that I
have suffered from the machinations of my enemies — my
sufferings have been more than balanced by the devotion of
my friends, by your kindness, and by the justice rendered me
by my countrymen at large, and I think I may say, by my
countrywomen also.

** Gentlemen, I am proud to avow that the position I hold
in the East has enabled me to introduce social and political
improvements amongst the natives, and this will lead in
the fulness of time to great commercial development. I am
proud to say that I possess some power ; that power however
has been conferred upon me by the fountain-head of all
power, and it may be resumed whenever it is misused.

** I will respond to what the Chairman has said, by
declaring that I do possess an influence over the native mind,
and this influence, joined to power and knowledge, is the chief
element of future success. But this influence would never
have arisen had I been actuated by base motives of any kind ;
nor could it indeed survive a day that childlike confidence
which is the fruit of a long experience.

" Whatever may be the course of our future policy, it should
be worthy of a great nation, and it should not be dictated by
the meddling parsimony which begrudges a small outlay to
obtain great future advantages. The countries of the Archi-

1862.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 57

pelago are the fairest and richest of the world. There are
resources to employ British enterprise — there are outlets for
English commerce; and it would be lamentable -indeed if they
were lost. We have something to do and some diflSculties to
overcome before we clutch these advantages. There is an
imbecility which hopes to attain everything by doing nothing,
and which weakens every executive power in every distant
part of the empire. Borneo has not escaped this evil, but for
this country she may yet preserve that commerce, and may
develop it a hundredfold ; but, unless England is awake to its
importance, it will be closed against her enterprise. Others
will wake though England may sleep. Short of this firm
and consistent course of action, better would it be to withdraw
from the enterprise than to continue it and to attempt what
you will never carry out successfully. It is an injury to the
natives to excite false hopes that are never to be realized.
There is one page in history, and the history of this country,
which tells us of a native people in the Archipelago betrayed
by our carelessness, and British interests sacrificed to igno-
rance. One single record is sufficient on our annals, for I am
convinced that the time has now arrived that England must
maintain her position in these seas. She must suppress
piracy — she must secure stepping-stones for her infant steam
communication, which is to join her possessions in Australia
to her possessions in China — she must develop her commerce.
She must do this, or she must abandon a glorious enterprise
to another, and, when that happens, I shall say, to a greater
nation. The alternative is before us. I look forward myself
with warm hope that the nobler alternative will be chosen ; but
I do not conceal that I am not unprepared to meet the meaner
one.

" Gentlemen, I will now say that your confidence, which
the Chairman has so well expressed, will cheer me in the path
of public duty, or will solace me in the retirement of private
life, in the deep solitude of a Borneon existence. I have only
now, to implore you, not only in my own name alone, but in
the name of those who, like myself, have suffered from the

58 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1852.

license of men's tongues — I implore you not to believe what is
said of an absent man unless it be proved. Pause long, con-
sider well, before you give ear to a slander affecting a man of
integrity. Do not disgrace your public servants by inquiries
generated in the fogs of base suspicions; for, remember, a
wrong done is Uke a wound received — ^the scar is ineffaceable.
It may be covered by glittering decorations, but there it
remains to the end."

Mr. Henry Wise and his brother Directors of the Eastern
Archipelago Company found reason this summer to wish they
had left Sh: James Brooke alone. '^ Let us have a look at
their charter," he said one day to Mr. Templer ; ** don't you
think we might find a hole in their armour ?" And a hole he
discovered in the unfulfilled condition that £30,000 should be
subscribed. ** They have never subscribed iE30,000 — ^not
dG3,000 ! " he exclaimed. '* I'll vacate their charter for them ! "
And the Company found itself before long in the Court of
Queen's Bench with a charter vacated for breach of condition,
a decision that was subsequently confirmed in the Exchequer
Chamber by a majority of seven judges to one.

The Kaja was the principal witness against the Company.
He gave his evidence with great clearness and a marked
quietness of manner, and they did not attempt to cross-
examine him.

Mr. Sidney Herbert was not satisfied with the answer he
had received to his question touching Sir James Brooke's
mercantile transactions, and in June, on the occasion of the
Labuan estimates coming before the House, he again brought
forward the subject. The hour was too late to admit of more
than a very brief reply, and^Jjg^aia took the matter into his
own hands and wrote flruiia,jj2^ to Mr. Sidney Herbert,
asking him ** in all courtesy, and as an act of justice," to
state on what he based his assertion that he (the Baja) was
engaged in "mercantile speculations; " then, very patiently,
as though not weary, as he must needs have been of the oft-
repeated charge — ^he goes into the whole matter of the
Sarawak revenue, how derived and how administered, and

1862.] THE BAJA OP SABAwAK. 59

concludes with — ** It must be with you, Sir, to show how a
public revenue, reaJized as I have described, and applied to
public purposes, can be termed a ' mercantile speculation ' in
which I am personally engaged.*'

In reply (June 24th) Mr. Sidney Herbert explained that
the question he had raised was this — " Whether your engage-
ments and interests at Sarawak are of a nature to justify your
appointment as Governor of Labuan; and whether your
selection for that office is conformable with the principles
which are understood to regulate the choice of civil servants
of the Crown in our colonial possessions? I must confess
that your letter has by no means tended to satisfy me on that
point. I understand that the occurrences in Borneo and
Labuan will shortly be the subject of an investigation, in
which the particular point to which I have referred would
necessarily be included. Under these circumstances I am
sure you will feel that I should not be justified in entering
into any correspondence on the subject.**

"It would have afforded me satisfaction," returned the
Raja, " had you either denied the charge which you have not
supported, or supported the charge which you have not
denied. I am sorry that this point still continues in some
degree of obscurity. The question which you acquaint mo
you raised in the House of Commons, was entirely different
from the statement you are reported to have made ; and as
you appear averse either distinctly to affirm, or distinctly to
deny, this statement, I will not press the subject further.

" Whether, as you state, my engagements and interests at
Sarawak are of a nature to justify my appointment as
Governor of Labuan, and whether my selection for that office
be conformable with the principles which are understood to
regulate the choice of civil servants of the Crown in our
colonial possessions, I leave you, sir, and others whose duty
it may be, to discuss and decide ; but it is certain that the
position I occupied was known previously to the year 1847,
and since that year it has remained unchanged.

"In 1846, although cognizant of the circumstances, the

60 THE RAJA OF SARIwAK. [1862.

Government of the late Sir Kobert Peel, of which you were a
member, conferred upon me a public oflSce. In 1848 her
Majesty's late Ministers not only selected me for the appoint-
ment of Governor of Labuan, but they thanked me for the
services I had rendered, and placed on record that my
position at Sarawak was advantageous to the interests of this
nation ; and now, should her Majesty's present Government
think fit to reverse the policy or the appointment of their
predecessors, it may be done without diflSculty, and without
acrimonious feelings being excited on a public question.

" I hold my appointments for the public good, and only so
long as I possess the confidence of the Queen's Government
and of the country ; and you may rest assured that, so long as
I continue in office, I shall never shrink from the responsi-
bilities of a stem duty, whether it be to punish a pirate or
expose a fraud.

" I shall await with calmness the investigation which you
inform me is about to take place. I was previously as
ignorant of the fact as I still am — though a party somewhat
interested — of its nature and object ; but I shall offer no
objection to it should it be consistent with the principles of
justice and the dictates of honour ; but you must permit me
to add that the revival year after year, under imaltered cir-
cumstances, of the same charges, is as little in accordance
with right principle as it is with the English character."

In a second letter (Wilton House, July 1st) Mr. Sidney
Herbert wrote^ — " I wish that there should be no misunder-
standing as to the observations made by me in the House of
Commons. I have stated in my previous letter what was the
question which I raised as to your position in Borneo. In
raising that question, I stated that the perusal of public docu-
ments left an impression on my mind that you were engaged
in trading at Sarawak, and I appealed to the Government to
institute an inquiry into the matter, as such an engagement
on your part could not be otherwise than prejudicial to the
interests of the Crown at Labuan. Your letters to me have
strengthened this impression. I beg, therefore, to decline any

1852.] THE RAJA OP SABIwAK. 61

further controversy on a matter which will again be a subject
of discussion in Parliament, and where it will be my duty to
show the grounds on which my opinion rests."

"I must remind you," Brooke wrote in answer, "that
when stopped by Sir John Pakington you were supporting
your allegations from a private paper, and not from a public
document. . . . The question has been repeatedly discussed
during the last three years ; and having been before one Com-
mittee of the late House of Commons, it appears from your
letters that it is again to be discussed and referred anew to a
committee of the Parliament not yet elected. The Parliament
will doubtless require at your hands such grounds in support
of your opinion as will warrant a new inquiry, and clearly
mark the distinction between justice and persecution."

On the Ist of July Parliament was dissolved, and the
country entered upon the business of a general election.

** After the elections, I shall seek a final explanation with
the Government," the Eaja wrote, July 3rd. ** If I possess
their confidence, and an efficient course of action promising
good results is entered on, I will continue in the public
service ; if not, I shall seek that repose and that independ-
ence which I prize above ambition, and above silver and
gold."

" August 14f A. — I have had several interviews with Minis-
ters, but as yet there has been no result. They were all very
polite, I may say kind, and appear to enter into my views ;
but the groundwork of my position was, that they might avail
themselves of my services if they chose; and if not, that I
would be obliged to them to make up their minds, and let me
take an independent course. If employed, I insisted on confi-
dence and efficiency — reality and not pretence — and a remedy
for the anomalous position in which I was placed by being
Consul-General, with plenipotentiary powers, etc., etc. They
will soon give me an answer, and I will let you [Mr. Coxe]
know what it is. At the same time I offered, for the good of
the public service, and to set the question at rest, to submit to

62 THE BAJA OF SAEIwAK. [1862.

a Committee of the House of Commons. This Ministers will
likewise consider."

While Ministers were considering, Brooke went to Scot-
land, accompanied by Mr. Templer, whose five children were
besought by the Baja each to '' take a basin of gruel, and go
quietly to bed for a whole month, and be quiet until mamma
comes back." But this " nice plan " not finding favour, the
mother stayed at home.

The appointment of Consul-General had never appeared to
the Baja compatible with his position in Sarawak, and he
continued to hold it only because the higher oflSce of Governor
of Labuan was added. He was much pleased, therefore, and
cheered by finding in the autumn that the Government was
meditating the creation of a diplomatic appointment that
would give him substantial power in the Eastern Archipelago.
This is referred to in a letter to his friend, Mr. W. H. Bead,
of Singapore, written from Manchester on his retium from
Scotland.

" October 20, 1852. — I write to thank you for your kind
letter, and to tell you that affairs here go on flourishingly and
quite to my satisfaction. I am anxious to return, but Govern-
ment is a ponderous machine, and I must wait its pleasure,
and am working hard to place our poUcy in ihe Archipelago
upon such a basis as to prevent any future obstruction arising
from the maUce or spleen of individuals ; this I believe I shall
effect, even so far as regards the suppression of piracy. You
are quite safe to win your bet upon my coming out again in
the public service. Wise's petty malice goes for little, but I
suppose it is pleasing to him and those with whom he corres-
ponds to hope for my ruin, which they have failed to effect.
I should be sorry indeed to feel like them, but if they will lose
bets it is your business to win them, and my pleasure to hear of
it. The truth is, that there has never been a misunderstanding
between the Government, past or present, and myself, and
the only consideration has been the best mode of carrying out
our measures in future. I want to change the naval arrange-
ments, and to put in command of a permanent squadron

1852.] THE RAJA OF SABIwAK. 63

of supervision, consisting of small steamers, and leaving the
heavy work as it may arise for the Admiral, with such a force
as would overwhelm resistance and prevent it. This is a
secret, and my own position too, but it will be political, and
more pleasing to me than any former one."

But Retrenchment was the cry of the hour; and on
November 9th Sir John Pakington wrote to inform the Baja
that the civil establishment at Labuan was to be reduced, and
that, on the score of economy alone, and without any forget-
fulness of his past services, he would be relieved from his offico
of Governor from the end of the year.

** I have been much troubled," the Raja writes (December
27th), "by the ceaseless fluctuations of the poUtical world,
which reflect their uncertainty on me. I am now all abroad
as to my future course ; but I day by day gain the experience
required, and learn how little dependence can be placed on
the English Government or on EngUsh poUtics. I shall not,
therefore, regret parting company on my own account, or on
account of Sarawak, but at seeing a rational and noble policy
thrown away amid the contentions of faction and popular
institutions."

What might have been the ultimate intention of the Con-
servative Government did not appear, for in December they
were out of office, and the newspapers of January 1, 1853,
contained the names of the Coalition Ministry that came in
under Lord Aberdeen.

64 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1853.

CHAPTER XXI-

1853.

A CERTAIN document purporting to be a complaint on the
part of the Sultan of Brune of Sir James Brooke had
reached Mr. Hume, and been brought by him to Lord Derby's
notice early in 1852. It proved to be the combined
work of two Englishmen, one of whom, the Mr. Bums before
mentioned, having done his part, had left Brune on a trading
expedition and been killed by pirates in Malludu Bay. Among
his effects recovered were a few pages from his journal, which
came at length into the Baja's hand&, and led to his writing
to Brune on the subject of the memorial. In October, 1852,
the reply to this letter had arrived. The old Sultan was dead,
but Pangeran Mumim and all the Brune princes disowned the
document* as a fabrication, got up for the purpose of
injuring the Baja, and got up by Enghshmen who had in
vain tried to persuade them to complain to the Queen of
England against him.

No reply, explanation, or information appeared to affect
Mr. Hume, who continued his attacks after the change of
Ministry as before, and Brooke made allowance for him on
account of the "pertinacity of will" which seemed to him
more the misfortune than the fault of advanced age. "I
bear him no ill-will,'' he said, " and as all that he has said

• It does not necessarilj follow that the Saltan, Omar Ali, was not impli-
cated. His oharacter and semi-imbeoility have boon shown. Sabseqnent eyents
proved bejond all doabt that the letter from Pangeran Mnmim, who sncceedod
as Saltan, expressed the deliberate mind of the Bran^ Grovemmcnt.

1863.] THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. 65

or done has never influenced my past conduct, so all that he
may say or may do will not affect my future course. At
the extreme verge of man's life he may feel the hittemess
of vain strife, and wake to the sense that in striving to injure
me he has injured the natives of Borneo."

Letters condemnatory of Sir James Brooke were addressed
by Mr. Hume to the various heads of departments under
Government, and then moved for by himself in the House.

As a rule no opposition was offered, and, without apparent
examination of what the letters might contain, libel after libel
was printed at the public cost. His next step was to circulate,
privately, a pamphlet summing up all his charges, a copy of
which coming into the Kaja's hands, he took counsels' opinion
on the propriety of a prosecution for libel, with the following
result : —

" We are of opinion that Sir James Brooke ought not to
take legal proceedings against Mr. Hume for the Hbellous
matter contained in the pamphlet laid before us.

" The charges contained in that pamphlet are only repeti-
tions of others long since made and fully answered.

"We cannot advise Sir James Brooke to embark in an
enormously expensive litigation for the purpose of repelling
imputations which no one but the writer of the pamphlet is
likely to believe,

"(Signed) Fred. Thesiger,

Hugh Hill,
Jas. S. Willes."

The Raja did not therefore prosecute, but, in four letters
addressed to Mr. Drummond, which were published, he met
each charge, in the hope, as he said, that "present labour
might tend to future ease." Of these letters, one has been
already quoted. The last conclu3es with — " The peace, the
progress, the prosperity of Sarawak, are the best assurances
of what may be done on that coast by a just maintenance of
power combined with a kindly influence over the native mind.

VOL. u. F

66 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1853.

I have desired to reconcile the progress of good gOYemment
among the natives with the advancement of the commerce of
England. I still desire to serve my country with honour to
myself and usefulness to her, and it is only when this can no
longer be done that I shall assert the independence I feel, and
which I prize above all other earthly distinctions. ... It is
with pleasure, mixed, indeed, with some regret, that I shall
leave this country [England] ; whether in public or private
life I can find a home where I am respected and beloved ; and
whatever may be the course of events, whatever the progress
of time may bring me of evil or of good, I can calmly appeal
from the present to the future, and from the judgment of man
to the justice of his Maker.*'

The new Cabinet, of which Lord Aberdeen was the head,
was composed almost entirely of men who had held office
under Sir Kobert Peel, from 1841 to 1846, or Lord John
Eussell, from 1846 to 1862. These were the years of Sir
James Brooke's work in Borneo. He became Raja of Sara-
wak in 1841, since which date he had kept the Government,
indirectly and directly, informed of all his proceedings and
of the condition of the Eastern Archipelago. Sir Edward
Belcher, and subsequently Captain Bethune, were sent out in
consequence, the Eoyal Navy was ordered to take its share
in this new work, and its officers were promoted after every
engagement. At first cautiously, afterwards with decreasing
caution, and in 1847 with such enthusiasm as governments
may show, they had listened, inspected, and encouraged.

Hence, though the change of Administration was disap-
pointing to the Eaja, because taking place at a time when a
position that might have satisfied his greatest hopes seemed
oflFering, there was nothing to lead him to anticipate a
reversal of previous policy. The only difference lay in the
influence of the Free Trade party, the full power of which had
yet to be experienced.

In a personal interview with Lord John Eussell, who had
taken office as Secretary for Foreign Affairs (succeeded almost
immediately by the Earl of Clarendon), the Eaja expressed, as

1853.] THE RAJA OF SARItVAK. 67

he had previously expressed to Lord Malmesbury, his wish
to be free of the anomaly of his appointments, and in a semi-
official letter repeated this desire, or rather intention. He
was then on the eve of return to Sarawak.

A letter to Mr. John Longe was also written in the turmoil
of preparation for this departure.

^' Lackington, March 24, 1853. — I thank you for the
suggestion about the Valpeian prize. I have been keeping it
in mind since Dr. Vincent hinted it to me, and I should like
to carry it out much, but for several reasons I wish to delay
the consideration of the subject. 1. I am poor at present,
and hampered with two lawsuits and a political persecution,
which run away with a lot of money. 2. Such a thing, if
done, should be done really well, and we might aim higher
than a few books, or such small game. 3. I am so pressed
with business that I have no leisure to attend to anything.
Now, by getting back to Sarawak quietly I can give more
attention to the matter, and in all human probability my
affairs will mend. I recommend, therefore, that Dr. Vincent
Bhould not decide on any definite plan on a small scale, but
that we contribute on the understanding that we will do more,
if we can, at a future time ; and thus the smaller object may
be ensured, at any rate, and we may develop the larger one.
A scholarship of £25 to dE60 a year would be worth all the
small prizes, and would be honourable to the school, past and
present — be a just tribute to our respected old master, and
would advantage the school and the boys. This would be
worth waiting for, even to the death of the present old hoys,
and many — the subject being mooted — would leave legacies
where they could not give funds. Do you think it worth while
to do this ? As a beginning I would send you a cheque for £20,
Uttle enough, but as much as such a poor devil as I can spare.
I shall not see you again during my present stay in England,
for on the 4th of next month I depart this English life, leaving
Southampton in the good steamer Bengal. I am all at sixes
and sevens with our Government; being far too resolute to

68 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1853.

suit them, whilst they are too expedient to suit me. My way,
however, is very clear. I care nothing for Governments, nor
for anything they can give me; and I have a well-defined
sphere of duty which I must perform to the best of my ability,
and if I fail the fault is not mine. Say all that is kind to our
old schoolfellows at the annual meetings, and believe me your
sincere friend and schooHellow — J. Brooke."

On the 15th March, Lord John Kussell, in reply to a ques-
tion from Mr. Hume, had said that the Government did not
intend to institute any inquiry previous to Sir James Brooke's
departure, an announcement received with most significant
cheers from both sides of the House. But ten days before
the Baja was to sail, the almost incredible information that
an inquiry was all the time determined on, reached him
through a private channel; and on March 80th he received
the following letter from Lord Wodehouse : —

" I am directed by the Earl of Clarendon to inform you
that her Majesty's Government consider it expedient that, after
your return to Borneo, an inquiry should be instituted, under
direction of the Governor-G^eneral of India, into the functions
you discharge, your relations with the native chiefs, and
generally your position in that island ; and Lord Clarendon
trusts that, after the numerous discussions which have taken
place, and the conflicting opinions which have been entertained
upon these matters, such an inquiry, conducted by impartial
persons, will prove satisfactory to all parties."

To this Brooke replied : —

" My Lord, — I have the honour to acknowledge your Lord-
ship's commimication of yesterday ; and as I am to see the Earl
of Clarendon, I shall be enabled to request from his Lordship
some explanations on the nature and scope of the proposed
inquiry. I have, etc."

The result of the interview which followed and of others
is partly shown in a letter to Lord Clarendon, written from
Southampton, April 4th : —

" My Lord,— I readily accede to the wish expressed by

1853.] THE BAJA OF SABIwAK. 69

her Majesty's Ministers to issue a Commission of Inquiry, for
the purpose of investigating my position with the island of
Borneo, I retain the appointments I hold in the public service
because the Earl of Aberdeen considers it proper that I should
do so. I place implicit confidence in the Marquis of Dalhousie
(Governor-General of India), and entertain no doubt that he
will select gentlemen and statesmen of enlarged minds and
high principles to discharge the duty imposed upon them with
credit to themselves and without dishonour to me. The
magnitude of the interests involved renders it imperative that
a clear and unmistakable understanding should be arrived at
on the nature and scope of the proposed inquiry.

" I assume that it is the desire of her Majesty's Government,
as it is my own intention, to make this inquiry fair, full, and
complete. To issue a Commission empowered to collect
evidence only within the British dominions, would not only
render the inquiry nugatory, but would be a direct evasion
of justice.

"It will be necessary, therefore, that the Commission
Bhould be extended to Sarawak, as the spot where the events
to be inquired into occurred, and equally necessary that it
should embrace Singapore and Labuan. Her Majesty's
Government and myself entirely accord in opinion that the
investigation should now proceed, and I do no more than
place on record the propositions which I submitted from my
memoranda, and which I understood were assented to by the
Earl of Aberdeen and by your lordship.

" 1st. That the Commission in Sarawak should be of a
permissive character.

"2nd. That no infringement is to take place of the in-
dependence or rights of the Government or people of Sarawak,
and that the Commissioners be instructed to respect those
rights, and in no manner, whether by their acts or by their
conduct, to derogate from the constituted authorities in that
country. On my part, I promise every facility and protection
to enable the Commissioners to discharge the duties entrusted
to them. The objects of the inquiry, as stated in Lord Wode-

70 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1853.

house's despatch, and as arranged on the basis of the memo-
randa submitted by me, are to be : —

" 1st. The functions I discharge under her Majesty's
Government.

" 2nd. My relations with the native chiefs ; i.e., whether
Buch relations are advantageous or injurious to this country ;
and —

"8rd. Whether my position generally in the island of
Borneo is, or is not, for the advancement of the highest
interests of mankind, and of the political and commercial
importance of England in those seas.

" The formal duties of the Commission are, as I under-
stand, to be Umited to these important and practical subjects;
and that the Commissioners are further to be empowered to
take into consideration such other matters as I shall lay
before them. I pledge myself to your lordship and to my
country to submit to the Commission evary charge of a public
or derogatory nature which has ever been advanced against
myself or the officers of the naval service ; my conduct, my
motives, my measures ; the character of the native popula-
tion ; the question of piracy, of intertribal war ; the acts of
the Sarawak Government ; the administration of justice and
of revenue ; the political relations, feelings, and condition of
the various commimities of the coast in relation to England,
to Brune, and to Sarawak ; and any other topics which I can
think of or which the Commissioners can suggest, shall be
strictly investigated. I solemnly pledge myself to drag the
whole truth into Ught, without reference to my own feelings
or to the injuries which "have been heaped upon me. I could
not, were I so inclined, be made answerable for the mode in
which the measures I recommended were carried into effect,
but I willingly take upon myself the entire responsibiUty of
those measures, whether in conception or execution ; and
should any defence of their conduct be needed, the officers of
her Majesty's navy — with whom I am proud to have acted —
will, I feel certain, entrust their honour to my keeping.

*' Your lordship has assured me that it is not the ieiax^ V

1853.] THE RAJA OF SAKIwAK. 71

her Majesty's Government to lower my position in the estima-
tion of the native population, and I therefore request that a
small steamer be placed at my disposal during the progress of
the inquiry ; as, heretofore, this has been the ordinary mode
of communication with the different rivers on the coast, and
will be indispensable to convey witnesses. As an act of
justice, I further request the privilege of being present in
person or by proxy during the investigation, the right of cross-
examination, and of obtaining evidence necessary to establish
the truth, without expense and without delay. When the
inquiry shall have terminated, it will rest with her Majesty's
Government consistently to establish a systematic course of
measures, founded on enlarged and more accurate views of
the national position and poHcy, or fairly to abandon the
field, and thus to leave the natives to their own resomxes.

" I do not venture to express an opinion on the course
pursued by her Majesty's Government ; and, in conclusion, I
have only to assure your lordship that under any circum-
stances I shall not forget the duty I owe to the people who
have entrusted their Government to my hands, to my country,
or to myself. It is with sorrow, unmixed with anger, that I
leave the world to judge the services I have rendered and the
treatment I have received. — J. Brooke."

Another letter earnestly entreated for some measure of
protection to native traders until the future policy could
be definitely settled, for his own hands would be tied pend-
ing the Commission of Inquiiy, and the confidence engendered
by past measures of the British Government become a cause
of peril. " It would be indeed sad," he wrote, '' if the Sarebus
and Sakarrans should demonstrate their piratical character by
shedding the blood of the inhabitants who repose on the faith
of the measures pursued by this country. The Commission
should now commence its duties without delay, in justice to
the natives and to myself, so that life and property and trade
be not perilled by uncertainty and procrastination. I am
convinced that it is my duty, under the circumstances that I

72 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1853.

\

have detailed, to waive every personal consideration and to
further the Commission, without insisting on any of the pro-
positions I have mentioned excepting such as are essentially
requisite for attaining the ends of justice."

The expediency of inquiry had been three times, under
different forms, pushed to a division in the House of Commons,
and three times denied — in May, 1850, by 145 to 20 ; in July,
1860, by 169 to 29 ; and in July, 1851, by 230 to 19.

How the newly elected House would have regarded the
matter it had no full opportunity of showing. A notice of
motion from Mr. Hume * stood for *' after Easter," but before
Easter he was able to write to the Editor of the Straits Times
(Mr. Woods) that the Earl of Aberdeen, having ioformed him
that he had determined on an inquiry, " I have concurred in
the proposed proceedings, and shall withdraw the notice that
stands before the House of Commons, and hereby leave the
whole in the hands of the Government."

The inquiry was found to have been decided on fully three
weeks before the Kaja became acquainted with the intention of
the Government, and to many it seemed that the concealment
was designed to last until he had left England. Self-con-
trolled as are his parting letters, no words can express the
wounded feeling created by what appeared the treacherous
act of men who had given him a right to look to them for
justification and support. The trouble, the worry, the time
and strength needlessly spent ; the certainty of enemies
hitherto beaten at every point considering that the hour of
their triumph ; of every slanderous paper which had hounded
on the attack glorying in what they would assuredly affirm to
be his disgrace; of the country, seeing the Government set

* " Mr. Hume. — That it is the opinion of this Honse that an immediate
inquiry should be instituted into the grave charges, now npon the table of the
Honse, against Sir James Brooke ; and that it is the imperative dnty of her
Hajesty*s Goyemment to make the said inquiry fnll, searching, and effectual,
for the good of the public service and the maintenance of national honour. —
(After Easter.) "

The opinion of three eminent Queen's (counsel on these "grave charges'*
has been stated.

1853.] THE BAJA OF SARIwAK. 73

itself in opposition to the House of Commons, w^ell-nigh neces-
sarily gi\TJig them credit for private information of a nature to
justify such a course — all this was as nothing to the sense of
betrayal. Of the result of the Commission he never doubted :
expenses he might get repaid, but the old feeling, the old
hope, could never come back. " Ambition has been dead in
me since 1853," he said, many'years afterwards.

The worst, however, was not yet come, for as the steamer
Bengal bore him from Southampton he had the hope that the
Commission would be issued at once, and not only the hope
but, as he believed, the assurance, that the inquiry would be
full and fair.

A few days after sailing, when his mind had had time
somewhat to recover, he wrote to Mr. Templer —

" As for the proposed inquiry, I can see nothing but good
that can result, provided that it be fair, and that the Govern-
ment has no evil design. I write with difficulty ; I am not
troubled about myself, but my moral perceptions have been
much shocked by the course pursued. I am much better in
health ; the excitement of the last week has passed away, and
has not left any remarkable depression. Man and man's
judgment is but a little thing, and a struggle against evil,
though it be noble, is very disagreeable. It fortifies the
character, however, and, if rightly used, imparts a degree of
charitable feeling which we too much require."

The climate of the Eed Sea was at first very pleasant, and
as he sat on deck rejoicing in the sunshine, and looking
forward to the pleasure of meeting at Aden his dearly loved
niece, Mrs. Nicholetts, he tried hard, and with some measure
of success, to forget his troubles or to take them calmly.

" I see my way very clearly," he WTites, " and at a dis-
tance from England I have a cool and steady judgment ; and
I shall not come to any hasty resolution ; but I shall proceed
to Brune as soon as possible after my arrival, and in some
degree be guided by the result of my measures there. I hold
myself now to be quite clear of the public service of England,
and as holding my appointment solely for the convenience of

74 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1853.

Government. I cannot see on what basis I could in future
serve unless my position was defined, and some assui'ance
given, to restore the confidence which at present is wanting.

''April 26th, off Aden. — The heat has been considerable,
but very bearable. My poop cabin I find comfortable, and
I often long to have you here with me for a few weeks : you
would enjoy it so much. Hannah [Mrs. Templer] may frown
if she pleases, but she herself, spite of her dislike to foreign
lands and her clinging to her dear old dingy, cloudy England,
would be pleased to see from afar oflf the sites of Israel's
wanderings — Horeb and Sinai and the desert of Sin. I
wonder if this wUdemess of Sin is an allegorical or a real
place. Bad as the reality may be, how much worse that
flowery wilderness where we pluck the fruit of Eden (or Aden)
amid soft music and sweet sounds ; or where the arid rocks
of hatred, malice, and uncharitableness look black in the
wilderness of life ! However, we must flounder through the
desert before we arrive at the land of promise, and if we find
a shady nook by the way, we must in our allegory compare it
to a good wife, merry children, and warm friendship.

"Do not be afraid, my friend, to act, for really after two
years* daily discussion we have not yet disagreed on a single
course of action. Be bold — for that is the temper of my
mind, and if I am cautious it is only to help me to strike the
harder."

The few hours' stay at Aden were brightened by the
presence of Mr. and Mrs. Nicholetts, but a letter from Capt.
Brooke received there gave the Eaja some uneasiness. A
powerful Sakarran chief named Eentap was in ai-ms, and, while
endeavouring to force his way to the sea, had been opposed
by another chief named Gasin and by Mr. Brereton and Mr.
Lee. Above this fort, on the Sakan-an river, was a small
stockade, manned by Mr. Brereton's Dyaks, and this the
enemy had attacked. On its gun, however, being fired they
retreated, apparently in confusion, pursued by the two English-
men and their followers. No dream, or note of bird, nothing
comprehensible to Dyak inteUigence, had shoA^-n these the need

1853.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 75

of caution, and as, careless of danger, they were following what
appeared a routed enemy, they found themselves, on turning
a point, unexpectedly in face of an overwhelming force of
Eentap's people in heavy boats, bearing down on them with a
strong ebb tide. Mr. Brereton*s boat, with many more, was
swamped, he, by the help of some Malays, gaining the bank.
Mr. Lee had pushed boldly on in spite of the entreaties of
all his crew, till, his boat being boarded by the enemy, he
was cut down, and fell sword in hand into the water and
sank.

At Singapore, which the Eaja reached on the 14th May,
he found later intelligence.

*' I had a long letter from Brereton, dated April 26th,
downcast by Lee's death and his first reverse, but written in
an admirable spirit, and begging me not to judge his conduct
or policy by recent events or rumour. I gather from his letter
that the mass of the Dyak population are in his favour, and
sincerely desirous of abandoning piracy; and our friend
Gasin, without even mentioning to Brereton his intentions,
walked away into Bentap*s country and destroyed twenty
villages. Now that we have begun in earnest, you will see
that we will humble these pirates by a course of strong-
handed measures. I may not be a clear-sighted statesman,
but I will cut any man's throat that asserts that I am not
a general! You know how tender I have been in avoiding
occasion of raising up internal strife among these communities,
and this evil has been brought about by the Enghsh Govern-
ment. There need, however, be no complaint where there is no
redress required. I shall devote myself with a single heart
and mind to the suppression of this piracy and the protection
of Sar&wak ; I know that the energies and the heart of every
good man, woman, and child will be with me, and I shall not
be misled again by lukewarm politicians.

"Brooke was out with his fleet in the hope of intercepting
forty pirate prahus, who have proceeded to Sambas, in the
prosecution of their intertribal war against the Netherlands,
to ravage the coast of Sambas. I hope he may make mince-

76 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1853.

meat of them. I shall take no assistance from the navy till
orders from home send them to me. Brooke sent over my
servant and Charley Grant to meet us, and we are now dying
to get over to them all. I feel as though I shall be happier
on my return to Sarawak than I have been for years. Brooke
will join you when the one hundred years' war is over ! — say
next year."

The last extract is from a letter to Mrs. Johnson. It con-
tains, as usual, affectionate messages to each member of the
home circle. In one (of a much later date) he says, ** I do not
care a fig for what comes to myself. * Don't care ' came to the
gallows, as grandmamma used to say, but I am just as
naughty now as then, and don't care. I do care, dearest,
about your children."

Amongst the family circle at Lackington there was one
daughter whose health was a cause of constant anxiety, and
she is continually mentioned. The Kaja's last act when coming
out in the Meander in 1848 had been to send her a valentine
from Ireland, and whether she received it and guessed the
sender was specially inquired. An expression in a letter now
drew from him, "Tell her that I never was angry with her
in all my life, so she must not do me injustice even in her
dreams."

The small but clamorous party of the Kaja's opposers in
Singapore testified in every way its unmeasured satisfaction
and sense of victory. Mr. Hume's letter to Mr. Woods
appeared in the Straits Times with an appropriate article. It
was no longer the Government of Labuan that had returned,
no longer "His Excellency" — "the nature and value of the
credentials with which he again appears among us will be
best known by the official correspondence we give below."
There was a great show of getting up evidence that should
utterly crush the Kaja, while, on the other hand, those who
had throughout supported him felt mingled disgust at the con-
duct of the Government in, as it appeared to them, truckling to
a petty faction, and satisfaction in the anticipation of victory ;
for none doubted either of a clear and honourable acquittal, or

1853.] THE RAJA OF SARIW-cVK. 77

that, as a matter of course, this would lead to his position beGom*
ing infinitely better than before. The excitement in the island
during the years 1850 to 1854 was intense ; everything was
Brooke or anti-Brooke. The papers teemed with letters and
articles; the Free Press upholding him, the Straits Times
denouncing him. His name was like a shell thrown on any
dinner-table, and questions in the Chamber of Commerce were
decided by Brooke or anti-Brooke majorities.

The news of the inquiry being granted naturally intensi-
fied this excitement, and the Baja wrote to Lord Clarendon,
protesting against the Commission, under the circumstances,
being held there, and at the same time claiming payment of
all expenses, legal or personal, which the inquiry might entail ;
adding in a later letter that, although he claimed this, he would
not let any pecuniary considerations delay the inquiry.

May 24th, before leaving for Sarawak, he wrote — '*I
know nothing of the Commission, as it puts me in a fever
of indignation; for though reason comes out in the market-
place and convinces me that it is the best thing that can happen
for myself, and perhaps for the poor people, yet men are
blessed or cursed with feelings and passions, and an injustice
is hard to bear and hard to forgive, particularly when it is
accompanied by every circumstance of concealment and of
needless disgrace and pain — disgrace, so far as the opinion
of the world can inflict it."

A small merchant vessel took him on to what seemed now
his only home. He was sick at heart and ill in health, and
when within sight of the mountains of Sarawak, and of the
fleet of boats that came out to give him joyous welcome
back, an attack of illness set in which proved to be small-
pox. His first care after landing was to insist on every one
who had not had the disease keeping out of his room, and
then to put himself in the hands of an Arab, named Sheriff
Moksain, who practised the native treatment.

Mr. McDougall was in England and no European doctor
at the time in Sarawak. Sheriff Moksain, the faithful Inchi
Subu, and three Malays, devoted themselves to the Baja, while

78 THE EAJA OF SARAWAK. [1853.

to the skill and care of Mr. Arthur Crookshank he himself
always felt his recovery to be mainly due.

One more there was who did all in his power, the Eev.
A. Horsburgh, now chaplain on the Bengal Establishment at
Delhi, then a missionary in Sarawak. The following account
is kindly supplied by him : —

'* Having heard that the Raja would not allow any of his
relations to attend upon him from fear of their taking the
disease, I wrote to Captain Brooke and oflfered to nurse him.
Captain Brooke at first thought I had better not, as I might
introduce the disease into the mission school ; but early next
morning I received a note from him asking me to go over and
see the Baja. I found him in -the height of the disease, and
I need not describe the unsightly appearance, but at the same
time I could not help being struck with the sharpness of his
clear blue eye. The fever was very high, his mind was so
continually wandering* that it was difficult to make him
understand anything ; yet he could generally be recalled to a
subject by a direct address, and he could then express himself
clearly upon it. As I entered the room he saw me and called
out, * Don't come here ! Have you had small-pox ? * I was
beginning to explain that I believed I had, and that I had
often attended patients ; but, not understanding me, he called
out, ' What, what ? Have you had it — ^have you had it ? ' to
which I bluntly answered ' Yes.' I told Captain Brooke after
leaving the room that I thought the Eaja very ill, but that
I had seen people as ill recover.

''The next morning I got another note from him, asking me
to come over and nurse the Eaja. Sheriff Moksain had said
that he was dying, and suggested that it should be given out
that he had gone back to Singapore, that so the change of
Government to Captain Brooke might take place without any
disturbance. This, however, I did not then know.

" I had been reading in some medical publications that it

• "In my delirium I was fighting as usnal, not against Dyaks but by the
ride of Simon de Montford at the battle of Evesham, and tore my cheeks which
I considered the battle-field."— i««er io Mr, W. H Read,

1853.] THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. 79

was now the custom to treat fevers with wine and brandy, and
I explained to Captain Brooke what I thought, and shewed
him the authorities on which I formed my opinion, for Mr.
McDougall, who was then in England, had a medical Ubrary
which we missionaries all studied. I accordingly proposed
that he should have some brandy, and. Captain Brooke assent-
ing, I mixed some with water, and put in some things to make
it taste like medicine, and brought it to him. He resolutely
refused to take or even to look at it. Captain Brooke, Mr.
Crookshank, and, I think, the present Raja, were in the room.
'For God's sake, Raja,* said Captain Brooke, 'do take it,' and
he pleaded earnestly that he should. He at last was so far
moved as to ask what it was, so I told him there was quinine
in it. 'Anything else?' 'Tine. Cardamoms.' 'Anything
else?' I fenced with the brandy as long as possible, but
before his eager and half-angry questioning I was obUged
at last to confess it. This was enough, he turned his face
to the ceiling, held up his hands, and exclaimed, 'Who
ever heard of brandy in small-pox ! ' Abashed and dis-
appointed as I was, and deeply anxious both at my own
responsibility and at his evident danger, I could not help
feeUng the thoroughly ludicrous nature of the scene, and had
to turn my back to conceal a silent laugh ; but I saw plainly
that there was nothing more to be done, at least, at
present, on this side of the question. The gentlemen then
left the room and I remained alone with the servants, but as I
saw he did not take kindly to me, I kept pretty much out of
sight, merely coming forward and showing myself when he
wanted anything. In the afternoon he seemed to be getting
weaker, and I made up a stimulating prescription, which was
given in one of the medical books, told Captain Brooke of it,
and begged him to use his influence to get the Raja to take it.
At Captain Brooke's entreaty he took it, and it soothed him
and gave him a little rest. At midnight Sheriff Moksaiu
thought him dying, and urged me to tell Captain Brooke
BO ; it seemed to me that he was going on well, but I went
with Sheriff Moksain to the Captain's room. He told me after-

80 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1853.

wards, that when he heard our knock he thought all Was over.
I told him that I myself thought he would live through the
night, and that there was still a hope of recoveiy. This seemed
to give Captain Brooke some comfort, and my prognostication
was right. I continued to give the Raja food and stimulants,
but he did not Hke my pressing the medicine on him, and from
the hands of Mr. Crookshank especially he would take what
he would not fi"om me.

*' The joy in Sarawak when all danger was over was very
great, both among natives and Europeans ; for all had been
deeply distressed, and many fervent prayers, in church,
mosque, and temple, were offered for his recovery. It was
he who had produced order out of chaos, who conferred
peace upon the country, gave security to life and property,
turned the energies of the Malays and Dyaks from head-
hunting and raiding to industry and commerce. He made
his principality an asylum, in the best sense of the word, to all
the surrounding people, and attracted thither multitudes of
the industrious and well disposed. And now it seemed so sad
that on his return from England, where he had met with
disappointment, he should only come back to his o\sti land to
die. Great therefore was the joy of all at his recovery, for
all knew the benefits they derived from his rule, and, most of
all, the Asiatics, to whom personal rule is everything, and who
feared that with him these benefits might disappear.

"But the danger was past ; it seemed as if a new accession
of good was to flow in upon the province, and this wonderful
land was to become more wonderful now that its creating and
directing spirit was restored to it. Indeed, Sardwak to me
never lost its romance. During my four years' residence there,
though engaged in a daily round of prosaic duties, it ever
seemed to me a fairy land, presided over by a good genius,
and guarded by him from all the calamities that afflicted
the surrounding tribes. It was an ideal land, blessed with
most of the benefits, and shielded from most of the evils, of
civilization. But it was even more. It was as the torch
of civilization and religion, shining in and illuminating

1853J THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 81

a barbarous and a heathen country ; and this torch I could
never cease to remember was both kindled and upheld by
Sir James Brooke.'*

The Eaja's first letter after his recovery had begun was
to Mr. Templer. It is dated June 28th, and was dictated to
Mr. C. Grant, and signed by himself "just to prove he had
some strength left." He speaks of the care taken of him,
and of having recovered his senses after a long sleep, induced
by opium given him by Mr. Crookshank, from which, he says,
" I woke, sensible of the loathsome state to which I was
reduced ; literally from head to foot seamed with this frightful
disorder ; and, feeble as an infant, I strove to reconcile myself
to the will of God, who had afflicted me. . . . Such has been
my past history for the month, little to tell of, but much to go
through. How I rejoiced in the intelligence that you had
obtained the Mastership [in* the Exchequer Com't] ; on every
account it is most desirable.

** Now to business. I should not care in the least for the
Inquiry, were it not for the marked spirit of the Government.
We will wait patiently and see what comes of it, and, with
Lord Dalhousie's selection of two or three good men from
India, I still believe it will be shown that the Government is
the responsible party for everything that has been done
excepting the good which has resulted from my efforts. When
I witness the security which reigns, the prosperity and
happiness of all classes here, and the advance of the other
rivers, I cannot believe, after all that is passed, that this can
lightly be destroyed by the prejudices of any set of men.

** I do not answer Hannah's letter, though I, too, could
talk of cows and calves, and milk and butter. I congratulate
her most sincerely on her new dignities. I shall always, for
the future, address her as Mrs. Master Templer ! ! !

" Tell her, too, not to be horrified at my ugliness, for
though I am fifty years of age, and did not boast of being
handsome before, yet I know that a poor scarred face is dis-
tasteful to the female sex. I cannot help telling you, though
it may look something like boasting, of the many simple, yet
VOL. II. a

82 THE RAJA OF SABIwAK. [1853.

touching tokens of kindly feeling which have been evinced by
the inhabitants of this place since my illness. Many of the
Mahommedan houses have nightly had prayers, and many
have been the vows that if God granted me life they would
pray with feasting. The Klings, our despised people of the
Malabar coast, have distributed alms to the poor as an
oflfering for my safety ; and the Chinese, after their fashion,
have made offerings for the same purpose.

*' How I turn from the suspicions and abuse of some of
my own countrymen to the simple attachment of those who
live about me ! The Dyaks are again quiet, and there is no
doubt that, with the mass of them living towards the sea, a
great change is taking place in their habits, and that a pro-
pensity for trade is gradually gaining ground over the habit
of piracy as that occupation becomes more difficult and more
dangerous. Directly I grow strong enough I shall go on to
Borneo, to meet and arrange matters with the new Sultan,
and see what can be done for his good, and more for the good
of the people. Brooke left me last night to go up a moon*
tain called Peninjau, where we are about to build a small
sanitarium as my residence. The cHmate will be some six ox
eight degrees cooler than down below, and the scene is one of
the most charming in the world. I could tell you a great
deal more, being in a babbling humour, but I am somewhat
tired, and my time is short/'

"For the Commission I care nothing," he wrote a little
later to Archdeacon Coxe (" My dear Archdeacon and very
dear Eichard *')• " I l^^w that we have done right. I know that
those people were pirates, and that the ordinary dictates of
humanity required their suppression. I would take the whole
responsibility on myself. I do not shrink from a single act,
for I know they are to be justified before God and before
upright men ; but I was indignant and shocked at the con-
cealment which aimed a petty Government intrigue against an
individual, and sought to conceal it from him. until he waa
separated from his friends and advisers.

1853.] THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. 83

*' The Government is embarrassed as to the mode of carry-
ing their intentions into execution. The approval of two
former Governments (the comi)onent parts of which this
Ministry is composed) is so full and warm of the various
measures pursued during past years, that they can hardly
cast their decisions aside with impunity. The majorities iu
Parliament confirming the views of the Ministry are likewise
a stumbling-block ; and they are equally afraid of involving
the reputation or conduct of their naval officers of high rank,
by doing which they would lead to a far more serious inquiry,
which could only be carried on by an enormous outlay of
money, and by a loss of many of their Parliamentary sup-
porters. Under these circumstances the Commission must be
circumscribed to investigate my position and acts alone, and
will be a mere nullity ; or, should it go further, it will be found
that the measures stated to be mine, emanated with the
Government ; and that by far the largest share of the respon-
tsibility of their execution rests with the officers of the Queen's
service. However, dear Richard, it is our duty to obey the
Government which rules our country for the time being, and
I wait the Commission, therefore, with something of curiosity,
but nothing of fear. More than this I know not on the
subject.

" I am convalescent, very comfortable, with a good
appetite, and just able to crawl with a little support from one
room to another. I shall be a good deal disfigured ; but my
friends will not esteem me the less for being a httle uglier late
in life. ... I hope, the Commission over, to have little to do
with official business or political controversy in future.

" Although the yearly Valpeian dinner will be over before
this reaches you, yet this, with the proceedings of the Commis-
sion, will supply something to tell of your poor president at
the next meeting.''

July 22nd, he wrote to Mr. Templer — " The Admiral is on
his way to China via Labuan, where he is to stay a few
hours to qualify himseK to report whether it is worthy of
retention. In my opinion Labuan ought to be abandoned,

84 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1863.

because the Government of England have not made, and will
not make, the necessary exertions to develop its capabilities
and to insure its success. Eetrenchment seems to be the
panacea for all evils and all failures alike, and begets the
very evil which we seek to avoid. I enclose you an extract
of the Admiral's public despatch to me. It is unique as a
specimen of policy in the Government of a large country.
These orders from the Admiralty are in direct violation of our
treaties with Holland and with Brune. Such a course of
action with pirates has never been pursued before by any
civilized nation, and is manifestly calculated to destroy our
commerce, wherever it may be practically acted upon. Let
either the Lanun or Chinese pirates know that we shall not
molest them, unless they commit depredations on the English
flag, and they would sweep away a milhon of commerce in
these seas, which was bound to EngUsh markets in native
bottoms.

** I have every reason to be satisfied with the condition of
Sarebus and Sakarran. The disaster which led to Lee's
death only proved the weakness of the piratical party and the
strength of our adherents amongst the same people. The
only question at issue between us is whether they .shall put to
sea for piratical purposes. I am a Fat^ to the Sarebus ; and
having now brought half of that community over to my way of
thinking, it would indeed be wicked to allow the murder of
many hundreds of people, when my efforts would save them^
merely because the English Government looks black.

"Everything is quite quiet and prosperous. We have
five schooners and brigs loading in the river, and great
improvements have taken place under Brooke's rule during my
residence in England."

By the beginning of August the Raja was suflBciently
recovered to go to Bnme. He had heard while in England
of the death of the old Sultan, and later that Mumim had
succeeded. It was the best that could be under the circum-
stances — but if only Budrudeen had been alive ! An account
of this Bnme visit is given in a letter to Mr. Gilbert

1853.] THE BAJA OF SABIwAK. 85

Nicholetts, dated " At sea, September 18th." Mr. and Mrs,
Nicboletts had left Aden and returned to Bombay, where the
antecedents of Mr. Woods, who had migrated from Bombay to
Singapore, were known. This is referred to in the beginning
of the letter.

** I forget whether I answered your note concerning the
information to be obtained respecting the former life and con-
verse of Mr. Woods ; but as it is a pleasure to write, I may as
well indulge myself whilst I have leisure and ability. Brooke
will have told all about the attack of small-pox from which I
suffered so severely. I am now happy to say that my health
is in a great measure reinstated, though my strength has not
returned ; and that I am only simply ugly and pock-marked,
instead of being hideous and disfigured. So soon as I was
able I started for Brune to do my devoir to the Sultan, and to
ascertain on what relations I stood with him and his Govern-
ment. My enemies had been hard at work by every species
of calumny to undermine my influence, and, of course, the
impending Commission was a trump card in their hands,
by means of which they hoped to effect my destruction, by
rousing the princes (or some amongst them) to give evidence
against me. These intrigues, however, signally failed. The
Brune Court would not cabal against me during my absence,
and the residence of a fortnight amongst them not only
reinstated but strengthened my power and position.

" After an absence of seven weeks I am now on my return
home and provokingly delayed by a calm within sight of our
port. The accumulated intelligence of three mails will, I
trust, bring the news of the Commission and to what points
the inquiry is to be directed. As far as I know or can even
conceive, there is no single point or position, amid all the
falsehoods which have been so industriously circulated, which
can be sustained by direct evidence ; and as for such evidence
as can be given by G. and others, it will only recoil on
themselves for having mixed themselves up in matters on
which they could know nothing.

*' Sariwak seven weeks ago was flouiishing, and I dare say

86 THE BAJA OF SABlWAE. [1SS3.

it is BO still, for there are elements there of p^nnoneDc; and
progress, if our etnpid Ministere do not check them. Charley
[Johnson] came to see me when I was convalescent, and it
■was really delightful to witness the terms on which our party
at Sarawak live. Charley delights in the life, and has sent in
his resignation of the navy. I am not sorry that he escapes
the risks of the impending war with Bussia."

Mr. Charles Johnson had arrived in July, 1852, and been
very soon afterwards stationed at Lundu, In consequence,
however, of Mr. Lee's death, he was transferred to Llnga,
Mr. C. Grant succeeding him at Lundu. The following
letters from the Baja reached him at Linga towards the close
of this year (1863)—

"We received, as I told you, good news from Eanowit
yesterday ; and I do not believe these reports of the Kayans
being false to us, although we must guard against any evil
should our trust be misplaced. As for the man you have
in detention for the alleged morder, or knowledge of the
murder, of some Chinese many years ago, I think it better not
to notice or move in that matter, because the crime occurred
when I had no jurisdiction, and was perpetrated so long ago as
to be forgotten by the Chinese themselves. Besides the man
who was the real murderer has been dead some time. Let
him therefore go his way. Society at that time was dis-
organized in the highest degree, and neither the Sarawak
people nor myself had a right to interfere when the murder
occurred. Explain the reasons if you feel called upon to do
BO. Do not pull the cords of government too taut of a sudden,
and do not be rigid or starched in your views concerning the
natives. Yon mast proceed by degrees, and gain their entire
confidence, before you can amend all that ought to be amended.
Time is the destroyer, but time likewise is the improver ; and if
our bodies rot in the grave, our deeds will hve after us.

" Keep well with Lela Palawan [a native chief] ; do not
look into small faults ; toll him I trust him, and consider
whether ten dollars a month would not make him more
cx)mfoi'table and more honest.

1853.] THE BAJA OF SABIwAK. 87

" Let me repeat again that you must do all you can to
gain Lela Palawan, and make him an instrument of good
whose interests are with you and at one with the interests of
the Government under which he lives. He is a poor tool, I
allow, to work with, but you must do the best you can with
him.

" There must, there ought, and Brooke says there will be,
eome revenue derived from Linga this year. This revenue
must be applied in a twofold way : —

" Ist. To defray the expenses of Government, i.e., the Fort,
yourself, and Lela Palawan ; and 2nd. To pay its quota, as of
old, which I have guaranteed to the Sultan and Rajas of Brune.
Lead Lela Palawan to hope that his fortunes will rise with the
fortune of the Government and the security and development of
the country ; and that, in the mean while, you will try and
make him as comfortable as possible, and that you share
the poverty which bad government has entailed on him and
on the Dyaks. This leads me to some account of my Brune nego-
ciation. Nothing could exceed the kindness of the new Sultan
and all the Eajas. They gave me a fresh deed of Sarawak
and the government of all the rivers to Sirik, of course including
Linga. You may tell your people that the Sultan and myself
are brothers, and that I have engaged that each river shall
pay moderate revenue when it can aflford it, and that they
shall be placed entirely under my government, so that they
may make themselves quite easy and be assured that we will
govern them justly and kindly. I will bring the deed with me,
in a copy, and explain the rest there.

** Brereton says that traces of Balows have been found on
the Sakarran ground. Ask him how he distinguishes these
Balow traces, and whether it is not likely they are some of
Bentap's people in the Sarebus or Linga, both of whom were
savage against the Sakarrans under Gasin. At the same
time clearly intimate to all the Balows and Undups that
if they be found guilty of killing the Sakarrans, who are
their friends as well as mine, the people who do so must be
given up to me for trial, and that if found guilty they will

88 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1853.

be put to death or fined, not only for the offence against
Sakarran but against the Government. Be unmistakably
resolute on this point, but tell them, at the same time, that I
trust in the chiefs and tribe in general, and I am sure they
will prevent so great a crime and misfortune, and if perpetrated
that they will find the people at once and hand them over for
punishment."

The friendly overtures of Kimi Nipa, the Kayan chief, have
been mentioned. To strengthen his good-wiU the Raja now
Bent him his uniform as Governor of Labuan, having no
further occasion for its use himself.

In Sarawak an onward step was made.

'' The most important measure about to be carried out is
the taking the Dyaks from the datus into my own hands
(direct), of course giving them an equivalent sum from the
revenue in money. This has long been an object near my
heart, and the time has now arrived when I can carry it out
with safety and advantage to all parties. This wUl bring 25,000
Dyaks under the direct rule of the English, and we shall see
them advance as I wish. On Saturday next I meet the
country, to explain the present position of the Government in
relation to Brune, to England, and to Sarebus.

** September 27th. — I met all the people collected on
Saturday. I read them the docimients from Brune ; * told them
of the Commission, the objects of the inquiry, etc., and we had
a good deal of discussion on the subject. The Datu Fatingi
Baid the white men in England must be fools, and were giving
themselves a great deal of trouble about nothing. They aU
agreed that they were a free people ; and old Datu Tuman-
gong declared they would fight any one who doubted it."

Before the year closed a letter from Sultan Abdul Munmn
reached the Baja full of assurances of friendship, and Mr.
Hugh Low, Treasurer of Labuan, who visited Brun6 at
this time, gladdened Brooke by the expression of his
conviction that the Sultan's words were altogether sincere.

* Fresh deed in oonneotion with Sarawak, and further grant of territory.
See letter to Mr. C. Johnson, preceding page.

1853.] THE BAJA OF SARIwAK. 89

The Baja had been, the Sultan said, Uke a brother to the late
Sultan and to Muda Hassim; it was unjust to say he had done
harm to either; and as for himself and all the Brune nobles
they were his firm friends. The inquiry was a piece of unjust
impertinence. It should either have taken place at the time
of the acts to be inquired into or not at all. With the new
reign had come in a new regime; it would be hurtful to reopen
the past, and might even produce civil war.

That month of Jime in which the Baja lay between life
and death at Euching, the instructions for the Commission of
Inquiry were sent by Lord Clarendon to Sir Charles Wood,
President at the India Board. They were as follows : —

*' Foreign Office, June 21, 1853.

" Sib, — The attention of her Majesty's Government having
been drawn to certain anomaUes in the position at present
held by Sir James Brooke, her Majesty's Consul-General
and Commissioner in Borneo, and to certain inconveniences
thence arising, I have to inform you that it is deemed
expedient that an inquiry should take place with respect to
these matters, and that it would be convenient to her
Majesty's Government that this inquiry should be conducted
under the authority and by the direction of the Governor-
General of India in Council.

2. "In addition to the offices above adverted to, of her
Majesty's Consul-General and Commissioner, which constitute
Sir James Brooke guardian and protector of British trade
generally throughout the district to which his Commission
extends, Sir James Brooke — by virtue of certain possessions
held by him originally under the Sultan of Borneo, but now,
as he states, independently, by the free-will of the people —
claims to be considered as one of the independent rajas of
that country, and is stated to be engaged in trade on his own
account, in the produce of those possessions.

8. "Her Majesty's Government are of opinion that the
apparent conflict of the multifarious duties which attach to

90 THE BAJA OF SARIwAK. [1863.

these positions, affords a valid and jnst ground for the proposed
inquiry. This inquiry will at the same time enable her
Majesty's Government to judge whether the conduct pursued
by Sir James Brooke, since his appointment, and the relations
which he holds with the native chiefs, have been such as are
becoming a servant of the British Crown, and conducive
generally to British interests. It will also give to Sir James
Brooke a fit opportimity of meeting the various charges which
at different times have been brought against him.

4. "In pm'suance of the object which her Majesty's Govern-
ment have thus in view, I have to request that the Coiu't of
Directors may be moved to take the subject into their con-
sideration ; and I have to express the wish of her Majesty's
Government that the Com-t will send instructions to the
Governor-General of India to select two or more prudent and
impartial persons to act as Commissioners for the purposes of
this inquiry; and, if he should see fit, to give to those
Commissioners the assistance of a legal adviser and of the
necessary interpreters ; and the Governor-General should
furnish them with instructions for their proceedings, based
on the contents of the present letter.

5. "It is the intention of her Majesty's Government that the
Commissioners should, in the fii-st instance, proceed to Singa-
pore, on account of the facility which that possession, as
centre of the trade with the Eastern Archipelago, would afford
for the collection of evidence bearing on British commercial
interests. As it wiU, however, be necessary that power and
authority should be given to the Commissioners for this pur-
pose to compel the attendance of witnesses within the juris-
diction of the East India Company at Singapore, and to
examine such witnesses on oath, I have to suggest that the
Indian Legislature should pass an act, gi\ing the necessary
power to the Commissioners, the terms of which should conform
as nearly as possible to the terms of an act passed by the
Government of Ceylon, in respect to a late inquiry in that
island, a copy of which I herewith enclose.

6» " The period for opening the inquiry having been fixed;

1853.] THE RAJA OF SARIwAK. 91

the Commissioners will give notice thereof to the authorities at
Singapore, and to Sir James Brooke, and will invite the latter to
attend, and will aflford him every facility for so doing ; and for
this purpose the Admiral commanding on the station will
receive instructions to place at the disposal of the Commission
such naval means of transport as they may require, either for
themselves or for the conveyance of persons who may have to
attend the inquiry as witnesses or otherwise.

7- "The first question to which the Commissioners will have
to direct their inquiries is, whether the position of Sir James
Brooke at Sarawak, either as holding that possession of the
Sultan of Borneo, or, as he now alleges, as an independent
Baja, holding it by the free choice of the people, be compatible
with his duties as British Consul-General and Commissioner
for Trade, and with his character of a British subject.

8. "With reference to this portion of the inquiry, it is to
be observed, that by no act of her Majesty's Government has
countenance ever been given to Sir James Brooke's assump-
tion of independence, and that his possession of Sarawak has
never been considered otherwise by them than as a private gi-ant
bestowed by a foreign sovereign upon a British subject.

9. "In the next place the Commissioners will have to
inquire whether the interests of Sir James Brooke as a holder
of territory, and as a trader in the produce of that territory,
are compatible with his duties, as Consul and Commissioner
for Trade, to promote and foster the general trade of other
British subjects.

10. *' Thirdly, it will be the duty of the Commissioners to
inquire into the accusations brought against Sir James Brooke
by British subjects, whether in their private capacity, or, as
in the instance of the Eastern Archipelago Company, in a
corporate capacity, of having sought to injure their interests
with a yiew to the promotion of his own.

11. ''Lastly, the Commissioners will have to inquire into the
relations of Sir James Brooke with and towards the native tribes
on the north-west coast of Borneo, with a view to ascertain
whether it is necessary that he should be entrusted with a dis-

92 THE BAJA OF SARAWAK. [1863.

cretion to determine which of those tribes are piratical, or,
taking into view the recent operations on the coast, of calling
for the aid of her Majesty*s naval forces for the punishment of
such tribes.

12. "As in the course of the inquiry it may be expedient to
move the Commissioners to some localities off the coast of
Borneo, or to the island of Labuan, in order to enable them
more efficiently to discharge the duty entrusted to them, and
as it will in such case be necessary to confer upon them power
and authority to exercise their functions at those localities,
I have further to request that the Governor-General be in-
structed, as soon as he shall have made his selection of the
Commissioners, to communicate their names and designations
to the Court of Directors, in order that those names and
designations may be inserted in an Order in Council, to be
submitted to her Majesty, giving power and authority to the
Commissioners, within the territories under the jmisdiction of

# the Sultan of Borneo, to compel the attendance of witnesses
being British subjects, and to examine them on oath, to be
issued under the powers vested in her Majesty by the Act of
the 6 and 7 Vict. c. 94, intituled * An Act to remove doubts
as to the exercise of power and jurisdiction by her Majesty
within divers countries out of her Majesty's dominions,* etc. ;
and by the additional article to the treaty concluded on May 7,
1847, between her Majesty and the Sultan of Borneo, granting
jurisdiction in certain cases over British subjects within his
dominions.

"Copies of the Act of Parliament and of the Treaty referred
to are herewith enclosed.

13. "As regards the power to be conferred on the Commis-
sioners within the jurisdiction of the island of Labuan, I have
to request that the Governor-General be informed that the
Lieutenant-Governor of that island will be directed to issue an
ordinance similar to that already adverted to, which was
issued by the Governor of Ceylon.

14. "As soon as the Commissioners shall consider that they
are in possession of all the information on the several points to

1853.] THE BAJA OF SARIwAK. 93

-which their attention will be directed by the Governor-General,
they will make a full report upon the matters submitted to
them, and close the Commission.

15. "As the expense of the inquiry will have to be borne by
the public, care must be taken to exercise the strictest economy
in carrying out the wishes of her Majesty's Government.

16. "I enclose, for the information of the Commissioners,
one volume of papers containing, first, a confidentially printed
copy of the correspondence which passed previously to the
appointment of Sir James Brooke ; and secondly, copies of the
several papers and docimients relating to this matter which
have at various times been presented to Parhament.

17. "I further enclose copies, in manuscript, of letters from
Sir James Brooke, from which you will see that he is desirous,
by every means in his power, to further the objects of this
inquiry ; together with copies of certain documents which
Sir James Brooke, in his letter of April 2nd, states that he
wishes to be in possession of the Commissioners, and which
are not included in the other printed papers herewith trans-
mitted.

18. "I likewise enclosed a printed copy of a letter from Mr.
Hume, together with three volumes of papers annexed to it,
containing his charges against Sir James Brooke, and the
points to which he considers that the inquiry should be directed,
I have, etc. — Clarendon."

Of these instructions Mr. Templer obtained a copy, and so
full of serious misapprehensions did they appear to him that
he addressed Lord Clarendon on the subject. A portion
only of his letter is given here, for many of the reasons for
remonstrance wiU be found stated by the Raja himself
further on.

'* I perform but a simple duty to an absent friend in pro-
testing, at least until he has seen them, against the tenor of
certain instructions that have been issued for an inquiry in the
case of Sir James Brooke. I do so, I need scarcely assure
your lordship, with extreme reluctance, and because, from my

94 THE BAJA OF SABlWAE. [18C3.

intimate knowledge of his proceedings, both in Borneo and
at home, I feel I can demonstrate to yout lordship the in-
correctness of certain statements of facts which are aesmned
in your lordship's letter to Sir Charles Wood as the basis of
the inquiry, and as to which her Majesty's Government have
been so clearly misinformed that any report founded on them
could scarcely fail to inflict an injustice on Sir James Brooke,
as well as an injury to the national interests involved. ... I
respectfully submit to your lordship whether, in common with
the whole tenor and language of the despatch, it is not cal-
culated to inflict a grievons injury upon a Government like
that of Sir James Brooke at Sarawak, which necessarily rests
much upon opinion, and also to awaken deeper feelings than
those of irritation in a mind hke his. As instances, I point to
the passage, as to entrusting him with a discretion to deter-
mine what tribes are piratical, as indicating at the best in
prospect but a very hmited confidence, when he would require
a fair and generous support ; ^s a further instance, that the
Sarebus and Sakarran trihes, are not even mentioned by
name. Whether these tribes were or were not piratical, was
the whole of the original question ; by it the clamour was got
up, and by it alone Sir James Brooke's enemies were enabled
to mis up a number of minor charges with that of a deadly
crime. On these instructions the grave accusation which, had
there been the sHghtest faith left in it, should have led the van
of the attack, is virtually abandoned. And, as a fiu-ther instance,
that while the Commission is to hold its head-quartere at
Singapore, the place whence the enemies of Sir James Brooke
have been in direct communication with Mr. Hume — Sarawak,
the seat of Sir James Brooke's government, and where his
policy and its h-uits may surely be seen and judged, ia not only
not meutJoned by name, but it ia doubtful fiom the expression
used, "localities off the co^t of Borneo," whether the Com-
missioners are empowered, however essential they might
consider it, to go to that place at all.

"I cannot believe, my lord, that these can be intentional
defects in a document which must affect for good or evil a

1853.] THE RAJA OF SARXwAK. 95

large national interest; for, if they were, they indicate that
Sir James Brooke's adversaries could only hope for a decision
against him by presenting their case upon statements which
would prevent his entering into evidence to show their fallacy;
and then, my lord, I may be permitted to express my conviction
that Sir James Brooke and his friends will never be satisfied
without that further inquiry which, in 1851, Lord Palmer ston*
did not think it necessary to pursue. . . . Such an inquiry
would then become not only necessary but indispensable to
attain the ends of justice. The witnesses to be examined, and
the evidence to be adduced, are in this country. The character
of William Henry Miles, one of Mr. Hume's earhest witnesses,
by evidence recently arrived here, can be shown: and the
inquiry would necessarily be incomplete which would fail to
expose the manufacture of that man's testimony. Mr. Hume
and Mr. Wise are both here, and I feel confident that if it be
extended to this country, with full power of examination as
conferred in the recent election commissions. Sir James Brooke
will be able to demonstrate to the piibUc the machinations by
which this persecution was commenced, and the deep personal
enmity by which it has been continued.

**In conclusion, my lord, I cannot, although (and with pride
I say it) I know Sir James Brooke's sentiments and position as
well as any man — I know his noble love of truth, his keen
sense of injustice, his self-respect, and self-dependence — I can-
not, I say, foresee how he will receive these instructions. He
may be willing to consider them reconcilable with the purport of
Lord Wodehouse's despatch, and with the more recent declar-
ation of Lord John Eussell in the House, and accept them as
in accordance with the spirit in which he understood the
Commission was to issue before he left this country; or he may,
looking at the high interests of his adopted people, whose
welfare and happiness he seems by Providence chosen to
protect, consider that they depart so widely from that under-
Btanding, as to justify him in refusmg to meet a Commission
which is to base its inquiries upon assumptions which strike

• See speech of Lord PalmcrBton, v. ii. p. 47.

96 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1863.

at the very root of his native power ; and I may be further
excused in stating, that if the instructions were framed to
effect the latter object, and to produce the antagonism which
can scarcely fail to be fatal eventually to every British interest,
they appear to me to be likely to attain their object."

In reply to the above, Mr. Addington wrote, for Lord
Clarendon (Foreign Office, September 9th, 1858) —

" I am directed to observe that you are in error with
respect to many of the statements contained in your letter,
and that if your objections were valid, the inquiry which her
Majesty's Government have considered necessary, could not
take place.

" I am further to remark that it is unlikely that Sir James
Brooke would refuse to appear before the Commissioners who
will be appointed to conduct this inquiry, as he himself has
expressed his anxious wish for an inquiry respecting every
transaction in which he has been engaged, and has offered
to give every faciUty for conducting it."

To this, Mr. Templer answered, September 12th —

"As no particular statement, out of the many alleged to
be erroneous, is mentioned, I might content myself with as
general an assertion that they are each and every of them
correct, those of fact strictly so, and those that allege opinions,
as far as my knowledge and beUef enable me to form them. I
will, however, do more than this, and, as far as can be without
prolixity, maintain them by saying, that the facts and dates
which support the objection to the first head of the inquiry,
are either shown by public documents printed by order of the
House of Commons, or relate to circumstances which have
taken place within my own knowledge. That the objections
which bear on the second head of the inquiry, are patent on
the face of the instructions themselves ; while to the state*
ments which relate to the third head, as to the proceed-
ings and position of the Eastern Archipelago Company, I can
depose with direct certainty. Those proceedings were all
taken within my own knowledge. I was an eye-witness of the
trial, and can speak personally, if need were, to the accuracy

1853.] THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. 97

of every statement in the protest, as to the procedure and
present position of that unparalleled case.

" The fourth head, then, my lord, is the only one to which
I conceive your lordships' assertion of erroneous statement in
the protest can attach. In dealing with that head I advanced
an opinion as to the general tenor of the instructions, and
cited three instances that appeared to me decisive of the
adverse spirit in which they had been conceived.

" On this subject I should rejoice, my lord, to find that my
opinion was erroneous; that the passages I referred to as
indicative of that spirit, have no such construction ; that her
Majesty's Ministers, upon a return of the Commissioners in
Sir James Brooke's favour, are prepared to accord his policy a
fair and generous support; that the question of the Sarebus and
Sakarran piracy is by them bona fide intended to be raised by
the inquiry ; and that Sarawak, as well as Singapore, is to be
a place where the Commission is to hold its sittings. If these
things be according to the tenor of the instructions, I am
the first, my lord, to confess that I was in en-or with respect
to them. I also trust, my lord, you will allow me further to
dissent from the conclusion of your lordship, * that if my
objections were valid the inquiry which her Majesty's Govern-
ment had considered necessary could n9t take place.' My
protest was addressed against a particular inquiry — against an
inquiry based on statements manifestly erroneous, on state-
ments which could not stand the touchstone of truth ; but by
no means against the inquiry which her Majesty's Government
had informed Sir James Brooke they were about to issue ; and,
certainly not against that fuU, fair, and searching one, that is
now rendered so imperatively necessary ; an inquiry that will
show Sir James Brooke on the one side and his enemies on the
other ; an inquiry that by its results will raise the question
whether some constitutional check cannot, and ought not, to be
put on the license which now apparently enjoys an immunity of
action, upon the character and fortunes of any public servant,
and thus from individual injury educe a general good.

" With regard to the concluding paragraph of Mr. Adding-

VOL. II. H

98 THE HAJA OF BABXwAK. [195S

ton's letter, I trust, my lord, you will forgive me if I speak
plainly to your lordship. Wlietber Sir James Brooke will refuse
to appear remains to be seen. To deal frankly with your lord-
ship, were I in bis place, unless the erroneous statements in
the instructions were amended, by allowing Sir James Brooke to
dispute the fact stated as thj basis of the first head of the
inquiry, after all that has occurred, I would not appear; and I
should be quite content to place my reputation and character
upon the verdict of my countr3rmen upon that course against
those of Mr, Hume and his associates. Whatever may be alleged
to the contrary, Sir Jamjs Brooke is independent in Sarawak,
and that independence has been vu-tually acknowledged by
her Majesty's Government, and independent there he will re-
main, unless Great Britain should make war upon Sarawak, as
some return for the services her ruler has, according to more
than one public acknowledgment, conferred upon his native
country. ... It should not be disguised from your lordship,
that with every wish on the part of Sir James Brooke and his
friends to meet a fair, full, and searching inquiry, and to give
every facility for conducting it — it is on the condition, and that
condition only, that it be fair, full, and searching ; and thai,
however triumphant to Sir James Brooke the result may be —
and indeed, as I know, cannot fail to be — still, in the opinion
of his friends, a grievous personal injury hi^s been already
inflicted, by conceding it to Mr. Hume; and it will need all the
magnanimity of the noble English character against whom it
has been du-ected to avert the national evils that in other
hands might readily liave been worked by it."

Mr. Addington briefly acknowledged this (Foreign Office,
September 19th), concluding with, "I am to observe to you
in reply, that as the Earl of Clarendon does not apprehend
that any useful object would be attained by continuing this
correspondence, his lordship must d.cline to enter into a
discussion with reference to the contents of your letter."

A copy of the instructions was forwarded by Lord Wode-
house to the Raja as Lord Clarendon's answer to hia protest
against the Commission being held in Singapore.

1853.] THE BAJA OP SARAWAK. 99

** You will perceive it is intended/' Lord Wodehouse wrote,
" that the Commissioners should not be limited to Singapore ;
and as regards your claim for the payment of every legal or
personal expense which the proposed inquiry may entail, I am
to observe to you that it will be for her Majesty's Government
to determine when the proper time arrives what expenses shall
or shall not be paid."

Before this despatch reached the Baja he had learned the
instructions through Mr. Templer, and the immediate result
was a letter to Lord Clarendon.

" Septemher 24, 1853. — My Lord, — I have the honour to
resign into your lordship's hands the appointments which
I hold in the public service.

" I beg further to convey to your lordship the assurance of
my continued desire to advance the interests of England in
this country so far as may lie in my power. I have, etc. —
James Brooke."

With this he forwarded another despatch, criticising the
instructions to the Commission, and especially the statement
therein that his position had ** never been considered by the
Government otherwise than as a private grant bestowed by a
foreign sovereign upon a British subject," and showing that, in
his communications with the Governments of Sir Bobert Peel,
Lord John Bussell, and the Earl of Derby — ok which they
had acted, — he had spoken of Sarawak as a Government ceded
to him by the Sultan, and confirmed by the will of a people
free to choose ; that in his letter to Mr. Gardner, published
in 1842, he had stated that he held the government and
administered the laws; that in his Journal, published in
1846, by Captain the Hon. Henry Keppel, this was clearly
shown; that the Earl of Aberdeen, in his correspondence with
Mons. Dedel, the Dutch Minister, had referred to this publica-
tion, and had not disallowed the assertion which formed
the foundation for the Dutch remonstrance, and that the
correspondence proved that ** although the position I held had
been obtained in my private capacity in reference to her
Majesty's Government, yet that the position itself, as well as

100 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1863.

the very objects which I was exertmg my efforts to reach, were
of a public character, and were so viewed by the Netherlands
Government and by the Government of Great Britain."

He referred to the correspondence about the flag, and to
Lord Palmerston's reply in reference to the United States'
treaty, and concluded with —

'*! will leave it, upon the evidence thus produced, to your
lordship's candid reconsideration — ^whether my position at
Sarawak, holding the territory and government of a consider-
able province; the question of a protectorate flag not yet
decided by her Majesty's Ministers; invested with the dominion
of Sarawak in perpetuity by the avowal of the Netherlands
Government; supported by England in this position by the
declaration of the Earl of Aberdeen ; receiving an overture
from the United States for the conclusion of a treaty, and no
objection existing to this treaty on the part of the British
Government — I leave it to your lordship's judgment to declare
whether such a position could be considered as a private
position, and whether the grant which placed me in this
position could be considered merely as * a private grant
bestowed by a foreign sovereign on a British subject.'

"Your lordship in your instructions further states that
the proposed inquiry will afford me a fit opportunity of meet-
ing the various charges which have been brought against me,
and that it will be the duty of the Commissioners to inquire
into the accusations brought against me by British subjects.
I beg to state that it will be sufficient on my part to answer
charges, when a jyrima facie case shall have been established,
which has not yet been done, although repeatedly attempted
in Parliament ; and that I have accusations to make, as well
as a defence to offer. It would be contrary to every principle
of justice to permit an accuser, corporate or individual, to urge
a charge against me whilst he is screened himself by his
absence from the Commission. Let me meet these accusers
face to face, let the charges to be lurged be clearly defined,
let the witnesses for the defence be examined, and I wiU meet
all and every matter frankly, freely, and unreservedly; but

1853.] THE RAJA OF RARIWAK. 101

without tbiB being done, the present inquiry can be but pre-
liminary to a more complete and searching Commission in
England, as it will be evident, from the unlimited nature of
your lordship's instructions, that not only the members of the
present Government must be examined, but numerous other
ofl&cers and gentlemen, who are now scattered over the world,
and whose testimony will be of vital importance to my defence.
One or other of the two courses named must be pursued to
maintain the established principles of equity ; and I am ready
to prosecute the inquiry, so that it be full, searching, and
complete. I have further to request that a competent legal
adviser may be retained on my behalf at the public expense,
and that my friend Mr. Templer may be authorized to make
the selection in question ; and, in conclusion, I beg to remind
your lordship of what I have stated in a previous despatch,
namely, that it will be an evasion of justice if the Commission
does not visit Sarawak."

A letter of November 2, 1853, to Mr. Templer, shows the
undercurrent of feeling : —

** I have just received your kind letter of September 8th.
Lord Grey's is a noble and frank answer, and he is a noble
man. Lord EUesmere writes me a very kind letter, on his
return from America. He says, * I shall hope to hear shortly
from yoiu: friends here whatever they know of your affairs —
they will find me anxious on the subject.' I hope you wiU like
my protest and letter to Lord Clarendon. Though inclined to
act too openly and candidly for the riff-raff of politics, I can
have a cool head and a calm temper on occasion; but if any-
thing in this world and before God justifies a fiery indignation
it would be the injustice of earth's porcelain, who play their
tricks before high heaven. Let it pass — I know I have done
no man wrong, and I know that tens of thousands are peaceful
and happy now, who were oppressed and miserable when
I undertook my task. It is not ingratitude from the country,
nor injustice from Ministers, nor defamation from the righteous
few, nor praise from the ignorant many, that will move me
either one way or another. If they destroy my work I will die

102 THE KAJA OF SAltXWAK. CIM3.

here, and leave the legacy of good goTerJiinent and good advice
to the natives.

" I am not wearied of Sarawak. I have enough work to
fill my mind and employ my time, and I have a cottage — oh
8uch a cottage! — on a momitain, with a climate perfection, and
,with a prospect rarely found in this world. And Bueh fcuit-
treee, too, loaded now with fruit, though I was obliged the
other day to cut down about a hundred to allow the others to
breathe and to gi'ow,

"You must thank Lord Grey for his kind message. I will
myself write him shortly, but say, that just or unjust in its
institution, I will prove in the iace of the world that I have
vraonged no man, but that I have been myself deeply wronged,
and mostly by those who have encouraged and approved my
measures, and now inquire into those very measures, and
question a position which has all along been known to them,
and in which they have acquiesced."

A further despatch was sent to Lord Clarendon, Dec. 23,
1853 :—

"My Lord, — I append a list of some witnesses whose
evidence will be requisite for my justification before the Com-
mission appointed by her Majesty's Government, and it must
rest with your lordship either to command the attendance of
these and other witnesses, or to institute a further and more
complete inquiry in England, after the Commissioners shall
have taken the evidence procurable in Singapore and ' oft the
coast of Borneo.'

"As it is my intention to challenge the instmctions on
which this Commission is to be based, I hkewise forward a list
of the witnesses to estabhah the incorrectness of the statements
contained in these instructions.

"The direct act of her Majesty's late Government in
flanetioning, after four years' previous consideration of the
mcasare, a flag which was 'to afford a recognized permanency'
to Bardwak, when it was informed that the object was to give
'a spirit of national pride to the natives, who had eagerly

1653.] THE RAJA OF SAKAwAK. 10?

embraced this distinguishing mark of country/ is an absolute
contradiction to the statement contained in the seventh para-
graph of the instructions under discussion ; and the assei-tion
that Sarawak has never been considered by Government other-
wise than as *a private grant,' is further negatived by the
impossibility of her Majesty's present Government deciding
in what light this possession was considered by the three
preceding Governments of Great Britain. It is a manifest
impossibility, unless your lordship can produce a record
of the decisions of the Cabinets of the late Sir Robert»Peel,
of Lord John Russell, and of the Earl of Derby, upon this
point.

"Amid the numerous and varied proofs to invaUdate the
statement which your lordship has erroneously made, a refer-
ence to Viscount Palmerston's despatch of October 24, 1850,
and to the minutes of evidence taken before the Committee on
Army and Ordnance Expenditure, questions 8368, 8369, 8370,
8371, 8399, 8400, may convince you in how different a Ught
the possession of Sarawak was viewed by two influential mem-
bers of a former Ministry.

"I have to observe, with reference to the sixth paragraph of
the instructions, that if my position at Sarawak be compatible
with the laws of England, it must be compatible with my
character as a British subject ; and the decision as to whether
it be compatible or incompatible with the laws must rest not
with a Comtnission, but with the highest legal tribunal in the
State.

**When your lordship, in the tenth paragraph of the
instructions, directed inquiry into the relations I maintain
with and towards the native tribes on the north-west coast
of Borneo, with a view to ascertain whether it is necessary
that I should be entrusted with a discretion to determine
which of these tribes are piratical, it was surely in forgetful-
ness of the fact that the Earl of Aberdeen, without reference to
me, and in allusion to the measures adopted for the suppres-
sion of piracy before I was engaged in the public service, has
recorded that ' those measures ' (against the very tribes in

104 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1853.

question) were adopted only on the 'fullest proof that the
parties against whom they were directed were actually and
habitually pirates.*

**It is an indirect mode of raising the simple question
whether the Sarebus and Sakarran people were or were not
pirates. This question shall" be directly and honourably
brought before the Commission ; but the instructions are not
the less erroneous in investing me with a discretion I was
never intrusted with, and which, in reference to the particular
tribes in question, had been conclusively exercised by the
Government of the late Sir Eobert Peel, without my testimony
being called for, and altogether without my knowledge.

" I must further remark that, in calling for the aid of her
Majesty's naval forces for the punishment of these and other
piratical tribes, I exercise no prerogative of office, but a right
common to every EngUshman in every quarter of the globe ; and
whether such aid be called for by a private individual or by
a public functionary, * it must remain with the naval officer
to determine whether it is or is not consistent with the orders
which they may have received from the Admiralty, or from
their superior officers, to make such arrangements or to under-
take such operations.' * These are but cursory objections
against the instructions; but if these and numerous other
objections of a like character be valid, and show that the
statements advanced are opposed to facts, as I am prepared to
prove, it would render the Commission not only unjust but
nugatory.

** I have acceded, as your lordship is aware, to a * fair, full,
and complete inquiry ; ' but I regret that I am forced to say
that a Commission inaugurated under the instructions sent to
the Governor -General of India could not be fair, could not be
full, nor could it be complete ; for it is no slight omission, no
trivial violation of justice, that these instructions shield the
real delinquents, and, calling upon me to defend myself against
allegations scouted by the House of Commons, authorize no
inquiry into the conduct of men whom I in turn have accused,

• Viscount Palmerston to Sir James Brooke, October 5, 1849.

1853.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 105

aoid some of whom have been convicted of falsehood and of
fraud by a jury of their countrymen.

" Unjust, incorrect, evasive, as I deem these instructions to
be — unjust as any Commission based on such instructions
must necessarily be — I will throw no impediment in the way
of a preliminary inquiry ; but at the same time, I call upon
your lordship to render the proceeding fair, full, and complete;
to correct the errors in the instructions ; to define the charges ;
to name each accuser, and insure his presence ; to furnish the
names of the witnesses who prima facie are to substantiate
the accusations; to direct that evidence should be given
by parties cognizant of the facts ; to command the attendance
of witnesses requisite for the defence ; and to authorize such a
scrutiny as will enable me to establish the malicious and
the wicked nature of the charges which have been preferred,
unsupported by evidence, and which have been repeatedly
dismissed as unworthy of notice by the House of Commons.
It is due to Parliament and to the country, to the ends of
justice, and to the interests of British subjects.

"I demand inquiry, because inquiry has become necessary
in consequence of the countenance given to slander by her
Majesty's Government ; but I protest against any decision
arrived at after a partial inquiry based upon instructions
opposed to facts, and against any Commission authorized
to hunt for testimony in order to criminate me upon charges
which are unsupported by prima facie evidence, and which
have been rejected by Parliament upon that express ground.
I have, etc. — James Brooke."

Among the names on the list of witnesses requisite for the
Baja's justification that accompanied the above, are those
of Lord Aberdeen, Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane, Captains
the Honourable Henry Keppel, Mundy, Bethune, Honourable
George Hastings, Farquhar, and Sir Edward Belcher;
Conmianders Horton and Egerton ; Lieutenants Brickwell,
WiUiamshurst, Everest, D'Aeth, and Jenkins ; Mr. McGregor ;
Mr. Hamilton Lindsay, Chairman, Mr. Woolly, Secretary,

106 THE KAJA OF SAKAwAK. [1803.

and Mr. Henry Wise, Managing Director, of the Eastern
Archipelago Company; and Mr. Joseph Hume, together with
ten more. Admii-al Sii- F. Colly er, under whose orders Captain
Farquhar acted, was dead.

In addition to this there was another list with the names
of seven " witnesses to establish the incon-ectness of the state-
ments contained in the insti'uctions sent to the Governor-
General of India to issue a Commission, etc." — the Earl of
Haddington, the Earl Grey, Viscount Palmerston, Lord John
Eussell, the Earl of Derby, Lord Stanley of Alderley, and Lord
Stanley of Bickerstaflfe.

186i.] THE BAJA OF SARAWAK. 107

CHAPTER XXn.

1854.

Towards the close of 1853, the '* Private Letters of the Eaja
Sir James Brooke," from 1838, edited by Mr. Templer, were
published. In later letters there are several references to this.
In one the Raja tells of reading out a re\'iew of them to an
admiring audience, and of laughing over the extracts given,
having entirely forgotten what he had written so long before.
On the 10th of February he wrote to Mr. Templer —

" I am certain the book must have given you a world of
trouble, and therefore wish it all the success you could desire,
I congratulate you on being well rid of it.

"You cannot act too boldly for my taste and temper.
There is such a quality as discretion which is the better part
of valour, but it has nothing to do with the mean moral
cowardice which too often usurps its name and its functions.
I have nothing to ask, nothing to gain, and certainly I fear
nothing. I am independent and I am happy, and even now
the feeling of indignation roused by injustice has been calmed,
and the recollection will die away with the subject.

" I expect a great deal from my friends, but they are few in
number. How many think you ? Ten ? Five, four, three,
two? Brankalif which, being interpreted, means * Perhaps.' It
is the convenient solution of every difficult question adopted
by poor Muda Mahommed. Puzzle him, which is easily
done, and he looks grave and says, * Perhaps.' "

It was, however, in vain that Brooke assured himself and

108 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1854.

others that indignation had passed. By a strong effort he
could for a time throw it off, but it came back and would not
die. His friends were in some uncertainty how to act for the
best, and at last seem to have decided to wait until after the
inquiry before bringing his case into the House of Commons,
not wishing to irritate a Ministry they could not successfully
oppose, and which there was some reason for hope might
yet be influenced from within. As their decision became
known to the Eaja he reconciled himself to it, although
with a pang.

** When the Commission is over I shall be dead to Parlia-
ment and to the nation. I should have liked some one to have
told the Government that they had acted unjustly and un-
wisely ; but beyond this I aimed at nothing from Parliament,
and anything that might have been said or done could not
have affected my future life. Let it pass therefore as a light
matter."

The following is the substance of letters written previous to
the above : —

** March 25, 1854. — There is only one item of intelligence
not quite pleasing to me in your [Mr. Templer's] welcome
letter of January 24th, and to that I shall first turn my
attention. There seems to be a doubt about the decisive
prosecution of my case in the House of Commons. I am
sorry for it, for I am resolute on the point. I expect no
success. I seek for justice. I am independent, and shall
continue so. I maintain publicly that the Government has
deliberately deviated fi-om truth and misled me by false
pretences. Under such circumstances, I make no distinction
between the highest magnate and the poorest sweep in the
land. They may murder me if they dare, but they shall not
intimidate me. I will make the truth known in this matter,
though all England to a man should wish me to be silent.
Truth is higher than self-interest, self-respect is nobler than
worldly position. I shall be proud to be injured by such men,
and I fear nothing. Beg Drummond, then, to follow his own
sense of justice — to speak boldly and unflinchingly without

1854.] THE RAJA OF SAUAWAK. 109

one thought of my interest. I have no interest but the cause
of justice and the advantage of England. Let him speak as
though he were wronged himself, and leave the rest to the
Parliament and to the public, and afterwards I am content
that my name should never more be heard in England. If
there be honour or high feeling left, he will not lack sup-
porters; but let us tread the right path the more firmly
because the herd are scared and deviate from it. Lord Grey
and Lord Ellesmere will perhaps do in the Lords what
Drummond, I am sure, will do in the Commons. Now for the
mode.

** If any substantive motion be made to cancel the orders
for the Commission, it should be on the express ground that, in
the opinion of the House, there is no evidence to warrant it.
I am reluctant, however, to let them off the Commission : it will
bring truth to light, and there is nothing to object to the
Commissioners. My view of the case is this : — Two questions
should be asked — 1st. Has her Majesty's Government con-
sidered the protest made by Mr. Templer and Sir James Brooke;
and is it prepared to alter the instructions to make them
consistent with facts and in accordance with the principles of
justice and law ? 2nd. Is her Majesty's Government prepared
to make the Commission *full, fair, and complete,* and to
command the attendance of all witnesses necessary for Sir
James Brooke's justification, and for the conviction of his
calumniators ?

" On either of these questions a motion might be founded ;
on the latter question, should it be contested, the result would
be in our favour ; should it not be conceded, we should gain
most that was required to prevent the hole-and-corner investi-
gation intended by Ministers, and they might be pushed on
the other ground, and thus enable us to declare the whole
truth as I desire.

" I do not in my denunciations include them all, though
there is discredit attached to those who yield to a baseness as
well as to those who perpetrate it."

** April 26th. — What the result may be of the discussions

110 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1854.

in Parliament it is difficult to foretell, nor does it much
signify. If the Commission be quashed with a high hand it
will save me a world of trouble.: if it come off I shall be better
satisfied when the trouble and disgrace — for such it is — be
over. It is satisfactory to my feelings that the subject should
be discussed, and thus it will be an unmixed good. Lord
Grey and Lord EUesmere have truly proved themselves to be
friends by their considerate kindness, Drunmiond not less so
— firm and consistent in justice.

** I wish for nothing more than that I should not be sub-
jected to wrong without discussion and resistance, and as for
the compensation which you speak of, I wish it not. WTiat
compensation can be offered ? I wish for quiet and for safety
against the false accusations of the ■ British Government, and
against the claims and pretences of the Netherlands Govern-
ment. Is this too much to ask ? "

• *^July 4:th. — Had the Commissioners been appointed in due
course the Commission would now have been sitting in Singa-
pore. Is it the pleasure of Ministers to suspend this inquiry
for an indefinite period over my head? I am at a loss to
conceive what 'terms' you could impose on Government.
Can any terms restore my confidence ? Can I forget the dis-
grace inflicted ? Can I stand cap in hand for ginger-bread
honours ? Is the past to be no warning for the future ? The
terms, if any, are such as the Government will not agree to.
Eetract the charges fairly, fully, and publicly ; withdraw the
instructions issued for the Commission ; recognize Sarawak
and my position — and for the rest trust to my generosity and
my sense of public duty. But as yet I can in no manner
reconcile the thought to my mind of accepting any appoint-
ment.

" This is a long letter, but you have still to have a second
on the position and affairs of Sardwak, for important events
are passing, and pretty pictures are succeeding one another in
our political kaleidoscope."

Since lientap's outbreak, Sakarran had been more or less
restless, and Sarcbus sympathizing. Bentap— ^^Grandfather

1854.] THE RAJi^ OF SARAwAK. Ill

Bentap '* as the natives called him — was a most resolute old
chief, and a preserver of the ancient customs, whereof piracy
was the crown. Entrenched on Sadok mountain he defied the
world in general, and Sarawak in particular, and we shall
hear of him again more than once.

Gasin was altogether on the other side ; his zeal, however,
sometimes outran his discretion, and in a letter from the
Eaja to his nephew Charles (in 1856) we read, ** Do, in future,
restrain that silly dear old Gasin from going too far inland
with ballas [large expeditions]. Mengayu anak [small ex-
peditions] he may, but with these ballas in the enemy's
country he wiU some day come to grief, and bring shame on
our beards."

The sore point with the Eaja in connection with this inter-
tribal war was that it need never have broken out. ** The want
of support from Government did not justify me in preaching
forbearance ; and though these tribes might have been reduced
to abstinence from their evil ways by the consistent exertion
of a just power, without blood- shedding among themselves,
yet the peace of the coast must be maintained and the
turbulent put down at any cost; The responsibility rests with
our Government.'*

In December, 1853, he had gone up the Sakarran, hoping
by personal influence to bring about peace, but the fighting
spirit was too strong : so in April, 1854, Captain Brooke was
sent with a small force, and, being joined as he passed the
mouth of the Linga by his brother Charles, reached Mr.
Brereton, and with Gasin en grande tenue attacked Rentap's
followers and their Sarebus aUies.

** Brooke is away," the Raja wi-ot3 meanwhile, *' carrying
on operations against the pirate folk. It must be done, but
I tr mble for my children."

The attempt failed, partly because the attacking natives
had their own way, as indeed they generally did in this
jungle warfare. Their parental care of their English officers
extended occasionally to forcibly holding them back if undue
danger or treachery was anticipated. On the present occasion,

112 THE BAJA OF. SARAWAK. [1664.

the ground being almost impaBsable, Gasin's Dyabs con-
sidered that no one but themselves, to whom it was iamiliar,
had any prospect of attaining to the presence of the enemy,
and therefore insisted on advancing alone. This done, they
were beaten and returned on their supports, so wounded, worn
out, and discouraged, that the whole force became demoralized
and retreated, being provided with guides and provisioEB by the
chivalrous enemy, whose tone, writes the present Baja,' ap-
peared to be — " ' Yon have all made a great mistake in coming,
but we are above taking a mean advantage of it ; we escort you
for the purpose of placing you in the proper road for returning
as quickly as possible.' We returned home," he adds, " with
feelings that can be better imagined than described. The
Dyaks said birds and dreams had been 'angat' (hot), con-
sequently bad ; the Malays (Sariwak) said if they had only
been there the result would have been different ; and the
Europeans said — nothing."

In June the Eaja determined to attack Sarebus direct
unlesa the well-disposed portion of the tribe could regain the
upper hand ; a deputation from this party bad been to
Kucbing to consult liim. The following letter to Mrs. Templer
was written while waiting to know the result of the ultimatum
he had then returned : —

" The real cause of all this stir is that the Sarebus Dyaks
are getting restless, and one party of eighteen bangkongs
(large war boats) having got to the sea thie year, others are
resolved to follow the example. On our side we are resolute,
not only f« prevent their going out pirating, but to end a
system of indiscriminate slaughter by land, which has no
parallel but in the Thug sytitem of India. I had wished to
have postponed this inevitable outbreak till the Commission
was over, but it is now imjKissible, and next month we attack
Sarebus. It is like fighting a man in front, with one baud
tied behind my back, and my eyes cast over my shoulder. If
the Commission comes I shall attend it, and Brooke will take
command. If it be delayed I shall go myself.

* " T«n Itari in SotomiiIi," bj diarlm (Johmon) Brooke.

1854.] THE RAJA OF SAKIwAK. 113

" The Saxebus had no sooner returned to consider their
answer than the Balanini appeared on the coast for twenty-
four hours, chased two boats of our people, and captured one
prahu belonging to the Natunas, which had just come out of
Sarawak laden with rice. This is the result of long-continued
neglect on the part of our Government. These pirates have
never ventured in the Sarawak waters since 1843, when
Keppel's first advent taught them a lesson. They have never
been to the southward of Labuan since 1847, when we cut
them oflF with the Nem^tsis. The total withdrawal of all naval
protection has encouraged them again, and I trust next year
to give a good account of them without the assistance of our
Government. Oh, for a small steamer to protect our people
and trade ! How little those silly people in England who yelp
about peace and brotherly love, know the misery and blood-
shed they cause by preventing the punishment of the guilty
for the protection of the innocent !

"You may imagine that my mind is restless, though I
have much leisure time. I can do nothing with satisfaction
or with ease whilst it continues the pleasure of the Govern-
ment to keep me in a state of suspense about the Commission.

'* I fear this is anything but a lady -like letter, but I men-
tion to you the events which have occurred, and which occupy
my thoughts to the obstruction of more peaceful occupations.
I steal away from business for a few days to my mountain
home ; the change is always agreeable. My love to the dear
children.

*' June 26th. — I have just received about thirty-five fowls
from Shanghai; the ladies are angelic, the gentleman tall,
but all in very bad condition. I will write more particulars
shortly."

A letter now arrived with great State from Sultan Mumim,
announcing his intended coronation to the Raja, and asking
him to be present. " Nothing could be kinder."

A Uttle later Mumim was in trouble by reason of another
faction that had sprung up in his always factious capital ;
every one wished to dispose of everybody else, and the only
VOL. n. I

114 THE BAJA OF SAKiWAK. [1B54.

point of agreement was the desire that Brooke Bhoald settle
matters. Probably Makota was an exception, for the oppres-
sions and exactions in which he was indulging could not, as he
was well aware, be peacefully carried on in the Baja's near
neighbourhood ; but Makota never found difficulty in conceal-
ing his opinions.

" You obserye," Brooke wrote with reference to the con-
dition of Brune, " we have ' «n hotnme gravement vialade,' hut
instead of killing my man, like the Czar, 1 am anxious to keep
him ahve."

He continues — " The Balanini have done an infinity of
mischief ail the way from Malludu, here, and onwards. Singa-
pore suffers seriously from the depredations of pirates. The
SiLrebus have not yet concluded their ' baum,' or conference,
on the vital question of peace or war. I shall be sincerely
X)leased if their decision be for peace, and I shall then gain
time by diplomacy before I act against the delinquents who
killed Lee in their attempt to force a passage to aea."

Brune, Sarebus, Sakarran, all heaving ; the Balanini and
Lanuna loose ; together with the uncertainty of every-
thing connected with the conduct of Lord Aberdeen's Govern-
ment, and the fear that the Netherlands Government, already
pressing their opportunity, might be yielded to, was bad
enough ; but the Itaja wrote, June 30th, to Mr. W. H. Bead —
" I have a raw besides, worse than all, which I mean to settle
and then let you know of." The letter closes with the re&ain
of all his letters now. "I long for the Commission — the
suspense is a living and shameful injustice."

Two letters, to Mr. Templer and to Mr. Bead, detail thia
" raw that was worse than all." It arose from the long-con-
tinued bad conduct of the principal native officer of Sarawak,
Fatingi Gaflfur ; formerly one of Muda Hassim's rebeUious
chiefs, he had been reinstated by Brooke, to whom he owed
the restoration of everything confiscated by Muda Hassim.

"But as be got rich there was no keeping him straight.
His abuse of power, bis oppressions of the people, his revival
of ancient evils, his pretensions, his intrigues, his corruptions.

1854.] THE BAJA OF SARIwAK. 115

and his free use of my name for purposes of his own, had been
often checked but never abandoned, and ever recurring.
Some time ago, when I mentioned to you his malversations,
he was seriously warned, and made to disgorge some ill-gotten
wealth ; but this, instead of preventing him, only urged him
forward, and he not only intrigued against the Government,
but, by threatening the better class of Sarawak people,
thwarted our measures, and used language which was treason-
able against every constituted authority. All this was fooHshly
as well as wickedly done, and, without a prospect of success,
it stiU might have been in his power to disturb the peace and
to plunge us into the troubles of civil war.

**I resolved, therefore, at once to degrade him from his
office, so as to crush the seeds of discontent in the bud. I
ordered a great public meeting of the country for an important
business, but excepting Brooke, St. John, the Datu Bandar,
Datu Tumangong, and a few others, no one in the country
knew my object. The court was crowded, many hundreds
being present. I gently explained the duty of the people
towards the Government. I alluded to the past, the present
happiness of aU classes, the advantages of organization, and
the crime committed by any one who failed in obedience to
constituted authority, or desired to disturb the public peace.
I pointed out to the elders of the kampongs, that, having
received their authority from Government, they should not
have yielded it to the Patingi; but at the same time I acquitted
them of aU evil intention, and declared — which was strictly
true — ^that I knew their attachment to the Government.

" I then turned to the Patingi, and said that this was his
doing. I reminded him of the past, the warnings he had
received and neglected, I detailed the charges against him,
and concluded by saying — * I accuse you before the people, of
treason, and I give you the option of pubhcly declaring your
submission to the Government or of death.'

" He submitted. I then said, * I do not seek your hfe, for
you are the Bandar's brother, and have many relatives my
friends. I do not confiscate your property, for your wives and

116 THE BAJA OF SARIWAK. [1854.

children have not shared your offence. For the safety of the
kingdom I order you to sit in your place in this court, whilst
proper persons bring to the fort all the arms and ammunition
which belong to you/ He sat quite quiet. I requested his
near relatives to go and bring the guns and powder ; I offered
Patingi a cigar to console him, and after a couple of mortal
long hours* sitting the things were brought. I then shook
hands with the culprit, told him that what I had done was for
the good of the people, and that he should hear further from
me through the proper channel. He then retired to his house.
Everything passed with perfect quietness, and proved to
demonstration the great moral force possessed by the Govern-
ment. This man, possessed of wealth and influence, from his
position thoroughly acquainted with the native mind, sur-
roimded by relatives, the best and bravest men amongst the
Sarawak people, could not muster twenty men to espouse his
quarrel ; and since his downfall there has been a very general
rejoicing, and a substantial improvement will follow. The
great difficulty was to contrive some plan to remove him from
the coimtry without involving his innocent family. I cleverly
bethought me of the Pilgrimage to Mecca. He jumped at the
idea, and I trust in a month's time he will be on his way to
the Holy City. Till he goes I watch him quietly, as a cat
watches a mouse; for, spite of all professions, I know he
would do me a mischief if he could, and I have too long an
experience of his ways ever to trust him again with authority.
**It is a great measure accomplished. It is the practical
test of the confidence of the people in their Government, and
of the stability of the Government itself. But I may thank
the British Ministry for the trial, and the necessity of exerting
my power, as it is certain that, but for the vacillation of years,
and the encouragement afforded to every evil-doer to subvert
my power, the Patingi would not have thought of doing what
he would fain have attempted had he dared. "His expressions
to those about him were that the steamers never come now,
that the English Government had cast me off, that the
Europefiiis were few and the Malays many.

1 54.] THE RAJA OF SABIwAK. 117

" There is no doubt of this. The English Government has
thus encouraged sedition and assassination ; and if I have to
thank them for the trial, I have likewise to thank them for
the opportunity of proving how deeply the roots of the
Sarawak Government are implanted. Had it been otherwise,
the death of any European here would fairly have rested at
their door. We cannot tamper with distant interests without
danger to those concerned ; and, slight as may appear their
responsibility to men, their responsibUity to God will not be
lessened.

" * All's well that ends well,' and we are now more firmly
established than we have been at any time since 1848. The
native people are true, and the native ministers to be reHed
on. You may fancy, with all these measures on hand, and
the Commission suspended, how much I am tried ; yet, never-
theless, I continue well."

Patingi Gafifur went to Singapore as the first stage of his
pilgrimage, not without a clear foresight on the Raja's part that
the Wise and Woods party might find him grist to their mill.

This matter, so far successfully over, he was further
cheered by news from the Sarebus ; the peaceful portion of
the tribes had gained the day, and though that day might be
short, yet for a time it would be vain for Eentap to look there
for support.

Meanwhile, perplexing letters arrived from England. It
appeared that Lord Ellesmere and Mr. Templer had had an
interview of two hours at the Foreign Office with Lord
Clarendon, the result of which was considered imexpectedly
satisfactory. But from Mr. Templer there was no account,
and those who wrote, evidently leaving to him to give all
particulars, confined themselves to comments. In this indirect
way the Raja gathered that Lord Clarendon had expressed a
very high sense of his character, and had said that Lord
Aberdeen entertained the same opinion. A steamer would be
ordered for his moral support, and the Foreign Secretary had
shown himself so cordial that, to the more sanguine, there
seemed no shadow of doubt but that a full amende for the
past wotQd be made.

118 THE BAJA OF BABAwAK. [1654.

No further infoimation could be received for a fortnight,
and during that time the Raja allowed himself to hope. " If
the Government is in earnest," he wrote to Mr. Templer, " and
iB going to make an amende to me, and to perform its treaty
engagements with Borneo, and to pursue the policy it
abandoned, so as to save the lives and liberty of this poor
people, let it send out a small steamer at once ; thirty men
win do all the work, and then they may postpone matters and
consider the subject for ten years to come ; but the steamer
must be under me and always on this coast. Do not be led
away, by any good intentions or fair promises on the part of
Government, to delay my steamer [previously ordered] for
an hour. If it be necessary I shall sell books, plate, house-
hold gods, and furniture, to pay for this same steamer ; and
if she be arranged for, the sooner they begin the better."

On July 23rd the missing letter from Mr. Templer, delayed
by accident at Singapore, arrived. It contained notes of a
conversation between Lord EUesmere and himself with the
Foreign Secretary, at an interview granted by the latter on
May lOtb.

Lord Clarendon, Mr, Templer wrote, had not only dis-
claimed for himself and for the Prime Minister any hostile
or adverse opinion of Sir James Brooke, but had spoken of
him as one for whom they entertained " a great respect." He,
himself, bad read Captain Keppel's book, and he considered
the Eaja "everything that was noble," a "man to be proud
of as a countryman." He must confess, however, that liifl
opinion bad been a little impaired by the way Sir James had
spoken in his last interview. His words were that he, the
Haja, should consider if he would allow the Commission to
proceed, and that he would not be responsible for the lives of
the Commissioners. At the same time he had gone far to
remove the tmfavourable impression then created. "Lord
Clarendon had thought the inquiry would not be dis-
tasteful, and the best mode of ending the calumnies against
him, and he was surprised at tlie way the I^ja met it."

1864.] THE BAJA OF SAJilWAK. 119

Begarding the instructions be had drawn them up himself,
purposely avoiding " any expressions of an irritable nature."

To this Mr. Templer had replied that what required altera-
tion were the statements as to the liaja's anomalous position,
and its never having been recognized.

" Lord Clarendon said he thought it a fair question for
inquiry, as the principle *No man can serve two masters'
might or might not be departed from under the circumstances.
I [Mr. Templer] rephed — a fair matter for decision certainly,
but not for inquiry, as all facts are here ; and referred to Earl
Grey's testimony on the * Inquiry on the Ordnance and Army
Estimates ' as conclusive upon everything having been com-
municated to the then Government as to the position in
Borneo; and that Lord Grey had been expressly asked by
Sir James Graham on that inquiry, if Sir James Brooke had
been put to his choice between retaining his position at
Sarawak or entering the service of England, which he would
have chosen ? and Lord Grey replied that he always under-
stood the former.

" Lord Clarendon replied he had not seen it. I assured
him that the inquiry on this point could neither add to nor
detract from the facts which were conceded on both sides. It
might be a fair question for decision upon those facts, not for
inquiry ; and if her Majesty's Government decided that the
position was anomalous, so as to be detrimental to British
interests, it would be reversing the decision of the three
preceding Administrations."

Lord Clarendon's reply to this, if any, is not stated. He
denied that Mr. Hume or Mr. Wise had the least influence
with the Government. It was true that he had had an inter-
view the previous year with Mr. Wise, but they (the Govern-
ment) understood his character, and would have nothing to
do with him. Before Mr. Templer's letters were received,
it had been detected in the office that Mr. Wise's " Papers
printed for Use in the Government Offices " could not be relied
on, and that some were ** simple forgeries."

"These papers," said Mr. Templer, *'form part of the

120 THE RAJA OF SABIWAK. [1854.

instructions for the Commissioners, and their attention should
be directed to this." Lord Clarendon replied that he was not
aware of it, but aU the papers that bore on the case had been
sent.

Lord Clarendon had had no communication with Mr.
Hume. That gentleman had been to the Foreign Office, and
used intemperate language against Sir James Brooke, but
was in no way encouraged. Eegarding the Baja's resignation
of his office, he (Lord Clarendon) had refused to accept it,
thinking it a mistake, and one that would be taken advantage
of by enemies. "Did your lordship tell him so, or merely
leave his resignation unreplied to ? " asked Mr. Templer.
Lord Clarendon said the latter, but he had indirectly sent
him a verbal message.

If this friendly feeling really existed, urged Lord EUesmere
and Mr. Templer, might not a practical proof be given —
such as a steamer for the protection of the Borneon coast
pending the Commission, with some communication of a
friendly character to the Raja ? Sarebus and Sakarran were
again breaking out, and in seK-defence he would be obliged
to take active measures.

" Lord Clarendon paused and said, * I think it might be
done. It is not unreasonable,* but he demurred to the word
protection.

" Lord EUesmere then asked in what position the Com-
mission stood. Sir James Brooke and his friends were
ignorant whether it was going on, and its delay was a vital
injury to him.

" Lord Clarendon said that there had been a difficulty in
obtaining Commissioners, but two gentlemen were found, and
it would proceed immediately. I [Mr. Templer] said I
trusted there would be no further delay, and that all the
witnesses who were material would be directed to attend.
Many were admirals and captains in this country, and this
would render a supplemental Commission necessary here.

" Lord Clarendon did not make any reply to this." Regard-
ing some proof of the good-will of the Government, he would

1854.J THE BAJA OF SARIwAK. 121

communicate at once with Sir James Graham on the subject,
and, if it could be done consistently with the distribution of
force, a steamer, '* not, perhaps, for protection, but for Sir
James Brooke's moral support^ should be sent.*'

To Mr. Templer the result of the interview appears to have
been a feeling of great satisfaction. The abrupt termination
of his correspondence with the Foreign Office nine months
before, and the whole action of the Government towards his
friend, had given him no grounds for expecting eulogiums.
Yet these had been uttered, and, better still, an assurance
made that if the inquiry terminated favourably the Eaja
might have any appointment or position he chose.

He wrote, therefore, by the first mail cheerily, but little
dreamed that the echo of the Minister's praise, eagerly caught
up and circulated at home would reach first, while the full
particulars, that would have enabled the Eaja to draw his own
conclusion, lagged behind.

Brooke's reply is dated Sarawak, July 24, 1854 : —

"After twenty-four hours' consideration, I cannot regard this
subject in the light which you appear to have done, and I shall
therefore note down my views upon it. The conversation
may be fairly divided into two portions so far as regards Lord
Clarendon and the Government.

" 1st. Comphments and professions. To these I attach no
weight, because they are substantially the same in effect as
Lord Clarendon made to me immediately before he penned the
instructions, the dishonesty of which he continues unable to
perceive.

"2ndly. A sort of assurance that when the Commission
shall have terminated favourably, spite of its unfairness.
Lord Clarendon would become my advocate, with his colleagues,
in order that they may * do me justice ; ' and * to mark their
sense of what I have gone through,' he [Lord Clarendon] con-
sidered the Government should meet my wishes in any way,
either by giving me the appointment mentioned,* or by
placing me in a position most agreeable to my wishes."

* An iq»pointment of the same, or of a Bimilar nature, to that contemplated
for him by the Govemment of Lord Derby.

122 THE BAJA OF BABAWAK. [IBM.

"To this I reply, that when the CommiBsiou, based apon
false instructions, shall be at an end, I will bold no inter-
course whatever with the British Government ; and that the
unreserved and pubHc recognition of Sarawak must be pre-
liminary to any communication it desires to have with me.

" This is a sine qud Jton.

" I observe throughout this conversation no concession, no
expression of regret, no amende for injustice, no definition of
the charges, no retraction of false statement, no modification
of the instructions or explanation of the Government, no
promise that the witnesses I demand shall be furnished, or
elucidation how a Commission is to decide and report when the
evidence is wanting.

" Lord Clarendon's statements, as I read them, amount to
this : — That when the attempt to ruin me, which the Govern-
ment pushes to the last and most unfair extremity, shall have
failed, Lord Clarendon may be able to evade the con-
secxuences of his act by resorting to a tardy and ineffectual
dole of justice.

" With this view, and to avert the betrayal which I believe
to be intended, I shall meet the Commission in a spirit as
distrustful and hostile as the instructions which Lord Claren-
don has not thought fit to modify or withdraw.

" I cannot believe, or, believing, cannot allow it to influence
my course, that the Ministry would dare to tamper secretly
with the Commission by privately explaining or modifying the
instructions, or expressing a wish as to the mode of conducting
"the proceedings. I have every reason to complain of Lord
Clarendon, but I would not suspect him of such a crime. I
did tell Lord Clarendon, and I am proud of it, that I would
consider whether I would permit the Commission, or, rather,
the expression was, ' that it rested upon my generosity to grant
or to refuse the Conunission,' very nearly these words. I did
say that I would not answer for the Uvea of the Commissioners.
How could I tell where they were going, or what they intended
to do or say ? And, by heavens t with my passions roused,
if they were insolent, I would not answer for my not

1854.] THE BAJA OF SABIwAE. 123

strikmg them in open court. Men's passions for evil and
for good are not to be measured like yards of red tape, or
weighed like reams of foolscap by any stationer in Downing
Street.

" I told Lord Clarendon what he did not tell you — namely,
that I should never trust in the English Government again.
It is true, and ever to be repeated and borne in mind, that I
have a deep settled distrust both in the men and in their
measures. They caused the murder of Muda Hassim, and
they have done their best, and are still doing their best, to
destroy me.

** My resignation was absolute. Lord Clarendon was not
justified in playing the farce of not accepting it. It required
no acceptation, but was a fact accomplished ; and I can be no
more forced to perform the duties of the appointment I flimg
in his face than a horse can be forced to drink, or a man can
be forced to believe again. What is meant by sending a ship
of war for my protection, coupled with the qualification, * not
perhaps, for protection so much as for the moral support it
would give?* Is this ship of war belonging to the Peace
Society ? Are her men and her guns Quakers ! Is she to bring
a cargo of tracts and cambric pocket-handkerchiefs ? Is she
always to threaten when danger is afar off, and refuse to act
when there is fighting to do ? — ^poor, poor, gallant navy ! Is
she to be guided by the Admiralty orders to foster pirates and
encourage piracy ?

" What is moral government — ^the government of God — but
a system of rewards and punishments? What is a moral
support but an active co-operation to advance good and
suppress evil ? If anything else but this be meant, the pro-
tection to be afforded is a pretence, derogatory to the English
navy, and dangerous to me ; for, as I beheve I told you before,
the natives are sagacious enough to know a scarecrow from a
living man, and I, for one, would never impose upon them, to
be detected and betrayed at the moment when action and
energy were needed.

" I believe, my dear Jack, I have exhausted my subject.

124 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1854.

Do not think me irritable and ungrateful for what you have
done. It is as my friends are drawn into a focus that I learn
to be kindly in proportion to my distrust of the mass of
animals. Lord Grey and Lord EUesmere have truly been
friends to value, and if I disagree in my views as to Lord
Clarendon's intentions in the conversation which passed, and
as to my future proceedings, it is from the total, and I fear
irrecoverable, want of confidence I entertain towards the
Government.

**The Commission will make the breach wider than the
Danube, and deeper than the Baltic !

"I 6annot reconcile my mind to ever accepting any
beggarly appointment from this Government, or, indeed, any
other. I did so before, as you well know, in the full confidence
of finding support to carry out objects which I still hold to be
the noblest in the world, and, verily, I have had my reward.
These objects I will never abandon whilst I have life, but it is
by other and more independent means that I must strive to
advance them — always with this qualification, that the fate
of nations, great or small, or man's life or man's suffering,
are as nothing when weighed in the balance against the
principles of our moral existence. The one is but the thing
of a day, the other the eternal decree of good as opposed
to evil.

" 25th. — Is my letter of yesterday savage ? Mayhap it is ;
but you know you cannot always have me smiling and com-
placent, and my correspondence would not be what it is in its
imreserve were I to smother my feelings. I am free to confess
that, hearing before I received your letter that your interview
with Lord Clarendon had been highly satisfactory, etc., etc.,' I
had hoped and concluded that the Government would pass
over the bridge you had built for them, and cancel the orders
for the inquiry. Such a course would have opened the way
for peace between us. It would have prevented the disgrace
of trial, and it would have vindicated my reputation as de-
claring that the Government could find no grounds to proceed
with an inquiry hastily resolved on. Had the Cabinet declared

1854.] THE RAJA OF SARIWAK. 125

itself mistaken, in gentle, and lady-like, and mincing terms,
there would have been groimds for reconciUation ; but it is
not so, the contest is to be carried to extremity, and there will
be no footing for the dove with an olive-branch in its bill.
They must swallow dirt ; and if the little I said to Lord
Clarendon shook the opinion of the Ministers in my
character, what character with them shall I have after my
say before the Commission ?

" I will write no more, for you will observe that I suffer
from a burning indignation, an unquenched flame of nearly
two years' consuming power, by night and by day — smothered
and unseen, but fiery sense of wrong done, feelings outraged,
confidence betrayed, injustice perpetrated, power abused — and
then, then perhaps, I am to be rewarded with beggarly honours,
base appointments, and filthy wages. Let Ministers deck me
with a pile of strawberry or gooseberry leaves — let them
pour into my treasury all the enormous sums wasted in
Parliamentary papers, and sacrificed by vicious or imbecile
measures — what good will it do me or them ? Will these
things insure honesty or restore confidence ? Where injury
is done by those appointed to administer justice, it is still
injury under the pretence and form of law and Government;
and, the sufferer having no appeal on earth, the only remedy
in such cases is an appeal to Heaven. This is the substance
of what Locke says, which I read but the other day — and so
be it — for time is but a second in eternity.

" These sentiments — or feelings, if it please you — spring
to my pen. The Commission I care nothing for. I shall
vindicate my innocence and uprightness. But if it be not
my disgrace, it will be an eternal dishonour — if they have
any honour — to Ministers. The alternative is not of my
choosing.

" I have walked about for an hour to cool myseK — now to
business.**

After this ** long and strong letter,*' as he called it later,
he started in the month of August for the Sakarran. If the
Commission reached Singapore before his return it must just

126 THE EAJA OF SARAwAK. [1864.

wait. The call to arms brought between seven and eight
thousand Malays and Dyaks to his side. A difficult work lay
before them; for, besides Eentap's people openly in opposition,
there were other tribes that had refused to promise neutrality,
reserving to themselves the right of joining the successful
side. Datu Tumangong of Sard,wak was therefore detached,
with six prahus, in the direction of the Sarebus, while Mr.
Steel, one of the Eaja's officers (who has not been yet men-
tioned), left the fort at Kanowit of which he was in charge,
and which had been thrice attacked, and, with fifteen hundred
men, advanced up the Kajulo Eiver to prevent the Kajulos
reinforcing Eentap; while the Eaja, with the main body,
leaving the Sakarran fort, ascended that river for about thirty
miles to a place called Entaban. The heavy prahus were only
brought thus far with great difficulty, and beyond this it was
impossible to drag them. So here a stockade was erected,
and here the Eaja remained, leaving to Captain Brooke the
post of honour and the conduct of the advance. With him
went his brother Charles, Mr. Arthur Crookshank, Mr. Brere-
ton, and four other Englishmen. Eentap was on a spur of
Sadok Mountain, called Sungei Lang, and thither the force
pressed on ; some, the canny Sakarrans, going by water, and
the rest by land. Either way was bad enough, but the land
journey was almost impracticable. It was done, however,
Sungei Lang reached, and Eentap wounded and driven for
the time out of his stronghold, the very strength of which
made the defeat the more important in its effect on the
country. This spur of Sadok Mountain is five hundred feet
high ; at its top were three enclosures proof against grape
and musketry, and surrounding a village of which every house
was stockaded. Two narrow paths, falling away steep on either
side, formed the only approach, and these were filled with
spikes, and commanded by guns and muskets ; while fifteen
yards from the muzzles of the guns was a ditch ten feet broad
and five feet deep, with every obstructive at its bottom.

The enemy being driven out, Eentap's eyrie was occupied
for a couple of days, after which the force returned in triumph

1854.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 127

to Entaban, where the good news had abready reached the
Baja.

" I am proud of the achievement," he wrote (August 24th)
to Mr. Templer ; " it will establish Brooke's character as a
leader, and it will be another sledge-hammer blow at the
system of piracy and indiscriminate murder ; and, now that
I am unshackled by the trammels of office, the blow shall be
repeated until the many-headed monster submits his neck to
the yoke of human society, and till the peaceful may pursue
their avocations without danger.'*

Datu Tumangong, on his return, reported well of Sarebus :
the most piratically disposed chief, one Pamancha, had died ;
the Malays and Dyaks in the lower part of the river were well
disposed, and the fall of the big chiefs stronghold would keep
the rest quiet.

The only drawback was the sickness that broke out after
the return to Sarawak — the effect of exposure through nights
of heavy rain, following days of most arduous labour. Mr.
Brereton had been ill before of dysentery, and now became
worse.

From 1849 to 1852 no vessel of the Eoyal Navy visited
Sarawak or its neighbourhood. In 1852, being the year of
Lord Derby's Administration, Captain the Hon. J. Spencer
brought H.M.S. Conquest (twelve guns) to Kuching; after-
wards, with one of his boats, and a Sarawak Government
pinnace manned by his crew, accompanying Captain Brooke,
Mr. C. Johnson, and Mr. Spenser St, John, up the Batang
Lupar as far as the Sakarran.

Two years had passed since then, with no sight of an
English flag, no steamer for "moral support ; " but three days
afker the return to Kuching from Sadok, H.M. brig Lily came
up the river. The Commissioners were expected at Singapore,
and Captain Saunderson was sent by Captain EUiot to take
the Eaja to his trial. He was ready ; but first he called his
people together — Malays, Dyaks, Chinese, Klings, and the
little band of Europeans. The Commission, he said, of which

128 THE BAJA OP SAEAWAK. [1864.

he had told them before, was arrived, and he mast go and
meet it. He was accused of great crimes, of oppression, and of
misrule. He would try and persuade the Commissioners to
come to Sarawak, when all there might speak for themselves.
If he had wi-onged any man, now was the time for such to
seek redress. He could not tell what his own future might be,
but, whatever became of him, they must maintain their
independence and support a Government of their own choice.

" You should have seen the working of these Malay
countenances, the savage gleam in these Malay eyes. It
would not have done Lord Clarendon's heai"t good had he
been present. If it hatl pleased me, I felt that I could havo
worked the people to the dangerous point.

"Is it not sad," he continues, to Mr. Templer, "to think that
all they know of noble and good and corrective in government
should be called in question by the very Government which
I have told them for years is civilized and trustworthy ? They
cannot imderstand how it has come about, but their instinct
assurus them that there is something very wrong, and destroys
that confidence which it once waa my pride to inculcate.

" Let it pass. I am not in a passion of indignation now
— reflection and self-examination bring me right, and sadly it
is needed."

After this the Lihj took him to Singapore.

September 9th he wrote thence — " I was sorry to leave St.
John, Grant, and Brereton very ill, but, all three being better,
and past I trust all danger, I am hopeful of receiving good
accounts, or even of seeing the two former by the next vessel.
The news from Labuan is, as usual, bad. A fleet of Lanune had
for some time been collected at Pulo Tiga (within thirty miles
of the island), and, it was said, had built huts, or, accord-
ing to one report, forts there. The Lanuns know that I am
out of office and rejoice ; even the people of Singapore feel it
and regret. The change here is great in the Enghsb com-
munity. I am already becoming popular, according to that
generous but sUly instinct which belongs to our countrymen.

1854.] THE BAJA OF SARIWAK. 129

I know the standard by which to measure their praise and
their blame, and my quarrel is not with the weak and well-
intentioned, but with a vicious and dishonest Government.
You will have another letter detailing five or six days' pro-
ceedings, I think it will be all hoah.''

The Commissioners appointed by the Viceroy of India in
Council, were Charles R. Prinsep, Esq., Barrister-at-Law, and
Advocate-General of Bengal, and the Honourable Humphrey
Bohun Devereux, of the Bengal Civil Service.

For a month previous to their arrival, a notification had
been publicly affixed, stating the objects of the Commission.
These have been already given in Lord Clarendon's letter to
Sir Charles Wood, from which the notice was evidently drawn
up. One addition only occurs. Lord Clarendon wTote — " It
will be the duty of the Commissioners to inquire into the
accusations brought against Sir James Brooke by British
subjects," etc. ; in the notification this runs — " any accusa-
tions which have been or may be brought," etc.

The Raja was in ignorance as to whether or not the
original instructions of the Foreign Secretary had been modi-
fied ; an answer on this point, as weU as to his request for
witnesses, having been evaded. He therefore applied to the
Conmiissioners on the subject, and was answered that there
would be no objection to his reading any documents in their
possession, with the exception of their "private instructions,"
to which, of course, access could not be allowed.

The nature of these private instructions, and how far, if at
aU, they bore on the original, remained a mystery. In any
case, so long as they continued secret, they could not be held
to abrogate those of which the Raja had received a copy from
the Foreign Office direct ; and in consequence he determined to
lay before the Commissioners a protest previously drawn up,
but which he was prepared to withhold had the instructions
even at the last hour been rendered more true to facts. " I
know it will do me a great deal of harm in a worldly point of
view," he wrote to Mr. Templer, " but I will express what I
think to be right, and stigmatize what I know to be wrong."

VOL. n. E

130 THE RAJA OF BABXwAE. [1B64.

" PBOTEST.

" I herewith enter my protest against the deapatch of
June 21, 1853,* oddresBed by the Earl of Clarendon to Sir
Gharlea Wood, containing the iustrnctionB upon vhich this
CommiBsion is based.

" 1 protest against these iuBtrnctions — that they are opposed
to factB ; illegal, as requiring this Commission to determine
the law of England ; in violation of the principles of justice ;
and calculated to escite erroneous impressions on the minds
of the GommiBsioners.

"1. In reference to the first paragraph of the despatch in
question, I remark that the ' anomalous position ' which I
occupied was cBtablished by the Ministers of her Majesty's
present Government, who were aware, when they placed me
in it, that I held the territory of Sarawak, and administered
the government and revenue of that country.

"I protest, therefore, against this 'anomalous position'
being now assigned as a reason for inquiry, by the Ministers
who formerly resorted to that expedient for the pubUc good.

" I protest, hkewise, against the assumption that ' certain
inconveniences had then arisen ; ' because the anomaly, which
had been terminated, could have no practical reference to the
future convenience or inconvenience of the public service, or
to the future advantage or disadvantage of the ' commercial
interests of Great Britain,' as affected by the position which I
had been encouraged to accept, which I had retained so long
as I possessed the confidence of her Majesty's Government,
and which I resigned when that confidence was withdrawn.

"I further protest against this allegation of 'certain in-
conveniences ' having arisen from ' certain anomahes ' in the
position I did not hold when this Commission was issued,
because it not only disguises the fact that the inconveniences
alleged had been previously unknown and unheard of, but,
likewise, because it conceals from the Commissioners that her
Majesty the Queen had been graciously pleased to reward the
efforts I had made ; that her Majesty's Ministers had acknow-

• See page 89, »ul, ii.

18MJ THE BAJA OF SARIwAK. 131

ledged the services rendered to the nation ; and that the policy
which I had initiated, as well as the measures it involved, had
invariably been sanctioned and approved by the three pre-
ceding administrations of Government.

" 2. I object to the assertion contained in the second para-
graph of the despatch of the Earl of Clarendon, to the
purport that I originally held certain possessions under the
Sultan of Borneo ; but now, according to my own statement,
that I hold those possessions independently, by the free-will of
the people of Sarawak.

"I except to this assertion, as being opposed to my state-
ments, wherein I have maintained, as I still maintain, that
the cession made by a sovereign unable to rule his sulxjects, I
held to be a title de jure of small value ; whilst the title
derived from the will and support of a free people was
considered by me to be of superior importance.

" I protest, therefore, against any construction, forced upon
my words, which impUes or infers that the title dc facto derived
from the people supersedes or invahdates the title de jure
acquired under cession from the Sultans of Borneo; and,
further, I protest that I have never claimed, as stated, to be
considered one of the independent Eajas of the country;
but, on the contrary, having for a period of years, under the
double title set forth, administered the government, I have
been contented to explain the position I occupied, and to
maintain the right of the people of Sarawak to manage the
affairs of their own country.

"3. I protest against the seventh paragraph of Lord
Clarendon's despatch for the reasons above mentioned, and
because the position which I hold in Sarawak has been
recognised for eleven years past as being compatible with my
character as a British subject, both by the Government and
by the people of England ; and because the vaUdity of that
position, after the sanctions it has received, cannot be ques-
tioned by any inquiry, or affected by any conclusion which
this Commission may make or arrive at. I solemnly protest
against the question of my right, under any plea or pretence, or

132 THE BAJA OF SAltAwAJL [IBM.

by any inquiry or decision, or by any illegal proceeding or arbi-
trary act ; and I maintain that my position at Sarawak, being
compatible with the laws of England, must therefore be com-
patible with my character as a British subject ; and that this
Commission is an incompetent and illegal tribunal to declare
or to reverse the laws of Great Britain, or to determine or to
infringe the rights of the subject as by law estabhsbed.

" 4. I protest against the eighth paragraph of the de-
spatch in question, as being opposed to facts, and because it
can be demonstrated that her Majesty's Government, with the
knowledge they possessed of my position, and by the acts they
performed or sanctioned relative thereto, could not have con-
sidered the possession of Sarawak to be, as alleged, ' a private
grant bestowed by a foreign sovereign upon a British subject;'
but, on the contrary, that their acts prove the British Govern-
ment to have been cognisant of my holding the territory
of Sarawak — of my administering the government of that
country, and exercising various functions of a public nature,
irreconcilable with a private position or proprietorship ; and
that, with this knowledge, it not only defended the ' rights ' and
' possessions * which it declared I had acquired ' in the most
legitimate and open manner," when called in question hy a
foreign State, but pubhely recorded its conviction that ' her
Majesty's Government looked upon my position at Sariiwak
not as the result of a premeditated scheme, but of unforeseen
emergencies, in which I had been enabled to exercise great
energy, temper, and singleness of purpose, without on that
account having made myself hable to the reproach of any
one.'t And, further, I declare that her Majesty's Government
was acquainted with the negotiations carried on by me, on the
part of Sardwak, with the Envoy of the United States of
America, and that no objection was perceived — so far as
Great Britain was concerned — to the conclusion of the treaty
proposed hy that nation ; t and, although informed of the public

* The Ear) of Aberdeen to M. Dedal, Deoember 10, I64S.
t The E&rl of Aberdeen to M. Dedol, Mk; 1, 1846.
J Lord PftlmerttoD to Bir Jusei Brooke.

18M.] THE BAJA OP SABIwAK. 133

recognition of the State of Sarawak, and of my position as its
head, by the President of the United States, that far from
objecting to this recognition, her Majesty's Government
acquiesced therein; and, moreover, that for the purpose of
advancing the commercial interests of Great Britain, her
Majesty's Government had previously sought to avail itself of
* my relations with Sarawak,' and had, in consistency with its
other acts, sanctioned the hoisting of a Sarawak flag, in
order to afford * a recognized permanency to that country.'

"I appeal, therefore, to the pubUc acts and to the
recorded declarations of the preceding Governments of
England, in proof that my possession of Sarawak had never
and could never have been considered as *a private grant
bestowed by a foreign sovereign upon a British subject;' and
as conclusive demonstration that the sanctions directly and
indirectly given, during a period of years, by the British
Government and by the British nation to this possession and
to my position as the head of the Government of that country,
are in manifest contradiction of the allegation now for the
first time advanced in the despatch of the Earl of Clarendon.

" I protest against an inquiry which, on the one hand, is
an interference with the affairs of a foreign Government, and
which, on the other hand, is an unprecedented infringement
on the admitted right of private property.

" 5. I object to the statement contained in the ninth para-
graph of Lord Clarendon's despatch, viz., that the Commis-
sioners will have to inquire whether the interests of Sir James
Brooke 'as a holder of territory, and as a trader in the produce
of that territory, are compatible with his duties as Consul and
Commisioner for Trade,' because it assumes as a fact the
subject matter of the present enquiry, as stated in the 2nd
paragraph of the same despatch ; and I protest against it,
because her Majesty's Government has been aware, during the
last twelve years, that I administered the revenue of Sarawak,
and, being possessed of that knowledge, has declared that
' there was no one to whom the protection and encouragement
of the general interests of British commerce in the Eastern

134 THE RAJA OP SARAWAK. [1854.

Archipelago could be more safely entrusted.' * And I further
protest against the concealment of the real circumstances of the
case by the change of a name, and by the assumption of a fact,
at a time when my resignation of the pubUc service, pre-
viously to the inauguration of the Commission, had rendered
inquiry upon this point useless for any practical purpose.

" 6. I protest against the tenth paragraph of the despatch,
that it contains an invitation, issued under the sanction of her
Majesty's Government, to every accuser, to bring forward
charges, past and present, whether grave or trivial, criminal or
civil, without reference to the prima facie evidence requisite to
justify their reception. I protest against such a proceeding,
as being unwarranted ; and I insist that, to be consistent with
justice, the accusers thus authorized in a pubhc or private
capacity to institute charges, with or without evidence in their
support, shall be simmioned to meet me face to face, and that
these accusers shall not be screened by reason of absence, or
from any other cause or pretence, from the responsibility they
may incm* in the prosecution of their task; and, further, should
any accusation be advanced by a corporate body, I protest
that one or more members of the corporation be called upon
to support the allegations made, so that an opportunity be
afforded of substantiating before the Commission the conduct
of such corporation, and the character of the directors en-
trusted with the management of its affairs.

"I herewith solemnly protest, and I appeal to the Commis-
sioners in this behalf, against this inquiry being conducted
save in accordance with the principles sanctioned by law as a
safeguard to the subject, whether in criminal procedure or
judicial inquest.

*' I claim as an act of justice, and I demand as a matter

of right : —

" (i.) That the accuser be confronted with the accused.

" (ii.) That the charges be defined.

'* (iii.) That primd facie testimony y sufficient to warrant the
reception of a charge, shall be submitted to the Commission,

* Mr. Shaw Lefevre to Mr. Bnchanan, March 16, 1S48.

1864.] , THE RAJA OP SARAwAK. 135

and that a list of the witnesses in support of each charge shall
be furnished to the accused.

" (iv.) That the witnesses in every <5ase shall be summoned
before the Commission.

" (v.) That the accused shall not be deprived of the
evidence necessary for his justification ; and,

" (vi.) That the inquiry be 'full, fair, and complete,* before
a judgment be pronounced.

"I appeal to the Commissioners, in the upright discharge
of the duty imposed upon them, to adopt these and other
similar precautions founded on the principles of justice and of
law, to protect me from the flagrant wrong to be apprehended
from the unprecedented nature of the inquiry, and fi*om the ill-
defined character of the instructions upon which it was based.

** ?• In reference to the eleventh paragraph of Lord Claren-
don's despatch, I deny, so far as I can understand the same,
that personally I maintain, as therein alleged, any * relations '
with the native tribes on the north-west coast of Borneo ; nor
am I aware of any relations excepting such as have been
established by the British Government, or by the Government
of Brune, for the suppression of piracy and for the protection
of commerce. And I declare that I have never, as is erro-
neously asserted, been entrusted with any discretion to
determine which of the said tribes or communities were
piratical or otherwise ; but, on the contrary, that this discre-
tion has been exercised by her Majesty's Government, or by
the naval Commander-in-Chief, in accordance with estabUshed
usage; and I refer to the official records, and to the instruc-
tions which I have from time to time received, in con-
firmation of this statement.

" I protest, moreover, against the ambiguity of this clause
of the despatch, which renders it impracticable to found any
inquiry on it excepting by means of other and secret instruc-
tions of which I am kept in ignorance ; but if, as I am left to
surmise, a reference be intended to the piratical or non-
piratical character of the Sarebus and Sakarran communities,
I protest against this evasive mode of raising a simple and

136 THE BAJA OF SARAwAE. [16M.

direct question, and I insist that the piratical character of the
Baid communities bad been conclusively decided by the Grovem-
ment of the late Sir Eobert Peel, previous to my employment
in the public service of England, and that this decision was
arrived at on the ' fullest proof that that the parties in ques-
tion were actually and babitnally pirates,' • without reference
to my testimony, and without my knowledge that such proof
bad been obtained.

" I further insist that the piratical character of the Sarebus
and Sakarran communities has been established by the
decision of the Vice-Admiralty Court of Judicature of Singa-
pore ; that it has been avowed by the authorities of Netherlands
India ; and confirmed by the approval of Lord John Enssell'B
Government of the punishment inflicted on them ; and, more-
over, that the motions from time to time made for a Commis-
sion of Inquiry on this subject have invariably been negatived
by Parliament, from the conclusive evidence adduced of the
fact.

" I protest, therefore, against an allegation which, by
investing me with a discretionary power I never possessed,
arrives indirectly at an inquiry directly refused by Parliament,
and fixes on me the responsibUity, which, by his own express
declaration, attaches to the Earl of Aberdeen.

"Protesting against the inquiry thus raised, and against
the responsibility thus imposed, I, nevertheless, in considera-
tion of the public good, and to satisfy the recent doubts of her
Majesty's Ministers, consent to offer fresh proofs that the
communities of Sarebus and Sakarran were ' actually and
habitually piratus,' and that the punishment inflicted upon
them was a just and lenient measiu-e.

" 8. I protest against the seventeenth paragraph of the
despatch in question, because the desire on my part, to which
it refers, to advance the objects of this inquiry, arose from the
assurances offered by the Earl of Aberdeen and by the Earl of
Clarendon, as recorded in my despatch of April 4, 1863 ;
and I herewith declare that I hold myself liberated from any

• Tbo Earl of Aberdeen to M. Dcdel, December 10, 1S46 ; alio Haj 9, 1S45.

1854.] THE BAJA OF SARIwAK. 137

pledge therein given, in consequence of the non-fulfihnent
of the assurances I received, the character of the instructions,
and the nature of the Commission.

"9. In reference to the concluding paragraph of Lord
Clarendon*s despatch, I protest against the transmission of a
letter from Mr. Hume addressed directly or indirectly to
the Commissioners, as establishing a communication between
the accuser and the judges ; and I protest against any recom-
mendations made or any suggestions offered by the accuser
relative to the conduct or direction of the Commission, as being
a violation of the essential principles of justice ; and I demand
again, that Mr. Hmne, in his character of accuser, be sum-
moned to attend before the Commission, that he may support
the accusations he has preferred ; that I may be enabled to
convict him of having, in defiance of reason and of testimony,
unjustifiably persisted in maintaining false and calimmious
charges, injurious alike both to public and private interests.

** I protest against unsupported assertions being indiscrimi-
nately adopted as accusations, and against any inquiry into
transactions, when after a lapse of years the principal actors
and only witnesses have been removed by death.

"I protest against instructions extended to subjects the
most varied and the least compatible, and which, by warrant of
an Order in Council, authorize an inquiry within the territories
of a foreign sovereign, indifferently, into allegations of crime ;
into the performance of official duty ; into the complaints of
private persons ; into the measures of preceding Governments ;
into the relations of national poUcy ; into the asserted incon-
venience to the public service ; and into the possible advantage
to be gained by the commercial interests of Great Britain.

" I protest against this unprecedented proceeding, because I
claim to be absolved from the imputations cast upon me pre-
viously to being called upon to consider how far the welfare of
the native communities may in future be reconciled with the
interests of British commerce or with the policy of the British
Government.

" I appeal to the Commissioners, in the discharge of their

138 THB BAJA OP BABXwAK. [ISM.

duty, to limit the functions of their office within the povers
vested in the Crown by the Treaty of 1847 with Borneo ; and I
not only deny that any power is granted (as asBumed) by that
treaty to worrtuit such an inquiry aa her Majesty's Ministers
have now directed to be made, but I protest against the
exercise of a jurisdiction within the dominions of the Sultan of
Borneo, except in ' certain coses ' specifically mentioned in the
additional article of the treaty in question, and against the
assertion of an authority within the territory of Sar&wali,
which country, although included within the dominions of
Borneo, possesses, and possessed, a distinct jurisdiction, pre-
viously to the formation of the treaty with Great Britain.
But in making this protest against an illegal procedure, I
declare at the same time that every facility shall be afforded to
the Commission to examine witnesses, whether Enropean or
native, and to obtain the information requisite to determine
the truth on the various subjects of inquiry.

" I enter this my protest against the instructions issued
by the Earl of Clarendon in his despatch of June 21, 1858,
as being inconsistent with facts; as illegal, in directing a
decision on a point of law, and in granting an imwarranted
jurisdiction in a foreign country ; as in violation of justice ; aa
evasive of the principal subject of mquiry ; as clothed in
obscure and ambiguous language ; and as being opposed
to the acts and declarations of the preceding Governments of
England ; and, in support of this my protest, I hand to
the Commissioners various documents relating to the subjects
referred to, and I offer to make good by evidence the state-
ments therein contained.

" (Signed) J. Bbookb,"

1854.] THE BAJA OF SABIwAK. 139

CHAPTEK XXni.

1854.

The Commission was opened on Monday, September 11th.
The Grand Jury Room and Recorder's Room were refused by
the local authorities, to the Commissioners, who were, in
consequence, forced to make use of the Court House, at the
risk of increasing among the natives the behef that the
proceedings would be of the nature of a judicial trial.

On a line with the Commissioners, but at a separate table,
sat the Raja, a third and larger table being provided for
accusers and witnesses.

Preliminaries over. Sir James Brooke rose and handed in
his protest against the instructions of Lord Clarendon. This
had been previously seen by the Commissioners, and Mr.
Prinsep, the senior, remarked that it was not necessary for
them to read it. They would. forward it with their report,
but, having been deputed to make certain inquiries, they must
carry out their instructions.

To this the Raja answered that he need not remind the
Commission that there were principles more sacred than the
instructions of a Secretary of State. He had entered his
protest in order that, should the Commissioners be misled by
instructions such as those, or should he be deprived of the
rights which he claimed, an appeal might be made to a higher
tribunal.

Mr. Prinsep replied that the Commission could only make
the inquiry directed, but that Sir James Brooke might rest
assured that everything would be done consistent with justice.

140 THE BAJA OF SARAWAK. [ISH.

The Baja said be had do donbt that it would be bo as far
as the powers of the CommiBBion extended. The protest was
then accepted.

Mr. Frinsep after this stated that two charges bad been
received, wbieh the Commissioners conceived to be inadmis-
sible,* and another paper had just been handed in, which
however, was not a charge, and which they had not yet been
able to consider. They were now ready to enter npon the
business of the ComnuBsion if any other person would come
forward and make a charge against Sir James Brooke, or
bring forward any matter falling within the CommiBsion.

After a pause of half an hour, ae if in expectation of acme
one advancing, and no movement being made, Mr, Prinsep
rose again and proposed to adjourn until Thursday, on which
day, if the parties who had made those charges which the
CommissioncrB at present thought did not foil within the scope
of their CoramisBion, should think it proper to come forward,
the Commissioners would be glad to hear them urge any
reasons or arguments against the decision which the Com-
missioners had at present come to, and in the mean time,
written communications would be sent to these parties inti-
mating the present opinion of the Commissioners of the
inadmissibility of their charges.

Mr. Woods, editor of the Straits Times, then came forward
and asked the Commissioners if they would indicate the heads
of the charges which they would take up under the Com-
mission. The Commissioners replied by referring him to the
Commission itself, the advertisement of which had been before
the public for a month previously ; they could give no other
definition of the nature of the charges ; and if any uncer-
tainty on the point existed, the only method to be followed

* 1. KecoQBideTation of Cue of Lieut«iuuit. Governor Napier. The inquiij
OD the LientODant-QoTemor of Laboan, allnded to in a letter from the Baja
already given (vol. ii., page 3), had terminated in bis removal. Es was at thi*
timo a law-kgont at Singaporo. 2. Consideration of the Correipondenoa
between Sir Jamei Brooke and the Court of Jadioatnro on Hr. Woods' ^>-
pointment as Dopntf Sheriff. Ur. Woods had lost his appointment from ^
diupptoval of tlie Home Ooremment.

1854.] THE BAJA OF SARAWAK. 1-41

was for persons having grievances to submit them to the
Commissioners, who would then say whether they considered
them within the scope of the Commission.

Mr. Prinsep expressed some disappointment that, after the
public notice which had been given, the parties accusing
Sir James Brooke should not have been ready with their
charges against him.

Mr. Woods observed that this sitting was merely pre-
liminary — ^to open the Commission.

Mr. Prinsep said it was both preliminary and also to
proceed to business ; but, as matters stood, all they could do
was to adjourn to another day.

Thursduy, September Uth. — The Commissioners again sat,
and Sir James Brooke was present. Mr. Prinsep declared
they were ready to hear charges : that no others had been
sent beyond those formerly mentioned, and that the parties
preferring these, having received written answers from the
Commissioners, did not seem to come forward to urge their
reception.

Here there was a pause for some httle time, after which —
no one coming forward — Mr. Prinsep remarked that it cer-
tainly appeared to the Commissioners somewhat extraordinary
that, after the petition which had been sent from Singapore
80 numerously signed, and in consequence of which the
inquiry had been instituted, no one should bring a charge
against Sir James Brooke, or offer any substantiation of the
charges previously made. Her Majesty had paid a high
compliment to those demanding this inquiry against a servant
upon whom she had conferred great distinction, and it not
only seemed extraordinary to him, but would appear very
unaccountable to people at home, that after they (the Com-
missioners) had been sent at great expense to inquire into the
validity of those charges, there should not appear a single
soul to bring them before the Commission. As for what her
Majesty's Ministers would think, it was not for him to con-
jecture. If no charge was brought forward, aU the Com-
missioners could do was to report the fact, in which case

142 THE EAJA OP BAEAWAK. [1854,

Sir James Brooke most be held to have been blameleBB in all
the points urged againet him, and to have dnly merited the
honourable notice and rewards conferred. In the mean time,
the Conuniesion would adjourn to another day, and by that
time the Commissioners trusted that if there were to he any
charges brought against Su- James Brooke, they might he
forthcoming. If no one should then appear, the Commissioners
must then proceed to other points of inquiry under the Com-
mission, which were matters with which the pubhc had almost
no concern, being rather matters between the Crown and Sir
James Brooke, upon which the Commission were to transmit
a rejxirt for the information of her Majesty.

On the part of Sir James Brooke, it was then asked,
whether it was to be understood that the Commissioners would
limit the time within which accusations should be brought,
to that or any other day. Mr. Frinsep said the Commissioners
were not then prepared to limit the time. They would not
precipitate the inquhry — some persons might be absent, some
■were dead — accusations might be brought.

Sir James Brooke suggested that if the Commission waited
till everybody at Singapore was satisfied, it would sit for the
next ten years.

The GommiBsion was then adjourned till Tuesday, Sep-
tember I9th.

Between these two sittings, the Eaja had taken refuge " in
a most deUcious solitude in the country, where Mr. Jarvie has
been kind enough to give me a room," and — he wrote to Mr.
Templer, Septeml)er 13th — "I am lazy, and lazily acknow-
ledge your welcome letter of August 8th. I leave the dealing
with the malefactors in England in your hands. I only
keep steadily in mind that I have a cottage in the mountains
where I always enjoy peace of mind. There is a noble faith
and confidence in the people of Sorflwak, and an honesty in
the GoTomment of Brune which other Grovemments might
imitate with advantage." Then comes an account of matters
the substance of which has beeen given; and then — " I hope

1854.] THE RAJA OP SABAwAK. 143

you will enjoy yourselves thoroughly in Scotland. Had I been
with you I should have voted for all the children going too,
because Hannah would not then screw an eye over the sinister
shoulder, amid the mountains and the lochs. I am obliged
to be selfish in my letters, for I can think of nothing, and
write of little else, beyond the crisis of my fortunes, through
which we are bravely battling.

" SepUmher 16th. — Last evening Charley Grant and St.
John arrived, both weak but convalescent. A letter from
Brooke informs me that Brereton was slowly recovering, and
that the fimk established amongst the piratical Dyaks was
complete. It has been a great blow — as great by land as the
one of 1849 by sea. These countries are in a fair way of
having the bondage of human society imposed upon them, but
they will require watching. Don't forget the steamer. Next
year the Balanini and the Lanuns will be upon us.

"Love to Hannah and the dear children. When the
Commission is over, and I am refreshed like a giant after rest,
I will correspond about chickens ! ! *'

Meanwhile a correspondence had been going on between the
Commissioners, Mr. Woods, and Mr. Napier, in which the last
urged that their respective cases should be entered into on the
ground that both were referred to in a letter from Mr. Hume
to Lord Clarendon, of April 80, 1853, which letter had been,
they aflSrmed, six weeks in that Minister's hands before he
drew up his instructions for Sir Charles Wood ; that in these
instructions "his lordship enclosed a printed copy of a
letter from Mr. Hume, containing his charges against Sir
James Brooke, and the points to which he considers the
inquiry should be directed." That Lord Clarendon having
therefore " adopted Mr. Hume's letter without any reservation
or qualification," the Commissioners were bound to go into
the charges specially mentioned by him.

The charge of Mr. Woods was that, by letters to the
Governor, and also in " a private and underhand manner,"
Sir James Brooke had " vilified myself and character in the
most outrageous and opprobrious manner, tending to injure

144 THE RAJA OF SABXWAE. [1864.

my character and prospects, and to bring me into odium with
the commmiity, and every one with ■whom I was and am
personally known far and near,"

Mr. Napier's charge was that the inquiry instituted by Sir
James Brooke as Governor of Labuan into his proceedings
as Lieutenant-Governor and Judge of the General Court of
Labuan, had been conducted in "a most partial, unfair, and
imijroper manner."

Without going into further particulars, it is enough to say
that Mr. Woods' view of the duties of the Commissioners differed
from theirs, and his last letter (September 18th) concludes with
— " As I have nothing more to m-ge than what has boon Buh-
mitted in writing, I do not see that it would servo any
purpose to attend personally before the Commission, except
to substantiate the charges 1 have already sent in. As my
accusations and complaints before the Commission in writing
are considered inadmissible, I have no other course left than
to refer the matter, wliich I intend doing by the present mail,
to Lord Clarendon and Mr. Hume."

To Mr. Napier the Commissioners replied that his charges
did not come within any of the heads of inquiry to which they
were hmited by the Commission under which they acted.
" Moreover, they appear to have been fully considered and
detorniined upon by her Majefity's Secretary of State (Lord
Grey), whose docision appears to have been confirmed by his
successor in ofBce, Sir John Pakington."

To this Mr. Napier repHcd that Lord Grey's " partial and
prejudiced decision" was foimdcd on " tlioso most unjust and
derogatory proceedings on the pai-t of Sir James Brooke,"
which he now arraigned. "Neitlicr," he continued, "did Lord
Grey's decision, such as it is, undergo any reviewal by hia
successor in office, Su- John Pakington ; although it is true that
these mattei's of charge came before liim in my despatch of
February 21, 1852, printed in tlic Parliamentary Papers of
which you are in possession. But Sir John Pakington simply
declined to re-open the case, as already disposed of by Lord
Grey. .-. . But, even assuming it were otherwise, and that

1864.] THE RAJA OF SARIwAK. 145

you had correctly represented what took place in the Colonial
Office, I crave leave to observe that no view arising therefrom
ought to govern you, and that you are bound by the terms of
the C!ommission you are acting under, and by these alone,
taken in connection with and explained by the views and
manifested intention of those who directed the inquiry,* and
according to whose instructions the Commission was framed.
If, indeed, the decision of the various departments of State to
which the cognizance of Sir James Brooke's proceedings
belonged were conclusive, there would be no inquiry at all, for
there is scarcely one of his proceedings which you ^vdll have
to inquire into, of which there does not exist the recorded
approval of all these departments — the Admiralty, the
Foreign, and the Colonial Offices.

"Take, for example, the attack of July 31, 1849, on
the Dyak tribes. It was the subject of a judicial decision by
Sir Christopher Eawlinson, which has been appealed to over
and over again by Sir James Brooke, as conclusively settling
the question of these people being or not being pirates. The
operation was highly approved of by the Admiralty, and in
the most pointed manner by Lord Palmerston, then at the
head of the Foreign Office ; and this approval was reiterated
after the attack in question had become matter of very strong
accusation against Sir James Brooke. There is, indeed, no
doubt whatever that these accusations were set at nought in
Downing Street, and that he was not only acquitted but
applauded by all the pubhc offices. It is certain, therefore,
that in this instance, there exists abundant evidence of the
charges against Sir James Brooke, arising out of that attack,
having been fully determined upon by her Majesty's Secretary
of State. Yet it seems no less certain that it is intended that
this same attack, and the circumstances under which it was
made, though not expressly mentioned in the Commission
itself, shall form the subject of inquiry at your hands."

The Commissioners, in reply, stated that they remained
imconvinced, but they had no wish to exclude Mr. Napier from
personally insisting on the admissibiUty of his case at their

VOL. n. L

146 THE BAJA OF SABIWAK. [1864.

nest sitting. " Indeed, they were desirotiB to have it under-
stood that all their proceedings would be public and open to
the world, and that the grounds of their adniiasion or rejection
of any matter of inquiry submitted to them should be fully
understood by all who took an interest in it." Further, that
there was " a msirked distinction between those matters
which, although already previously considered and disposed of
by the Home Authorities, have been expressly directed to be
the object of their further inquiry and report, and those on
which no such direction had been made ; and that they
considered the matters he had laid before them to be of the
latter class."

On Taesday, September 19tli, the Commissioners met
again, when Mr. Woods appeared on behalf of seventeen of the
fifty-three " merchants and others " signing the memorial to
Mr. Hiune. These gentlemen had felt aggrieved, Mr. Woods
remarked, at the observations of Mr. Commissioner Prinsep,
and had drawn up a document which they wished read. This
document opened by quoting Mr. Prinaep's expression of
surprise that none of the signers of that memorial had come
forward "to support the statements therein made;" and
continued, that "the undersigned begged to state, as being
parties who signed that letter, that its main object was to
obtain, on the grounds therein set forth, the inquiry which
Mr . Hume so earnestly called upon her Majesty's Government
to institute, but that neither individually nor collectively did
they make accusations against Sir James Brooke, whatever
view they might have expressed as to the propriety of having
his proceedings made the subject of investigation.

" The undersigned beg further to state,-"with all due defer-
ence, that, having been thus openly appealed to by you, and
in a manner reflected upon as declining to come forward,
they entertain a very different view of your duties under the
Commission from that expressed above ; that they regard
themselves as precluded by the terms of the Commission &om
preferring any accusatory matters against Six James Brooke,

1864.] THE BAJA OF SABIwAK. 147

even if it were their wish, unless respecting causes of com-
plaints of a personal nature ; and that they consider that it
belongs to you to inquire, without any step on their part, or
on that of any other person, into the matters in question; and
in the language employed by Mr. Hume in his letter of date
April 30th, to Lord Clarendon, * to ascertain from the British
merchants at Singapore, and from masters of vessels trading
between Singapore and Borneo, whether on any, and what,
occasions they have experienced molestation from, or had
piratical attacks made upon them by, the Dyak tribes ; ' and
to proceed in like manner in investigating other matters
prescribed by the Commission.

"The undersigned take the liberty to add that of those who
signed the letter to Mr. Hume many are now absent in Europe
and elsewhere, and that some are dead ; and that, as is well
known to yom'sejives, not one of the individuals mentioned by
name in Mr. Hume's said letter as being witnesses very
material for the elucidation of the truth have yet made their
appearance in Singapore, although all of them belong to the
Government service, and are therefore amenable to its orders.*'

Mr. Woods fmiiher stated, on the part of his constituents,
that by signing the letter to Mr. Hiune they did not consider
themselves in any way called upon or bound to come forward
with charges against Sir James Brooke ; that its terms were
quite general, referring to the necessity for an inquiry into the
whole question of the piratical character of the Dyak tribes
on the west coast of Borneo, and the measures that had been
taken against them, and not to the particular acts of Sir
James Brooke ; and that to prove this it was only necessary to
refer to the letter of requisition itself, in which it would be
found that from begioning to end of it the name of Sir James
Brooke did not once occur.* It was (Mr. Woods continued)
the duty of the Commissioners themselves to call the witnesses
before them, and prosecute the inquiry entrusted to them ; but,
notwithstandiQg this, the parties to that letter for whom he
appeared would now bring forward matter for the consideration

* It Ib mentioned in the first paragraph.

148 THE EAJA OP SABiWAK. [IBM.

of the CommissionerB. He had only, however, received in-
structioDS on the previous day, and he would ask the commis-
sioners to adjourn for a few days to give him an opportunity of
preparing it.

Mr, PrinBep expressed himself pleased that some one bad
come forward to assist them in procuring evidence. It waa
a pity Mr. Woods' constituents were not ready before. The
Commissioners had a right to expect that they would have
been. They would now proceed with the examination of those
memorialists to Mr. Hume for whom Mr. Woods did not
appear.

Henry A. Allen, M.D. (called by the Commissioners), was
then examined. — I am a physician and surgeon practising in
Singapore. I signed a letter to Mr. Hume in January, 1851,
merely as one of the public. The subject of Sir James Brooke
had been long before the public, and was the subject of great
disputes : the immense loss of life on the coast of Borneo
appeared to render inquiry necesBary. I bad no personal
knowledge of the Bubject, and never was in Borneo. I am not
aware of any sourceB of information to which the Commis-
sioners could apply. I am not aware who is referred to in the
memorandum which follows the signatureB as printed in the
Pailiamentary paper. I would now say it was Mr. Woods.

By Sir JameB Brooke. — I do not know whether the alle-
gations contained in the letter be true or not true — I never
inquired : but from public excitement, caused by the press,
I considered that inquiry was necessary, and that was my sole
reason for signing the letter. I never made any inquiries of
any nakoda or native traders, and can say nothing of the
Dyak tribes. It was not fiom personal motives I signed the
letter, but, with the pubbc, asking for inquiry, and not making
accusations against Sir James Brooke.

[The letter to Mr. Hume had been accompanied by a
memorandum describing the position, etc., of each individual
signing, which memorandum was attested by " The above is
a true copy of the signatures affixed to the letter addressed to
Mr. Hume, and the description of the parties is correctly

1854.] THE RAJA OF BARAwAK. 149

stated. The letter was signed in the presence of the gentle-
man who certifies to Mr. Hume the correctness of the
signatures."]

Christian Baumgarten, law-agent (called by R. C. Woods).
— ^I am one of the signers of the address to Mr. Hume. I
am not personally cognizant of the truth of the allegations
respecting piracy set forth in that address. I am cognizant
of some.

Was led to sign it because of the long discussion that
followed Captain Farquhar's attack. Had no personal ill-will
towards Sir James Brooke. The address was intended to
promote Mr. Hume's attempts to procure an inquiry. My
impression is that the gentleman mentioned as attesting the
signattures is Mr. Woods. I have no recollection of having
authorized the addition to my signature in the Farhamentary
paper. I am now forty years of age, and had not resided in
the Straits at that time [January, 1851] for thirty-five years
[as there stated]. I would not have given that description of
myself. I should have said about twenty years.*

The examination of the next witness was interrupted to
allow the evidence to be taken of Mons. Baudriot, a Dutch
gentleman, and late Resident of Japara, Java. Mons. Baud-
riot had visited Singapore on his way to Europe, and learn-
ing that the question of the piratical character of the Dyaks
was being made the subject of inquiry, offered his evidence to
the Commission. The circumstance of his being at Singa-
pore during the sitting of the Commission is as curious as it
was at the time unlooked for.

C. F. Baudriot. — I am in the Civil Service of the Nether-
lands India Government, and have resided in these parts for
about twenty-six years. I was Assistant-Resident at Pon-
tianak, on the west coast of Borneo, for four years and a half,
from 1841 to 1845. I was also attached to a commission at

• In nineteen cases the description following the sigpmture was incorrect,
either as regards employment or length of residence, the latter being in nearly
ererj case moch overstated. — ^£d. BtraiU Quardia/n,

150 THE BAJA OF SABXWAK. [1651.

Sambas in 1841. I am acquainted with the character of the
people of the west coast of Borneo, and know the tribes called
Sarebus and Sakarran Dyaks from ofBcial information. I
have always known them and heard of them as piratical,
killing and murdering without distiuctiou all along the west
coast of Borneo. They are the scourge and terror of the
■whole west coast.

In October or November they came down alopg the coast
in large boats, having eighty or ninety men in each, armed in
their own peculiar manner. They used to go out of their
rivers, and attack every one — fishermen's boats, travelling
prah us— landing and destroying kampongs, killing aU men
able to defend themselves, and carrying o£E the women and
children as slaves. They always came suddenly. Their chiefs,
or jommudies, and their pilots were Malays. The spoils
remained the property of the Malays ; the skulls of the
men killed, with the women and children, were the Dyaks'.

I know one instance in which in the course of one
expedition, occupying about fourteen days, they killed four
hundred fighting men and carried away the skulls. This was
partly on the coast of the Dutch possessions, and partly
beyond the Dutch territory. They use open native boats,
manned by from twenty to ninety men. They have a kind of
shield in front of their boats called twipilan. If you defend
yourself you will be killed immediately ; if you don't, you will
be taken to their river and killed at then: leisure.

If I had ever acted against them I should have killed as
many as I could — more than Sir James Brooke did.

They are armed with spears of various kinds, klewangs,
etc. The Malays with them have guns and rifles. They may
not be generally known as pirates, for they principally confine
themselves to the coast ; but every one in that part knows
them as such, and of a very particular description. Once they
even proposed an attack on Sambas ; and every precaution
was taken by the Assistant-Resident there, and it did not take
place. I consider them as peculiar pirates, but undoubtedly
pirates. If they land on my territory, destroy my property,

1854.] THE BAJA OP SARAWAK. 151

kill me, and carry away my wife and children, I should
certainly call them pirates.

By Sir J. Brooke. — The Sarebus people have occasionally
ravaged the coasts of the Dutch territories. The atrocities
perpetrated by them are recorded in official documents at
Sambas and Pontianak, not once, but one hundred times.
These pirates kill whomsoever they meet on sea and shore.
The difference between the land and sea Dyaks is that the latter
have Malays with them. Every human being they meet on
their expeditions — Malays, Chinese, and Dyaks — they kill.
They would hesitate to attack a European craft probably — ^but
only because they would be afraid. It is a wonder they were
allowed to exist so long ; they attack the defenceless wherever
they meet them on land or sea.

[Asked by Sir James Brooke whether he knew of an
instance mentioned by Mr. Comets de Groot of the Sarebus
having attacked a small Dutch vessel of war] — I am not
aware of the statement by Mr. Comets de Groot, but not in
the least surprised if they did, as a vessel in the Dutch service
under my own orders at Pontianak on one occasion came into
contact with them. This vessel was attached to the Civil
Service, but was armed as aU such vessels are, with a few
carronades and one long gun. These pirates never went
beyond Pontianak, and their attacks were principally confined
to the coast of Sambas. I am surprised there should be any
doubt of their piratical character. No one in the least
acquainted with Borneo can have any doubt about it. Every
man, woman, and child is cognizant of it — their name is a
word of terror on the coast. After they return from an
expedition they hold a species of saturnalia, lasting about
fifteen days, at which the blood of victims, mixed with an
intoxicating liquor called tuak is drunk from skulls taken in
the expedition.

The distinction between the two kinds of Dyaks is this —
the inland Dyaks take heads on shore, while the Sarebus and
Sakarran take them both on shore and on sea. I have been
in the houses of some of these Dyaks. In one I found fifty

152 THE RAJA OF SABAwAK. [1854.

or sixty human heads hanging from the roof. I feared my
own might go to form an additional ornament. I wanted to
purchase one head, and offered seventy or eighty rupees — ^I
forget the exact amount — but it was refused. They set a
great value on a head.

On September 22nd, two more of those who had signed
the address to Mr. Hume were examined. George T. Wright,
described therein as master mariner, for three years in com-
mand of the Julia, belonging to Sir James Brooke, a regular
trading vessel to Sarawak, and resident at Singapore for eleven
years, was called by Sir James Brooke.

In answer to questions, he said — I was given to understand
by Mr. Woods that several of Sir James Brooke's friends had
signed it with a view to afford him an opportunity of relieving
himself of the odium cast upon him by his accusers, and on
the strength of these representations I swear I signed it. I
cannot swear that Mr. Woods was the only person who told
me this. When I signed it there were several persons signing
it, and I said, " anything for Sir James I will willingly sign."
As far as regards these charges against Sir James Brooke,
I entertain too high an opinion of Sir James's honourable
conduct to doubt for one moment his not being guilty of the
charges brought against him, and, indeed, of any other charge
that would not stand rigid investigation. I had been upwards
of two years connected with Sir James Brooke, and had many
opportunities of observing his high sense of honour and
benevolent character. Mr. Woods said every friend of Sir
James Brooke ought to be glad of an inquiry, to set the
matter at rest. As a friend of Sir James Brooke I signed it.
In my fifteen voyages between Sarawak and Singapore in the
Julia I passed a great many prahus, boats, and topes, but as
they never attacked me I cannot say whether they were pirates
or not.

Q. Sir J. Brooke. — Will you state about what time
you took command of the schooner Julia? A, — Towards the
latter end of 1846. Q. — That was after Captain Eeppel's

1864.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 153

operations on the coast ? A, — ^Yes. Q. — ^What was the size
of the schooner, and how was she manned and armed ? A. —
About one hundred and seventy-five tons, a lofty vessel of
her class, and heavily armed with six-pounders, and a fall
complement of small arms.

Thomas Tivendale, shipbuilder, appeared at his own
request.

Q. Sir J. Brooke. — Did you sign the memorial ad-
dressed to Mr. Hume? A, — I did. Q. — ^Were you aware of
the contents of that memorial when you signed it ? A. — No ;
I was not, or I would not have signed it. I was misinformed
by Mr. Woods. Q, — ^Will you state how you were misin-
formed? A. — He called on me one Saturday afternoon with
this memorial and asked me to sign it. I told him I had not
time to read the paper at present, but to call on Monday.
He said I need not be afraid to sign it — it was merely for the
suppression of piracy on the coast of Borneo, and had been
signed by almost all the principal merchants in the place.
I said if that was the case there could be no harm in signing
it ; so I put my name to it. Q. — ^Would you have signed the
memorial if you had known its contents ? A. — No, decidedly
not. Q. — ^Did you afterwards discover what the contents of
the memorial were ? A. — ^Yes, on the Sunday. Q. — Did you
take any steps to rectify the error ? A. — Yes, I came over to
the Court House on the following Monday to Mr. Woods, who
was deputy sheriff at the time, and asked Mr. Woods to take
my name out. He said it could not be done, it must go home
with the others.

Q. Mr. Woods. — At or before the time of signing the
memorial had there not been considerable discussion regard-
ing the question of piracy on the coast of Borneo ? A, — Yes,
there had — the papers were generally half full of it ; but I
was so much disgusted at it that I very seldom read them.
Q. — I suppose you are aware what part Mr. Hume had taken ?
A. — Of course. Q. — Would not the very circumstance of Mr.
Hume's taking a part unfavourable to Sir James Brooke make

154 THE RAJA OF SARIwAK. [1864.

you hesitate in signing the memorial to him ? A. — At the
time I signed it you gave me no time to hesitate, or think,
even. Q. — Were you aware that what you had signed had
any relation to the discussion of piracy going on in the place
at the time ? A. — No more at that time than that it was for
the suppression of piracy, imtil the Sunday when I knew all
the contents of it. Q. — I suppose you knew what part in the
discussion Mr. Woods took ? A . — ^Yes ; opposed to Sir James
Brooke. Q. — Now tax your memory and say whether, at the
time the paper was brought to you on the Saturday by Mr.
Woods, whose part in the piracy discussion you knew, nothing
was said about an inquiry into the suppression of piracy on
the coast of Borneo ? A. — Nothing was said about an inquiry
— there was no time given.

Mr. Prinsep. — When you signed the paper did you know
that it was addressed to Mr. Hume ? A. — No.

The course pursued by Mr. Prinsep towards the signers of
the address to Mr. Hume, and the prominent position allowed
to Mr. Woods, occasioned a remonstrance from the Raja and
an intimation that so long as Mr. Woods took part as a
prosecutor in the inquiry, he (the Raja), on grounds stated,
declined being present either in person or by a legal repre-
sentative.

On both the above points Mr. Devereux had dissented from
his brother Commissioner, and, in a minute dated September
26th, he gives his reasons for so doing, and thus describes
the embroglio caused by the action of Mr. Prinsep : —

" The matter of this (the Raja's) protest was not acceded to
by the Commissioners, and on Saturday the 23rd, the so-called
prosecution was proceeded with, notwithstanding Sir James
Brooke had since (25th) communicated that on the conclusion
of the inquiry prosecuted by the law-agent (Mr. Woods), and
not till then, he will again take part in the proceedings.

** Aflfairs at present stand thus : — Sir James Brooke does
not attend ; one law-agent conducts the prosecution. He has
made no charge. His field of inquii'y is therefore not dis-

1854.] THE RAJA OF SABIwAK. 155

tinctly marked out, and hence business is a good deal inter-
rupted by the discussions on the propriety of his Une of
investigation. The law-agent himself appears to consider
his field unlimited, and yesterday, for instance, claimed to
prosecute his inquiries into matters under the second head
of inquiry, viz., Sir James Brooke's conduct as a trader.

" The Commissioners, on the contrary, appear in a general
way to understand that he is acting in fulfilment of the
duties which attach to the signers of the memorial to Mr.
Hume.

** This point is still unsettled. In reply to a question put
by me this day, the law-agent stated that he was acting for
himself and for other parties whom he declined to name.

** In opposition to the prosecution, another law-agent (Mr.
Aitken) conducts the defence. He was, with the assent of
both the Commissioners, allowed to do so to-day, when he
presented a letter signed by ten members of mercantile firms
here, most of them among those who signed an address to
Sir James Brooke, on November 3, 1849, approving of the
measures adopted for suppressing piracy on the coast of
Borneo. This letter authorized Mr. Aitken to conduct the
defence as their representative. There are, therefore, in court
two parties conducting a quasi prosecution and defence, and
deriving their existence and locus standi from the memorial to
Mr. Hume and the address to Sir James Brooke.

"On a review of the above facts,** Mr. Devereux continued,
"I think, with great deference to the experience and judgment
of Mr. Prinsep, that I am justified in saying some little
embarrassment has arisen."

It was under these circumstances that an investigation
into the true character of the Sarebus and Sakarran Dyaks
was entered on.

The third head of inquiry, viz., into accusations ** which
have been or may be brought against Sir James Brooke by
British subjects, whether in their private capacity, or, as in the
instance of the Eastern Archipelago Company, in a corporate

156 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1864.

capacity, of having sought to injure their interests with a view
to the promotion of his own," was taken first and disposed
of— the first part in the way we have seen. Regarding the
second, there was no appearance of the Company intending to
come forward.

Whether the inquiry into the piratical or non-piratical
character of the Sarebus and Sakarran tribes was warranted
by the published instructions appears doubtful. It would, of
course, be to the advantage of the opponents of Sir James
Brooke to prove them non-piratical, and the field was clear
before them now. But their witnesses came in slowly, and
Mr. Aitken, on the other side, calling none, the Commissioners
appealed to the Malay-speaking English public to assist. On
this, with a tacit permission from the Raja, Mr. C. Grant, Mr.
W. H. Read, and a few others, went to the docks to search for
and to bring in native witnesses. A miscellaneous assort-
ment was thus produced, and the result is stated by Mr.
Devereux : —

" A difference of opinion regarding the admission of Mr.
Woods existed between Mr. Prinsep and myself, and having
recorded my sentiments as adverse to the admission of Mr.
Woods to act, I think it right to observe that the course
adopted did not prejudice the result of the inquiry; but, on the
contrary, led to a more complete and satisfactory judgment
being formed, inasmuch as by that means everything was
brought forward which a practised, well-informed, and zealous
law-agent could bring forward to support the views of the
memorialists in favour of the Sarebus and Sakarran Dyaks,
and nothing of any weight was alleged which impugned the
opinion put forward by Sir James Brooke regarding the
piratical character of those tribes.

** Every exertion was used on the one side to clear their
character, while virtually nothing was done on the other
except the production of witnesses, whose examination was
wholly left to the Commissioners and to the adverse law-
agent."

Mr. Prinsep wrote later, "I have reason to think that more

1864.] THE BAJA OF SABIwAK. 157

evidence from Borneo would have been procured from the
traders and nakodas who annually resort in large nimibers to
Singapore, and were in the port during the greater part of the
inquiry, but for the apprehension of detention and incon-
venience disseminated amongst them, as we are informed,
by the personal opponents of Bfr James Brooke or their
professional agent [Mr. B. C. Woods] ."

Of the sixteen witnesses produced by Mr. Woods, Mr.
Prinsep reports : —

** Not one of them deposed to any facts within his own
knowledge which negatived the practice of piracy by the tribes
of Sarebus and Sakarran on the coast of Borneo, while three
of the witnesses called by him deposed to specific acts of
those tribes ; and another, who deposed only to the result of
inquiries and research, rather establishes than controverts
their pfratical character. On the other hand, twenty-four of
the witnesses subpoenaed by ourselves, together with Mons. J.
Baudriot . . • deposed expressly to acts of violence at sea or
on the coasts of Borneo, at various periods within the last
twenty years, to which acts I can describe no other character
than that of pfracy, though committed by a race ill provided
with sailing vessels, or such weapons of offence as are
employed by Europeans."

Among the witnesses called by Mr. Woods was the pilgrim
to Mecca, Datu Gaffur, late Patiagi of Sarawak. His examina-
tion must have been somewhat trying to him, for it lasted
through the whole of September 28th and 29th, and he was
called up again a month later to give additional particulars.
His evidence is free from trace of ill-feeling towards his Eaja.
Sarawak, he said, had been at the mercy of Sarebus and
Sakarran ever since he could remember, not daring to retali-
ate — until the English Raja came. Now the Malays of
Sarawak were no longer afraid. He did remember one expe-
dition before that; he himself had led it, and gone as far as
the mouth of the Sarebus river — " they had killed my own
child — ^but we got nothing and met nobody." Sarebus and

158 THE RAJA OF SARIwAK. [1864.

Sakarran always leagued together. When they came out of
their rivers if they met a prahu they plundered it, if a house
or village, they ravaged it. They never came out for trade,
but always for heads and plunder. All skulls were alike to
them — ** Malay, Dyak, Chinese, whatever they can get — they
have no choice." But now they were at peace and traded
with Sarawak.

Q. Mr. Woods. — Since when? A. — Since Tuan Brooke's
time. Q. — Since the first time that Mr. Brooke was there ?
A. — No; since the time of the attack in 1849. He never
remembered their trading before that, but some of them had
come and settled in Sarawak. Q. — During the last ten years
have any of the Sarawak Dyaks, or friendly Dyaks, made a
foray upon any of the inland tribes? A. — No. During Sir
James Brooke*s time there has been none of that.

Q, Mr. Aitken. — Is it the law of Sarawak that no one shall
take heads? A. — Yes. Q, — Since when? A. Since ever
Tuan Brooke came ; and whoever persists in taking them will
be killed.

It was not till October 27th that the Commissioners
closed this portion of the inquiry. Meanwhile the Chinese
merchants and residents in Singapore of their own accord
drew up an address, which was signed by fifty-nine, and laid
before the Commissioners. The translation given in the Blue-
book is as follows : —

'* We, the undersigned Chinese merchants and residents of
Singapore, knowing the old saying, * A well-governed country
pleases the heart of the Almighty God ; ' His people flourish
under a good and impartial Governor, and all men ought to
proclaim their confidence in Him, and rejoice with the clapping
of hands.

" As touching Sarawak, Labuan, and Borneo, previous to
their being reformed, the savage Malay pirates gathered
together, both in the jungle, nested in their dens, and on
the surface of the open sea, with the Lanun pirates, flying
about everywhere like bees. Vessels, both belonging to the

1854.] THE RAJA OF SARIwAK. 159

country and also other navigating traders, fell a prey to them
often, and always ran great danger in these seas. We
Chinese trading to these places always ran great danger our-
selves and with difficulty made any profit. But fortunately,
through the gracious favour of her Majesty the Queen of
England, Sir James Brooke was sent as her Majesty's Com-
niissioner to have control over these places, viz., Sarawak,
Labuan, and Borneo, and to govern the said places, to open up
the coimtry, and reform the barbarous Malay into a moral
character, so as to enable us, the Chinese traders, since to
carry on our mercantile business there to a profit. Such has
been the case, accomplished through the kind protection of
Sir James Brooke; and not only so, but, further, he has
eradicated the roots of this most crying evil from the surface
of the vast sea by dispersing the pirates, and has restored the
four seas everywhere to be in tranquilUty. We feel the
deepest gratitude to Sir James Brooke for the influence of his
great abilities, and for his struggles in this best scheme for
the remedy of the world. Indeed, he is to be considered the
true support of the country, as a stone pillar for the temple.

" And as we now hear of her Majesty the Queen of England
having sent two Commissioners to make particular inquiries
into matters of accusation, we, the Chinese merchants and
residents of Singapore, as mentioned before, urged by a sense
of Sir James Brooke's former and deep-rooted benevolence,
have hereby come forward, one and all, to proclaim the
deserved praise of his skilful capacity; and, at the same time,
we pray that his son and grandson may succeed him, and that
successful prosperity may attend them from generation to
generation without ending.

"Never was there such a, farce of an inquiry,** the Eaja
wrote, October 6th ; " humiUation to me, disgrace to the
Government, injury to the natives, ruin to our policy, from
a Commission conducted without dignity or propriety, and all
about nothing !

** Keep youi: eye, dear Jack, on the steamer : it is of the

160 THE RAJA OF SABAwAK. [1854.

greatest importance to the safety of our people and the
advance of our trade. Let no profession [of Government]
interfere with this object.

" Of my own feeUngs I will not speak ; they are more fierce,
more bitter, and more contemptuous than a man ought to
have or be forced into having. I control myself, however,
as well as I can.

" The Commission has secret instructions. Such will not
injure me ; but nothing can be more shameless than issuing
private orders to a public inquiry. It leaves the honour and
character of every Government servant at the mercy of the
spite or falsehood of the Minister. Nothing can hurt me ; but
I must say that in a case admitting of doubt, and which
required patient and careful investigation, the instructions and
the course pursued by the Commission would have resulted in
gross practical injustice.

"I have been reading Miss Martineau's novel of * Deer-
brook.' It is excellent ; and the trials of the Hopes under the
calumnies heaped upon them, came home to me and taught
me a lesson of charity I am not unwilling to learn. It is true
that, with a fierce temper under wrong, I am inclined at times
to commit a murder, or ttvo, or three; but nevertheless, I am not
vindictive, and very soon I shall forgive and forget the past
— when it is past.**

The same letter continues —

" October 16, 1854. — I am delighted to tell that I have
news of Brooke's recovery from his attack of dysentery. I am
so attached to him, I prize so highly his quaUties and fitness
to become my successor, that I should mourn him with a
hopeless mourning, and I shrink from the idea of his passing
away from hfe before myself. I am becoming accustomed to
lean upon him. I have a superabounding confidence in him,
a confidence in the nobler and better qualities of our nature,
which the * scoundrelism ' of a few whom I have trusted too
well cannot impair. I want a few — a very few — ^years to con-
solidate the work I have in hand, and Brooke is the comer-
stone of my building. If, too, I must speak my selfish thoughts

18W.] THE ILIJA OF SABIwAK. 161

(and they mix with others too naturally), it is that I look
forward to repose, and to Brooke's exertions to give it me."

With the account of Captain Brooke's recovery had come
that of Mr. W. Brereton's death. The Eaja writes of it as
"a sad event [happening] just as he would have enjoyed
the reward of his labours. He was an affectionate and par-
ticularly lovable person, able, clever, enthusiastic, and with
peculiar tact in managing the natives. Poor dear fellow, he
loved me very sincerely, and I was attached to him from his
youth upwards."

Mr. Brereton was but twenty-three. To the Sakarran
chiefs he bequeathed the few worldly goods he possessed, an
act not needed to endear to them his memory. His illness
was thought to have been caused by the unhealthy nature
of the undrained ground round the fort, and increased by
the subsequent hardships of the attack on Eentap. He died
in harness, and Mr. Charles Johnson, moving from Linga,
took his place.

Tidings of another death also reached the Eaja at this
time — that of Major Stuart, a brother of Mrs. Brooke, and
doubly loved by her son, because of a strong resemblance
to her.

"Yesterday (October 17th)," he wrote to Mrs. Johnson,
"brought me the mournful intelhgence of our dear uncle's
death. True, it has occurred in the fulness of time, and
when increase of years insured increasing infirmity. A nobler
and purer being never existed, a tenderer heart never ceased
to beat. I sorrow, but sorrow is mingled with a holy joy that
I was the relative and the friend of such a man. I do grieve,
but we ought not to grieve for him : he was beloved in life, and
in death mourned and honoured."

The remainder of the letter contains the expression of
confidence that his sister will do all in her power to comfort
those on whom the loss fell the heaviest.

On October 27th the Eaja met the Commissioners in the
Becorder's room. Mr. Woods was present, but merely in the

VOL. n. M

162 THE RAJA OF SABIwAK. [1664.

character of reporter for the press. The examination, if such
it can be called, was directed to Sir James Brooke's position
in Sarawak and the nature of the Sarawak Government ; his
mercantile transactions, and his relations with the native
tribes of Borneo. On the previous day he had sent in to the
Commission two memoranda on the subject of his appointment
under Government ; one, opening with the statement that
" the Government of Lord John Eussell was fully and
minutely aware of the position occupied by Sir James Brooke at
Sarawak," proceeds to prove it, and concludes with an account
of his various attempts to escape the anomaly of the same
position. The other is as follows : —

'* * 1. Whether the position of Sir James Brooke at Sarawak
be compatible with his duties as British Consul-General and
Commissioner for Trade,' etc. ?

** Sir James Brooke was appointed Commissioner and
Consul-General in March, 1847 ; he absolutely resigned that
office in September, 1863.

*' Formerly the duties of Commissioner and Consul-General
were compatible with the position of Sir James Brooke,
because, with a full knowledge of the circumstances, the
Government of Lord John Russell had so decided.

" In future the position of Sir James Brooke at Sarawak
will be incompatible with the duties of Commissioner and
Consul-General, because, with a full experience of the circum-
stances. Sir James Brooke has so decided.

** '2. Whether the position of Sir James Brooke at Sarawak
be compatible with his character as a British subject?*

*' The position of Sir James Brooke at Sarawak, being
compatible with the laws of Great Britain, is compatible
with his character of a British subject.

** * 3. Whether the interests of Sir James Brooke, as a
holder of territory and as a trader in the produce of that
territory, are compatible with his duties as Consul and
Commissioner for Trade ? '

** The position of Sir James Brooke at Sarawak in future
being incompatible with the office he held under the British

1854.] THE BAJA OF SAfilWAK. 163

Crown, the functions directly or indirectly arising out of that
position, whether in revenue or in trade, will likewise be
incompatible with the duties of Commissioner and Consul-
General.

'* * The interests of Sir James Brooke,' to use the words of
Earl Grey, * have heretofore been the same as the interests of
the British nation — ^that is, to establish, as far as possible,
peace and security in those countries, which is all that is
necessary in order to enable the population to become civil-
ized, and to create a very large commerce.' (Committee on
Army and Ordnance Expenditure, Q. 8369.)

"The Commission, under these heads of inquiry, is
especially referred to Sir James Brooke's protest against the
instructions of Lord Clarendon."

With reference to these memoranda, on October 27th the
Eaja said: —

" I desire to state, in addition, that the appoiutment as
held by me was confined to diplomatic duties. I do not
declare the duties of Commissioner and Consul-General
incompatible with my position at Sarawak, excepting that I
considered them unbefitting that position. But, of course,
waiving that objection on my part, I considered myself acting
for the public good ; and I may say, in addition, that if that
incompatibility should be established, whatever blame may
result must rest with the British Government.

[Two days later this was further explained by the Eaja :
" Besides the unbefitting nature of the appointments which
I before mentioned, the grounds for this decision on my part
are that it is not only iucompatible with, but seriously detri-
mental to, my position, to be placed in an office of great
responsibility, for which there is no precedent in the public
service, without the support and the confidence of her
Majesty's Government, and in consequence exposed to sus-
picion, against the iujurious effects of which, as a servant
of the Crown, I had to claim protection."]

Mr. Devereux. — Have you any objection to explain the

104 THE BAJA OF SARXwAE. [1B54.

nature of the position, with regard to dependence or otherwise,
which you hold at Sarawak with reference to the latter part
of the first head of inquiry — its incompatibility with the
character of a British subject? A. — I refer to the protest
handed in by me, and appeal to the proper legal tribunal to
decide the question, but will not decline to answer. If my
position at Sarawak is considered in its real nature, it is
de facto independent in relation to all native powers ; but
surely not independent as relative to any European power,
because Sarawak wants the first element of independence —
which is power. I have already stated that the right to
Sarawak is baaed upon a double title — that is, firstly, the
election by the people who were free before I went to Sarawak;
and secondly, that it is held by tenure under the Sultan of
Borneo ; and both these titles, which have been set forth for
a long time, would show the independency of Sarawak, Q. —
Would you explain the nature of the election by the people ?
A. — The people of Sarawak had been in successful rebellion
for several years against their sovereign. It was by my
mediation that they were induced to lay down their arms,
and they oflfered then to support me in obtaining the Govern-
ment of the country, and thus made the election by accepting
the Government I offered, and resisting the Government of
the native princes. Their conduct for thirteen years has been
moat consistent, and with the power at any time of upsetting
the Government that I had established.

Q. — Actually you are understood to say that the Govern-
ment of Sarawak is able to make war, coin money, form
treatiea, etc.? A. — Of courae. In point of fact there is not
the smallest tribe, before I went there, that had not all those
rights, nor a single Malay community, nor even a town, that
had not the right of making war. My position and power
were founded on the anarchy consequent on the dissolution
of the Government of Borneo, and the loosing of the bonda
of society on that coast. It is perfectly well known to the
British Government how deairous I have been, from the time
I undertook the Government of Sarawak, to place the country

1854.] THE BAJA OF SAEAwAK. 165

imder British protection ; and the danger to be apprehended
by the British Government and by myself, as well as every
Englishman who has embarked his fortunes in Sarawak, is
that the political ascendency of Great Britain on that coast
may pass into the hands of a foreign power.

/ think it ought to be known, and I wish it to be clearly
understood, that my personal interests are linked with those
of my own country, but that the interests of Sarawak may
become separate from the interests of Great Britain. For
instance, supposing the British Government should not afford
protection against piracy, or against foreign innovations, it
would then become my duty to relinquish Sarawak to any
nation which would afford the requisite aid to insure its
security.

[Writing to Mr. Templer on November 16th, the Raja
specially directs his attention to the last paragraph, and
repeats it to him in full, prefacing it with — '* I hope you will
like my evidence before the Commission. There is nothing
in it which all the world has not heard. In one place I have
said as follows," etc.]

Q. — Will you be good enough to inform us of your relations
with the native tribes of the north-west coast of Borneo, espe-
cially the Sarebus and Sakarran ?

A. — ^I had no relations with Sarebus and Saiarran tribes
until 1853. My sole object until then, with regard to them
was to suppress the piracies carried on by these communities
and to prevent the indiscriminate murder practised. For this
purpose, after reporting the measure to the British Govern-
ment, I built two forts, one at Saka^n and one at the mouth
of the Kanowit Eiver ; these forts ^re to prevent the large
fleets of piratical bangkongs from passing out. The measiu-e
was to a certain degree successful ; but in 1863 the Sultan of
Borneo placed those rivers under my government, with a
stipulation that I was to suppress their piracy. This will be
a matter of time, but I have no doubt of being able success-
fully to effect it. The Malays of these communities, and a
portion of the Dyak tribes, have been reclaimed from their

166 THE RAJA OF SABIWAS. [ISH.

piratical habits. The forts have been repeatedly attacked,
and during the laat eighteen months they have found their
way to sea by other rivers which are not guarded. They have
occasionally travelled overland upwards of a hundred miles,
and then built theh- boats to proceed to sea. Many people
have been murdered both on the coast and on the rivers.
About sis months ago a party of about seven Chinese were
murdered, then: heads taken, and then: boat plundered of
property amounting to eight hundred dollars. These Chinese
had sailed from Sar&wak, to which place they had come from
Singapore, The next thing heard of them was that their
heads were banging among the Dyaks. One of these Chinese
was a servant of Mr. Chambers, the clergyman settled at
Linga, and I believe that others of them were British
subjects, Malacca-bom Chinese. The death of Mr. Lee;
their attacks upon the forts ; their resolution to continue their
head-taking and piracy — induced me to attack them in their
stronghold in the interior of the Sakarran river ; this was in
August. The attack was made by the people of the coast, and
proved successful. The best results I anticipate will follow.
I certainly wish to record that the Sarebus and Sakarran
Dyaks must be reduced within the pale of human society, for
there can be security neither for life nor property so long
as their predatory excursions, both by land and sea, are
continued.

Q. — Is there any claim on the British Government to assist
in putting down these people ?

A. — The Treaty of Borneo, Article IX., expressly stipulates
for the suppression of piracy within the Sultan's dominions.
Those are the words : —

"Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, and the Sultan of Borneo, hereby engage
to use every means in their power for the suppression of piracy
within the seas, straits, and rivers subject to their respective
control or influence ; and his Highness the Sultan of Borneo
engages not to grant either asylum or protection to any
persons or vessels engaged in piratical pursuits ; and in do

1854.] THE RAJA OF SARIwAK. 167

case will he permit ships, slaves, or merchandise captured by
pirates, to be introduced into his dominions, or to be exposed
therein for sale : and her Britannic Majesty claims, and Lis
Highness the Sultan of Borneo concedes to her Majesty, the
right of investing her officers, and other duly-constituted
authorities, with the power of entering at all times, with her
vessels of war, or other vessels duly empowered, the ports,
rivers, and creeks within the dominions of his Highness the
Sultan of Borneo, in order to capture all vessels engaged in
piracy or slave-dealing, and to seize and to reserve for the
judgment of the proper authorities all persons offending
against the two contracting powers in these respects."

If these people, therefore, be pirates, there is a claim.
There can be no doubt of their being within the dominions
of the Sultan of Borneo, but still practically independent, and
not showing him any respect whatever. In ancient times the
country of Sarebus and Sakarran was strictly dependent on
the Sultan ; I should say for the last hundred years they have
thrown off all dependence. Besides the communities of
Sarebus and Sakarran, the Sultan in 1853 (towards August
in that year) placed under my government the rivers of
Samarahan, Sadong, Linga, Kaluka, and Rejang. The people
under my rule in these five districts are contented and peace,
ful, and only pay the same light revenue which has been
imposed at Sarawak. There is no mihtary establishment
either in Sarawak, or those five districts, but there are twenty-
four policemen. This does not include the forts, in which
there are eight and ten armed men respectively. There is a
third fort at Linga, which I omitted to mention ; it is to
protect Linga in case the Sarebus should come out on piratical
expeditions.

Q. — ^As connected with your position as a British subject
will you state briefly the views which guide the Sarawak
Government in regard to slave-trade, freedom of trade, and
any questions affecting general progress ? A. — The suppres-
sion of piracy must certainly be effected with or without
British assistance. Slavery is a social institution, but it has

168 THE RAJA Of SARXwAK. [1854.

been greatly modified, and it shonld only be abolished when it
can be done with the consent of the people. Slave-trade there
is none. The freedom of trade is as at Singapore, excepting
that the transit of opium, fire-arms, and gimpowder into the
Dutch territories is prohibited on account of the offence which
a smuggling trade would give to that Government. The
prospect of Sarawak arriving at commercial prosperity is
through British capital and Chinese labour, and by these
means it would be difficult to affix a limit to its developments.
There is an inferior development of the resources of the
coimtry arising from the security and good government of the
natives ; and this, however advantageous to the natives them-
selves, would be of no consequence to British interests. The
striking feature in the countries of the Archipelago, with the
exception of Java, is the trifling amount of trade as compared
with the natural riches of the countries themselves ; and this
can only be accounted for from the total decay of native
governments, the general want of security, and the indiffer-
ence and supineness of European States.

Other questions were also asked, some springing out of the
vexed one of his obligations as a British subject, and inquiry
was made into his proposed line of action with regard to
British subjects in Sarawak ; also into the relations between
Brune and Sarfi.wak, and whether Sarawak were included in
the British treaty with Borneo. That it could be held as
included was altogether denied by the Raja.

Regarding charges brought against him by British subjects
in a corporate capacity, the Eastern Archipelago Company,
specially mentioned in the instructions, confined themselves
to a request that a duty charged by the Sultan on their coal
might be inquired into : the duty was, they said, exorbitant,
but the Sultan refused diminution because so advised by Sir
James Brooke.

The Raja expressed himself ready, either at Labuan or
Brun6 — the scene of the Company's labours — to enter upon

1864.] THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. 169

the whole subject of his dispute with them, and he was also
willing to give at Singapore any information required. The
Commissioners did not see their way to interfere, and only, in
consequencQ of this intimation from the Eaja, made courteous
inquiry, when he explained that an ad vahrem duty had been
originally proposed by Lord Palmerston, but discretionary
power being left to himself, he (the Raja) had objected to
the Foreign Secretary's proposal, for reasons given ; that his
objections had been shared by Mr. W. H. Eead and by other
members of the mercantile cormnunity at Singapore, in con-
cert with whom a duty on the registered tonnage had been
substituted, agreed to by the British Government, and men-
tioned in the Treaty with Borneo of 1847 ; that at the time of
this arrangement the right to work the coal was his only ;
"therefore it is insinuated that I resorted to the clumsy
expedient of imposing a duty unfavourable to my own interest.
I consider that the abolition or reduction of this duty would
be an injustice to the Sultan, for not only is it imposed by
treaty, but it has subsequently been ratified and accepted by
the Company's agent, Mr. Motley, so as to preclude all dispute
which might have arisen about the limits of the port of
Borneo." That the Company having inflicted serious injury
on Brune, he had certainly advised the Sultan to consent to
no remission until matters were put straight ; and if consulted
he should advise him so again, but advice was superfluous,
for the Sultan was himself decided on the point.

Enough has been given to show the character of the Raja's
defence, if defence it can be called where charge there was
none. From first to last the tone is that of the extracts
quoted.

We will turn now and see the under-current of thought and
feeling. He is writing to Mr. Templer —

^'November let. — The worn-out theme must still occupy
my pen; and as the saying is, that 'the longest day must have
an end and the longest lane a turn,' the Commission must be
finished some time or other. At present, with nothing before

170 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1864.

it, and nothing likely to come before it, it is apparently
postponed sine die,

**Let me give the briefest summary of the inquiry: — No
accusation has been made except the two absurd ones before
mentioned. The inquiry into the piratical character of the
Sarebus and Sakarrans was forced on the memorialists. It
has been carried on four hundred miles from the place where
the events to be inquired into occurred. I have been excluded
from the Commission in consequence of the unjustifiable
course pursued. I could not be represented, because there is
no one to represent me.

" The truth, therefore, has not been extracted from the
adverse witnesses for want of my examination. I have called
no witnesses of my own. Though the fact of piracy has been
conclusively proved, its extent and the loss of life attendant on
it remains unknown to the Commissioners.

'* The evidence has been exhausted, and yet the inquiry is
kept open awaiting further orders.

" I have resolved to protest against the secret instructions.
It is my business and my duty — it may not be my interest.
I will not be coward enough to submit to this, for I see no end
to such abuse if once permitted.

" The Commissioners are on the worst of terms. Age and
bad temper control ability and sense. I often think the affairs
of the world in general, and of our glorious country in particu-
lar, had better be managed by a quiet game of pitch-and-toss.
It would save a great and useless expenditure of thought and
time, and it would preclude all the intrigue and chicanery
which mark public aflfairs. The equal chance of heads and
tails would leave a reasonable ground of hope to an honest
man. . . . How my heart beats when I think of Sevastopol !
I have no interest there — ^no interest in England — and yet
I am enough of an Englishman to feel the throb of her glory
in my heart's core. So just a cause merits sympathy, too,
independently of national feeling. Vale ! "

A copy of the protest referred to above was sent to Mr.
Templer, and is given here.

1854.] THE RAJA OP SARIwAK. 171

" Note. — ^I enter my protest against the secret instructions
nnder which this Commission has acted. I protest against
secret instructions in judicial inquiry — that they are contrary
to the principles of the British Constitution, dangerous to
the hberty of the subject, and calculated to pervert justice.

" J. Brooke.

"November 14, 1854."

Baja Brooke was not alone in his feeling that the Com-
mission should summarily wind up and depart. On November
7th Mr. Devereux drew up, unknown to him, the following
minute: —

"On Monday, October 30th, the Commissioners held a
sitting which lasted about three-quarters of an hour. On the
81st they sat for nearly two hours and a quarter. On
November 6th they sat for one hour and three-quarters.
To-day they will not sit. In short, during eight working days
they have transacted business for only four hours and three-
quarters — ^for the very sufficient reason that there is no more
business to be done. I have only to-day ascertained from Mr.
Prinsep that he proposes to wait at Singapore for an indefinite
time, in the expectation of a reply to the letter which was
addressed to the secretary to the Governor-General of India in
the Foreign Department, on September 11th, applying for
seven volumes of Hansard, and until the Order in Coimcil
giving authority to examine witnesses in Borneo shall arrive.
It is time, therefore, that I should place on record what is, in
my opinion, the proper course to be piu-sued."

There was nothing to be done at Singapore. Regarding
Labuan " it is upwards of three months since the notification
concerning the arrival of the Commissioners was publicly
promulgated, and since their arrival here H.M.'s brig Rapid
has been to Labuan and back without producing the sUghtest
intimation of any occasion whatever for the Commissioners to
go to Labuan."

Begarding Brun6 there was, if possible, still less reason.
The only British subjects there happened to be in prison

172 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1864.

awaiting trial. In Sarawak a few could be found, but the
Commissioners were not so "urgently desirous of examining
them'' as to be justified in calling for the services of a forty-
gun frigate. The said frigate, moreover — ^the only vessel at
hand — would not be able to go up the Sarawak River ; and if
Kuching were by any means attained to, "the Commissioners
would have no choice but to become the guests of Sir James
Brooke, a proceeding which, under the actual circumstances,
seems to be undesirable."

In the event of the arrival of an Order in Council, it was
probable that the Commissioners would be allowed discre-
tionary power, and not be forced to move to some " locaHty
off the coast of Borneo ; " was it necessary, therefore, to await
the Order in Council ?

" I should further add," continued Mr. Devereux, "that the
Commissioners are here at a cost to the Crown of between
i!800 and £900 a month, and they would ill observe Lord
Clarendon's injunctions of economy if they continue here when
no public duty requires it. I may further remark that Sir
James Brooke has intimated his desire to return to Sar&wak
in the only vessel which is available to him, and that he is
only kept here because the Commissioners have not declared
their Commission to be closed. I propose, therefore, that
notice shall be given in the most public manner that the Com-
mission shall be closed forthwith unless fresh business is laid
before it, and I would fix the departure of the Commissioners
for Calcutta by the steamer Shanghai, which is expected in a
few days. Should Mr. Prinsep dissent from the arguments I
have used, or the conclusions I have drawn, I trust he will
place his reason for doing so on record. I shall then be in
a position to judge whether it is consistent with my duty to
remain for a further period at Singapore, or whether I shall
proceed to Calcutta by the first steamer."

It may be interesting to know something further of the
machinery set in motion in connection with this inquiry. Lord
Clarendon's instructions, with their accompaniments, having

1854.] THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. 173

been duly forwarded to the India Board, were, by Sir Charles
Wood, passed on to the Governor-General of India. Lord
Dalhousie was at the time ill able to spare two Civil servants
of a sufficient standing for Commissioners on such an inquiry,
and he openly expressed his sense of the inconvenience of
being called on to do so. But Messrs. Prinsep and Devereux
were at last chosen and furnished with the documents received
from England, including the printed copy of Mr. Hume's letter,
"together with three volumes of papers annexed to it, con-
taining his charges against Sir James Brooke, and the points
to which he considers that the inquiry should be directed."

Further, in a communication to the newly appointed
Commissioners, they are informed by the Secretary to the
Government of India, that, —

"An ordinance has been passed by the Lieutenant-
Governor and the Legislative Council of Labuan to facihtate
your proceedings within the jurisdiction of that island; and an
Order in Council will have been issued by her Majesty for con-
ferring on you the necessary powers for the discharge of your
fimctions within the territories of the Sultan of Borneo. An
Act will also be passed as soon as possible by the Legislative
Council of India, for the purpose of giving you power and
authority to examine and compel the attendance of witnesses,
etc., within the settlements of Prince of Wales' Island, Singa-
pore, and Malacca."

174 THE RAJA OF SABIWAK- [1854.

CHAPTER XXIV.

1854, 1855.

" November 16, 1854. [Letter to Mr. John C. Templer] —
The great event is my having arranged for my passage
back to Sarawak, and should Mr. Prinsep keep the Commission
open, I shall enter a further and third protest, and so depart.
I do not think it possible, however, that any orders to continue
the inquiry will be sent, and if it be left ox)tional this iniqui-
tous Commission will close. In the report it may be that the
Commissioners take an unfavourable view of my position rela-
tive to my character as a subject. Should it be so, you must
at once lay the case before the best Coimsel in England for an
opinion, and thus arm me in any future contest.

" November 18th. — By the mail of the 16th arrived the
powers from the Privy Coimcil to the Commissioners to visit
Borneo. In my protest I have denied that the Queen, under
treaty, has such powers, except in the cases specifically men-
tioned, i.e., crimes of British subjects, and disputes of British
subjects with each other or with natives within the dominions
of the Sultan. A glance at the instructions will show how
little warranted is the assumption of a general jurisdiction.

" The Commission has been a farce, and very incomplete in
all points. Like the old Percy, I can say that I have pre-
served ' the little bird in my bosom ' always, and that there
is not a blot nor the shadow of a blot on my honour. I am
thankful, even, that when brought to the Ught of day, my
enemies were not bold enough to attempt to prove one out of

1854] THE BAJA OF SABAwAK. 175

all their numerous calumnies. The points of the inquiry
relating to my appointment in the public service of England,
and to trade, etc., are unworthy consideration. I only served
in order to advance what I considered to be the interests
of England and of Sarawak, and experience has shown that
in doing so I committed an error in judgment. The find,
however, will come upon the question whether my position at
Sarawak be compatible with my character as a British
subject. The inquiry has brought my position into such
strong hght that it will be impossible in future for the British
Government to mask the question, or to affect ignorance.

"The protest will place you in possession of the double
title by which I maintain my position, and in all discussion
keep clearly in view the broad distinction between Sarawak as
a country, and James Brooke as a ruler chosen by the people.
My removal may ruin me, and certainly will ruin British
interests, but it cannot affect the rights of the people of
Sarawak. By the inquiry it will be seen that I claim for
Sarawak an independency of Borneo, or of any other State.
Personally, I hold the territory by a deed of cession from the
Sultan, which reconciles the independence of Sarawak with
the claims of Borneo; sever this link, and Sarawak will be
more independent, or she will be enslaved and the i)oor Dyaks
murdered. It would be impossible for me to allow a de facto
dependence on the Sultan ; firstly, because it is not true, and
secondly, that it would involve Sarawak in aU the misgovern-
ment and internal distractions of his government. This, how-
ever, led to another consideration, and I denied positively
that Sarawak was bound by the treaty between Great Britain
and Borneo. The treaty was made subsequently to the
cession of Sarawak, and Sarawak was not included in the
dominions of the Sultan of Borneo, or at any rate so included
in a very remote sense as a feudal State with a distinct juris-
diction and government. The treaty of Borneo was drawn
out at the Foreign Office, and therefore I am in no manner
responsible for it, and it was a treaty following a war, and in
its stipulations binding down a barbarous monarch. There is

176 THE BAJA OF SABAwAK. [13S4.

not much of the treat;, bnt yet enough to prevent its applica-
tion to any free country or free government ; the clause bind-
ing the Sultan not to make any cession similar to Labnan in
future without the consent of the British OoTemment cannot
apply to Sarawak, which had been previously ceded. The
article stipulating that the Sultan is not to impose internal
duties within his dominions could, from its very injustice and
direct interference in the internal affairs of the country, only
be defended on the ground of necessity and the total want of
government under the Sultan — to say nothing of its folly. It
prevents the Saltan levying internal duties, but does not pre-
vent his robbing and plundering his people. This article,
however, is quite inapplicable to Sarawak. The additional
article will be the great hitch, as granting jurisdiction to a
single Englishman, duly empowered by the Queen, to judge
and punish his countrymen — even in cases of life and death,
without appeal. This stipulation, if extended to Sarawak, would
ruin every Enghshman there ; it would supersede an equitable
trial by jury by an arbitraiy tribunal, and it would place
British subjects not only above the law of the land, but beyond
it. I will never concede this question, or allow this additioual
article to apply to Sarawak. The courts are established,
justice is publicly administered, and aU men are judged by
their fellows. The EngUsh may leave the country, hut as long
as they are in it they shall obey the law, or they shall have
no protection from the law. The stipulation, however, is not
only inapplicable to Sardwak, but it must be non-operative
everywhere.

"Now, let us come to the practical question. What will the
British Government do ? Let us suppose they declare my
position to be incompatible with my allegiance. The effect
will be that I must inform British subjects that I am no
longer responsible for the safety of their hves or property.
The whole fleet of England, with the army in the Crimea to
back it, could not give them the security they at present enjoy.
I might distribute justice and insure safety to the natives in
some other character besides that of ruler, but the subjects of

1851.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 177

Britain would stand beyond the pale of the law and the
sympathy of the society, and must look to a Consul-General
and to a Government at the Antipodes to regulate the affairs
of daily life, and to administer justice distinct from the justice
of the country. It would be a mere barbarism. The IBritish
position would be weakened, the subjects of Britain would be
insecure, their enterprise would be checked, and in a short
time there would be no Englishmen in the country excepting
those who adhere to me from the ties of affection. Should
the British Government declare my position at Sarawak
incompatible with my character as a British subject, the
inconvenience to me would be moderate. Another ruler not
a British subject would reign in my stead. I should retain
my influence and my power excepting in name. I should not
be unhappy — 'the little bird' would sing as merrily as ever, or
rather as plaintively as ever, for that is the nature of the bird
and the tone of his song. Then, besides another ruler, there
is the option before me of advising the peoi)le of Sarawak to
invite the protection of a foreign coimtry, or I miglit fall back
on Lord Clarendon's own view, and declare Sarawak to be,
what he says it has been considered by the Government of
England, a private property, in which case the Privy Coimcil
could not by law call it imder examination. I allude to the
Act of William and Mary, forgetting chapter and verse. You
must bear in mind, however, it lies in the power of the British
Government to arrange this question on an equitable basis.
I have no such power, but I have the power of resisting wrong
and injustice, whether openly offered or masked by the forms
of obsolete British law. Every step the British Government
may be pleased to take in opposition to my rights and my
will to back them, will be a blow struck at British interests,
and can only result in closing the sphere I have opened to her
advance in Borneo, and to the maintenance of her position
in the Archipelago. It will be very easy to iiiin what has
been done. I am open to reason. I desire to advance the
real interests of my own country. There exist no insuper-
able difficulties to arrangements consistent with the svhstantial

VOL. II. N

178 THE RAJA OP SARAWAK. [1864.

and de facto independence of Sardwak, and the prosperity of
British commerce. The Government of England has beat
round the bush for the last ten years and is now in a comer
through its own folly, and it must pull down the whole tene-
ment and bury the English inhabitants in the debris of the
Government established in Sarawak, or it must acknowledge
that Government in some direct sort. I am not to be moved
by its resolve. The wildest jungle in the fastnesses of the
interior will afford me refuge, and a degree of peace I should
not know by a betrayal of duty. At any rate six feet of earth
on my mountain of Peninjau will not be grudged by Lord
Clarendon ; and even should I have the misfortune to fall
into the hands of the Britishers, by Jove, Jack, I will buy a
pick and a shovel and go and dig gold at Bendigo ! Would
that be contrary to my character as a British subject ?

" I have written enough in a rambling sort of way to pre-
pare you for the only point in the report which may cause
embarrassment and give the Government a handle. I wiU
leave it to you to decide the steps you will take, and it might
be necessary to discuss the matter with Lord Clarendon before
or after the report of the Commission. One thing let him
know — the Government has acted in ignorance of my cha-
racter. I am not to be moved by a dread of consequences,
and though I may be led, no man, or pig either, is worse to
drive. I have a spirit of contrariness, as Mrs. Gamp would
say, and so well is this known that those who live about me
act upon it, and I find it out. On Monday, positively, I am off
for Sarawak, singing, ' omne bene, sine poena tempus e^t ludendV "

" Saturday, 18tfe. — I have just heard from Mr. Prinsep that
I may consider the inquiry to be closed, and that it will be
formally closed on Monday at one o'clock. Congratulate me,
dear friend. You must not think from what I have said that
my enemies have not tried to convict me of crime. They
moved every engine in their power to procure evidence against
me, but no native would listen, and so afraid were the men in
the prahus and the harbour of injuring me or being entrapped
into giving evidence that they would not attend the BummonB

1854.] THE BAJA OF SABAwAK. 179

of the Commission without coming to me first to know whether
they were good men who called them.

" November 2l8t. — Commission of Inquiry closed yesterday.
I am prepared to meet the Government half-way in an
amicable spirit, and to assent to any arrangements, on an
equitable basis, for arriving at a solution of the questions to
which I have devoted my life. These questions are — 1. The
security and happiness of the people of Sarawak. 2. The
advancement of British interests.

" To attain these objects it must be borne in mind — 1. That
the rights of the people of Sardwak are not to be infringed.
2. That Sarawak will own nothing more than a de jure
dependence on the sovereignty of Brune, maintaining its own
Grovemment and customs intact, and without interference, but
fulfilling the existing contract. 8. That provided Sarawak be
in future understood as included in the treaty of 1847, between
Great Britain and Brune, the terms of that treaty shall
be modified. 4b. That no tribimal for the trial of British
subjects shall be estabhshed in Sarawak of which the ruler
of Sarawak is not the superior judge, and that the right shall
be preserved to British subjects of a trial by jury. 5. That a
clear understanding be arrived at of the position of Sarawak
relative to Great Britain. 6. Eecognition of Sarawak by a
protectorate flag ; the confirmation or retraction of the sanction
already given to the present flag.

*' I closed my evidence before the Commission with the words
that ' on the one hand were security and progress, and on the
other anarchy or the transfer of our pohtical ascendency to a
foreign power.'

" Let me beg of you without loss of time to send me two or
three works on Constitutional Law and History, and those
of course which deal most in detail with the freedom and
rights of the subject at the present day, setting aside the
obsolete laws and customs of the times past when the power
of the Crown was exorbitant.

" I write this in great haste. You may fancy how light
my heart is amid its bitterness which remains. In half an
hour I embark to return to my own country."

180 THE RAJA OF SAItlWAK- tlSSi.

It waa perhaps well that the Commiasiou did not viBit
Brune, for Saltan Humim was angry, and had cansed it
to be understood in Labaan that he would have no British
Commission coming to Brune to ask questions about the Baja
Brooke, and that in the event of their visiting Labuan, be
intended to inform them that he would forward no witnesses
whatever, unless Sir James Brooke himseK requested him to
do so ; further, having heard that piracy and whether the
Eaja were a proper person to be entrusted with power to
put it down, formed one of the subjects of the inquiry, he
should let them know that not only was the Eaja a proper
person, but that no one else knew anything about it, and that
the pirates would simply laugh at ships of war, unless acting
mider his (the Baja's) experience and advice.

The Commission being formally closed, the Baja, with Mr.
8t. John and Mr. C. Grant, embarked in a email schooner for
Sarawak ; but the vessel proved " a wretched craft," the
weather was bad, and after five days having only advanced
twenty-five miles, they returned to Singapore, and the Baja
was taken to Sarawak by Captain Blane, in H.M.8. Rapid.
The following letter, dated December 2, 1864, is to Mr,
Templer :—

' ' Captain Elliot has been kind enough to give me a passage
across in H.M.S. Rapid, and we sail to-morrow or next
day. I long to be back amongst my own people, and to
enjoy that repose which has never yet failed me in Sarawak,
The Commission is at an end, and it has proved how unjustifi-
able it was to institute an inquiry when there was ' nothing to
inquire mto.' Let all that pass. But how will the Govern-
ment stand my protest ? Much of our future course must
depend on the temper of the Government. On this head let
me repeat — That I am willing to meet Ministers in a iaxr
spirit on neutral ground. That I am anxions to advance the
true interests of my own country. That personally I haTa
nothing to ask. That publicly I have as much to give as to
get. That I will not hear of being the mere tool to patch np
a question which must he solved. That in tampering with my

1854.] THE RAJA OF SARIwAK. 181

position, the Government is tampering with British interests,
and will destroy them. That when my position in Sarawak is
recognized or relinquished we will proceed to other matters.
That not only has all that was before done been midone by
the Government during the last five years, but the British
position in the Archipelago has in a great portion been finally
and irretrievably lost, and weakened everywhere. Sarawak
alone has withstood the effects of public clamour and Govern-
ment neglect. This will be enough for the first dose for Lord
Clarendon, and my private opinion is that the Ministry will
hustle the whole question and go to sleep afterwards. I have
no faith in them — that jewel has been lost, and the casket
alone remains. With Sarawak it is different, and I may come
on the stage like King Richard, and say —

Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by that blockhead Hnme,
And all the clouds which lowered about our house
In the dull bosom of the Blue-books buried !

You may fancy how reUeved my mind is by shaking off this
vile inquiry, and all the suspicion which it gave rise to.

" How are you, dear friend ? And how is Hannah, and the
five ? And how all the rest ? You will be able to give me
some details now, and X in Uke manner may babble of scenery
and grow descriptive of Cochins and Shanghais. But these
subjects, mild as milk and pleasant as lemonade, have Uttle
flavour at first after swallowing draughts of alcohol, tippling
blue rum with Clarendon, gin sling with Joe Hume, fiery
blazes with Wise, and sherry cobbler with the Eastern Archi-
pelago Company. I am content, however, to give over strong
drinks, Hterally as well as allegorically. My desires are
moderate, and at the same time my ambition is so imbounded
that the poor fools can never understand it. Had I been in
England while this occurred I would not have said so much ;
but having passed a year and more in Sarawak imder the most
trying circumstances, I know that I have the key of my happi-
ness in my own keeping. I am old, the fire of my nature
bums low, I like easy chairs, I like pleasant books. I do not

182 TH£ BAJA OF BABXwAE. [18U.

look for justice in this world, but I believe that all tliingB are
-working for good, and come what come may, Sarawak can
never lose the impress I have given to the Government and to
the people ; amid ruin and confusion they will still retain it.
My friend Bead will forward you about forty copies of a
pamphlet containing the evidence. Distribute them. Don't
forget Rigby and Frank Grant, and Mrs. Keating, Crescent,
Bath. Farewell, dear Jack. Evil has not prevailed against
QB, thanks to you and to Drummond, and Lord EUesmere and
Lord Grey.

"P.S. — Charge Government every farthing of postage and
stationery."

It will be remembered that the Raja had claimed repay-
ment of all his expenses incident to the Commission. A letter
to Mr. Cameron, written in the following year (1855), explains
his mind more fully.

" I wrote yon that I would not receive salary for my of&ce
as Commissioner and Consul-Genera! after September, 1853,
the date of my resignation. I imderstand that Government
does not consider me out of the public service untQ the resig-
nation has been accepted and gazetted. Be this as it may, I
will leave it with Templer and yourself to decide whether X
ought to accept or refuse this salary. I am not a good judge
on the point myself, and I am sure yon will be as fastidious
on it as I would be myself, i.e., you will maintain a right and
refuse an obUgation. It is clearly to be understood, however,
that this tender of resignation is in fuU force, and should be
accepted immediately. I will not be too proud to take what
you consider me entitled to, and if it be as salary it will help
me in my Trojan war, seven years of which are already over."

The Raja's letters on business matters, of which this is
one, are very characteristic. Those to Mr. Wise have been
already dwelt on. Those to Mr. Templer contain pages of a
simple matter-of-fact viewing of every subject, and a calm
calcnlation of possible contingencies, and of means to ends ;
but unawares a sentence comes, such as — " They should
remember that great developments require great minds aa well

1864.] THE RAJA OP SARIwAK. 183

as great means;" or there is a sudden transition, as in the
following—" To save trouble, now I have written all this, will
you make M. copy it and send it to Cameron. I confess,
however, my views to be undigested, and I am aware of my
own deficiences ; but, my dear Jack, won't we have a plum ! —
and then Dora shall have a beautiful new dress of brown
holland, quite in accordance with papa's feelings, and Georgy
shall go to Greenwich fair and buy a penny trumpet, and
Jemmy and Harvey and Freddy, and mamma, if she likes,
shall have a treat of antimonial wine ! Adieu — to-day I
degenerate into nonsense suitable to the nobler part of my
nature."

A Chancery suit, brought on him by Mr. Wise, was drag-
ging its slow length along. ** I suppose," wrote the Baja,
" that it must come to an end before the world. I suppose this,
because Vice-Chancellor Wood so said it at a Lord Mayor's
feast. — ^Vide Sunny Memories, p. 193."

Mr. Wise will not be mentioned again. A few more
extracts of letters to Mr. Templer tell all we need further
know. The first was written from Singapore during the
inquiry. " I suppose Wise cannot be permitted to keep aloof
for two years under the pretence or reaUty of illness. Povero
diavolo ! With such a conscience no wonder he is ill, even
nnto death. The stings of exposure and defeat awaken the
dormant powers of conscience which revenge and ambition
had smothered ; and at any rate with such a bill hanging over
him how can he get well, for even innocence itself does not
pillow its head comfortably upon Chancery foUos ? "

The second, dated May 26, 1856, refers to him. "Be
merciful, dear Jack, if mercy be consistent with justice and
honour. I would not trample upon a fallen foe, and though I
might be proud to prostrate a Uon, I would let a fox escape
when I had taken his brush ! "

*^ October IQth, 1856. — Wise is truly an object of pity.
Unhappy man, his own enemy and the betrayer of himself !
God knows I bear him no ill-will ; and, indeed, through this
long strife I have despised rather than hated him. I have

184 THE BAJA OF SARAWAK. [1864.

felt what must be his position in this life ; and, guilty as he
has been in act and intention, I know that God will not
punish his finite errors with an infinite infliction. This is an
incidental bit of heterodoxy which you may accept or not ;
but the fate of this man, with whom I was once so intimate,
raises serious thoughts, and if my hearty and unreserved
forgiveness would please or benefit, I bestow it, and you
may convey it to him."

Lawsuits could not be carried on without money, and the
expenses caused by the Commission had to be met. It is the
simple truth to say that Eaja Brooke never knew, from the
time that his career began in Borneo to the day of his death,
freedom from pecuniary anxiety; but how heavily this told
upon him was known only to a few. The earlier struggles,
though trying, were free from the bitterness that he could not
but feel now — that most grievous bitterness that dwells in the
thought that the suffering, be it what it may, ought never to
have been caused, and that the force required to counteract it can
only be spent at the cost and loss of better things. He writes
lightly of this occasionally, as of everything else when the
mood is on him. " Who's afraid, dear Jack ? My old friend
Admiral Walcot said in the House of Commons the other day
that they might break his heart but not his spirit ; but, for
my part, I have no intention that any man or men shall effect
such an object, and it is not reserved for woman now. Will
you look after this, my buoyant friend, and remember that I
will borrow first, then beg, and, as a last resource, steal — on a
wholesale scale, of course. Will you please to tell me when
the stealing time comes ? '*

The above is another of the abrupt transitions referred to.
After this the original subject is resumed with perfect sober-
ness, the prospects of a coal-mine being examined ; and out
of the coal-mine we come to — "Dear Jack, do not, pray, do
anything whatever which could by possibility injure your
family, or that might be misconstrued relative to your legal
position. All the coal-mines in the world may go to the
devil, but do not you come to harm to serve me. I draw

1854.] THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. > 185

upon your time, your thoughts, your patience, your friendship,
but I will not draw upon your purse or your reputation.**

The last letter of 1854, is dated December 27th, and was
written a fortnight after the Baja's arrival in Sarawak. The
passage across in the Rapid had been a very pleasant one, and
he writes — " Her gallant Captain Blane insisted upon paying
me all sorts of honours. The people were glad to see me back,
but could not have been so pleased as I was to be once more
amongst them. I explained in pubUc the proceedings of the
Commission and its result, and I told them that they must
remember they were free people, and always prize their
freedom and independence above all other things. We
acknowledged the Sultan of Borneo so long as the Sultan of
Borneo did not interfere with our Government and rights.
Sarawak was independent, and would maintain its independ-
ence ; and whether it was myself, the Sultan, Brooke, or any
one else, the people must guard against and punish the
attempt to infringe the established order of things. In one
word, nothing could be better than the temper and feeling of
every class in our commimity ; their confidence in their
Government is unbounded, and through our struggles and the
neglect of the British during the past five years we have
attained a greater degree of stabiUty than would otherwise
have been the case.

" For myself, I can say that my spirits are as elastic as
a boy's. I am in perfect charity with the world — Hume and
Wise included. I have nothing more to say to them, and
really for the Government I have a kindly though contempt-
uous feeling. They will find me quite reasonable. I want
nothing. I am ready to do everything to advance the
interests of England on a noble scale, but I am utterly
repugnant to the bin-dens of official life and official uselcssness.
If they want to serve Sarawak and serve England by for-
warding the development of these countries, they will place a
small steamer at my disposal. They won't do this, because
some official obstruction exists ; some scare-crow of red tape
will prevent the simplest measm-e of practical usefulness.

186 THB RAJA OF SABIWAK. [1855.

There is a spirit at work here which will move the entire
Archipelago, hut it is a spirit they dare not encourage, for it
is higher than their conceptions, more ethereal than their
policy of potter's earth, more soaring than their flight of a
feeble wing dare attempt. Let them pass. I can see and
prophesy that my work will not be disturbed by native hands,
if disturbed at all, and if it be disturbed it will be by my own
countrymen or by other Europeans with their permission.

" On Christmas-day five Dyaks of the Balow tribe received
baptism in our church. In five years we shall have five or
fifty thousand if our countrymen will only let matters take
their course. You know my cautious temper, and how long I
have forborne, and how little I would risk for any premature
success in converting the natives to Christianity; but I am
certain our tribes — always barring European mischief to our
Government — will be moved en masse. They are in the stage
of society to be so moved, and now that the blessings of
security and good government are theirs they will turn to the
rehgion of their benefactors. The fellows at home ought to
support me — but they won't ; and again let me repeat, I want
nothing for myself."

''February 3, 1855. — We wait anxiously for news from
Sevastopol. Amid the great and glorious struggle we cannot
expect to attract attention, and for the matter of that I
neither desire nor strive for Ministerial or popular favour. If
the Government be sincere and earnest, let it maintain a
small steamer on this coast, and then they may go on in their
usual mode of gentle drivelling for a few years to come. If
they be not in earnest they will talk of naval aid, send a short
letter with a big seal to the Admiral, and leave us to suffer
from all the fluctuations arising from divided coimsels."

In anticipation of the steamer that Mr. Templer had been
commissioned to purchase, a tax on tobacco was proposed by
the Baja in Council.

"I left it," he writes, "entirely with the datns and
people to adopt or reject at pleasure. They approved it quite
willingly, and expressed how important they considered a

1865.] THE BAJA OF SABIWAK. 187

steamer would be to the protection of our trade. Since the
departure of the Datu patingi (Gaffur), we have been very
successful in establishing our inferior courts in which the Datu
Bandar presides, assisted by three or four hadjis of character.
The old Tumangong is likewise a judge in Israel, and
sometimes he breaks into the court, upsets the gravity of all
present by laying down his law for a quarter of an hour —
krissing and hanging, flogging and fining all offenders, past,
present or future, and after creating a strong impression
vanishes for a month or two."

The money raised by this tax was of small amount, and
how the steamer could be paid for remained an unsolved
problem. The country was too poor to bear the first cost of
new machinery, however necessary, and the Eaja would force
no tax on an unwilling people. They should tax themselves,
and they should do it freely, from a sense of the benefits
derived from their Government, and confidence in its dis-
cretion. What was necessary for their present welfare which
yet they could not afford he would get for them, though at
the cost of personal suffering.

" I have enough to eat and drink," he wrote, *' clothes,
such as they are, a roof over my head, and a nosegay of
flowers each morning. Money will not make me happier ; if
I seek it, 'tis as a means for the good — oh, such good ! — of
others."

But many a groan soimded in Mr. Templer's ears, and
now and then an outbreak such as, " You may tell the Govern-
ment, and Lord Clarendon in particular, that they should
present me with such a steamer for the service of England and
Sarawak, in lieu of the trouble and time they have cost me !
Ask them how their red tape would like it. Why, red tape
would turn scarlet with anger, not with shame ! "

The year 1855 opened peacefully in Sarawak.

" We are quite prosperous and quiet, dull as ditch water.
The remembrance of the Commission is fading away. No
irritation is sprouting in my bosom.

188 THE RAJA OF SABJLWAk;- [1865.

; ." I wanted to write to Hannah about ro^al pursuits, of
fowls specially. Tell Dori^ttat Mr«.- fiij§r9m Chittyprat, Mrs.
Eoundabout Bustle, Mrs. Dumpy Squat, Mrs. Beard Speckles,
and Mrs. Stripes Longshank send th^ir compliments. I
am modest enough to propose five hundred fowls yearly
supplied to our table. If they succeed five thousand will
not content my ambition ; but I am rather given to count my
chickens before they are hatched, and away they go like the
crockery.'*

The work of the Sarawak Government increasing on all
sides increased the demand for European oflScers, but all
plans requiring the employment of Europeans were now
retarded by the uncertainty of the result of the Commission
of Inquiry.

Again and again the Eaja impresses on Mr. Templer that
until this is decided no mercantile enterprise can be safely
attempted. He will have no investments made under hopes
that might prove delusive. Plans may be provisionally dis-
cussed and formed, but nothing more.

For the Sarawak Government service he required lads
" spirited but gentle, with fair abilities and rudimentary
knowledge. I want them heart and soul in the work. You
must remember that they have to share the fortunes of
Sardwak, which are not quite so established as the Bank of
England, and that tender parents might feel a twinge. Other
things being equal, I should decide in favour of the candidate
who has least prospects and fewest friends. If a good heart
has felt something of the world's wrongs and hardships in
youth, it will compassionate the helpless. It is however a
mere toss-up ; the qualities required cannot be tested ; sound
judgment and resolute will arc not acquired by education, and
only improved by practice. A learned fool is as bad or worse
a fool than an unlearned one, for he is often a specious fool.
Till a man is tried in action, it is a mere lottery. I prefer
the donkey simple, but others prefer the donkey erudite. I
quarrel not with their taste."

In another letter, also to Mr. Templer, the subject is. again
dwelt on.

1855.] t6e JtAJA OF SARAWAK. 189

" You are d.ware how Kttie pecuniary inducement we can
offer- They will be piiK)f, hut independent, and they will share
the success of the Government. If they have higher feelings,
they will appreciate being nobly employed and leading a Ufe
of usefulness, with its trials, it is true, but Ukewise with
its satisfactions and excitements. Now for the qualifications.
Sweet temper is indispensable, judgment in preference to
abihty, and native ability in preference to acquired ; moderate
and just-minded, plucky, refined, gentle. If you think them
wanting in will and firmness, send them not, for that one
want would nullify all the other virtues.

" If you cannot find something superhuman, find me some-
body — poor common mortals — with spirit, gentleness, and love
of justice, modified and guided by a strong will. Above all,
preach to the young feUows so that they do not aUow their
imaginations to run away with them. They will stand in the
rank of gentlemen ; they wiU be our companions — our friends
if they deserve it ; but the love of base lucre must not lurk in
their minds, and they must remember the dull realities of daily
life even in this romantic island."

Part of January was spent by the Eaja at Santubong in a
cottage which kept out the rain but let in the wind, and it
blew half a gale continually. It was nevertheless, he writes,
"a charming place — the mountain grand, the woods verdant,
clear streams and dashing faUs ^ a long stretch of hard sand,
a pleasant sea when 'tis smooth, with islands in the distance
just far enough for a picnic party. I was out three and four
hours a day, scrambling up the mountain streams or shooting
plover on the sands, besides an evening ride of some miles."
This letter, which is dated February 3rd, continues — '^Duectly
the monsoon has blown itseK out, which will be a month hence,
I sail off for Lundu to make myself master of the details of
that part of the country, so as to be able to administer affairs
when Charley Grant leaves me. Besides this, we have reports
of copper being found in those parts, and though I am never
misled by these ' will-o'-the-wisp ' hopes, yet I do not neglect
the chances. Tin is again reported. If it is in the earth

190 THE BAJA OF SABIwAE. [18SS.

it will come out, and much good may it do hs. We have
struggled with poverty, can we struggle as succeBsfully against
prosperity ? "

Under date March 6, 185S, there is another long letter to
Mr. Templer on the " hateful suhject."

" The sooner, dear Jack, you discover the intentions and
objects of Government the better, and strengthen my hands
by the best legal opinion upon my position in Sarawak. Can
a British subject become an independent sovereign of a
foreign country so long as he breaks no law ? Can he become
a feudatory ? Can he possesB private property in Borneo ?
And, as a large landed proprietor, is he debarred from sharing
in the Government of the country in which he lives ? Is he
forbidden &om becoming the ministerof a foreign princeor state?
— from obeying the commands of a foreign sovereign ? — from
performing such acts as are necessary for his own security,
and that of his people, tenants, or property ? With all these
qnestions, take into consideration the knowledge and the
sanction already given to my position by the British Govern-
ment. You must remember, too, that the question pending
is in no wise between the Sovereign of Brun6 and myself, or
the Sovereign of Brune and Sarawak— we are in perfect
accord. It is, or may be, between the British Government
and a British subject, and what we desire to know and to
decide is — how far a British subject can be legally restrained
by the Government of his own country. Again, remember
that the independence of Sarawak is not an independence
de facto derived from me, but asserted by the inhabitants, and
that there is no dispute about it with Brune. We are inde-
pendent, and yet we are not independent in a sort of way —
the hmits of a people's rights are always vague, always
difficult to be defined ; but what has the British Government
to do with the matter ? My influence is purely for good to
all parties, and so acknowledged to be by all partiea; and ii
the mere fact of my bemg a British aubject to prevent this
after a practical recognition of fourteen years ? Look well at
my statements before the Commission for information, as well

1856.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 191

as the protest, and if we can only know what the law of
England requires of the subject, my position will, of course, be
accommodated to it. The argument to be used against the
Government is, that knowing and encouraging at one time,
they are now, after a lapse of years, interfering and obstruct-
ing, and with no other result than the injury of British
subjects. I will obey the law — at least, it is probable — but the
Grovemment I will not obey. Tell me the penalties incurred
by disobedience. Tell me how far I may go — where I may
make a stand.

" These opinions should be given by men whose dicta carry
weight, and whose opinions are tantamoimt to a decision.
Would Justice Patteson give an opinion, or Lord Truro,
Thesiger, Hill, Willes, Prior, and one or two more of the best
Constitutional lawyers, we should be as strong as law can
make us."

The mail that carried home the above letter conveyed also
one to Mrs. Johnson. With Christmastide had come mourn-
ing to Lackington Vicarage, where the dearly loved invalid
daughter, after a long and hopeless suffering, had passed away,
and March brought the tidings to the Eaja.

"It is well, dearest, for you both," he wrote, ** that the
link of anguish which bound you has been mercifully separated.
There was a dark future of increasing infirmity and pain ;
thankful, therefore, do I feel that she has gone to her rest,
and that you are preserved to those who could ill spare you
from their sphere. She will become to you a tender memory,
a link in futurity, which will be formed again ; but you cannot
help feeling a solemn joy that she has been removed from
her sufferings and her trials, and that the weary one is at rest
with God.

" To Martha and Jane [two servants] we are all indebted
for their affectionate kindness to the dear child, and for their
patience and attention. Tell them, dearest sister, how sensible
I am of the noble manner in which they have performed a
painful and tedious duty. I can only thank them and admire
them for it, for it is not the common way of this hard world.

192 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1855.

" Brooke shall certainly come home in October, if by any
means we can manage it ; and at present I see no difficulty.
The only one, indeed, to be anticipated is the marked hos-
tility of the Government. Of course I am indignant, but I
should soon be soothed down and forget it I were left alone.
Even this I cannot expect to attain. The only evil eflfects
which I perceive as yet from prolonged persecution is the
rousing in me of a good deal of temper which will break
out. Never mind, dearest ; a few months must decide our
future, and I am ready to cut the knot, unless Ministers please
to untie it."

In April he was at Lundu, and while there, Balaninis
being reported, went out in search, and also sent a message of
warning to Sambas. The pirates were not to be found, but,
he writes, " the Hollanders, like good fellows, despatched a
steamer, which touched at Lundu. Might not Lord Palmer-
ston feel ashamed at this little circumstance ! "

In May he was back in Sard,wak, where his state of mind
is shown by a letter to Mr. Bead, dated the 9th.

'* My policy will some day be acknowledged, though it may
be never acted upon ; and whether as regards conciliation and
parental government of the natives, or the stem repression
of piracy and violence, it is the only policy which holds
out a prospect of any real commercial prosperity. Let that
pass.

" I bequeath this policy to my successors ; and already you
are crying out for vigorous measures against the pirates.
Had my measures of 1848 and 1849 been persevered in, you
would not now be complaining of the frightful state of the
coast from Chinese marauders and others.

** Piracy will not put itseK down; nor will the navy,
unassisted by political and practical knowledge, ever succeed
in doing so. You must have a network of information. You
must be thoroughly conversant with the genus pirate, through
all its species, and find out the habitation of the beast, and
the lairs of the leaders of the herd.

'' You ask me when and what justice is to be done in my

1855.] THE RAJA OF SABIwAK. 193

affairs. I really do not know ; but my friends arc confident,
and, so soon as the report be received from the Commission,
will proceed to action, unless Downing Street surrenders at
discretion. There is one thing, and one thing only, which I
require — ^that is, Eecognition. Titles, fine clothes, penny
trumpets and turtle-soup, are of slight but equal value. I
have now fallen into my old way of life ; I am really as happy
and content as I expect to be ; my fair fame has been vindi-
cated; I am weary of contention — I always disUked official
employ ; I covet nor rank nor riches ; I am fifty-two years of
age — ^by nature indolent ; unmerited disgrace has left its brand
upon my heart. I have friends; I have a consciousness of
being well employed, and — I have a poultry-yard and a
cottage in the mountain ! These reasons, or any of them,
would suffice to prevent my mixing myself again in the
turmoil and struggles of life ; and if you want to retire, as you
threaten, you cannot do better than to share my philosophical
retreat, without the cares of government — which, however, are
light enough. Before you do this, however, in Sarawak or in
Bome, you must really tear the love of the world from yom*
heart; I do not add *as I have done,' because I am not certain
that I have done so, that being the very question to be tried."
Meanwhile, at Muka, a river between Bintulu and Oya,
north of the Bejang, a tragedy had occurred, and by its effects
stopped the growing trade between that place, Singapore, and
Sarawak. The account is thus given by the Baja to Mr.
Templer : —

" Pangeran Ursut, the ruler of Muka, right ar wrong, turned
his cousin Pangeran Matusen out of the place three years ago.
Last year Matusen came back with a letter from the old
Sultan, etc., recommending a reconciliation between the
cousins. Ursut would not be reconciled, and threatened to
fire at Matusen, who retired, but afterwards came back and
was allowed to live there quietly. After a few months, Ursut
being off his guard, Matusen surprised and killed him, and
afterwards slaughtered all the women and children, eleven in
number, including Ursut's wife and her five young children.
VOL. n. o

194 THE UAJA OF SARAWAK. [ISGS.

" I say to you privately, though here I keep it in the
depths of my heart, that had not my hands been tied by the
British Goremment I should have prevented this catastrophe.
I am going to Bnme chiefly with a view of setthng this busi-
ness, for I won't allow the Brune Government to countenance
such an act. "With God's help, I will teach these nobles what
good faith means, by example and by broom-stick.

" Matusen's wife and all his children have taken refuge with
me, being, not unnaturally, in fear of retaliation. It shows
what a rascal I am, and how treacherous and blood-thirsty is
the character I have gained hereabouts ] Both parties are
appealing to me, but as yet I hold a neutrality. Kex'^rt says
that the Sultan has sent the sons of Pangeran Ursut, with his
blesaing and six cwts. of gunpowder, to fight it out,"

In June H.M.S. Grecian mode her appearance on the
Sarawak coast, and was apparently willing to be of use ; but
she was " in such a hurry, and so hampered with orders to
prevent wise and vigorous action, that she could do no good,"
and she therefore departed, taking Mr, Spenser St. John with
her to Labuan, and leaving the Baja to make hia o^ti way to
Bnme. This he did shortly afterwards, and as he sailed
northwards his mind dwelt, as it was continually dwelling, on
the aspect of a great pohcy crippled into meanness, and on
the amount of needless and avoidable suffering in the world.
Other thoughts mingled with these ; in every letter to Mr.
Templer there is some mention of the war with Bussia.
"What the Crimea has been on a large scale, Borneo was
before on a small one — a showy beginning, weak progress,
profession opposed to practice, vacillation, weakness, contradic-
tory orders, departmental obstruction, and abandonment.

" I wish our gallant, our noble army was as well placed at
Sevastopol as we are at Sardwak. I tremble for them, besieging
and besieged, an enemy without, superior in numbers, and with
no retreat and no reinforcements worthy of the name. Worse
than this, the killing winter may be succeeded by a deadly
summer. It makes me iU to think of thair withering and

1855.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 195

dying on the inhospitable shore without striking a blow worthy
of their fame and of their numbers."

The visit to Brune is described to Mr. Templer, July 20th :
" On my arrival I found that Pangeran Makota was absent,
and that there was distraction and civil war in speedy prospect.
On the one hand was Pangeran Anak Hassim (a reputed son
of the late Sultan), who commanded the support of a large
party. On the other, the Sultan and Pangeran Muda Ma-
hommed were but ill-supported, and the former has lost
power and name from the rapacity of his government, owing
to the bad advice of his sole minister, Makota. I need not
describe to you the details of misgovemment : trade had
become a monopoly and thus been extinguished ; the exactions
on the coast to the northward had produced dissatisfaction
and rebellion ; the unfortunate people of Limbang, which
country is the granary of Brune, were reduced to extremity,
cruelly plundered by Makota and his sons, and attacked by
the Kayans, sometimes at the instigation of Makota, some-
times on their own accoimt; in short, what Sarawak was
formerly, Brune was fast becoming ; and when I pulled into
the city in my little gun-boat of thirty-five tons, four of the
rampongs * had their guns loaded and pointed against each
other. Makota was absent, on his way to visit me for the
purpose of fetching his wives and children from Sarebus.
This was the professed object, but I well knew that he was
gone on a plundering expedition to Muka, Oya, etc. Pan-
geran Matusen had been defeated and fled, and the coast
was clear for Makota to lay heavy contributions on that
river. The state of things was not promising, therefore, when
I entered Brune ; nor had I any definite objects for my visit
but the desire to do what I could to help them, and I went
at once to the Sultan's to a public audience.

" I was surprised at the very cordial reception — ^they fired
a Koyal salute, and not only met me with great cordiahty, but
talked freely of the wretched condition of the country and
their desire that I could do something to improve it. My

* Fortified village, or disiiiot of a town.

196 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1855.

visit was for a week, but I soon found that my stay must be
prolonged if I intended to serve them. The day after my
arrival the rival parties drew the ball and fired the powder
which had been intended to destroy each other ; false reports
of all sorts died away, and the city became more tranquil. It
was not, however, till the fifth or sixth day that all the great
rajas of the country waited upon me by desire of the Sultan,
to request that I would take measures for the establishment of
the Government and the improvement of the coimtry. They
placed the government in my hands, promising to attend to my
suggestions. I had then to consider the course to be pursued.
I did consider very well, and resolved what to recommend
and what to do. The country could not be governed unless
the factions were united and some measures of amelioration
introduced. Fortunately Makota was absent, and his evil
influence not at work. The Sultan is weak and avaricious :
thus every advice and device to put money into his pocket is
acceptable, without reference to its justice or its mercy. This
is the worst side of his character. The better one is his
kindly disposition, his wish to do rightly and to act mercifully
when not ill advised, and his pluck when roused. Muda
Mahommed and all his party are without talent. Anak Hassim
I found on inquiry was popular, and kind to the people. The
rivers under his sway were well governed, and he dealt fairly
with traders and encouraged trade. I could not oppose such
a man, and therefore recommended a general reconciUation ;
not in words — for I trust not in words — ^but in deeds. I
saw each of the principal rajas repeatedly, discussed the
government freely — past, present, and future ; and, in proof of
sincerity, I proposed that the four great wuzeers, or ministers
of state, should be installed by the Sultan. The test was —
that had any one of these nobles aimed higher than the office
allotted him, he would have refused it, and the factions would
have continued as they were before ; for three years they had
been endeavouring, but in vain, to arrange this matter. I
forced it on, the appointments were accepted and before I left
Brun6 two of the great ministers absolutely installed. Anak

1865.] THE RAJA OF SARAwAK, 197

Hassim is tumangong, and in him I have endeavoured to
raise up an authority to counterbalance Makota. His cha-
racter gives me a hope that some good may be done. I
plainly explained to him my own views — that there should be,
in the first place, a sincere support given to the Sultan, but
not to the bad measures resulting from Makota's advice ; that
no jealousy should be entertained respecting the succession, for
the support of the people at large was the best title to the
throne, as this support was sure to be given to the most just
and the most merciful of the rajas who stood within the pale of
succession. In fact, I gave him a great deal of good counsel.
I told my own friends the same thing. I had assemblies of
the people to Hsten, and I believe this open course did more
than anything else to allay jealousy and the distrust which
arises from the fear of treachery. I urged, too, very strongly
that everything might be done by quiet means, and nothing
but ruin could result from violence; and I pledged myself
heart and hand to side with the party attacked, and to oppose
with sword and with gun the disturbers of the peace. It was
weary work doing aU this ; but I felt that I was useful, and
I was proud that the castaway of his own country should be so
trusted and honoured by the people whom he has been accused
of ill-using and deceiving !

Before my departure I discovered not only that Pangeran
Makota had proceeded on a plundmng exi)edition, but that he
had received unlimited powers from the Sultan to interfere
and manage the affairs of Oya, Muka, etc., the great sago-
producing rivers. When this discovery was made, I begged
that Makota might be recalled, and the settlement of the
rivers placed in the hands of a Pangeran Matali and other
residents. The Sultan shuffled and evaded. I insisted. It
was not government, I said, but robbery. I would have
nothing to do further with Brune affairs ; I would not interfere
with these rivers, because I had no right ; but I would not
allow my name to be used for the purpose of oppression, and
I would explain my feelings on such measures publicly, and
afterwards, if anything happened to Makota it would serve

198 THE RAJA OF SABIwAK. [1855.

him right ; and if these rivers resisted the Sultan's authority
the fault would be his and not theirs. Propositions and
counter-propositions succeeded ; the Sultan was as shuffling
as the Bussians, and I was as obstinate as Napoleon; the
great ministers were consulted — they sided with my views;
the Sultan gave way, and I now wait here for letters recalling
Makota and giving power to MataH to settle the affairs of these
rivers. I left Brune, after holding the Government for a
month, and I beheve I left it in an improved condition, and in
a greatly improved state of feeling, among rich and poor,
noble and serf. Many were the pressing instances I received
to take up my residence there altogether, or, at any rate, to
visit them frequently. With a steamer the latter might be
done. I would rather be hanged than submit to the former,
for the elements of discord and decay are rife, and I cannot
hope that my intervention will do more than postpone the
downfall of the State, which is worn-out and vicious in its
system of rule. My heart was Ught as I passed out, and after
encountering a squall, which blew great guns for half an
hour, th^ JoUy anchored in Labuan.

''Lahuan, July 25th. — The Sultan's letters arrived the day
before yesterday, but, instead of being what they ought to
have been, merely dealt in fine words, leaving Makota power
to do all the mischief his cunning head and grasping mind
could devise and execute. Directly my back was turned the
Sultan failed, and his ministers were set aside when they had
just been instituted in office; this begets a fresh distrust.
The Sultan desires my influence and support and that of
his wuzeers, but has shown that his avarice preponderates
over his professions of reform, and that Makota's measures
are to be upheld. I sent back his letters, refusing to become
the bearer of instructions which are not government but
robbery. I shall manage Makota so as to prevent his
destroying trade, and leave the old Sultan to rue his folly.
The good done will work in the minds of the people,
and the two factions in Brun6 will, I trust, join together to
resist oppression, or, at any rate, forbear with each other.

1856.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 199

Makota's downfall is sure, but I wish the man no harm if his
oppression of the people can be restrained. To-morrow I sail
for Muka and Sarawak."

At Labuan Dr. Treacher, who was Acting-Governor,
insisted on receiving his old chief with every honour. The
state of affairs was not satisfactory ; pirates were in the
neighbourhood ; the natives scared by the continual rumours
of their attacks; the mihtary force too weak to give confi-
dence ; and red-tapism-ruling supreme, in spite of vigorous
opposition on the part of the Doctor, who had, however, only
been in office for a few weeks.

Prom Labuan the Raja returned to Sardwak, leaving
negotiations at Muka to his nephews. Mr. Charles Johnson
on arrival found the people miserable and desiring a white
man's rule. A Rejang chief, one Sheriff Messahore, whose
name will often appear from this time in our history, had
stirred up the Sarebus and Kanowit Dyaks, and with their
help treacherously overcome Matusen and slaughtered forty-
five of his people, mostly women. Matusen was popular
among the poorer classes, and his attack on Ursut appeared
to have been a sudden outbreak of Malay pride under indigni-
ties from his cousin. He fled now to Sarawak, where the Raja
allowed him to remain, while Sheriff Messahore was heavily
fined for stirring up the Rejang Dyaks, deposed from his
government of Serikei, and forced by Captain Brooke to set
free one hundred captives, and to give up thirty-six brass
guns, which were forwarded to the Sultan.

The whole of the country immediately north and south
of the Batang Lupar was at this time under Mr. Charles
Johnson, and here, more especially at his head-quarters,
Sakarran, head-taking was being steadily put down. The
measures pursued for this purpose are thus described by him —

" Our Dyaks were eternally requesting to be allowed to go
for heads, and their urgent entreaties often bore resemblance
to children crying after sugar-plums. My head Malay
chief, a most trusty man, Abang Aing, had generally to bear

200 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1855.

the brunt of these incomers, and he was invaluable in giving
me his support. Hour after hour he would sit and in a sooth-
ing voice and manner urge the chiefs to restrain their people.
When his arguments were to no purpose, his final remark
would be, 'Well, you know I have warned you, and if you
attempt anything of the sort, we have arms, powder, and shot ;
therefore do as you think proper.' Often parties of four or
five would go away to Bugau and Eatnu, where the inhabitants
are not so warlike as the Sakarran and Sarebus Dyaks.

'*As soon as ever one of these parties started, or even
listened to birds of omen preparatory to moving, a party was
inmiediately despatched by Gk)vemment to endeavour to cut
them off, and to fine them heavily on their return ; or, in the
event of their bringing heads, to demand the deUvering up of
them, and the payment of a fine into the bargain. This was
the steady and unflinching work of years ; and before many
months were over my stock of heads became numerous and
the fines considerable. Some refused to pay or follow the
directions of Government; these were declared enemies, and
had their houses burned down forthwith, and the people who
followed me to do the work would be Dyaks of some other
branch tribe in the same river. My feeling was from the first
an intense interest in the people, and I could not very severely
blame them for head-hunting. It was an old-established
custom of their forefathers, and they considered it their duty
to maintain it. Nevertheless, my business was to prevent
it to the utmost, and the only way of doing this effectually was
by a strong hand and steady perseverance. Besides, if these
head-hunting parties had not been prohibited, they would
have much increased, and our Dyaks, having protection from
the Government fort and arms, would have been able to obtain
heads with impunity. I had afterwards to bum down one
of the principal Orang Kaya's houses for disobeying Govern-
ment orders in advancing in search of heads after he had been
forbidden. This step made Abang Aing and many Malays
feel great anxiety; but I took it as simply a matter of duty
and justice to strike at the chiefs with greater severity than the

1855.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 201

lower-class men. The Dyaks followed me by hundreds, and,
after the flames of the house were glaring high above the old
jungle trees, we retired in time to stop the advance of a large
straggling force which was coming to assist us. In returning
some spears were thrown at my boat, but they fell astern and
did no harm.*'

Before long there occurred an aggravated case of assault
on the part of a chief named Si Jannah, who was immediately
fined twelve rusa jars, equivalent in money value to nearly
£200. Such a fine was hitherto unknown, £8 being the usual
sum demanded ; but it was at once paid, and it served as
a powerful argument in Abang Aing's future exhortations.
" Remember," he would say, *' Jannah's twelve jars, the fine
for killing; and if you cannot pay, your life will have to
answer."

Jannah bore no malice, and was for years afterwards a
good and loyal subject, ready on all occasions to advance the
cause which once he had retarded.

The sum realized by these fines found its way back to the
people. The Eaja's directions to his nephew (March 19,
1855) are that it should be " liberally and judiciously applied
to the purposes of good government, and as rewards for good
service." A portion was always given to the chiefs, both Malay
and Dyak, who sided with the Government, and brought the
unruly to order ; and there was a clear understanding among
all paorties that the infliction did not mean that their English
Kaja wished to increase his finances, but it did mean that he
had said piracy, whether by land or sea, should be abolished,
and abolished therefore it must be.

In Sariwak Proper, as the original province was now
called, peace reigned, but he who had been the means of
bringing this immense boon to others was himself perplexed
with anxious thoughts. So much depended on the course
the English Government might take ; and now, to the long
delay before the Commission, had succeeded a long delay in
the judgment. A year had almost elapsed, and no word or
sign came from those whom once he called his friends. It

202 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1855.

was true that the whole heart of England was with her suflfer-
ing army in the Crimea. While the Commission sat the
battles of the Alma, Balaklava, and Inkerman were fought;
but the delay was not the less injurious because some reason
might be found for it.

The difficulties of his position, the best course for him to
pursue, and the probable action of Lord Palmerston, were
subjects of much discussion among the Kaja's friends at home.

Various suggestions are commented on in a letter to Mr.
Templer, written by the Kaja on his return from Labuan.

" August 20, 1855. — With every wish to act rightly and to
conciliate the Ministers, I do not see how I can do the latter if
it be reduced to a mere ' can we, can thee ' bargain. In this
matter, however, I distrust myself, for there must be (though
I do not see it) a cloud of passion and prejudice over my
mind, more or less dense. If Lord Grey, Lord EUesmere, and
yourseK consider any course right and honourable, as sacri-
ficing nothing to self-interest at the expense of principles,
I will bind myself to foUow it, for you must be l)etter judges
than I can be, and if you are dishonest I shaU be dishonest
too, and beheve no longer in pubUc virtue and patriotism.
' Trust thyself is a good axiom, but ' distrust thyself in due
season ' is no bad maxim either, and we ought to distrust our-
selves when passion is at work. I will write to Lord Ellesmere
when matters are a little more advanced, and I need not repeat
my sense of obligation to him and to Lord Grey for their
exertions. You must, too, say aU that is kind to Drummond."

The letter continues —

** I was delighted to hear so good an account of yourself
and all your belongings. I keep the results of my fowl mania
and experience a profound secret from Hannah and the world
at large, but I shall astonish her some day with a treatise on
this important and overwhelming subject.

" The accounts of the war absorb me more than I can tell
you excepting by saying that my own affairs, my war with
Government, sink into secondary importance. We shall beat
the Russians in the Crimea, spite of our repulse at the

1855.] THE RAJA OP SARAWAK. 203

Malakoff, or half a dozen such ; but we shall have Germany
on us after a certain point of success or failure. We shall
beat them too, but with immense effort ; and at every fresh
success there should be definite terms offered for Russia's
acceptance. One cannot read the Vienna protocols without
being struck at the want of strong purpose, and the elaborate
perversion of words and phrases.

" Our excellent Bishop Elect leaves us on Saturday for
Calcutta, and Mrs. McDougall, who has been suflfering, is,
I am happy to say, better. I read the note referring to Miss
Martineau from her niece with great interest, for I truly
admire her, and I deplore that she is to be taken from the
world before we meet. I have read ' Eastern Life.' It is,
indeed, a suggestive work, and one that required a truly bold
spirit to pen. There is none of the puny cant of the day in it.
I wish I could say what I thought and felt in regard to her
generous feeling towards myself, not for myself, but for the
sake of justice."

The Westrnimter Review, of October, 1854, containing an
article by Miss Martineau on Eaja Brooke, had reached him
shortly after the closing of the Commission of Inquiry. His
remark at the time was, ** Miss Martineau's article is very
good, so far as I can judge from a hasty perusal, but these
things have ceased to fillip my vanity, or to stir my ambition.
I feel like a tenant at will in this world, and I do not desire to
mix again whether in its society or its vanities."

He was not at the time personally acquainted with Miss
Martineau, but later on tidings of her serious illness, referred
to above, drew from him another expression of his feeling.

*' I hope if she still survives that you will convey to her my
warmest acknowledgments for the past, my sympathy, if hope
be not permitted, for the future. She has shown a noble and
disinterested heart. I wish I could have thanked her in
person, not so much for what she has done as for what she
has felt. Hers will be a great loss, but I have no selfish
regret except the sorrow caused by the loss of a person so
talented, so respected, so generous, and to whom I am so
deeply indebted.*'

204 THE KAJA OF SARAwAK. [1855.

CHAPTEE XXV.

1855, 1856.

The Commissioners were unable to agree on a joint account

of their proceedings under the Commission, and, as they also

differed in their view of the result of the evidence, they drew

up separate reports. Kegarding the result of the evidence,

Mr. Prinsep was of opinion that, though the Sarebus and

Sakarran tribes were distinctly piratical, yet that the attacks

on them " under Captain Keppel and Captain Farquhar were

prompted rather by consideration for the injuries sustained by

the inhabitants and settlers of Sarawak than by any injuries

sustained by British subjects." Further, that though Sir

James Brooke had habitually done his utmost to check

atrocities, yet that in the attack under Captain Farquhar

''a boat under his [the Baja's] orders had brought alongside

his vessel three heads, whereby it clearly appeared that

neither the authority of Sir James Brooke, nor his offer of

reward for prisoners brought in alive, was sufficient to deter

even the subjects of his own Raj from atrocities revolting to

European feelings, and wholly inconsistent with civilized

warfare. I cannot," continues Mr. Prinsep, "but consider this

unfortunate consequence of acting in concert with savage

allies to be a strong ground against the investing an individual

holding authority under a half-savage chieftain [the Sultan],

with any such official character under the Crown of Great

Britain as that then held by Sir James Brooke. ... It is in

my opinion neither necessary nor prudent that he [Sir James

Brooke] should be entrusted by the British Crown with any

discretion to determine which of these tribes are piratical^ or

1855.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 205

with any power to call for the aid of her Majesty's naval forces
for their punishment. Indeed, his own tender of resignation
of the offices of Consul-General and Commissioner for Trade
was made, as stated by himself, under the conviction of their
incompatibility with his position at Sarawak. I find that
position to be no other than that of a vassal of the Sultan of
Brune, holding, indeed, by a tenure very lax and easy to be
thrown off altogether, but which, in the existing relations be-
tween the Sultan and Great Britain, contracted by Sir James
Brooke himself, as the representative of the British Crown, it
would be impossible for the latter power to disregard so long
as the Sultan of Borneo shall remain on the terms of amity
contracted by the treaty above mentioned."

Mr. Prinsep's judgment can hardly be called exhaus-
tive. Mr. Devereux goes more fully into each head of in-
quiry. In his opinion the Sarebus and Sakarran were
piratical tribes ; they attacked without distinction aU classes,
and took both the heads of their victims and plunder. No
cause of offence was alleged for their attacks, and no other
Dyak tribes made similar attacks. Being pirates it was,
therefore (Mr. Devereux writes), '* both just and expedient,
and in conformity with the obligations of treaty, that punish-
ment should be inflicted on them with a view to the suppres-
sion of their atrocious outrages. The exact measure of
punishment which should have been inflicted is a question
which it does not belong to me to decide ; but I may say that
it was essential the thing should be done, and done effectually.
80 far as regards the loss of life inflicted on them there does
not appear any reasonable ground for sympathy with a race
of indiscriminate murderers."

Regarding the atrocities affirmed to have been committed
by our native allies, there was no evidence to prove it. It was
almost an unheard-of thing for a Sarebus or Sakarran Dyak
to allow himself to be taken alive, and atrocities, therefore, in
the ordinary sense of the term, could not easily be committed,
except in the possible case of women and children being

206 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1855.

slaughtered. Sir James Brooke had stated that without the
Dyak allies the English could not have got through the
country. K it were necessary to enter the country, it would
be presumably necessary to employ the means required ; and,
as in every large European force there was a small proportion
who would commit atrocities when out of the sight of their
officers, it was by no means improbable, though purely con-
jectural, that " when out of sight of their Enghsh leaders the
allied Dyaks acted in the manner which may be expected
of barbarians."

The hindrance to peace on the coast of Borneo and to the
full development of trade had been, till 1849, the conduct
of the Sarebus and Sakarran Dyaks. That hindrance was
to a certain degree removed by the result of the expedition
under Captain Farquhar.

" Whether it is necessary," Mr. Devereux continues, '* that
Sir James Brooke should be entrusted with a discretion to
determine which tribes are piratical, etc., must depend on the
position, if any, which Sir James Brooke may hold in her
Majesty's service.

" From the whole course of the evidence which has been
taken in connection with this subject, whether as regards the
atrocities formerly committed by the Sarebus and Sakarran
Dyaks, or the injury to native trade caused by Ulanun and
Belanini pirates, it appears most desirable that there should
be an authority empowered to call for the aid of her Majesty's
naval forces for the suppression of piracy. The Treaty of
Borneo engages Great Britain to supress piracy on the north-
west coast of Borneo; and unless the charge of doing so
is committed to some naval officer, or some civil authority,
whether her Majesty's Commissioner, or some other British
officer who is empowered to call for the aid of the requisite
naval forces in the usual manner, that object, so important
to the trade which is now springing up, and to the compara-
tive tranquiUity which has been recently introduced, can
scarcely be attained.

" In regard to the combination of the offices of Conunis-

ia55.] THE RAJA OF SAUAWAK. 207

sioner and Consul-General with the position of Euler of
Sarawak, Sir James Brooke stated that he considered the duties
of the former office unbej&tting his position at Sarawak. His
lengthened experience of the union of the two characters is a
voucher for the correctness of the opinion, and I see no reason
to dissent from it. At the same time it may be stated, as
regards the past, that the junction of the two positions has
had beneficial results, in leading to the Treaty of Borneo, the
cession of Labuan, and the recent considerable and growing
extension of trade along the north-west coast of Borneo.'*

The question of the Eaja's position, dismissed by Mr.
Prinsep in a couple of lines, is treated on by Mr. Devereux in
a separate memorandum of seven quarto pages. It did not
appear to him a simple affair, but one full of compUcations.
Practically the solution lay with the British Government ; in
theory there were inconsistencies.

He summarizes the Eaja's own statements in the followuig
way: —

" It [Sardwak] is dejure dependent.

** It is d^ facto absolutely independent.

"It cannot be called strictly independent where there is
that deed,* with a payment of £1000 [to Borneo] on demise.

" If the deed was infringed, or he [the llaja] was to
go away, it would resolve itself into a question of power.

" If he was not there to reconcile them, they would certauily
fight to-morrow.

*'It has all the ordinary powers of a Government: can
form treaties, make war, etc.

" The tenure includes no acts of service whatever.

" The relation actually is a kindly one, and may be
likened to that of a feudal lord and feudatory.

*' Sir James Brooke holds it to be compatible with actual
independence. He instances Burgundy in older times, and
likewise Naples with regard to the Pope. It is his position at

* '* I hold Sarawak by a deed of cession upon the payment of £1000 at the
demise of each sacceeding holder of Sarawak, that is of myself, or my heirs." —
Evidence oj Hir Jatnes Broolce before the CoinmissionerSf November , 6, 1854.

208 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1855.

Sarawak which reconciles the people of Sarawak to the rights
claimed by Borneo ; for if he was away Sarawak would
become independent to-morrow."

Added to this, Sir James Brooke claimed the right of
alienating Sarawak. He had stated in his evidence that he
had offered to make it over to the British Crown, and his
offer was refused ; also that " supposing the British Govern-
ment should not afiford protection against piracy, or against
foreign innovations, it would then become his duty to relin-
quish Sarawak to any nation which would afiford the requisite
aid to insure its security."

"It is abundantly clear that Sir James Brooke considers
himself entitled to transfer Sarawak from its present position
to that of a dependency on some other nation. The right to do
this is incompatible with the view that Sarawak is a part
of the dominions of the Sultan. One difiSculty in the way of
assenting to the existence of this right is that Sir James Brooke's
position in Sarawak is declared to reconcile the people of
Sarawak to the rights claimed by Borneo, and therefore those
rights are in full force. Another is, so far as at present appears,
the right of the Sultan to a payment on demise of each in-
cumbent. The transfer to another nation would extinguish
the payment of the Sultan, unless that mode of payment was
commuted to another with his consent, and his consent would
therefore seem to be a necessary preUminary to such trans-
fer ; in other words, the Sultan's right seems a bar to such
transfer."

The applicability or otherwisc^of the Treaty of Borneo, of
1847, to Sarawak was an equally perplexing question. " Sir
James Brooke has declared the British treaty not to apply to
Sarawak ; on the other hand the Commissioners have been
instructed that by no act of her Majesty's Government has
countenance ever been given to Sir James Brooke's assumption
of independence, and that his possession of Sarawak has
never been considered otherwise by them than as a private
grant bestowed by a foreign sovereign upon a British subject.

" Now, an examination of the treaty will show that some

1855.] THE BAJA OF SARAwAK. 209

of its proyisions are framed in a manner calculated to apply
to Sarawak, if it was the intention that they should so apply,
while others are superfluous. . . . Viewing these facts in com-
bination it seems probable her Majesty's Government may
have intended the treaty to apply to Sarawak, and may have
acted on the assumptions that that territory was a dependency
of Borneo, and that Sir James Brooke, being in the double
position of negotiator of the treaty and of ruler of Sarawak,
virtually consented, in negotiating it, to the application of the
treaty to Sarawak. It is also possible that, notwithstanding
that impression, Sarawak might have been at the time inde-
pendent, and understood to be so both by the Sultan and Sir
James Brooke. This is a matter which only her Majesty's
Government can decide, but it has occurred to me as the most
probable explanation of the facts under review."

" . . .A perusal of this paper will, I apprehend, not
tend to confirm the opinion that independence of Borneo
can be rightly said to have been claimed and exercised by Sir
James Brooke from the date of the ratification of the grant
by the Sultan in 1842. I rather incline to the belief that, in
a somewhat intricate and confused question of international
law, it has been difficult to form a consistent judgment on
discordant materials, and that such a judgment still remains
to be formed."

With regard to the " character of a British subject," Mr.
Devereux, after stating his reasons, gives as his conclusion,
"I should not be inclined to uphold the opinion that Sir
James Brooke, or any other British subject, can attain to the
position of being an independent ruler of a foreign territory.
Whatever his position may finally be decided to be, there is
no reason to apprehend that the difficulties which may beset
it will cause him to forget his duties as a British subject; for,
with reference to the possibility of such difficulties arising, he
made the following declaration —

" I see no reason to apprehend it, and no such difficulty
has arisen in the course of thirteen years. But such a diffi-
culty no doubt might arise ; and should such a difficulty arise

VOL. n. P

210 THE RAJA OF SARIwaK. [1855.

which would make my position at Sarawak incompatible with
iny obedience as a British subject, that position would be
relinquished."

Both Commissioners agreed that the charge of trading
could not be sustained; and, touching other charges, each
gives his own account of how they sat in the Judgment-hall
and no accusers appeared; while in regard to injury to
British subjects in a corporate capacity, the Eastern Archi-
pelago Company, *'by public advertisement, disclaimed all
intention of appearing on the Commission."

The reports of the Commissioners, together with the re-
monstrance of the memorialists, the address of the Chinese
residents, and the Baja's protest against the instructions,
and other papers, were passed on by the India Board to the
Foreign Office on April 10, 1855, before which time the Coali-
tion Government issuing the Commission had ceased to exist.
The new Ministry, succeeding under Lord Palmerston, was a
reconstruction of the old, excluding Lord Aberdeen and the
Duke of Newcastle ; but in February, Sir James Graham, Mr.
Gladstone, Mr. Sidney Herbert, and in June, after the Vienna
Conference, Lord J. Eussell, had again resigned. Lord Claren-
don remained Secretary for Foreign Affairs. His despatch
to Sir James Brooke, in view of the Commissioners' report,
etc., reached Sarawak in October, 1855. Here it is, together
with a letter from the Kaja that accompanied a copy* sent by
him to Mr. Templer : —

'' Foreign Office, 9th August, 1855.

** Sir, — I have hitherto deferred replying to your despatch
of September 24, 1853, resigning the appointments of her
Majesty's Commissioner and Consul-General in Borneo, as I
considered that it would have been unjust towards you to
accept your resignation, pending the inquiry then about to be
instituted respecting you.

" As that inquiry is now closed, I no longer defer formally

* This copy has not been fonnd, and wo are indebted to the oourteBy of the
Foreign Secretary, the Earl of Derby, for the abore.

1656.] THE RAJA OF BABAwAK. 211

accepting your resignation ; and in transmitting to you copy
of the report of the Commission appointed to conduct the
inquiry, together with copy of a letter which I have addressed
to the President of the India Board thereupon, I have to
express to you the satisfaction of her Majesty's Government
at the result of the inquiry, and their approval of the manner
in which you have discharged the duties entrusted to you as
her Majesty's Commissioner and Consul-General.

" I have further to acquaint you that her Majesty's
Government have selected Mr. St. John to succeed you in
the appointment of Consul-General, but without the title of
Commissioner, which it is not intended to continue.

** I have, etc.,

«.Q- T u 1, * A X » "CliABENDON.

**Sir JameB Brooke, etc., etc., etc.

" Sardwak, October 22, 1855. — Eead, mark, and learn. Is
this justice ? I call it an aggravation of wrong. They have
betrayed as noble a cause as God ever gave to man to perform.
They have persecuted me with a malignant spite, and, failing
in their attempt to achieve my ruin, lo ! there comes a cold
approbation ! — and the information that Mr. St. John has
been selected as Consul-General. To the India Board they
commimicate that they are unable to form any opinion on
my position. ... I have informed St. John that until he is
formally accredited by his Government he will not be Consul-
General for Sarawak. Secondly, I have told him that the
Government of Sarawak declines permitting a foreign juris-
diction.

" I followed Lord Grey's advice, and appointed a Council
of State, composed of Brooke, C. Johnson, Datu Bandar,
Datu Tumangong, Datu Imaum, Tuan Katib, and myself.
The four native chiefs and myself were present at our first
meeting. I explained to them most minutely the position in
which their country was placed, and the question of my title
either as independent or under 'Bnm6. I expressed no pre-
vious opinion, and it wouJA have amused even Lord Clarendon
himself to have heard them. Had they not fought against

212 THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. [1855.

Borneo ? Had they not been tyrannically oppressed ? Could
Brune ever Lave subdued them if the Kaja (myself) had not
arrived and made up the quarrel ? They would fight against
Borneo again. They were a free people and not imder Brune.

** In the next place I explained the appointment of the
Consul-General and the probability of a consular court being
established. What was their opinion? It was positively
against it. ' But supposing/ I asked, ' it is insisted upon,
what are we to do ? ' Here came the great puzzle — fighting
was out of the question, and the only suggestion made was
that the Sarawak people and Government might retire up the
coimtry !

" I then took the initiative and explained that my view
was, if a consular court was forced upon us, that we should
resign the protection of British subjects, as well as their trial
to the Consul — that our Government should wash its hands of
them altogether. This proposition was adopted warmly, and
we are prepared to carry it out whenever we are forcied to do
so. British subjects will have no protection short of their
Government taking possession of the country. Sarawak trade
will be nearly swept away, and its revenues will go with it ;
we shall not have many to support, and we shall try each
man's metal. Dogs that bask in the sunshine do not always
brave the tempest. This is the touch-stone. If the British
Government give way, well and good ; if not, the storm will
break, and though I shall attempt its guidance, the damage
done and the end of it are not to be foreseen.

" St. John will report by the next mail on this subject, as
Lord Clarendon has called upon him for a scheme of jurisdic-
diction. The British Government must lead off the ball — we
follow ; but, like the Eussians, Sarawak stands purely on the
defensive, ready to suffer but not ready to submit. My great
desire is to cut the knot which we cannot unravel.

'* Ten years of vacillation and imcertainty have elapsed,
and nothing settled. Life is too short, events progress here
too rapidly for the tortoise-pace of official routine and Parlia-
mentary discussion. Everywhere and in everything is seen

1855.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 213

that temporizing want of vigour, that ostrich-like shutting of
eyes and running of heads in a bush to hide difficulties, that
calling for help from Providence without helping ourselves.
Everywhere the same, and everywhere ruin and disaster will
follow.

" Out of trial and of suffering come success and true
nobility. I shall sow but I shall not reap. I shall have
suffered and perhaps must still suffer; but I am content
when I look upon Sarawak; and if its prosperity, its mere out-
ward prosperity, be destroyed, I know that the seed of true
freedom is sown, and, although it may be watered by the tears
of affliction, it will some day spring up and bear fruit of better
flavour than the apples of trade, or the crabs of piece goods,
or the luscious durion of wealth. Brooke must ride the
whirlwind when I am gone, and let the people of Sarawak
take a bitter lesson of adversity to teach them true freedom
and the full appreciation of security and government. My
pen runs away because my heart is in this theme.

" I do not reply to Lord Clarendon's letter, and shall not.
Now, if they recognize Sarawak, it will be for their own
Bakes. I shall not even thank them. If they desire my
co-operation they may ask it through the Consul-General, and
it shall be afforded because it is my duty to give it."

If the subject of the Commission came before Parliament,
Mr. Templer was to remember, among other things, that,
" though the truth has come out, it has not come out in full
force. It is the truth, but not the whole truth, and, through-
out, my accusers have been screened. How does Lord
Clarendon justify the transmission of Mr. Hume's letter to
the Commissioners, containing charges utterly ignored by the
instructions — small peccadillos, such as murder, piracy, etc. ?
and how comes this document to be omitted from the Blue-
book?"

Subsequent letters dwell upon a project maturing at home,
and which, under the name of the Borneo Company, was
afterwards carried out. No single step, the Eaja wrote, should
be taken till the English Government should give up their

214 THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. [1855.

claim to jurisdiction. The natives were not always easily
managed, British subjects then in the country had occa-
sionally to come to him for assistance, and how would it be,
he asks, if he had to refuse to give help ?

He was anxious that those who were willing to provide the
capital, and who had already given time and thought, should
not misunderstand him; the arrangement proposed was all
that he could wish; it would work for the honest and bond
fide development of the coimtry, which he had aimed at
ten years before, and he beUeved the results would be
favourable to native and British interests. "Yet,'* he goes
on to say, "with this object so near my heart, I am obliged
to postpone the j&nal ratification. Did I desire wealth, I
could obtain it now by the sacrifice of native interests. Did
I desire rank or European position, an expedient submission
would soon procure it; but a higher principle than progress is
involved, and in the discharge of my trust I must forego the
dictates of ambition, and brave the misfortunes which it may
entail. I need not tell you how sorry I am for this, or how
painful in one sense it is to take the rugged path when the
flowery mead is before me. But, whatever may come, the
principle of native independence, of native rights, and native
self-government must be upheld ; and it is a simple duty not
to mislead the parties who have come forward, by suppressing
the position in which we are placed, or by concealing my own
conviction of the result should the British Government insist
upon forcing a consular jurisdiction upon Sarawak and the
districts under her rule, or attempt to introduce an arrange-
ment made with the Sultan.

" .... In refusing a foreign jurisdiction, we offer at the
same time all that could be desired or is possessed by English-
men in their own country. We offer trial by jury, that the
Consul-General shall be one of the judges, and that no punish-
ment shall be inflicted on British subjects, repugnant to or in
excess of English law."

" There are many troubles before me, even ruin on the
cards; but there are honour and duty to sustain me. I shrink

1866.] THE BAJA OF SARIwAK. 215

from doubt as I shrink from pain, but when it really arrives I
can bear and suffer. Farewell ! My mind is relieved by
writing this letter, and my heart beats high at the glorious
news of the fall of Sevastopol. How deeply is the love of
country entwined about our heart-strings! It astonishes me."
From Peninjau, the " dear mountain-home," where Nature,
he says, was beautiful, and he was at peace and could
enjoy her " whenever these hateful discussions intermit," he
wrote again, October 30th. " I have told the people of
Sarawak that ruin or death is preferable far to an acknow-
legdment, even tacitly, of a dependency on Borneo. The
rights of a people are as indefeasible at one moment as
another, in time present as in time past, and yet the
Ministers and their officials talk as though the people had
no rights. They are tyrants to all, and everywhere except
in Parliament, just as nine-tenths of EngUshmen are tyrants
in action out of England. The English in India, the Dutch
in Java, never consider the rights of the people. Yet there
are such things before God — and acknowledged in Sarawak !
Can the reports of the Commission or the dictum of Downing
Street abolish this thing ? Call Thomas Carlyle directly, and
come and see whether it is not a fact !

" The long and the short of this business is, that if the
British Government acknowledge Sarawak its difficulties will
be over. This acknowledgment need not go further than
allowing their Consul-General to receive his exequatur,

*' From Lord Clarendon we can expect nothing, but it may
be that there are members in the Cabinet not inclined to be
trailed through the mire of a road leading to palpable and
indelible future condemnation and disgrace. For very shame's
sake. Lord Palmerston should, by an effort of memory, recall
his own words and his owii acts when Foreign Minister."

On December 29th, the Raja wrote to Mr. W. H. Bead, in
reply to a letter, " I am afraid whatever you may now suffer
at Singapore from the legislation of Bengal, or the extension
of piracy, and feebleness at home, that the petition of the
merchants will carry no weight, and they [the Government]

216 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1855.

will awake to the truth that it is easy to destroy, but difficult
to construct or reconstruct. They have destroyed the system
for the suppression of piracy and for the extension of British
influence and commerce. They have broken the machine, and
must not be surprised if the labour of their hands be insuf-
ficient for the purpose in future. They have not injured me
(merely separating me from Government employ, is a benefit
and not an injury), but I was the contriver and the mainspring
of the new machine, and if the other portions could be put
together, it would be difficult to find another engineer who,
from position, from willingness, experience, and knowledge
of the natives, could supply my place."

It is evident from the Eaja's letters that Mr. Spenser St.
John did not at this crisis consider the British Government
would be justified in insisting on a jurisdiction, and that he was
willing to resign his appointment rather than be a party to
such a course. At a meeting of the four principal native
chiefs, now members of the Council of State, he heard their
freely expressed opinions.

They had, they said, nothing to do with Brun6. Brune
had cruelly oppressed them, and they had rebelled and offered
their country to the Dutch.* Since then they had chosen Mr.
Brooke to be their king. They had chosen him, and they
would support him, for the bond between them " was as close
as their skin to their flesh." They had ceased to look to the
Sultan as their head ; they looked only to their Baja, who

* The assertion made on this occasion hj the Sardwak chiefs is corroborated
by M. Dodel : " En 1838 les revoltes s'adress^nt aux fonctionnaiies N^lan.
dais k Sambas, et les invit^rcnt k venir planter le drapean N^rlandais an milieu
de lenr camp. Un ^missaire de Sarawak se rendit m6me k Batavia en 1839,
avec la mission d'invitor le Gonyemenr-G^n^ral de la part des insoig^s k bo
joindro k co monvement ; mais ce fonctionnaire se rcfosa hantement k la co-
operation qn'on domandait de Ini. Le Gk)aTemment des FajB Baa entretenait
les meillenrs rapports d'amiti^ et la bonne intelligence avec le Sultan de Borneo
I'ropcr. U ne loi convenait done pas, en 6gard k ces rapports, et mettant de
c6t6 toato antro consideration de droit et de jnstice, de venir fignrer ^^^^•^\^ oette
m^leo ponr appnycr les insnrgds dans lenr conpables desseins contre le ponroir
Bouverain de lenr Prince. Snr ces entrefaites le Sicnr Brooke arriva ik
Sarawak." — Despatch to the Ea/rl of Aberdeen, March 20, 1846.

1855.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 217

had protected them and advanced their best interests, and
turned " an empty country into a full one." Was it possible
for them to think of acknowledging such a Government as
that of Brune ? They were a free people. They had fought
for their rights and were ready to fight again, and they would
retire to the Dutch territories rather than again submit to
Brune.

The Datu Imaum spoke of the trial of British subjects,
saying they had heard that at Brune the Consul-General was
to have that power, but such a thing could not be introduced
into Sarawak without the greatest confusion. The people
were accustomed to all trials being carried on in open courts,
and would be very dissatisfied if any foreign jurisdiction were
attempted. It was true they were few in number ; they could
not resist a great nation, but they would prefet abandoning
their country to having their laws and customs interfered
with.

"Mr. St. John knows what has been stated to be true," said
the Datu Bandd,r, ** and we request, therefore, that he will not
allow the British Government to remain in ignorance." They
had chosen their Kaja, but they repudiated any agreement
made with the Sultan of Brune. It was between the Eaja
and the Sultan, but had nothing to do with them. With
regard to the trial of British subjects, mentioned by the Datu
Imaum, he (the Bandar) could not see why it should not be
continued as heretofore; and as British subjects had been
tried in the Sarawak court, and were contented with the
jurisdiction, why should any change be made ? The members
of the Council must request Mr. St. John to represent these
matters to the British Ministers ; and, above all, that Sarawak
was an independent country."

After this there followed another period of uncertainty,
during which, and especially when pain of body was added to
mental distress, the Eaja was "well-nigh desperate. The
harassing anxiety of mind," he writes, "tells fearfully. I
never escape these thoughts — ^the sense of injustice and the
advent of ruin to Sarawak."

218 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1856.

Perhaps it was well for him to have his time fully occupied.
Captain Brooke went to England in September; Mr. Arthur
Grookshank, who had preceded him, had not returned, and
officers were scarce.

In February, 1856, the Baja, accompanied by Mr. Charles
Johnson, went to Serikei, a river running into the Kejang,
twenty-five miles from its mouth. Sheriff Messahore had
governed, or rather plundered, here ; but, in disgust at the
fine inflicted on him, the great man had departed, leaving his
village in ruins. A fort was erected on the spot, and, placing
a small garrison in charge, the Eaja returned to Sltrawak and
Mr. Johnson to the Sakarran. Shortly before his uncle's
summons to this expedition arrived he had received from him
a lecture on political economy. Here it is : —

** By the bye, my dear sir, I mean to talk a chapter of
poUtical economy to you when we meet, about stopping the
course of trade for the object of feeding the Sakarran folks."

The promised chapter was written a week later.

"1st. The freedom of trade is a great principle to be
maintained, spite of temporary inconvenience or distress.
There should be no hmitation or distinction of this principle
in the diiferent parts of our State ; for once admit this dis-
tinction, and the right to apply it, and you have different
States with different interests, instead of one State with a
common interest in its component portions. To buy in the
cheapest, and to sell in the dearest market, is the privilege of
every man in the State of Sarawak. Now, you will consider
the effect of promulgating a law stopping trade altogether and
preventing the export of your great staple, rice.

" 2nd. It is favouring the consumer of Sakarran at the
expense of the consumer of Sarawak, and the consumer of
Sarawak receives double injury because he has been led to
rely on the principle of free trade, and, therefore, had not
taken precautions against the failure of supply from your river.

" If there was no rice in the country the prohibition was
needless. If there was only a hmited supply, sufficient for
Sakarran itself, why interfere to lessen the price to the con-

1866.] THE llAJA OF SARAWAK. 219

sumer by forbidding competition? The people of Sakarran
could always have bought the rice by paying the proper
market value for it. Your prohibition destroys competition,
and thus favours the Sakarran consumer at the expense of
the Sakarran producer or holder — for, competition forbidden,
price falls. Look at the effect on the proprietor. High prices
are his gain and true benefit. A man of prudence and fore-
thought holds on the produce of his farm awaiting the season
when he knows that prices will rise, and when he should be
rewarded the Government steps in with an arbitrary prohibi-
tion to prevent his selling in the dearest market. It is, in
fact, taking so much money out of the holder's pocket to put
it into the pocket of the man who l)uys from him.

"One more consideration, dear Charley, and that is the con-
sequences which would result if each community in the States
had the right and acted upon it of monopolizing the trade of
their respective districts, in arbitrarily interfering with the
imports and exports. What would be the result ? Think of
this, my child, and in future do not in thought or deed in-
fringe on the great principle of free trade, even to save the
Sakarran people and others, for the motto must be ' senang
sama senang, sakit sama sakit ' [mutual comfort or mutual
discomfort] to each and every community of the State.
Now, as a punishment, I order you to read the longest-winded
book on political economy you can procure.'*

In a later letter, referring again to this subject, the Eaja
wrote — "Your reasons for stopping trade were natural and
almost good, not quite sufficient."

In the end of May, Lord Clarendon's answer to Mr. St.
John arrived. Her Majesty's Government had no wish to
interfere or to question the right of Sarawak to choose its own
government, and would allow the courts established by the
Raja to exercise a jurisdiction over British subjects. They
could not authorize their Consul-General to apply for an
exequatur, but they were anxious that Sir James Brooke
should be enabled to pursue the good work he had already so
successfully carried on.

220 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1856.

A minute of Council was immediately recorded, requesting
Mr. St. John to express on behalf of the Sarawak Govern-
ment its contentment with the arrangement.

" Clouds have passed away," the Kaja writes,-" sunshine
has burst upon the darkness of the past years, and I welcome
it with thankfuhiess. The Government has done far more
than I expected, and our misunderstanding is at an end. I
am in charity with aU men, not confounding right and
wrong, but forgiving, and, I hope, forgiven. All who please
may laugh at my inconsistency — ^inconsistent I am beyond a
shadow of doubt, but what is one's reason given for but to
correct our impulses and passion, and the sooner the better.
I am not vindictive. Miss Martineau's advice touched the
right chord of my heart, and I have controlled, nay, I have
eradicated, the bitterness which persecution had engendered. I
am the happier for it. Tell Miss Martineau that I will be as
generous as she wishes. It is right to be so, and you and she
may rest assured that the gall excited will pass away. Im-
pressions are as adamant on my mind, but I would never
withhold forgiveness from those who needed it. I will, there-
fore, be good for my own sake, if for nothing better. The
height of virtue may be the depth of selfishness, and even if
it were so, the world would gain by it.

"I cannot, however, confound right with wrong. . . .
Hume, I am now convinced, was not guilty of anything more
than stupidity and perversity. I have forgiven him long ago.
Herewith I send you a general amnesty under our royal hand
and seal."

In a later letter he writes, " I am inclined to make large
allowance for some of those who have taken a strong part
against me. . . . Cobden's was a mere political move, and
Hume's arose from stupidity, from obstinacy, and, latterly,
from pique and anger. That old fellow would chew a file
rather than be foiled in cracking a nut. He ought to beg my
pardon, but, instead, will grow clamorous about the unfairness
of the inquiry. It is all the same ! "

"I do not know how to express my thanks to Lord Grey

1856.] THE RAJA OF SAIllWAK. 221

and Lord Ellesmere," conies in another letter. " Dear Jack,
gratitude is exhausted, and I seem to consider you a part of
myself. A load of anxiety and of wakeful thoughts is off my
mind. Has my conscience any right to reproach me for
causing you anxiety and labour in my affairs ? God knows I
would spare you in that or in anything else that would do you
good, but you might not thank me, and the remedy might be
worse than the disease. But the worst is over; there is
nothing to fret about as before, and, at all events, you must
not annoy yourself about law or anything else."

This was the first outburst of reUef from intense pain and
anxiety, but the wound was healed only on its surface. A few
civil words from the Government, and the abandonment of a
position practically untenable, could hdxdly obliterate, still
less make amends for, the past. How far, if at all, Lord
Palmerston's Government attempted to make an amemk*,
Mr. St. John may possibly be able to show. Beyond the fact
of their repayment to the Kaja of his Commission expenses, his
letters to Mr. Templer, of which extracts follow, give no clue.

*' Jtdy ItJi. — I quite forgive, but you must not therefore
conclude that I the less condemn those who have violated
principles and attempted my destruction, and worse — the
destruction of my work. I thank them sincerely for stopping
short of this consummation. I cannot approve the cha-
racter or conduct of these men. I have not been justly or
fairly dealt with. Sarawak stands isolated, w^ithout a link
to bind her to England, and I am separated from my native
coimtry."

This sense of the isolation of Sarawak pressed on him
henceforth with an increasing weight. He did not fear
immediate danger, but foresaw danger in prospect, which
alliance with a friendly power would avert.

"Such an alliance,'* he wrote, September 20th, "should
not frustrate a most perfect, good understanding with England.
Sarawak cannot afford to play this game in the happy-go-
lucky style, nor trust to events to suggest conduct. We must
be prepared, for to be forewarned is to be forearmed. The

222 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1856.

interest of Sarawak is identical with the interest of England,
and this is the sole reason to influence Ministers to recognize
Sarawak, the sole ground which induces Sarawak even to
discuss such a subject ; but, mark me, and let it be clearly
tmderstood — that no empty assurances, no half-and-half
measures will be accepted or relied • on. If the British
Ministers regard it as a question of policy advantageous to
their own country, there can be no doubt of a cordial good
feeling arising, and the mouse being again bound to the lion ;
but the lion must be frank, so as to preclude future recurrences
of anomahjy suspicion, and imcertainty. Honoiurs I do not
want or care for, and so they may as well keep them for men
who value the coin. My wages must not be paid in shining
pebbles or glittering tinfoil ; nor, indeed, should private con-
sideration be mixed up with a public policy."

This is repeated in other letters again and again, half
playfuUy, but half in earnest.

** It is to be a public question, divested of all personal con-
siderations. Honours or favours could only hamper me and
delay the question. Mix it up with no details, but rest on the
broad ground of national advantage, the duty of Ministers
without reference to me. I am truly happy in my state, not
* the world forgetting, by the world forgot,' but peaceful in the
possession of estabUshed and re-estabhshed reputation, willing
to do right, but averse to publicity and popularity. I never
will put my foot in England if I am to be bored — I won't
go to Downing Street — I'll hang before I parade at the
Mansion House ! The truth is I have retired into my shell ;
it is strong, it fits snugly without being burdensome ; and I
have no conception of, and rather despise, the two-legged
creatures who have not got shells to go into, and want to get
me out of mine that they may get in."

It is evident that Mr. Templer set his face resolutely
against this frame of mind, being earnestly desirous not only
that justice should be done, but that whatever Sarawak might
need of protection and support should come from England
alone. This also was the wish of the Baja, but the spring

1856.] THE BAJA OF SAIlAWAK. 223

of hope was broken. "After the Commission I shall be
dead to Parliament and to the world," had been his comment
on Lord Clarendon's promise of future good, and in a sense
the words were prophetic. In November of this year (1856)
he wrote to Mr. Templer, with reference to a correspondence
between the latter and the Government — "Do not publish
the letters. At some future day they may be valuable.
Insist upon it that I am dead. I lay for two years exposed to
the public gaze, and was buried, with a Blue-book laid on my
breast, in the holy ground of the Foreign OflBce. Why disturb
my ashes ? They repose softly in the shade, and are sensitive
to the light or clamour of the upper world. Who is Bentley?
Who the Longmans ? In my present condition I remember
none such. What correspondence do you aUude to ? It is
not permitted to the happy and cheerful spirit to recall the
passions of their pre-existent state. They must have been bad
passions or I should be enabled to recall to memory the letters
I wrote when in the world. I am the inhabitant of another
sphere. Beware, or I will haunt Harrow with my horrid and
hated /laspect ! "

This is written from Singapore. Everything in October was
prosperous in Sarawak. Mi'. Crookshank had returned from
England, bringing with him a young bride, and the Kaja, not
having been well, was glad to accept an offer from Sir WiUiam
Hoste of a passage to Singapore in H.M.S. Spartan. A few
days before starting a little incident occurred. " On Sunday
last, we were nearly burnt out of house and home, but touch-
and-go is a good pilot, and after some hard work performed by
Sir WiUiam Hoste, Captain Drought, and myself, assisted by
Bertha Crookshank, the flames in a servant's room near the
mansion were subdued, not, however, tiU the walls, ceiling,
and furniture of the room had been consumed. What a trial
to lose my library — the Chancery suit would have been nothing
to it ! "

Bnme had all this year been going from bad to worse, and
the Eaja had come reluctantly to the conclusion that it would
be kinder to the people to keep away; the time was passed for

224 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1856.

half measures, and he would not appear to support a Govern-
ment whose tyranny justified its subjects in their last resource
— rebellion. Towards the close of the year, Mr. St. John, as
Consul-General, took up his quarters there; but the foreign
policy of England was simply non-intervention, and, although
the presence of an accredited EngUsh Minister gave a feeling
of safety to traders, in the Raja's view to attract trade where
there was nothing to prevent the upper classes fattening on
the forced labour of the lower, was but to increase existing evil.

In Sarawak Proper the chief event in home politics had
been the return of Patingi Gafifur from his pilgrimage. He
was a great man, and a council was called to consider his
future. The Eaja spoke first, and said that, for his part, he
was willing to allow him to remain if his relatives would
undertake to be responsible for his conduct; to which Mr.
Charles Johnson, also present, agreed ; but the native
members, most of whom were the said relations, declined the
responsibiUty, and it was decided that the Patingi should be
requested to take up his abode in Penang or Malacca. He
chose Malacca, and departed very quietly, with the promise
of a small pension from his Government, and with a parting
admonition from his relatives that if he came back again they
would treat him as an enemy. It was all done very satisfac-
torily, and the Raja, after recounting the event, winds up with —

" We must some day or other turn law-givers to record
briefly a code for British subjects, short, sweet, and compre-
hensive. They may marry, die, preach, pray, and give birth
to children without restriction. What a mass of ecclesiastical
humbug will be swept away ! Offences against God, God will
punish ; it is the crime against man in society which shall
be punished by law. The obHgation of truth is of the most
positive and highest sanctity ; oaths are derogatory to the
sacred character of truth, for they lead men to think that
truth with an oath is more sacred than truth without an oath.
AboUsh oaths on this ground, but reserve the power of
administering where the ignorance or credulity of witnesses
renders it necessary, etc. A Uttle bit of a book wiD do."

1856.] THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. 225

To this place belongs a correspondence with Mr. Chambers,
the present Bishop of Labuan, on Reason and Conscience.
It appears to have originated in a conversation. The Raja's
portion, preserved by the Bishop, contains the following
passages: — "The following is not controversy but reflec-
tion. What is it that distinguishes man from the brute?
Reason. By reason .we know God. By reason we discern
between good and evil, virtue and vice, right and wrong ; by
reason we arrive at moral and every other knowledge. It is
reason which renders us responsible beings, and the right use
of reason constitutes the law of nature, or, more properly, the
law of God expressed in our nature. Our moral nature is the
law of God deduced by the right use of our reason. Our
moral faculties I understand to be the faculties of the mind,
i.e., reason appHed to moral subjects.

" It is correct, therefore, to say that there is a distinction
between men and brutes in their moral perceptions, but the
great difference is in reason. The passions which we share
in common with animals by their inordinate strength disturb
reason and destroy morals, and the struggle is common to
heathens and Christians alike, and victory must (independently
of supernatural aid) depend on the proportion which reason
may bear relatively to passion. The perfection of reason
must be the perfection of morals — the improvement of reason,
the improvement of morals in this world ; for we then know
more distinctly the duties we have to perform, and acquire
power to perform them as knowing that they tend to happi-
ness. Religion, natural and revealed, enforces the duties
of morality as deduced by reason, and revealed religion points
to the exercise of mercy and pardon for sin through faith.

" This is my reflection ; but for a common consent of man-
kind against murder, fraud, or falsehood, I know not of it.
Ignorance, error, and passion have prevented such consent,

but that there ought and will be this [Missing]

*' Penijau, September 4:th. — ^We reached safely this morn-
ing, and after breakfast I read your note. I employed the
word * reason ' in the more extended and more usual sense, but
VOL. n. Q

226 THE RAJA OF SARiWAK. [1856.

your examples, I think, apply to the more limited one. From
cause we deduce effect ; from creation we reason to a Creator ;
we compare good with evil, i.e., we compare different actions
and arrive at their consequences. As we feel distress, there-
fore we conclude that we ought not to inflict it on others.
Acts of imprudence entail ' inward vexation,' nay, more,
serious and evil consequences ; therefore reason, by comparing
and proportionmg pleasure with pain, warns us to avoid such
actions or follies, etc. You grant as ' a truism ' that it is by
the mind you discern good from evil. In this we are fully
agreed, and we alike reject the theory of conscience, or moral
perception, being an instinctive faculty by which right and
wrong actions are imerringly decided, without mind and with-
out trouble. You differ, however, from my view in regarding
conscience as a mental principle, by which I conclude is
intended a mental faculty. This I do not see ; for if mind
or reason is not a whole, by the operation of which we arrive
at all conclusions of thought, we should have an endless
number of principles : a mental principle of conscience, a
mental principle of trigonometry, perhaps even a mental
principle of good as distinct from a mental principle of evil.
Surely the different subjects on which the mind is employed,
the deductions and conclusions of reason on different subjects,
do not constitute a distinct mental principle or faculty for each,
as Spurzein maintained.

'* Without going further into a most perplexing and endless
inquiry, I should say that the mind or the reason deduces from
circumstances a rule of duty. This rule may, of course, be
deduced by others as well as ourselves, and is in every nation
easily inculcated so as to give it a force similar to that of
instinct, however diverse the rule itself may be; and the assent,
whether by education, habit, prejudice, or reason, to this rule,
constitutes the conscience of the individual, the rule of right
and wrong by which he is guided. This solution will alone
reconcile the different and contrary moral codefe which have
and which still exist, and this will explain the entire want of
conscience in truly Christian men upon points of morality their

1856.] THE KAJA OF SARAWAK. 227

reason had not assented to, through ignorance or prejudice.
Take for examination the great moral principle of toleration.
Did not good men persecute and destroy their fellows for
conscience' sake, as it was called? Was not this done
through ignorance of duty ? Were they now Uving, would
not conscience reproach them for such a crime? This will
suffice to show how our moral perceptions, i.e., the rule applied
by reason to moral actions, vary and improve as we deduce
new rules of reason as a guide to conscience and as a restraint
on action.

**I will not run on to greater length, but conclude by
saying that you maintain on the one hand that the moral
pi-inciple of the mind is the distinction between man and
brute ; whereas I, granting this to be a distinction, urge
Reason, i.e., mind, as the distinction, and I would rest the proof
on this — that without mind there would be no morals, no dis-
tinction between right and wrong, and the distinction between
man and the brute would cease to exist ; whereas a man with-
out morals, who acted without regard to right, who had no
conscience, and who defied laws divine and human, would still,
as a reasonable creature, be distinct from the brute. Destroy
the reason of man, or reduce it, and you bring him on a level
with the brute creation. Destroy morals as much as you will,
as much as has been, or as much as can be conceived, and the
distinction between man and the brute will exist so long as the
former has reason.

**Sardwak, September ISth. — Do not think that I objected
to the distinction you drew as at all unsuited to the occasion.
I thought merely that you might (in common with many good
men) hold conscience to be an instinctive faculty, i.e., an
instinct. Philosophers have written books enough to puzzle
themselves, and to obscure this subject, but sifting it of super-
fluous distinctions and useless words, I may sum up my
opinion as follows : —

"Reason is the main distinction between man and the
l)Yxxie — so says Lardner. By the exercise of tliis gift men Lave
from the earliest times laid down certain rules which, being

228 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1856.

deduced from right reason, command the assent of rational
beings. This is the rule of right, but men by the same means
have arrived at wrong conclusions from false reasoning, and
such rules when proposed have been disputed, or rejected as
not acceptable to right reason. This, I think, will account for
the general assent of mankind to the great principles of
moraUty, as well as for contradictory or doubtful propositions
and practices ; and this will account likewise for the ignorance
of moral duties which has marked every period and every
country.

*' I regard morals, therefore, as a progressive science,
which has been slowly established, and which may be
improved by the right use of reason, by the light of civilization,
and by the advance of knowledge ; for it is clear, I think, that
the discovery of the great principles of moraUty falls far short
of such a rule of right as may be attained by the application of
reason and knowledge to the details of conduct and of duty.
For instance, what avails the knowledge of the great principle
of truth if men differ as to what constitutes truth in detail ;
or the duty of universal benevolence if we be ignorant of the
means ? We may injure mankind by an ignorant apphcation
of means to benefit; we are morally bound to discover the
means by which to carry out the principle.

*' An instinctive or intuitive knowledge of right seems to
me to entail as a consequence an unvarying standard; whereas
the progressive development of morals, in its principles and
details, besides instilling enlarged ideas of duty, inculcates
caution and humility in the exercise of our reason on a subject
which ought to guide our own actions, and may guide the
actions of others.

'* This accumulated rule of right or wrong as established
in the country, is taught from infancy to every child. The
mind receives these propositions long before it can reason
on them ; a firm conviction is impressed, and thence arises
a sense of duty, a standard of action. The passions, or feel-
infi;s, for they are nearly the same, are easily enlisted on the
side of duty, and from the joint effects of reason and feeUng

1856.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 229

proceeds conscience. We are indignant, or angry, or vexed
at a deviation in others from the rule we hold to be right ;
ashamed, hmnbled, or self-condemned by such a deviation
on our own part.

'* This seems to me to account for the phenomena ; but, of
course, what passion and feeling is we know not more than we
know what is life, motion, or reason — we know them only from
their effects."

At Singapore the Kaja spent his time very quietly, re-
fusing, as far as possible, all invitations, and coming out of his
** shell" only to the few he called his friends. He found the
place too near Sarawak for real rest, and though the heaviest
anxieties were removed, yet his mind was oppressed by others.
The great obstacle to the complete recognition of the inde-
pendence of Sarawak was the fact of her ruler being a British
subject. The legal opinions .which Mr. Templer had been able
to procure were unfavourable to the supposition that, under
any circumstances, short, it is to be presumed, of naturaUza-
tion, a British subject could become absolutely independent.
The following letter, dated Singapore, October 23, 1856, is a
comment on the last-received opinion.

** I do not consider the historical precedents adduced as
being in point. The cases in America, Sir James Stephen
allows to be ' of little or no value.' The Cape Boers, being
British subjects, could not quit themselves of their allegiance
by merely removing beyond British territory. The British
adventurers in New Zealand desired to set up a sovereign
authority over a British body politic whom they were attract-
ing, and they abandoned the attempt when informed they
were derogating from the right of the Crown — so the Crown
had rights or claims. The East India Company as a
chartered corporation derived its authority and exclusive
privileges from the Crown, and here again a counter right was
asserted. How, then, can these precedents apply to the case
of a British subject chosen by the people to rule over them ?
There is no coimter claim on the part of the Crown — there is
no derived authority ; but, on the contrary, full information,

230 THE RAJA OF SARIwAK. [1866.

acquiescence, and arrangement of jurisdiction to be exercised
ovet the British subject resident within the country, and sub-
jected to its government.

" I consider the mistake to lie in forgetting the right of
every people to choose and to maintain its own form of
government; and God knows we see wrong enough in
the world in opposition to the right. I hold Sarawak by the
right of the people — ^the best or the worst sovereign is but a
trustee for tliis right; and though it may be doubted whether a
sovereign can ever rightfully dispose of his people, without
their consent, it is very certain that a people may dispossess
their sovereign wherever the authority entrusted to him
becomes negative for good, or positive for evil.

" Sovereignty, therefore, confers no right in itself over the
people or country. Surely this is the modem historical view
of the subject, and, though often confused by wrong and
violence — by the iron heel of despotism — ^the right is clear that
the one serves the many, and that a people make and immake
their sovereigns.

** In this view, having acquired no rights excepting such
as are derived from the jyeojAe, how can it be that sovereignty
so derived can convey a right to a foreign State ? The people
who bestow may resume the sovereignty ? Is not every
sovereignty held by contract — tacit, but assured ? Am I not
as Raja bound to maintain the Mahomedan religion? Can
I, contrary to the will of the people, abolish slavery, alter
their laws, or encroach on their customs ? Will the Crown of
England assume an authority on these terms ?

**I maintain, therefore, without hesitation, that if one
principle be more clear than all others it is the right of a
people to choose its own form of government, and should they
elect a British subject to be their ruler, the aidy question that
can arise is whether he can legally hold the position or not ;
but that the Crown of England should, with a knowledge
of the circumstances, iKrmit this Jiold'mg, and afterwards,
from motives of self-interest, claim through it an authority
over a free people and a foreign country, is a construction

1866.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 231

unknown in equity. The law has not laid down any rule
decisive of the case — so writes Sir James Stephen — ergo, a
British subject may hold the position of sovereign over a free
people, and wherever the law shall determine the case in the
negative, its effect will be to annul the position without
conveying a right to the Crown.

" This right can be conveyed only by the consent of the
people and by the due fulfilment of their laws, religion, and
wishes. But why talk of right ! There is no right in this
world, and there never will be whilst mankind continues the
savage and drunken brute he at present is ! It is wrong and
brute force, bequeathed by the violence and wrong of the
* good old times,' that have left their brands upon our laws,
and their traces upon the minds of Britishers. "WTio in
right would have dreamed of a law of allegiance binding the
vile body, whilst the soul revolted? It is the law of the
strong imposed on the weak — ^the law of the master over the
serf or slave, whose head is bent to receive this monstrous
vassalage of wrong by the whip, the law, the fashion, till the
poor deluded devil hugs his chain and struts in his uncom-
fortable finery. Who does not see that none by right are free
and equal — ^that the social compact is one of agreement and
habit merely formed for convenience, and for convenience dis-
solved ? Who does not see the folly of binding men's carcases "
with laws unknown to morals, and revolting their minds?
This is the law of allegiance. Government may impose laws,
but men may betray Government, and in the hour of need,
when the true heart and the strong hand are needed to support
the Crown, they will be found wanting — the bold will cast off
their allegiance, and the timid will evade it.

"I am obUged to Sir James Stephen, but I must leave
the theoretical, and come to the practical, part of the matter.
I have got all I want, and now that the jurisdiction question
has been arranged, I have no apprehension of my stability in
Sarawak. Let them deny my position. Let the law declare
it illegal. Let all the Whigs of Downing Street, and all the
wigs of Westminster shake, it matters not — from sovereignty

232 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1856.

to republic, from republic to minister of state, are easy grada-
tions in our society. The hearts of the i)eople are with me,
and the powers of red tape will not prevail.

" I do not, however, dear Jack, quite understand what you
are driving at. Honours I will not have ; co-oi)eration is im-
possible, because, in the first place, the policy of the British
is exactly opposed to the poUcy of Sarawak, and secondly,
because in acting together the Raja of Sarawak must be
the master or the servant — either of which would be im-
possible.

"You want recognition? The British Grovemment can
only recognize me by absolving me from the allegiance which
I treat as a mere mediaeval nuisance. They would gain my
heart by freeing my body, and they would render the devotion
(instilled by education, and nurtured by love of country)
towards the sovereign complete, which is galled by the chain
of authority.

"Tell me, then, what you really seek from Ministers?
We have already a sort of uncomfortable good understanding.
You may give Lord Clarendon my blessing, and, in short, I
will give him everything he wants, excepting my confidence ;
but the truth is, dear Jack, we are a bore to them and they
are a bore to us, and unless the question can be put upon
public grounds it had better not be put at all, for it pains me
more than I can tell you to imagine even the receipt of
honours or favours from the Crown, i.e., the Ministry. I have
rendered no service — the fools of economists wouldn't let me ;
we have quarrelled and we have made it up; and in my
opinion the British Government should approach me. The
mountain should come to Mahomed, but if it will not, there
is no occasion for Mahomed to go to the mountain. I would
not baulk you, however, if you be bent on a flirtation not
in my name; but you should take care not to have honours
offered which would be refused, for it would produce needless
irritation.

"Rid me of my allegiance; then let a treaty be made
between the countries. This is the only sound course of

1857.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 233

policy ; but to form fresh links of subserviency and anomaly
would only biing, ten years hence, poor Brooke into the same
trouble from which I have escaped.

"I suppose this is all very naughty. I am not slavish
enough for British slaves. Hannah frowns ! — the whole
family joins in chorus, 'Britons ever, ever, ever shall be

' but is it not true ? And 1*11 ask Jemmy, Harvey, and

Freddy a plain question — ^What would they do if the law of
allegiance prevented their running in the green fields ? Why,
of course, they would break the law. However, there is an
end of it. . . . Love to the dear boys, old and young — ^irrever-
ently enough I meant Sir James [Gordon] at the [Greenwich]
Hospital, and Jemmy at Harrow. Poor dear fellow, I feel for
the pangs and pains he endures at leaving home. To be
men, must we be battered and shattered whilst boys ! "

Captain Brooke and Mr. Charles Grant were to leave
England in the spring of 1857, each bringing his bride with
him (Captain Brooke had married a sister of Mr. Grant) ;
and the Eaja interested himself in buying furniture, etc., for,
as he wrote to Mr. Charles Johnson, **we must titivate up
our old-fashioned houses and ways for the new-married folk.*'

The recognition of the Sarawak Courts by the British
Government had been followed by the complete formation of
the Borneo Company. The late Mr. Robert Henderson, who
appears to have been chief founder, was on the Direction, as
was also Mr. J. C. Templer. Early in December, 1856, the
Company's first steamer, the Sir James Brooke, touched at
Singapore on her way out, and in the K.C.B., as the Eaja
sometimes called her, he went back to Sarawak.

Here is a letter, written shortly after his return, to his old
friend Dr. Edward Rigby, whom he addresses as Sudara,
the Malay for " brother."

" Sardwak, February 13, 1857. — My dear SudAra, — I send
you a few lines merely to say that we get on prosperously and
quietly, and that I am looking forward to the arrival of my
children — a lajrge and growing family forsooth, but not too
large for the india-rubber capacities of my heart, as the more

234 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1857.

we separate from the big world, the more we prize the world
of our affections.

" The Borneo Company gets on well, and its profits during
the first year were quite imlooked for on my part. The
directors are evidently men of sense and character, and if
they fall into mistakes, evince this by correcting them. They
have had, and will have still, much not only to do but to undo,
to learn and to imleam, and it is only by degrees that men's
minds will be extended from the commercial and money to the
political views of the subject. However, I will not bother you
on this topic, as you can always become acquainted with my
opinions in detail from the perusal of the letters I write to
Templer.

**Dear Suddra, brother school-fellow, you congratulate
me on the termination of my Chancery suit. I was obstinate
as the most obstinate of animals, be it ass or be it pig : and I
would have ground my heart to dust rather than have abated
a jot to wrong and injustice. But I am a reasonable beast
after all, ready to forgive, as Sarawak men always are, and I
would not lower this grand characteristic of our nationality in
my person ; so, having battled fiercely in a good cause, and
having, with a small and compact body of friends (each a
knight and a gentleman, and a man of the best part of noble
blood), driven through and through the infidel host of adver-
saries, scattering their vile carcases and calumnies to the four
winds of heaven — I pause and breathe a prayer on them,
forgiving as I hope to be forgiven, and thankful that I am
clear of the world's strife.

"I am coming to England to enjoy quiet, and shaU only
just stay as long as I can obtain it. I want change. I am
often ailing. Bodily derangement brings on mental depres-
sion, and mental depression causes bodily derangement, as
the case may be. Life is often a burden in these dark days
and weeks; but on the whole I do not complain. I am
cheerful and well, but not strong. I want to drink waters
and renovate. My kind regards to all our boys — ^Bacon,
Longe, Bennett, etc., etc., — and believe me, dear Sud&ra,
your sincere friend — J. Bbooke."

1857.] THE BAJA OF SARAwAK. 235

CHAPTER XXVI.
1857.

Hitherto, whatever troubles might afflict Borneo, or per-
sonally oppress Sir James Brooke, Sarawak Proper had
enjoyed safety, and to a certain extent freedom from anxiety ;
but in 1857 came an unexpected reverse. A Chinese Kimsi
of gold workers, of which many members, when flying from
Sambas, had received protection, food, and clothing at
Kuching, suddenly rose in insurrection, surprised the town
on the night of February 18th, and spread dismay throughout
the country.

Writing a few months later to Sir Henry Kcppel, the Eaja
Bays —

"It was the madness, the stark staring folly of the
attempt which caused it to succeed. With mankind in general
we may trust to their not doing anything utterly opposed to
reason ; but this rule does not hold good with the Chinese.**

In October, 1856, our troubles with China had begun at
Canton, when Commissioner Yeh, defying Sir John Bowring and
Admiral Seymour, publicly offered a reward of thirty dollars
for each English head. Tales of his mighty doings circulated
far and wide among the network of Chinese spread over the
Archipelago. In Singapore there was an outbreak in January,
1857, a precursor of the more serious one in Sarawak, where
the belief in the displeasure of the English Government' with
Sir James Brooke gave an additional force to the audacious
spirit roused by the rumours of the time.

236 THE RAJA OF SARJtWAK. [1857.

But in the whole country there were not above four
thousand Chinamen, and these were scattered. During the
Baja's absence, a feeling of uneasiness prevailing at Euching,
Mr. A. C. Crookshank had had the small forts garrisoned.
Letters from Sir James Brooke to Mr. C. Johnson, dated Dec.
29th, 1856, and Jan. Ist and 18th, 1857, written after his
return from Singapore, show that his habitual distrust of
the Chinese Kunsis, as distinct from individual traders, was
aroused.

In the earhest letter his words are — " You were quite right
to order the infliction of a fine. . . . Get rid of them all as
soon as you can. I want no other Kunsi in this country, and
it is their object to estabUsh one by degrees. Be kind to
them, but firm on this point."

" January ISth, — You are quite right, dear Charley, to
speak plainly, and you can never be amiss with me, though
we may differ sometimes in opinion — not, however, in the
present case, for I grant you a large discretion in all affairs,
knowing how well you will use it. You must, however, be
very careful. The Chinese settled are not to be increased in
any number till the government over them has been firmly
established. ... I could not break faith with them and make
you my instrument in so doing ; but, remember^ the Chinese
must be closely watched."

The danger, however, lay nearer Sarawak than the Batang
Lupar. The offending Kunsi had long been suspected of
carrying on a system of opium-smuggling, and proof of the
fact being at length forthcoming, they were fined. There
was some anxiety in the Baja's mind as to whether they
would resist this fine, and he writes of being relieved by their
not only paying it, but showing " satisfactory demonstration
of funk." This was in the middle of January ; a month later
they took their revenge.

Before the news of the rising reached England, Captain
and Mrs. Brooke, with Mr. and Mrs. C. Grant, were on their
way out. At Galle they found Mrs. Nicholetts waiting to
accompany them to Sarawak, where she hoped to remain

1867.] THE BAJA OF SARAWAK. 237

during her husband's absence in the Persian War. At Galle,
also awaiting them, was a letter dated February 29th, from
the Raja : —

" My dear Brooke, — You will hear with firmness the dis-
astrous intelligence I have to communicate, and gently convey
it to your dear wife and Matilda [Mrs. Grant] . On the night
of the 18th instant Sarawak [town] was treacherously sur-
prised by the Eunsi from Bauh, who took the so-called forts
and burnt us out of house and home. Harry Nicholetts was
murdered in my house ; * Arthur (Crookshank) and his dear
wife both wounded — she badly ; Middleton's two children and
Mr. Wellington, just arrived, hkewise murdered. The destruc-
tion has been great indeed, and we are temporarily ruined,
but the opportune arrival of the steamer Sir James Brooke
has helped us. The fidelity of Malays and Dyaks is exem-
plary. They are rallying round us. The Bandar has
gained some advantages by capturing nine sampans and re-
taking in them guns, powder, etc. The Chinese have hkewise
lost many men, and our people are all wild to beat them. I
will not say more. We have much to suffer before we can
re-establish our revenue, but our hearts are stout, and every
one is behaving admirably. Believe me, my dear children,
I win never flinch from the post, and am hopeful of retrieving
matters. I have apphed both to the Dutch and English for
assistance, but without pledging myself to any particular
course. Charley is here — well. Be brave of heart ; leave the
dear wives in Singapore — it will be imperatively necessary :
but come over, and if you bring me a few clothes I will thank
you, for I am in native costume, borrowed here and there. I
have not saved a thing, but some of our silver spoons and
forks have been recovered. Our Government servants must
depart or share our misfortunes; they will all choose the
latter. The spirit abroad is what it should be. My love to
you all. You may judge how diflBcult it is to write. Ever in
fortune or misfortune, your affectionate friend and father — J.
Brooke."

* A small bnngalow close to the hoaso in which the Raja slept. — A. C.
Ckookbhahk.

238 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1867.

The Mr. Nicholetts mentioned here, brother to Major
Gilbert Nicholetts, had joined the Baja's service in 1856. In
February, 1857, he came on a short visit from Lundu to
Euching, where he shared a bungalow of the Baja's with a
brother oflBcer, Mr. Steele, who succeeded in making his
escape. Middleton was an old follower of the Baja, to whose
fortunes he had clung for many years. Mr. Wellington, a
young clerk in the Borneo Company's employ, was killed in a
brave attempt to defend Mrs. Middleton and her children.
She concealed herself in a large jar and escaped, but her two
little ones perished. Mrs. Crookshank, after lying wounded
for some hours, was rescued by Bishop McDougall.

The Chinese on their first attack not only spared the
church, mission buildings, and Borneo Company's oflBces, but
sent to the Bishop to say that they meant no harm to the
missionaries, and to ask him to come and attend to their
wounded, which he did. Mr. Helms and Mr. Euppell were
also mimolested, an impression pervading the minds of the
rebels that to interfere with traders might provoke retaliation
from the British Government, but that with Sir James Brooke
and his oflBcers they might do as they chose.

Of his own escape the Baja says nothing to his nephew,
and in a long letter by the same mail, the first after the
attack, to Mr. Templor, it is only referred to as having
been ** miraculous," but he speaks of his feeling of great
thankfulness that Captain Brooke and Mr. Grant — "his
childi-en," as he loved to call both — "did not sustain the
horrors of that night, or meet the fate which would in all
probability have been theirs. The ruin," he continues, " is
complete, but there is a bright spot amid the gloom in the
devotion of the natives ; their sympathy, their kindness, their
entii-e willingness to do what they can, are all balm to a
wounded spirit. . . . We have lost everything but the hearts
of the people, and that is much to retain."

He also dwells on the prospect of aid from without.
Will the Dutch help? Will the English Government stand
by and see the ** cause of humanity, native government and

1867.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 239

commerce, destroyed ? One gun-boat and five companies of
military would crush the murderers — a frigate would do it !
And if they will not afford aid, will they not give some pro-
tection to the coast to prevent the Dyaks of Sarebus breaking
loose whilst our hands are tied ? I have often," he continues,
'* pointed out to you the weakness consequent on our poverty,
and experience has led me to doubt the support which should
be afforded from without to the cause of humanity, but still I
hope — ^nay, will strive — for success. That this gang of mis-
creants can succeed is next to impossible, but the question of
time is of every consequence, and a quick destruction over-
taking them would restore that confidence which procrasti-
nation will more and more destroy.

" My heart is lighter after writing, but very, very heavy
still. Break his son's death to Mr. Nicholetts."

The details of the Eaja's own escape are given in a letter
to Mr^. Johnson, written in April; and they have also been
furnished by his steward, Charles Penty, tlio only person in
the house with him at the time. Mr. Penty writes : —

" I was sleeping in a room near the Eaja, who had not
been well for some days. The attack took place about mid-
night, with fearful yelling and firing. I hurried out of my bed,
and met the Eaja in the passage in the dark, who at the
moment took me for one of the rebels, gi*appled me by the
throat, and was about to shoot me when he fortunately dis-
covered it was me. The Eaja was fond of telling this story.
We then opened the Venetian window of my room and saw
poor Mr. Nicholetts murdered before our eyes. The Eaja said,
* Ah, Penty, it will be our turn next ! '

" Then we went to another part of the house, where the
crowd of rebels was even thicker. The Eaja seemed deter-
mined to fight. While he was loading a double-barrel for my
use, our light went out, and we had to do without. The Eaja
then led the way to his bath-room, under his bedroom, and
rushed out of the door. The rebels having gathered round
poor Mr. Nicholetts' body, left the way pretty clear, and
the Eaja, with his sword and revolver in hand, made his

240 THE BAJA OF SAEAwAK. [1867.

way to a small creek and Bwam under the bow of the boat
that had brought the rebels. Being unable to swim, I ran up
the plantation and rushed into the jungle. The Baja's beauti-
ful house was blazing from end to end, and the light reflected
for a great distance. Mr. Crookshank's and Mr. Middleton's
houses were also burning. At daybreak I heard Malay voices ;
they, like myself, were running away from the town, which
was in the hands of the rebels. They kindly clothed me and
took me to the Eaja."

[Diving under a Chinese boat, Sir James Brooke had
swum to the other side of the creek, and, after lying for some
time utterly exhausted on the muddy bank, recovered sufficient
strength to reach the house of a Malay chief, where. Mr.
Crookshank and Middleton joined him.]

Penty continues : —

" The Eaja seeing there was no chance of recapturing the
town, and that we could not defend ourselves where we were,
we came by water up a small creek. It was here where he
said, * Yesterday I was a king, and to-day a beggar. I grieve
not for myself, but for you, my faithful followers, who have
lost your all.' We were kindly received by Abang Boyang, the
head man of a village, where we remained for two or three
days. The Chinese offered large rewards for the Eaja, dead
or alive. Hearing that they had left the town and forts,
taking away the ammimition and muskets, the Eaja resolved
to return, but on our arrival the Chinese had also come back,
and were ready with our good muskets to receive us, while we
had only flint muskets. They fired, and we narrowly escaped
being shot. The Eaja was advised to hide, which he refused to
do, saying he would rather be shot.

'* We were then rowed out to sea, when a steamer, which
turned out to be the Sir James Brooke, appeared, and we were
all taken on board. She was well suppUed with guns, etc.,
and the sight of her so frightened the rebels that they made
no resistance, but ran in all directions. The Eaja shot off a
bundle from one of the rebels' backs, and he did not wait to pick
it up again. By this time the news of the insurrection had

1867.] THE RAJA OF SARIwAK. 241

spread, and the Malays and Dyaks from the interior came,
who all loved the Baja. I beg to add that the insmrection
was not in any way on account of the Eaja's high or hard
ruling, as a better and kinder friend to all never lived/'
In a letter to his sister Mrs. Johnson, the Eaja says : —
"A dead Chinaman is no more to be apprehended than a
dead dog, and we have taught the Kving miscreants such
a lesson that they will not play their tricks upon us for many
a long year. For the future we will take such precautions in
ruling them as to deprive them of the means of doing mischief.
Worldly goods, you know, I care not for. I have suffered
so much before, that this misfortune appears light; and,
so that the few whom I love are spared to me, I care not.
Through my affections I could be deeply woimded ; but the
possession of money, pictures, books, etc., is but of small
account. Had I valued these things, had I desired ease,
sought fame as a primary object, or hved for society, I should
not have exiled myself to this country. I have a duty to per-
form from which I may not shrink ; and I have long known,
with an aching but steadfast heart, that this duty entails trials
and struggles even to the end. What, then, is the yelling of a
few score of Chinese for my life ? I told Penty that our death
was at hand. I was woimd up to the resolve that knows no
shrinking, and had we been surrounded I would have given
them cold steel and hot shot whilst life lasted, and so have been
killed with courage tingling to my fingers' ends, and despair
lending me strength ; but it was not so to be, and I had quite
enough of common sense and lack of heroism to make my
escape when opportunity offered.

" Poor Harry Nicholetts ! I mourn for his fate. I was
fond of him, for he was a gentle and amiable lad, promising
well for the future. Suddenly awakened, he tried to make his
way to the large house, and was killed in the attempt. His
sword lay beside him next morning when he was found.
Poor, poor fellow ! these are things to grieve the mind — the
mother who lost her children, murdered before her eyes ; the
sweet and beautiful and tender woman wounded and left

VOL. n. B

242 THE BAJA OF SABIWAK. [1867.

bleeding — ^these are horrors; but my lot has been light. How
much have we to be thankful for ! A treachery so certain to
meet with a just retribution as to be in human calculation
impossible from its very absurdity, has called forth the fidelity
and attachment of the people, who everywhere took up
arms in support of the Government. I wish I could tell you,
over next winter's fireside, half the proofs of solicitude and of
delicate and tender attention I met with when a fugitive and
a beggar. If fortune favour it may be so yet, before very long,
but not so soon as I had proposed, for our revenue has met
with a heavy decrease, and economy iff the order of the day.
Our financial diflSculty will be temporary, our Government
based more securely, confidence will be restored, the events of
February fade from our minds, and become a tale to be told
to wondering youth. There is much to be done, something to
endure, perhaps sufifering in store, but we must not shrink
from duty, and God will be with us in our struggles, and
moderate our desires in returning prosperity. Think of this,
my sister, for woman never had higher courage than you
have, and there is no danger in Sarawak now which is not to
be found in every country. Brooke, Annie, Charley Grant, and
Matilda will be in Singapore in a few days, and I have left to
them * to decide whether they will bring their wives over or
not. At any rate, the gentlemen must come to superintend the
building of our new house, and I dare say the wives will not
stay behind; and they will be right, for separation will be
a worse evil than a little roughing. They must dispense with
the elegancies and luxuries of life for a season, and I know
they will do so without a thought hankering after these things.
Else, why here ? — ^why in this sphere of duty and devotion ?
Charley has returned to his government, I lean upon him,
and love him."

The news of the outbreak had spread rapidly through the
country, and reached the Sea Dyaks of Sakarran. Mr. Charles
Johnson was at the time suffering from fever; and, after a

* In a letter Bnbseqnont to the one quoted.

1857.] THE BAJA OP SARJtWAK. 243

worse attack than usual, had fallen asleep, when one of his
natives awoke him with, " Tuan, the news is sorrowful. The
Raja is killed, and all the Europeans driven from the capital ! "
Hardly comprehending the words, he lay for a few minutes
half-stupefied ; then, rousing himself, ordered his boat, while
he questioned the bearer of such strange tidings.

There was no need to give directions ; the Dyaks hurried
up from all quarters, some vowing vengeance, others, though
seeming appalled at the suddenness of the calamity, arming
with a grim determination expressed on their faces. When a
boat's crew had assembled, Mr. Johnson inquired if they would
choose their leader ; the only thing that signified was that one
must be chief, and the rest promise to obey. Finding that
they wished him to take the command he did so, and, leaving
reinforcements to follow as quickly as possible, rowed down
the river, the thought of their great chief *s death weighing
down every spirit, until meeting a boat conveying the Bishop
and others to Linga, they learned that the Baja was alive and
unhurt. Nothing mattered after that — the righting of the
Government would merely be a work of time, and the old sea
warriors were only too happy to get some lawful fighting to
do. When the steamer appeared the Eaja had been on his
way to Sakarran, for the less warlike people of Sarawak were
temporarily scared at the suddenness of the blow, and it was
to the Sakarrans he had chastised that Sir James Brooke
turned in his hour of need, and did not turn in vain.

Time alone was wanted, and then the whole country rose
and inflicted a terrible vengeance, not only on the gold-working
Kunsi, but on the whole body of Chinese, who fled rapidly to
Sambas, pursued and harassed on all sides by the infmiated
natives.

Looking back on it aU in October, the Raja wrote to Colonel
Le Grand Jacob —

" The treachery was sudden, but the retribution complete,
and I do not think the Chinese will forget the lesson for many
a long day. With twenty-four hours' delay on their part, not
a living soul would have escaped death or capture ; but better

244 THE BAJA OF SABAwAK. [1867.

as it was, and the punishment was so complete that we were
spared the dirty work of judicial execution, only seven having
been put to death after trial. The process was vastly disagree-
able, but, being over, it is gratifying to have tested my work
before I go hence. The Government was proved to be rightly
based, the fidelity of the people tried by misfortune, and our
resources and revenue demonstrated to be elastic. We are now
in every respect better oflf than before the outbreak, and it is
an incalculable advantage to have got rid, root and branch,
of a body of Chinese who were located and possessed of a
semi-poUtical organization before I came into the country.
So great and prosperous are we, that I go to England by
the packet of November 20th from Singapore. I leave the
Government with perfect confidence under charge of my
nephew, and my absence is the best means of establishing
his authority.

"My first object at home will be to buy a steamer to guard
our coasts, and something may be done relative to our poKtical
position. I shall neither seek nor shun Ministers, nor will
I allow private feelings to interfere with the public good. I
want to act rightly, but it is diflBcult to do so when one is
misconstrued and repelled by oflScial reserve. However, come
what may, I shall struggle on to the end, whatever that end
may be ; but I am confident, and with moderate success can
preserve Sarawak's independence. If, however, England
slumbers, our misfortunes must throw us into foreign aUhirice,
if not dependence."

In April Mrs. Nicholetts had arrived, with Captain and
Mrs. Brooke, and Mr. Grant, whose wife followed later.
Burned houses were quickly rebuilt, and before long almost
the only symptom of past fears was a tendency to panic,
somewhat provoking to those who did not share the weakness.
Of the treasures destroyed in the Raja's house, the loss he
most felt was his library, every volume of which was burned,
and the collection of which was the only luxury he had allowed
himself. Of honourable badges one alone was recovered — ^the
medal of the Geographical Society; his name and the in-

1867.] THE BAJA OF SARJtWAK. 245

scription were defaced, but it could be recognized, and his
first thought was to send it to Mr. Templer. ** I present it to
you, dear Jack," he writes, "as the only thing in the world I
have yet to give away. You can make it into an heir-loom."

His health, always uncertain, now became more so, and he
only occasionally felt able to throw off a burden of anxiety.
He writes of being " weary of the world, weary of evil, weary
of weakness." A cry for rest was first wrung out of him
during the Inquiry at Singapore, and after that it is never
long absent from his letters. It is impossible to say what
the year 1853 and the following year took from his life.

The effect on his mind of the Chinese rising was the
deepening of a previous conviction that no help to his cause
would come from the English Government. His application
for assistance had been followed by the arrival of Sir William
Hoste in H.M.S. Spartan, offering protection to British subjects
and their property; but the Government of Sarawak might
go to utter wreck, or recover, as should please th^ Fates ; and
EngHsh hands that would have acted now as gladly as in the
never-forgotten days of the Dido, were bound by the chains of
an indiscriminating non-intervention pohcy.

The Dutch, on the other hand, were most friendly — offered
soldiers, returned the arms taken by them from Chinese
escaping from Sarawak into their territory ; and, in answer to
a representation of the Balanini being on the coasts the Eaja
writer* (August 20) — " The Resident of Pontiana assures me
that he wiU apply to the Governor-General for a steamer, and
he doubts not but that it will afford the same satisfaction to
his superiors as to himself to aid in any way to catch these
rascals. Such is the tenor of his notes. Much good wiU
result to either country from the removal of distrust and a
joint action to attain the objects common to them. So far so
good. Amity with Holland implies no enmity to England.
My own feeUngs and the interests of Sarawak aUke lead me
to desire an EngUsh alliance, but without breach with our
neighbours who have served us. The Government at home,
however, must move or must decide one way or the other, for

246 THE HAJA of SABAWAK. [18S7.

Sarawak cannot bo kept in a state of saspense. Life U no
negation here, wlifttever it may be in Downing Street, and
events progress, good is destroyed, e'V'il roTiveB, before Ministers
awake."

This is the bnrden of his correspondence now.
When tlie news of tbe insurrection reached England tho
varions notices of the press showed that the old enthnsiasm
was not yet dead. The Times published a long account given
in a letter from the Baja to Mr. Templer, and in a leader,
when commenting on the Chinese idea that they might injuro
the Eaja with impunity, observed — " The conspirators did not
know all. Had they had tbe opportmiity of reading recent
debates in the British Parliament, their more subtle spirits
might have received further enconragement from the belief
that we were not only an ultra-peaceful, but an ultra-punctili-
ous people, and that the cutting of Eaja Brooke's throat and
the burning of the town, might be considered matters beyond
our cognizance until the precise colonial status of Sarawak
was determined, and whether a Kunsi Chinese was under the
jurisdiction of any British court."

The Daily News, remarking on the way the natives had
avenged the wrong, concluded its article with — " Having in
the earlier part of Sir James Brooke's career felt it our duty
to express our dissent from, and disapproval of, certain parts
of his poHcy, we have sincere pleasure in proclaiming our
unreserved admiration of the manner in which he, must have
exercised his power to have produced such fruits."

Every word that could cheer him was passed on by friends,
and a subscription was started, headed by the Borneo Com-
pany with a thousand pounds, "in gratitude for his escape,
in Bjmpathy for his losses, and, above all, to mark the sense
of the seiTiees ho bad rendered the cause of civilization and
humanity ; " while members of his old school subscribed
together and sent out to Sarawak a goodly number of books,
to which Cambridge University also contributed.

A letter of August 19th, to Mr. Templer, Bhows how the
Baja took these proofs of sympathy ; but he could hardly then

1867.] THE BAJA OP SAKIWAK. 247

have known of the Norwich testimonial, for the address that
accompanied it bears date October.

** The public plaudits I rate at their true value, but the
substantial kindness of my friends, which shall increase the
means of government, I could not refuse from any false pride.
There are more than half a milUon of people to serve, and my
own feelings should not interfere with their welfare. I thank
you therefore for the attempt to minister to our resources,
and I am grateful to my friends, but —

' The heart that once beat high for praise,
Now feels that pulse no more.'

I shrink from public life in all its forms, and personal or private
communication with Ministers would give me pain and answer
no good purpose.

" On the poHtical portion of your intelligence, I will remark
that it is unlikely Ministers should make an advance, and on
personal grounds there is nothing to be done. I desire nothing.
I am. sure you will ask nothing. I would refuse honours if I
could do so without offence ; for the question is not, ought not
to be, personal to myself. Let it stand fairly on the basis of
national policy, and if there be not reason to advocate the
course I have advocated let it be rejected. Let us only know
what we are about and what we may look for in future.
It is true, as Lord Grey says, that I was perfectly satisfied
with the arrangement which in 1856 separated Sarawak from
England. It prevented an unequal contest of right against
might; but, as a sequel, I want the decision whether that
separation should be final or not. I am astonished at my own
patience and politeness in submitting so long to this miserable
negation. I will take care of the independence of Sarawak.
The British Government is not the British lion, and the British
lion is usually tame and sleepy, with a lion's forbearance when
he is gorged ; but in pohtics we must run some risk to attain
any good, and we are often reduced to choose the lesser of two
evils. I would choose England in preference to Holland,
because I am an EngUshman ; but I prefer HoUand to total
isolation, and the dangers of continuing unacknowledged as a

248 THE BAJA OF SARAWAK. [1857.

State ; but in taking the best line of policy according to my
judgment I do not intend to sacrifice the independence of
Sarawak, or to give her any form of government unsuited to
the people. We want alUance, and such a degree of support
as will assure us against aggression and injustice, and the
perils not to be foreseen but which are incident to weak
governments. We are too weak now for confidence. If we
get the means of purchasing a steamer we may go on inde-
pendently, and without alliance ; but a steamer we must
have shortly, and we must approximate to one or the other
governments possessing power in the Archipelago.

"During my Hfetime the position of Sardwak must be
settled, so as to leave my successor freed from the dangers of
succession in an Eastern State. Let us kiss or fight it out,
my dear Jack, with Government ; for trust me that acquiescence
only begets neglect, and you will wait your lifetime."

'* Say not, dear Jack, that the fault is mine," runs an earlier
letter, ** if the poor errant comet be absorbed in the greater
mass of its neighbour planet. What the world says I care
not. I am an outcast beyond its respectabilities. Not that I
intend absorption ; but, alas, our intentions are but weak in the
conflict of circumstances, and what I would not do to-day I
might be glad to do to-morrow ! "

Expressions such as these are mingled with others that
show how terrible was the mental struggle. When the news
of the Indian Mutiny reached Sardwak, he "turned clammy
with agitation, for imagination conjured up a general revolt
of the army conjointly with a rising of the Mahomedan popu-
lation. I felt then," he continues (July 4), "wronged and
disgraced though I have been, that I was an Engli^hm<in,
and that the ties and feelings which men have wantonly out-
raged are planted too deep to be torn up. The details have
allayed my apprehensions, but such an event is serious in
any shape, for it proves that we have no longer the affection
of our soldiery.

" What fine and faithful fellows they were in days gone by !
And what grievous errors and offences on our part must have

1857.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 249

gradually undermined their adherence ! Oh, wretched,
wretched system — that has converted a native soldiery into a
European army; which, by generaUzation, has destroyed the
interest of the officers in their men, and alienated the men
from their officers; which has sundered the bond of sympathy
between them, and prominently brought to light that they
were of different races, colours, and feelings ! And this gulf
has been widening for years, whilst the machinery of general
orders, and general courts-martial, and a general drill, which
is repugnant to the native mind, has been outwardly working
smoothly.

** These are no new opinions of mine. Sympathy between
the officers and men, mutual dependence, the means afforded
to the officer to assist in trifling matters, were the essence of
the native army in years gone by, the secret which attached
the men. And to prove this, you will now discover that the
irregular and local corps are the most faithful in the service :
their hearts are in the work ; they are attached to their officers,
known to them by name ; the types of the old regime, under
which, if the native troops were not so fine, they were more
faithful, with a child-like dependence on the one side, and
sympathy and the means to assist on the other. The panacea
seems to be a larger proportion of officers to the men ;
but what can be the use of increasing officers whom the
men do not care for ? Three good officers to a coi-ps
under the old system, would be better than three hundred
under the new. I could write ever so much on this subject,
but am weary."

Sarebus had been for some time, as we have seen, in a state
of turmoil, the party of order now getting the upper hand, and
then being overborne by the disorderly, who could always
reckon on support from Bentap, not yet finally subdued, and
from needy and greedy adventurers from Brune. It was eight
years since a steamer had been seen in the river, and Baja
Brooke had had no man to spare to do for Sarebus what his
nephew Charles had done for Sakarran. This letter of July

250 THE BAJA OF BABj^WAE. [1657.

4th, contains a groan for the right sort of rulers, not men who
would simply keep matters quiet, though that would be much
to do, but men who could govern.

" To govern here it requires a gentleman, and your gentle-
man must be a man of refinement, of a sympathizing nature,
of judgment, and quick perception. Greek and Latin are no
more use to him than to the hound that hunts the fox. Could
there not be found tests of judgment and kindliness? Aro
these qualities beyond the perception of mankind ? Must the
aSaurs of the world he carried on by Greek lexicon and Latin
grammar, I wonder ! "

Li April Mr. G. Johnson had asked sanction for another
attempt to dislodge Ecntap, again entrenched on Sadok
Mountain, and the Eaja wrote in reply —

"My Deab Charley, — It is your duty to go, and my
duty, therefore, to permit you. Go, therefore, and God be
with you ! I need not inculcate caution, for you know that,
important as the success would be, a defeat would nearly ruin
us. Bisk as little as you can, and, above all, keep Linga
and Sakarran forts well manned in your rear. Be careful ;
reconnoitre the place thoroughly. I shall be anxious as the
time approaches, but what of that in a life of anxiety, and
with an anxious temper ? "

In June he went himself to Sarebus and persuaded the
whole Malay population to remove to the mouth of the river,
thereby snapping many chains of intrigue with the interior ;
and afterwards went up as far as Paddi, to a great gathering
of all the well-affected Dyaks, to whom he held out "the
right hand of diplomacy, while," be writes, " Charley resorted
to stenier measures round Sadok Mountain. Brooke at the
same time went to the Eejang. We received alarming reports
of conspu-aey from Mr. Steele (from Kanowit), which almost
shook my previous arrangements when on the point of being
carried out; but, fortunately, while we lay-to for a night,
Steele and McEintosh made their appearance with the
contingent &om their rivers and assured us that the reports
were greatly exaggerated. A Dyak conspiracy to surprise the

1867.] THE BAJA OF SARAWAK. 251

fort there had been, but as this has occurred a dozen times
before, it would have passed as a matter of course had not
Steele been alarmed into believing that Sheriff Messahore was
ejigaged in the plot.

" This, as far as we could find out, was not the case ; but
beyond a doubt Sheriff Messahore and many another rascal
of high rank would have rushed in to share the spoil had
Sarawak rule been overthrown : and our people, enriched by
years of security, would have borne squeezing, much to the
satisfaction of their oppressors. That there are many men
of high rank, with their followers ; many who have abused
power whilst they had it ; many who would rather rob than
work — ^that would rejoice over our downfall, cannot be doubted.
But I have a firm reliance on the great principle that nine-
tenths of a population will support a Government suited to
their ideas and habits, which affords security and maintains
peace. The majority here, as elsewhere, are negatives — luke-
warm, quiet, dull, and selfish men ; but this class inclines to
order, and more readily falls into its ranks than joins the
disorderly multitude bent on mischief alone — ^the radical re-
formers, under whom there is no quiet."

On the return fi*om this business — in which all prospered
— Kuching was found to have been disturbed by evil riunours,
which, though false, kept up a feeling of uneasiness that only
gradually died away. Another letter opens a pleasant view.

" Our home circle is charming. Brooke, Annie, and Mary
inhabit the new mansion, which is nothing very grand, but
as clean and comfortable as leaves can make it, and, though
scantily furnished, boasts of a briUiant piano belonging to
Charley Grant. Charley Johnson and myself are in Euppell's
cottage, about twenty paces from the * Eefuge ' (so is the new
house called), and here our whole party dine and breakfast.
Charley Grant and Hay have their quarters over the Court
House and Uve with us. The piano sounds, the voices mingle
in some pleasant song, the violin accompaniment reaches my
ear from time to time, and there is merry laughter and sweet
chatter in the pauses of the music. Mary accompanies her

252 THE RAJA OP SAEXWAK. [1B67.

brother to Sakarran on Wednesday, and then Arthnr and
Bertha pass a time with na."

These precious intervalB of repose, when the Raja could
lay down the burden of his cares, and he the loving gentle
companion and playmate, ready for any harmless nonsense
and merriment that the most boylike of the company might
suggest, passed only too quickly. In bygone years he had
been able to speak of opposition and difficnlties as wave
succeeding wave, which he was proud to ride triumphant
over; the waves were still before him, and should still be
ridden over, but the haven in sight had proved a mirage, and
the glad sense of triumph gone,

A letter dated, July 18, 1857, to Sir Henry Keppel, speaks
for itself —

" I wish we had your aid, or any other, for I am not par-
ticular, to check the increasing yearly depredations of the
Lanuus and Balanini on this coast. Is it not sad to think
that piracy, after being thoroughly eradicated for eight years,
shonld from sheer neglect be permitted to spring up again,
from the want of a single occasional steamer to frighten the
pirates? I have written to the Resident of Pontiana, offering,
if they will send a steamer on the coast about April next, to
co-operate with fast prahus, and, by lying in wait at proper
places, and having the natives on the qui tire to give intelli-
gence of their approach, we should catch the rascals, and if
some escaped give them a tale to carry home to their wives
and families. This year they have carried away not much
fewer than two hundred persons from the coast and islands ;
and the worst is that in our prahus it is nearly impossible to
do any good, for we wear our people to death watching and
waiting, and with very doubtful results if we meet, for their
prahus are fully as fast or faBt(?r than our own, and the
chances are they would escape from a superior force.

" However, somehow or other, the thing must be done."

This was one trouble ; the condition of Muka, Oya, and
other poor dependencies of Brun6 another ; the uncertainty of
the future of Sarawak a third, and the one that touched him

1867.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 253

most deeply. It is necessary to show fully his mind on this
point, and it is given with great clearness in a letter to Mr.
Templer, dated August 1, 1857 —

** I am going to write a quiet letter in the interval of com-
munication with the outer world ; there are four mails
awaiting transmission, and wo are in a state of xmcertainty
about the arrival of a vessel, it may be to-morrow, or it may
be a month hence.'*

Then comes an account of the Muka disturbances and of
intrigues between Brune and Sambas, with a story set about,
he thought by Makota, that was being retailed, " that when
the Queen of England was going to kill me I humbled myself
before the Sultan to solicit his interference and was thus
saved. I attach," he continues, ** no great importance to this
intrigue, but it is in consequence of our isolated position,
and it demonstrates the effects of the Commission, and the
necessity of caution.

" The report I mentioned of the defeat of the Kayans by
the Bomeons was false, the truth being that the Kayans came
in force into the Bruno territory, where they lodged for some
forty days, pending a tedious negotiation, at the end of which,
Pangeran Makota having reported in Brune that everything
had been satisfactorily arranged, they (the Kayans) immedi-
ately carried out their intention by attacking and slaughtering
a tribe of Brune Muruts. Makota gave this tribe, as he has
given many others, to be destroyed; but whether for money or
from fear is doubtful.

** What an iniquity of misgovernment, or infamy of weak-
ness, does this reveal ! It is the same hateful practice which
I suppressed on the coast, and my heart bums to hear of
such doings ; but, alas ! I am powerless for good, and must
remember that the Government which sanctions or submits
to such atrocities, is the ally and the friend of Great Britain.

"What fools men are to talk of the right of a Sovereign
or of a State to do wrong! — to murder the innocent and
defenceless ! Why, it is the right of every honest man
who crawls the earth's surface, to punish crime; and for-

254 THE RAJA OF BABAwAK. [1B67-

bearance is only to be jostified Trhen the attempt to cnre may
aggravate evil. What hateful expediencies men arrive at in a
civUizcd etate, as if wrong is not everywhere to be combated,
and right everywhere to be maintained, wherever consistent
with a generous prudence ! I am not going to scold, however,
and so will stay my pen.

"August 2nd. — Indignation evaporated, and I proeeed.
The political position of our Government need not be detailed.
Our greatest danger is from the failure of oui resources, or
from their inadequacy to sustain the progress which to us is
a necessity. Progression or retrogression it mast be. There
is no middle course, and if we do not advance we go back.
Our finances, it is true, have recovered far beyond my expec-
tations, whilst there is every prospect of future improvement.
But, withal, there is something to ffuffer, everything to renew,
prestige to regain, and reduced pecuniary means. We are
not in a situation to meet a political exigency without borrow-
ing. The past has convinced me that we have no credit,
whilst our late disaster, coupled with our isolation, may
encourage our enemies to action. There is nothing absolutely
to dishearten or discourage, but much to do and to guard
against. The prospect of improvement, the fidehty of the
population, the satisfactory aspect of our internal affairs, and
the energy with wiiich the insurrection was quelled, are in
our favour ; but, hoping the best, I must say that a Govern-
ment such as ours (reformatory and progressive both in
principle and practice), without means and without credit,
is in no pleasant predicament, though far better off than,
under the circumstances, could have been anticipated. The
supineness of the Eughsh encourages the Dutch to action.
During the coming season we shall be probably acting to-
gether for the repression of piracy, and an obhgation has been
conferred on Sar&wak which must not be forgotten. Thus
the influence of the English is superseded, and the confidence
in them transferred to another nation. The seas where
Cochrane and Keppel held undivided sway, will be swept by
the reigning " Tromp " of the East ; and better the aid

1867.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 255

of any flag than a renewal of piracy with all its evils. Sara-
wak is a mere cipher in the question. The shadow of coming
events is cast broadly before us. Neglect and injustice on
the one hand, respect and help on the other, can leave no
doubt that Sarawak must become closely allied with Holland,
and, by leaning upon her for support, merge in due season
into her dependency.

" I would, if I could, avert this consummation, for it is the
true interest of Sarawak to gain the support of England, and
my own feelings, spite of all that has passed, incline me to
this view. The choice, however, rests with Ministers, and
let this be my witness, that I have done my duty in freely
oflfering it to them.

" The Government of Brune is utterly decayed, and there
can be no hope of promoting British interests through its
means. That Government, if Government it can be called,
is feeble and rapacious ; it does not rule, but ravages, its
dependencies. ... No permanent development of commerce
can accrue on such a rotten foundation, whilst the increase of
European trade is synonymous with the increase of oppres-
sion.

" The Treaty of Brun6 was expressly entered into to
correct this state of affairs, and thence to advance British
interests by resting them on a base of right principles.
Whatever views, therefore, may now be entertained, it is at any
rate unworthy of an honest nation to countenance such a Govern-
ment, or to become the acquiescent spectator of such atrocities
as are daily occurring. There is not even the excuse of self-
interest to warrant the departure from principle ; nor will the
means insure the result intended ; for what must be the end
of this policy of non-intervention? Is it not certain to
involve British interests, so as to drive Government to take
possession of Brune, or else by force to control and correct
its affairs? Is it not certain to produce antagonism and
discussion between Brune and Sarawak, by the countenance
given to evil, to the neglect of right principle ? The reverse
is the picture of Sarawak. Its government is progressive,

256 THE BAJA OF 8ABJ(WAE. [lSd7.

liberal, and affording protection to the poorer claasea : and it
is from Sarawak alone that improTcment can emanate, or
commerce be developed. The English Government by friendly
relations here would insure every object it ever aimed at, and
the system of non-intervention now regnant might he pursued
without dishonour, and without involving the consequences I
have pointed out.

" What difficulty is in the way of such a course? Sara-
wak, it must be admitted, deserves fair treatment, whether
from the character of her Government, the professions of the
past, or the British interests involved in the country ; and in
return she can advance the policy of England — to preserve
some influence, and to extend her commerce by indirect and
passive means. Can the importance of this policy be for-
gotten ? Here is a country, intermediate between Australia
and China, which can command, and will shortly supply, tlie
coal requisite for increasing steam communication, and which
in due season can afford convenient coaling stations. These
advantages cannot be gained through Brune, for they are
dependent on the maintenance of the order and on the
stability of Government which must be sought in Sarawak
— and Sarawak offers these advantages at the price ,of
countenancing a just instead of an unjust Government.

"The solo objection which I can perceive, is the fact that
a British subject is the ruler of the country. . . , Can such
a difficulty not be overcome ? Is there no wit to devise an
expedient remedy ? — no boldness to test the legality of my
position with a view to its rectification should I be a law-
breaker ? The question is whether a British subject can be
the ruler of a State, as holding his title from a free people,
and having no right to transfer the country without their
consent; and, secondly, as the de facto ruler, can he be legally
recognized after the Crown hag refused to accept the sovereignty,
and declined advancing any claim uhich it might possess through
its subject ? This is the question to be solved, and surely
there can be no obstacle to this first step towards a better
understanding.

1867.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 257

" Ib the objection personal to myself ? I am ready to
resign in favour of my successor. To insure the safety, the
independence, of Sarawak, I would sacrifice myself and my
kin ; though, hingeing as the Government does on personjJ
attachment to us, I doubt whether consistently with these
objects it could be carried on by others. None of us regard
titles or names or things unreal so that Sarawak possesses
the reality. Call me king, or raja, or minister, or dog, I
care not^only it must be manifested, as the truth is, that
Sarawak is independent of Brune, so as never to be mis-
governed or held responsible for its acts.

"Let us in this matter have plain dealing without the
reserve which leads to ruin, or the apathy which is the token
of weakness. Sarawak is not dependent on England; we are
no suppUcants for favour; we ask a plain question and want a
plain answer, so that one way or the other we may pursue our
course. For fair-play*s sake let us no longer be kept in
durance in the limbs of 'anomaly,* half acknowledged, half
disavowed ; our courts recognized, and yet our Government
shut out from the means of official communication, and
unable to receive a British officer in an official capacity.

" This ' anomalous position ' (I thank Lord Clarendon for
the phrase), joined to the vacillation and inertness of measures,
must produce the worst results. You are sowing the seeds of
oppression and misgovemment, and, believe me, you will reap
the harvest of embarrassment and failure. Be men at any
rate, and act openly. Tear oflf the dirty mask of official
reserve. Let us know friend from foe, and no longer rest
content with idle professions. Eepulsed, as well as neglected,
Sarawak need wait no longer on England, for I am not the
donkey to starve between two bundles of hay, or the fool to
fall betwixt two stools.

'' As an Englishman I have done and am still willing to do
what my duty dictates. The alternative is now fairly offered,
and let it be pushed to a choice. Your own knowledge of my
previous communications will supply all the information you
need, and there will be ample time for further correspondence.

VOL. n. B

258 THE RAJA OF SAliAWAK. Cl857.

The point which remains is how to join battle

Put the question on the ground of national policy, and not as
personal to myself; and it maybe justly joined to our pro-
ceedings in China, for if the confusion of our diplomatic
relations in that country is to be remedied and our position
maintained there, the same should be done here. There, as
here, supineness has been the root of all evil, and confusion
its consequence, and when a vigourous and high-handed but
just poUcy had few friends, I was its advocate in words and its
sustainer in action.

'*I need say no more. The protection or recognition of
Sarawak is the point at issue, and my position can be brought
into accord with the law of my own country or the feelings of
my own sovereign. There shall be no difficulty from any
personal claims of mine. Let Sarawak be safe and I shall be
happy and raised far beyond petty squabbles or low pretensions.

'^ I sincerely seek the welfare of this people, and recommend
an honest and straightforward policy to my own country.
My personal feelings you are acquainted with already. I am
dead poUtically, unless forced into action by adversity; and
my personal interests are not involved unless I be called upon
to make further sacrifices and again to bear my badge of
suflfering.

'' Take any measures you think best, then. I no longer
heed the use of my name, and if you think any good can come
of it, publish, as you proposed, my correspondence as a con-
tinuation of the * History.' This history is not far from its
close in relation to the letter- writer, and the publication can
but make a senseless clamour of praise or blame.

< And what care I
For Buch ontcry I *

Sympathy we shall have as plentiful as holy water or women's
tears, but sympathy is the fool's guerdon, for there is no man
so poor or so stupid who may not in action support a just
cause without whining over its danger or its loss. Push on,
then, to an issue: events will not wait on tardiness, and at the
quickest pace it will take a year to decide.

1857.] TH£ RAJA OF BAKIWAK. 259

** With the political question should, in my opinion, be com-
bined the removal of the Consulate to Sarawak, and the
consequent right direction of trade towards our Settlement of
Labuan ; for this Settlement should have fair play or be
abolished. One gunboat would do for the entire coast, Uable
to the requisitions of the Consul-General, whose appointment
would be a diplomatic one as at present, but without jurisdic-
tion in Sarawak. Thus the web of the old and just poUcy
would be re-spxm, and extended only so far as Ministers may
choose. It is not worth their while, for want of a slight
exertion, to throw away influence and poUtical position. But,
as I said before, the choice Hes with them."

In September, Muka and Oya being still in misery, the
Baja, having no authority to interfere directly, went to Bruu6
to make one more effort to relieve them.

" The Sultan and the rest were glad to see me, and I got
full power to act in Muka. They were, indeed, all of them
cordial, because the opposing factions rely on me, look for-
ward to my support, and utterly distrust each other. The
interior is depopulated, by the account lately brought by Mr.
De Crespigny,* a naval officer, on his travels. The Sultan
and Makota are on the worst terms with the Pangeran Tuman-
gong and his party, and, if nothing worse comes of it, the
effect must be to render the Government weaker and more
weak.

** I felt at once on going that I retained my hold over
them. They like me personally. They know I have power
(though they guess not how httle !) and that I wiU use it if
necessary. For four days I espied the nakedness of the land
and the divisions of their councils, and then crossed to
Labuan, where the governor was exceedingly polite and
I not backward in evincing that the past of Labuan had
been erased from my memory. Could I triumph in the
mischief of a wrong cause I might have done so, when the
consequences which have resulted in Labuan from our weak

* Mr. De Crespigny afterwards entered the Sar&wak Government seryice,
and is now Besident of Muka.

260 THE RAJA OP BABXwAK. [1867.

policy, and the neglect of my advice, were witneBaed. The
Sultan and his ministers treat the goTsmor with cool neglect,
if not contempt. Men from the coast commit murder, and
kidnap, within the Settlement, and no redress is to be had.
The Consulate is cutting the throat of her Majesty's posses-
sion and of British interests. The English are not respected,
neither are they feared nor obeyed. The fruit of our weak
policy is now apparent and allowed.

" Let us not complain nor triumph. Let as regret and
mend this state of affairs.

" At Muka I called together the rival factions which have
been mordering each other, and disturbing the trade for the
past four years, into my presence. The Sultan's chops * were
displayed before me.

"I sat cross-legged, barefooted, in my robes of state, namely,
a shirt and pair of white continuations ! On my right sat
Fangeran Dipa; on my left, Pangeran Matusen, who killed his
(Dipa's) father ; in front, the ministers of the coimtry, whose
relatives, forty in number, had been put to death in cold blood
by Dipa's party^betrayed to surrender by the use of my
name. There were Brune and Sarawak nakodahs, and some
four hundred persons of all denominations present.

" The chops were read, ordering peace, and authorizing
me to punish a breach of it. I then spoke, in the sub-
dued tone which suits a native auditory — most gentle when
threatening most. I asked them individually and collectively
whether they submitted to the Sultan's order. I held the
scales even between the parties. I pointed out the advantage
of peace. I became the personal security of each chief, to
assure the other in turn of his good conduct, and concluded by
saying that the first who caused me to break the word thus
publicly pledged with their consent, should be my enemy.
To the mass I held out encouragement and threats of punish-
ment : the blessing of peace on the one hand, the sword on
the other.

" The impression I wished was produced. If the n^aa

• Offidal doonineDta bearing the aeal of State.

1857.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 261

fight, they will not have backing, and the people will look
to me more and more. Thus two points are won: 1. The
trade secured. 2. My authority to interfere granted. It is a
great gain, and a relief to my mind.

** We returned to Sarawak on September 23rd, and found
all well, and your [Mr. Templer's] most welcome letter of
August. I shall not say anything on business matters,
because, after reading all you write, I decided on the spot
to proceed home.

"I shall have the pleasure of once more seeing you all.
My head grows giddy at the thought of London streets.
I shrivel before your biting winds. I have a sensation of
mixed pleasure and pain. I wish to do right, but I am not
over-confident in my own virtue ; and, at any rate, I deter-
mine that my affairs shall be finally settled : —

** 1. I buy a steamer after my own fancy, but think you
I won't make a voyage in her !

" 2. I shall fully explain my views to the Borneo Com-
pany.

" 8. I will meet Ministers if they desire it and invite me.

** 4. I shall enjoy the society of my friends.

" This is the positive, now the negative is : —

" 1. I will not be made a spectacle of, nor over-fed to please
the Lord Mayor himself.

** 2. I will not be promiscuous : I will only associate with
pleasant people.

" 8. I wiU not be bothered with business.

" 4. I will not be a canting hypocrite.

" The programme of my life is not quite settled. Eeppel
proposes I should live with him, as before, in the Park. This
sounds likely, and will be economical, for I am as stingy
as great desires and small means should make me. A penny
saved is a screw in the new steamer. If this plan miscarries,
I shall take a quiet lodging or chambers in Belgravia, and,
head-quarters once fixed, I can traverse an orbit as eccentric
as any comet's. Oh, Jack ! save, oh, save me from the powers
of boredom and cant !

262 THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. [1867.

'' There is another reason which inclines me always to absent
myself from Sarawak, and it is that Brooke may again take
his proper position and administer the Government. It is
difficult to effect the change when I am here. After an
absence it is more easy to keep aloof from affairs. I like to
see him the * Lord who rules.' The change which must be at
my death I am desirous should be prepared for, if not effected,
whilst I yet live. I leave the Government with confidence.
Our revenues are fast recovering, nay, I believe almost as
great (or small) as before the row. We get now about
£10,000 per annum. Antimony will add a thousand after
next year, coal ditto. Chinese are steadily coming in from
Sambas; and with population revenue improves. Three
hundred Chinese arrived within the last day or two. Thus,
you see, we are advancing ever since the last month or two.

" Keppel is here, the same kind friend as ever. The
Emperor of Japan's yacht touched here during my absence,
bringing Alderson* and Watson. If the life suits them, we
shall be glad of their services. Will you let Lady Alderson
know, and say all that is kind on the subject. I have not seen
either of them, as they are both away with Charley Grant.

** I may close my letter by telling you the good news of our
party. Annie is fast recovering her confinement : Basil the
first, a fine stout boy. Charley Grant and his wife have
a sweet pretty little babe, a girl.

" P.S. — Many, many loves to all. I shall see the green
gate — for green it is. Write to me — Post Office, Galle,
Ceylon."

This green gate belonged to a former house of Mr.
Templer's, and since his removal to Harrow had been a thing
of the past ; but the Eaja would never willingly part, even in
imagination, with the old associations that surrounded those
he loved, and in a later letter we find —

* Son of Boron Alderson. Ho became a great faTourite among Enropeana
and natives, bnt from failnre of health he was obliged to leave the Sariwak
Government service, and he died some years later in Now Zealand.

1867.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 263

" You will not know me again as I enter the green gate. I
am old, old, old ! * Pity the sorrows of a poor old man ! ' "

This was written on December 2nd, when nearing Suez.
The letter begins —

" This is to announce my approach, via Southampton, in
the good ship upon whose deck we parted nearly five years
ago. What furrows have been dug on the brow and the heart
since then. The devil has laid his claw upon my visage, and
some injustice has eaten at my heart ; but as I approach Old
England my feelings soften, and I would act a calm part for
the public good : forgiving and I hope forgiven — seeking no
publicity and no favour, but shirking no responsibility. It
is not in her hour of trial that I should be found wanting to
my country, and I have the sorry satisfaction of knowing that
the resolute policy I recommended, with the gentle conciliation
I practised, would have saved us from the worst part of the
Indian catastrophe, and found us with the people at our back
against the mutinous soldiery.

** The day of cant and spurious compassion is at an end,
but lo ! we have an hypocrisy of violence and blood-shedding
and excommunication, while those who talk loudest probably
mean least."

Mrs. Nicholetts accompanied her uncle home. Christmas
was passed by him with his sister, Mrs. Savage, at Brighton ;
while she made her way to Lackington followed by his inquiry,
" How did Mary's new bonnet stand the journey ? "

In February, 1858, the Eaja was at Harrow, and in March
on a visit to Mr. (now Sir Thomas) Fairbaim at Northwood,
near Manchester. His true and tried friend. Lord EUesmere,
was dead. Through him the Baja had become acquainted
with Mr. Fairbaim, and the acquaintance grew into a warm
and steadfast friendship.

264 THE EAJA OF SARXwAK. [1858.

CHAPTER XXVn.

1858.

By desire of Lord Clarendon, the Baja, soon after his arrival
in England, drew up the subjoined statement of his proposals
regarding Sarawak.

" At the present time, when the policy of the country in
the East has to be reconstructed, and probably India, includ-
ing Singapore, brought under the direct administration of the
Crown, the future position of Sarawak and the Archipelago
deserves consideration. Sarawak, jointly with Singapore, in
some degree commands the China Sea. It possesses navigable
rivers ; the coast is clear of danger, and during the adverse
monsoon offers an advantageous route to and from China.
The soil is fertile, trade increasing, and the population alive
to the benefit of good government ,* above all, coal abounds,
which must become of the highest importance to the nation
which possesses it ; and it may be added that the northern
and north-western coasts of Borneo afford facilities for the
increase of commerce and of our political influence.

''In 1841, Sir James Brooke acquired the country of
Sarawak, which he has since ruled, but it will be evident that
a petty native State so situated can exist only at the pleasure
of a powerful European neighbour, unless supported from
without. The question then arises whether her Majesty's
Government will directly or indirectly afford the support
required ; and it may be said that the lives and properties of
many British subjects are involved in the decision.

1868.] THE BAJA OF SABIWABL 265

" This support might be given —

" 1st. By the transfer of the country to the Crown ; and
every facility would be rendered to the transfer on terms
securing the rights of the natives, and the satisfaction of just
claims on the Government of Sarawak.

"2nd. By the recognition of Sir James Brooke's posi-
tion ; or,

" Srdly. By a Protectorate under the rule of a Prince of
the Boyal family.

" The two last would be expedients involving present and
future difficulties, and therefore the first proposition is chiefly
to be considered. The transfer of the country (with its
administration at an early subsequent period) might be made,
but the establishment would require to be increased, the
expenses would be heavy, experience deficient, the British
laws found to be inapplicable to the state of society, and the
native mind might be disturbed by sudden change. It would
be therefore more prudent to acquire on the part of the Crown
the right of possession at once, but to delay the transfer of
the administration according to the circumstances which may
hereafter arise.

*'In fact, it would become a British possession with a
native administration superintended by Englishmen. In this
case the Government would remain either with Sir James
Brooke or his nephew. Captain Brooke, whose powers would
be derived from the Crown. A large discretion should be
granted, the present system continued, fairly tested, and
gradually improved, preparatory to the contemplated altera-
tion.

The terms of transfer to be considered are —

" 1. The rights of the natives. Their religion, laws, and
customs should be respected and gradually improved with
their own consent, but not arbitrarily altered. The objects of
the Government heretofore have been to raise the natives, to
lead them, to teach them their just rights as a people, and to
give them a share in framing and administering the laws under
which they live. The same general principles should in future

266 THE RAJA OF SAHlWAK. [1858.

be maintained, and the Government — ^which has been so suc-
cessful during many years — left to work out the development
of the coimtiy. Sarawak upon these terms would be happily
governed, and the natives would appreciate the stability and
increased security of their position.

" On the 2nd point, -viz., the liquidation of the claims on
the Government of Sarawak, it may be remarked that what is
due to Sir James Brooke and his family must, in a great
degree, be left to the justice of the nation, but perhaps the
sum which has been directly or indirectly laid out to bring
the country to its present prosperous condition might be re-
funded, and a further sum, in consideration of the revenue
and other public property to be made over, might be paid at
once, or the payment guaranteed at such time as the transfer
of the administration shall take place.

** It will be sufficient thus briefly to indicate the course by
which the Crown could acquire possession of the country at
the same time that it insured good government and increased
security for the natives, with a just compensation to Sir
James Brooke, and obtained many advantages to England, at
slight cost.

" The above suggestions, at the request of the Earl of
Clarendon, are offered with diffidence, and may be modified
by a more detailed consideration of the subject ; but the object
(to which the detail should be subservient) is to secure good
government, and to place Sarawak beyond the danger of
political change."

In a private note to Lord Grey, of February 11th, follow-
ing a conversation, a modification of this proposition, with a
view to avoid certain difficulties, was made by the Baja, and a
Protectorate suggested as the better course.

** To make this a reality, England should have a direct
interest in the future of Sarawak. This could be done by
stipulating that Sarawak was not to be transferred (to any
foreign power), and that it should become a British possession
on given terms, should circumstances arise to render it neces-

1858.] THE RAJA OF SABAWAK. 267

sary; and in lieu for this concession I would propose that
this country should repay the sum I have laid out to bring
Sarawak to its present prosperous condition. This would
give the direct interest, preclude the intrusion of any other
State, and establish the confidence which is at the root of
stability. My pecuniary claim on the country would thus be
wiped out, and I should be enabled to place a steamer on the
coast which would afford real and permanent protection, with
only such support as the navy could occasionally furnish.
I may add that when this was done I should be no richer
than I was twenty years ago, and looking at the justice of the
case, the country developed, the British interests involved, the
advantages to be gained, to the past as well as to the future,
there would be no difficulty in going to Parliament for the
grant required.

" Considering the English view of the question, I should
say that it would be prudent to guarantee a fixed sum to be
paid to my family, in the event of Sarawak being made over
to the Crown ; at present the sum would be small as bearing
some proportion to the revenue, whereas hereafter it might be
large enough to occasion difficulty.

"However this may be, I cannot think that a barren
Protectorate, curtailing no obligations, involving no public
interests, easily given and easily neglected, could in practice
end well ; nor, indeed, if the political position be worth pro-
tecting, should the personal sacrifice devolve upon me alone.
Sarawak cleared of my claims, should stand on its own
resources, and with the protection of England, and safety
without and the means of maintaining security within (which
this protection would afford), she would have made a great
step.

" This once achieved, I would transfer the Government to
my successor, and live, imburdened by anxiety, as the friend
and adviser of the natives.

" In this manner I see my way clearly : confidence and
stability for Sardwak, and a present and future interest for
England, with a perfect assurance to both of the country not

268 THE RAJA OF SARIwAK. [1858.

falling into other bands. I write this because I should like
Lord Clarendon to know this modification of my former
suggestion."

Eight days after the date of this letter, Lord Palmerston*s
Government was defeated (February 19th) on the Conspiracy
to Murder Bill, and on the 20th resigned office. Lord Derby
succeeded as Premier, Lord Malmesbury took Lord Clarendon's
place in the Foreign Office, while Lord Stanley and Sir E. B.
Lytton became Secretaiies for the Colonies.

The foregoing propositions were submitted by the Raja to
the new Government, at first with no success, afterwards with
some encouragement. Li August, after a conversation with
Sir E. B. Lytton, he drew up and sent to him the following
memorandum : —

** Sarawak was ceded to Sir James Brooke, and offered to
the Crown. Declining this offer, England nevertheless im-
periously asserted against the claims of Holland her right to
form settlements on the north-west coast of Borneo, and
stipulated in the treaty with Borneo for the exclusion of
foreign powers without her consent.

" The intention may be inferred from these preliminaries
and the measures subsequently pursued.

" Sarawak became virtually a protected State. Her ruler
was appointed a pubUc officer of the Crown, and such un-
equivocal coimtenance and support were given as to assure
the natives, and to induce British subjects to embark their
lives and fortunes in the country.

" The support and encouragement were subsequently with-
drawn, and therefore it is now required of England to grant
efficient protection, or to abandon Sarawak with the British
interests involved in it. Neither justice nor poUcy warrants
a procrastination which must result in ruin to the native
State.

**Li 1852, Sir James Brooke wrote that — 'This policy
should be pursued or abandoned : on the one hand, our course
should be well regulated, or on the other, the public money
should be saved. The middle course of pretending to do what

1868.] THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. 269

we are not really doing, is not only absurd, but it is Tvicked,
unjust to the natives, and disgraceful to ourselves.'

" This describes the policy of England since 1850.
Holland, on the other hand, has acted with consistency and
fairness. Asserting her claims in vain, she has assisted
Sarawak whenever opportunity occurred, and hoping the best
from the neglect of England, she avows that a good under-
standing exists between the two Governments on this subject ;
that Sardwak will receive no further support from England ;
and that on the death of Sir James Brooke it will fall
naturally into her hands.

" Sarawak acknowledging the aid afforded, and (failing
England) the advantages which might result from an
amicable arrangement with Holland, urges that even granting
the above assertion to be correct, yet the speculation on the
chapter of accidents is not based on future probabilities.
Captain Brooke, it is maintained, has virtually succeeded to
Sarawak, and has for several years proved himself equal to
the charge. The Government is well organized, the natives
attached, and Englishmen with capital not wanting on an
emergency to defend their stake in the country.

" In short, Sardwak would be in a position to retort intrigue
with success, or to resist aggression with resolution, trusting
to English blood shed and English interests ruined, for the
national sympathy and support in the hour of need.

" It is further urged that should England recede from her
position in Borneo, an appeal made to the generosity of
France would probably obtain the requisite protection, and
that the United States of America, avowedly jealous of the
political system of Holland, would never permit an encroach-
ment on her part on a country which she has formerly
acknowledged.

" Briefly, then, this is the probable course of events, and
these the evils which may be averted by timely arrangement ;
and, indeed, no course could occasion such serious complica-
tions as trusting to chances which may never occur, and
declining the obvious means of settling a question which will
become more diflScult the longer it is neglected.

270 THE RAJA OF SARIwAK. [1858.

"A final appeal is therefore made to the good faith of
England, for the sake alike of her own subjects and the
natives, to settle this question in one or other mode here
proposed, or which may be suggested by herself.

** 1. That England shoiild take possession of Sarawak.
(Fide Sir James Brooke's memorandum to Lord Clarendon.)

** 2. That England should grant a Protectorate, and become
the public creditor of Sarawak, with a stipulation that on
certain terms she might take possession of the coimtry when-
ever her interests required it. (See Sir James Brooke's
memorandum to Lord Derby, and speech at Manchester.)
The terms alluded to being the same as before stated (see
Sir James Brooke's memorandum to Lord Clarendon), viz.,
That the religion, laws, and customs of the natives be
respected, and that the payment of a certain sum be
guaranteed to the Buler of Sarawak upon the transfer^ in
consideration of the revenue and other public property to
be handed over.

** 8. That England should grant a Protectorate, and advance
the sum of £50,000, in order to preserve the present and
prospective advantages offered by Sarawak, and to relieve
Sir James Brooke from the responsibility he has incurred
in establishing and developing the country.

** This simple proposition pledges England to no ulterior
measures, as it may be inferred that the transfer of Sardwak
would be made when required, and that the terms of transfer
would be just to the natives, to the successor of Sir James,
and to the public servants of Sarawak.

**4. Should England resolve upon the abandonment
of Sarawak, and of her exclusive privilege in Borneo, it is
proposed as an act of justice and good faith, as the least
reparation for the past, and as the means of averting the evils
otherwise likely to ensue, that she should become a party
to an arrangement with Holland, with a view of placing
Sarawak under the protection of that nation, and thus
indirectly to obtain from British interests that permanency
and security which she refuses directly to grant. The ar-

1868.] THE EAJA OF SAEIwAK. 271

rangement proposed would be of advantage to all parties,
and should the mediation under the circumstances be denied,
then Sarawak will be abandoned indeed."

In a letter which accompanied the above, the Eaja wrote —

" My great object is to obtain permanency for Sarawak, as
it is not wise or safe to continue in our present anomalous
position.

"The proposition for the immediate possession is at-
tended with serious difficulties. Sarawak is a native Govern-
ment, and the natives administer it largely, and are always
consulted before the imposition of new taxes. I have held it
as a principle to keep the taxes as low as possible, and in
this respect to suit the Government to the native mind.
Salaries are on the most moderate scale, my own not ex-
ceeding, when in the country, £500 a year ; and the gentle-
men who rule large and distant provinces, not receiving more,
in any case than £300 per annum. The inhabitants, like-
wise, are our militia; and thus, our expenses of about £12,000
per annum, are kept within our revenue, though with diffi-
culty. We look for increase from the development and
prosperity of the country, and this has not as yet failed us.
The debt on the Government, independently of my claims, is
now about £5000, incurred in consequence of the late Chinese
insurrection.

" The principle acted on is a good one in dealing with
natives, and the consequence is they are attached to their
Government, and are the lightest-taxed people in the world.

"What is sufficient, however, for a native Government,
largely worked by native machinery, would not do for a
British colony, and the increased expense would require
either increased taxation on a large scale, or a yearly vote
from Parliament. The first would contrast most unfavour-
ably with the acts of the present Government, and destroy
the popular character of the administration which is at the
root of success ; and the latter would place Sarawak in the
same unstable position as Labuan now is. It would never do
to trust to a popular assembly for means ; and taxation would
be an unhappy expedient.

272 THE RAJA OF SARIwAK. [1868.

" There is another difficxilty — that Sarawak Proper could
be transferred to the Crown, whereas its dependent districts,
being held in perpetuity under the Sultan, could not be made
over without his consent, though they might be protected.

** There seem to me serious objections to immediate
transfer, which would not exist hereafter; and the more
serious, that the necessities of a larger Government on the
change would fall on the natives, and perhaps destroy my
favourite project of developing a native country by native
means, guided by English intelligence.

** The letter to Lord Grey will explain itself. Lord Grey
was decidedly of opinion that the modification of the first
proposition would entail aU the restraints and responsibilities
of actual possession without any of the advantages.

** Enclosure No. 3, for Lord Derby, includes the proposition
for a Protectorate, and the liquidation of my outlay, etc., or
the arrangement that Sarawak should become a British
colony whenever wanted, and in the meanwhile answer all
the purposes of one, under its native Government. On all
accounts the repayment of my private fortune would be of
advantage, but especially as it would place Sarawak in a
position of efficiency, enable her to keep a small steam vessel,
and relieve her of the debt she has incurred.

" My object is to place my nephew, Captain Brooke, in
authority, and to seat him firmly during my life. Whenever
matters went wrong, I should be present, but whilst pros-
perous he would administer the government alone.

" Under a Protectorate there would not be, so far as I
can see, the anomaly and difficulty which at present exist.
Liberia is a Protectorate under a British subject; and in
Lidia such protections are common. The Dutch always
advance on this principle ; and Sarawak, as a protected State,
might obtain the support of a gunboat or two (not on special,
but on general service), and a visit occasionally from a larger
force to maintain prestige. England could provide, through
its Consul, that the dependent State regulated its policy
consistently with the rights of other States ; and the personid

1858.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 273

position of the ruler, who would be but a subject though an
independent ruler, might be readily arranged.

"Thus Sarawak, with its British interests and native
Government, would be developed ; she would be removed
from exciting the cupidity of her European neighbours ; and
thus she would continue useful till advantageously absorbed
in the mighty power of England.

" Enclosure No. 4 is as yet a private paper, sketching the
political position at present, and what it may be in future.
The concluding proposition was only meant to be brought
forward after the others had been declined; but it will be
better at once to place you in possession of the whole case.

"Labuan, in my opinion, should not be abandoned if the
policy proposed be accepted. It never has had a fair chance,
and every reason which led to the position continues good.
But it must pay shortly, or the House of Commons will with-
draw its support. To effect this, I would propose making it
a convict settlement ; and the credit for one thousand convicts,
at £10 each per annum, would cause it to flom-ish, and enable
capitahsts to trust to its stability and to work the coal. It
would be better to transfer the Settlement to the Indian
Board, and credit it with the Hong-kong and Consular con-
victs. The outlay for our convicts is already considerable,
and must increase, and some Settlement must be found to
receive them. So pressing is this point that Sir John
Bowring, about two years ago, proposed sending convicts and
deported vagabonds to Borneo Proper.

" Should the Indian Board decline to take Labuan, still
their Bombay and Chinese convicts from the Straits Settle-
ments might be sent there and credited to the Settlement.
It seems, however, reasonable that the Straits Settlements
and Labuan should be under a single department of Govern-
ment; and in making Labuan a convict estabUshment the
pecuniary difficulty would be overcome. Political measures
would reassure the natives of the coast, prevent the Sultan
of Borneo from any underhand interference to injure the

VOL. n. T

274 THE RAJA OF SABXwAR. [185a

Settlement, and the trade our apathy has driven mto Borneo
Proper would come, as originally intended, into Labuan.

" The ahove is a sketch of my views on the subject, which
I have hastily written rather than delay it. Your kindness
yesterday encourages me to this frank exposition which,
though not public, I should not wish to be considered con-
fidential further than your judgment dictates."

These negotiations were, as all the preceding ones with
the British Government had been, more or less unsatisfactory,
and very trying from the complete uncertainty of result and
the apparent impossibility of " tearmg something decisive out
of their fishy hearts." The letter to Sir E. B. Lytton was
written after an expression of interest on his part, which had
cheered the Haja, whose usual frame of mind is, however,
shown in a letter to his nephew Charles. It is dated, Tilbaster
Cottage, near Godstone, Surrey, April 7th.

" I wrote Brooke yesterday that I should not by this mail
reply to yours of January 2l8t, but I am impelled to do it,
first to tell you how much comfort I derive from your letters.
I am sure Brooke will give you the sole management in Saj-e-
bus, as well as in your own river ; for he must feel as I do,
that you are the right man in the right place, and that we are
all children in Dyak management compared with you. I quite
agree with what you say about letting time and triaJ decide
which is the best man to manage Sarebus ; and I think the
encouragement of the Sarebus Malays may he good.

" I often think I should like to reside there myself and let
you carry on the government. There is a fine field for devel-
opment in your two rivers, and a population to he welded for
good or evil — the former slowly, the latter fast enough.

" I am doing my best here to excite some attention to our
affairs, or, at any rate, to get a decision one way or another ;
but hope I have none, for the Govemment, whether this or
another, only desires to be rid of us, and the country is
ignorant and indifferent.

" Manchester gives me a dinner, and there is more intel-
ligence in Manchester than in any other city in England ; but

1868.] THE BAJA OF SARAWAK. 275

a dinner, we know, is eaten and forgotten quickly enough.
Now do, my dear Charley, think of something to give us an
impulse, for if we are alone we must go ahead. War, con-
quest, discovery : what is it to be ? Think seriously of our
position, and how to mend it.

" I feel rather low to-day, wishing myself at Sakarran,'Or
on the top of Peninjau. This cottage is charming, if I could
have peace of mind to enjoy it thoroughly. Even as it is,
I am very happy when at rest for a few days."

Public meetings and public dinners, abjured beforehand,
were submitted to, for there could be no repose while the
destiny of Sarawak hung in the balance. He writes grate-
fully at this time of the efforts of his friends ''to collect and
explode the scattered grains of sympathy" throughout the
country, the object being to bring the pressure of public opinion
on the Government.

The Manchester dinner took place on April 21st. The
Mayor, Mr. Ivie Mackie, presided, and Mr. T. Fairbairn occu-
pied the vice-chair. The Baja's speech is given here in full
because he referred to it afterwards as being a deliberate
expression of opinion.

" Were my heart bared before you," he said,* '* it would be
seen that I am paying you even a higher compliment than
you have just paid me — a compliment to your kindness, to
your justice, and to the influence which you possess in the
country. Your warm reception of me, which rings in my
ears, and knocks at my heart, not only excites pride but
awakens hope ; not only gratifies my personal feelings, but
induces me to seek your support in obtaining objects involving
the happiness of a native race, and the lives and the fortunes
of your own countrymen in a distant land — objects to which,
I need scarcely remind you, I have devoted life and fortune
for many years past, and to attain which I would willingly
sacrifice both ; objects politically and commercially important,
and deeply affecting the character and position of this nation
in the Eastern Archipelago ; objects which by timely arrange-

* Beport of the Momchester Ouardian,

276 THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. [1858.

ments might be gained without risk and without expense,
which may be lost from continued neglect and indifference,
and which must, I am convinced, be regretted when too late.
For the nation which to this day deplores the cession
through ignorance of the fair island of Java cannot fail to
regret, when it is aware of its value, the loss of the north-west
coast of Borneo — vainly to regret the opportunities wasted
and the advantages cast away.

*' Let it not be so, gentlemen. I implore you to weigh this
subject well in its political and commercial bearings, both
present and future; to regard the claims of justice and
humanity ; to decide, and if you decide in favour of my views,
to act, and to induce others to act, so that you may establish
a policy and a position in those seas which may be worthy of
a great nation.

" The simple question before you is ' Shall Sarawak in
future be supported as it once was, or be abandoned as it now
is ? ' The British policy centres upon this question ; it is the
touchstone of progress or retrogression; and after j&fteen
years* suspense — suspense more hard to bear than misfortune
— is it not reasonable to seek an answer to it ? Is it not
just and right to beg for the final settlement of affairs which
will no longer brook delay? — to ask whether a petty State,
ruled by an Englishman, and fostered so long, is now to be
abandoned with all the British interests in it ?

"At any rate, let us know our fate; for no Government can
exist, as that of Sarawak has been doing, under a prolonged
delay — under a prolonged uncertainty of what is coming;
weakened by her very fideUty to this country ; hoping against
hope for the aid which comes not ; and trusting to the faith,
the justice, and the generosity of England — ^trusting, I hope,
not in vain.

** Better, gentlemen, to know the worst than to be ruined
by inches. Better, I say, to know the worst — to know that we
are aliens, to know that our country has cast us off — than
to procrastinate and perish ; better to tear the bandage from
our eyes than longer to grope in the murky darkness of doubt.

1868.] THE RAJA OP SARAWAK. 277

Let us have the truth, if we can have nought else ; and then,
if we find neither sympathy nor encouragement from our
countrymen, no arrangement or sustained support from the
Government, we will bear our lot as best we may, and trust to
God and our own energies for the rest. I hope for the best
from the justice of my coimtry ; but I would rather dare the
worst than live as I have lived, tortured by a ceaseless, a
cruel, and, I must say, a needless suspense. The worst ! —
what is the worst ? Is it death ? No, no ; death is not the
worst lot for me. It is the responsibility almost too heavy to
bear, and the hope delayed that maketh the heart sick.

" Pardon me if some feelings find expression. I am aware
that this is no matter of feeling, but one of right and reason ;
and I will try, as briefly and coolly as I can, to relate some
passages of my life immediately connected with the subject
before you.

"I was twenty years younger, and forty years lighter
of heart than I now am, when I left England for the shores of
Borneo. I had some fortune, more ambition, and no outlet
for it. There are thousands and thousands of our country-
men whose hearts like mine are higher than their positions.
Circumstances more like romance than reality made me a
ruler in Sarawak. I felt a resolution to grasp the power
tendered to my hand ; and I swam upon the tide which leads to
fortune or ruin. Around me were murder, rapine, and anarchy.
The weak were oppressed by the strong hand of licence and
violence. There was no security for life or property. Govern-
ment there was none, and trade was extinct. I was struggling
to restore something like order and to stem this torrent of evil
when the gallant Admiral now present (Sir Henry Keppel)
gave me, from a sense of public duty, the assistance which I
BO much needed. We were then strangers ; we are now the
tried friends of fifteen years. I will not praise or thank him,
for his deeds are his best eulogium; and my acknowledg-
ment may be summed up in the words, * He is my friend,
and the benefactor of Sarawak.'

** This was the first act of the drama. Permit me now to

278 THE RAJA OF SARIwAK. [1868.

present you with another scene. Sarawak prospered. Sir
Thomas Cochrane, the able commander-in-chief, appeared on
the coast with a force to command obedience. Good was
ascendant over evil. Tear by year the naval operations were
continued with vigour abroad, and were approved highly at
home. England was respected and she was feared. In the
mean time I had become a public servant, and aided heart and
hand to carry out these measures ; for how could I believe
them to be ephemeral and delusive ? Everywhere the native
was assured of the power and the will of England to repress
disorder, to foster right, and to encourage commerce. These
assurances were given by all our officers, and they were
avouched by their continued action.

" In the mean time I returned home to find that I had
achieved fame. The Prime Minister (Lord John Russell)
thanked me in the name of the Govemijient and of the State
for the services I had rendered. I was proud indeed, for I
believed that the services thus acknowledged would never sub-
sequently be disavowed. Honours were showered upon me.
I was appointed Commissioner to the native princes, and
Governor of the new Settlement of Labuan ; and before I
quitted these shores, four months afterwards, it was deliber-
ately resolved that the poUcy so auspiciously inaugurated
should be vigorously carried out, and that the ascendency and
influence of England should be maintained on the north-west
coast of Borneo. Buler of Sarawak, I had been appointed
to places of high trust under the Crown. Ministers had
defended my possession of that country ; they had asserted the
right of the nation to form a Settlement on the main-land of
Borneo ; and they had avowed their intention of availing
themselves, in favour of the State, of the relations which I
had established there. Thus, owing to the declarations made
and the sanctions given, and, above all, to the action of our
fleet and the poUcy of the measures carried out, the natives
came to rely upon the faith and upon the support of England.
British merchants, British missionaries, British subjects of
various, classes were encouraged to embark their Uves and

1858.] TUE RAJA OF SARAWAK, 279

fortunes in the country ; and I — at once the humble subject
and the influential ruler — I implicitly trusted; for to have
doubted would have been dishonour.

** I will waste no more words on the subject ; but I would
ask you, after all that has been said and done, after the
declarations and sanctions given for the measures pursued,
* Can the State of Sarawak be abandoned without a breach of
faith ? Can British subjects be cast off, perhaps to death,
and certainly to ruin ? *

" I think you will concur with me, that such a course
would cast a stain upon the good faith of the nation, at the
very time when our rectitude and sincerity to the native races
should be clearly manifested, both in Europe and India. I
will not believe it possible that any Government of this
coimtry will sully the honour of the nation by the sacrifice of
British interests, and by the destruction of native progress.

" I will hasten to a conclusion. Scarcely had I reached
the scene of my labours in Labuan — beset with difficulties,
everything to do, stricken down by fever — scarcely had our
career commenced, when the very policy so deUberately
resolved on was virtually abandoned. British ascendency was
neglected; ships of war were withdrawn; onr prestige was
lost ; and the new Settlement, which depended for its success
solely upon the vigorous and successful prosecution of our
poUcy, fell dead to the groimd. Labuan was a bastard
oflf-spring of Britain cast out to starve !

" But different might have been the result, and different it
still might be, had that Settlement grown with the growth of
our poUcy — had it been fostered by security and respect, and
nourished by the diffusion of commerce. Painful discussions
subsequently arose, to which I need only allude so far as to
say that if in the course of them any man wronged me, he
has been forgiven long ago. And if I have wronged any man,
I would ask for that forgiveness which I have already granted.
I am, I hope, too conscious of my own faults to judge harshly
of the faults of others ; and even of that veteran statesman
now in his grave, I would say * Peace be with him ! May

280 TUE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1868.

liis errors be forgotten, and let us all remember the services
he rendered to his country ! *

"Discussion bore its usual crop. From bad, affairs became
worse ; and to make a long tale short, the separation between
my native and my adopted country was completed. Sarawak
stood alone — independent but imsupported — prosperous but
weak, and exposed to every risk and every danger which must
beset a petty State in such a position.

"Judge then, gentlemen, the question I have stated to
you. Judge as the natives judged of intention from fact.
Ask yourselves whether a poUcy was built up for years only
to be cast down again ? Actions are the proofs of intention ;
and action and intention combined engender obligations not
lightly to be violated. Should, then, Sarawak be now aban-
doned ?

" There are, however, irrespective of this question, pruden-
tial considerations which must enter into the consideration of
political subjects ; and in the present case the inquiries will
naturally arise, * Was this poHcy wisely commenced ? Should
it be renewed ? What are the advantages to be gained from
it ? and What may be the probable cost ? '

" To answer these inquiries, we must glance at the geo-
graphy of these coimtries. Imagine, stretched out before you,
our vast possessions in India and AustraUa on the one hand,
and on the other the vaster Empire of China. Between them
lies the Eastern Archipelago, with its thousand islands, poUti-
cally important, as being the key to China and the con-
necting link between the two oceans.

" Now, gentlemen, if you share with me the conviction
that the progress of our commerce with China, om: trade with
that vast and peopled region, is to be developed by our energy
and our enterprise, you must require from the Government of
this country that the means should be apportioned to the
end; that they should establish British influence on the
shores of this East Mediterranean; and that they should pro-
vide in due time for the ever-increasing demands of our steam
communication. Sarawak holds a position on the southern

1858.] THE RAJA OF SAEAwAK. 281

shore of the China Sea, important alike for navigation and
electric intercourse. Let any man of intelligence consult his
chart, and declare the value of that position, present and
future, to England, and also the sore hindrance it might
become if permitted to pass into the hands of a foreign power.

"Already, I may say, the representatives of the great
nations of Europe have congregated in China; already a
European poUcy has been developed there ; already the fleets
of England and of France, of Kussia and of America, guard
the interests of their respective nations ; already Bussia
possesses settlements on the northern shore of the China Sea ;
let England retain her hold upon the southern shore, and let
her in doing so secure the advantages, neither few nor unim-
portant, which Sarawak has to offer.

" Sarawak possesses a population which has evinced its
respect for good government and its fidelity to this coimtry ;
and it is a proud thing to say, recurring to the recent occur-
rences in India, that there the native and the European have
lived for twenty years past in friendly intimacy and in
mutual respect. She has a fertile soil, calculated for the
growth of many valuable tropical productions ; she is rich in
minerals, but richest in that most valuable of all minerals —
coal ; and her trade increases with the development of her
resources.

"A political position, an increasing trade, the develop-
ment of one of the fairest countries on the globe, and an
ample supply of coal, are the advantages which Sarawak
offers in exchange for permanency and a slight support. I
need not expatiate on this subject, for the possession of a
coal-field in those seas cannot be overvalued. Year by year
it increases in value ; year by year will the want of it lower
our power in those regions ; and I must say that any Minister
who would not secure it upon reasonable terms cannot be
considered a statesman.

" Here, then, are the advantages offered; the cost — if cost it
can be called — I will briefly mention. To advance the interests
of my own country and to obtain permanency for Sarawak I

282 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1858.

would willingly have conceded the country, with the consent of
its inhabitants, to the Crown ; but there were serious objections
to this concession, the most serious probably being the expense
which a new colony would have entailed. The proposition,
then, which I have made, as the basis of a future arrange-
ment, is that England should grant a Protectorate, and that
she should stand in the position of a public creditor to Sara-
wak ; with a stipulation that, on certain terms, she might
take possession of the country, whenever her interests re-
quired it.

"This proposition appears to me to combine all the
advantages of possession with none of its liabihties. The
native Government, which is suited to the people, and which
they largely themselves administer, might be advantageously
continued ; while the possession de facto would rest with the
Crown. There are not wanting precedents, if precedents be
needed, for a Protectorate. And for the loan which is pro-
posed, it is too small almost to be mentioned in this great
city of Manchester, and it would be secured, principal and
interest, upon the country itself. These are the terms on
which I should desire to make a final arrangement with this
country, and by which the greatest of all permanent blessings
would be secured for Sarawak.

"But if it was required of me, I would sacrifice this sum
of £40,000 or £50,000, though it was the fortune which I
have inherited, and which I have expended to bring Sar&wak
to its present prosperous condition. No obstacle shall be
raised on my part. I would not allow any selfish considera-
tion to stand in the way of attaining a great public object ;
for I can stand before you to-night, and always before my
country, with a conscious pride that my hands are unsuUied by
the love of lucre — that I have given all and received nothing.

" My tale is told. I will only say that for myself I am
as nothing : for what is a handful of dust compared to the
destiny of a people ? And the subject which occupies us does
involve the destiny of a noble race.

"You will pardon me, gentlemen, I am sure, if I have

1858.] THE BAJA OF SAKAwAK. 283

been deficient in those complimentary phrases which are too
often lavishly used upon a festive occasion like this. I have
spoken earnestly to men of earnest purpose; and you will
believe me, in all simple sincerity, that I feel grateful for the
reception you have given me in your great city — a reception
which, whether in good fortune or in bad, I shall ever re-
member with pleasure and gratitude."

Tilbaster Cottage, Godstone, was the Raja's home through
this year. His great pleasure was to have relations and old
friends with him, and occasionally to visit them. In a letter
to Mrs. Nicholetts, written just before his journey to Man-
chester, he speaks of going to Lackington as soon as possible,
"but my engagements thicken, and I must do my work in
this dull world for the sake of all in Sarawak. I wish," he
goes on, " you could cheer me always, for all is stale, flat,
and unprofitable excepting the society of those we love —
and for me, I am utterly sick and hopeless of everything,
wishing only for quiet, i.e., a mind untom by anxiety. Work !
work ! dearest Mary, when we have nothing else we have that,
and it is good for us.

" I think public attention will be aroused to the question,
and then we may come to a decision; and the most imsatis-
factory one would be a relief to me after ten years of un-
certainty."

** I shall be disappointed if you don't come," runs a letter
to Mrs. Johnson, of July 6th, " i.e., a little, because you are
dear to my eyes as well as to my mind. How I rejoice that
Charles can spare you, for his sake and for my own ! Ask
him to write me. In good time I hope to see him. Time
is fleeting, and love endures beyond time. Sarawak news is
good, but I am not strong enough to read it in detail — my
mind must be at ease if it can be, and it is so just now,
pretty well. But mind, you have promised to come, and
nothing but your husband's health must keep you away."

In a letter written on the following day he speaks of wish-
ing them to know all his plans for Sardwak. " I have made

284 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1858.

up my mind as far as it can be done, and I hope to carry you
along with me." To this he added in October, " You must
not be low or apprehensive; for the last eight years our
cause, and the prospect of placing Sarawak, and Brooke and
Charley, in stability and prosperity, has never been so
hopeful. The Government cannot resist the pressure. So
far we may be cheerful and rejoicing."

The pressure referred to had been brought about by
memorials from London and the mercantile centres,* pray-
ing the Government to place the poHcy of the Eastern Archi-
pelago on a more stable footing, and urging a line of action
that of necessity included the recognition or annexation of
Sarawak. A letter from the Kaja, dated July 23rd, implies
that Mr. Templer had urged his being present at an ofl&cial
interview, for he writes, ** I cannot think that my presence
would advantage a deputation. I am particularly bad at
such a conference. ... I shall much like to be spared this
interview, which would be most painful to me, and place me in
the light of a suppliant."

In September the Raja was entertained at Liverpool at a
pubHc dejeUner in the Town-hall. These are the closing words
of his speech : —

** My personal interest [in Sarawak] , if by personal interest
be meant the acquisition of money, is small ; if it be under-

♦ The council of tho Birmingham Chamber of Commerce appointed a sub-
committee " to obtain information respecting Sarawak and Sir James Brooke's
proposals in reference thereto." Tho report drawn np in consequence, and
printed by order of tho conncil, was entirely favourable to the Raja. The con-
cluding sentence is as follows: — "The nnavBiling regret which followed the
cession of Java by this country (a sacrifice attributable to Ministerial ignorance
and incapacity) should make us pause ere w^e lightly abandon Sarawak. Sir
James Brooke, however, does not propose to constitute her a British colony, but
simply asks for the restoration of that protection from England which for many
years, ending with 1850, she continuously i*eceived. To this course, on the
score of exi>ense at least, no just objection can be urged, and its adoption appears
to us to be a duty incumbent on her Majesty's Government, whether in regard to
the national honour, the advancement of civilization, or the true interests of
British commerce. (Signed) " Aethvr Robottom.

** Sampson S. Lloyd.

" W. L. GiLBABT."

1858.] THE RAJA OF SiUllWAK. 285

stood of higher and nobler feelings, it is large indeed. To
gain the protection of my native country for Sarawak, to place
her in a state of prosperous security, has been the passion

of my life I am at peace with all men, forgiving

and I trust forgiven any hasty word or deed in the heat of
poUtical conflict. I crave no honours, I court no distinction ;
I would escape from the burden of proud responsibilities and
the more crushing weight of prolonged suspense; but, what-
ever the futiure may bring, my duty must be done-7Sarawak
must be placed in security, and then my life's task will have
ended."

On the 1st October he was at Preston attending a meeting
in aid of the Church of England Mission in Sarawak. On the
13th he writes from Pollok, in Eenfrewshire. The excitement
of public life was not good for him, and he knew it, but there
was no help. To do nothing was not only more trying still but
simply impossible to him. On the 20th October he reached
Mr. Fairbaim's house ; and in that most friendly shelter was
struck by paralysis.

The grief that came on those who for years had laboured
in his cause was very great. They knew too well what had
broken him down, and their common feeling seems to have
been that what of life might yet remain to him must at any
cost be spent in peace, and that into such a haven it should
be theirs to bring him.

** My own conviction," writes Mr. Templer to Mr. Fair-
baim, after a hasty visit to North wood, ** is that this attack is
recoverable, but that his life's labour is over, and his public
efforts must be closed. That his mind will remain clear and
even active I also think, and that we may long reckon on his
advice and counsel to guide us here and support his nephew
in his Government abroad.

" It is difficult so early to hit the right coiurse, but I think
the negotiation with Government should proceed precisely on
its present grounds. Any necessity for interviews here I
could manage. With his mind and faculties imimpaired, he
will still be able to hold the reins ; and should the use of his

286 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1858.

limbs be not restored, or only partially so, perhaps in a
few months it would be better for him to make Harrow his
residence, where I could be in daily communication with him,
and a comfort and support to him.'*

The Kaja*s mind was clear throughout, and his memory
unimpaired.

One of his first letters after the attack was to Dr. Rigby,
with a special message to his old school-fellows. We learn
something of it through a letter from Dr. Rigby to Mr. John
Longe.

** 86, Berkeley Square, November 2, 1858. — My dear Longe,
— I send you the enclosed, just received. ... It has deeply
affected me, not only to know that our glorious school-fellow
has been thus interrupted in the midst of his labours, but
under such a warning of the shortness and instability of life,
he remains ' in life or in death our loving school-fellow.* How
touching is the little scratch so imperfectly drawn under the
word * loving,' and yet how much does it express ! This
is indeed loving as a little child. No child's love can be
simpler or purer than his, and yet combined with all the
firmness and dignity of one who has fought a good fight, and
who calmly awaits his summons to depart with the firm trust
and faith of a Christian.

" Dear Longe, how much have we all to thank you for in
having brought us thus together in our manhood, and already,
in the latter half of our journey through life, to meet again,
and love each other as little children. Every year must now
bring us these warnings with increasing frequency ; and why
should they not, if * we put our house in order,' and be ready
for the Great Day ? "

He was well enough to travel to town on November 4th,
and there is a note from him, from Godstone of the 6th, in a
hand not worse than it was always liable to be.

** Safe," he says to Mr. Templer, ** and very glad to be at
home. I was rather shaky after our converse; but pray
write me a line to say what Brooke writes in answer to my

1868.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 287

letters, and again assure me of their and the country's general
prosperity ; a word about Sarebus. Do not go into detail,
because I am shaky. My sister is to be here to-morrow."

On the 9th he wrote to Mr. Fairbaim, and, after touching
on troubles that were at the time giving his friend cause for
anxiety, says —

"Do not allow this worry to continue. Come here for
quiet : a land of dreamy heads it is, with nought of trouble, of
anxiety.

"I am improving; very peaceful and cheerful. Life's
fitful fever is over, though life may be prolonged. We are in
God's keeping, and I cannot go into mourning for that, or
preach in the dolefuls. Templer and Knox come here on
Saturday."

In the same strain is a note to Sir Henry Keppel, of
November 10th —

** I am getting on as well as can be expected ; but either
way it is all right. I do not think life pleasant enough to be
worth keeping, but it offers sufficient to make it bearable
if not burdened by pain and care. I am to be very quiet."

Of the permanent effect of this paralysis directly on the
Eaja it is impossible to speak with certainty. Indirectly, the
effect was disastrous, for it was a cause of division in counsels
hitherto almost undivided. An attack probably caused by
continued pressure and irritation of brain and heart could
not be overlooked, while, at the same time, few would agree
as to the extent of its consequences in the future.

A letter from Mr. Templer to Mr. Fairbaim, of November
22nd, and others from the Eaja himself, speak for themselves —

" My dear Fairbairn, — Lord Derby has fixed Tuesday, the
30th, at two o'clock, at the Treasury, to receive the deputa-
tion ; so get your men together. I am just come from Mr.
Crawford's. He insists on its being a Crown colony, and says
Sir James Brooke's illness has knocked the Protectorate on
the head; and he is right in this, as the Protectorate de-
pended on his (the Eaja's) personal influence. Sir James is
getting better, but slowly, and the probability is it would be
some time before he would be able to go out."

288 THE RAJA OF BARAwAK. [1858.

" God^HtonCy November 23rd. — My dear Jack, — I still think
that the deputation should urge the favourable settlement
generally, without the particular plan. I repeat that the
immediate possession of Sarawak is unwise j and, in my opinion,
impracticable without confusion.

"1. It does not provide for the government of Sarebus,
Sakarran, etc., which is the important point. How are these
rivers to be governed and kept in order ? Are you going to
open these rivers and to allow the piratical hordes to re-
commence their depredations, etc., etc. ?

"2. Vide my letter to Sir Edward Lytton. How can
Ministers insure a Parliamentary grant which wiU be large ?
for, as a British colony, you could not employ the natives as
your militia.

"To tax the natives arbitrarily to pay for a British
Government would be unjust, and quite contrary to their
present institutions. These two reasons alone will suffice to
show the difficulty, at present insuperable, of an ignorant and
blind British Government ruling.

** On the other hand, let well alone. My illness will not
necessarily terminate in immediate death ; but if it does, what
then ? Captain Brooke's Government wants the protection of
England to render it safe from without. It is a native
Government, and the chiefs themselves wiU take care to
maintain it. It is based on principles which will not change
with my death, and on interests eternal in men's breasts.
The danger, as I have always told you, is from without. But
the internal Government of Sarawak does not trouble me, and
my experience is large.

**Pray send my letter and memorandum to Lord Derby,
It has been sent to Sir E. Lytton. Ever and ev^r yours —
J. Brooke.

*' P.S. — Should I write finally to Government, as Fair-
bairn urges ? A Crown colony will not stand alone. Sarawak
will stand with a Protectorate, and, above all, the Protectorate
has nothing to do with my Ufe. A Crown colony is simply
impossible, under such a Government as England, unless the

1858.] THE BAJA OF SAUlWAK. 289

revenue be further advanced. A vote may be granted one
year and withheld the next. There is no security, no
guarantee for permanency. Protection and efficiency ! — com-
pensation is not the word. It is not compensation — it is a loan
secured on the country. Let well alone, and be guided by my
experience if my friends wish to serve Sarawak."

" Godstone, November 24<A. — I cannot discuss the subject,
for I have already felt the evil effects. I have offered to
transfer Sarawak, but it must be with justice to the natives,
and the questions I asked must be answered. Are we, on the
the cession of Sarawak, to recede from the position I hold ?
Is Sarawak to depend on a Parliamentary grant, or on taxes
to be levied on the natives ? Is slavery, modified and gentle,
to be permitted ? — or are the institutions of the natives to be
violated ? I am bound to maintain the rights of the natives
and Brooke's. You seem to think that years of experience and
distrust are to be got over in a day, and the mere name of
British Crown Colony act as a charm to govern people ! On
the contrary, if Ministers be in earnest, and if they have
clear views of duty towards Sarawak and the coast — a poUcy
of progress well defined — are prepared to meet and overcome
difficulties — it may be arranged.

** But the great advantage of a Protectorate with right of
possession is that it enables them to learn their duties. It
will take a year or two to transfer the coimtry, a year or two
of doubt. Protection and efficiency once given, and at once
the other may foUow, and would, sooner or later, follow with
experience instead of blindfold.

" I do prefer a Protectorate. My responsibility is to the
natives, and I know this is the plan pleasing to them. I must
know how the Government is to be carried on. I do know the
British Government is apt to commence schemes and abandon
them, to undertake responsibilities and neglect them !

" No, dear Jack, it is now in sickness and death that my
duty has to be performed to my people, and it is not by a
blind transfer to the British Crown that their freedom and
VOL. n. u

290 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1858.

happiness can be secured. They are a free people^ with a
Government suited to them. My propositions will be seen
in the first memo, to Lord Clarendon. Much wiU depend
upon details^ upon the earnestness and justice of the British
Government ; but mark this^ that British interests depend
upon the maintenance and establishment of order on the
entire coast from Datu to Malludu. It is the resumption of
the former policy. Sarawak, any way, is but a link.

"Finally, dear friend, the people, every Government
servant, and myself, are in accord on this question; but,
no doubt, if it can be shown that the Government can be
carried on, that the noble districts now ruled shall not be
abandoned to barbarism, and that the reUgion, laws, and
customs of the natives be respected, our opinions may be
modified. I cannot change my convictions ; I cannot take
the English name as a fact and a blessing; and if there be
lukewarm objections of red tape to obstruct this or that plan,
we shall be better without them. I must see my way clearly.
I must have justice for the people. I know what I am about.
Let the details come. They will be long and wearisome ; on
the other plan they would be speedy. I must do right at
the footstool of God where I stand, and I consider no con-
sequences. You may, however, beUeve me that I wiU judge
fairly and coolly. Please, however, be chary with business,
for I cannot bear it.

'*P.S. — Let me know about my writing to Lord Derby
officially. Fairbaim advises it, but I feel too unwell. Do
think of the questions I have asked in my first letter, and how
the details can be arranged. I do not want to throw tlie
slightest obstacle or cold water on the kindness of my friends,
or to prevent their having their own opinions ; but the details,
think of them, or how can I, blindfold, yield to transfer ? I
repeat' the Government is firm, and I hope some member of
the deputation wiU insist upon this, and let it be known that
the danger is from without and not from within, and that this
danger will be removed at any rate by Protection first."

" November 25th. — I was not very well yesterday, and so

1858.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 291

may have shown it in my letter, which you will make allow-
ance for and pardon. . . . Any solution which gives promise
of security and happiness for Sarawak will be most acceptable
to me. These we must have fairly considered, other interests
are quite secondary in my sight. Wealth, ease, title, con-
sideration, I might attain for myself and family, but in the
long run it will be found that I seek the weKare of Sarawak
above all other things, and that I am not going to sell
Sarawak for my own advantage or the advantage of England.
Sarawak advantage must be fairly and boldly represented,
and the right view of the subject is to combine the two latter,
and to let me have means to benefit Sarawak. By flying high
at a Crown Colony we may gain a Protectorate. The major
proposition may lapse into the minor ; but, in advocating, the
chance of success is in removing it into the Indian Adminis-
tration. The Colonial Office and Parliamentary grants aro
more unstable than water. ... I shall be glad when Term
is over for your sake and my own. Dear friend, you have
been hard worked, and I have been exigcant.^*

'* November 29th. — It was not you I was thinking about,
for you are always tender and considerate. I made the
religion, laws, and customs of the people the basis of all my
propositions, and I do not tliink this or the other objections
would apply to a Protectorate. However, we shall see. I
have quite made up my mind to a negative. The futiure is
serious — suspense kills, not certainty of ill. Brooke might
struggle on were he not burdened with me, and if his pecuniary
position were more assured by the payment of the debt. What
is best for Sarawak? that is the question. The Company
[Borneo] should not precipitate matters. There is a Dutch
Borneo Company forming! Your directors should read the
early struggles of the East India Company — of all men and
bodies in a new country. I continue pretty well, mending
in body, but my poor mind is harassed, and I do not sleep
BO well as I did. I want Knox, Fairbaim, and yourself to
come down for the day, after the decision. We will sing or
sigh — advise, at any rate. If you disapprove my letter to

292 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1858.

Lord Derby, keep it, write another, and send me down. I
think it will do, and I promised Fairbaim to send it in time."

To Mr. Fairbaim : —

^'November 25th. — Any solution which promises security
and happiness for Sarawak will be pleasing to me, but these
we must have, and other interests are secondary in my sight.
The freedom, the self-progress, the happiness of this people
so dear to me, and in which I have been educating them for
twenty years, seem never to come into English minds. The
English certainly are an arrogant nation ; they are so cockcy /
* Niggers are but dirt ! ' But they are God's dirt, and for
the life of me I could never discover that the Malays were
otherwise than a fine, manly, sensitive, fiery race.

** Gome and see me again, and bring Knox when the battle
has been won or lost. Did you see in the Globe a statement
that the English Government had given an assurance to the
Netherlands that Great Britain would not interfere in Borneo?
This may have been done by the Whigs before they went out,
and it tallies with the Dutch assertions."

The result of the interview with Lord Derby alluded to
was anxiously awaited by the Baja*s friends, and not alone
because they know how cruelly the excitement of suspense
tried him; another reason appears in a letter from Mr.
Templer to Mr. Fairbaim. Mr. Templer has been saying,
with reference to the assertion in the Globe, that he thinks
it expressed rather the wish than the fact —

" There is nothing for it but to push the thing home, and
if Lord Derby refuses, the next best step for the dear Raja will
be perplexing enough. I cannot, as an Englishman, aid him
to pass it (Sarawak) away to France or Holland. I should
never feel comfortable afterwards, and really do not feel the
interest in the natives that he naturally enough does. I
should rather advise him to *hang on by his eyelids,' as the
Captain and his men best may, for better times. At all events
tlie Raja may see his way to hand it over, but I cannot, and
shall be staunch in my refusal when the time comes.

'* The question as to the Protectorate or Crown Colony is

1858.] THE BAJA OF SABIWAK. 293

also embarrassing. The Baja still hangs to the former, from
the difficulties known to him as to the latter. I cannot see
them to the same extent : a Protectorate without his hand at
the helm is but postponing the evil."

The letter from the Kaja to Lord Derby, akeady alluded
to, is dated November 27. It opens with mention of the
approaching deputation as expressing the sense of an in-
fluential portion of the mercantile community, and as giving
the Baja a reason for asking a final decision on the question
of Sarawak, and continues —

" If my voice can influence this decision I would implore
her Majesty's Government not to abandon a people who have
relied on the faith of the nation, and on the encouragement
and sanctions given to their Government.

''The right of England is undoubted, her immediate
interests are involved, and her future position and prospects in
the Eastern Seas may be secured by a sUght effort, which shaU
combine the prosperity and progress of Sarawak with the
advantages frequently pointed out, as weU as the higher con-
sideration of national consistency and honour. On the one
hand nothing will be risked, and much may be gained ; on the
other much must be risked, and much may be lost. The
decision rests with her Majesty's Government. — I have, etc."

The deputation was composed of gentlemen represent-
ing Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, and, to some extent,
London, with several members of Parhament. The Times of
December 1st speaks of Lord Derby having been waited on
by deputies from *'some three hundred firms, the most
eminent and the most opulent in this island." The stated
object had reference " to the propriety of retaining the State
of Sarawak under the protection of the EngUsh Government."
Mr. Crawford, M.P., in introducing the deputation, referred
briefly to the encouragement Sir James Brooke had received
from former Governments; then spoke of his feeling that as at
present circumstanced it would not be possible for him to
carry on the Government of Sarawak as an independent State,

294 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1858.

that, failing England, he must accept foreign offers; then,
arguing the matter on wider grounds, he " ventured to ask his
lordship seriously to consider on the part of the Government
the proposals which the deputation now made. They asked,
in the first instance, either to take the State of Sarawak imder
British protection — ^that is, formally, to say to the world that
Sarawak is under the protection of the British Crown, who
will resent any attack made upon it ; or else, if that view
should for any reason not be an agreeable view to the Govern-
ment, that they would be prepared to take a cession of the
rights to the Crown. Sir James Brooke's views were directed
towards a Protectorate ; he was in that condition of health
which would render it extremely doubtful whether he would
ever be able to return to Sarawak. He had a nephew now in
charge of his Government who was perfectly competent to dis-
charge its duties with credit to himself, and with the same
amount of satisfaction which Sir James Brooke himself had
given.

"As to the power the British Government had of adopting
Sardwak, that question was set at rest by the decided view
that was taken by Lord Aberdeen at the time that correspond-
ence was passing between himself and the Dutch Minister.
They conceived that the questions as to the position of the
Dutch and English interests were thoroughly considered at the
time. The Dutch then stated the utmost of their demands, and
those demands were imcquivocally set aside by the English
Government, and they were of opinion that the view which
Lord Aberdeen then took was not only a right view, but entirely
consistent wdth the poKcy and interests of this coimtry."

Mr. Tmiier called attention to a statement made by
foreign jom-nals that the British Government had decided
not to encourage Sir James Brooke. The mercantile com-
munity of Liverpool "were imanimously of opinion that it
was of vital consequence to their trade that Sai-dwak should
be maintained under the protection of Great Britain.*' By its
position it would almost fix the command of the China trade
to those who held it. All the merchants connected with the

1858.] . THE BAJA OP SAEIwAK. 295

East India trade, and those best acquainted with the country,
believed that the retention in some way or other by her
Majesty's Government was necessary, so as to secure the
freedom of trade at Sarawak.

Mr. Thomas Fairbaim said that a petition, signed by
between eighty and ninety of the leading firms of Manchester,
had been already presented to the Government, praying that,
for reasons stated, some arrangement might be made with Sir
James Brooke. He described Sarawak as it had been and as
it was, and spoke of the steady increase of its trade.

After a few questions, Lord Goderich spoke, and then Lord
Derby replied. " What had fallen from Lord Goderich had
strengthened the view he had always taken of the extreme
inconvenience, to say the very least of it, of such undertakings
as Sir James Brooke's. He wished to speak of him with the
highest respect. He was a man of great energy and influence,
and there was not the least doubt that to his personal influence
and efforts the improvement was owing in the disti-ict of
Sarawak ; but what had fallen from Lord Goderich to the effect
that it was impossible that the British Government could*
allow British subjects who have invested their capital on the
faith of what had been already done, and to a certain extent
sanctioned, to remain improtected, was a very strong argu-
ment against the extreme inconvenience of sanctioning such
undertakings. Sir James Brooke, a mere private individual,
and upon his own responsibility, without consultation or
authorization from the Government, entered into a treaty or
arrangement, or whatever they pleased to call it, into the
terms of which we need not inquire too closely, by which
Sarawak was made over to him subject to the Sultan of
Borneo. He exercised very considerable influence in the
country, and no doubt effected considerable improvement;
but if every English subject were to be allowed to settle in
any district he might think fit, and afterwards to call upon
the Government as a matter of right to give him military and
civil protection, and to secure him from the consequence of
conduct which was not in the slightest degree anticipated by

296 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1858.

the Government, it must lead the Government into endless
diflSculties and expenditure." Lord Derby went on to say
that he thought the negotiation between Lord Aberdeen and
the Dutch Government, together with the treaty with the
Sultan of Borneo, " did away with all apprehension of any
exclusive jurisdiction being exercised by Holland." That
he " very greatly doubted Sir James Brooke's power to make
over — certainly not to the Dutch — but to make over to the
British Government an absolute, entire, and unconditional
sovereignty of that territory which he had been permitted to
govern. Moreover, the question was one of very great diffi-
culty and doubt whether, apart from the personal influence of
Sir James Brooke, Sarfi.wak was of the importance which the
gentlemen present seemed to attribute to it, and of course
that very much shook his opinion on the subject. Hitherto it
had not been a thriving Settlement. Under the present cir-
cumstances it seemed to him very doubtful whether it was
one which it would be for the interest of the Government
to take into their hands, multiplying and increasing the
colonial dependencies of the country, which were already too
numerous ; every fresh addition to which added fresh expen-
diture, not only the expenditure of the local Government, but
the consequent increase of the military and naval forces to
protect them. So that he looked with very great jealousy to
increasing the number of our dependencies or new settle-
ments. They were not additions of strength but weaknesses,
and all these considerations had been very carefully inquired
into by the Queen's Government. The various propositions
put before them by Sir James Brooke appeared to them to
involve a choice of difficulty, inconvenience, and embarrass-
ment. The least objectionable would be the absolute sur-
render of Sarawak to the British Crown as a colonial posses-
sion; but then there must be taken into consideration
whether it were worth the price. Although Sir James Brooke
by his personal influence had been enabled to improve the
Settlement and keep up good relations with the native tribes,
it did not follow that the same consequences would ensue if

1858.] THE RAJA OF SARIwAK. 297

the Settlement were made over to the British Crown. And
all experience showed them, and Sir James Brooke would be
the first to admit it himself, although he has been able to
make the revenue — about iE15,000 a year — pay for the
Government, that if it were handed over to the British
Government twice this sum would not maintain it. If they
pressed him (Lord Derby) for an immediate answer, the
Government would take into consideration any suggestions
that came from gentlemen of exi)erience and knowledge such
as themselves; but he must say his own opinion and that of
his colleagues had been, and was up to that moment, adverse
to the adoption of any propositions which had been made to
them by Sir James Brooke. He would not say that decision
had been taken finally, but certainly at the present moment
he was not in a condition to say that the Government were
prepared to accept any of those propositions, nor did he think
it hkely any would be accepted.

"With regard to Sir James Brooke, he did not conceive he
had a claim upon the Government in respect of what he had
done for his own purposes and objects ; his was a half -politi-
cal and half-commercial speculation. He (Lord Derby) did
not think he had a claim upon the country in consequence of
the steps he had taken. It must be a matter of pure balance
of the advantages or disadvantages of taking or not taking
this as a Settlement, even supposing, under the terms of his
engagement. Sir James Brooke has the power, without the
consent of the Sultan of Borneo, to make over a sovereignty
whi ih he did not, he thought, at the present moment possess.
It was manifest unless he had entire authority to hand it
over, it was not in the power of the Crown to accept a feudal
tenure, and he believed Sir James Brooke had nothing more
than a description of feudal tenure."

The Times, in a leader commenting on the above,
remarked regarding the inconvenience of sanctioning such
a precedent as that set by Sir James Brooke, "let future
generations wait until an offer similar in character to the
present is made to them, and then those who feel the incon-

298 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1858.

venience of the precedent may complain of it ; " tliat the title
might be investigated ; that Lord Derby had refused to dis-
cuss the commercial points brought under his consideration ;
and with reference to the objection of the Government to
territorial extension, "whenever the moment arrives that this
is a really wise decision Lord Macaulay's New Zealander may
prepare for action."

Another omission may be added. Lord Derby did not
face the possible injury to England if Sarawak, forced against
her will into foreign alliance, should bind herself to a nation
that might in the future be hostile to ourselves. Few will
differ from him as to the impolicy of Government being bound
to extend its territory or its influence by any unauthorised
action of its subjects. Whether to do so or not consequent
on Sir James Brooke's career in Borneo, was the question
before pre\dous Administrations, and these had deemed it best
for the public interest, not to speak of humanity, to take
advantage of his success. Why this policy was reversed, and
the north-west coast of Borneo left, so far as the British
Government was concerned, to fall back into bloodshed and
anarchy, remains unexplained. From the Eaja the Premier's
reply to the deputation drew the following letter : —

" Godstone, December 4th. — My Lord, — Li the Times news-
paper of the 1st instant I read the report of a conversation
between your lordship and the gentlemen who formed a dei)u-
tation to state their opinions on the subject of Sarawak.

" I am unwilling to re-discuss any question, whether of a
political or personal nature, but I must courteously and
firmly express my dissent from the views of your lordship,
whether in relation to the rights of the people and Govern-
ment of Sarawak, my own position in the country, or the
acts of previous Governments of England.

**I must request your lordship to remember that the
people of Sarawak have rights distinct fi-om and independent
of my position as ruler of the country de jure and de facto for
fifteen years.

" The practical question is alone worthy of consideration.

1858c] THE BAJA OF SAUlWAK. 299

"The Sultan of Borneo has not power to protect or restrain
his subjects. He cannot enforce obedience, even in the city
where he resides, and its vicinity is ravaged and depopulated,
year after year, by the wild tribes of the interior. The
Government of Borneo in practice is anarchy.

"The Government of Sarawak has unassisted for seven
years past maintained order.

" During these seven years, the British Government has
entirely abandoned the native interests on the north-west
coast of Borneo, and, upon the interruption of political inter-
course with Sarawak in 1853, conveyed to the chiefs the
assurance that they had neither the wish nor the intention to
interfere with the affairs of the country.

" In consequence of the measures of the British Government,
Sarawak was placed in an unfortunate position of uncertainty ;
and, after a lapse of five years, it was resolved to seek aid
consistent with the religion, laws, and customs of the people,
and calculated to secui-e the permanency and stabiUty which
lie at the root of i)rosperity and progress.

" The various propositions to effect these objects on the
bases mentioned are before the British Government for their
decision, and were made by me on the part of Sarawak in the
hope of conferring a benefit on both coimtries. I have, etc.**

Crossing this letter in the post came one from Colonel
Talbot, Secretary to Lord Derby, apologizing for not having
before acknowledged the earlier communication. "YouwiU
have seen from the public prints that his lordship could not
find it compatible with his sense of public duty to adopt the
course recommended by you with reference to Sarawak. He
would, however, be very sorry that the incomplete reports of
what occmTcd when he received the deputation on this subject
three days ago, should leave you under the impression that he
does not fully api)reciate your merits, as well as the motives
by which you have been actuated in these transactions, and
that he had not so expressed himself at the time to the
dei)utation.**

To this the Eiija replied, "I am happy to receive the

300 THE RAJA OF SARIwAIC. [1858.

assurance that Lord Derby appreciates the motives by which
I have been actuated, and I am equally happy to express my
sense of the motives which have actuated his lordship in the
performance of his public duty. The decision I regret, but I
have discharged my duty in eliciting and recording it."

The advisability of bringing the question before Parliament
was now discussed. The Eaja himself seems to have been
almost passive, only insisting that if appeal were made it
should be solely on EngKsh grounds.

" Sarawak," he writes (December 4th), to Mr. Templer, "is
not driven to any measure excepting on mature deliberation.
I, on the part of Sarawak, will never consent to submit her
rights or my title to the judgment of the House of Commons,
or any other tribunal. Force may do wrong, but we will not
make England the judge of rights which belong to every free
people, and which may become the subject of friendly discus-
sion for definite objects, but not of hostile judgment.

" On my own part I desire only to die, or to live in quiet. I
have resigned my Eaj to my successor. I only act to settle
this question. God shall judge the wrong I have received. I
will not appeal to man nor submit to man's judgment.

" Sarawak is in no danger except ultimately from Holland.
The good resulting from the deputation is that any action
on her part, even supposing she contemplated it sooner than
my death, will be checked. Here the matter rests. Sufficient
for the life is the end thereof. Whether in good or ill fortune,
I hope to return to Sarawak to enforce the lessons I have
taught of freedom and self-government. And do not ever run
away with the idea that Sarawak is at the disposal of England
on any other terms excepting by stringent guarantee of her
rehgion, laws and customs."

1858.] THE BAJA OF SARAWAK. 301

CHAPTER XXVIII.

1858—1860.

Eaja Brooke had need of all his patience and power of suflfer-
ing as the year 1858 closed.

That the Chinese insurrection might cause the Borneo
Company — so recently established, and therefore without past
experience of the feasibility of their undertaking — to with-
draw, he had at once foreseen, and in his first letter to Mr.
Templer after the rising, part of which has been given, he
touched on its possibility, and concluded a statement of
reasons for perseverance with the words — "If, spite of all
this, the Company desert me at this crisis, permit a panic to
overrule its better judgment, I will still trust to God, still do
what is to be done, and if I survive and faU, I shall trust to
the sympathy of my friends to afford me suflScient to sustain
life during the few years left me on earth."

It appeared now as if this time were come. All the
mineral wealth of the country, except gold, was leased to the
Borneo Company, on payment of certain royalties to the
Government. The minerals were there in abundance, but
the labour question, always in such undertakings liable to be
a source of difficulty, became increasingly embarrassing from
the dispersion of the Chinese. Fresh Chinese emigrants began
shortly to aiTive, but it was not likely that they would come in
adequate numbers until the indignant feeling against them in
the country had died away.

When the Raja left for England in October, 1857, the

302 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1858.

Company had determined to persevere, and his relief of roind
on hearing from Mr. Templer of this decision is marked
in his letters. But after his departure difficulties increased,
and some of the directors grew more desponding than hopeful,
and more inclined to counsel the abandonment of the enter-
prise without risking further loss.

During the whole of 1858 this contingency had been before
the Eaja, and, turn which way he would, he seemed sur-
rounded by shifting quicksands. The withdrawal of the
Company meant, if not the financial ruin of Sarawak, very
little less, for under such circumstances fresh capital could
hardly be attracted. Rightly or wrongly, the directors attri-
buted their difficulties to the weakness of the Sarawak Govern-
ment ; and the Raja's attack of serious illness, followed by
Lord Derby's reply to the deputation, which cut off all hope
of support from England, naturally increased the want of
confidence.

The critical nature of affairs was known but to a few, and
perhaps understood in full significance only by the Raja. But
to the friends who stood closest to him it was no secret that
he had come home in poverty, and while he lay helpless at
Northwood, many thoughts had entered Mr. Fairbaim's mind.
He who'had '* given all and received nothing " was under his
roof, come, it might be, to die, any way to be crii>pled for
life, and to undertake active work again only at the risk of
death. His own means were expended, and, with increasing
years and shattered health, he had nothing to look to but
what could be spared by a country that owed all to him, but
which was not yet rich enough even to afford the small
steamer necessary for its very existence, while fresh distress
seemed impending. Under these circumstances, it appeared
to Mr. Fairbaim that there were probably others who,
like himself, felt imable to stand calmly by and watch
a close so mournful; and from this time he became the
chief mover in raising a testimonial, which, to use his own
words, was "meant fr'om the beginning, and so treated
throughout, as a simple, earnest, and affectionate testimony

1858.] THE BAJA OF SARAWAK. 303

of friends to a noble character and disinterested services :
services which, instead of enriching, had left their author
broken by illness and threatening poverty."

There was a strong wish among all who took part in this
matter, that it should be kept private — a course which neces-
sarily confined the action of the committee formed ; and in the
middle of December, Mr. Templer wrote to the Eaja express-
ing his fear that the attempt must be considered a failure,
and also telling him that the long-threatened break-up of the
Borneo Company was imminent.

The China mail had brought the usual tidings from
Sarawak of stagnation from want of labour, and two of the
directors stated in consequence their intention of withdrawing
their capital. The remainder, feeling the seriousness of the
crisis, but unwilling to look on the undertaking as hopeless,
thereupon drew up a rough outline of a plan by which new
capital might be brought in, and the difficulty tided over. A
new company, to be called the Sarawak Company, should
work under the wing of the old one, buy from the Raja his
"rights imder the Sultan," put a steamer on the coast,
and if, or when, Sir James Brooke's health forced him to
retire, take the government into its own hands, and appoint
its own governor. This proposed governor does not appear to
have been named, but as Captain Brooke's resignation was
suggested as advisable, it is evident that the choice would not
have fallen on him.

The Eaja's reply is dated Godstone, December l7th. He
was still so feeble as not to trust himself to open his Sarawak
letters until they had been glanced through by another ; and
he now begins by a request that Mr. Templer will do so, and
let him know the contents. He then continues —

"From your letter I gather that the testimonial proposed
is a failure, and that the Company will retire. This is as I
expected. The Company, to avoid loss, should be cautious in
reth-ing, and do it gradually.

" Suppose, then, the proposed Company was formed,
capital ilOO,000 — so far so good. You speak of my rights

304 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1858.

and Captain Brooke's position. Brooke's position and my
own are identical, and they cannot be considered sepa-
rately. The Government of Sarawak has been established
for sixteen years : the system works well, the laws are defined
and in operation, and Brooke has been the ruler and has the
confidence of the people. Practically, the system has suc-
ceeded. No comparison should be drawn between Brooke
and myself, but between him and any other who could rule
the country with his sense, temper, and experience. Brooke's
retirement would entail the retirement of his brother and C.
Grant, and all would be confusion. Looking, then, from the
lowest point of view, no folly could exceed the folly of dis-
turbing the existing order of things and acquiring rights
which would be practical wrongs. But, in the higher view,
there must be no question of the rights of the people.
Secondly, Brooke's rights have to be considered. My active
life is passed. I have merely sought a Government to stand
in the pecuniary position in which I stand. A company
might do so, though I do not see how in a mercantile point
it would be advantageous.

" Brooke is the Eaja of Sarawak, and my love and con-
fidence in him are so entire that I would never do anything to
hurt his feelings, much more to injure his rights of succession
or inheritance. I am nothing, but, if the worse comes to the
worst, I will join Brooke in Sardwak ; and whilst we live we
shall be independent.

" Our revenue will not be decreased, and will probably be
increased. If we have no European development, we shall
have a native one, and —

' In native swords and native ranks
Our only hope of freedom dwells.'

"I can only answer what I suppose you mean by 'my
rights, Brooke's position and its diflSculty,' etc., etc. How
do you imagine Sarawak is to be secured to England by the
overthrow of the existing system, and a change of Government
which would strike at the root of native confidence ? How-
ever, I may have mistaken your meaning.

1858.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. o05

"Believe me, dear friend, though I shrink from a pro-
longed struggle, though I would fain be released, yet the
weakness of the body will never triumph over the sense of
what I owe to the people and to Brooke. I don't mean duty,
dry duty — but with me it is an overflowing cup of love. I
am nothing but your poor friend and most affectionate
J. Brooke.'*

In addition to these troubles, another sprung up just at
this time. A medical man engaged by Captain Brooke during
his stay in England in 1856, came back from Sardwak.
Captain Brooke, he said, had broken the agreement then
made, and he had therefore returned, but he claimed three
years' salary, and was prepared to enforce his claim by
law. The Raja's letters on this subject to Mr. Templer are
marked by a calm reasoning and power of understanding
both parties. In one he says that he cannot go thoroughly
into the matter, and that its worry prevents his sleeping
at night; but he does go into it, and with an evidently
earnest desire to do justice to both sides, only he will not
" do justice to one party at the expense of the other." " It is
indispensal)le that Brooke should make his own statement
and produce his evidence." The negotiations had in the first
place been made through Mr. Templer, and in Mr. Templer's
judgment Captain Brooke had broken the engagement. This
opinion is told to his nephew by the Eaja in the gentlest way,
and with circumstances that palliated it gathered up and
given their fuUest force ; while to Mrs. Templer, who took an
interest in the matter, he wrote, " I would gage my life — not
that, for it is not worth very much — my honour, I mean, that
Brooke was not unkind to any friends or connections of your
dear husband."

In his sixth letter to Mr. Templer on the subject, when the
money that he sees must inevitably be paid is in his mind,
and the difficulty of finding it appears insuperable, there
comes the only sign of impatience. He is weary of a quarrel
that is " destroying " him. He does not know how the pay-
ment can be made — he will do what he can, and Captain

VOL. n. X

306 TIIE BAJA OF SARAWAK. [1869.

Brooke must raise the rest in Sarawak. Where the money
for his own return to that country is to come from is doubt-
ful, but " I have private reversionary means I can apply to
this, for my passion still is not to burden Brooke."

" Did you ever," he winds up with, " read * Vathek* ? I
am in the position of the poor fellows in the Hall of Eblis,
dead in the flesh, but with feeling and a heart of fire in their
breasts. The struggle of reason against passion is cruel,
and suspense is a torment which Ebhs does not apply. I am
sure I am in the hands of friends who will not cling to a
feeble support."

The last sentence refers to the testimonial. This letter
is dated December 15th, and was immediately followed by the
one from Mr. Templer already alluded to, which told him the
testimonial and the Borneo Company were failing together.
It is well to note the circumstance under which his reply of
December 17th, above quoted, was written.

The Borneo Company persevered* and has long since
reaped the benefit of so doing ; and Sarawak in her present
comparative strength may not remember the perils of her
youth ; but the pressure of anxiety and doubt that rested on
her founder as the year 1858 closed was overwhelming.

In January, 1859, an intimation was made by Lord
Malmesbury that the subject of a Protectorate for Sarawak
was *' under the consideration of her Majesty's Government."

" The change of Government intention," the Kaja WTites to
Mr. Fairbaim, " was after this fashion. Lord Derby's decision
occasioned a difference in the Cabinet, and the question was
referred to the Admiralty to report on. Sir John Pakington
I)laced it in the hands of Captain Washington, the Hydro-

• " The Borneo Company has held fast and etnck to its work throngh the
perils and dangers, the prosperity and adversity, which Sar4wak has expe-
rienced. It has shown a solid and a stolid example to other traders, and formed
a basis for mercantile operations. I do not attempt to deny or conceal the
fact that the imi)ortanco of the presence in a new State of sach a large and
influential body cannot be overrated." — Speech of his Highness the Baja Charles
Brooke in 1872.

1869.] THE BAJA OF SARIwAK. 307

grapher-General, and after taking the opinions of the officers
of the navy locally cognizant, he has drawn up an able docu-
ment recommending the protection of Sarawak and the
suppression of piracy. When we trust to the weathercock
to guide our actions, we ought to trust hkewise to the British
Government, but not till then. . We will accept a Protectorate
with a guarantee for the rights of the people of Sarawak;
short of that we are better without it."

The weathercock simile was not inappropriate. The
Conservative Government, defeated on their Eeform BUI,
dissolved Parliament in April, and three days after the re-
assembling in June resigned office in consequence of a vote
of " no confidence." Lord Palmerston then succeeded Lord
Derby as Premier, and Lord John Eussell Lord Malmesbury
in the Foreign Office.

Li February tidings came from Sardwak that Captain
Brooke's yoimg wife had died after the birth of her second
child, a boy who was named Hope. Leaving his children in
friendly hands, their father came home, reachiag England
almost as soon as the letter telling of his loss. The Eaja
alludes to this event in a letter to Mrs. Templer, written from
Lackington. " The moan is made and over — the sun shines
as though the earth contained no tomb. A bright, existence
has been blotted out; sorrow and bereavement, a desolate
hearth and home, remaia to poor Brooke. But he will recover,
for his high duties must be performed, and time will do the
rest. Lijustice is a greater evil and harder to bear and forget
than death. Our error is in regarding death as something
extraordinary when it comes near ourselves, whereas it is as
natural as life or sleep. I have been harassed by this news."
"Time is our consoler," he adds ia another letter, "but he
brings new griefs as he heals old ones."

Through March he was at Dawlish, where his state of
body and mind are best described to Mr. Fairbaim —

''March 9th. — I am certainly improving by abstinence
from work and mental excitement; but then, it is but a

308 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1859.

negative recovery, for I cannot have either my old health or
vigour, or, what is worse, my old heart. However, I am
grateful for the amendment, as it will enable me to enjoy
retirement, or to labour in my vocation for the good of
Sarawak, should the means for the former be wanting. The
former I should prefer could the arrangement be made to
place Sarawak in a recognized position, or even enable me to
live in peace without being a burden to her ; but if it is to be
otherwise, I have, the more I have thought of it, become
more convinced that the worst folly would be to leave Sarawak
as she at present stands. I have tried, spite of constant
opposition, to develop the resources of the country and to
advance British interests by an enlarged and liberal policy.
Verily, I have had my reward, and on two occasions of emer-
gency have been deserted. All promises, all previous acts,
all recognitions go for nothing, and the conviction has been
forced upon my mind that it would be unwise and unsafe to
trust the British Government, excepting they give pubhc
assurance and unequivocal guarantee for their future sin-
cerity.

*' Should I, then, be forced onward to the measures I hold
to be right, the first step will be to separate pubUcly and
boldly from my own country, and to rid Sarawak of every
British interest involved in it, which at such a crisis will not
be difficult. The next step will be an honourable foreign
protection, or destroying as much as possible the European
element in the Government, and making it native — promoting
native views, native interests, and native wishes, and dis-
couraging the interests and interference of Europeans. I
think I can see my way clearly. It would not be an enlarged
or enduring pohcy, but it would make the people happy, and
would last for a generation or two. It would be at the cost of
ambition and advancement, but whilst it lasted there would
be a perfect accord between the people and their European
ruler.

** My creed, the conviction of experience, now is — that the
greatest evil which can befall a poor people is the position of

1859.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 309

doubt in which it has been the pleasure of the British Govern-
ment to place and to keep Sarawak, and that this must be
ended, even by a sacrifice of mere material prosperity, before
anything can be done.

** I won't tire you any more with my lucubrations.

** The first two months I lived here quietly and indolently;
now I am growing restless because, so far as I know, nothing
is doing' and nothing done. I have a twelve-hermit power
when my mind is free from care, but directly I suspect that
my ease only results from my head being in a bog, I want to
be at work, and to get back to Sarawak with the assurance that
I need never look to England again. Brooke, my nephew, is
in England; I hope you will meet him after he has rallied
somewhat from his bereavement."

'' Lackington, April 20th. — My mind is at rest and my
body reposing. I will not thank you for all the trouble you
have taken and are takings It is, however, never forgotten.
At present I am very full of philosophy, reading Mill's Essay
on Liberty, and not inclined to descend to the consideration
of ordinary subjects. Nor, indeed, do I wish to think much
upon any subject to disturb me — a philosopher at one end
and a worm at the other, with the proper amount of in-
difference as to whether fishes or men bite or not, is my
ambition. Please inform Mrs. Fairbaim with my kind re-
membrances."

Philosophic indifference as to the foreign policy of Great
Britain, whether as regarded Sarawak or other countries,
might be his ambition but was not his practice. The neu-
trality of England during the struggle in Italy was a grief to
him. There are two letters, written in July, bearing on it —
the first to Mr. Templer: —

'' England must get into a glass-case or band-box, and see
whether peace and money can compensate for lukewarmness
to great principles, for which every man, as well as every
nation, should be ready to shed his blood, devote his wealth,
and strive to win by the sweat of his brow and the struggle of
his brain. Mark me, dear Jack — No great nation ever stood

310 THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. [1869.

in a neutral position witlwut the loss of respect and influence.
We prated about Italy and Italian liberty more than France,
Italy despises our selfish neutrality; France triumphs, and
justly, in her action, her moderation, and her paramount
influence in the land which looked to England before as her
best friend and found only a lukewarm adviser ; Russia
chuckles, Austria is estranged, and Germany generally holds
England as a cold and selfish friend.

** I hope our politicians will not cling to the Treaty of
Vienna, and make that ancient parchment the god of their
idolatry. Neutral indeed ! The price of this neutrality will
be heavy. Grovelling policy everywhere — shrinking from
sustaining principles, shrinking from an angry soldiery,
shrinking from doing justice, trampling on the weak, and
cowardly to the powerful !

"You will not agree to this, but it is true. England is
no lover of justice or principle, and she is expert in evading
the one and the other — stretching her facts to her formula,
God's truths to the dicta of representative Governments.*'

To Mr. Fairbaim : —

" I care so little for local politics that I never read Parlia-
mentary debates or anything relating to them. They are but
a storm in a milk-pail. The country is prosperous, the people
happy, the Constitution always being destroyed, and a great
clatter of tongues, which must in due time accomplish the
end.

** I read passing events differently from yourself. Louis
Napoleon has been through life an astute, ambitious, and
practical man, and we must not lightly attribute to him a
change of character. But the peace seems to me to establish
him as the first man in Europe and the popular monarch of
France.

" Italy has long been the canker of Europe. After the
Crimean war Sardinia appealed in Congress against Austria.
France, with England, countenanced her claims. We cast
away the French alliance, and Louis Napoleon turned to

1859.] THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. 311

Kussia. England declined an interference in Italy. France
undertook it. In a six-weeks' campaign Austria has been
driven into the corner of Italy. Lombardy has been freed,
and become an integral portion of a Constitutional Govern-
ment. An Italian Confederation will guarantee a rational
degree of freedom and civil rights to the people of the other
States. The old system is at an end. Italy may hope, and
the want of complete success on the part of France is in her
favour.

"For France the result wiU be a dominant influence in
Italy, a friendly neighbour on her boimdary, the destruction
of the Treaty of 1815, and a cordial alliance with Eussia and
Austria. She has gained aU she could gain without a general
war, which would have shaken her Bussian alliance, and
might have isolated her in Europe. The suddenness of the
peace has checkmated England and Bussia, and there will
be no stipulation for disarmament. Here is the practical
sagacity which knows how to stop.

"The position of England I look upon as inglorious.
Neutrality in nations is called selfishness in men. The affairs
of Europe can be managed without England. It may be
fortunate, and she may enjoy her solitary prosperity. But she
must not talk longer of being the greatest member of the
greatest community of nations.

" Here is a chapter begotten of leisure and a deep interest
in the fate of Italy !

** I certainly am better and improving so much that there
is hope, or fear, of my dragging on for some years. I can
manage very well so long as I have quiet and contentment,
and the latter can only be purchased by a studied forgetfulness
of the past. I must go back to Sardwak in the spring, or the
spring following, and after that my mission will have been
accomplished. Brooke and myself are in accord on the future
policy of Sarawak. I conceded to his views for the mainten-
ance of independence, real bond fide independence ; no half
measures and no truckling. So the British Government will
have to determine whether to recognize Sarawak, or let

312 THE HAJA OP SAItAWAK. [1859.

Sarawak separate her interests and reserve the advantages
she has to bestow for the eotmtries who shall prove more
friendly."

The pressure of pecuniary embarrasBment was greatly
lightened in the course of this year, partly by a friendly
loan firee of interest, and to be returned only when Sarawak
was richer, which enabled the Raja to repay the sum bor-
rowed in consequence of the Chinese insurrection ; partly by
the testimonial. The committee, in consequence- of their non-
success, made a public appeal ; and though the result was
never equal to what was hoped and anticipated, yet the sum
realized was a substantial good.* The Baja's generous ways,
love of giving princely presents, and passion for making all
around him happy, were well known, and he was told that
the money would be placed in trust, the interest to be his for
life, and the capital at his testamentary disposal. This
arrangement was not yielded to without a struggle. To
Mr. Fairbaim he wrote. May 6th —

" Freely given, I should freely receive it; but a restriction
such as this would destroy my sense of independence and freo
agency. I should probably take every precaution which
could be taken for me, and I should be obliged to my friends
for investing the money after being generally acquainted with
my wishes, but this would be very different from their
becoming trustees."

It required the united inSuence of Mr. Templer, Mr. Knox,
and 1^. Fairbaim to induce him to yield, but be did yield,
and wrote (May 13th} to the last-named —

" Behave me, I put the most entire confidence in Templer,
Knox, and yourself; and as you seem agreed that there is
nothing of distrust implied in this condition, I say — so let it
be, and no other trustees could I have [than these three].
/ tnist you in the matter ; and, indeed, we are agreed in the

■ The Committee hoped la mue £20,000, and so to make the Baj& tDdopea.
dent or the Sarawak revenne, and to allow of bia reBignation. The amoiint
realized was £8,800.

1850.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 313

thing itself, and differ only as to the mode. Had the fund

been placed at my disposal, and had I chosen you, I should

have liked it better ; but as you understood it was to be as

you propose, and have pledged yourselves to it, I would not

compromise you, and by so doing re-involve myself in a sea

of troubles, political and domestic, from a scruple on a point

which my friends assure me is in no way derogatory. In short,

plainly spoken, I yield my views to yours, pride to necessity.

I am not a speculative man, and my intentions were well

defined as to regulating this fund. My idea was to place the

greater part of the money beyond my own reach by deed of

gift to those I intend to inherit it, a moderate sum to be kept

free to invest when opportunity offered in a jned-a-terre in

Sardinia, or Tasmania, or elsewhere, in a warm but not

troi)ical climate. I shall never settle in any spot without

jiroprietary rights, or.be happy with a leasehold of 999 years.

I mention this intention, because it seems to me somewhat

better than the plan you propose, in so far as the deed of gift

is preferal)le to a trust which, combined with a right of

testamentary disposal, would leave the fund a marketable

commodity on which to realize capital. More of this in due

season ; but at any rate you three bear the onus. Sarawak

will have the interest of the money if she really wants it." *

From Dawlish he moved to Torcross, and in June to
Totnes ; and while there, uncertain as to his future, but feel-
ing keenly the want of a place he could really call home, he
heard that the owner of Burrator, an estate of about seventy
acres, with a very small house, in the parish of Sheepstor, on
the edge of Dartmoor, would be wiUing to sell. A wild enough
place it is, but most beautiful in its wildness. They who
know Dartmoor will not need a description of its gray tors,
and its dashing streams, its ferns and its foxgloves, its
boulders of rock that look like ruins of old minsters, and give
shade from sun, shelter from wind, and a sense of companion-

• The intontion of a trust was snbsoquontly given np.

314 ' THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. [1859.

ship always — crocks that never look the same for two half-
hours together.

That which Dartmoor can be of picturesque beauty,
Burrator is. The Raja saw and fell in love with it. There is
no other form of words that describes the attraction the place
had for him, or the eagerness with which he desired to
possess it, and before the summer was over it was his. But
there were weeks of delay first, during which he had the trial
of feeling himself dependent on the will of others.

" I am so accustomed to act and to decide for myself,"
he writes, ''that it is a hard lesson to learn to permit
others to do for me, and it is one I will not repeat however
this may end."

He was much better in health now, and writes of having
''leapt over a ditch and scrambled over stone walls." The
moor air was "the most elastic he had breathed for many a
year." "I am up early," he adds, " and was on pony-back
for four hours the day before yesterday. If I become lord of
Burrator I shall make the boys [Templers] a present of the
first real good pony of my own breeding."

Here is a letter to Dr. Eigby, of July 29th —

" I wrote this morning my thanks * to our dear old school-
fellows, which I wish to be read to them by you, or in your
absence by Longe, at the annual dinner ; but before I send it
I want to know our motto, which has escaped my memory.
Florcat — what ? Let me know, and likewise when the dinner
is to be; for you know my heart always beats pleasantly on
occasions of these reunions, and if bodily absent I shall
spiritually or mentally be present.

" I have determined to stick up my staff at the foot of
Dartmoor, and am in treaty for the purchase of a small
property with a house, which is to become my home. Here or
in Sarawak, as may be, my bones shall rest, and my few years
of life be passed after the turmoil of a troubled life.

' The knights are dust,
Their good swords rust,
Their souls are with the saints we trust.'

• For the new library.

1869.] THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. 315

"In the church here (Meavy) are monuments to the
Drake family.

" When you cut it, worn and weary pilgrim of medicine ! !
come and settle in this country. There is nothing in England
to be compared to it. You are the free denizen of wild
country, riding as the bird flies, and with rights of pasture of
hundreds of thousands of acres for your herds and ponies.
When the purchase is made you must run down and see me."

Delays and difficulties ended at last, the committee decided
that they could not do better than fall in with his very
reasonable wishes, and with part of the fund at their disposal
Burrator was bought.

" In anticipation of it," he wrote to Mrs. Johnson, " I have
bought a horse, a gun, and Mappings electro-plate spoons, etc.
I shall take on the young woman who now looks after the
family single-handed. The lady of the house no doubt assists,
and is said to be an excellent manager. So shall I be, because

I will:'

This is written from London, where, he writes, " Brooke
and I are settling very comfortably the future course of
Sarawak. We are now quite of a mind on essential points."
This cause for satisfaction is again alluded to, in September,
to Mrs. .Nicholetts. "Brooke left yesterday. It is a great
satisfaction that we are quite in accord, and his short stay in
England has done much to open his eyes to our real position
and the remedy."

That the remedy would ever come from England seemed
more and more improbable. A letter to Mr. Templer, of
October 10th, says, " Brooke paid me a few days' visit, and
at my suggestion he wrote to Lord Palmerston to urge a de-
cision to the formal recognition, on the part of Sarawak. The
reply was : * It has been referred to the Colonial Office * — pro-
bably a mistake : too evidently it is the Circumlocution Office
and never will get out of itself. I am jolly enough when not
anxious about Sarawak, but it is not great events or great
trials which kill : our nobler nature resists and spurns them.
It is the base wear of petty toil which tells. I rejoice to be

316 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1859.

free till the trumpet of danger rouses me to the rescue of
Sarawak.'*

He took possession of Burrator in August, and October
18th wrote to Mr. Fairbaim —

" Here I am writing, as you ask me to do, from my home,
and able to tell you that I am in health, such as it is, and
spirits I do not allow to be depressed — and both certainly
better than I expected. I really delight in this place, and I
have that sort of feeling which could not belong to any place
but home — the feeling of refuge. I go out shooting, and
constantly potter, gun in hand, killing or missing a stray
rabbit with philosophic indifference. I make small interests,
and I am as happy as I could be — as happy as a man whose
life and its noble objects have been betrayed could be. I am
• relieved from sordid cares. I have a proud and joyous con-
sciousness of having done great good to my people, and I am
ready should misfortune come upon them to share even to the
death. The killing anxieties of position and work beyond
my strength are spared me, and this to my temperament and
weakly state is everything. This is the bright side of the
picture, which certainly predominates. The dark impression
of wrong, falsehood, and betrayal, done to a true people — ^the
perfidy and meanness of my own country — ^the truth and
nobility of a despised race — the doubts of their future fate —
sometimes come over and tear me Uke those demons of
Scripture. Nothing English, as English and national, can
ever claim my fespect; but my friends are my own, inde-
pendent of country, of opinion — -independent of any tie but
affection.

" For the rest, I amuse myself with the tricks of mankind
and the importance attached to worthless things ; with the
contempt of experience for the hypocrisy of religion, freedom,
and virtue, which reigns in conventional forms. Yet I acknow-
ledge and I reverence the true-heartedness, the kindness, and
the generosity of men in the domestic and social relations.
Whatever is public is false, mean, and^ corrupt. What is
private is true, or truer, and kindly. Why is it, then, my dear

1869.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 317

Fairbairn, that the virtues of private life cannot penetrate the
region of pubhc affairs ? Is it that in civilized life the struggle
for personal and family advancement is intense enough to
vitiate the better feeUngs, to pervert the mind, and to poison
the motives of men ? "

Everybody was made welcome to the new home, and in
October Mrs. Nicholetts was there with her husband, recently
arrived from India. The message to him had been, *' I want
to see Gilbert, not in a hasty, hurried English way, but at
leisure. Let us loll by the side of a stream, under the shade
of melancholy boughs, eating sandwiches and drinking ginger-
pop ! ! That*s happiness — a fig for all the rest ! '*

They were to come any day they liked, " for you know
where the heart is open the welcome is ready at all times ; "
but still they had better let him know the exact day, " because
I am housekeeper, and must order nke little delicacies for my
lady.''

In November and December the Eaja was in his old haunts
and with old friends at Bath, going through a course of water,
and able to say of himself, "I am strong now, and my nerves are
firm as my resolves, and my sleep unbroken by events. Time
glides by and life in a quiet round of existence. I only listen
lazily to other people's thunder, and Brooke does the work of
Sarawak, with my help every now and then. I had a vei-y
kind letter from St. John, from Brune : everjiihing retrograd-
ing there — Labuan defunct, English in contempt, Spaniards
advancing. ... St. John writes as follows : * When I heard the
name of Tuan Brooke mentioned with interest by the Dyaks
of the far interior, in spots where even the Malays had never
penetrated, I was struck with the vast influence you exercise
over the native mind, and regretted the neglect which has pre-
vented your being enabled to turn that influence to still greater
good' — a pleasant consciousness to me, broken down and
betrayed — imparting the peace of mind which passeth under-
standing ; but, dear Jack, do you believe in national guilt and
the retribution awaiting it ? The guilt is the same, smother

318 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1859.

it as they may with pomp and parade, and the loudest blast of
self-deifying trumpets.*'

Meanwhile in Sarawak the year had been an anxious one.
Captain Brooke's unexpected departure, after his wife's death,
threw an additional bui'den on his brother and on the slender
staflF of European officers. In the early part of the year
the state of affairs at Muka had again called for active
interference. Makota was dead, " dro^sned, endeavouring to
escape when attacked by some Dyaks rendered desperate by
his iniquities. It must do good," the Eaja continues, " for a
greater villain it would be impossible to conceive, with heart
blacker, head more cunning, and passions more unrestrained.
I say this deliberately of a dead man."

But Brune intrigue and extortion did not die with Makota ;
and Muka, among other hapless rivers, was still the prey of
needy pangerans. Matusen did his best, but was overborne
by Pangeran Nipa. The trade with Sarawak was at a stand-
still, and the Sarawak flag being fired on, Mr. Charles
Johnson went up from Sarawak. On this occasion Sheriff
Messahore met him with many protestations of friendship,
while Pangeran Matusen, thin and haggard, welcomed him
as his deliverer. Much mischief was prevented without a
blow being struck ; the pangeran who had fired on the flag
was fined, and, still more to the purpose, paid the fine.
Matusen departed to Sardwak till better days should dawn ;
the trade was re-opened, and Pangeran Nipa admonished to
let it remain so.

Hardly was this over when a sudden outbreak occurred
at Kanowit, and the Eesidents, Mr. Fox and Mr. Steele, were
murdered in cold blood. Their deaths were promptly and
amply avenged. The rising was local, but there could be no
doubt that intrigue inspired it, and such intrigue was subse-
quently traced to Sheriff Messahore, albeit he now proffered
his assistance in punishing the offenders. The loss of two
European officers acquainted with the language and feelings
of the people was, from the circumstances of the time, a
peculiarly severe one to the Sarawak Government.

1859.] THE RAJA OF SABAwAK. 319

In September, Sarawak Proper was full of sinister
rumours : a general rising and massacre of the Europeans
would, it was asserted, take place, and the most trusty chiefs
advised the habitual wearing of firearms ; but none seemed to
know from what quarter the danger would come. After a
time certain of the rumours were traced to old Gaffur, the
late Datu Patingi, now, by virtue of his pilgrimage, Datu
Hadji. He had returned, and was supposed to be imder the
surveillance of his relations, but these declining all responsi-
bility he was again banished.

This did not, however, go to the root of the matter.
Sheriff Messahore, connected by marriage with Datu Hadji,
was plainly bent on mischief, and it seemed evident that he
was encouraged from Brun6. Almost immediately after the
Hadji's banishment, an impostor, passing himself off as the
Tumangong of Brune, came down the coast. The people were
everywhere deceived, and to Matusen he sent a letter order-
ing him to join at a certain river where he, the Tumangong,
would be awaiting the assembly of a force. This letter
Matusen brought in a state of alarm to Mr. C. Johnson. A
Council of State was called, the matter laid before them, and,
in consequence, a force sent out under Mr. Kobert Hay.
Evading this, the so-called Tumangong passed on into Dutch
territory, where his imposture was discovered and he was
imprisoned.

But the countries through which he had passed were
excited and restless. That the man had been instigated by
Sheriff Messahore was generally suspected, and soon informa-
tion came that the Sheriff himself was approaching Sarawak
in no peaceful guise. He was held to be a descendant
of the Prophet, and to bear a chaimed life ; and there were
few Mahomedans who would do him bodily harm. But that
he was at the bottom of a <5onspiracy to murder all the Euro-
peans was believed by the Sarawak chiefs, and, writes Mr.
Johnson, ** by ones and twos they came to me cautiously and
secretly, and earnestly breathed their anxieties about this
individual, saying, * Do what you think best for the safety of
the country ; we are ready to follow you.' "

320 THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. [1869.

How far they would follow him it was difficult to foretell,
but the risk must be, and was, run. Sheriff Messahore having
a message sent him that if he came to Sarawak he would be
treated as a public enemy, was met advancing, and obliged to
fly from a boat riddled with shot.* When it became known that
he had been fired at, the charm that hung round him seemed
partly broken, and the people on all sides brought in letters,
concealed before from fear. The pretended Turn an gong was
a Dyak slave, and the links of a deep plot came slowly to
light. A pension of three hundred reals for life had been
promised to any one who would take Mr. C. Johnson's head.

Sheriff Messahore was followed up, and his house
burned; but "knocking down," as Mr. Johnson remarks,!
" is easier than building up." " We had been," he continues,
" if facts be told plainly, ever since the shake and shudder
caused by the Chinese insurrection, followed up as it was by
other difficulties, only able to keep our heads on our shoulders,
and drag ourselves through the mire by dint of the hardest
labour and deepest anxieties; sometimes moving forward
after an extra exertion, but to be again nearly overturned
before a few steps had been taken. It was the struggle be-
tween good and evil, free trade and monopoly ; between the
new rule and old misrule ; between order and anarchy. The
people were true, but our means were wasting away in this
struggle with the ill-disposed."

We are able now to understand the anxiety that tore the
Baja, and to imder stand better than was then imderstood
how the continued refusal of all countenance from his own
country cut him to the heart. All who have had to do with
orientals know that prestige is a power that cannot be cal-
culated so great is its effect among people influenced like
children. By issuing the Commission the British Government
struck the severest blow it could legally give at the prestige

* An execution kris that had long been an heirloom in his family was found
in his boat, and sent to the International Exhibition of 1862, where it was
unfortunately lost.

t " Ten Years in Sardwak," by Charles (Johnson) Brooke.

I860.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 321

of Sir James Brooke. The degradation — <5an we call it aught
else ?— was inflicted publicly, and we look in vain for public
acknowledgment of its injustice. It does not appear that the
Sultan of Brune received any intimation that the charges
against the Eaja had not been sustained, and, while petty
rulers were saluted in British ports, the Kaja of Sarawak
(unless Admiral Keppel happened to be on the spot) came and
went unnoticed.

In March, 1860, utterly despairing of help from England,
and seeing his work perishing, as he thought, before his eyes,
the Eaja asked protection from the Emperor of the French.
The consequence was an outcry from many. He speaks for
himself in a letter to Mr. Fairbaim : —

''Burrator, April 6, 1860. — Truly delighted was I to see
your handwriting. Sarawak is ruined; that is all! The
immediate danger of massacre is over, but unless strengthened
and confidence restored the Government cannot stand. We,
i.e., my nephew (Captain Brooke) and myself, have applied
to England and Holland for aid, last to France — but that is
over too, for political affairs would not warrant me in nego-
tiating further. In a short time I must decide upon going
out, or strengthen Brooke's Government so as to let him
carry it forward with a prospect of success. Of course there
will be a popular outcry, and many will fall away from me ;
but I am right and performing a duty which my country
encouraged me to imdertake. They talk of the Memorial
being shaky. However, dear Fairbaim, let it be as it may,
I have a constant mind, firm in doing what I am bound to
do; and the endeavour to save Sarawak is not an injury to
England. The strong trample on the weak, and the wolf
complains of the lamb down stream stirring up his water.
The dog in the manger is another apposite fable."

Happily among his friends there was one who, instead of
offering reproaches, quietly placed at his disposal the pur-
chase-money of a small steamer, and in June the Baja went
to Glasgow for the purpose of selecting one.

*'I have foxmd a suitable ateamer/* he writes to Mr.

VOL. n. Y

322 THE RAJA OF SAKAwAK. [1860.

Templar, ''and have named her Rainbow, the emblem of
hope. So soon as I can put her outfit in train I shall come
to London, and must have good legal advice upon the position
of a man-of-war under Sarawak colours. We have plenty
already, but it is best to feel the ground on which we stand
with this accession of power."

June 23rd, he writes of trying the new vessel at Glasgow.
All being successful, she was sent out to Sarawak in August,
and never was rainbow after storm so welcome. Captain
Brooke had returned to his post early in the year, reaching
Sarawak just after the temporary defeat of Sheriff Messahore.
The worst of the troubles seemed over, but the Sarebus tribes
were breaking out, the Kayans in disorder, and intrigue,
originating in Brune, prevailing.

No one who knew the Raja would believe that he could
keep away from Sarawak when she was in danger. His great
desire and his full intention was to leave the Government in
Captain Brooke^s hands, but the mention in letters of this
intention is habitually qualified by '*in time of trouble I
should be there,'' or some expression to show that so long as
life lasted his connection with Sarawak would also last. In
a letter to Mr. Templer, dated Torquay, April 21, 1860, he is
explicit on this point. " There is a disposition," he says,
**on the part of the British Ministers to support Sarawak
somehow. Lord Palmerston has had the papers I sent you,
and it has exerted a beneficent influence. Brooke therefore
will have a fair trial, and* if he rules for the good of his people
and makes their welfare his first object he may succeed. My
heart and my life belong to Sarawak whenever called for, and
for this reason I could not say I had * finally ' surrendered
Sarawak. * Permanently ' and * finally ' are not words for
human affairs more than ' for ever and ever.' "

But he was slow to go out this year, from a reason
expressed to Mrs. Johnson, in a letter of May 19th. After
telling her his last news, and his cause for hope that the
worst was over, he says —

'* The only thing, dearest, is that I believe I must go out.

18C0.] THE RAJA OF SAUAWAK. 323

I am sorry for it — not for myself so much, but for Brooke, who
would have done better seated in power without my presence.
However, he writes that he cannot support me in England,
and, as he adds that my presence will be invaluable, I shall
go — shortly, I hope, to return.**

By a later letter we find he wrote to Captain Brooke to
say he would go out if really wanted. ** If I come,** he says
to his nephew Charles, '* Sarawak must not drift to ruin.
Courage, courage ! — let us only love each other, and strive for
Sarawak, and Sarawak alone, and all will be well.**

As the year went on there could be no doubt of his
presence being necessary, and he sailed in November, ac-
companied by his youngest nephew, Mr. Stuart Johnson ; by
Mr. William F. B. Paul,* younger son of his old friend Mrs.
Paul, who left Eton to accompany the Eaja; and by Mr.
Spenser St. John. From Malta he wrote to Mrs. Johnson —

*' November 29th. — We are well, and enjoying the most
delicious weather and smooth sea, after a tossing of four days
in the Bay. We do nothing except eat, drink, sleep, lounge in
the open air, and read a novel, or play chess as a great
exertion. We think nothing of the work before us, and this
time next year I hope to be starting on my homeward voyage.
I certainly benefit by the change so far, but I know the anxiety
and exertion of active life would soon destroy me. Peace —
peace — peace — is. all my feeling and wish.**

His special reason for going is detailed in a letter to Mrs.
Nicholetts —

''Aden, December 12th, — My thoughts are with you, my
child, and the time when, three years ago, we were passing
this place. Your society was then and afterwards a great
solace to me, and I wish, indeed, there was a prospect of our
meeting again, whether in Sarawak or in England. I know,
however, your happiness and your duty are aUke in India.

''My departure at last was sudden, and came about as
follows : — One of the principal conspirators to murder all the
Europeans; and the actual murderer of Fox and Steele,

* Now Assistant Besident at Ferak.

324 THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. [1860.

fled to Brune, and there met Mr. Edwardes, the Governor
of Labuan, Acting-Consul-General during the absence of
St. John. • . • Mr. Edwardes, having applied for and
obtained the steamer Victoria, of the Indian navy, went to
Muka, where Brooke was carrying on operations against a
gang of desperadoes belonging to the conspirator and murderer
Sheriff Messahore.

" To make a long story short, he threatened to fire upon
the Sarawak force if they did not desist from the attack upon
the stockade, which was within the Sultan's territory. Brooke
did retire rather than risk a collision with the boats of the
steamer, and the case came home for decision. In conse-
quence, St. John returns to his post, authorized to convey to
the Sarawak Government the disavowal and disapproval of
Mr. Edwardes' proceedings, and the resolve of the British
Government to decline all interference between Sarawak and
Brune. What happens afterwards you shall know hereafter,
but we have enough to do during the year I am to stay in the
East.

"Stuart and Willie Paul accompany me to Sarawak to
enter the service. I trust Stuart may hke it enough to remain,
for he is a good fellow. I left the dear party all well at
Lackington. Brooke may run home to be married now;
afterwards Charley should have a change."

The public work of this year (1860) has been given first, and
we will glance back at the private life. In February the Raja
was at Torquay, deeply interested in the then recent discovery
of fossil remains in Brixham Cave. He describes these to
Mr. Templer, and later, in answer apparently to some doubt
expressed, says, **The thigh bone of the fossil man found with
the flint knives you may rely on as a fact. I was reading an
admirable sermon by Myers, preached before the University
of Cambridge in 1846, on the like discoveries. Nothing that
is true can be opposed to God's truth."

In March he was again, at Burrator, growing wise "in the
high and mighty matters of manure and crops. For two
days I have been hard at work cleaning my trees, and this

I860.] THE RAJA OP SARIwAK. 325

gentle scraping keeps me in the open air without too much
exercise." This letter, which is to Mrs. Nicholetts, continues —
*' Tell Gilbert I am reading Baden Powell's book. There is
a mass of information, but the point did not need such
elaboration. I suppose, as he says, it is to show the distinc-
tion between ' supernatm-al truths ' of the spiritual world, and
alleged supernatural events in the material. Without pre-
judging, I should think he is bound to show what and where
is the world of spirits, and the truths belonging thereto.
However, any way, it is a great step to have a Churchman
writing such a book without fire, faggots, or penalties lay or
ecclesiastical."

He did more at Burrator than care for his trees. He
became churchwarden — his name as such is on a brass plate
in Sheepstor church — and he met the farmers afterwards at
their Easter Vestry dinner, held in a small cottage, whose
walls were pasted over with newspaper illustrations. His
kindly speech afterwards is well remembered in its general
purpose, and that he proposed the Queen's health, a thing
never before done within the memory of Sheepstor people.
The church being almost a ruin, he set himself to raise
money to restore it, and whilst at Glasgow, choosing the
steamer, sent Mr. Templer a paper on the subject. In a
previous letter he had said that he did not take interest in
things now. ** I enclose you a paper, the object of which you
may, perhaps, be able to further. The rate of the whole
parish is only £13 10s. per annmn, and the church will tumble
down if we cannot succeed in raising funds. I do take an
interest in this, for Burrator is the home where I enjoy peace
and quiet, and a man is bound to do all the good he can, in
a little as in a great sphere. I have chosen a spot for my
remains to lie in Sheepstor churchyard. ' It wiU be so jolly ! '
and you and Hannah must visit me on a fine day ! "

326 TIIE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [I860.

CHAPTER JCXIX.
1860—1863.

The interference at Mnka of Mr. Edwardes, Governor of
Labuan, and at the time Acting-Consul-General in Borneo,
occurred in August, 1860, when the Sarawak force, under
Captain Brooke, was summarily checked in its pursuit of
Sheriff Messahore. Mr. Edwardes' action appears to have
sprung from an idea that the rights of the Sultan of Brune,
the ally of Great Britain, were being infringed by British
subjects.

That the Sultan, whatever his temporary feeling might be,
had empowered Sir James Brooke to interfere in the affairs
of Muka ; that Sheriff Messahore was the continual disturber
of the peace of Sarawak, the instigator of the murder of two
Enghshmen, and the mainspring of a conspiracy to murder
many more, was a side of the question apjjarently not so
obvious to Mr. Edwardes.

On his arrival in the Victoria steamer both parties were
ordered to cease firing, and Captain Brooke, on his allegiance
as a British subject, to withdraw. Under protest, and with
an intimation that the matter would be referred home, the
Sarawak force retired, followed by boat-loads of the more
peaceable inhabitants, who entreated not to be left to Sheriff
Messahore's revenge. The remainder continued to fire as
before the Governor's order was received, asserting the while
that they were ready to fight Sarawak, France, England, or
Holland, being quite independent of all these countries.

1861.] THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. 327

After this, a new fort was built at Kanowit by the people
themselves, and Mr. J. B. Cruickshank took charge of what
had become more than ever an important post, for the country
around was in a state of excitement and dread. The whole
population on the Rejang migrated to Sibuyau, near the
mouth of the Batang Lupar, to be nearer Sarawak. Small
head-hunting parties ventured out along the coast, the trade
between Sarawak and Muka was again stopped and in the
Rejang district also almost suspended, while everywhere the
names of Sheriff Messahore and the Governor of Labuan
were coupled together by all who wished to raise disaffection
to the Sarawak rule.

This was the state of affairs that called for the Raja's pre-
sence. While detained at Singapore in January, 1861, waiting
for the Rainhow, he wrote to Mr. Fairbaim — " Our diflBculties
have been aggravated by England ; however, it is not worth
the thought, and but an additional link in the chain woven
for ten years past. I shall make or mar before I leave the
country. This is but a dull letter from a dull person in a
dull place. I live most quietly and contentedly, with an
internal storm, invisible as magnetic agency, going on. I see
my way, however, clearly, and judge matters on the spot
better than at a distance."

The Rainbow arrived on February 6th, and on the 13th the
Raja was at Kuching, writing his plan of operations to his
nephew Charles : —

" It will require some time for me to pick up the different
links of business and association, but I understand the Muka
affair, and the trade must be opened. I have written to St.
John, to say I will be with him (at Brune) next month, and
limit my negotiation to the single question — Does Brune
support Sheriff Messahore at Muka? If the reply be a
negative, then they will order him with his followers to Brun6,
and declare him a traitor in case of disobedience. Other
matters may be discussed in a friendly spirit afterwards, but
we must have free trade guaranteed by a good Government.
St. John has written to the Council of Sarawak, that the

328 THE BAJA OF SABAwAE. [1B6I.

British Government totally diaapproTe of Mr. Edwardes' acts.
Stuart will be well with yon when he knows a little of the
laiiguage. Put responsibility on him, and teach him to be
gentle and to sympathise with the inhabitants. Write me
about oU that is going on. We must take Sadok this year."
On 5th May he wrote to detail his negotiations at Brnne :
" The Sultan and Wuzeers received me warmly, and the
good understanding between the countries was re-established
by their addressing a chop to Dipa, Kahar, and all the people
at Muka. I send a copy of this letter for your information, to
be made known to all your people, as having legitimacy as
well as right upon our side will produce a good effect. The
Sultan was anxious to place Muka and the intermediate places
under my rule, but I waived the consideration until hostihties
were over. I am then to go again to Brune for the purpose.

" The Sultan sent Hadji Ahdulraman as his Surohan," and
whilst at anchor off Oya, the principal people of the place
came off to see me. The chops were read and my views
explained, Hadji Abdulraman brought a private letter and
message from the Sultan, pressing Dipa not to fight, and
Pangeran Kahar's father was urgent with him to the same
effect.

" St. John accompanied me, and has now gone on to
Singapore, to get a man-of-war, from which to deliver the
Titah f of the Brune rajas, which orders Sheriff MesBahore to
leave Muka, and they will not have him to the northward at
any price. In carrying out this policy I have offered
Messahore his life upon condition of banishment to Palem-
hang or Tringanu; and to remove distrust, his brother
Sheriff Bajang will go to Muka in a few days to explain
matters, and to give Messahore the guarantee of the British
Consul -General for the fulfilment of the terms. It will be
mercy and wisdom not to attack Muka, and the settlement of
the question amicably will be pleasing to Brune and to
England.

" The subsequent measures at Muka shall be ' thorough,'
and I wish you would think who we can find to place in the

* AmbnaEBdor or antborized agent. f Roj'bI order.

1861.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 329

Government. This puzzles me, for success will depend upon
a good man being at the head of affair s.* There ought to be
considerable property in Sago Forest pertaining to the Govern-
ment, besides the means of taxation. We will catch our bii'd
before we calculate his value. These proceedings will shake
the enemy, and may result in a quiet end; but, though we may
have peace, we must act as though war was certain."

To Mr. Fairbairn he wrote, May 28th —

"I am involved in preparations, for our campaign against
Muka, and you, I know, will have httle spare time for anything
excepting your gigantic Exhibition, and the heavy responsibility
it must entail. You will be in your element amid works of
art, samples of science and philosophy; and although I have
my own peculiar bui'dens, it makes me ill, the mere idea of
bearing or doing what you have voluntarily imdertaken.t

** Our afifairs here progress as I intended when I left
England. We have made up matters in Brune, and if our
Muka foes fly or fight it will be all the same.

*' I am convinced morally, though without actual proof,
that the Sultan and his ministers were cognizant of the plot

to murder the white men Poor fellows ! there is

good amongst much evil. They and their kingdom are fast
going downhill; government there is none — trade is gone —
and oppression produces no returns. I could have prevented
all this, and provided for the leading men by ruUng them with
' a rod of iron and a tongue of oil.' Their real enemies are
those who have left them to rule themselves.

** I think about June 8th we shall be starting for Muka.
The greater part of our armament has arrived, and the
remainder cannot be far oflf.

*' You will be glad to hear our little steamer the Rainbow
is doing her work right well, and is exactly the craft suited to
our work.

'* As to what you say about my being Governor of the
Straits, I can only wonder at the idea. I ask for bread for

• Mr. Hay was appointed.

f Mr. Fairbaiiii wa& a Commissioner for the Int<?ruational Exhibition of 1862,

330 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1861.

Sarawak, and I get a stone about my own neck. I live for
this people. What are honours, or station, or emoluments to
me in a foreign country ? The British Government will, I
suppose, in its own good time decide the adminstration for the
future advantage of its own Settlements. Sarawak remains
perfectly quiescent. There is good feeling, a desire to promote
any arrangement which shall combine the security of Sarawak
with the interests of England, and a resolution to waive every
difficulty which may be raised upon the question. But this
does not concern me, excepting so far as it concerns the
people, their welfare and the maintenance of principles which
they appreciate. The evil all along has been from official
reserve, and thence official misconstruction of the simplest
facts. The British Government, however, will not be troubled
again, whether upon past or future grounds. They may act
and be sure of a cordial reception. I am out of the British
fog, and in the full light of a tropical sun."

There are several letters written at this time to Mr. C.
Johnson, too full of local detail to be of general interest. All
are more or less marked by foresight, caution and boldness,
consideration for officers and men, and hearty appreciation of
their work. One contains a special message to Mr. J. B.
Cruickshank, son of the Castle Huntley surgeon. To distin-
guish him from Mr. Arthur C. Crookshank, the Eaja playfully
called him Fitz, and the name was adopted by others.

" I wish you would say publicly to Fitz, or get Brooke to
do it, that I give him great credit for his pluck and prudence,
whilst on so trying and important a post (Kanowit) during a
very critical time. Kanowit is the key of Muka, which cannot
do without the suppUes derived thence.''

A sentence in one letter appears to be in reply to a re-
monstrance on overworking and over-anxiety.

** You must not imagine I vex myself about these matters,
but at this crisis I must assure myself that every precaution
is taken, and measures rendered as complete as possible to
insure success. I am not as good-tempered a man as I used
to be, though I am not less reasonable. I have always been

1861.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 331

known as resolute to do what I think right, and I always
excite myself to the mark, without which a man can never
rejally act well, or carry his fellow men with him. You
* excite ' yourself, my dear Charley, and * work hard ' enough
for six horses, so please don't let the kettle call the pot black."
The success of the proceedings at Muka is detailed to Mr.
Fairbairn : —

*'Jidy 10th, — ^You will have heard of the surrender of
Muka, and may congratulate me on this bloodless victory,
which is as grd,teful to my feelings as an event can be ; for
I knew that a large proportion of the people were well inclined
towards us, and had their chiefs plunged into resistance it
would have been impossible to have separated our friends
from our enemies. Our attack would have overwhelmed the
place. Our first division consisted of the steamer, three
gunboats, and about one hundred and twenty war prahus,
averaging forty men each.

" Our second was composed of two hundred war prahus —
Malay and Dyak — which cleared our communications, and
would afterwards have advanced as required. The presence
of the steamer contributed to the surrender, for the first boat
which came out, under a frivolous pretence — slyly, as they
thought — took her depth in the water, and ha%dng convinced
themselves of her passage into the river, the next day the
chiefs became reasonable and submitted to their fate.

" The chief criminal. Sheriff Messahore, has been
banished, but permitted to take away his property.* He will
never trouble Sarawak more, and I am not lover enough of
bloody justice to begrudge him his life upon this condition.
He deserved death, but he was a murderer for political ends,

• Sheriff Messahore is thus alladod to by Mr. W. H. Read, writing from
Singapore, Jannary 1, 1876: — "Messahore called upon me the moment he heard
of my arrival [here]. He is a fine specimen of a Malay, and most have been a
Hercnles in his time. Talking past events over, he said/ Truly I fought against
the old Raja, but he beat me, he exiled me ; but he was always g^ood and kind
to my family and to my old mother. I was wrong, but it is too late now.*
told him he was going to be in print. * Don't say I am a bad man, Tuan,' he
paid ; ' I thought I was right to fight.* '*

332 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. CI86I-

and had I insisted on the summum jus, it would have been at
the expense of bloodshed and the destruction of the trade we
are anxious to promote.

^* The news of the fall of the place created immense re-
joicing in Sarawak, and already prahus have cleared outward
and inward. I am staying here [Muka] to calm the appre-
hension of the defeated party, to moderate the triumph of the
victors, and to initiate the new order of things.

*' The folks here are good folks, but it will need a river of
pure water to clear out the Augean stable of abuses. Nobody
who is xmacquainted with the East, or Far East, can imagine
the state of society ; but then it speaks well for the peaceful
disposition and industry of the inhabitants that they could
live and work in the midst of abuses which make us cry or
laugh as may be.

"Everybody fines everybody else for offences, real or
imaginary, then the strongest party sells the weakest into
slavery, and thus eight-tenths of the population have become
slaves, though after the event they are little or nothing the
worse. Even families and villages have been sold half a
dozen times, by different people to different people.

*' I can see my way to a better order of things, for which
they will be grateful, and the protection of trade will be a
great advantage to Sarawak and Singapore.

** I shall return to Sarawak about the 25th instant, and
then to Brune, to enter into some arrangement for the future
government of these rivers. Sarawak can manage them ;
Brune cannot. We cannot submit to the loss of trade, and
injurious confusion and intrigue; but then we ought to provide
something for the nominal rulers without injury to the people
or to the efficient means of protection.

*' For twenty years past, to my knowledge, the Sultan has
got no revenue, though the inhabitants have been plundered
by a set of rascals who, by their stupid rapacity, always killed
the goose which laid the golden eggs.

** The fall of Muka, the relaxation of war expenses, the
increased confidence, and the stimulus to ti'ade, will greatly

1861.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 333

strengthen the position of Sarawak, and give her time to act
dehberately. Certainly, she will await with patience the
arrangements of the British Government upon the transfer of
the Straits Settlements to the Colonial Department.

" I, however, agree with your views as explained in the
strip you sent me. Sarawak, outcast and isolated, cannot
stand alone, and it would be a crime to her people to expose
them to the evils of anarchy or unconditional surrender to
Holland.

" No native State does or can stand alone in this part of
the world. The absorption or ruin of Sarawak is merely a
question of time, and the evil of foreign protection or rule
may be lessened, though it cannot be avoided. A gentle,
a fostering, and inexpensive care — trifling but consistent
support and encouragement — were all we sought from England,
If she finally closes the door, may we not, ought we not, to
obtain it from another nation ? The fact of being a British
subject ought not to affect the decision. It ought to make
me careful not to allow English prejudices or associations to
blind me to the truth — namely, that Sarawak may be lost
without a chance of benefiting England.

** How can a man serve his country against her will ? The
fault will not be mine whatever may arrive.

** I rejoice that our improved position gives time for
deliberate consultation with my friends. There is Uttle of
selfish ambition on my part. I have convinced myself of the
right course. I do my work, but wearily and heavily com-
pared to old days, when life was young and hope was gay.
The greatest earthly boon to me would be freedom from care
— a release from the foresight which gives me small power to
avert the evil, the shadow of which falls far before.

** I am living in the enemy's fort — a rude block house,
nearly one hundred feet long and twenty feet off the ground.

**I look forward to my return. I am not fitted for con-
tinued exertion, and always falter after the pressure relaxes.
Still I have no complaint to make yet,

*' P.S. I continue to pity you 1 "

304 THE RAJA. OF SARAWAK. [186L

The second visit to Bnme took place in August, when 110
miles of coast, making in all about 260, were made over to the
Eaja by the Sultan, bringing the boundary line of Sarawak
territory northwards to Tanjong Kadurong.

Here is a later letter to Mr. Fairbaim : —

" September 3, 1861. — I hope to arrive at Southampton
about November 20th, the day we parted there last year.
I have done all I came out to do — 1. Peace with Brune ;
2. The bloodless conquest of Muka; 3. The addition of all
the districts in dispute to the rule of Sarawak.

" I leave Sarawak quiet, prosperous, and improving ;
trade is brisk and men's minds hopeful. You know my fixed
conviction that the Government cannot stand alone, and this
is not shaken by a gleam of sunshine. There is much still to
do, but it is for more vigorous men. I feel that a prolonged
stay might finish me, so I retreat whilst I have yet some
strength left."

Before quitting the country the Eaja discussed with his
two elder nephews the future of Sarawak generally, and in
particular an overture from the Belgian Government.

Mr. Charles Johnson was opposed to any arrangement that
would give a right of interference to a European nation. Of
his brother Captain Brooke's view of the general question it
is difficult to speak. At times he was in accord with the
Baja, and himself planning means to attain their mutual
purpose ; at other times in disaccord. The first appajrent
mention of differences of any kind occurs in a letter of
January 28, 1859, from Sir James Brooke to Mr. Fairbaim.
" The interruptions — few and far between — ^to my calm exist-
ence, have arisen from my being obliged in my corres-
pondence to control the views of my nephew ; but this does
not affect the prosperity of Sarawak or my confidence in him.
When he imderstands he will be all right."

At the time we now speak of — September, 1861 — the limit
to negotiations with Belgium was laid down, and, touching

1861.] THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. 335

any payment that might be received, the Raja wrote to his
nephew on September 5th —

** I have now resolved (for reasons I need not mention) to
limit my share of any arrangement for the future Government
of Sarawak to an annuity, in part repayment of the sum due
to me. Thus the debt owing by the State will be wiped out,
and yau may take the compensation for my rights which you
would inherit; the amount of this compensation must con-
tinue uncertain, but our characters will be judged by our
conduct in this matter. We must endeavour to act for the
pubHc good without an undue care of our personal advantage.''

Eleven days after every matter had been settled, ap-
parently to the entire satisfaction of Captain Brooke, a note,
dated September 16th, reached the Raja from his nephew.

'* My dear Raja,'* it ran, "I shall be very much gratified
if you will publicly instal me as Raja Muda * before you quit
the coimtry. If you will do so it will not only be a pleasing
sign of your confidence in me, but will strengthen my hands
in carrying on the Government; — Yours, etc., J. Brooke
Brooke."

With no suspicion of future misimderstanding the Raja
consented. The chiefs and principal people were assembled
in the Court House, and he spoke to them. He was old, he
said, and his health was broken ; he felt he could not stay
with them longer. He had great confidence in his nephew
Captain Brooke, and he made over the Government to him.
But he himself would come back whenever they wanted him,
and if trouble fell upon the country he would certainly return.
No ofl&cial record was taken of this proceeding, t

* According to Malay cnstom the Raja Mnda is tho heir-apparent. In case
of abdication tho Raja Muda becomes Raja, and the ont-going Raja becomea
Raja Tuah. Tnah means old and Muda young. — Note by Mr. W. H. Read.

f The above account has been supplied from memory by Mr. Arthur Crook-
shank. After it was in print I received from Mr. W. H. Read a cutting from
the Singapore Free Press of September 26, 1861, which contains the following: —
** Sabawak. — The Sarawak steamer RainhoWy Captain Hewat, arrived here on
Monday last, having on board Sir James Brooke, E.C.B., who will proceed to
Europe by next mail steamer. Before leaving Sardwak Sir James assembled

336 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [186L

There was no transfer to the Eaja Muda of the deeds of
cession by which Sarawak was held. The seal of State con-
tinued to bear the inscription ''James Brooke, Rajah, Sarawak."
The prayers in the churches were for "the Eaja of this country,
the Raja Muda, and the rest of his family ; " and, in the
prayer for the Church Militant, ** Thy servant James, the Raja
of this country."

But about two months later. Captain Brooke expressed his
desire to .be addressed not as Raja Muda but as Raja.

Meanwhile the Raja was on his way to England, and from
Galle wrote back to his nephew Charles : —

** October Slst. — I trust my congratulations upon the fall of
Sadok may not prove premature, and that shortly after my
arrival at Burrator I may receive the account from you of the
expedition.

'* I heard from Brooke of his successful and peaceful occu-
pation of Bintulu, and I trust these districts will prove as rich
in minerals as the reports state.

" I look upon the present time as the turning-point of
Sarawak affairs, which have received an impulse from recent
events, to be sustained with gradual progress in well-marked
prosperity, or to collapse into the feebleness of a mere
native Government. The sugar manufacture may materially
assist, for we must have work to attract population, and if
one experiment succeeds many others will follow. A good
copper-mine would solve the difficulty, and place the Govern-
ment in a position of comparative security. Money, money,
is at the root of success, and no Government can be reckoned
safe for a day whose means are inadequate to the wants of the
State. No country can stand still, and our Government must

the Malay and Dyak chiefs under his sway, to the number of some hundreds,
and, after alluding to the long period he had spent in pi*omoting the welfare of
Sarawak, and the state of his health, which required repose, he made over the
government of Sarawak to Captain Brooke as Kaja Muda. He erprcssed his
hope and expectation that the future progress of Sarawak would be peaceful
and prosperous, but said if his presence was again required, from whatever
cause, ho would be ready to come out to Sarawak. The natives were deeply
affected by this address, and many of them testified by tears the sincerity of
their attachment to their white Raja/'

1861.] THE RAJA OF SABAwAK. 337

progress or fail ; and the larger our territory the greater our
responsibility, and the greater the certainty of ruin from
halting. To advance is dangerous, to retrograde impossible,
and to stand still, ruin. This, the turning point, I watch with
interest, and would impress upon you aU the necessity of
exertion to force progress in trade and revenue.

** Our long detention in Singapore was not without its use,
for there now exists a good feeling towards Sarawak, and I
have become a popular man again. The men who would
have hung me eight years ago are now loud in my praise. I,
at all events, have learned the value of popular applause and
the breath of man's favour ; but I have learned, too, the
lesson that men are to be used for our own purposes, and that
their changes are my opportunity. The feather drifting from
Singapore may show indications of change in England, and I
have no passion or prejudice which will hinder my making
an arrangement worthy of Sarawak with the British Govern-
ment. I am a Sarawak man without a feeling for any other
country.

** I am scribbling what is in my head. Our voyage has
hitherto been very agreeable, and we leave this again to-
morrow. I shall be glad to see Burrator, which is my refuge,
and I hope to welcome you there. It is a place you would
enjoy, for you must not expect readily to change the inde-
pendent habits of years for the starch and stiffness of Enghsh
society. I continue well and strong for me, and I look forward
to a return to Sarawak."

The change of feeling at Singapore, mentioned here, was
a natural consequence of the confusion of the anti-Brooke
party from the failure of the Commission, and the continued
devotion of those who were known as Brookites. Amongst
these it was generally thought that the Eaja's work was
done, and that, although he spoke of returning, it was not
likely that he would ever come Eastward again. There was
something, therefore, of the tone of a farewell in this visit
that roused exertion, and a public ball was given in his
honour.

VOL, II. z

338 THE RAJA OF SARIWAIL [1861.

The Free Press published an account of the festivity.
At the supper — purposely arranged to give an opportunity for
toasts — Mr. W. H. Bead occupied the chair. His speech has
the special interest of coming from one to whom every
opportunity had been afforded of reading the Baja's cha-
racter and of testing the nature of his work. " It is unneces-
sary/' Mr. Bead said, after proposing Sir James Brooke's
health, ** to enter into a detailed narrative of the various
circumstances which have marked the chequered existence of
Sir James Brooke since his appearance in these seas twenty-
two years ago, but I wish to commend to your special
notice the courage, perseverance, and patience which have
enabled him to triumph over many and great difl&culties. To
give up all hope of revisiting for years one's native land,
family, and friends, requires self-denial ; whilst to take on
one's self the government of a disorganized country and
dissatisfied people, to create order out of chaos, in the midst
of hostile chiefs, threatening kris and poison, shows a degree
of resolution, self-reliance, and determination to do one's duty
which cannot fail to attract the admiration of all who truly
estimate a noble character. Sir James Brooke saw that a
great good was to be done to an unfortunate people, and that,
as an EngUshman, he could advance his country's interests
and increase its influence; and he sacrificed all — ^living for
years with his life in his hand, energetically striving to accom-
phsh the task before him, and with a success which, although
not so great as some enthusiasts expected, is still wonderful,
considering the serious obstacles he has had to overcome. Not
only has he estabUshed good government, order, and prosperity
in Sarawak and its dependencies, but he has laboured for his
native country; and had the measures which he recommended
been carried out in their integrity, and the example set by Sir
Thomas Cochrane, who approved his poUcy, been followed by
succeeding Admirals, the position of British interests on the
north-west coast of Borneo would have been far different to
what it is now. The whole of that country, from Brune to
Labook Bay, now the repair of the Lanun pirate, would have

1861.] THE RAJA OF SAIlAWAK. 339

been open to our trade, and Labuan would now possess a
valuable commerce. Let us hope that what circumstances
have deferred is not altogether lost sight of, and that ere long
England will resume that position in these seas to which she
has an undoubted right, and which it is the duty of her
Government to maintain.

"If an acquaintance of eighteen years — ^which I am
proud to say has ripened into a friendship — entitles me to
speak with a certain authority, I say that in Sir James Brooke
we know one who during his career in the East has rendered
the character of an English gentleman brilliant and renowned.
He has proved himself to be a gallant soldier, a clement
conqueror, a benign ruler, a steadfast friend. His govern-
ment — patriarchal, mild and just — is peculiarly adapted to the
people who have chosen him for their chief ; and their appre-
ciation of the many benej&ts he has conferred on them is
shown by the affection they have testij&ed for him on so many
occasions. Unfortunately the state of his health obliges him
to leave this vast field of usefulness, and to seek the invigora-
ting breezes of dear Old England, and therefore it is that we
are met together to pledge him God-speed, and to assure him
that our best wishes and hopes attend him. May he long be
spared to his country, his people, and his friends, solaced in
his retirement by the conviction that he has done good in his
generation, and that he has not lived in vain ! **

The Eaja's words in reply were brief. After expressing
his pleasure at the honour done to him, and speaking of the
length of time during which he had been connected with the
Indian Archipelago, he turned to Sarawak. ** My system," he
said, '' has been to associate the natives as much as possible
with Europeans in the government. It is only by superior
moral and intellectual character that Europeans can hope to
maintain their ascendency in these countries. If ever the
natives attain an equality in these respects, the European rule
will cease, and deservedly so. The confidence reposed in
Englishmen by the natives is inspired by the probity with
which our intercourse with them is conducted. Upon this

340 THE RAJA OP SARAWAK. [1861.

principle I have endeavoured to act since first, some twenty
years ago, I went to Sarawak. I believe that there will be a
great extension of the commerce of these islands, and that
from this will result much improvement in the native races,
and an increase in their prosperity.

" I have now to thank you for the warm cordiality with
which you have received me. Whatever differences of
opinion have formerly existed as to my proceedings, are, I feel
sure, removed, and that I am now understood. The remem-
brance of this night will cheer me in my solitude, and
strengthen me in public life if I should again enter that arena,
and I hail it as the omen of brighter prosperity to Sarawak."

Preparations for a final attack on Eentap's stronghold
of Sadok had been begun when the Raja left Sarawak, and
shortly after Mr. C. Johnson led a force of Sarebus, Sakarran,
and Linga men to the attack. With him were Mr. J. B.
Cruickshank, Mr. Watson, and a retired sergeant named Lees.
The nature of the ground has been already described. Ser-
geant Lees had seen bad roads in India and China, but these,
he averred, were only fit for monkeys. Yet over such roads —
or, rather, no roads — up precipices, over ravines, and through
dense jungle, the Dyaks, as lithe as they are strong, carried a
12-pounder howitzer, till they reached the old chiefs eyrie,
3000 feet above sea level.

This done, Kentap*s two chief allies deserted him, and,
joining Mr. C. Johnson, lent their aid in dragging the gun into
a nearer position. They were fined all the same, but gave up
the jars demanded without demur. "Grandfather Rentap"
next sued for terms, but found them too hard — ^twelve rusa
jars (;£120), the demolition of his fort, and removal from
Sadok, was not to be borne — and burning down the house of
one of his faithless friends he remained in his own strong-
hold till it was shot-riddled, and then left the empty shell
and escaped. His name as an enemy henceforth dis-
appears from Sarawak annals. The arms he had taken from
Mr. Brereton and Mr. Lee in 1853 were recovered by his

1862.] THE RAJA OF SAlllWAK. 341

captors, and the eight years of his resistance, then begun,
were brought to a close.

After this, there being no special work on hand, Mr. C.
Johnson lefjk for England with Mr. and Mrs. C. Grant, and was
greeted on the way home by letters from the Eaja. Here is
one: —

^'Buiratar, January 23, 1862. — ^Your long letter from
Sakarran, conveying the welcome intelligence of the fall of
Sadok, set my mind at rest, for, though confident of the result,
the great difficulty of the undertaking, and the chances of war,
caused me some anxiety.

" It is well over, and I congratulate you upon this success,
wliich will lead to the pacification of the Dyaks and the
improved security of Sarawak. You have the warm thanks
of your Eaja and uncle, who only regrets he has no other
reward to bestow but his praise of your ability, zeal, and
prudence.

"I write this upon the chance of its meeting you at Malta.
The chance prevents my writing more. I am established at
Burrator — quiet, mind at rest, and busy with small matters.
I long to welcome you here, and I know you will prefer it to
any other place in England. I hope you will come to England
soon, for you are much wanted, and will be a great comfort to
your dear mother, who is not so well as I could wish.

"We shall soon meet quietly, after the first devouring of
you is over. I want to hear, for Brooke has referred us all
to you upon each and every topic.'*

In a later letter is an injunction —

" Take care of my sword, which I left with Brooke and
which he sent by you. It was given me by a mother as tender
as the world ever saw, and no speck must rest upon its blade."

The first four months of 1862 were passed by the Raja at
Burrator. He describes himself to Mr. Arthur Crookshank as
living ** in a solitude the like of which is not found in Sarawak,
exccj)ting upon Peninjau."

In July there came great news from Sarawak. The Eaja

312 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1862.

Muda in the Rainboio had met, and, after a hard and hazard-
ous fight, destroyed, six prahus of Lannn pirates, rescuing
thereby many miserable captives. The encounter took place
oflf Bintulu, which the pirates found to their cost was no longer
a defenceless coast. Among the captives, who had been bar-
barously treated, were British and Dutch subjects, the former
from Singapore.

" I have not been so sanguine about Sarawak for years,"
the Kaja wrote as he rejoiced in the news — "I shall write
Brooke about building the proposed gun-boat at once, because
it will never do to meet these villains with pulling craft."

Under dates October 9th and 17th, are two letters also to
Mr. C. Johnson, referring to an effort to reduce to order Eum
Nipa, the Kayan chief, which Captain Brooke had proposed,
and which his brother had reasons for being anxious about.

" What you wTite about the attack on Kum Nipa has some
truth in it, but we may trust Brooke to manage it."

** October Ylth. — I wish to hear of this attack being well
over ; but we may rely upon Brooke, for surely he would not
press the expedition if there was any manifest reluctance. If
Kum Nipa flies, our object will be gained ; and if he stands and
gets beaten, so much the better — either way our prestige will
be established, but not to attack would be put down to want of
courage and ability."

Among other letters of this year, the following are the
most characteristic.

To Mr. C. Johnson : —

** I join issue with you on the point that * Gentlemen are
allowed to maintain their private oj)inion in silence.* No
force, short of the witness-box, can make them speak; but
what is right to be done must be asked.

** Avoid discord, but express truth as you know it — ^boldly
and freely; for society at large is benefited by honest men
avowing what they know and what they think. The con-
cealment of truth is a gain to falsehood, and always produces
greater disturbance than a frank expression of opinion.

'* As a general rule, I always speak when called upon,

1862.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 343

without fear of consequences. I speak out the truth for
truth's sake ; and I am convinced where men do this, society
is more wholesome and honest. Of course each man must
judge for himself where prudence ends and moral cowardice
begins; but twenty errors of over-boldness are better than
one of over-timidity, for boldness is always respected in the
long run — timidity, never. I express my own rule of action
in general, and it will only influence you so far as it accords
with your own principles."

" In public matters we have no friends, we acknowledge
no obligations — ^we hang our own father if duty demands !
Let us go straight to the truth, if requisite. Prudence may
dictate reserve upon certain occasions, but a higher wisdom
requires us to serve the cause of truth."

The following, to a cousin, Mrs. Gumming, is without
date, but probably belongs to this year : —

**You must thank Mr. Craigmyle for the cast of Gari-
baldi, which is admirably executed, and which I admire, not
only for the merit of the execution, but as the likeness of a
hero. I guess Mr. Craigmyle presented the medallion to me
from the conviction I could appreciate and sympathise with
the man. Old and broken down as I am, a little temptation
would bring me under Garibaldi's standard — only I have a
work to do which needs me more, and for a people with
fewer friends."

To Sir Henry Keppel : —

^* Torquuy, December 21, 1862. — I was talking of you
to Lady Churston on the day before your letter arrived
here, and intending to write my congratulations upon the
birth of your son. I hope he may grow up to be a joy
to Lady Keppel and yourself. As long as memory holds,
my dear Keppel, you will be in my mind and heart, con-
nected with the past, when Sarawak owed so much to you.
The eddies of the world have drifted us a little apart, but only,
be sure, to bring us together again with another turn. I have
a history since we met, too long to tell ; but I may say that
the passage of time is tending towards a favourable change,

344 THE EA.TA OF SAEIwAK. [1862.

and my shattered health is wonderfully restored. I ride and
shoot a little, and look at the hounds. Come to my poor
cottage whenever you visit the west country ; and, with my
best wishes, say how glad I should be to see Lady Keppel
and the wonderful boy."

The change of Government in 1859 had prevented any
action that Lord Derby might have taken in consequence of
the favourable report of the Hydrographer-General, and the
opinions of the naval officers consulted in regard to Sarawak ;
but the Raja's friends continued their efforts, and shortly
after his return to England from the successful campaign at
Muka, he wrote to Mr. Fairbaim that he ** hoped ere long to
be called to town, in consequence of the measures which
Government now appears willing to institute.'* He continues,
" The less said about it the better till more advanced. It
will indeed crown my labour, and compensate for trials, to
know that Sarawak has a foundation to rest upon."

Li December, 1861, Mr. S. St. John had received in-
structions from Lord Russell to report upon Sarawak with a
view to a possible arrangement with this country ; and later.
Colonel Cavenagh, Governor of the Straits Settlements, was
directed to visit Sarawak for the same purpose. His visit
took place in October, 1862. At that time Captain Brooke
was in a very depressed state, arising probably from ill health
and mental distress combined. He had re-married and again
lost his wife. However this may be, after the Governor's
departure he appears to have become a prey to feelings of
suspicion and distrust of his uncle, beneath the influence of
which, his better judgment overthrown, he allowed himself to
address the Raja with words of fierce reproach and direct
defiance. His letter, dated October 26th, reached England as
the year 1862 closed. Writing to Sir Henry Keppel, nine
months later, the Raja speaks of his nephew's "extraordinary
conduct, which," he continues, " remains as great a mystery
now as it was when it suddenly came upon me. Without a
warning, he announced to me that I had violated his rights,
and that * we must try our relative strength in Sarawak ; '

18C3.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 345

and after three weeks' deliberation he wrote that he would
* run every risk * to put an end to the existing state of affairs ;
and this open rebellion without any reason that I can dis-
cover.*'

Few acquainted with the Eaja could doubt his action.
He left England, accompanied by his nephew Mr. Charles
Johnson, and reached Singapore Febi-uary 22, 1863. Captain
Brooke arrived at the same place two days later, and before
meeting his uncle his resistance gave way. He expressed
regret for his letters, which had been written, he said, under
great irritation, and he asked leave of absence. This was
granted by the Eaja, who undertook to make him an allow-
ance of £500 a year, accompanying the promise by an assur-
ance that he would, after a time, consider his case as favour-
ably as circumstances permitted.

The submission of the Eaja Muda was entire and uncon-
ditional ; and, so parting, he proceeded to England, while the
Eaja went on to Sarawak, where his first step was to convene
the Supreme Council. The letter to Admiral Keppel, already
quoted, continues, ** I left England in a hun*y to know what
was going on here, and I found that, spite of a good deal of
misrepresentation, the chiefs and people, the English officers,
and all classes, were to a man — so to say — devoted to me."

The feeling of the Council appears to have been mingled
surprise, indignation, and regret ; and, moved by the last, a
desire was expressed that, as the Eaja Muda had submitted,
no decided course should be taken, and the matter kei)t
private, in the hope of a better future. To this the Eaja
consented ; and had the offence ended here, all might — and as
it is thought probably would — have been entirely passed over.
But it transpired later that, before leaving Sarawak, Captain
Brooke had addressed the English Government, declaring
himself absolute Eaja of the country, and, as such, protesting
against transfer on the ground of cost, and of much possible
bloodshed from the opposition of the natives.

It appears that advantage had been taken of Colonel
Cavenagh's visit, by some of Sheriff Messahore's old party, to

346 THE BAJA OF SABAwAK. [1863.

spread reports that Great Britain was preparing to take the
country, and that neither the rights nor the religion of the
people would be respected.

It was open to the Eaja Muda at any time to have con-
vened the Council for the discussion of the matter in all its
bearings, and had he seriously believed in their opposition to
such an arrangement as the Baja would alone have sanctioned,
to do so would have been his obvious course. As it was,
professing to inform the British Government of the will of
the people, he discarded the constitutional channel for the
discovery and expression of that will, and acted solely on his
own responsibility. In consequence of this disclosure, the
Council met again on April 25th, when an order was passed,
decreeing that the Baja Muda should forfeit his rank, title,
and privileges, and " absent himself from the territory of
Sarawak for three years," after which time his future posi-
tion would be re-considered, " with a view to the interests of
Sarawak.*'

18C3.3 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 347

CHAPTER XXX.

1868—1868.

The successful encounter of the Rainbow with the Lanun ^^^^*^
pirates had aroused attention at home, and early in April JZ
the Eaja writes from Sarawak of having been out for ten days *^*

in H.M.S. Scout. ** We have a squadron of seven men-of-war ^i^Ji^L^
looking out for pirates. It never rains but it pours.*' ^ '

No pirates could be found. Sarebus and Sakarran were • ^«<^
now the supporters of order, the Lanuns had good reasons J Cit^iJn
for keeping clear of the extended line of coast under the ^
Sarawak rule, and the Balanini and Sulus remained at home.
Both Dutch and Spaniards had been exerting themselves, and
the work taken up by England and then dropped was done by
others.

The expedition against the Kayans referred to as having
been contemplated by the Baja Muda had not taken place.
Its necessity arose &om their constant raids on the tribes
lower down the Eejang, and from their continuing to give
shelter to three of the murderers of Mr. Fox and Mr. Steele.
As aU Sarawak Government expeditions were carried on by
unpaid and unrationed forces, nothing could be done apart
from the good-will of those on whom the labour would fall.
In this case, as the Sakarrans were chiefly interested, their
opinion was asked. They were for setting to work without
delay. ** You see," they said, " we are yet young and strong,
but there is no saying what we may be next year ; and as the

348 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1863.

Kayans have to be attacked, let us do it at once and have
done with it."

A great "balla" therefore, as such expeditions were
called, set forth in May, led by Mr. Charles Johnson, who
had reached Sarawak with the Baja, and accompanied by Mr.
J. B. Cruickshank, Mr. Watson with a contingent from Sare-
bus, Mr. Stuart Johnson, and two other Europeans ; the
provident Abang Aing making request before starting that
he might be supphed with white cloth to perform the last
rites to those who fell.

The Eaja was not equal to the exertion of going. A letter
of June 4th shows his state.

" My dear Charley, — I wish you every success, and al-
though I fear it may be an arduous wild-goose chase, yet the
demonstration will be of service and keep the Kayans in order.
I reckon that the "balla" will have surmounted the first
rapid yesterday. You will advance for a week, which will
bring you to June 10th ; a week for fighting, to the 17th ; and a
week to reach Kanowit again, to the 24th. Then wear your
laurels and hang up your arms * as bruised monuments,' close
the temple of Janus and worship Ceres. I shall rejoice indeed.

'* I have been ailing for some time past, and, although
better, I feel that a change will do me good. I feel more
strongly still that I could not long stand this climate, for
though latterly I have been rather making too free on the
score of my strength, yet I am not fit for the exhaustion of
the mental wear and tear of business which, however light,
requires thought.

** My object now, which I think I can accomplish, is to
restore order, and introduce a system into the different de-
partments of Government, so as to make it over to you in
working condition. In every department I find confusion,
irregularity, and dilapidation. However, we need not trouble
ourselves about what cannot be mended, only I must have
you with me for a month or six weeks before I take my de-
parture for Europe. I shall go to Singapore in the Rainbow ^
meet Captain Osbom and arrange about the Chinese . . .
but do not wish to be away longer than a month.'*

1863.] THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. 349

«

To gain the heart of the Kayan country it was necessary
to ascend the Eejang beyond its third rapids, and to pass
these was a work of great difl&culty and danger. Many boats
were lost, and some of the ''balla'' preferred remaining behind
to attempting them, but the rest pushed on, and, as one of
the Europeans remarked, ** It was worth while coming so far
to see what boats could be made to do.*'

The Kayans ran away on all occasions, leaving their
famiUes behind. Some of the chiefs were, however, com-
municated with, and to Kum Nipa, the principal one, a Sara-
wak flag and a twelve-pounder shot were sent with a message
that he must take hi» choice — the flag would bring him
unharmed to Kanowit, where he was invited to a conference ;
if he did not appear it would be understood that he accepted
the sign of renewed war.

The invaders then retired, and before long were followed to
Kanowit by Kum Nipa, dressed in the Eaja*s discarded Labuan
uniform, and by sixty-nine other Kayan chiefs, all coming
under cover of the flag, to ask for peace. As they brought
with them the heads of two of the murderers (the third had
escaped), no doubj; was entertained of their sincerity, and
a peace was concluded, which left the whole of the Sara-
wak territory without an enemy, and without an intertribal
war.

While this was taking place the Eaja had gone to Singapore
and met Captain Sherard Osborn. The latter was preparing
for his Chinese command, and a i)lan was on foot by which
Chinese rebels were to be transported to Sarawak for convict
labour. The scheme fell through, but the Raja did not allow
the idea to di'op, and somewhat later he arranged with the
Indian Government that fifty convicts. Sepoys and others,
should be transferred from the Andaman Islands. They were
to have been men concerned in the Mutiny, not felons, but
this agreement was disregarded. Such as they were, how-
ever, they took kindly to Sarawak rule, and did their work
well. A few have been pardoned and have returned to India,
but most are still in the coimtry and bear excellent characters.

350 THE RAJA OF SAKAwAK. [1863.

It pleased the Baja that some of his old army should be in
Sarawak, ** such fine fellows as they used to be, and no doubt
still are ! "

Meanwhile, Captain Brooke had reached England, and
there arrived — moved by whatever cause — his submission
ceased; and while at Singapore the Raja received a formal
notice that his nephew would have recourse to English law for
the recovery of his rights.

To appeal to a foreign tribunal upon a question solely
within the jurisdiction of Sarawak was considered treason to
the State, and after the Eaja's return to the country an
Order in Council passed on August 4th, decreeing that
Captain Brooke should forfeit all rights in Sarawak and be
banished from its territory.

Two days later, the political position and futiure prospects
of the country were discussed in Council, when it was decided
that it was expedient Sarawak should be placed under the
protection of a European power, but that no Raja should have
the right to do so against the consent of the chiefs and people.

By the desire of his uncle Mr. Charles Johnson now
assumed the name of Brooke, and as Tuan Muda, an inferior
title to Raja Muda, but one that he preferred, as seeming less
to bar the chance, however remote, of his brother's restora-
tion, was left in charge of the Government ; and in Septem-
ber the Raja bade farewell to the people and the country he
was never to see again.

On October 31st, he wrote back from Singapore : —

"My dearest Charley, — Remember, if your health or
other cause demands my presence, send for me. I gave Datu
Bandar a pearl ring, which, in concert with you, he is to send
me in token of my being wanted.

** The recognition I look upon as nearly gained, and we may
look forward to a Consul being sent. He will probably be a
person agreeable to our Government ; but, at any rate, the
course to be pursued will be the same. Receive him with a
salute of nine gims, and when the British flag is hoisted fire
twenty-one guns, and mark the occasion with every demonstra-

1864] THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. 851

tion of rejoicing — make a festa of it, and explain to all what
it is about. Ever thine, dear friend and nephew, affection-
ately and trustingly — J. Brooke.'*

The Raja*s friends in England had cheered him a few
months before, by leading him to hope that Lord Palmerston
would grant recognition. The prosi^ect is again referred to
in a later letter — " It will be a glorious consummation of my
labours, though only the first instalment of what I work for."

From Singapore he was accompanied home by Mr.
W. H. Bead, and the two friends came through France by
easy stages, the Eaja reaching London in November.

From Burrator (January 12, 1864), he wrote again to his
nephew, the Tuan Muda Charles Brooke : —

**Your letter of November 15th was as welcome as the
news always is of quiet and prosperity in our country, and I
was much gratified by your expressing your opinions and feel-
ings so freely and confidentially. I am sure it will be of use
to us both to consider the present and future position of
affairs, and the line of conduct we ought to pursue for the
good of Sarawak, and thus I answer in explanation what you
have said.

** In the early part of my career I might have moulded the
Government according to i^^y will, and I then gave the people
a free constitution and the rights of free men. I educated
them to it, and taught them the value of such a privilege. I
have never had cause to repent, nor have they ever abused
the freedom they possess, and which I hope they may long
enjoy.

** It is true that, as the founder, the possessor of the deeds
of cession from the former sovereign, and as a public creditor,
I have the power to dismember and so ruin Sardwak ; but
this is so far from my heart that I am striving to maintain
the rights of the people by providing a permanent Govern-
ment after my death.

*^ January 18th. — As I have written a week ago, I seek to
estabhsh a Government which shall give permanency, and

352 THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. [1864

possess the means of progress whilst it maintains the rights
of the people and the administration as it exists at present.

** You are my successor, either directly or indirectly, in
Sardwak, and the inheritor of the chief part of my private
fortune. You will not decline this trust in one way or
another for the good and happiness of our people."

The long-striven-for recognition was really won at last,
and Mr. Eicketts went out this year (1864) the first Consul
to Sarawak.

In a letter to Mr. A. C. Crookshank, the Eaja thus writes
of the appointment : —

" JSat/i, March 7, 1864. — Recognition is now gained. Mr.
Eicketts is the Consul, and he will in a month or two at most
start for Sarawak. You must do your best to make him a
friend, and work kindly and sincerely with him, and carry him
heartily with the Government. Much will depend upon co-
operation, and on either side there is the means to help or
annoy each other. Sarawak has now reached a point whence
she must go forward, or we may give up the hope of her ever
doiag so, and now the first step has been gained we will
mount higher. The protection of England, and, with her
sanction, some arrangement to insure security and permanency
of government upon my death, is the second step. Whether
anything can be done I know not, but that Sardwak without
some support to the Government will be in a difficult and
dangerous situation, we can all see. If I can arrive at the
basis of an arrangement, I shall come out to consider it in
Council ; and I have the satisfaction of knowing that, in the
mean while, the Tuan Muda and yourself, and the chiefs and
officers generally, will place a fair construction upon my acts,
and feel convinced I labour for the pubUc good and the ad-
vancement of the country. Prosperity must be based upon
stability, or it is no better than moonshine upon water. Then
I should come out, but tiU then do not stand still."

The appointment of a Consul, and the degree of recogni-
tion thereby implied, brings the history of the relations between
the English Government and Sir James Brooke practically to

1864.] THE RAJA OP SARAWAK. 353

a close. Some correspondence, however, seems to have taken
place until the death of Lord Palmerston. Writing to Mrs.
Keating [18G6] the Eaja says, '* I have long ceased expecting
anything from the British Grovemment, and wish to bring
the question to a decisive negative, as I am aware that indi-
vidually Ministers speak of Sarawak as being as good as an
EngUsh possession, without need of care on their part. I do
not agree in this opinion, and dislike being a tool."

His last public expression of opinion on the subject,*
appears in his introduction to his nephew Mr. Charles
Brooke's " Ten Years in Sarawak."

Looking back on the past he says here—

" I once had a day-dream of advancing the Malayan race
by enforcing order and establishing self-government among
them ; and I dreamed, too, that my native country would
derive the benefit of position, influence, and commerce, with-
out the responsibilities from which she shrinks. But tho
dream ended with the first waking reality, and I found how
true it is that nations are like men — that the young hope
more than they fear, and that the old fear more than they
hope — ^that England had ceased to be enterprising, and could
not look forward to obtaining great ends by small means per-
Beveringly applied, and that the dependencies are not now
regarded as a field of outlay to yield abundant national
returns, but as a source of wasteful expenditure to be wholly
cut oflf. The cost ultimately may verify an old adage, and
some day England may wake from her dream of disastrous
economy, as I have awakened from my dream of extended
usefulness. I trust the consequences may not be more hurt-
ful to her than they have been to me.

" Since this I have foimd happiness in advancing the
happiness of my people, who, whatever may be their faults,
have been true to me and mine through good report and evil
report, through prosperity and through misfortune. Tho
principle of the Government of Sarawak is to rule for tho
people and with the people, and to teach them the rights of

* Dated Barrator, Jannarj 6, 1866.
VOL. II. 2 A

354 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1864.

free men under the restraints of Government. The majority
in the ' Council ' secures a legal ascendency for native ideas of
what is best for their happiness here and hereafter. The
wisdom of the white man cannot become a hindrance, and
their English ruler must be their friend and guide, or nothing.
The citizen of Sarawak has every privilege enjoyed by the
citizen of England, and far more personal freedom than is
known in a thickly populated country.

*' Sarawak has now been recognized as an independent
State by America, by England, and by Italy ; and, with in-
creasing population, trade, and revenue, she may look forward
to maintain her position and extend her influence still further.
But to secure permanency she needs the protection of an
enlightened nation to sustain her effort of self-government;
and this protection she could repay by equivalent advantages.
Failing this object, the past may become a guide for the
future, and enable Sarawak to stand alone."

The first Consular Beport from Sarawak was a great
pleasure to the Baja.

** Another such," he writes to Mr. Charles Brooke, Novem-
ber 23, 1864, " may probably secure the Protectorate. . . .
Upon the report, in Lord Bussell's handwriting, are the words
' A very full and able report.' It has been thought important
enough to be communicated to the India Office, and probably
wiU be printed. It speaks in high, but just, commendation of
you and of the principles of our rule."

** November 24th. — The increase on the opium farm is the
substantial test of advancing prosperity, and, with the security
and enlarging trade, surpasses my most sanguine expecta-
tions. I am satisfied, and more tlian satisfied^ you unbelieving
Turk ; and though you write that you do not expect I shall be
satisfied, I am purring with contentment, to prove you wrong.

•* That wicked old city Brun6 seems, by Low's account, to
be on its last legs. I wish I was in a position to help Muda
Hassim's family ; but, at any rate, we as yet command the
position by the revenue we pay, and should do our best to
help, and soothe discussions without an active interference."

1866.] THE BAJA OF SARAwAK. 355

The future was brightening now, and although this might
be, as the Eaja wrote, "too late for ambition," it was not too
late for a moderate satisfaction. Every mail brought tidings
of peace, and we gather something of the pressure removed
by a sentence in a letter of September 8th, 1864. " I no
longer," he says, "turn faint and sick at the sight of my
Sarawak letters. I hope — and this is much to say at my time
of life and in my position."

On February 25th, 1866, he wrote to his nephew Charles
from London —

" Your project for a Council in the different provinces I
entirely approve, and leave you to carry out. You may sub-
sequently consider whether upon important occasions it may
be right to form a national body, composed of all the Councils,
to be convened by the Eaja or his representative, to meet at
Sarawak. The Eaja, or his representative, should be president,
and the governors of the provinces the vice-presidents of these
local kunsils [councils], and there should be brief standing
orders limiting their action, so as to prevent their clashing
with the Supreme Council.

"I think it better to postpone regulations concerning
Blaves and slave debtors, at any rate until I return next year ;
and the great question to decide is, whether slavery exists (in
the legal sense) in Sarawak ? You might prepare regulations,
speak to the datus about it, ascertain their feelings, and so
prepare for the measure.

"A record, as you advise, of passing events, change of
laws, new regulations, etc., would be excellent, if well kept ;
but you must bear in mind that the orders in Council are on
record, and serve the purpose as far as they go. My corres-
pondence, rather than the journals, gives the best picture of
my mind and acts, but very desultory and incomplete.

" You would have perceived the importance I attached to
the succession, by my pressing the matter upon you re-
peatedly. Your words now are that you told him (the Bandar)
you were not ambitious on the point, nor should you ask, or
accept, during my life, any proposals concerning the Eaj.

356 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK [1865.

You add, ' Bvi if I was left at your death, by your will, your
successor,' you would feel yourself 'bound to bear the responsibUity
and undertake the trust to the best of your abilities.*

** This plain language gives me the greatest satisfaction,
and upon it you are my successor. You wiU undertake the
trust, and not transfer it under any circumstances. This
matter, then, is finished, and you are my successor, which
affords me the highest gratification and relieves me from a
burden of care and suspense.

" Tell Datu I go further than he does, for I hold that each
Baja of Sarawak, upon his accession, should take a Corona-
tion oath or asseveration, before the people assembled, to
maintain the established Constitution and all and every the
rights of his subjects. This is the usual mode amongst free
nations of binding a ruler, and is better than paper pledges ;
but pledges of any sort are nothing unless the Datus, the
Council, and people are watchful and resolute to maintain
their liberties."

There is nothing more of stirring interest to tell now.
The Eaja's work was well-nigh done, but the hardest task of
life yet remained — ^the bearing with a steady patience a
continually increasing burden of weakness and distress.
The sight or remembrance of courage under a like trial in
others always touched him, and he would speak humbly and
tenderly of endurance that was, he said, a lesson to himself.

Here are two letters, written in bright moods, to his
nephew Charles : —

" June 6, 1865. — I beg to tell you that your fancy about
my being mopish at Burrator is all bosh/ I chose the life after
mature deliberation, and, aware of the drawbacks within and
without, adopted it. There is nothing to regret, for a man
cannot elect to have a home of his own, a pied-a-terre, and
then want what he has not got and can't afford to get. I
resolved to be a country mouse, and can't be a town mouse
as well.

** I hate society, so called, and I suffer from it. I am fond

1866.] THE RAJA OF SARIwAK. 357

of Burrator, and won't let you write me out of it. I am as poor
always as a church mouse and country mouse ought to be,
but when we grow richer, and Sarawak has money to spare,
I will launch forth into the Italian palace, or villa, or cottage
you recommend. I should like to add London chambers, etc.,
to my refuge at Burrator, and to live as a Eaja should live,
clothed in satin raiment and faring sumptuously every day ;
but till we are richer it is well to be content and happy on
what we have*"

" September 8, 1865. — ^Again I am at my own intent, and
enjoying my hberty away from the world and the world's
restraints. This is my Sarawak. I am lord of all I survey,
and I try to make everybody happy. In this, perhaps, consists
the secret of contentment when age is stealing from me the
joys of physical existence.

"I say, however, that, in spite of trials and anxieties,
calumny and misrepresentation, I have been a happy man, and
can pillow my head with the consciousness of a weU-spent life
of sacrifice and devotion to a good cause"

Of the same date (September, 1865) is a letter to Mr. W.
H. Bead, in which the Eaja thus refers to a book that had
been recently published, and which bore on his work in the
East : — " He [the author] carps in a sneaking way whenever
my name is mentioned, and I like, man or dog to attack me
to my face, and not to nibble my heels."

In October, 1864, and again in July, 1865, he was at
Bonchurch with General Le Grand Jacob, to whom the two
following letters were addressed : —

^'Avgiist 29, 1864. — I found your kind letter upon my
return home, and was sorry to hear so poor an account of
your health. • . . For myself, I may say I am fortunate by
comparison. I do not suffer pain ; I am cheerful and able to
enjoy life in its calmer phases. I can ride and walk in mode-
ration, and take pleasure in country pursuits. I have a
cottage in a very wild and retired country^ I hope I have
learned the old old lesson that all is vanity, and, as men go,
I am content — sometimes almost happy, so long as Sardwak

358 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1864.

prospers and progresses. The jformal recognition and ap-
pointment of a Consul has done lis much good, and I still
strive before I go hence to establish the country and Govern-
ment upon a footing to last after me.

" P.S. — My Devonshire is bleak and bracing — sharp as a
knife — close on the moor."

*' November 8, 1864. — Many thanks for your letter, but I
beg to say you have made a mistake about the length of our
acquaintance. One month in Sarawak makes one year in
India, and one year in India makes ten years in England,
and so I have known you for ten years by Troy weight!
Besides this, I am conscious of having been intimate with you
in a pre-existing state this hundred years or more. There
can be no error. I intend, nevertheless, to pay you a longer
visit in the spring. ... As for negroes, I do not place them
high in the scale of creation, but they may be higher, and I
think are clever enough to choose their rulers, if not to rule
themselves ; and these rulers should be bound over to rule on
right principles and with tender discipline. Strictly speaking,
and looking at home, I know no race fit to govern their fellow
men."

Next to Sardwak the subject that most warmly interested
him at this time was the character of the opposition to Bishop
Colenso, and the controversy on the Inspiration of the Bible.
He knew the Bishop personally, and sympathised with him.
Here are parts of letters that show his mind. They were
written to the Rev. George Cox.

" Bath, March 2, 1864. — I shall be happy to subscribe £5
for the Defence Fund (Bishop of Natal). I fight against pre-
secution, knowing that a man may be put to death in ways
more cruel than burning. You must let me know when and
where to pay the money. I am poor, but when richer will
add to my subscription if wanted."

" Burrator, December 81, 1864. — You are quite certain of
my assent to your * Eternal Punishment ; * and I would have
acknowledged it sooner had I not been busy with many dis-
agreeables. To-morrow is New Year Sunday, and I will read

1866.] THE BAJA OF SARAWAK 359

•

it carefully, not doubting that I shall profit by it, for nothing
helps me more than a glimpse of truth shining through the
mijcen of orthodoxy, so called.

" Bath, Fehritary 2, 1866. — The time has arrived for every
honest man to take his side and speak out. What I intend
to do is to attack the Archbishop of Canterbury's letter, in the
Times, or, failing the Times, in the Examiner.

*' 2. I propose taking the opinion of a weighty counsel,
Sir Eobert Phillimore, or Dr. Travers Twiss, or a weightier if
to be found.

** 8. Just before the meeting [of the Society for the Pro-
pagation of the Gospel] I will send a note to the Eev. the
Secretary, stating my objection to their proceeding, briefly
imder two heads, viz., I. As compromising the foreign missions
of the society by giving them a pohtical and party character ;
and, n. That the principles announced are so dangerous and
subversive of authority everywhere, that distrust must be the
consequence.

" This in my character of Euler of Sarawak. I shall come
to town on the 11th, or sooner if you summon me. Do not
hesitate to do so.

^* Bath, February 8, 1866. — Read instructions and letter
to Mr. Booty. Comment freely for his use, and forward
to him speedily two or three passages from the Bishop of
Capetown's writings in defiance of the Queen's authority and
jurisdiction, and of a temporal tribunal. With God's help we
will see justice done. ... I send for your perusal two shght
contributions to the great mass of human intelligence, as I
Uke to pull every question to pieces for my own conviction.
Why not upon this admitted human error in the Bible found
or propose an agreement, or expose a pretence? ... If the
Bible be ' guarded from error,' as the Archbishop affirms,
there can be no human element in it ; it must be infaUible.
But if the human element be admitted, it becomes the duty
of every believer to separate the divine from the human
portion, the true from the false, in the book ; and this is
exactly what the liberal party is trying to do, and what the

3G0 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1864.

orthodox, although conceding the human element, are trying
to prevent.

** The Bishop of London's speech is charitable and kindly,
but deceptive. A contradiction is irreconcilable — an apparent
contradiction may be no contradiction at all. The dispute is
on the positive and irreconcilable contradiction, whilst the
Bishop deals only with the apparent contradiction, and so
misleads on the real question at issue. Time cannot recon-
cile a positive contradiction.

** Now, after all, would it not be wiser for both parties,
admitting as they do the human element, i.e., the erroneous
part, to separate calmly and candidly the true from the false,
the infallible from the faUible in Holy Scripture ?

**The Archbishop, in his late charge, declares that we must
be * prepared to allow the human element * in the Bible, and
if this be admitted what ground is there for further dispute ?
Does the Archbishop not desire to separate the divine from
the human element in the Bible, or does he in reality
uphold the verbal inspiration of Scripture under false pre-
tences ? '*

The discovery of ancient bones continued to interest him,
and he sent many directions on the subject of search to Mr.
Charles Brooke. " We have formed," he wrote May 6, 1864,
** a committee, of which Sir Charles Lyell, the Consul, and
yourself are members, for the examination of the bone caves in
Sarawak. I have pledged myself that the Government shaU
make a preliminary inquiry to discover whether bones exist or
not, and if they do to forward specimens home.** A reward
of one hundred dollars was to be offered for information, ** and
if reported you must send an officer to see, collect them, and
note every particular."

Bones being reported, he wrote later — "You must take
great care of that huge fossil bone and send it home in safe
keeping. Wrap him in cotton and envelop in yellow and
satin, direct him in letters of gold, describe him in illuminated
characters, and search the cave where the precious relic

1866.] THE RAJA OF SARAwAK. 361

was found. He is worth more than the bones of St. Peter
or the teeth of St. Paul. By the bye, are you sure that it is
a fossil ? "

** January 25, 1865. — The fossil bone has reached me, but
broken! Oh, Charley! — does not this interjection convey a
volume of reproaches ? 1 forgive you, and will let you know
what it is decided to be by good authorities.

*^ January 28f/i. — The fossil is pronounced to be a portion
of an elephant's tooth. They are clamorous for more, so please
indulge them shortly.'*

^* November 9th, — It is proposed that a collection of the
productions of Sarawak should be sent home for exhibition in
France, in the spring of 1867. I refer the question to yottr
decision. ... Do not postpone the examination of a good
cavern. Signor Beccari * writes that he would have done it
before but he has not the means. Tou can let him have a
boat, boat's crew, tools, food, and everything necessary for
the exploration; and it would be malu besar (great shame)
to permit a private gentleman to do at his own expense what
the Government is pledged to, to say nothing of the fossils
becoming his property. You do not estimate aright the
importance of attracting the attention of savans, or the evil
consequences of inattention to their wishes, and to the ad-
vancement of science. What am I to answer when they ask
if it has been done ? "

Part of each of these last years was passed by the Raja
at Bath, in the house of Mr. and Mrs. Keating, with whom
so many days in boyhood had been spent, part with Miss
Burdett-Coutts, and part at Brambridge House, near Win-
chester, where Mr. Fairbaim had moved from Northwood,
From this place he wrote to Mr. Templer, October 31,
1866 : " Your Scotch trip was no doubt very agreeable. I
was at the Gordon family mansion with Dr. Cruickshank of
the CaMle Huntley, Harry Wright with us. We were yoimg
then and could enjoy — as we did." The letter concludes with,
'* I am much in my usual state of strong-weakness."

* An Italian gentleman viBitiug Sard^^ak for aciontifio objects.

3G2 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1865.

Happy as he was with these and with many other friends,
he always went back to Barrator with pleasure. In 1865
the Eev. W. Y. Daykin came to live at Sheepstor as
curate-in-charge, and either he or Mrs. Daykin was con-
tinually at Burrator, ready to do anything the Eaja liked —
to read, or to drive him out in his little Norway cart, or to be
with him in his favourite seat by a waterfall in the grounds.
A rustic bench and table were placed in the most picturesque
spot, half way down the fall, and some boughs kept cut to
lot in a distant view, but, apart from this, Nature did all.
Here he would sit for hours.

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Crookshank were often with him for
weeks together. Mrs. Crookshank, looking back to the first
day she saw the Baja, and thinking how at Burrator also the
people clung to him, says — " To his unfailing goodness and
kindness I certainly can testify, from the time I first went out
to Sarawak in 1856 up to the last day I was with him in May,
1868." She goes on to say, ''Even when tried by illness, he
was not like ordinary mortals — the old heroic spirit never
gave in.*'

Among those who were made welcome to Burrator was
the faithful old servant who had nursed Mrs. Brooke through
her last illness — Martha Bennett. She has given up some
much-treasured letters received from the Raja. One is written
from Singapore in 1850 : —

"You know well," he says, "how grateful I am to you
for your kind attention to my mother, and I hope if I can add
anything more to make you comfortable, that you will let me
know." Another bears date February 24th, 1862. A fresh
plan for the old woman's comfort had been arranged by Mrs.
Johnson.

" I am hopeful," runs the letter, " this plan may prove
ultimately for your happiness, and I shall have more chance
of seeing you so near to London. I hope in the summer you
may be able to pay me a visit. I would do my best to make
you snug and comfortable. Let me know when you are going
to moYO; and whether I can be of any use in helping you.

1805.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 363

Believe me, my dear Martha, your sincere old friend — James
Brooke."

His feeling towards his eldest nephew is shown in many
letters. January 12, 1864, he wrote to Admiral Keppel : —

'* I have not a hard or unkind feeling towards my unhappy
nephew, hut I cannot help him without debasing myself. He
has rubbed off the bloom from the tender flower of Trust— and
how replace it ? "

To Mrs. Keating : —

" February 10, 1865. — I received an overture from Brooke
which I thought at first might lead to the renewal of our
family concord, but he has since shifted his position, and it
remains to be seen whether he will change again. You shall
read the correspondence."

" July 22, 1865. — Brooke asked for forgivenesss and has
got it, but for what offence he does not state. It may be for
everything or nothing from the wording of his letter. Time
will show, but as yet there is no renunciation of his pretensions,
or retraction of the accusations against his uncle and Baja."

To Mr. W. H. Read :—

" Septemher 22, 1865. — In the winter he [Captain Brooke}
refused submission to my authority; in the summer he suddenly
asked my pardon and forgiveness, which I gave him, in so far
as his offences were of a personal nature, but I added I could
not save him from the consequences of his own acts."

To Mrs. Keating : —

*^ November 8, 1866. — Brooke having pleaded for pardon
and forgiveness, I wrote him a few lines to assure him I was
not unmindful of the kindlier feelings revived by his letters,
and would try to arrive at an arrangement in accordance with
his wishes.

"This was a week ago to-morrow, but I have as yet
received no reply, and conclude there is a new gust of vacilla-
tion or temper. There is no dealing with such a man."

In another and earlier letter he touches on what has
probably been the chief cause of some misunderstanding in
this matter.

o

G4 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1866.

"There is no uncle or nephew in the case, Z. cannot
separate public from private matters. Until Brooke submits
as a public man he cannot be otherwise considered than an
enemy to the State. I hope you will never believe that I have
harsh or angry feelings towards any."

All references to his nephew in the latest letters are coupled
with expressions of pity. The last to Mrs. Nicholetts, dictated
a few days before his death, begs her to give a full answer
to his anxious questions about her father, mother, and brother.*
'* I cannot write," he concludes with, "for I am not well to-day.
This is but a bit of a letter to be supplemented by-and-by,"

On March 24, 1866, the Eaja wrote to Mr. Charles Brooke:
"A few days ago I had a very kind letter from your
mother informing me of Mr. Nicholetts' death, who was found
peacefully sleeping in the mopiing, but with life departed.
He was a truly good man, and his family will soon hang
tender thoughts aroimd his memory, and feel that he has
died full of years and honours."

In September, 1866, Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Crookshank and
Mr. Stuart Johnson were at Burrator, and later, Mr. Spenser
St. John, who left to spend Christmas with a blind and aged
father. Mr. and Mrs. Daykin were to dine with the Raja on
Christmas Day, and he, wishing, as he once wrote, " that for
the sake of the poor, it could be Christmas all the year
round," was interesting himself as usual in providing special
comforts for his household, and for all within reach, when, on
December 22nd, he became helpless, his right side paralysed.
He could only speak with great difficulty, but there was no

• Anxions to do justice to Captain Brooko in the reference, however brief
tliat my narrative would necessitate to the subject of his unhappy differcncoa
with the Kaja, I applied in various quarters for any explanation made by him,
or which could be advanced on his behalf, but without success. He survived
the Raja by a few months only. His health had manifestly begun to fail in
Sarawak, and acts which it is difficult to consider without perplexity were
p(?rhap8, to a very great extent, due to physical causes. As it is, the many
years during which he was his uncle's right hand, and the noble part he played
in the Kaja's work, will be rouiembcred and bear fruit ; and, for the rest, the
more merciful our judgment the more likely is it to be a just one.

18C7.] THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. 365

loss of consciousness, and his first effort was to make it un-
derstood that he hoped his iUness would cause no difference
to Mr. and Mrs. Daykin's coming to him on Christmas Day.
The former begged to be allowed to recall Mr. St. John.
" No — Christmas time," was the answer. Mr. Daykin wrote,
however, and Mr. St. John returned the day he received
the letter, and did all he could for him for many weeks.

His power of speech was regained, though not entirely;
but he could never write again, and his letters, few and
short from this time, are dictated. They are, neverthe-
less, free from all stiffness, and there is the old ring in them.
Here is one to General Jacob: — *^I am very sorry indeed at
being disappointed by not being able to write to you at
greater length, but so it is ; and, without being worse, I am
forced to stop writing and leave you to write to me. I have a
new physician, who so decrees, and I submit. I hope that
the news of you is good, and thlat we may meet in the summer
time with such partial evil to both as God permits."

To Mr. C. Brooke :—

" October 29, 1867. — How your description of the country
and Matang made my mouth water ! And this I tell you
seriously, dear Charley, that if I have strength and life, I
will endeavour to come out and see you all again. Alto-
gether, I have not been idle during my stay at home. You
heard by last mail of my wretched attack of illness ; it was
much more severe than I anticipated, but it passed away
quickly and left me as good as I was before. I have received
every care and kindness from Bertha, Arthur, and Stuart,
besides the faithful services of servants. Bertha, who is all
kindness, has been my unceasing friend."

His slow progress towards recovery had been retarded by
an attack of illness in September of this year (1867). On
December 24th he wrote again, from Torquay, to Mr. C. Brooke

*' I am mending, and hope to get better, but, oh Charley !
how little it signifies, though how many happy hours have
we passed! Your poor mother is laid up, an invaUd to attend
on your brother, who, as Mary Anna says, will be months

366 THE EAJA OP SARlWAK. [1868.

before he can recover his wonted health. A thousand loves
to aU."

Mrs. Johnson was able to be with him for a little time at
Torquay, and then Mrs. Nicholetts came.

On March 29, 1868, he wrote to Mrs. Littlehales : —

" My dear Nanoy, — You have my best thanks for accept-
ing the present I sent you [a portrait of his old guardian,
Mr. Eegan]. It is a very good likeness, and you are its
proper guardian, and its possession will recall many pleasant
reminiscences of bygone days.

'^ My health is such as to require great care, and forbids
my moving much, but I get a daily drive with my niece Mary
Anna [Nicholetts]. I sometimes manage to see my friends.
Otherwise I am at home and wait the great change.

" My best love to your husband, and to the party at Bath,
particularly the two aged ones [Mr. and Mrs. Keating]. Say
all that is kind."

To Mr. Charles Brooke : —

*'Burrator, April 7, 1868. — Eemember if I die you take
possession of Sarawak, for you are my heir by appointment.

" Be just to our people."

^^ Barrator, June 4, 1868. — Mary Nicholetts paid me a
long visit, and I am now hoping a return. God bless her I
I am not improving so rapidly as I should wish, and, indeed,
must submit to the tedious progress of recovery.

" I have no recollection of the pipe I sent the Bandar,
but remember me most kindly to him. Your visit to the out-
stations interests me greatly, and on the whole terminated
most favourably. Give my best love to all the good folk.

**I have been very busy with Arthur. He is very valuable,
and talks of coming out in October next. I talk of coming
with him if in a fit state. God bless you all ! "

These are the Raja's last words to his people.

On Sunday, June 8th, he walked, with help, to Mr.
Daykin's house. His love of flowers was as true as ever, and
the roses in the little garden called forth his admiration.
The most beautiful were laid on his breast a few days later.

1868.] THE RAJA OF SARIwAK. 367

On Monday the last stroke of paralysis fell on him. He was
in the act of dictating a letter to Mr. Crookshank, but had
not got farther than *'My dear Arthur," when he became
unconscious ; and on Wednesday, June 11th, a few minutes
before seven in the morning, "the great change " came.

Mrs. Johnson and her son Stuart, Mr. Daykin, and Mr.
Arthur Crookshank were with him. The latter, writing on
the following day to Mr. W, H. Read, says — " He never spoke
nor was conscious &om the time of his seizure till his death.
The last four hours was a hard struggle for life, and the most
painful sight; but at the last his face assumed the most
beautiful, calm yet bright, look and snule I ever saw, and
then his spirit fled."

When, a little later, the poor people stole in sorrowfully and
reverently to take their last look, they found that the weary
anxious expression which had touched their hearts the more
because of the smile ever ready to light up the face, had
entirely passed away, and the Baja lay in death as Sarawak
had known him in the full vigour of his manhood.

The burial took place June 17th, one of the most sunny days
of that long summer of 1868. The body was carried by men
who loved it and were proud of their burden; and men,
women, and children mourned as it was laid in the spot in
the churchyard the Eaja had himself chosen, under the great
beech-tree, but not so near as to lose the sun. " Sir James
Brooke, K.C.B., Eaja of Sardwak," the strangely blended
titles, flashed up from the brass on the oaken coflSn.

The bells chimed before the service, instead of tolling. A
message had been misunderstood, but it was a welcome
home ; and they who loved him most could thank God even
in their grief that He had called His servant into rest.

The will of Sir James Brooke bears date April 15, 1867.
By it he bequeathed his Sovereignty of Sarawak to his nephew,

368 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK. [1867.

Charles Johnson Brooke, and his male issue ; failing such, to
his nephew, Stuart Johnson, and liis male issue. In default
of such issue the Raja devised his said Sovereignty, "the
rights, privileges, and power thereto belonging, imto her
Majesty the Queen of England, her heirs and assigns for
ever."

The Baroness Burdett-Coutts and Sir Thomas Fairbaim,
Bart., are trustees for this portion of the will. While drawing
it up the Eaja wrote to Mr. Charles Brooke, telling him of the
first and second provision, and then stopping short with the
words —

" This is the arrangement I have made for the present.
There may be a golden chance of a change for the good of
the peoijle."

APPENDIX.

Notes taken during a visit to Sheepstor in October, 1873, will show the
feeling of those among whom the Baja's last years were spent, and in
whose keeping his body lies. He purchased Burrator in August, 1859,
and died in June, 1868. Of these nine years two (1861 and 1863) were
passed in Sardwak. Of the remainder he was not actually resident more
than about half of each. The hold he gained on the affections of the people
would be remarkable if it did not so harmonize with all his preTious
history.

Monday, October 6, 1873. — With Mrs. Daykin over the moor, to the
warren, to call on Mr. Ware, the " warrener," and his wife. They received
us very kindly, and at Mrs. Daykin's invitation began gladly to speak of
Sir James Brooke. The last time he had come to their house he was on
horseback, Mrs. Ware said ; her son was ill, and he had heard of it, but how
she did not know. He offered her an arm-cbair, or bedstead, or anything
from his house that would be of use or comfort. He always found out
immediately any case of sickness or distress, and there was not a house in
the village he had not visited. Partridge, chicken, any dainty from his
own table, was sent to the sick ones. When he first came the school was
in a bad condition — an inefficient mistress, and a room only. He never
rested till a school was built and a proper mistress obtained.

Here the daughter broke in with a remembrance of his having come
into the school one day, and made fun for the children (she being one) by
holding out both hands and making them guess which one hold something
for them.

" The children all loved him," added her mother ; " and, indeed, every-
body felt happier when they had caught sight of Sir James Brooke in the
day."

At Christmas every one who worked for him came to dinner with their
families, and had presents, and those who could not come had Christmas
fare sent to them, and the children had presents. She could not say who
told him what to give, for there was no lady, and " gentlemen generally
give money only, but he gave both."

VOL. II. 2 B

370 APPENDIX.

The last time she saw him he was very feeble, leaning on Mr. Stuart
Johnson, and when he shook hands with her she fonnd two of his fingers
helpless. " He was a very great loss."

Then, moving into the outer room, we found Mr. Ware, who is church-
warden this year.

" Missed Sir James Brooke ! Ay, indeed, we did. We have had no
gentleman like him ; he was a great loss to all the country."

" Some people said," it was here remarked, " that he was hard, cruel»
and unjust What do you think ? "

" They never could have known him," was the answer. " Why, he was
the dearest, kindest, sweetest old gentleman there ever was." (The words
repeated twice with great earnestness.) " He was so gentle you might tell
him anything."

He made friends with everybody very soon after he came, and dined
with all the farmers at their Easter Vestry dinner. He was made church-
warden, and used to look after the church, and one day he (Ware)
remembered walking with him through the churchyard, and Sir James
pointed to the great beech-tree, and looked up into its branches and said,
" Ware, when I am dead, I should like to be buried by this tree."

" One of the papers did say," broke in Mrs. Ware, " that he ought to
have been buried in Westminster Abbey. And before he died a gentleman
came here about some shooting, and he could not believe Sir James Brooke
was living in this out-of-the-way place, and he said the country ought not
to let him live here, and that they had not done half ^^&^ they ought
for him."

We came away, and Mr. Ware followed some distance to talk a little
more of Sir James. A young man in the Eaja's house had behaved
unfairly about some shooting, and had thrown the blame on Ware. " I
knew Sir James thought I was in the wrong, and so one day when I met
him I told him how it all was." The Baja persuaded the offender to apolo-
gize and shake hands, and the patient gentle way in which he reproved
him, together with his marked desire to do jiistice, " of course I shall never
forget."

October 1th, — Mrs. Daykin took me to see " Mother Jenny," as she likes
to be called — an old woman, once the beauty of the village, while her
husband, '' Father Tom," now dead, was its handsomest man. The kind-
ness of the Baja was a pleasant theme to her. The last time she had seen
him was at Mr. Daykin's the Sunday before he died. " He shook hands
with me and said, * Tm coming up to see you one of these fine days.' "
She was at his burial — all the parish was there. She missed him more
than she could say ; her hope had always been that ho might have outlived
her. She had broken her hip-bone nine years back, and he came up at
once to see her, and every day sent food and wine. She thought he had
really saved her life. " ' How much wine does the doctor say you may
take ? ' he asked me one day. ' I don't know, sir,' I said. ' Well, then,
ask him.' So I did, and he said whenever I felt inclined I might take a

APPENDIX. 371

little. I told Sir James, and he said so I should, and when he sent one
bottle he used to say, ' there's another when that's done '—just in that
way. He gave me that chair " (pointing to an easy one) " to sit in when I
was first able to come downstairs, and I'd rather part with anything but
that. When he was away his secretary would come and ask how I was,
because Sir James wished to know. And when Father Tom was ill he was
so good to him — ^but he was good to everybody."

Leaving Mother Jenny we turned back to the house of Andrews, the
Baja's old gamekeeper. He was out, but his wife was at home. "Sir
James Brooke— ay, indeed, he was a loss! She liked Mr. Tyrrel, the
gentleman that was at Burrator before, and was sorry he was going; but
Mr. Tyrrel — he was an outspoken gentieman— he said, ' What a fuU you
are, Sally ; the gentleman that's coming will do ten times more good in the
place than ever I did.' As soon as Sir James came he went round to every
cottage with Mr. Tyrrel, and then again by himself, and in about ten days
he knew everybody. He made himself our equal, you know — ^I mean he
used to come in so kindly and sit down and talk to us."

We went on now to one of the Baja's favourite walks by the side of the
Zea^, as it is called, the reservoir which has supplied Plymouth with water
since the days of Sir Francis Drake, to whom the town owes its greatest
boon. Ck)ming back we passed " Uncle John," the clerk, and stopped to
talk to him. " Sir James — ^'deed, and he was a loss ! 'twas a sad day for
Sheepstor when he died."

" Did the parish like him ? "

" Ay, there was not a soul in it who did not. Nobody could be his
enemy, he was so filial " (feeling), " so gentle, and so kind."

" Bemember him ! " broke in a woman standing by — " ay, 'twill be long
before his memory dies out here."

'^ I don't know," resumed the old clerk, " as us could do anything more
for him, 'cept it be to put an iron rail round the tomb, and then, you
know, some flowers could be planted round. There's that window— dear !
how the soldiers admired it, and the officers too ! Poor gentleman, he had
a deal of trouble, and it shortened his days, there could be no doubt of
that. 'Twas a wonderful work he had done out in foreign parts, Tve heard
say ; and 'twas but a wild place here for such a gentleman to come and
spend his days."

In the evening old Andrews, farmer, keeper, and head of the church
choir, came in for a talk about the Baja : —

Kind and gentle he was to everybody. He himself had been laid up
for some weeks, and Sir James sent him a dinner every day. " He did not
forget it — not once." He (Andrews) became his keeper very soon after he
bought Burrator. He used to go out shooting at first, but latterly was too
feeble. He was not always well served, for he was too kind and easy, and
folks took advantage of it.

Oci(^eT 9M.— With Mrs. Daykin to Jackman's farm. Found Mrs.
Jackman in, and there was no doubt as to what she thought of Sir James

372 APPENDIX.

Brooke. " He was a gnde mon, and no mistake ! " She showed us a toy
watch he had given her boy when at school. " I wouldn't let my son take
it away with him when he went abroad; and there " (pointing to the fire-
place) " it will hang as long as I live."

There was another farm that we were to have yisited^ but time did not
allow; nor did it signify, for the village had but one voice.

The window allnded to was pnt up in the chnrch by subscription as a
memorial to the Baja, through the exertions of Mr. Daykin. The subject
is " The Exaltation of Joseph in Egypt."

During the autumn manoeuvres on Dartmoor the church had been

filled to overflowing by soldiers, and the Baja's grave visited by thousands.

( 373 )

INDEX.

Abang Pata and his gambling debt to
Nakoda IJrsat, i. 192.

Abeel, the American missionary, i. 28.

Aberdeen, Lord, despatch from Mons.
Dedel, Netherlands minister, on the
Gk>vemment sanction to Raja Brooke,
i. 346 ; his reply thereto, ih. ; from
the same on the cession of Labaan,
i. 347 ; further correspondence, i.
348.

Abong Mia, one of Mada Hassim's
grand council of war, i. 133.

Aborigines* Society, Baja Brooke's
opinion of, ii. 25.

Acheen visited by Baja Brooke and
Captain Seymour, i. 262 ; Raja
Brooke's remarks on the political
state of, ih.

Adams, Mr., of Australia — ^his affidavit
concerning Mr. Miles, ii. 52.

Adelaide, Dowager Queen, i. 359.

Agincourty H.M.S. (Captain Hope John-
stone), leaves Sardwak for Brun^,
i. 326.

Aitken, W., law ag^nt, conducts Baja
Brooke's defence before the Singa.
pore Commission, ii. 155.

Albert, Prince, i. 356, 357.

Alderson, Baron, his speech at the
dinner g^ven to Baja Brooke at the
London Tavern, ii. 53.

Alderson, Mr., visits Baja Brooke, ii.
262.

Ali, Pating^. See Pating^ Ali.

Allen, Dr. H. A., his evidence before
the Singapore Commission, ii. 148.

Andrews, Mr., recollections of Baja
Brooke, ii. 871.

Antimony, the chief resource of Sara-
wak, i. 174.

I

Api and Datu, Points, the RoyaliBt at.
i.96.

Araf uras of New Guinea, i. 70.

Archipelago, remarks on the position
of the, in 1838, i. 72.

Am Matoah, ceremony at the installa-
tion of an, i. 124.

Athenaeum and other clubs enrol Baja
Brooke as member, i. 357.

B.

Bajoos, or sea-gipsies, their character,
i.87.

Balambangan, Sulns attack the fort
of, in 1775, and capture it, i. 370.

Balanini pirates, engagement be-
tween, and the Nemesis, i. 354.

Bandar, Cassim. See Cassim Bandar.
I Bandar, Datu. See Datu Bandar.

Bandar, Sarawak officer of state, i.
187.

Baring, Sir Francis, ii. 14.

Battas of Sumatra, i. 73.

Baudriot, Mons., his evidence before
the Commission, ii. 149.

Baumg^arten, Christian, his evidence
before the Commission, ii. 149.

Beocari, Signer, ii. 361.

Bedford, Duke and Duchess of, i. 357.

Beith, Mr., assistant-surgeon of the
Dido — his skill in the ejcoision of
poisoned woxmds, i. 268.

Belcher, Captain Sir Edward, British
Conmiissioner, arrives at Sar&wak,
i. 249 ; wreck of H.M.S. Samarang in
his command, ih. ; with Baja Brooke
— sails for Brnn^ i 252 ; returns to
Singapore after his inspection of
Brun^, i. 256; joins the seoond
pirate expedition at Patusen, i. 268.

374

INDEX.

Bennett, Martha, ii. 862.
Bethone, Captain, at Sarawak, L 289 ;
visits some Dyak tribes with Baja
Brooke, i. 300; the Raja's opinion
of him as a public servant, tb. ;
leaves Sarawak, i. 302.
Biadmn (a former Dyak chief), spirit-
worship of, i. 106, 111.
Bintang, Island of, i. 82.
Blane, Captain (of H.M.S. Rapid), ii.

180.
Bond, Dr., i. 6.
Bonham, Mr., Governor of Singapore,

i. 93.
Boni, Gnlf, i. 121 ; navigation of the

Bay of, i. 122.
Boni, court etiquette at, i. 124.
Bontbian, a Dutch settlement visited

by James Brooke, i. 118.
Bont6soh, Dain Matara's home, visited

by James Brooke, i. 128.
Borneo, James Brooke starts on his
expedition to, i. 69; prospectus of
the expedition, i. 70 ; Dyaks of, ib. ;
riches of, i. 79; first specimen of
the fauna of, i. 97 ; principal rivers
of, i. 117; Sultan of, i. 138; tyranny
over the Sarawak natives, i. 192;
the British Government decide on
making inquiry into the condition
of Borneo, i. 233; Baja Brooke
appointed Government ag^nt in, i.
281 ; Mr. St. John appointed Consul-
General of, ii. 211.
Borneo Church Mission Fund, i. 859,
360; Bishop of Calcutta's opinion
of the, ii. 46.
Borneo Company, ii. 218 ; complete
formation of, ii. 233 ; head the sub-
scription list for Baja Brooke after
his fire, ii. 246.
Borrow, George, i. 6 ; his visits to the

gipsies, tb.
Bright, Mr. John, ii. 13.
Brereton, Bev. Charles, i. 359.
Brereton, Mr., chosen as ruler over the
Sarebus and Sakarran tribes, i. 378 ;
death of, ii. 161.
British Gk)vernmont. See (Government,

British.
British interests in the Archipelago,

i. 73.
British policy in the Indian Archi-
pelago, L 71.
British squadron ordered to Sumatra,
i. 262; visits Sar&wak after hearing
of the massacre by the Sultan of
Brun^, i. 824; touch at Ambong, i.

832 ; at Tampassuk, %b, ; their cap-
ture of an Ulanun chief and his
crew, i. 333 ; anchor at Malludu Bay,
i. 335 ; return to China, ib,

Brooke, Anna (sister of Baja BrookeX
i. 1.

Brooke, Charles Johnson. See John-
son, Charles.

Brooke, Emma (sister of Raja Brooke,
afterwards Mrs. Johnson), i. 1.

Brooke, Harriet (sister of Raja Brooke),
i.l.

Brooke, Henry (brother of Raja
Brooke), i 1.

Brooke, James (afterwards Sir James
Brooke, Raja of Sarawak) — birth-
place and parents, i. 1; his ances-
tors, ib. ; resides with his g^rand-
mother, i. 8 ; anecdote of his grand-
mother's pudding, i. 4 ; account of
his school life at Mr. Valpy's, id.;
his regard for his school-fellows, i.
6 ; saves the life of a school-fellow
from drowning in the river Wen.
sum, i. 7; not fond of "study,"
ib.; impression left by him on his
school-fellows, i. 8; abrupt termi-
nation of his school life at Norwich,
ib, ; his note to Rev. W. Wyatt in
reference to his leaving school, ib, ;
Mr. Preston's account of it, L 9;
resides with his father at Bath, ih, ;
behaviour to his tutor, ib, ; receives
an ensign's commission in the Bengal
army — ^joins the regiment — as lieu-
tenant ^d Sub-Assistant-Conunis-
sary. General, ib. ; report of the
Grovemor-General of India upon his
military career in India, i. 10 ; drills
a body of native cavalry, ib, ; com-
mands them at Rungpore in war
with Burmah, ib, ; is wounded in a
second action at Rungpore, ib. ; on
furlough — ^his return to Bath — visits
the opera — breaking out of his old
wound, ib,; sets sail in the Cam
Brae and is wrecked, i. 11 ; obtains
further leave of absence, ib.; em-
barks in the Castle Huntley, ib,;
resigns the Company's service, ib. ;
returns to England in the Caetle
Huntley, i. 12; his account of the
voyage, ib, ; his opinion of the in.
habitants of Madras, i. 18 ; of
Penang, its inhabitants, resooroes,
etc., i. 14 ; the settlements of Ma-
lacca, i. 19; his opinion of the inhabi-
tants of Canton in connection with

DIDBX.

375

the East India Company's serrants,
i 22, 28 ; has a severe attack of influ-
enza, i. 25 ; his " madcap" adventure
in Canton at the "Feast of Lanterns,"
i. 26; his friendships made while
journeying home, i. 27; his reading
of the Gospel of St. John, and reflec-
tions thereoD, ih. ; his religious dis-
cussion with Abeel, the missionary,
i. 28; his Bible reading, tb. ;
anchored on the coast of Sumatra,
i&. ; adventure on leaving Sumatitt
to regain the ship, ib. ; his descrip-
tion of St. Helena, i. 30 ; his affection
for his relations, i. 32 ; his remarks
on a visit from Mr. Stonhouse— his
sensitive nature^ i. 33; visits Mr.
Cruickshank in Scotland, i. 34 ;
his political opinions, i. 36; his
"schooner plan" mentioned to Mr.
Cruickshank, i. 87 ; his visit to
Penzance with a sick relative, i. 88 ;
his intention to get into Parlia-
ment, i. 40 ; at nfracombe, ib, ; at
Linton, ib. ; change of his political
opinions, i. 41; his proposal of
farming in New Holland, i. 42; at
Mr. Kennedy's "little box" near
the sea, ib.; his trip with Harry
Wright to Scotland, ib, ; his
opinion of the Dutch, ib.; on Be-
form, i. 43 ; his correspondence
with Mr. Cruickshank concerning
his pamphlet on " The Justification
of our Foreign Policy towards
Holland," and bidding him fare-
well, i. 45 ; his meeting with James
Templer, i. 46; Mr. Eegan Paul's
recollection of his study at Bath,
and his generosity, i. 47; his en-
gagement with the daughter of a
Bath clergyman broken off, ib, ; cor-
respondence with his father con-
cerning the "schooner plan" — ^his
father's opposition and ideas of
" trading," i. 49 ; correspondence
with Mr. Philip Goldney concerning
the "schooner plan," and au ac-
count of his failure in obtaining
employment, i. 51; buys the brig
Findlay, i, 53; his description of
it to his sister, ib,; extracts from
letters to his mother and father
before sailing, i. 54; failure of the
enterprise, ib, ; his quarrel with
Captain Kennedy related in • letter
to Mr. Cruickshank, i. 55 ; his com-
ments on the voyage, i. 66 ; reasons

for the failure of a gentleman
trader, L 57 ; his purchase of the
yaoht Eliza, ib. ; letter to his sister
Mrs. Johnson concerning his father's
illness, 1. 58 ; to Mai*y Anna Johnson
on his intended visit to Lackington,
ib, ; the fortune left him by his
father, i. 60; purchases the yacht
Royaliat, i. 61; a cruise to the
Mediterranean, ib. ; his ride to
Granada, ib. ; his acoount of the
return voyage — in quarantine at
Motherbank, off Byde, i. 63; de.
scription of his Mediterranean
wanderings, i. 64; revival of his
Borneo expedition, i. 65 ; his re-
sidence at Greenwich, i. 66 ; starts
in the Royalist for Borneo, i. 69;
prospectus of the expedition, i.
70; his remarks on the Malayan
nations and governments, i. 70, 71 ;
recommends establishment of a
government at Malludu Bay, i. 76 ;
remarks on the Poi*t Essington
Settlement, i. 77; objects of the
expedition, i. 82 ; his description of
the Royalist and her crew, i. 90 ; of
daily life during the voyage, i. 92 ;
visits Singapore, i. 93 ; visits Muda
Hassim, Baja of Sardwak, i. 94 ; re-
ception of by Sariwak — Malays at
Talang-Talang, i. 97 ; arrives at
mouth of Sarawak Eiver — visited by
a Fangeran from Muda Hassim, i.
98; arrives at Kuching and visits
Muda Hassim, i. 99; is visited on
board by Muda Hassim, i. 101;
visits Muda Mahommed, i. 102;
visited by Pangeran Makota, i.
103 ; by a Dyak of Lundu, i. 105 ;
starts on an expedition to the in-
terior of Sar&wak, i 106; at the
village of Samarahan, i. 107; at
Sibnow, i. 106; expedition up the
river Lundu, i. 109 ; visits Tungong,
i. 110 ; his interview with Muda
Hassim on the subject of trade, L
112; his departure from Sarawak,
i. 113 ; visits Biver Sadong and a
professed pirate chief, ib. ; attacked
by Dyaks, i. 114 ; returns to Kuching
with a wounded Panglima, i. 115 ;
sets sail for Singapore, i. 116 ; his
natural history collection, i. 117;
his expedition to Celebes, i 118;
visits Sapo waterfall, i. 119; at
Bonthian, i. 121 ; his gprammar of
the Wajo language, i. 122 ; epistle

376

INDEX.

to, from Baja of Wajo, i. 128 ; his
insight into the varions native
governments, i. 124 ; visits Doping —
Fenek^ Baj — description of the
Baja, i. 127 ; visits Tesora, Tempo,
and Bont5soh, i. 128 ; returns to
Singapore, i. 129 ; re-visits Bari-
wak, t&. ; receives a present of a
Djak boy, i. 130; visits Mnda
Hassim's head.qaarters at Leda
Tanah, i. 131 ; death of two of his
orew, ib. ; at a conncil of war, i. 133 ;
is offered the government and trade
of Siniawan and Sardwak, i. 137 ;
retnms to the seat of war, i. 138 ;
leads the Dyaks and Malays to
victory, i. 140 ; has a consnltation
with the rebel chief, Sheriff Moksaio
concerning conditions of peace, i
142 ; peace concluded, i. 143 ; pro
posed transference of the govern
ment of Sard wak to him, i. 145
visits a pirate fleet in the Sardwak
river, i. 146 ; visited on board the
Royalist by the pirate chiefs, i. 147 ;
sails for Singapore, i. 149 ; pur-
chases the schooner Swift, ih. ; re-
turns to Sarawak with merchandise,
i. 153 ; hears from Mr. Gill of the
vrreck of the Sultana and detention
of the crew at Borneo, i. 162 ; his
vain attempts to rescue them,
ih, ; threatens to attack Makota,
i. 166; made Baja of Sarawak,
i. 167; Sow Dyaks appeal to him
for help and protection, i. 171 ; de-
scription of the Sardwak revenue,
ih. ; of the Dyak tribes, i. 172 ;
extracts from his paper to be sub-
mitted to the English Grovemment,
i. 176; description of his house
and surroundings, ih.; visited by
chief of the Sampro tribe, i. 181 ;
frames a code of laws for Sarawak,
ih. ; the three principal officers of
state under Muda Hassim join his
government, i. 188 ; is visited by
Sakarran chief, Matahari, i. 189;
his farm, "Santah Cottage," ih.;
holds a conference with the Chinese
upon the gold or antimony ore
monopoly, i. 193 ; his opinion of the
Lundu Dyaks, i. 196 ; his ambition
to be a knight, i. 199; his income
as Baja, i. 201 ; his country seats,
i. 202; the inhabitants of his
palace, i. 203; starts for Talang-
Talang on a raid against the pirates,

i. 206; his conference with the
chiefs of the Singhi tribe, i. 207 ; at
the installation of Steer Baja as
Orang Kaya, i. 208; receives a
deputation of Dyak tribes, L 210 ;
his threatened invasion by Sheriff
Sahib, ih. ; urges the Governor of
Singapore to take steps to bring
the Sultan of Brun^ to his senses,
i. 211 ; starts on a mission to
Brun^ for the release of Euro-
pean crews, ih. ; arrives at Brun^,
i. 316; is visited by Pangerans
from the Sultan of Brune, ih.;
his interview with the Sultan, i. 217 ;
his coronation, L 219; his opinion
of missionaries, i. 224 ; his views ba
to the proper course to be pursued
by the British Government to ob-
tain Borneo, i. 230 ; learns that the
Government decide on making in-
quiry into the condition of Borneo,
i. 233; his speculations as to the
result of such inquiry, ih.; makes
the acquaintance, at Penang, of
Captain the Hon. Henry Koppel,
i. 236; attacked by pirates off the
Island of Sirhassen, i. 237 ; his wel-
come back to Sarawak, ih.; en-
tertains Captain Eeppel, i. 240;
stckrts on an expedition against the
pirates of the Borneo coast, i. 243 ;
success of the expedition, i. 246;
returns to Kuching and his recep-
tion by Muda Hassim, i. 247 ; ac-
companies the British Conmiissioner,
Sir Edward Bolcher, to Brun^, i.
249; his account of the shipwreck
of the Samarangy ih. ; with Sir
Edward Bolcher, sails for Brun^, i.
252 ; his views on Brun^, ih. ; on
the produce of the country, i. 253 ;
his description of Brunc, ih. ; of
his companions, i. 256 ; hears of his
mother's death, i. 260 ; visits Acheen
on board the Wanderer (Captain
Seymour), i. 262; remarks on the
protection of Borneo trade, i. 262 ;
wounded at Murdoo, ih. ; is taken
back to Penang by Captain Sey-
mour, i. 263 ; detained at Singapore,
ih. ; returns to Kuching, ih. ; Ku-
ching threatened by Sheriff Sahib, i.
265; attacks pirates, tb. ; starts with
Captain Keppel, of the Didoy on a
second expedition against pirates,
ih. ; rescues three Dyaks from
drowning, i. 268; returns to Sard.

INDEX.

377

wak, i. 269 ; starts again for Linga —
captures Makota and oaases Sheriff
Sc^b to flee, ih. ; liis Malay speech
at a conference of natives, i. 270;
accompanies Mnda Hassim to Bran^,
i. 271 ; his views on the tardy
action of the Goremment in dealing
with Borneo, ih. ; his sale of Eng-
lish goods, i. 275; introsts his
journals to Captain Keppel, i. 276 ;
is visited by Lingire and other Dyak
pirate chiefs, i. 278 ; his opinion of
the Malay tribes of the interior, i.
279 ; is visited again by Lingire, i.
280 ; is appointed confidential agent
in Borneo of the British Govern-
ment, L 281; visits Mnda Hassim
with the Queen's letter, ih, ; on what
England might and should do for
Borneo, i. 282 ; visits Singapore to
consult Admiral Sir Thomas Coch-
rane, i. 286 ; on tho nnscttled state of
Brun^ and the delays of the British
Government, i. 288; again visits
Singapore, i. 289 ; visits Malacca to
consult Sir Thomas Cochrane, i.
292 ; at a conference with tho Sul-
tan and Sir Thomas, i. 293 ; visits
the Saltan with Mada Hassim, i.
294; account of the attack on
Sheriff Osman, i 295 ; leaves the
fleet for Sarawak in H.M.S.
CruiseTf i. 297 ; calls on his way at
Brune — hears of Usop's attack on
Bran^, and his defeat by Budrudeen,
i. 298 ; arrives at Kuching — visits
some Dyak tribes with Captain
Bcthime and Commander Fanshawo,
i. 300 ; writes a letter of sympathy
to Mr. Tompler upon his mother's
death, i. 302 ; refers to the publica-
tion of his Journal, i. 303 ; sends on
armed force to Sarebus and Sakarran,
i.304; his correspondence with Sheriff
Jaflir and Bandar Cassim threaten- '
ing to attack them, i. 305 ; anecdote
of a crocodile, i. 307 ; Makota visits
him to borrow money, i. 308 ; Orang
Kaya asks his }>ermission to attack
the Undup Dyaks, ih, ; on the cli-
mate of Sarawak, i. 309; to John
Brooke on his approaching visit to
Greece, i. 310; on the sport of
Sarawak, i. 311 ; his opinion of the
Dutch, i. 312 ; of Mr. Wise, i. 313 j
his opposition to Mr. Wise's scheme
for the development of Sarawak, i.
314 ; his own scheme, i. 315 ; his

opinion of London companies in
general, i. 316 ; his new slave law,
i 317; his rules to members of
the Sarilwak Civil Service, ih, ; re-
ceives news of the massacre of Muda
Hassim, Budrudeen, and all who
favoured English alliance, i. 321 ;
writes to Captain Keppel on the un-
settled state of Borneo, i. 322 ; on
the suppression of piracy, L 323 ;
Captain Mundy and the British
squadron come to his assistance, L
324 ; Sir Herbert Maddock's opinion
of, i. 324 ; his account of the Bmn^
massacre, i. 325 ; leaves for Brun^
with the English squadron, L 326 ;
with a staff of English seamen, starts
in pursuit of the Sultan of Brun^, i.
330 ; institutes a provisional govern-
ment for Brun^, i. 331 ; meets Sa
Tabok, tho chief Illanun pirate, i.
334; boards the Iris — visits Am-
bong — receives a letter from the
Orang Kaya of Kimanis — sails for
Kimanis, i. 335 ; attacks Hadji Sa.
man, tb.; is joined by native prahus,
i. 336 ; narrow escape from a shot,
i. 337; boards the Phlegethon for
Brune, i. 337 ; takes charge of Muda
Hassim's family, i. 338 ; has an in.
terview with the Sultan, and forces
him to pay royal honours at the
graves of Muda Hassim and Budru-
deen, i. 339 ; arrives at Singapore
to discuss state of Archipelago with
Admiral Cochrane, i. 342; on the
state of Sarawak in general, ih, ;
on Captain KoppeVs book, i. 844 ;
distrust displayed by the Nether,
lands Government, i. 346 ; the opinion
of her Majesty's Government, i.
349 ; at Fenang, i. 351 ; receives in-
timationof Hadji Saman being taken
prisoner by Sultan of Brun^, ih. ;
leaves for Singapore and prepares
additional articles to the treaty be.
tween the British Government and
Brun^, i. 352; to Mr. Templer on
his proposed visit to England, ih, ; is
conveyed in the Nemesis to Labuan
— visits Brune and obtains tho Sul-
tan's seal to tho treaty, i. 353 ; fight
with Balaninis, ih, ; at Kuching, i.
354; at Singapore — leaves for En-
gland, ih, ; at Ceylon — reaches
Southampton — in London — to his
niec« Mary Johnson, on his visit to
Windsor Castle, i. 355 ; his presen-

378

INDEX,

tation to the Qaeen, L 866 ; made
Knight Commander of the Bath, i.
857 ; obtains the freedom of Uie
City of London, and other distinc-
tions, ib. ; meets old Valpeians at
Mr. John Longe's, i. 858 ; becomes
president of the Yalpeian Club, ih. ;
his portrait by Grant, ib. ; at a meet-
ing, at Hanover Square Booms, of
the Sarawak Chnrch Mission, i. 359 ;
to Captain Mnndy concerning the
Borneo Church Mission, i. 860;
appointed Governor of Labnan and
Consnl-General of Borneo, i. 861;
his departure from England, ih. ;
farewell letter to Mr. Templer
dated Cove of Cork, i. 862 ; to Mrs.
Johnson, on the appointment of her
son as his aide-de-camp, i. 363 ; at
Government House, Singapore, i.
862 ; returns to Sarawak in the
Meander, i. 864; hoists the Sari,
wak flag, ih. ; to Mr. Johnson on his
establishment at Labnan, i. 366 ;
attacked with fever, i. 867; his
objections to the action of the
English Government, i. 368 ; makes
his first visit to Sulu, i. 371 ; after,
wards to Mindanau and back to
Sarawak, ih. ; attacks the Sarebns
tribes, ih. ; to Mr. and Mrs. Nicho-
letts on their residence in India, i.
872 ; to Major Stuart on the drain-
age and climate of Labuan, i. 873 ;
« his second visit to Sulu, ih. ; his
expedition against the Sarebus and
Sakarran pirates described by Mrs.
McDougall, i. 374; the attack, i.
875; returns to Kuching with
women hostages, i. 876; Sarebus
and Sakarran tribes give him their
allegiance, i. 877; erects them a
fort, ih. ; is joined by James Brooke
Cruickshank, i. 878 ; evil effects of
his Labuan fever and ague, ii. 1;
mistrusts Mr. Wise, his agent, ii. 4 ;
to Mr. Drummond concerning the
Eastern Archipelago Company, ii.
6 ; Mr. Wise ceases to be his agent,
ii. 7 ; discussion in the House of
Commons respecting his attacks on
pirates, etc., ii. 10 ; his defenders in
the House, ii. 15 ; from Lord Palmer-
ston approving his conduct, tb. ; to
Mr. Templer on the same subject,
t&. ; to Major Stuart on the sudden
English outcry against him, ii. 18 ;
to Mrs. Nicholetts on his appoint-

ment as envoy to Siam and other
matters, ii. 19 ; to the same, ii. 20 ;
on his mission to Siam, ii. 21 ;
extracts from letters concerning the
attack on and defence of his cha.
racter and policy, ii. 22; on the
late actions at Point Marro and
Kaluka Biver, 24; United States
offer him the same advantages to the
flag of Sar&wak as to their own, iL
81 ; from Lord Palmers ton in reply
to the Baja on the subject, ib. ; is
conveyed from Singapore to Siam
by H.M.S. SphynWf ii. 82 ; remarks
on the mission, ih. ; to Mr. Templer
on the debate on Mr. Hume's mo.
tion, ii. 83 ; to the same on the pub.
lication of his letters to Mr. Wise,
ii. 85; retuims to Sardwak — visits
Quop Biver, ii. 86; attacked
again by fever — decides on visiting
England, ii. 88 ; at Labuan and Sin-
gapore, ih. ; his opposition to Mr.
Woods' appointment in the Sing^.
pore Bankruptcy Court, ii. 89 ; to
Mr. McDougall concerning mission-
aries, and suggesting his being
appointed Bishop of Sarawak,
tb. ; to Mr. Wyatt intimating his
visit to England, ii. 40; to Mrs.
Templer on procuring him a resi-
dence, ii. 41; visits Malta and
Sicily, ih. ; receives information
that Labuan is threatened by the
Sulus — an address from English
and other residents in Java, ih.;
reaches England, ih. ; his thoughts
upon the action of the Grovemment,
ii. 41, 42 ; Mr. Hume moves again
for a Boyal Commission to inquire
into his proceedings at Borneo, ii.
43; rejection of his motion, ih.;
Mr. Woods' address concerning him
laid before the House of Commons,
ii. 44 ; resumed debate upon, ii. 45-
47; from Captain Hastings oon-
cerning the House of Commons'
debate, and the Baja's reply there-
to, -ii. 49; the proposed mission to
Siam, on the death of the king, post-
poned, ii. 50 ; at Lackingtou and in
Scotland, ih. ; Cobden's speech at
Birmingham concerning him, ih.;
his speech at a dinner given by
the London merchants at the London
Tavern, ii. 58 ; gets the charter of
the Eastern Archipelago Company
vacated, ii. 58 ; to Mr. Sydney Her.

INDEX.

379

bert oonceming tbe cHarge brought
forward bj him in the House of
CommonB and the replies thereto, ii.
58-61 ; his interviews with Min-
isters, ii. 61 ; receives informa-
tion from the Government of the
discontinnance of the Governorship
of Labuan, ii. 63; takes connsers
opinion on Mr. Home's pamphlet, ii.
65; his answer to the charges,
ib. ; his interview with Lord Ens-
sell, ii. 66 ; to Mr. John Longe,
concerning the Yalpeian prize, ii.
67; Lord Wodehonse informs him
of the intention of the Government
to institute an Inquiry, ii. 68; his
reply to Lord Wodehouse concerning
it, ii. 68; leaves England again,
ii. 73 ; at Aden with Mr. Nicholetts,
ii. 74 ; his return to Singapore —
receives account of the Sakarran
outbreak, ii. 75; his opposers at
Singapore — the " Brooke " agitation
there, ii. 76 ; to Lord Clarendon
protesting against the Commission
being held there, ii. 77 ; has small-
pox — his attendants, ib, ; his letter
to Mr. Templer after his illness, ii.
81 ; to Archdeacon Coxe on the Com-
mission, ii. 82 ; to Mr. Nicholetts on
the feeling of the Brun^ court to-
wards him, ii. 85; to Mr. Charles
Johnson on the administration of
afiEairs in Linga, ii. 86 ; sends Kum
Nipa his uniform as Governor of
Labuan, ii. 88; takes over the
Djaks from the datus, ib. ; instmo-
tions from Lord Clarendon concern-
ing the Commission of Inquiry, ii.
89 ; resigns his Government ap-
pointments, ii. 99 ; his despatch to
Lord Clarendon commenting on the
Commission instructions, ib, ; upon
the same subject to Mr. Templer,
ii. 101 ; a further despatch on the
subject to Lord Clarendon, with a
list of witnesses requisite for his
justification, ii. 102-105 ; his " Pri-
vate letters" published, ii. 107; to
Mr. Templer upon them, ib, ; to his
nephew concerning Grasin, the Dyak
chief, ii. Ill ; punishes Fating^
Gaffur, ii. 115 ; his remarks on Mr.
Templer's interview with Lord Clar-
endon, ii. 122; attacks Bentap, ii.
126 ; is conveyed by the Lily to Sing-
apore to attend the Inquiry, ii. 128 ;
protests against the Government

instructions oonceming the Inquiry,
ii. 130; presents protest to the
Commissioners, ii. 139; second sit-
ting of the Commission, ii. 141 ;
third, ii. 146; fourth, ii. 152; his
remonstrance with Mr. Prinsep con.
cerning the Inquiry, ii. 154 ; on the
deaths of Mr. Brereton and Major
Stuart, ii. 161 ; his examination be-
fore the Commission, ii. 161 ; his
summary of the Inquiry, ii. 170; his
protest against the secret instruc-
tions to the Commission, ii 171 ;
remarks to Mr. Templer on the
Commission, iL 174-179 ; returns to
Sar&wak on board the Rapid, ii.
180 ; Mr. Wise's Chancery suit
against, ii. 183 ; account of his
arrival at Sarawak, ii. 185; pro-
poses a tax on tobacco, ii. 186 ; to Mr.
Templer on the young men required
for the Sarliwak service, ii. 188, 189;
his cottage at Santubong, ii. 189;
to Mr. Templer as to the legal
opinion to be obtained concerning
his position in Sarawak, ii. 190 ; to
Mrs. Johnson on the death of her
daughter, ii. 191; to Mr. Read re-
garding his (the Baja's) policy, ii.
192 ; to Mr. Templer on the tragedy
at Muka, ii. 193; Matusen's wife
takes refuge with, ii. 194 ; his visit
to Brun^ described to Mr. Templer,
ii. 195; his temporary government
there, ii. 197 ; visits Labuan, ii. 198 ;
returns to Sadiwak, ii. 199 ; his
views of the Crimean war, ii. 202 ;
Miss Martineau's article on him in
the Weatmintter RevieWy ii. 203 ;
Mr. Prinsep' s report on the Inquiry,
ii. 204 ; Mr. Devereux's report, ii.
205 ; Lord Clarendon's despatch
containing opinion of Grovernment
on the Inquiry, ii. 210; appoints a
Council of State, ii. 211; goes to
Singapore in H.M.S. Spartan, ii.
223 ; a fire at his residence, ib. ; hia
correspondence with Mr. Chambers
on *'Kea8on and Conscience," ii.
225-229; to Mr. Templer on the
independence of Sar4wak, iL 229 ;
returns to Sarawak on board the Sir
Jani£9 Brooke, ii. 233 ; to Dr. Edward
Bigby on the Borneo Company,
etc., ib. ; to Charles Brooke on the
Chinese outbreak, ii. 287 ; account of
his escape, ii. 239 ; to Col. Le Grand
Jacob on the Chinese outbreak, ii.

380

INDEX.

243 ; the snbscription raised for
him, ii. 246 ; to Mr. Templer on the
enbjeot, ii. 247; on the Indian
Mutiny, ii: 248; his qualifications
of a governor, ii. 260; to Charles
Johnson concerning the dislodgment
of Bentap, tb. ; his home circle
at Sarawak, ii. 251; administers
justice at Muka, iL 260 ; spends
Christmas, 1857, at Brighton, ii.
263 ; his proposals regarding Saril-
wak for Lord Clarendon, ii. 264;
modification of the same to Lord
Grey, ii. 266 ; his propositions on
the same to Sir E. B. Lytton, ii.
268 ; his speech at a dinner given
in his honour at Manchester, ii.
275 ; at Tilbaster Cottage, Godstone,
ii. 283 ; entertained at Liverpool, ii.
284 ; at Preston meeting in aid of
the Church of England Mission in
Sar&wak, ii. 285 ; struck with para-
lysis, ib, ; to Mr. Templer concern-
ing the proposed deputation to
Government, ii. 288; to Mr. Fair-
bairn on the same, ii. 292 ; the depu-
tation to Lord Derby, ii. 293 ; hia
reply to Lord Derby commenting
upon his speech, ii. 298 ; on the ad-
visability of bringing the question
before Parliament, ii. 300; his re-
marks on formation of the Sarawak
Company, ii. 303; on England's
neutrality during the struggle in
Italy, ii. 309; the public subscrip.
tion raised for, ii. 312; purchases
Burrator, Sheepstor, ii. 313; leaves
England for Sarawak, ii. 323 ; as
churchwarden at Sheepstor, ii. 325 ;
prepares for an attack on Muka,
ii. 331 ; the attack, ih. ; SuUan of
Brun^ makes over more territory, ii.
834; makes Captain Brooke Baja
Muda (heir-apparent), ii. 335; his
speech at the ceremony, ih.; a
ball given in his honour at Sing^.
pore, ii. 337 ; at Burrator again, ii.
341 ; his sympathy with. Garabaldl,
ii. 343 ; leaves ag^in for Sardwak,
ii. 345 ; his farewell to Sarawak, ii.
850 ; to Tuan Muda Charles Brooke
on provincial councils, ii. 355; to
the same upon his succession to the
raj, ii. 356 ; his interest in the
Bishop Colenso controversy, ii. 358 :
on the discovery of bones in the
caves of Sarawak, ii. 360; again
attacked with paralysis, ii. 364 ; his

death and burial, ii. 367 ; his will,
ib. ; recollections of him by the in-
habitants of Sheepstor, ii. 369.

Brooke, Marg^aret (sister of Baja
Brooke, afterwards Mrs. Savage),
i.l.

Brooke, Mrs. (mother of Raja Brooke),
her parentage and marriage, L 2 ;
her portrait by Mrs. Littlehales, ib. ;
by Mr. Eeg^an Paul, i. 3 ; her death,
L 260.

Brooke, Mrs. (grandmother of Baja
Brooke), described by Dr. Thomas
Martin, i. 4.

Brooke, Captain J. Brooke (formerly
John Brooke Johnson), accompanies
his uncle to the Mediterranean,
i. 61 ; joins Baja Brooke Cks his
aide-de-camp, i. 362; arrives at
Sarawak, i. 361; with his brother
and Gasin, attacks Bentap, ii.
Ill ; appointed one of the Sarawak
council of state, ii. 211 ; his mar-
riage, ii. 233 ; his position as ruler
of Sardwak explained by Baja
Brooke, ii. 304 ; death of his
wife and return to England, ii
307; made Baja Muda (heir-ap-
parent), ii. 335; his suspicion and
distrust of his uncle, ii. 344; his
submission — obtains leave of ab-
sence, ii. 345 ; the Sardwak Council
order that he forfeits his rank, title,
etc., ii. 346 ; extracts from corres-
pondence of Baja Brooke in refer-
ence to his conduct, ii. 363.

Brooke, Captain Bobert (grandfather
of Thomas Brooke), i. 2.

Brooke, Thomas (father of Baja
Brooke), i. 1 ; description by Mrs.
Littlehales, i. 2 ; bequest from Mr.
Charles Eegan to, ib. ; hio wife, ib. ;
his objections to his son's ** schooner
plan"— his idea of " trading," i. 49;
his death, i. 58 ; his will, i. 60.

Brooke, Sir James, the first steamer of
the Borneo Company, ii. 233.

Brun^, its resources, i. 220 ; described
by Baja Brooke, i. 255 ; Sultan of.
See Pangeran Abdul Mumim and
Omar Ali.

Budrudeen (brother of Baja Muda
Hassim), makes the acquaintance of
Baja Brooke, at Leda Tanah, i. 138 ;
accompanies Baja Brooke to Brun^,
i. 211 ; leaves Sardwak for Brun^,
i. 217; accompanies the second
expedition after pirates, i. 265 ; as

INDEX.

381

representative of the Sultan, de-
prives Sheriff Jaffer of his govern-
ment, i. 269 ; is attacked by Usop,
and defeats him, i. 297; his gene-
rosity after victoiy, i. 298; captures
and execates Usop, i. 320 ; his
massacre by the Saltan of Bmn^,
i. 321.

Bugis, Malay traders, i. 73, 77;
country of the, 1. 86 ; character of
the, i. 87.

Bnrrator, at Sheepstor, purchased by
Baja Brooke, ii. 314.

C.

Calcutta, knowledge of the English,

and roguery synonymous, i. 13.
Cameron, Mr. J. C, ii. 4.
Canton, treatment of the inhabitants
of, to the East India Company's
servants, i. 22, 23; petition of
Englishmen in, concerning State
matters, &c., i. 25.

Carimon Island, Malacca Straits, i. 20.

0am Brae wrecked with Baja Brooke
on board, i. 11.

Cassim, Bandar, receives a communi-
cation from Baja Brooke concerning
the Sadong trade, i. 305.

Cavenagh, Colonel, visits Sarawak by
order of Government, ii. 344.

Celebes, country of the Bugis, its
picturesque beauty, i. 86 ; James
Brooke's expedition to, i. 118.

Chambers, Rev. W., missionary at Sa-
karran, ii. 36 ; correspondence with
Baja Brooke on " Beason and Con-
science," ii. 22&-229.

Charles II., i 1.

Chinese company of the San Tt Qu, and
their agreement with Muda Hassim
respecting gold or ore, i. 193.

Chinese Kunsi Sinbok introduced to
their new quarters, i. 205.

Chinese outbreak at Sardwak in 1857,
ii. 235; remarks of the Times and
Daily News on the, ii. 246.

Chinese possessions in New Guinea, i.
73.

Chow-Fa-Mungkuk, Prince of Siam, ii.
21.

Church of England Mission in Sara-
wak inaugurated, i 359; meeting
at Preston, ii. 285.

Church, Mr., resident councillor at
Singapore, i. 232.

City of London, freedom of, gfiven to

Baja Brooke, i. 357.
Clarendon, Earl of, sends Sir Charles
Wood instructions concerning the
Baja Brooke Commission of Inquiry,
ii. 89; from Mr. Templer on the
subject, ii. 93 ; per Mr. Addington
in answer to Mr. Templer, ii. 96,
98 ; receives Baja Brooke's resigna-
tion of his Government appoint,
ments, ii. 99 ; a despatch from the
Baja upon the Commission instruc-
tions, ii. 99 ; a further despatch, ii.
102 ; Mr. Templer's interview with,
ii. 116 ; accepts Baja Brooke's
resignation, &c., ii. 211 ; statement
of Baja Brooke's proposals concern'
ing Sarawak, ii. 264.
Coalition Mim'stry under Lord Aber-
deen, ii. 63, 66.
Cobden, Mr., calls attention in the
House to the Borneo massacres, ii.
' 10, 11 ; further remarks in the House
of Commons on the Baja Brooke
Inquiry, ii. 46 ; his speech at Bir-
mingham concerning Baja Brooke,
ii. 50.
Cochrane, Admiral Sir Thomas, sum-
mons Baja Brooke to Malacca, i.
292 ; has a conference with Muda
Hassim, i. 293 ; demands reparation
from the Sultsin and Muda Hassim
for the detention of British subjects,
ib, ; has Pangeran Usop's house
destroyed, i. 2i94; attacks Sheriff
Osman, i. 295 ; lands at Euching —
takes the deposition of Jaffir as to
the massacre of Muda Hassim and
others by the Sultan of Bmn^, i.
325.
Colebrook, Sir T. E., ii. 14.
Collet, Elizabeth (afterwards Mrs.
Bobert Brooke, grandmother of
Thomas Brooke) i. 2.
Collyer, Admiral, sends a fleet to aid
Baja Brooke in his attack on the
Sarebus and Sakarran pirates, i.
374.
Commission of Inquiry into the
charges against Baja Brooke, Lord
Clarendon's instructions to Sir
Charles Wood concerning, ii. 89 ;
the Commissioners appointed, ii.
129 ; Baja Brooke's protest against
the instructions issued by Govern-
ment, ii. 138 ; opened, ii. 139 ;
second sitting, ii 141 ; charge? of
Mr. Wood and Mr. Napier, ii, 148,

382

INDEX.

144; third sitting, Mr. Woods'
appeal, ii. 146; evidence of Dr.
H. A. Allen, ii. 148; of Christian
Banmgarten, ii. 149 ; of Mons. Ban.
driot, ih. j of G. T. Wright, ii. 152 j
of Thomas Tivendale, ii. 153 ; Baja
Brooke's remonstrance against the
course pursued by Mr. PWnsep, ii.
154; Mr. Aitken appears for the
defence, ii. 155; native witnesses,
ii. 156 ; evidence of Datu Gaflfur, ii.
157; merchants of Singapore pre.
sent an address in favour of Baja
Brooke, ii. 158; Raja Brooke's ex.
amination, ii. 161 ; cost of, to the
Crown, ii. 172 ; receives power from
the Privy Council to visit Borneo,
ii. 174 ; closes, ii. 179; reports of
the Commissioners, ii. 204, 205.

Coutts, Baroness Burdett, ii. 368.

" Coxe, Dick " (afterwards Archdeacon
of Lindisfamo), i. 6.

Crawford, Mr., M.P., introduces the
deputation to Government concern,
ing Sarilwak, ii. 293.

Crespigny, Mr. De, ii. 259.

Crick, Kev. T., i. 6.

Crimean war, Baja Brooke's remarks
upon, ii. 202.

" Crociato in Eg^tto," Opera visited by
James Brooke, i. 10.

Crocodile, anecdote of, i. 807.

" Crome, Old," drawing-master at
Norwich School, his rapidity in
drawing, i. 7.

Cromwell, Oliver, i. 1.

Crookshank, Mr. Arthur C, record of
services, i. 311 ; as a sportsman, ib. ;
his appointments in Sarawak, i. 311 ;
superintends the erection of a fort
at Sakarran River, i. 377 ; his skill
and care during Raja Brooke's ill-
ness, ii. 78.

Cruickshank, Mr., surgeon to the
Castle Huntley, with Raja Brooke
at Fenang, i. 16 ; again appointed to
the Castle Huntley ^ i. 40 ; projected
visit to Raja Brooke stopped by the
illness of Mr. Brooke, i. 44.

Cruickshank, Mr. James Brooke, joins
Raja Brooke, i. 378 ; is commanded
by him, ii. 330.

D.

Dain Matara accompanies James
Brooke to Tesora, i. 128 ; his home
at Bontdsoh, tb.

Datu Bandar appointed on the Sar&wak
State Council, ii. 211.

Datu Gaffur, Raja Brooke's chief native
officer, punished for treason^ ii. 115 ;
his pilgrimage to Mecca, iL 116;
his evidence before the Commission,
ii. 157; returns from his pilgrim-
age, ii. 224.

Datu Imaum appointed one of the
SadLwak Council of State, ii. 211.

Datu Naraja, one of Muda Hassim's
Council of War, i. 133.

Datu Tamangong appointed one of
the Sarawak Council of State, iL
211.

Daykin, Rev. W. Y., curate of Sheep-
stor, ii. 362.

Dodel, Mons., Netherlands Minister, to
Earl of Aberdeen upon the Gk>VBm.
ment sanction of Raja Brooke, i.
846 ; the Earl's reply thereto, ih. ;
writes again on cession of Labuan
Island, i. 347 ; further correspond,
ence, i 348 ; on the proposed con.
vention, i. 359.

Deer-hunting at Samarahan, i. 108 ;
at Doping, i. 127.

Deer of Sariwak, i. 311.

Deputation to Government on "the
propriety of retaining the State of
Sarawak under the protection of the
English Government," ii. 293.

Derby, Lord, Premier, 1858, ii. 268 ;
his reply to the deputation to Go-
vemment concerning Sardwak, ii.
295; Raja Brooke's reply to him,
ii. 298.

Devereux, the Hon. Humphrey Bohnn,
appointed Commissioner in the
Brooke Inquiry, ii. 129 ; his report
on the Inquiry, ii. 205, 206.

Diamond Cottage, one of Raja Brooke's
country scats, i. 202.

Diamond works of Santah, i. 205.

Diana steamer, sent to Borneo to
rescue the shipwrecked Europeans,
i. 163 ; visits Sarawak, i. 262.

Dido's pinnace and cutters attacked
by pirates off the Island of Sir-
hasseu) i. 237 ; an*ives at Penang,
i. 263 ; is ordered to China, ih. ;
at Kuching — starts on her second
pirate expedition, i. 265.

Dinner given in honour of Raja Brooke
at the London Tavern by merchants
of London, ii. 53 ; Baron Alder-
son's speech at, ih. ; Raja Brooke's
speech, iL 54; at Manchester, ii.

INDEX.

883

275 ; at Liverpool, ii. 284 ; at Singa-
pore, ii. 337.

Doping, village of, the Baja Lappa
Tongi, i. 127.

Dmmmond, Mr. Honrj, Baja Brooke's
letters to, ii. 6, 65; defends Baja
Brooke in the Honse of Commons, ii.
12 ; again defends Baja Brooke in the
House of Commons, and describes
Mr. W. H. Miles, ii. 45, 51.

Dutch possessions in the Archipelago,
i. 72.

Datch, position of the, and Malay
traders, i. 73; trading regulations,
i. 79; aversion to Baja Brooke, i.
174.

Dyak pirate chief, description of a,
i. 113.

Djak tribes of Sarebns and Sakarran,
i. 172.

Djaks of Borneo, i. 70; marriage
cnstoms of the, i. 110.

Djaks receive baptism at Sar&wak,
ii. 186.

E.

East India Company's policy regarding
the Canton trade, i. 23 ; their policy
in the Indian Archipelago, i. 71.

Eastbary, Essex, family estate of the
Vyiiers, i. 1.

Eastern Archipelago Company, ii. 5;
their dilatory operations, ii. 18;
charter of, ii. 30; Baja Brooke on
tho Company generally, ib. ; their
chai'tcr vacated, ii. 58; their part
in the Inquiry, ii. 168.

Edwardes, Mr., Grovemor of Labuan,
ii. 324.

Ehzot yacht, purchased by James
Brooke, i. 57.

EUesmerc, Lord, to Baja Brooke on
the Commission of Inquiry, ii. 101.

Espieglfi, H.M.S., at Brun^, i. 297.

Essington Port, the colony of, i. 77.

European and Sarawak native boats,
with Baja Brooke and Captain
Keppel at their head, start out on
an expedition against the pirates of
the Borneo Coast, i. 243.

European domination in the Archi.
pelago, i. 126; manners and customs
antagonistic to those of the Borneo
natives, i. 257.

Expedition of Baja Brooke and Captain
Keppel against the Borneo pirates,

1. 243; surrender of the Paddi
pirates, i. 246; of the Fbkoo and
Bembas pirates, i. 246; retnms to
Kuching, i. 247; second, of Baja
Brooke and Captain Keppel against
pirates, starts from Kuching — Patu-
sen forts taken, i. 265; Patusen
taken and burnt, i. 267; advance
to Undup and Sakarran, i. 266;
reach Sheriff MuUer's town, tb. ;
Karangan taken, 1. 268; joined by
Sir Edward Belcher, i&. ; retuma
to Sardwak, i. 269 ; again starts
for Linga, ih. ; Makota captured
— Sheriff Sahib escapes — Sheriff
Jaffer deprived of the government
of the province, ih. ; effects of it in
a letter from the Baja to Captain
Keppel, i. 270 ; against the Sarebua
and Sakarran pirates — the start
from Sar&wak described by Mrs.
McDougall, i. 374; of Baja Brooke
and English squadron against the
Sarebns and Sakarran pirates, ib, ;
their attack, i. 375.
Eyre, Oeneral H., i. 6.

F.

Fairbaim, Sir Thomas, ii. 263 ; at the
Manchester dinner g^ven to Baja
Brooke, ii. 275 ; Baja Brooke struck
with paralysis while at his house,
ii. 285 ; at the deputation to Gk>vern-
ment concerning Sardwak, ii. 295;
from Baja Brooke on the campaign
against Mnka, ii. 329 ; a trustee of
Baja Brooke's will, ii. 368.

Fanshawe, Commander, visits some
Dyak tribes with Baja Brooke, i.
300.

Faixjuhar, Captain (of the Alhatro8$)f
heads an expedition against the
Sarebns and Sakarran pirates, i.
374.

Findlayy brig, bought by James Brooke,
i. 53,

Forster, Dr., master of Norwich
Grammar School, i. 5.

Fossil bones found in the oaves of
Sarawak, ii. 860.

G.

Graffur, Pbtingi. See Datn Gaffnr.
Gasin, a Dyak chief, ii. 111.

Garibaldi, Baja Brooke's STinpathj
with, a. 343.

George IV., Act pa«Bed in the reigrn
of, concerning prize-money, it. 9 ;
the AcC amended, ii, 10.

Gibbiml, Hr., on board the Vixen,
mortally woncilod, L 296.

Gill, Mr. G. W. H., informg Janiea
Broolie of the wreck of the Saltana
at Borneo, i. IGZ ; arriTOB at Kacb.
inK, i. 154.

Gladstone, Mr., remarka on Baja
BrooVe in the Honae of Commons,
ii. 47.

Godench, Lord, at the deputation to
GoTcmment concerning 9ar£wak,
ii. 295.

Ooldne;, Mr. Philip (afterward a
Colonel), commnnication from Baja
Brooke to, concerning his "schooner
plan " and his fruitleas attempta to
obtain employment, i. Bl,

Governor of Bingapore despatchee the
PMegethan to Baja Bronko, i. 321.

Goverzunent, Britieh, naja Brooke's
views as to the proper coarse to be
pursued by them roapecting Borneo,
i. 231 ; decide to inquire into the
condition of Borneo, i. 233 ; accused
by Raja Brooke of boing suspicious
and dilatory in settling Borneo
affairs, i. 271 ; appoint Boja Brooke
their confidential agent in Bomeo,
i. 281 ; obtain poaseesion of Labnan
Island, i. 311 ; appoint Mr. St. John
Consnl-General of Bmni, ii. 211 1
Frotectorato for Sarawak under ths
consideration of, ii. 306 ; recognition
of 5ar£wak— Mr. Bicketta sent out
as Consul, ii. 352.

Granada visited by James Brooke, i.
61 ; the Moorish Alhumbra, ib.

Grant, portrait of Baja Brooke painted
by, i. 358,

Grant, Cfasrlcs, I. 3G2; appointed pri-
vate Eecrelary to Baja Brooke, i.
3(>li arrircB at Santwak, ii. 244.

Grav, Captain (of the Coiunifcmc), i-
353.

Grecian, H.M.S., OD the Sariwak coast,
ii, 194.

Oreenwich, James Brooke's reaideuoe
at, in 1838, i, 66.

Orey, Lord, note from Baja Brooke
containing modifications of hig pro-
posals oonccming Sarawak, ii. 266,

Qunn, Hot. John, i, 6.

Gnnnog Telhk, Bay of, i. 86.

Hadji Saman, principal instigator in
the Bran£ massacre, i, 330; made
priaonor by Sultan of Brunfi-^hia
release by order of Admiral Cooh,
ranc, i. 351.

Hadji Ibrahim and his request to the
Spirit of tho Mine, i, 190 ; his
character, by Itaja Bi'ooko, i. 191.

Harlequin, H.M.S., visits Sai^iwak, i.

Hastings, Captain (of H.M.3. Harle.
9iiin),i. 2G1; hisrcplytoMr.Hiune
coDceming tho Raja Brooke Inquiry,
ii. 48; his letter to Baja Brooke
concerning the same. ii. 4y.

Hazard, H.M.S. (Commander Egerton),
leaves Sarawak for Brom.'', i. 326.

Headlam. Mr., in the House of Com-
mons, points out the compound
nature of the Baja Brooke Inquiry,
ii. 46.

i. 31.

Henderson, Mr. Robert, chief founder
of tho Borneo Coraponv, ii, 233,

Herbert, Mr. Sidney, in tho House of
Commons, on the Itnja Brooke de.
bate, ii. 13; again brings forward
the subject of Itnja Brooke's mer-
cantile transact ions before the
HoQBO of Commons, ii. 58 ; from
Bnja Brooke on the subject, I'fc, ; his
reply to the Baja, ii. 59 ; further
correspondence, ii. 59-61.

Holman, tho celebrated blind traveller,
at Canton, i. 24.

Horn, Kancy (afterwards Mi-a. Little,
haloa), i. 4.

nom, Fanny (afterwards Mrs. Kegan

Honi. klHza (anerwords Mrs. Hamilton

Co-x), i. 4-
Horsbnrgh, Rcv- A-, hia occount of

Kaja Brooke whilo suffering fi'om

small -poi, ii. 78.
Horton, Lieutenant W., in command of

the Dido's boats, i. 236.
Ho6te,8irWilliam(of U.M.S.Sparfnn),

ii. 223,
House of Commons, debate in, upon

the Borneo masEacres — extracts

from speeches by Richard Cobden,

INDEX.

385

Sir Harry Vemey, Colonel Thomp-
aon, ii 10; Mr. Hume moveB for
papers in connection with Borneo,
ii. 11 ; Mr. Cobden opposes the vote
in Navy Estimates for prize-money,
ib.; extracts from speeches upon
the same by Mr. Dmmmond, Mr.
McGreg^, Mr. Sidney Herbert, and
Mr. Bright, ii« 13 ; Mr. Hame moves
for a Boyal Commission, ib. ; is
defeated, ii. 14; extracts from
speeches on, by Mr. Cobden, Sir
Francis Baring, and Sir T. £. Cole-
brook, iu 14; Mr. Hume again
moves for a Royal Commission to
inquire into Raja Brooke's proceed,
ings at Borneo — motion rejected, iu
43 ; substance of Mr. Woods' address,
laid before tlie House by Mr. Hume,
ii. 44 ; the debate resumed, ii. 45 ;
remarks of Mr. Cobden, Mr. Glad-
stone, Colonel Thompson, and Lord
Falmeruton, ii. 47; the subject of
Raja Brooke's mercantile transao«
tions again brought forward by Mr.
Sidney Herbert, ii. 59 ; Lord Rus.
sell's reply to Mr. Hume concerning
the Raja Brooke Inquiry, ii. 68;
results of the various divisions on
the subject, ii. 72.

Hume, Mr. Joseph, M.P., L 372;
moves in the House of Commons for
papers in connection with Borneo^
ii. 11 ; for a Royal Commission, ii.
13 ; is defeated, ii. 15 ; again moves
for a Commission to inquire into
Raja Brooke's proceedings at
Borneo — ^motion rejected, ii. 43;
the debate resumed, ii. 45; inti-
mates to Captain Hastings his in>
tention to bring before the House
the conduct of Raja Brooke, and
Captain Hastings' reply thereto, ii
'48 ; resumes his attack and moves
for correspondence between Lord
Palmorston and Mr. Bums, iu 51 ;
further remarks, ii. 52 ; brings a
document from the Sultan of Brun^
to the notice of Lord Derby, ii. 64;
publishes a pamphlet summing up
all his charges against Raja Brooke,
ii. 65 ; counsel's opinion upon it, tb.

Hunt, Lieutenant, in command of the
Jolhj Bachelor, i. 239.

I.

Illanun pirates, i. 146 ; prahus attack
VOL. II.

the JoUy Bachelor, i. 239 ; death of

a pirate chiet, ib.
niudeen. See Fangeran Illudeen.
Imaum. See Datu Imaum.
Indian Mutiny, Raja Brooke's remarks

upon the, ii. 249.
Inglefield, Admiral, arrives at Penang,

i. 353.
Installation of a chief of the Singhi

tribe, i. 208.
Interest charged by the Borneo people

to the Sar&wak natives, L 192.
Iris, H.M.S. (Captain Rodney Mundy),

leaves Surdwak for Brund, i. 326;

takes Raja Brooke to Kimanis, i.

335.
Irons, David, master of the Royalist,

L 90 ; his discharge, i. 93.
Islam religion, illustration of, i. 192.
Italy, Raja Brooke's remarks on Eng^

limd's neutrality during the struggle

in, ii.309.

J.

Jackman, Mrs., recollections of Raja
Brooke, ii. 371.

Jacob, General G. Le Grand, from
Raja Brooke on the Chinese out-
break, etc., iL 243 ; further corres-
pondence with R^ja Brooke, ii. 357.

Jaffer, SherifE. See Sheriff JafEer.

Jaffier, Raja of Great Carimon Island,
i. 20.

Jaflir Si, his deposition before Sir
Thomas Cochrane as to the Brun^
massacre, i. 325.

Jars bought by the Dyaks when they
acquire a little wealth, i. 343.

Java, i. 73.

Jessopp, Dr., his aooount of Ri\ja
Brooke's school life, i 4.

Johnson, Charles (afterwards Charles
Brooke), midshipman on board the
Dido, i. 264; resigns his post in
the Navy — joins Raja Brooke, and
is transferred to Linga, iL 86; his
government at Muka, ii. 199; the
native custom of head-tskking, ii.
200 ; appointed one of the Sarawak
Council of State, iL 211; receives
a '^chapter on political economy"
from Raja Brooke, ii. 218 ; leads an
attack against Rentap, ii. 840;
assumes the name of Brooke and
Tuan Muda, ii. 350 ; his willingness
to undertake the government of
Sariwak at his ancle's death, iL

2

386 mi

356 ; ia bequeathed the ■orcreigntj
by hiB nncle, ii. 368.

Johmon, BeT. T. C, i. 1.

JohneoQ, liary Aima (niece of Baja
Brooke), rccciveH an JDiitntiun fmm
him to TJBJt Borneo, i. 181 ; engnged
to Hr. Gilbert Nicholetld, of the
Bombay arm;, i. 363. Sm alxo Mrs.
Nicholetta.

Johnson, Mri., from Raja Brooke on
the appoictiDent of her son as hia
aide-de-camp, i. 363 ; from tba game
on the death of her daughter, ii. 191.

Johnson, Miss, death of, ii. 191.

JohnioD, Mr, Stuart, ii. 323.

Jollv, Mr., nith BajaBrooke at Fenang,
i. IS.

Jolly Bachelor, under the eommand
of Lientenant Hunt, attaclced bj
pirat« boats, i. 239.

Ksnowit, murder of Messrs. Toi and

Steele at, ii. 318.
Kaiangan town taken, i. S68.
Eayans, their mode of burial, i. 160 ;
peace concluded with tbom, ii. 349.
Koating,Hr. (fatherof Mrs. Kcgan),i.4.
Keating, Mr. William (brother of Mrs.

Kogaii),i. 2.
Kegan, CharlcXibiH bcqneettoTbomBa

Brooke, i. i ; his household, i. 4.
Kegan l^mt, Hr. C, describes Mr.
Brooke's atndy, i. 47 r account of
Itaja Uruoku's risit to Both at
ChriBtmas, 1847, i. 361.
Kennedy, Mr., with Jamas Brooke at

Ponang, i. 18.
Kennedy, Mr., SB captain of the
Findlay brig, i. 54 ; his quarrel with
James Brooke, ib,
Kent, DuchoBs of, i. 356.
Kcppel, CaptaJu the Hod. Henry,
uiakcB the acquaintonco of Raja
Brooke and conveys him in the
lIUlo from Peiiang to Harawnk, i. 236 ;
doecribpB the wek^ome Kaja Brooke
rweivcil on bis rctora to Sarawak,
i. 237 ; visits Mnda Hassim, i. 238 i
relates an engagement between the
Jolly BaehrloT and pirate boats, i.
238i describes lifeatKucbing while
visiting Raja Brooke, i. 240; m-
marks upon the t>earing of the Dyak
and the Malay, ib. ; arcompauies
the Raja to the interior of Sariwak,
i. 241 i his account of the ascent of

Singe monntiun, ib. j ia asked by
Mnda Hassim to adopt nieasnres for
stopping piratical outrages on the
coast of Borneo, i. 242; starts out
on the expedition, i. 243 ; Bncceas of
I the expedition, i. 246; is rocaUed to
China, i. 247 ; arrivcB at Kaching
and Rtarts with Raja Brooke on the
Bccond pirate enpedition, i. 265; on
the bravery of the Sarawak fol.
lowers, i. 26G ; reads the bnrial ser-
vice over Lieutenant Wade, i. 267 i
reference to bjin and the publica-
tion of Raja Brooke's jouruHls, i.
303 ; letters from Kaja Brooke on
the onsettleJ state of Borneo and
the suppression of slavery, i. 322,
323; his work on Borneo, i. 344;
takoe Bnja Brouko from En{(lnnd to
Sarawak in tho Heaiidiv, i. 361.

Eimanis, the bnrial-phtce of Usop and
his brother, i. 331.

Kiua Bain, land communication be-
tween, and Malludu Bay, i. S3.

Kiua Bellu monntain, i. 334.

Kuching. tho capital of Sarawak, >. 98;
ttireatvned by Sheriff Sahib, i. 2(>5;
iiriprovcd »ta(o of, narnite<l by
Captain Koppel, i. 265 ; its pn^pYiss,

i. 303.
Kum Nipa, the Kay
Kaja Brooke's uniform
of Lahuan, ii. 68.

h;cf, V

Labtian Island taken posseii8i<iii of by
the Gn|;lisb. i. 341 ; account of Raja
Brooke taking poKSCHsion of, as first
Knglish Governor, i. 30(> ; tbo draiu-
nfte and cliiiiuljT of, i. 373.

Ladder Uill Kurt, ifiluud of St. Uclena,
i. 30.

Lap]ia Ton(!i,.]lBJa of Doping, i. 127.

Lsputongei, Raja of Wajn, his
"epistle" to James Bmoke, i. 123.

Laws and rrgalatinns for thi: govern-
ment of Sariiwnk proniaigiitcd bv
Ilnjn linxike, i. IHIi.

Leda Tanafa, bcad.quart^rs of Muila
Uassiui's army, i. 131.

Leo, Mr., j.iinH Mr, Breiflon at Sakar.
ran, il. 36 ; his death, ii. 75.

Ula Palawan, ii. 86.

Lenconia, i. 78.

Lily, H.M.'h brig, conveys the Raja to
attend the Commission at Singapore,
ii. 127.

INDEX.

387

Linga, discovery of coal at, i. 265.

Lingire, a uoted Dyak chief, visits
Baja Brooke at Sarawak, i. 278 ; is
preseDted with a spear, i. 279 ; his
visit to Raja Brooke's house for the
purpose of taking the Rsja's head
fmstrated, i. 281.

Littlehales, Mrs., her description of
Thomas Brooke, i. 2 ; of Mrs.
Thomas Brooke, tb.; her anecdote
of James Brooke and his tutor, i. 9.

LiTorpool, Raja Brooke entertained at
a public dinner at, ii. 28 L

London Tavern, dinner given by the
merchants of London to Raja Brooke
at, ii. 53.

Longe, Mr. John, of Spixworth Park,
Norwich, school -fellow of Raja
Brooke, i. 8 ; entertains Raja Brooke
and old Yalpcians, i. 358; letter
from the Raja concerning the Yal-
pcian prize, ii. 67*

Lundu River, James Brooke's expe-
dition up the, i. lOi-.

Lytton, Sir E. B., propositions con-
cerning Sarawak sent by Sir James
Brooke to, ii. 268.

M.

Macassar, Dutch possession, i. 8().
Mackie, Mr. I\'io, presides at a dinner

given to Raja Brooke in Manchester,

ii. 275.
McDougall, Rev, F. T., leaves England

for Sarawak as missionary, i. 359;

Raja Brooke suggests his being

made Biahop of Sarawak, ii. 39.
McDougall, Mrs., doflcribos the start

of Rajn Brooke's expedition against

the Sarcbus and Sakarran pirates,

i. 371'
Mc-(ir('gor, Mr., ii. 13.
McQiihao, Captain (of the Dondalus),

attacks Sa Tabok, i. 33L
Mnddock, Sir Herbert, his opinion of

Rnja Brooke, i. 324.
Madras, and the character of its in-
habitants, i. 13 ; not to be taken as

a sample of Indians, ib. *
Mahommcd. See Pangeran Mahom-

med.
Maka attacked by Raja Brooke, ii.

3.U.
Makota. See Pangeran Makota.
Malacca, deacription of — Mount Ophir,

near — Straits of — Great Carinun

I.sland, i. 20.

Malacca thrush, ii. 20.

Malay hatred to Dutch rule, i. 73 ;

character, i. 87; manage, i. 108;

mode of warfare, i. 124 ; their pas.

sion when excited, i. 135.
Malludu Bay, probable results of the

establishment of a government at,

i. 76; its position in the Axohipelago,

tb. ; land communication between,

and Kina Balu, i. 83.
Maluku pirates, L 146.
Manchester, dinner given to Sir James

Brooke — ^his speech at, ii. 275.
Mangrove trees, their peculiar gprowth,

i. 21.
Marriage custom of the Dyaks, i. 110.
Marro Point, Raja Brooke's remarks

on the action at, iL 24.
Marryat, Mr. Frank, his remarks on

the raising of the ship Samarang^

i. 25L
Marsali accompanies Raja Brooke to

Brnue, i. 211.
Martin, Dr. Thomas, his remembrance

of Mrs. Brooke, grandmother of Raja

Brooke, i. 4.
Martineau, Miss, her article on Raja

Brooke in the Weaimiiuiter RevieWf

iL 203.
Matahari, the Sakarran chief, and the

Sarawak treaty, i. 189.
Matchett, Rev. John, possessor of an

*• Old Crome's School Exercise," i. 7.
Matura, Dain, accompanies James

Brooke to Celebes, i. 118.
Matusen. See Pangeran Matusen.
Meander, H.M.S., takes Raja Brooke

back from England to Sarawak, i.

361.
Mediterranean, James Brooke's wan-
derings in the, i. 64.
Messahore. See Sheriff Messahore.
Lord Melbourne, liberated crew of the,

board the Royalist, and proceed to

Sarawak, i. 218.
Miles, Mr. W. H^ of Singapore, to Mr.

Uume on Raja Brooke's action in

Sarawak, iL 45; described by Mr.

Drummond, ii. 46, 51.
Millet, Mr., with James Brooke at

Penang, i. 16.
Mission party arrive at Singapore, i.

363 ; arrive at Sarawak, i. 364.
Moksain. See Sheriff Moksain.
Monkeys at Samarahan, i. 107.
Montgomery, Rev. S. F., i. 359.
Morataba River, L 106.
Morley, Lord, i. 3C6.

388

INDEX.

" Mother Jenny," recollections of Raja

Brooke, ii. 370.
Moosehold Heath, Norwich, i. 6.
Mnda Haseim, Raja of SadLwak, visited
by James (afterwards Baja) Brooke,
i. 94; sends a pang^eran to visit
Brooke, i. 98 ; visits James Brooke
on board the Royalistf i. 101 ; his
interview with Brooke on the sub-
ject of trade, i. 112 ; his council of
war, i. 133; orders a document to
be prepared for the signature of the
Saltan, transferring the government
of Sarawak to James Brooke, i. 145;
his ingratitude to James Brooke, i.
154-156; transfers the government
of SadLwak to him, i. 166; leaves
Sarawak for Bron^, i 227; in a
letter to Captain Keppel asks him
to adopt measures for stopping
piratical outrages on the coast of
Borneo, i. 242; his fitness to be
responsible head of Brun^, i. 252;
with his brothers, retnms to Bmn^,
i. 271 ; receives the Queen's letter
appointing BAJa Brooke confidential
agent in Borneo, i. 281 ; murdered
by the Sultan of Bmn^, i. 321.
Hada Mahommed, of Kuching, visited
by James Brooke, i. 102 ; his perse-
cution by the Sultan of Bran^ i.
327 ; returns to Brun^, i. 329.
Huka, Baja Brooke visits, and ad-
ministers justice, ii. 260.
Muller. See Sheriff Muller.
Mumim. See Fangeran Mumim.
Mundy, Captain, and a British squad-
ron arrive at Singapore to assist
Eaja Brooke in the atta9k on the
Sultan of Brun^, i. 324; on the
grief displayed by the Sardwak
people at the departure of Kaja
Brooke, i. 327 ; on the death war.
rant of Usop and his brother, i.
331 ; goes to Pandassan to attack
pirates, i. 334 ; his description of the
scenery, ih, ; destruction of Pandas-
san, i. 3i35 ; description of houses in
Kimanis, i. 836; has an interview
with the Sultan of Brun^, who
makes oath of his g^oodwill towards
the Qnecn, i. 840; is presented
with a kris from the Sultan, ib. ; re-
turns to Sarawak, i. 341 ; has orders
from the English Government to
take possession of Labnan, i. 341 ;
possession granted, ih, ; at Grovem-
ment House, Penang, i. 851 ; from

Baja Brooke concerning the Borneo
Church Mission, i. 360.

Murdoo, the scene of the outrage on
British subjects, i. 262.

Murray, Andrew, surveyor and ob-
server of the Royalistf i. 90 ; his
character, i. 92.

Mnsat. See Pangeran Musat.

N.

Naraja. See Datu Naraja.

Napier, Mr., appointed Lieutenant-
Governor of Labnan, i. 361 ; his
charge against Raja Brooke, ii. 144 ;
correspondence with Singapore
Commission concerning it, ih.

Napoleon's tomb at St. Helena, i. 31.

Naval engagements against the Sare-
bus, Sakiirran, and lllanun pirates,
i. 347.

Navigation, old and modem, i. 52.

Nemesis despatched to Lingin and
Banca Straits in search of pirates,
i. 352 ; takes Raja Brooke to 6run6,
i. 353; engagement with Balaninis,
ih. ; expedition against the Sarebns
tribes, i. 371 ; account of in JDai7y
NewSy i. 372.

Netherlands Government, correspond-
ence between, and the. British Go-
vernment (iieeMons.Dedcl); proposed
convention, i. 350.

Nicholetts,Mr. Gilbert, i. 363; ii. 238.

Nicholetts, Mr. Harry, murdered, ii.
237, 239 ; account of the murder by
Raja Brooke, ii. 241.

Nicholetts, Mrs., arrives at Sarawak,
ii. 244; accompanies Raja Brooke to
England, ii. 263.

Norwich Grammar School, i. 4-6.
Notes taken by Miss Jacob concerning
the feeling of the inhabitants of
Sheepstor toT^-ards Raja Brooke, ii.
369.

O.

Omar All, Saltan of Borneo, as su-
zerain of Sarawak, i. 138; gives
an audience to Raja Brooke, i. 217 ;
liberates the Europeans, i. 218;
signs a contract confirming James
Brooke as Raja of Sarawak, ih. ;
his unfitness to reign, i. 299 ; maa-
sacres Muda Hassim, Budradcen,
and all known to favour the English
alliance, i. 321; British squadron

INDEX.

389

starts from Sarawak to attack him,
i. 327; fortifies his capital, t(.;
Admiral Cochrane requests an inter,
view with, i. 327 ; sends a letter of
welcome to the admiral, i. 328;
his treachery — put to flight, i.
329 ; again attacked by the English
squadron and leaves the country, i.
338; returns and asks pardon of
Baja Brooke, i. 339 ; gives the Baja
the right to work coal at Brun^, ib, ;
pays royal honours at the graves of
Huda Hassim and Bndmdeen, ib. ;
has an interview with Captain
Mundy, and makes oath of his good-
will towards the Queen, i. 340;
cedes the island of Labuan to the
British, i. 341.

Ophir, Mount, near Malacca, i. 20.

Orang Kaya asks permission of Baja
Brooke to attack the Undnp Dyaks,
i. 308.

Orang Laut, men of the, added to the
Royalist crew, i. 95.

Osbom, Captain Sberard, ii. 349.

Osman. See Sheriff Osman.

Oxford University makes Baja Brooke
an LL.D., i. 357.

P.

Fakington, Sir John, to Baja Brooke
concerning the governorship of
Labuan, ii. 63.

Palmer Rton, Lord, to Baja Brooke
approving his conduct of Borneo
affairs, ii. 15; to Baja Brooke
concerning tho United States pro.
posals respecting the Sardwak flag,
ii. 31 ; in answer to Mr. Hume's
motion on tho Baja Brooke Inquiry,
ii. 47 ; his government defeated,
February, 1858, ii. 268.

Pangeran Illudeen accompanies James
Brooke on an expedition to the
interior of Sardwak, i. 106, 109.

Pftngerau Makota visits James Brooke
on board the Royalistj i. 103 ; in
command of Muda Hassim's army,
i. 138 ; threatened by James Brooke,
i. 166 ; dismissed by Muda Hassim,
ib. ; his residence routed by the
expedition party, i. 266 ; in power
again at Brun^, i. 364 ; death of, ii.
318.

Pangeran Matusen murders Ursut at
Muka, ii. 193.

Pangeran Abdul Mumim returns to

Bmn^ i. 829; at the cession of
Labuan Island to the British, i. 342 ;
succeeds Omar Ali as Sultan, ii. 64 ;
sends Baja Brooke assurances of
friendship, ii. 88 ; makes over more
territory to Baja Brooke, ii. 334.

Pangeran Ursut murdered by Matusen,
ii. 193.

Pangeran Usop summoned to a con-
ference with Baja Brooke and Sir
Thomas Cochrane, i. 294; declines
to appear — his house destroyed — his
escape, t&. ; attacks Bmn^ — his de-
feat by Budrudoen, L 297 ; capture
and execution by Budrudeen, i. 320 ;
g^ve of Usop and his brother, i. 331.

Ftk Bemban, a chief of the Singhi tribe,
i. 207.

Parker, Admiral Sir William, writes to
Baja Brooke of his service to the
Satnaran^f i. 260.

Parr, Dr. Samuel, master of Norwich
Grammar School, i. 5.

Patingi Ali captures Sheriff Mailer's
prahu, i. 267 ; his death, i. 268.

Patingi Gaffur. See Datu Gaffur.

Ptitingi, Sarawak ofiicer of state, i. 187.

Patusen forts and town taken, i. 265,
267.

Paul, C. Eegan, and his grandfather's
bequest to Thomas Brooke, i. 2 ; his
remembrance of Mrs. Thomas
Brooke, i. 3 ; account of Baja
Brooke's visit to Bath at Christmas,
1847, i. 361.

Paul, Mr. W. F. B., ii. 323.

Peace Society, meeting concerning the
Borneo massacres, ii. 11 ; Captain
Aaron Smith's testimony, ib. ; Baja
Brooke's opinion of it, ii. 25.

Pears, Major-Grencral Sir Thomas,
his information concerning military
career of Baja Brooke in India, i. 9.

Peel, Sir Bobert and Lady, i. 356.

Penang, its scenery, inhabitants, re-
sources, &o., i. 14, 15.

Penek^ Bay visited by James Brooke,
i. 127.

Feninjau, the mountain-home of Baja
Brooke, ii. 215.

Fenty, Mr. Charles, his description of
the Chinese outbreak of 1857, ii.
239.

" Petersham, Lord," with James Brooke
at Penang, i. 16.

PhlegethoHf H.E.I. Co.'s steamer, starts
with the Dido on the second pirate
expedition, i. 265; despatched to

390

INDEX.

Baja Brooke by the QoTernor of
Singapore, i. 821; leaTes SaHLwak
for Bnm^ i. 826; at Kimania, i.
835; assiBts in attacking Hadji
Saman, i. 336.

Piracy described by Bir Stamford
Baffles, i. 147.

Plowden, Mr. C, ii. 12.

Frahn, war-boat nsed by pirates, i.

147.

Preston, Mr., his story of James

Brooke*s leaving school, i. 9.
Prinsep, Charles B., appointed Com.

missioner in the Brooke Inqniry, ii.

129; his report on the nquiry, ii.

204.
Prize-money, Act of George IV., ii. 9 ;

the Act amended, ii. 10.

B.

Baffles, Sir Stamford, i. 71 ; calls the
attention of Lord Minto to the snb-
ject of Eastern piracy, i. 147.
Rainbow steamer bonght by Baja

Brooke, ii. 322.
Bapidf H.M.S., conveys Baja Brooke
to Sar&wak after the Inquiry at
Singapore, ii. 180.
Bead, Mr. W. H., at a banqnet given
in honour of Baja Brooke at Singa.
pore, ii. 338; accompanies Baja
Brooke to England, ii. 351.
" Beason and Conacionce," a corre-
spondence between Baja Brooke and
Mr. Chambers, ii. 225-229.
Bentap, a Sakarrsm chief, attacks the
Dyaks, ii. 74 ; attacked by the B^ja,
iL 111, 126, 340.
Biam Biver, i. 106.

Bicharda, Lient. -Colonel, his thanks to
Baja Brooke for his services at
Bang^ro, i. 10.
Bicketts, Mr., first Consul of Sarawak,

ii. 352.
Bigby, Dr., letter to Mr. B. N. Bacon

concerning Baja Brooke, i. 5.
Bigby, Dr. Edward, from Baja Brooke
on the Borneo Company, etc., ii. 233.
Ringdove, H.M.S., Commander Sir W.
noete, leaves Sar&wak for Brun^,
i. 326.
Bio Janeiro, coast of, i. 91.
Royalist yacht, purchased by James
Brooke, i 61 ; starts on the expedi-
tion to Borneo, i. 69; description
of, and her crew, i. 90; at Bio

Janeiro, Table Bay, Straits of
Sunda, and Singapore, i. 91; in
dock at Singapore, i. 93; men of
the Orang Lant added to the crew,
i. 95 ; leaves Singapore, and arrives
at Borneo, i. 96 ; goes to Santubong,
i. 147 ; to Northern Borneo to aid
some shipwrecked Europeans, i.
158 ; as a mail boat from Sarawak,
i. 197.

Royalistf H.M.S. (Lieutenant Beid),
leaves Sarawak for Brun^, i. 326.

Buppell, Mr., one of Baja Brooke's
staff, i. 256.

Bussell, Lord John, from Mr. Henry
Wise, ccnceming Baja Brooke's
action ag^nst the Dyaks, ii. 9.

S.

Sadong peoi)le attaok the Sampro

tribe, i. 184.
Sahib. See Sheriff Sahib.
St. John, Mr. Spenser, appointed
secretary to Baja Brooke, i. 361 ;
appointed Consul-General of Borneo,
ii. 211.
Samarahan Bivcr, i. 107 ; village, ih.
Samaranp frigate, has ortlors to visit
Sarawak, i. 236 ; wrecked at Sara-
wak, i. 249.
Sambas, Sultan of, his dislike to
Baja Brooke's settling at Sardwak,
i. 174.
Sampro chief visits Baja Brooke, seek-
ing for protection from the Sadong
people, i. 18-i.
Sangow and Sadong, agreement con-
cerning the trade of, i. 306.
Santah Cottage, i. 189.
Santah stream, i. 190.
Santubong peak, i. 98; Baja Brooke's

residence at, ii. 189.
Sapo waterfall, i. 119.
Sarawak — Biver, i. 106; revisited by
James Brooke, i. 129 ; James
Brooke made Baja of, i. 167 ; de-
plorable condition of its revenue,
i. 170; singular crimes of the
natives of, i. 185 ; first laws and
regulations promulgated, ih. ; prin-
cipal officers of State, i. 187 ;
regatta, i. 309 ; the climate of, ih. ;
Civil Service — rules to members of
the, i. 317; Borneo fugitives arrive
at, i. 325 ; flag hoisted, description
by Mrs. McDougall, i. 364; the

INDEX.

391

history of, i. 365 ; Coancil of State,
ii. 211 ; the Chineao oatbreak at, in
1857, ii. 237; Raja Brooke's pro-
posals concerning the transfer of,
to the English Government in 1858,
ii. 204; modification of the same,
ii. 266 ; further propositions, ii. 208 ;
Charch of England mission meet-
ing at Preston, ii. 285 ; Company,
proposed formation of the, ii. 303 ;
Protectorate for, nnder the con-
sideration of her Majesty's Govern-
ment, ii. 306 ; Government recogni-
tion of — Mr. Hickotts sent ont as
Consnl, ii. 352.

Sarcbus, the government of, i. 302.

Sarebns tribes attack traders, i. 371 ;
an expedition with the Nemesis to
stop their depredations, tb.

Sarebns and Sakarran, disturbances at ;
Baja Brooke sends an armed force,
and puts the opposing Sheriffs to
flight, i. 801; tribes give in their
allegiance to Raja Brooke, i. 377;
attacked by Raja Brooke and a
British squadron, i. 375.

Sa Tabok, the chief Illanun leader,
meets Admiral Cochrane — his agree-
ment with the Admiral, i. 334.

Savage, Rev. Anthony, i. 1.

Savage, Mrs., ii. 263.

Scout, H.M.S., ii. 347.

Secrole (or Secrore), birthplace of
Raja Brooke, i. 1.

Sejngah, the chief of Tnngong, i. 110.

Seymour, Captain Henry (of the
Wanderer) visits Sar&wak, and takes
Raja Brooke to Achcen, i. 262 ; takes
Raja Brooke back to Penang, i. 263.

Seymour, Lady Emily, i. 356.

Sheriff Jaflir joins Brooke's force, i.
141 ; joins Raja Brooke's expedition
against the pirates, i. 244 ; deprived
of the government of the province,
i. 209 ; is threatened by an attack
from Raja Brooke, i. 305.

Sheriff Messahore attacks Matusen —
deposed from the government of
Serikei, ii. 199; his treachery —
attacked by Charles Johnson Brooke,
ii. 320 ; his present opinion, ii. 331.

Sheriff Moksain, a rebel chief, his
conference with James Brooke con-
cerning conditions of peace, i. 142 ;
attends Raja Brooke during his ill-
ness, ii. 77.

Sheriff Muller chased by Pating^ All —
his escape, i. 267.

Sheriff Oeman attacked by Admiral
Cochrane, i. 295.

Sheriff Sahib and his threatened in-
vasion of Sarawak, i. 210 ; his resi-
dence at Patusen, i. 206 ; returns to
Raja Brooke the captive women of
the Sow tribe, i. 259; at Linga,
i. 269; his retreat, ib.

Siam, death of the King of, ii. 49.

Siam, Raja Brooke appointed as Envoy
to form a new treaty, ii. 19; his
remarks on the mission, ii. 32.

Sibnow, village, visited by James
Brooke, i. 108.

Sibuyow, a Dyak tribe inhabiting
Tungong— their mode of living, i,
110.

Si Jannah and his fine, ii. 201.

Sinbok tribe, and their part in the
gold or ore conference, i. 195.

Singapore, i. 21 ; port, as an emporium
for Straits produce, i. 72.

Singe Mountain, Captain Keppers
account of the ascent of, i. 241.

Singhi tribe, i. 207 ; i. 241.

Sipang Chinese, their aims at greater
power in Sar&wak, i. 192.

Situ, the Dyak boy, presented to James
Brooke, i. 130.

Si Tuudo put to death, i. 153.

Smith, Captain Aaron, bears testimony
to existence of piracy in Eastern
waters, ii. 11.

Society for the Propagation of the
Grospel in Foreign Parts assists the
Borneo Church Mission Fund : mis-
sion work at Sar&wak, i. 359.

Solomon, Mr., of St. Helena, i. 31.

Sow Dyak grievances related to Bf^'a
Brooke, i. 171.

Spartan, H.M.S., arrives at Sarawak
after the Chinese rising, ii. 245.

Spiteful, H.M.S., (Commander Mait-
land), loaves Sarawak for Brun^,
i. 326.

Squadron, consisting of H. M. S.
Wanderer, Harlequin, and the E. I.
Co.'s steamer Diana, ordered to
Sumatra, i. 262.

Stanley, Lord, ii., 268.

Steel, Mr., one of Raja Brooke's
ofliccrs, ii. 127.

Steer Raja, a chief of the Singhi
tribe, i. 207; installation of, as
Orang Kaya, i. 208.

Stephen, Sir James, ii. 229.

Steward, Mr., i. 256 ; killed in action,
i. 268.

392

INDEX.

Stonhonso, Mr., with Baja Brooke, at
Fenang, i. 16 ; mention of in a letter
to Mr. Croickshank, i. 33, 35.

Stnart, James, i. 2.

fitnart. Major Cliarles, from Raja
Brooko on the climate and drainage
of Labnan, i. 373; dcafch of, ii.
161.

Snbtn, one of Mnda Hassim's grand
council of war, i. 133 ; joins Brooke's
force, i. 141.

Sultans of Brune. Sc€ Omar Ali and
Pangeran Abdul Mumim.

SvUanat liberated crow of the, board
the Royalist, and proceed to Sara-
wak, i. 218.

Suln, first visited bj Raja Brooke, i.
371 ; again visited i. 373.

Sumatra, description of coast, i. 28.

Sumatra and Borneo, riches of, i. 79.

Sumner, Bishop, i. 359.

Snntnh Djaks, i. 20%,

Swift t schooner, purcliased by James
Brooke, i. 149.

T.

Talang-Talang, island of, visited by
James Brooke, i. 98.

Talbot, Captain, commander of the
attacking force against Sheriff
Osman, i. 295.

Taparkcraja lake, i. 128.

Tempo, on the lake Taparkeraja,visitcd
bv James Brooke, i. 128 ; the Raja
of, ib,

Templer, Mr. J. C, helps forward

Templer, Mr. James, mate of the
Castle Huntley, i. 27.
Raja Brooke's cause in England,
i. 221 ; made Master in the Ex.
chequer Court, ii. 81 ; to Lord
Clarendon on the instructions to
the Commission of Inquiry, ii. 98
Mr. Addington's reply, ii. 96
further correspondence, ii. 99
publishes " The I'rivate Letters of
Raja Brooke," ii. 107 ; his interview
with Lord Clarendon, ii. 118 ; from
Rn ja Brooke upon the interview
with Lord Clarendon, ii. 122.

Templer, Mrs., death of, i. 300.

Templer, Rov. W. C, his recollection
of Raja Brooke, i. 27.

"Ton Years in Sardwak," Raja
Brooke's introduction to Mr. Charles
Bnx)ke*8, ii. 353.

Tcsoi-a visited by James Brooke, i.l28.

Thompson, Colonel, ii. 10.

Tiger Islands, Manilla, i, 87.

Tigris River, i. 21.

Tilbaster Cottage, Godstone, ii. 283.

Timor, island of, i. 78.

Tivcndale, Thomas, his evidence be-
fore the Commission, ii. 153.

Treacher, Mr. John, surgeon, arrives
at Sarawak to join Raja Brooke, i.
228 ; acting governor of Labuan —
visited by llaja Brooke, ii. 199.

Tuan Katib appointed one of the
Council of State, ii. 211.

Tumangong. See Datu Tuinangong.

Tungong village visited by James
Brooke, i. 160.

Turner, Mr., at the deputation to
Government concerning Sarawak,
ii. 294.

U.

Usop. See Pangeran Usop.

V.

Valpy, Edward, master of Norwich
Grammar School, i. 5 ; his marriage,
ib.

Valpeian Club, the, i. 358 : prize, ii.
67.

Vemoy, Sir Harry, ii. 10.

Victoria, Queen, Raja Brooke pre-
sented to, i. 356 ; makes him
Knight Commander of the Bath,
i. 357.

Vixen steamer, i. 251, 296.

Vyner, Edith, i. 1.

Vyner, George, son of Sir Robert, i. 1.

Vyner, Sir Robert, i. 1.

Vyner, Sir Thomas, i. 1.

W.

Wade, Lieutenant (of the Dido), at
Patusen, i. 265 ; mortally wounded,
i. 267 ; his funeral, ib,

Wajo — State, i. 122 ; government of, i.
123 ; " epistle " of the Raja of, to
James Brooke, ib.

Wajo language, James Brooke's gram-
mar of the, i. 122.

Wamlerer, brig of war, i. 251, 261.

Ware, Mrs., recollections of Raja
Brooke, ii. 369.

Watson, Mr., ii. 262.

Webster, Mr., with Raja Bi-ooke at
Penang, i. 16.

IXDEX.

3Q3

Wedding ceremony of the Djaks,

i. 110.
Wellingtoni Mr., mardered, iL 237.
Wensnm, river, i. 7.
Westermann, Mr., Burgeon on board

the Royalist, i. 96.
Westmoreland, Lord and Ladj, i. 356.
WilliamB, Mr., surgeon on board the

Royalist, his character, i. 92 ; leaves

the Royalist, i. 93.
Williams, Mr., at Singapore, i. 289.
Williams, Mr., tator to Baja Brooke,

i. 9.
Williamson, Mr., interpreter on board

the RoycUist, i. 96 ; drowned, i. 317 ;

rules made by Raja Brooke for his

guidenoe as a member of the SanU

wak Civil Service, i. 317.
Wilson, Dr., Bishop of Calcutta, to

Bcv. C. D. Brereton, on the Borneo

Mission, ii. 46.
Wilson, Sir Arohdalo, i. 6.
Windsor Castle, Raja Brooke's visit to,

i. 355 ; other guests at, i. 356.
Wise, Uenry, London agent of Raja

Brooke, i. 229; visits Sarawak, 1.

313; suggests the starting of an

English companv to develop the

resources of Sarawak, i. 314 ; from

Raja Brooke asking for settlement

of accounts, &o., ii. 4 ; refuses to

supply the same— ceases to become

the Raja's agent, ii. 7; to Lord
John Russell concerning Raja Brooke
and his action against the Dyaks, ii.
9 ; institutes a Chancery suit against
Raja Brooke, ii. 183.

Woods, Mr., appointed deputy-sheriff
and messenger of the Bankruptcy
Court, Singapore, ii. 38 ; his address
to Mr. Hume approving his action
concaming the Borneo massacres i
ii. 39; substance of his address
concerning Riya Brooke laid before
the House of Commons, ii. 44 ; his
charge against Raja Brooke, ii. 143 ;
appears before the Commission, ii.
146.

Wood, Sir Charles, receives instructions
from Lord Clarendon concerning
the Commission of Inquiry into Raja
Brooke's afbirs, ii. 89.

Wright, G. T., his evidence before the
Commission, iL 152.

Wright, Harry, with Raja Brooke at
Penang, i. 18 ; mention of, in a letter
to Mr. Cruickshank, i. 33 ; visits
Scotland with Raja Brooke, i. 42 ;
joins the Findlay crew, i. 54.

Wright, Rev. W. B., leaves England
for Sarawak as missionsury, i. 359.

Wyatt, Rev. W., note to, from Riya
Brooke in reference to hid leaving
school, L 8.

THE END.

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