ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SINGAPORE
SIR STAMI-ORD RAFFI^KS.
l-'oiinder of Singapore.
photographed by Emery Walker from the picture in the National Portrait Gallery,
[i. Frontispiece
ONE HUNDRED YEARS
OF SINGAPORE
BEING SOME ACCOUNT OF THE CAPITAL OF THE
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS FROM ITS FOUNDATION
BY SIR STAMFORD RAFFLES ON THE 6th
FEBRUARY 1819 TO THE 6rH FEBRUARY 1919
GENERAL EDITORS
WALTER MAKEPEACE, F.J.I.
EDITOR OF THE "SINGAPORE FREE PRESS"
DR. GILBERT E. BROOKE, M.A.
PORT HEALTH OFFICHR AT SINGAPORE
ROLAND ST. J. BRADDELL, B.A.
ADVOCATE AND SOLICITOR OF THE SUPREME COURT
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS
VOL. I
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W.
1931
All Rights Reserved
The Merchants and the Factors and the long-forgotten
Writers
Who sowed the seed of Empire in a rudely furrowed sod ;
The race of trader-statesmen and the clan of trader-fighters
Who laid the lines of order by the grace and will of God,
The sons from these descended, with the peoples in their
KEEPING,
The men who bear the burden of this heritage to-day,
Each toiler in the noonday with his heart amid the reaping.
To these and those that watch them do I dedicate this lay.
J. A. N.
PREFACE
The writing of the articles in this book has been a
labour of love : how great a labour only those who have
worked in Singapore and have had occasion to rummage
in the scrap-heap of its history can realise. Here there
is no dolce far niente such as the home-staying English-
man imagines the East to grant. All are busy men,
whose days are too full of work, and whose hours of
rest and recreation are none too many. Year in, year
out, the Government and mercantile offices are open,
the Courts sit, the newspapers go to press. Even the
public holidays are only so nominally for most men,
and the private holiday is merged into the long leave
to which we all look forward. We have no cultured
class with ample leisure to spare for making an exhaus-
tive chronicle of the past, so that it was obvious that
the only way to get the history written was to divide
it into articles and call for volunteers. It has been our
good fortune that so representative a number of authors
have been public-spirited enough to turn their leisure
hours into more work, and to them the Committee
responsible for the history tender their heartiest thanks,
confident that the general public interested in the welfare
of the town will add their mead of praise.
Such a method of compiling a history of a hundred
years of varying civic, public, and social life of a number
of communities such as Singapore contains must neces-
sarily lead to some lack of proportion between the
vU
viii PREFACE
contributions of the enthusiasts in the subjects dealt
with. Also the amount of matter to be considered, and
appropriate illustrations, grew enormously as the process
of compilation went on. The Editors' task of eliminating
was greater than that of compiling, and they are con-
scious that the necessary limits of the work and the
cost of production have had to influence their decision
as to what could go in. Nevertheless, they hope that
no aspect of the Colony's life has been omitted. The
history of the Chinese community is to be more fully
dealt with in a separate publication now being written
by Mr. Song Ong Siang, and the article in this work
is but a very short summary of the history of the hundred
years of the Chinese in the Straits. The same enforced
brevity applies to other communities, whose records are
not easy to obtain.
The Committee which undertook the work consisted
of Mr. W. George Maxwell, C.M.G., the Honourable
Mr. F. M. EHiot, O.B.E., Mr. Song Ong Siang, Mr. C.
Bazell, the Rev. W. Murray, and the three Editors.
Its thanks are due to the Government of the Straits
Settlements for financial assistance and for a ready
access to Colonial records. Many have assisted with
their recollections and with advice, and have freely lent
material for the illustrations. Though it is perhaps
invidious to mention names, especial thanks are due to
Mr. Elliot for the use of the blocks which illustrated
Mr. Buckley's Anecdotal History ; to Mrs. G. P. Owen
and Mr. A. W. Bean, whose unique collections of photo-
graphs have been an inexhaustible mine ; to Mr. W. E.
Hooper; to Mr. M. Rodesse ; to Mr. R. W. Braddell for
the loan of his unique collection of caricatures ; and to
the heads of the mercantile firms who have helped in
the difficult work of tracing the history of the firms.
Mr. H. N. Buckeridge and Mr. Hibiya have been of
the greatest assistance in preparing the photographs for
the illustrations.
PREFACE ix
Finally, the Committee was most fortunate in having
the assistance and co-operation of the London Sub-
Committee, Mr. T. H. Reid, Mr. G. Brinkworth, and
Major St. Clair, and in finding Mr. Murray willing to
lend the prestige of his house to the enterprise.
Walter Makepeace.
Gilbert E. Brooke.
Roland St. J. Braddell.
Singapore,
August 1919.
CONTENTS
VOL. I
CHAPTER I
HISTORICAL
PAGE
Singapore Prior to 1819, by C. O. Blagden, M.A., Reader
in Malay, University of London . . . . . i
The Foundation of the Settlement, by C. O. Blagden . 5
A Short History of the Colony, by Roland St. J.
Braddell ........ 12
CHAPTER II
STAMFORD RAFFLES, THE MAN
By the Rev. William Cross, M.A. 32
CHAPTER III
THE GOVERNMENT
Some Account of our Governors and Civil Service, by
Bernard Nunn, Resident of Malacca . . . .69
The Legislative Council, by Walter Makepeace . . 149
CHAPTER IV
LAW AND CRIME
Law and the Lawyers, by Roland St. J. Braddell . 160
Crime. Its Punishment and Prevention, by Roland
St. J. Braddell ....... 244
Piracy, by Dr. Gilbert E. Brooke ..... 290
xii CONTENTS
CHAPTER V
LAND TENURE
FADE
By James Lornie, Collector of Land Revenue, Singapore . 301
CHAPTER VI
MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
By F. J. Hallifax, formerly President of the Municipal
Commissioners, Singapore . . . . . • 3^5
CHAPTER VII
THE PEOPLES OF SINGAPORE
Inhabitants and Population, by Hayes Marriott, Acting
Colonial Secretary, Straits Settlements . . . 341
The Eurasians of Singapore, by A. H. Carlos . . 363
The Chinese of Singapore ...... 374
CHAPTER VIII
Singapore's military history
Singapore Defences, by Walter Makepeace . . . 377
Singapore Volunteers, by Lieut. -Colonel G. A. Derrick,
C.B.E., V.D., Commandant S.V.C 384
Eurasian Volunteers, by A. H. Carlos . . . 392
Volunteer Recollections, by Walter Makepeace. . 394
The Military Contribution, by Walter Makepeace . 399
Early Volunteering and Shooting, by Walter Makepeace 402
Singapore and the Great War, by W. Bartley, of the
Straits Settlements Civil Service 405
CHAPTER IX
education in SINGAPORE
By C. Bazell, formerly of the Education Department . . 427
CONTENTS xiii
CHAPTER X
THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
PAQB
Scientific Observations and Records, by Dr. Gilbert E.
Brooke ......... 477
Medical Work and Institutions, by Dr. Gilbert E:Brooke 487
Raffles Library and Museum, Singapore, by Dr. R.
Hanitsch, Ph.D., formerly Director .... 5^9
Dr. R. Hanitsch ........ 567
Archaeological and Heraldic Notes, by Dr. Gilbert E.
Brooke ......... 567
CHAPTER XI
THE PORT OF SINGAPORE
By Walter Makepeace
Early Days — Charles Wishart — Sir Harry Keppel —
William Cloughton — Pilots 578
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
VOL. I
SIR STAMFORD RAFFLES, FOUNDER OP SINGAPORE .
Frontispiece
PACING
FRAGMENT OF THE OLD STONK
ORIGINAL AGREEMENT OF JANUARY 30, 1819, FOUND AMONG
THE RECORDS IN JOHORE BY C. B. BUCKLEY
LAST PAGE OF THE TREATY OF FEBRUARY 6, 1819, FOUND AMONG
THE RECORDS IN JOHORE BY C. B. BUCKLEY
BUST OF SIR STAMFORD RAFFLES BY CHANTREY .
STATUE OF SIR STAMFORD RAFFLES IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY
SIR W. ORFEUR CAVENAGH, K.C.S.I.
THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, 1 873
SIR CECIL CLEMENTI SMITH, G.C.M.G.
Vanity Fair Cartoon by R. W. Braddell.
RT. WOR. BRO. H. E. SIR CHARLES MITCHELL, K.C.
SIR FRANK ATHELSTANE SWETTENHAM, G.C.M.G.
SIR JOHN ANDERSON, G.C.M.G., K.C.B. .
SIR ARTHUR HENDERSON YOUNG, G.C.M.G., K.B.E.
THE FIRST COURT HOUSE ....
From a sketch by Lieut. Begbie.
THE COURT HOUSE PRIOR TO RECONSTRUCTION IN
CHRISTIAN BAUMGARTEN
ROBERT GARLING VAN SOMEREN
SIR JOHN BONSER
Caricature by R. W. Braddell.
C. E. VELGE
Caricature by R. W. Braddell.
THE COURT OF APPEAL, 189I
Caricature by R. W. Braddell.
JONAS DANIEL VAUGHAN
From a painting by himself.
JOHN BURKINSHAW
Caricature by R. W. Braddell.
S. R. GROOM
Caricature by R. W. Braddell.
SIR HUGH FORT.
SIR EVELYN CAMPBELL ELLIS
SIR WILLIAM HYNDMAN-JONES
RT. WOR. BRO. SIR WALTER JOHN NAPIER, D.C.L.
XV
M.G.
C.H.
I90I
PAGE
4
10
32
66
90
94
no
118
126
134
142
170
178
194
212
218
218
220
222
226
226
234
236
238
242
XVI
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
RT. WOR. BRO. FREDERICK MITCHELL ELLIOT, O.B.E.
OLD POLICE UNIFORMS ......
CAPTAIN WILLIAM ANDREW CUSCADEN, I.S.O.
RT. WOR. BRO. COLONEL SAMUEL DUNLOP
RT. WOR. BRO. SIR CHARLES WARREN, G.C.M.G.
ALEXANDER GENTLE .......
THE MUNICIPAL COMMISSIONERS IN 189O
THE MUNICIPAL OFFICERS IN I9I5 . ' .
TELUK AVER BAY, SHOWING THE OLD MARKET AND PRINCE
STEPS ........
the river and old ellenborough market in the
'seventies
dalhousie pier and the old town hall, where the muni
cipal offices were until 1893
PART OF THE OLD HOTEL DE l'eUROPE, NOW THE MUNICIPAL
OFFICES
MALAY BOAT-BUILDER
CHETTY (moneylender)
MALAY WOMAN
HINDU GIRL
CHINESE CHILDREN IN CEREMONIAL DRESS
CHINESE HAWKER ....
SIR CHARLES WARREN, G.C.M.G., K.C.B.
AN EARLY GROUP OF S.V.A. OFFICERS .
AN EARLY GROUP OF S.V.A. SERGEANTS
THE S.V.A., circ. 1895
OLD CEMETERY, FORT CANNING .
pearl's hill AND SURROUNDINGS,
THE GENERAL HOSPITAL IN I9I9 ....
DR. ROBERT LITTLE .......
DR. JOHN HUTCHINSON ROBERTSON . .' .
DR. DAVID JAMES GALLOWAY .....
KANDANG KERBAU HOSPITAL AND SURROUNDINGS IN 1878
CONVICT GAOL, HOSPITAL, AND SURROUNDINGS IN 1857
RAFFLES LIBRARY AND MUSEUM, SINGAPORE
DR. R. HANITSCH, PH.D. ....
THE BEGINNINGS OF TANJONG ^AGAR .
CAPTAIN JOHN BLAIR ....
CHARLES WISHART .....
SIR HARRY KEPPEL DURING HIS LAST VISIT TO SINGAPORE
RAFFLES LIGHTHOUSE ....••
PACINO PAGE
242
1857
ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF
SINGAPORE
CHAPTER I
HISTORICAL
SINGAPORE PRIOR TO 1819
By C. O. Blagden, M.A., Reader in Malay,
University of London
To write a history of the old Singapura would be some-
thing like the task imposed upon the children of Israel
by Pharaoh : for where should one seek the straw to
make those bricks with ? What has come down to us
in the form of Malay tradition, written and unwritten,
cannot be traced back beyond the sixteenth century,
when the place had long been nothing but a distant
memory. We need not, therefore, wonder that the
material is hopelessly mixed up with myth and legend,
affording no sure foothold for historical reconstruction.
The most that can be done is to focus the few scattered
gleams of evidence into a thin ray that may shed some
feeble light upon the obscurity of the past, while setting
in its true perspective the little that is really known on
the subject. At bottom, Singapore is but a phase in a
long process of evolution often deflected by outside
influences and interrupted by catastrophic changes.
The essence of it all was the command of the interna-
tional trade-route between East and West, from Indo-
I — 2
2 HISTORICAL
nesia and China to India, Persia, and Arabia, and vice
versa, which ran immemorially through the Straits.
Even in the second century of our era Ptolemy notes
names of Indian origin on the coasts of that region,
given no doubt by Indian seafarers, some of whom be-
came settlers, and eventually founded small Hindu and
Buddhist states. When the veil is again partially lifted,
we find in the seventh century one such State in
Southern Sumatra, with its capital at or near Palem-
bang. Its Buddhist rulers bearing the dynastic title
of Maharaja are repeatedly mentioned by Arab travellers
and geographers, and for centuries the State kept up
close commercial and diplomatic relations with China,
which are duly recorded in Chinese histories. Soon
extending their sway over the Sumatran homeland of the
Malays, properly so called, to the north-west of their
capital, the kings of Palembang by degrees possessed
themselves of out-stations far up the Straits, to Achin
Head on the one side and what is now Lower Siam on
the other. By methods which we should call piratical
they took toll of all the trade that passed that way.
Every vessel had to come into one or other of their
ports, or take the alternative risk of being attacked in
the narrow seas. As a matter of fact, they were practi-
cally forced by circumstances to come in somewhere.
The produce of the Far East was brought down by the
north-east monsoon, that of the West by the south-west
monsoon. The exigencies of barter, coupled with the
slowness of navigation in those early days, made an
exchange depot a necessity, and the Straits were by
nature predestined to that end.
The only question was as to where, precisely, that mart
should be located. In early days Kedah, one of Palem-
bang's most important out-stations, which had long been
a port of call for navigators from India, was also ap-
parently the favourite one from the Persian and Arab
point of view. But the Chinese were induced or com-
pelled to put in at Palembang on their way, and thither
also went many traders from Western Asia, though it
SINGAPURA: THE LION CITY 3
made their journey longer. But wherever they went,
Palembang took its toll of their merchandise.
For five or six centuries this state of things went on.
In spite of occasional attacks on the part of the Javanese
and the great Tamil dynasty of Coromandel, Palembang
continued to hold its own, and dominated the entire
region of the Straits. But fairly early in the thirteenth
century we find evidences of impending trouble : the
Palembang Empire begins to dissolve, partly perhaps
from internal causes, partly under pressure from without.
Already one or two of its out-stations or vassal states had
begun to set up their independence : an instance is
given by the Chinese writer Chau Ju Kua about a.d.
1225. Towards the close of the same century, there
arose in the north of Sumatra a little cloud, which was to
grow ere long into a mighty storm and sweep the Archi-
pelago. The North Sumatran settlements were adopt-
ing Islam. Before venturing upon such a radical change,
they must have practically slipped away from the over-
lordship of the South. Meanwhile, in the far north of
the Peninsula, and on the isthmus leading to it, even
worse things were happening. The Siamese power had
overcome the Cambojan kingdom, and was pressing down
upon the Malay outposts in the region of Ligor. The days
of the Maharaja's Empire were manifestly numbered.
It is somewhere in this period, between a.d. 1250
and 1 300, that we must, I think, conceive of Singapore
starting upon its brief career of independent existence.
How long it may have been a port of call before that
time we do not know. The old native name of the place
was Temasek, or Tumasik as the Javanese records spell
it. Singapura was its Indian title, conferred upon it,
no doubt, in reminiscence of some other " Lion City " in
Kalinga or elsewhere. The legends which grew up
around its name and fate are embodied in Malay litera-
ture, but are not worth repeating or discussing here.
We may infer from them that for a century or more it
was a flourishing port ruled by kings of its own, who may
have been descendants of the Palembang house. We
4 HISTORICAL
learn from Chinese sources that early in the fourteenth
century a Siamese naval expedition failed to take the
place. Later on, somewhere about a.d. 1377, it was
raided and devastated by the Javanese of Majapahit,
who at that time conquered a considerable part of the
Archipelago. But they did not apparently think it
worth while to occupy the place permanently, and so it
lapsed into insignificance and obscurity, being completely
eclipsed by the new emporium of Malacca, of which
Singapore now became an unimportant out-station.
Towards the end of the fifteenth century we find mention
of a governor of Singapore who was late in coming to
make his obeisance to his sovereign lord the Sultan
of Malacca, and was executed as a traitor accordingly.
In the early part of the seventeenth century, when the
Portuguese had long been masters of Malacca, and its
Malay dynasty had fled and established itself in Johore,
there was a harbour master (Shahbandar) at Singapore,
which seems to indicate that at any rate a certain
amount of trade found its way there. But the fame of the
old town survived its importance, and the circumstances
of its tragic fall left a deep impression on the Malay mind.
It can never have been a very big place. When it
was refounded in the nineteenth century, few traces of
its former existence were discovered , and they were not
such as to indicate any great importance. Local tradi-
tion still pointed to the hill, now occupied by Fort
Canning, on which the old palace of the Rajas had stood,
and which no local Malay even then dared to ascend.
But perhaps the only surviving relic that might have
proved to be of historical value was a much-weathered
inscription on a rock near the mouth of the Singapore
River, which was wantonly destroyed a few years later
by a vandal at the head of the Public Works Depart-
ment. Some of the fragments were recovered and sent
to the Calcutta Museum,' where all trace of them has
» The Editors have been successful in securing, through Dr. Hanitsch's
kindness, a photograph of a fragment of the Calcutta stone, which is
reproduced on the opposite page.
FOUNDATION OF THE SETTLEMENT 5
now, it seems, been lost. So that clue, if it really was
one, is gone for ever.
In the history of the Straits, which in essentials is the
story of the rise and fall of successive commercial
emporia, there is a sort of irregular periodicity. From
very early days, Kedah, at the northern end, was the
outstanding port of call, and such it remained, under the
suzerainty of Palembang, probabl}' till about the middle
of the thirteenth century. Then the pendulum swings
to the southern end of the Straits, and for a century or
so Singapore, soon becoming independent of Palembang,
seems to have been in a fair way to make good its natural
geographical claim as the predestined trading depot of
this region. But it had rivals in the small ports of
Northern Sumatra, which now also emancipated them-
selves. Then came the disastrous Javanese conquest,
and the pendulum swung again, but this time haltingly,
only as far as Malacca. Malacca may already have had
a fairly long existence as a port, but there is not much
evidence of it. It now held its own for nearly four
centuries. Then, towards the end of the eighteenth
century, Penang, the modern representative of Kedah,
was founded, and soon began to take the lead. A few
years later the refounding of Singapore once more
brought the commercial centre of gravity down to the
southern end of the Straits.
It is a chequered story, and looking back upon it we
see how through it all two contending forces have been
at work. On the one hand, natural physical advantages
of position, and on the other, political considerations.
Powers outside the Straits — Palembang in early days,
Majapahit in the fourteenth century, Batavia in the
seventeenth and eighteenth — in turn disturbed the normal
course of development that would have flowed naturally
from the physical conditions. It has been reserved for
our own times to create a freedom of trade which has
given the geographical advantages of Singapore their
full scope. The moral is plain for all to draw, and needs
no comment here.
6 HISTORICAL
THE FOUNDATION OF THE SETTLEMENT
By C. O. Blagden, M.A., Reader in Malay,
University of London
To anyone in touch with Malay traditions and local
history, as Sir Stamford Raffles was, the existence of
the old port of Singapura must have been a familiar
fact. It is the peculiar merit of the new founder that,
he applied this piece of common knowledge to the
special requirements of his own time. The refounding
of Singapore resembles in some degree the incident of
Columbus and the egg : another man might have done it
equally well, but did not. Already in the year 1 703 the
travelling Scot, Alexander Hamilton, had had the place
offered to him as a gift by the then Sultan of Johore, and
remarked, with characteristic prudence and foresight,
that " it could be of no use to a private person, tho' a
proper place for a company to settle a colony in, lying
in the center of trade, and being accommodated with good
rivers and safe harbours, so conveniently situated that
all winds served shipping, both to go out and come in."
In 1 81 8 the position of affairs in the Straits and the
Far East was a critical one for the British East India
Company. Under the treaties which were framed after
the Great War of those days, we had agreed to restore
to the Dutch, in substance, their great island empire
which during that war we had captured from them and
from the French, the temporary masters of the Nether-
lands. In that retrocession Malacca and its dependencies
were comprised, and Malacca was, in fact, transferred
on the 2 1 St September 181 8. The change meant that,
unless something were promptly done, the Straits would
fall under the command of the Dutch, and British trade
would again be excluded from the Eastern Archipelago.
Raffles saw the danger, and was determined to strain
every nerve and stretch every point in order to prevent
such a catastrophe. From the Government of Bengal
he succeeded in obtaining for himself a commission to
look out for a port to the south of Malacca which should
STAMFORD RAFFLES'S EXPEDITION 7
serve as an emporium for British trade after Malacca
was given up. The Governor-General, in granting the
commission, hedged it in with a careful proviso against
doing anything that would raise objections on the part
of the Dutch authorities. As a subordinate govern-
ment, Calcutta could not take it upon itself to thwart
the policy of Westminster.
There are, however, occasions on which a Nelson will
put his blind eye to the telescope, and at the decisive
moment Raffles determined to follow that recent prece-
dent. Indeed, it is difficult to see how he could have
carried out the main object of his instructions without
in some degree infringing them in the letter : for the
two things were incompatible. The Bengal Govern-
ment wanted a port, and at the same time desired to
avoid international complications. Yet it is pretty clear
that, whatever site had been selected in that part of the
world, the Dutch would have been sure to protest. At
first Riau was considered, but when the news came that
the Dutch were about to occupy it or had already done
so, the thoughts of the Bengal Government, prompted
no doubt by Raffles, turned to Johore (which then in-
cluded Singapore) as a possible alternative. Having
received his final instructions, and guided by what he
knew of Singapore's former importance, Raffles left Cal-
cutta about the loth December 181 8, arrived at Penang
on the 30th, organised his little expedition in six ships,
and departed for the south on the 19th January 18 19.
That he had a pretty clear view of his objective
appears plainly from his correspondence at this time with
the Governor of Penang (who disapproved of the whole
project) and with the Chief Secretary to the Government
of Bengal, in the course of which he points out the
special advantages of Singapore. But already on the
1 2th December he had written a private letter toMarsden,
wherein he says : " My attention is principally turned to
Johore, and you must not be surprised if my next letter
to you is dated from the site of the ancient city of
Singapura." However, his mind was apparently not
8 HISTORICAL
finally made up, and he was ready to visit other places
that might possibly be suitable for his purpose. Accom-
panied by Major William Farquhar, late Resident of
Malacca, who had left Penang a few days earlier, and
whom he overtook in the course of the voyage, he put
in at the Kerimon Islands, near the western entrance of
Singapore Straits (as recommended by Farquhar), but
found them unsatisfactory, and set sail towards the
Johore River. On the afternoon of the 28th January the
little flotilla came to an anchorage off St. John's Island,
near Singapore. That same day Raffles went on shore
and had an interview with the Temenggong, the local
Malay chief, who had settled on the island some years
before with a few score of followers. It would seem
that from that moment the matter was decided in
Raffles's mind ; his plans, if somewhat vague till then,
now took definite and final shape. Singapore was to be
his new foundation, come what might, for at that instant
he fully realised its topographical advantages, and saw
that he had indeed found what he had been in search of.
Raffles was by temperament an enthusiast, but he
can hardly have been unaware that a settlement in that
place would very probably raise protests on the part
of the Dutch Government. Local politics were in a
tangle. For about a century the historic Sultanate or
Empire of Johore, which included also Pahang, the Riau-
Lingga Archipelago, and much else besides, as well as
Johore proper and its island dependency of Singapore,
had been in something like a chronic state of dissolution.
This was mainly due to the impotence of the Malay
Government in face of the turbulent intrigues of a
number of powerful and enterprising Bugis chiefs from
Celebes, who had settled in the Riau-Lingga Archipelago
during the eighteenth century. The titular Malay Sultan
resided in the island of Lingga; but the real power behind
the throne was the Bugis Yang-di-pertuan Muda (or
Viceroy) of Riau, and the two principal Malay dignitaries,
the Bendahara and the Temenggong, had virtually be-
come territorial chiefs in Pahang and Johore respectively.
i
J?^'ov-4;^: .J)lyJ.;y Jr'tJ-^^D"^
f
ORIGINAT, AGREEMUNT OF 30TH JANUARY, 1819, FOUND AMONG THE RECORDS
IN JOHORE BY C. B. BUCKI,EY.
1.8]
NEGOTIATIONS WITH MALAYS 9
though they still owned their allegiance to the Sultan-
ate. That phantom throne, moreover, was suffering
from a disputed succession. Some few years earlier
the younger son of the late Sultan, in the temporary
absence of his elder brother, had been seated upon it
by the Bugis Viceroy, who was friendly to the Dutch.
But this act of state had not by any means received the
unanimous consent of the leading Malay high officials.
However, the new Sultan had been formally acknowledged
by the British East India Company in 181 8, a treaty
having been made with him in August of that year.
But that arrangement had been forcibly overridden in
November by Dutch interference under the claim that he
was a vassal of the Government of the Netherlands, on the
strength of former treaties made by the Dutch East India
Company with one of his predecessors. The principal
British authorities contended that such former treaties
were obsolete, and were not revived by the changes conse-
quent on the peace, and the matter was under discussion
at the time. Meanwhile, the Sultan's elder brother had
taken no active steps to assert his pretensions, but was
living quietly as a private individual at Riau.
Raffles determined to avail himself of this imbroglio
in order to further his plans. He at once sent Farquhar
to Riau on a mission to the Viceroy, and a message was
also despatched to the disappointed heir, Tengku Husain,
generally known on account of his seniority of birth by
the title of Tengku Long. Farquhar left on the 30th
January, and on the same day a provisional agreement
was made at Singapore between Raffles and the Temeng-
gong, acting both for himself and for the Sultan, that
is to say the claimant Tengku Long. In consideration
of an annual payment to the Temenggong of three
thousand dollars, the Company were to be allowed to
establish a trading station at Singapore or some other
place within the Government of Singapore and Johore,
the Company agreeing to protect the Temenggong, and
the latter undertaking not to enter into relations with
any other nation nor allow foreigners into his country.
10 HISTORICAL
Pending the arrival of the new Sultan, who was expected
to come soon, the Company could select a place to land
their forces and materials and hoist their flag.
Farquhar returned from his mission on the 3rd
February. Though he had failed to secure the active sup-
port of the Bugis Viceroy, who felt bound by his recent
agreement with the Dutch, he had at any rate gained
his passive acquiescence. Meanwhile, on the ist Feb-
ruary, Tengku Long had arrived and paid Raffles a
visit, and on the following day Raffles fully explained
the situation to him. In pursuance of the understand-
ing then come to, a definite treaty was made on the 6th
February between Raffles, for the British East India
Company, of the one part, and Tengku Long, now
formally proclaimed under the title of Sultan Husain
Muhammad Shah, and the Temenggong, of the other.
Save that an annual payment of five thousand dollars
was allotted to the new Sultan, the treaty did little more
than confirm and slightly amplify in some particulars
the provisional agreement of the 30th January. It was
eventually, in its turn, superseded by a further treaty
(dated the 2nd August 1824 and ratified on the 19th
November of that year), which enlarged the permission
to establish a trading station on a very limited portion
of the island of Singapore into the complete cession of
the whole island, and its adjoining waters and islets, in
full sovereignty and property, to the East India Com-
pany. Nevertheless, the 6th February 1819 is the true
birthday of Singapore as a British Settlement. On the
following day Raffles> the new founder of Singapore,
having done what he had set out to do, departed from
his new Settlement, leaving it in the charge of Farquhar
as Resident and Commandant.
It cannot be denied that in all this transaction there
was much that inevitably invited criticism from several
different points of view, and in actual fact the controversy
that it raised embittered the rest of the founder's career
and probably shortened his life. On the technical
question of the supremacy claimed by the Dutch over
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I.AST PAGE OF THE TREATY OF 6TH FEBRUARY, i8ic), FOUXD AMONG THE
RECORDS IN JOHORE BY C. B. BUCKI.EY.
1. 10]
DUTCH PRETENSIONS ii
Singapore in virtue of their ancient, and now renewed,
relations with the Sultans of Johore, there was a good
deal to be said on both sides. It has all been said, at
great length, elsewhere, and need not be repeated here.
Admitting, also, that Tengku Husain had the better
claim to the throne, it did not lie within the scope of
Raffles 's commission to regulate the succession of the
Johore Empire, a necessary condition precedent (as it
happened) to the acquisition of Singapore. The whole
transaction was essentially an act of state, not to be
justified by any formal legalities, but only, if at all, on
wider grounds of public policy, and retrospectively by
its results. On the other hand, the Dutch had had
relations with the Johore Empire for upwards of two
centuries, and had held Malacca from 1641 to 1795.
Yet during the whole of that time they had never
availed themselves of their opportunities to turn the
natural advantages of Singapore to account. It would,
of course, have competed with their Settlement of
Malacca, which itself was cramped and checked in its
development by the jealous pohcy of Batavia, their
colonial capital. So when they raised objections the
moment anyone else tried to do what they had neglected
to undertake, their protests sounded rather like those
of the proverbial dog in the manger.
There was, however, in this case the important
difference that at the critical moment the objector was
not in possession of the actual matter in dispute. Pos-
session, as we all know, is nine points of the law, and
in the end it prevailed. In 1824, after many protests,
the Dutch Government withdrew its objections, and
entered into a give-and-take treaty, which settled the
question in our favour. But much heartburning re-
mained, and the traces of it are by no means extinct
even now : that fact is generally ignored by English
writers, but it is desirable that it should be fully reahsed.
Yet, taking a broader view, it may fairly be asked
whether, as against any technical claims based on a
more or less disputed title, the real benefits resulting
12 HISTORICAL
from the establishment of the new free port do not
decisively bring down the scale. For the foundation
of Singapore struck the death-knell of the bad old
system of commercial monopoly on which the Dutch
Colonial Empire had too long subsisted, and forced it to
adopt the more modern and humane methods which
have contributed so materially to its present flourishing
and prosperous condition. In view of these results,
the descendants of the contending parties of 1819 may
well join hands in accepting an accomplished fact, which
for the world at large, as well as for themselves, has been
of such enormous practical benefit. After a hundred
years, we may hope that this old controversy will close
on a note of friendship and mutual goodwill.
Nor need we now use harsh language about the British
authorities who at the time disapproved of Raffles 's
brilliant but highly irregular tactics. They were im-
mediately let in for a peck of troubles, and they cannot
reasonably be blamed for not foreseeing as clearly as he
did the prospective advantages of his action. But to
the founder belongs the great credit that he did foresee
those advantages, that in his mind's eye he pictured to
himself Singapore as it is to-day, and decided that for
such an end much must be risked; that he faced obloquy,
international controversy, the censure of his official
superiors, and the ruin of his own career for an ideal
which seemed to him to outweigh all these, and not for
any personal reward. When he retired from the public ser-
vice, a broken man, that memory was his solace, and we,
who have profited by his brilliant stroke of genius, are in
duty bound to recognise the grandeur of the conception
which a century of realisation has made familiar to us.
A SHORT HISTORY OF THE COLONY
By Roland St. J. Braddell
Singapore is the capital of the Crown Colony known
by the somewhat unfortunate name of the Straits
Settlements. This Colony at present comprises the
FIRST ENGLISHMAN IN MALAYA 13
island of Singapore, the island of Penang, the town and
province of Malacca, the territory and islands of the
Bindings, Province Wellesley, Christmas Island, the
Cocos Islands, and the island of Labuan, and their
dependencies. These Settlements comprise some 1,600
square miles, but are very scattered ; thus, Singapore is
700 miles from Labuan, no from Malacca, 270 from
the Bindings, and 350 from Penang. The last census,
that of 191 1, gave a total population for the colony of
714,069 persons.
For administrative purposes the Colony is divided
into four Settlements : —
( 1 ) The Settlement of Singapore, which also includes
Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands ;
(2) The Settlement of Penang, which also includes
Province Wellesley and the territory and
islands of the Bindings ;
(3) The Settlement of Malacca ; and
(4) The Settlement of Labuan.
The administration of the Colony is entrusted to the
Governor, who is assisted in carrying on its government
by an Executive Council. The chief executive officers
are : at Penang, the Resident Councillor, who has a seat
ex ojjicio on the Legislative Council, and at Malacca and
Labuan the Residents, who do not have such seats.
Singapore is the seat of government, and there are
situated the headquarters of the Governor (who is also
High Commissioner of the Federated and Unfederated
Malay States and British Agent for British North
Borneo) and of the militarj'^ forces of the Colony.
The first Englishman through Malayan waters was Sir
Francis Brake in 1578, during his famous voyage round
the world ; but the first Englishman to travel in the
Peninsula was a London merchant, Ralph Fitch, in
1583. He returned to England in April 1591, and in
that same month Lancaster commenced his first voyage
to Malaya. It proved a disastrous failure. He anchored
at Penang in June 1592, with his men in the last stage
of weakness from scurvy. At Penang he buried twenty-
14 HISTORICAL
six of his crew and Mr. Rainold Gouldring, " a merchant
of great honesty and much discretion." These, then,
were the first Enghshmen known to die and be buried
in the Straits, but their last resting-place is unknown.
In 1600 the East India Company was formed. It
had for its principal object trading in Malaya. It may
thus be said fairly that the early Malayan trade was
the parent from which our great Indian Empire sprang,
and, as will be seen, Malaya, so far as it was British,
was directly connected with India until 1867.
In 1684 the East India Company's Government at
Madras established a fort and factory at Indrapoer, and
on the 2Sth June 1685 Fort York at Bencoolen, from the
establishment of which latter fort may be dated the real
dawn of British power in Malaya. In 1763 the fort and
establishment at Bencoolen were formed into a separate
presidency, with a Lieutenant-Governor at its head ; but
though the British were thus established in Sumatra, they
had no foothold in the Straits of Malacca, while, on the
other hand, their great rivals, the Dutch, were estabhshed
at Malacca, and had been so for more than a century.
The British accordingly judged it necessary to establish
a commercial port in the Straits of Malacca, and at first
Acheen was considered the best place. A Mr. Kinloch
was sent to the King of Acheen towards the end of
1784, but his efforts at negotiation proved fruitless.
Then Captain Francis Light proposed again the island
of Penang, and in 1 786 negotiations were opened by him
with the 'King of Kedah for the cession of the island.
These proved successful, and Captain Light, with a body
of Marines, landed at Penang on the 15th July 1786,
where the British flag was hoisted on the nth August
1786, the eve of the birthday of " the first gentleman
in Europe," in whose honour the island was renamed
" Prince of Wales's Island," by which name it was long
known. Penang, or Pinang as it is more correctly, is
the Malay name for the betel-nut palm {pokok pinang),
with which beautiful trees the island abounds.
The occupation had taken place by virtue of an agree-
FRANCIS LIGHT AT PENANG 15
ment entered into between Captain Light and the King
of Kedah ; but the latter was far from satisfied, as he
considered that there had been a breach of the agree-
ment, as indeed there had. Early in 1 790 he gathered a
quite formidable force at Prai, and declared his intention
of attacking Penang. Light got wind of this, and at
once got together a force of 400 armed men, with whom
he attacked the King in his stockade, captured it, and
put to flight the fleet of war prahus which had gathered
for the attack on Penang. On the ist May 1791 a
treaty was concluded by Captain Light with the King
for the cession of the island. This treaty seems to
have been negotiated under the impression that the
King was an independent sovereign, whereas he was in
reality a tributary of Siam. The British government
over Penang was, however, expressly acknowledged by
the Siamese under the Treaty of Bangkok in 1826. The
expression " King of Kedah " is preserved because the
old records refer to him under that style : his real title
was, of course, Sultan.
Penang was practically uninhabited when the British
acquired it ; but the success of the Settlement was at first
rapid and startling, so that within three years of its
acquisition Captain Light, who was appointed Superin-
tendent from the first, was able to report that there was
a population of 10,000 on the island, which was continu-
ally being increased, and that its imports had reached the
value of £130,000.
Light died of malarial fever on the 2 1 st October 1 794,
and lies buried in the old grave-yard in Penang, where
there is also a simple tablet to his memory in St. George's
Church, which church was consecrated in May 1819.
Francis Light's name ranks second only to that of Sir
Stamford Raffles in the history of the Colony ; like
Raffles he was persecuted by the East India Company's
officials in India, and also like Raffles he died a poor man.
He was born at Dallinghoo, near Melton in Suffolk, and
received his education at Woodbridge Grammar School,
after which he entered the Royal Navy, serving as a
i6 HISTORICAL
midshipman in H.M.S. Arrogant. In 1765 he left the
Navy, and went to India to seek his fortune. At Cal-
cutta he was given command of a country ship which
traded with Siam and Malaya. In 1 771 he was employed
by Messrs. Jourdan, Sullivan & de Souza, of Madras, as
their agent at Kedah, and it was in that year that he
first laid a definite proposal before Warren Hastings for
the acquisition of Penang as " a convenient magazine for
Eastern trade." His elder son. Colonel William Light,
laid out the city of Adelaide in Australia, and his memory
is solemnly toasted everyyear at theielection of theMayor.
His portrait hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.
At first the Indian Government were not too pleased
at having acquired Penang, but events in 1 797 altered
their views. In that year the island was made the
rendezvous of the expeditionary force despatched from
India against Manila. This force numbered 5,000 Euro-
peans and a correspondingly large body of native troops.
It never got beyond Penang, as the objects for which
it had been despatched were accomplished without its
aid ; but the experience gained drove home to the
official mind the extraordinary value of the place.
Colonel Wellesley, afterwards Duke of Wellington, was
one of the force, and he wrote a memoir about Penang
and its possibilities which had a great effect in India,
none the less so because his brother, the Earl of Morning-
ton, arrived shortly after as Governor-General.
In 1800 the island was given a regular form of govern-
ment, and Sir George Leith, Bart., was appointed the first
Lieutenant-Governor. On the 6th June that year he
concluded a fresh treaty with the King of Kedah, where-
by we obtained the cession of the district known as
Province Wellesley (so called after the Duke of Welling-
ton), on the mainland opposite Penang, and it became
and has always remained part of the Settlement of
Penang for administrative purposes. The territory at
first obtained in the province was a mere strip of coast
little more than three miles in width, and running from
the Muda River to the Krian River. In 1831 its limits
FIRST GOVERNOR OF PENANG 17
were extended and its tenure better defined by treaty
with the Siamese Government, and in 1 867, by a further
cession by the same Government,, the boundaries were
further extended. In 1874, by treaty with Perak,
another slice, the Trans- Krian, was added, so that the
province now has a coast-line 45 miles in length, its
extreme width being 13 miles and its least 7^. The
object of its acquisition was, of course, to render more
secure our tenure of Penang. It is very valuable agri-
cultural land, and it is interesting to note that the price
which we paid for the first cession in 1800 worked out
at a little over a penny an acre.
In 1 801 Penang was given a proper judicial administra-
tion, Mr. John Dickens being appointed magistrate ;
he was an uncle of the great novelist, Charles Dickens,
and had been practising at the bar in Bengal. The trade
of Penang went ahead so much that the Indian Govern-
ment, imbued with a sense of its great importance, in
1805 raised Penang to the rank of an Indian Presidency,
under a Governor and Council, and its relations with
the home authorities and the Supreme Government
of India became the same as those of Bombay and
Madras. The first Governor was Mr. Philip Dundas,
who arrived with a numerous body of officials, including
no less than twenty-six Europeans.
In 1807 the Crown granted a Charter of Justice for
Penang, and by it established " the Court of Judicature
of Prince of Wales's Island," which Court first sat in
June 1808, when the first Recorder, Sir Edmond Stanley,
took his seat on the Bench, Thomas Stamford Raffles,
the founder of Singapore, being the Registrar.
The ancient history of Malacca, like that of Singapore,
is a matter of much doubt, practically the only guide
being the Malay Annals {Sejarah Malayu). If they are
to be believed, then after the destruction of Singapore
a number of fugitives, headed by the King of Singapore
himself, established themselves at the mouth of the
Malacca River and founded the city. Mr. R. J. Wilkin-
son, C.M.G., however, considers the Annals unreliable,
1—3
i8 HISTORICAL
and thinks that though probably a party of refugees
did do something to found the old town of Malacca, it
is extremely doubtful if they were headed by the fabulous
Iskander Shah, King of Singapore. The name of
Malacca is taken from the Phyllanthus Emblica, or
Malaka plant.
As early as a.d. 1403 the Chinese annals mention
Malacca, and they tell us that in 1405 its king was re-
cognised by the Emperor of China, and received a chop
(seal), a suit of silk clothes, and a yellow umbrella. The
Chinese work called Ying Yai Sheng Lan, dated a.d.
1416, speaks of the Malacca Malays as devoted Maho-
medans, and says that they paid very little attention to
agriculture, but were good fishermen, using dug-outs,
and that they possessed a currency of block tin, lived in
very simple huts, raised some four feet from the ground,
that they traded in resin, tin, and jungle products, made
very good mats, and that " their language, their books,
and their marriage ceremonies are nearly the same as
those of Java."
The town became a trading centre of very great im-
portance, so that it attracted the notice of the Portu-
guese, when, to use the words of Sir George Birdwood,
they burst into the Indian Archipelago " like a pack of
hungry wolves upon a well-stocked sheep walk." In
1511 they captured it under the leadership of Albu-
querque, and after some desperate fighting. The Portu-
guese held Malacca for 1 30 years, a period of disaster
throughout, in which, with the exception of courage
and daring, they exhibited none of the qualities fit to
rule an Asiatic people. Amongst their other follies, they
declared a crusade against the Mahomedan religion, and
in their endeavour to establish a commercial monopoly,
waged a piratical war on all who opposed them. This
brought them a host of enemies, and Malacca was con-
tinually being besieged by the Malays and Javanese, in
addition to which for forty years before its fall the
Portuguese were assailed by the Dutch, who besieged
Malacca in 1606 and 1608 without success. In 1641,
BRITISH OCCUPY MALACCA 19
after a nine months' siege, the Dutch captured it, and
held it for 1 54 years.
One of the most romantic episodes in the history of
the town was connected with the visits to it of St.
Francis Xavier, " the Apostle of the Indies." On his
first visit in i 547 he scourged the inhabitants for their
vices and their crimes ; but his teaching produced only
a temporary effect, and on his subsequent visit he found
the people had relapsed into their former iniquities.
" Before his final departure," wrote the late Mr. T.
Braddell in Logan's Journal, " Malacca was publicly
cursed. Standing in the church door, the Saint took
off his sandals, struck from them the dust, and declaring
the place accursed, refused to bear away so much as
even the dust from the earth. The curse is said to rest
on Malacca to the present hour, and is frequently brought
forward to account for the wretched state of decay and
misery in which the place is now found." That was
written in 1858 ; the cynic would remark to-day that
the price of rubber has proved a most effective antidote
to the poison of the Saint's curses, for Malacca pros-
pers like the wicked.
On the 2Sth August 1 795 the Dutch in Malacca capitu-
lated to a British squadron under command of Captain
Newcome, of H.M.S. Orpheus , and Major Brown, of the
East India Company's service. In thus occupying the
place the British Government acted nominally as the
protector of legitimate Dutch rights usurped by Napoleon
Buonaparte. In that role the British were prepared
to hand back the Settlement to its rightful owners on
the conclusion of the Peace of Amiens in 1802. But
as war was resumed before the retrocession could be
made, the occupation continued. The cost of adminis-
tration was heavy, and there was practically no return,
as trade had to a large extent been diverted to Penang.
Lieut. -Colonel Farquhar, then Governor of Penang, pro-
posed under these circumstances that the place should
be abandoned after the destruction of the fortifications.
The Court of Directors agreed, and the fortifications were
20 . HISTORICAL
destroyed in 1 807 at very great cost, only a single gate-
way at present remaining. Raffles, by a vigorous
despatch, got the Directors to change their policy of
evacuation, and the British occupation continued. Three
years later the wisdom of this was shown by the use made
of Malacca for the Java expedition which assembled
there in 1810. The force, which consisted of 6,000
European troops, an equal number of native troops, a
train of artillery, and some cavalry, was collected to
destroy the revolutionary government established in
Java under Daendels, one of Napoleon's marshals.
The British landed near Batavia on the 4th August 1 8 1 1 ,
and gained a decisive victory over the local forces led by
General Janssens at Cornells on the 26th August. The
island became British, and Raffles was appointed its
Lieutenant-Governor. It was handed back to the Dutch
in 1 8 1 6 under the Treaty of Vienna, under which same
treaty we restored Malacca, but not until 1818.
This treaty was signed in 18 14, and the British were
therefore bound in that year to restore Malacca to the
Dutch. It accordingly became necessary to obtain a
station which would command the Straits of Malacca if
England were not to lose her trade. Singapore was the
place eventually selected and finally ceded to us by the
formal Treaty of the 6th February 1 8 1 9. By the Treaty
of the 17th March 1824, the occupation of Singapore
was confirmed by the Dutch, and Malacca was restored
to the British, in whose possession it has remained ever
since. By this same treaty we gave up Bencoolen.
After its transfer back to us in 1825 Malacca was
governed by a Resident subject to the authorities at
Penang. The affairs of Singapore were administered
by Sir Stamford Raffles as Lieutenant-Governor of Ben-
coolen, with a Resident as the chief local executive officer,
until 1823, when they were placed under Bengal.
In 1 826 Malacca and Singapore were united to Penang,
and the three stations formed into one Settlement,
under one government, consisting of a Governor or
President, with a Resident Councillor at each station.
PERAK CEDES PANGKOR 21
The three stations were designated " The Settlement of
Prince of Wales's Island, Singapore and Malacca," but
they still continued to constitute an Indian Presidency.
On the 1 8th October 1826 a treaty was effected with
• the Sultan of Perak, whereby he ceded to the East India
Company the island of Pangkor and the Sembilan Is-
lands, nominally in order to bring about the suppression
of the piracy of which these islands foriried the head-
quarters. As a matter of fact they were never occupied
until 1 874, when by the Treaty of Pangkor we obtained
confirmation of the cession and the addition of that piece
of territory known as the Bindings, which were at first
administered by a British official from Perak, but shortly
afterward became and are still part of the Settlement of
Penang for administrative purposes.
On the 27th November 1826 a second Charter of
Justice was granted by the Crown, which established
" The Court of Judicature of Prince of Wales's Island,
Singapore and Malacca," and the new court sat for the
first time at Penang in August 1827.
On the formation of the separate government at
Penang in 1805, hopes were entertained that the Settle-
ment would become one of considerable importance, and
in consequence an establishment on a large scale was
sanctioned, as has been seen. The lavish provision of
officers caused the civil establishment alone to reach
the sum of £58,393 per annum ; the Governor received
£7,820, the three Councillors between them £11,880,
the secretary to the Government £1,760, the assistant
secretary £1,320, and so on. In 1806 the Governor
reported the value of exports actually cleared through
the Customs House during a period of six months only
as being .$1,766,731 ; but from 1 810 the trade became
stationary, so that by 1814 the total loss on the Settle-
ment to the Indian Government was £81,448. Orders
were given for reductions, but they were not attended to,
so that in 1829 the Court of Directors gave positive
orders to the Supreme Government in India to reduce
the establishment and break up the local government
22 HISTORICAL
altogether, which was accordingly done by Lord William
Bentinck, Governor-General of India, who visited the
Straits, landing in Penang on the i6th March 1829. His
Lordship is said to have remarked that he could not see
the island for cocked hats ! In 1830 the Presidency was.
abolished, and the three Settlements were placed under
the Government of Bengal. Mr. Fullerton's proposal
to make Malacca the headquarters station was dis-
approved of, and Singapore became the headquarters of
government in 1832, and has remained so ever since.
The civil establishment was ultimately fixed at £\g,iy6;
the Resident received £'i,6oo, the Deputy Residents at
Singapore, Penang, and Malacca £2,400 each, the Assis-
tant Resident at Penang £1,296, the Assistant Residents
at Singapore, Province Wellesley, and Malacca £720
each.
Owing to a misinterpretation of the Charter of Justice,
the titles of Governor and Resident Councillor had to be
restored in place of Resident and Deputy Resident, but
the Settlements continued, nevertheless, to be subject
to Bengal. In 1858 the East India Company was
abolished, and the Settlements came under the newlndian
Government, and so remained until the transfer in
1867.
In 1 83 1 the Naning War was waged. Naning is in the
north part of Malacca, and covers about 240 square miles.
In 1830 Penghulu Dool Syed, abetted by the surround-
ing states, put himself in open rebellion, and in October of
that year crossed the boundary and seized some land
belonging to a Malay British subject, who applied to us
for redress. The Penghulu refused to listen to our re-
monstrances, so a force was despatched against him in
August 1 83 1, thus commencing the war. Our first
attack was unsuccessful, and the force retreated to Ma-
lacca, leaving two six-pounder guns in the jungle. In
March 1832 the second campaign nominally opened, but
nothing was done until June, when H.M.S. Magicienne
commenced a blockade of the Linggi and Kesang Rivers,
and our troops captured Tabu, the residence of Dool
CROWN COLONY ESTABLISHED 23
Syed, who escaped and wandered an outcast until 1834,
when he surrendered. The war is a very inglorious page
in the history of British arms ; it cost £100,000, and in
the final operations our troops took ten weeks to cover
the last twelve miles of a march the goal of which was
only twenty- two miles from the town of Malacca.
In 1857 the European population of the Straits had
begun to agitate for severance from the Indian control.
They petitioned the Houses of Parliament, and amongst
the many points which they made were that the Straits
were too far from India for the Government there to
understand their needs ; that the Indian Government
took very little interest in them since the loss of the
Government's trade monopoly with China; that the
community was not represented, as there was no Council
of any kind ; and that the Indian Government had
entirely neglected to cultivate good relations with the
neighbouring Malay States, which last was a particularly
burning grievance. After six years of ceaseless agita-
tion Sir Hercules Robinson, Governor of Hongkong,
who was on his way home, was ordered to stop at Singa-
pore and report on the question, which he did. In 1866
the Government of the Straits Settlements Act was
passed by Parliament, and on the ist April 1867 the
Straits Settlements became a Crown Colony.
It will be as well to see how the three Settlements had
prospered up to this date. The trade of Penang remained
stationary from 1810 to 1844, the figures for these two
years having been £1,106,924 and £ i , 1 1 0,036 respectively.
By i8?3 it reached £1,687,347, and from that year the
progress was marked and steady, rising to £3,838,353 in
1859. The trade of Singapore rose from £2,563,124 in
1823 to £4,241,334 in 1830 ; from 1840 the increase
was steady and continuous till 1857, when it reached
£10,062,187, while in the next year it increased very
nearly two and a half millions, the highest point which
it reached prior to 1861.
The effect of the establishment of Singapore on the
trade of the other two Settlements was marked. Penang
24 HISTORICAL
fell off from £1,352,722 in 1822 to £708,559 in i83i,when
the revival commenced. Malacca had a total of £3 1 8,426
in 1826, which decreased gradually, until in 1844 it was
only £159,529. From that year, however, Malacca re-
vived, and the increase was progressive, until it showed a
total of £920,227 in 1859.
In 1865 the total trade value of the three Settlements
was £18,570,080, the revenue being £193,937 and the
expenditure £115,529; so that it could be claimed that
if they were constituted into a Colony they would be
able to pay their way. India was content to agree to the
separation, for the Government there claimed that the
military establishment cost it annually £300,000, towards
which the Settlements contributed only £63,000, and the
fact is that the Straits had always been a burden on the
Indian finances, due principally to their neglect by the
Indian Government. Thus Sir Harry Ord, the first
Governor, made the Colony pay its way, and left it in
1 871 with a very respectable credit balance.
How the Straits have prospered as a Colony may be
seen from the fact that in 191 1 the revenue amounted
to £1,331.076, the imports to £46,437,349, the exports
to £39,887,146; while by 1916 these figures had risen to
a revenue of £2,021,331, imports £63,242,000, and
exports £57,436,000.
Until the transfer the three stations were garrisoned
by sepoys from Madras, assisted by a detachment of
native and a small force of European artillery also from
Madras, the latter being for the fort and arsenal at Pen-
ang ; two extra native regiments had been raised in the
Madras Presidency especially to supply the requirements
of the Straits Settlements. In about 1857 a small force
of Madras European artillery was sent to Singapore,
and constituted the first European troops of any arm
stationed there. In i860 the garrison at Singapore
numbered 1,093, of which 904 were sepoys; at Penang
622, of which 514 were sepoys; and at Malacca 216, of
which 174 were sepoys.
With respect to works of defence Penang long pos-
NATIVE STATES PACIFIED 25
sessed the fortification called Fort Cornwallis ; but in
1866 it was believed to be incapable of affording pro-
tection either to the town or the shipping in the harbour,
and no other military works existed there. The old
fort at Malacca had been dismantled, as we have seen,
and no other defences of the same nature were constructed
afterwards. At Singapore a small work called Fort
Fullerton existed at the mouth of the river, but was
left incomplete until 1858, when it was completed, and
other fortifications on an extensive scale were commenced,
being completed prior to the transfer.
On the transfer the Colony received an Executive and
a Legislative Council, the constitution and functions of
which bodies are at this date governed by the instructions
of the 1 7th February 191 1 . At first the chief executive
officers at Malacca and Penang were entitled Lieutenant-
Governors, but when Captain Shaw, Lieutenant-Governor
for Malacca, died in April 1879, the office was abolished
in that Settlement, and the title changed to Resident
Councillor, the officer having a seat upon the Legislative
Council, as was the practice until comparatively recently.
When Major-General Anson, Lieutenant-Governor of
Penang, retired in July 1882, the office was abolished
there also, and a Resident Councillor substituted, with
a seat on the Legislative Council, as is the practice
now. Penang objected violently, and from time to time
agitations were commenced and petitions sent to the
Secretary of State. The grievance still remains, and
only quite recently it was again suggested that the
office of Lieutenant-Governor should be restored.
We come now to a very important episode in the history
of the Colony, the pacification of the Native States, as
they were called. After Raffles and Crawfurd a succes-
sion of officials, knowing that the Supreme Government
in India did not wish to have any trouble about the
politics of a quarter so distant, deliberately shaped a
course of utter neglect towards the Native States,
although the Press and the public were frequently urging
action.
26 HISTORICAL
As Sir Frank Swettenham wrote in his book British
Malaya, few things are more remarkable in the history
of the Straits than the gradual loss of interest in, and
knowledge of, the neighbouring Malay States. He points
out how research into everything Malay was the guiding
force of Raffles 's life, and how his example stirred men
like Marsden, Crawfurd, Logan and Braddell to study
and write on the subject, an enthusiasm which lasted
until 1 860, when, of all the leading contributors "to what
may be called the English literature of Malaya," only
Mr. Braddell remained, and his duties as Attorney-
General occupied all his time during Sir Harry Ord's
administration.
Sir Frank says that in the first years of the Colony's
history, from 1 867 to 1 874, it is almost inconceivable how
little was actually known of the independent Malay
States in the Peninsula. " What was understood,"
he writes, " was that, in many of the States, there was
going on some kind of domestic struggle between rival
claimants to power who, from time to time, as they
could raise funds or gain credit, sent to the Colony for
arms and ammunition to carry on a warfare which
claimed comparatively few victims and in which the
fortunes of the combatants varied with bewildering
rapidity." When the Chambers of Commerce of Singa-
pore and Malacca petitioned the Government protesting
against the turmoil and anarchy that prevailed in these
States, Sir Harry Ord caused the answer to be made that
if they choose to run the risk of placing their persons
and property in the jeopardy which they were aware
would attend them in the Peninsula, ".they must not
expect the British Government to be answerable if
their speculation proves unsuccessful " 1
However, the hand of Government was forced by a
development of the disturbances in Selangor which had
drawn Rembau and Sungei Ujong, two of the Negri
Sembilan, into the quarrel. The Sungei Ujong chief
and one of the Selangor chiefs directly invoked British
aid, and Sir Harry Ord visited the scene of the distur-
THE TREATY OF PANGKOR 27
bances in 1872, where he patched up a sort of peace that
proved quite useless. In Selangor for years a family
feud, in which the Sultan's three sons represented the
opposition, had led to perpetual turmoil and placed
the property of traders at the mercy of any body of
marauders who might take a fancy to it. In the autumn
of 1873, when Sir Harry Ord's administration ceased,
affairs in Perak were in a disgraceful, state owing to the
quarrel about the succession to the Sultanship, and a
continuing fight, with heavy losses on both sides, between
two factions of Chinese who were struggling for the
possession of valuable tin mines. These two factions
were known as the Go Kuans (the five tribes) and the Si
Kuans (the four tribes), and the mines over which they
fought lay around Larut. The Mantri of Perak espoused
the cause of the Go Kuans, and gave them all the assis-
tance he could. The Si Kuans had seized and stockaded
positions between the Go Kuans and the sea, but as the
Mantri owned two small steamers and was the recognised
authority in Larut, he kept his friends supplied with
food and arms, and attempted to starve into submis-
sion the Si Kuans, who, however, were helped by their
friends in Penang. These two factions waged a very
real warfare, and no one was safe, for the Si Kuans estab-
lished a fort on the Larut River, and fitted out big
fighting-boats, armed with guns. They attacked the
boats of H.M.S. Midge, and a fairly long action ensued,
in which they were beaten off ; but two British officers
were wounded. They also attacked British police stations
at the Bindings and in Province Wellesley.
A policy of inaction could clearly be pursued no
longer, and Lord Kimberley sent out the new Governor,
Sir Andrew Clarke, with definite instructions, which were
duly carried out. The Governor sent Mr. W. A. Picker-
ing, the Chinese Protector, to the chief centre of distur-
bances in Perak to see if the leaders would be prepared
to accept his arbitration on their differences. Mr.
Pickering was completely successful. The Treaty of
Pangkor was signed on the 20th June 1874, and forms
28 HISTORICAL
the legal foundations of the system of administering what
are to-day the Federated Malay States. A Proclama-
tion in November 1874 ushered in the new regime by
the appointment of Mr. j. W. W. Birch as Resident of
Perak, and Mr. J. G. Davidson, the Singapore lawyer,
as Resident of Selangor.
Mr. Birch was murdered in 1874, and the Perak War
followed, the British force consisting of 2,000 troops,
1,500 of whom were British soldiers, aided by a strong
Naval Brigade, and being commanded by Major-General
the Hon. F. Colborne, C.B., and Brigadier-General
John Ross. The force met with stubborn resistance,
and protracted operations were necessary before the
country settled down under the British protectorate ;
in the course of these operations Captain Channer won
the Victoria Cross.
Im 888 a British subject was murdered in Pahang, and
Sir Cecil Smith, then Governor of the Straits Settle-
ments, demanded an explanation and satisfaction. The
former was unsatisfactory and the latter was not forth-
coming, but serious consequences were averted by the
Bandahara taking the advice of the Sultan of Johore and
asking for the appointment of a British Resident. In
October 1888 Mr. J. P. Rodger was appointed, while
Mr. Hugh Clifford, who had already spent some years in
Pahang as Governor's agent, remained to assist the
Resident. Disturbances broke out in Pahang in 1894,
which necessitated long, harassing, and expensive military
operations.
The formation of the State now known as the Negri
Sembilan began in 1883, but did not assume its present
position until 1895, when Sungei Ujong, the last out-
standing State, was merged.
In 1895 the four States of Perak, Selangor, Negri
Sembilan, and Pahang were formed into the Federated
Malay States, and since then their prosperity has been a
tale of wonder.
In 1886, by an Order of Her Majesty in Council, the
Cocos or Keeling Islands were annexed to the Straits
ANNEXATIONS 29
Settlements, and placed under the Government of the
Colony. These islands had been discovered in 1609 by
Captain Keeling, of the East India Company's service,
but they attracted no further attention until Captain
Ross visited them in 1825. Finding them unoccupied,
he returned to Scotland, and induced some people from
there to come back with him and colonise them. Return-
ing to the islands in 1827 he found Alexander Hare and
a party of colonists settled in them. The two factions
lived on bad terms with each other, and though many of
the Ross colonists left the place owing to its being already
occupied, the Ross influence exceeded that of the Hare.
The latter, an idle man of most eccentric character,
was gradually deserted by his followers, who went over
to Ross. Finally Hare left the islands and, it is said,
came to Singapore to die.
In 1854 Ross died, and was succeeded by his son Mr.
J. G. Clunies-Ross. The islands, which had from time
to time been visited early byships of various nationalities,
received a formal visit early in 1857 from H.M.S. Juno,
when Captain Fremantle took possession of the group
in the name of the British Government, and appointed
Mr. J. G. C. Ross to be Superintendent. In 1878 the
islands were pla'ced under the Government of Ceylon,
so remaining until 1 886. In 1 903 they were incorporated
in the Settlement of Singapore, and are the headquarters
of a cable station on the route from Cape Colony to
Australia. In 1914 the German cruiser Emden was
destroyed off the islands by H.M.A.S. Sydney.
By a Proclamation of the 23rd May 1900 Christmas
Island was annexed to the Colony, and by an Ordinance
of 1900 it became part of the Settlement of Singapore.
The island had been annexed by Great Britain in 1888,
a settlement being made there by a party of twenty
•persons from the Cocos Islands. By Letters Patent of
the 8th January 1889 the Governor of the Colony had
been made also Governor of Christmas Island. It
possesses extensive deposits of phosphate of lime, which
are quarried by the Christmas Island PhosphateCompany,
30 HISTORICAL
to which company the island is let on a ninety-nine
years' lease.
The first connection of the British with Labuan was
when in 1 775 theywere expelled bythe Sulus from Balam-
bangan, and took temporary refuge on the island. It
became a British Colony by cession as a quid pro quo
for assistance in suppressing piracy. The Sultan of
Borneo, Omar Ali Saifudin, himself made the offer, in
conjunction with the Rajah Muda Hussin, in a document
addressed to Queen Victoria in 1844, in consequence of
the visit of Captain Sir Edward Belcher in H.M.S.
Samarang to Brunei to enquire into rumours of the deten-
tion of a European woman there. The Sultan became
terrified by a report that the British were going to attack
his capital, and the document mentioned above was
drawn and despatched with a view of preventing such
measures. No advantage was taken of it at the time, but
when Sir James Brooke, K.C.B., was appointed Her
Majesty's Agent in Borneo, the Sultan and the Rajah
Muda, in accepting the appointment in February 1845,
again expressed their adherence to their former declara-
tions, and asked for immediate assistance to protect
Brunei from the pirates of Marudu, a bay at the
northern extremity of Borneo. This assistance was duly
granted. In April 1846 the Sultan plotted the murder
of the Rajah Muda, who committed suicide to escape
assassination. Sir Thomas Cochrane, the Admiral in
command of the station, then attacked and captured
Brunei. In November 1846 possession was taken of
Labuan, and a treaty was effected with the Sultan on
the 24th May 1847. The British flag had been hoisted
previously, on the 24th December 1846.
Labuan was made a Crown Colony, and given a Gover-
nor, Lieutenant-Governor, and a staif of British officers ;
and a Legislative Council was created for the new colony.
It was governed as a Crown Colony until 1889, and in its
palmy days was the centre of a thriving trade. Much
was hoped from the deposits of coal which the island
possessed, but they have never proved profitable. The
SETTLEMENT OF LABUAN 31
Colony was nearly always in financial straits, so that from
1890 to 1906 it was placed under the control of the British
North Borneo Company, its establishment as a Crown
Colony having been broken up. By Letters Patent of
the 30th October 1906 it was ordained that Labuan
should become part of the Colony of the Straits Settle-
ments, on a day to be proclaimed by the Governor,
who duly proclaimed it as the ist January 1907, from
which date it became* and remained part of the Settle-
ment of Singapore until 191 2. Since the ist December
191 2, it has been a separate Settlement, but part of the
Colony.
This completes this short account of how the Colony
reached its present position. The various events in its
more domestic history will be found referred to in other
articles in this work — events such as the fixing of the
dollar and the expropriation of the Tanjong Pagar Dock
Company, for instance.
CHAPTER i;
STAMFORD RAFFLES— THE MAN
By the Rev. William Cross, M.A.
When Sir Stamford Raffles landed on the mangrove-
covered bank of the Singapore River on the 28th January
1 819, he was almost thirty-eight years of age. A long
record of extraordinary achievements in imperial service
had placed his name high among the statesmen and
pioneers of the East Indies. He came in the full ripe-
ness of his developed powers, and every step he took
for the establishment of a new colony was marked by
the confidence and unerring touch of one who wielded
an instrument perfectly edged. Some nine brief days
he remained ; but when he left, it is not too much to say
all the plans of the future city were so clearly defined
that not even after one hundred years are these plans
exhausted or superseded.
Some men build pyramids and palaces, and therefore
are remembered ; some discover continents ; some write
imperishable books. These are extensive and arresting
claims upon fame. Raffles planted a seed. That was
all. But it was the seed of a city, and the city was
destined to become a nerve-centre of the whole world.
The poet says the thrilling music of the moon sleeps in
the plain eggs of the nightingale ; the throbbing power
of great events lay in the little trading-station erected
among the Kalat trees on that river-bank during the
nine memorable days a hundred years ago, and the far-
sighted mind of Raffles knew it.
32
BUST OF SIR STAMFORD RAFFLES BY CHANTREY.
r. 32l
YOUTHFUL AMBITIONS 33
What he had done before 18 19
His birth was appropriate to his destiny. On board
a merchant vessel of which his father was captain, as it
lay off Jamaica on the 5th July 1 781, he first opened his
eyes upon the world. Things were not prosperous with
that captain, and when the boy was but fourteen years
of age straitened family conditions compelled him to
leave school and seek employment. In 1795 he was
taken on the temporary staff at the office of the East
India Company, passing to the permanent establishment
five years later. It is worth noting that when Raffles
entered the Company's service, a young man, some six
years his senior, named Charles Lamb, was there. To
Lamb the offices of the great trading company were
the end of all adventure. Fixed there for some thirty-
three years to what he called " the dry drudgery of the
desk's dead wood," the genial essayist found his appro-
priate fame. One wonders if ever he took any notice
of the earnest, thoughtful boy who for ten years was his
fellow-clerk, but whose ambitions were far too restless
for the desk. There is no record of any intercourse,
although they must have crossed one another's path
often.
The desk could not hold Raffles. From the com-
mencement he had his eyes upon the ends of the earth.
In night study he tried to make up for his lack of educa-
tion. His spirit fretted because he had been taken from
school too soon. Courses of study in languages and
science were mapped out for leisure hours. From an
intimate letter we get a peep into his habits and his
difficulties. One night, he tells us, he was deep in his
books. He used to read into the small hours of the
morning. One little candle was burning beside him.
It was past midnight. The door of his bedroom-study
was pushed open, and the voice of his mother rebuked
him : " Tom," she said, " are you not in bed yet ? It's
very late. You are wasting money burning so many
candles, and you know we cannot afford it."
1—4
34 STAMFORD RAFFLES— THE MAN
This was pretty hard upon the young student, for at
that time he was the chief wage-earner in the house, his
guinea a week being the family's mainstay. Raffles
never forgot his early experience of pinching poverty.
His difficulties acted as spurs to his determination to
make the great adventure of going abroad.
It came as a reward and a great opportunity to a
chafing spirit when he received the offer of a secretaryship
in the Company's new Presidency at Penang. Raffles
was now twenty-four years of age. The story has often
been told of how he mastered a book knowledge of the
Malay language during the five months of the voyage ; of
how in a very short time he displaced the resident and
incapable interpreter ; of the letter making some enquiries
about Malay customs sent by William Marsden to Gover-
nor Dundas, which Dundas could not answer, and so
passed on to his brilliant young secretary for attention.
Ambition grew like a tropical flower within Raffles's soul.
Amusing it is, but very significant, to find him writing
home to his uncle in England asking him to make the
" most dihgent enquiry for me with every particular
you know, respecting the family of my grandfather,
and back from him to the date in which the glorious
Knight Baronet Sir Benjamin Raffles strutted his hour."
The young secretary had discovered somewhere the
name of his vanished ancestor who shone with the tinsel
of one of King James's cheap titles, and it touched some
chord in him. " At all events, get the family arms
drawn and emblazoned with their supporters, etc."
The youth was feeling definitely after fame, and wished
to think he had some family traditions. It was about
this time that he tried his 'prentice hand in statesman-
ship. Feeling seedy in health, he got leave to take a
short sea trip as far as Malacca Town. Malacca had
been marked for destruction by the authorities in Penang,
for Penang trade needed fostering, and Malacca was an
irritating little rival to the new and pet Settlement.
Abandon Malacca, and force its stream of trade towards
the favoured centre. That was the policy. The Supreme
INTERVENTION AT MALACCA 35
Government at Bengal, a thousand miles away, had
supinely acquiesced in the selfish representations of the
Penang traders. An edict had gone forth that every
public building in Malacca was to be razed to the ground,
and the population were, practically, to be driven away
from their ancient home. When Raffles came for his
few weeks of holiday, the sheer folly of this policy forced
itself upon him. Always quick to respond to historic
associations, and equally quick to see the inner meaning
of the fact that for centuries Malacca had been a native
trading port, he grasped the problem with vigour. To
his mind Malacca appeared as a natural door for com-
merce in the Straits. No other place had any traditions
of past glory. Malays, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, and
now the British had all built civilisations there. But
this had seemed nothing in the eyes of the traders in the
northern Settlement. All they saw in Malacca was a
contemptible trade rival.
You cannot force trade, said Raffles. Trade must be
free if it would flourish. Associations, native customs,
historic memories, provided you have the natural
facilities, all act as magnets for trade. You may drive
trade out of a place, but in doing so lose it altogether.
The upshot was that the young secretary went clean
past his Penang masters, and wrote such a letter to Lord
Minto, the chief of the Bengal Government, that the
whole policy was reversed, and the discreditable des-
truction was never carried through.
Not bad that, for a young fellow's first effort at states-
manship. The small fry who flourished in Penang did
not like him for it.
Great events were then on the move in Europe.
Napoleon was at the zenith of his power. Holland and
all its colonies had come under the French rule. Dutch-
men and Frenchmen were laying their heads together
to drive the British out of the East Indies. Rumours of
projected armaments against various British stations
filtered through the gossip of the native bazaars. But
the lethargic authorities paid no heed. Raffles felt the
36 STAMFORD RAFFLES— THE MAN
undercurrents, divined the movements of the Dutch,
but could get no one to listen to his ideas. At last he
took his political life in his hands by a bold move. It
was the move of one who by a secret intuition knows
the psychological moment has arrived, who sees or makes
opportunities. He left his family, embarked in a small
vessel for Calcutta (June 1810), and presented himself
before his chief. Lord Minto. There had been some
talk about Raffles being appointed as Governor over the
Molucca Islands, and Minto, thinking his subordinate
had come to ask for this, was dismissing him with the
remark that the post had been promised to another,
when Raffles made reply that it was not about the Moluc-
cas he had ventured to come, but about some other islands,
" well worthy of my Lord's attention — Java, for in-
stance." Raffles himself has put it on record that when
he mentioned " Java," Lord Minto cast upon him a
strange, keen, penetrating but kind look, such as never
could be forgotten. His bullet had found its billet.
The bold move had found a responsive spirit in the bosom
of a real leader of men. Discussion, the shaping of
plans, a secret compact followed. Minto had long
desired information, and a man. Both had now come
to him unexpectedly in the visit of this unusual secre-
tary. So back Raffles came to the Straits Settlements
with a commission as Agent to the Governor-General
in the Malay States, his headquarters to be Malacca.
For several months Raffles worked under this commis-
sion. Not a whisper of his plans reached the Dutch.
It was known, of course, that something big was con-
templated, but no one penetrated the purposes of the
genial, smiling Agent who talked so affably to everybody
and seemed so free from state anxieties. At last all was
ready. Minto himself arrived. When consulted upon
the project of an attack upon Java, even the Naval
Commander-in-Chief thought it madness. Raffles was
able to override even that opposition. In June 1811
the fleet sailed, choosing a channel which all the naval
experts condemned, but recommended by Raffles from
LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR OF JAVA 37
information given to him by the natives. The attack
took Java by complete surprise. The battle of Cornelis
crowned the daring adventure with success, and the
vast territory of the world's loveliest island became a
British possession.
It was only fitting that the one man whose genius
had seen and seized the opportunity should now receive
the responsibilities and honour of the adventure. Minto
was big enoughand generous enough to see that. And thus,
by one step, the obscure young secretary (thirty years
old) became the ruler of the new conquest as Lieutenant-
Governor of Java. For the next five years Java was
under Raffles 's care. This undoubtedly was the greatest
period of his career. The full strength of his genius
expressed itself in the immense problems of those years.
We may gather up the influences of Java upon the
man Raffles under three heads. These will tell us how
he was prepared and made perfect for the one imperish-
^ able act which was to outshine even the glory of Java
* in his career.
In the School of Tyranny he learned the hatred of evil
and perceived the real destiny of Britain in Malaya.
In the School of Slander he learned how bitter must
be the pathway of the man who is determined to truckle
to no evil.
In the School of Sorrow he learned that vastness of
patience and certainty of touch which is the crowning
supremacy of human gifts.
Only after his character and his work had passed
through the three-times-heated crucible of such training
I did the Power, who disposes of what man is and of what
man does, deem Stamford Raffles ready for the deed that
was to make his memory immortal.
The School of Tyranny left its deep mark upon Raffles,
burning into his soul a hatred of hate and kindling a
very deep passion for liberty. It has been said that
ityranny is suicide, and there is not a story in all history
surpassing, in proof of this, the story of Java. Its rich
volcanic soil, combined with the patient labour of a
38 STAMFORD RAFFLES— THE MAN
simple and contented people, had made Java a natural
paradise when the Dutch entered it as traders and
conquerors in the seventeenth century. They came as
children of light and liberty, for, during the century
previous to this, Holland had been the supreme bulwark
in Europe against the cruelties of Spain and the In-
quisition. By a strange fatality this excess of success
in the cause of liberty seemed to slay liberty in their
souls. The Dutch were traders rather than statesmen.
They made the mistake of thinking colonies should
exist for the benefit not of the natives, but solely of the
colonists. This mistake was a guiding principle in their
national policy. Against this policy of colonising
plunder when it was at its full ripeness Raffles came up,
and it revolted him. He found many of his own race
advocating it, and the revulsion hardened into a granite
opposition. There can be no doubt that much of the
bitterness he encountered from the inner circle of the
Company that employed him was due to their hatred
of his policy of fair play and freedom for the natives.
The lessons he learned in the School of Tyranny have a
direct bearing upon his eagerness to found Singapore.
The new trading station was a deliberate blow at tyranny
and monopoly and racial prejudice. " You cannot go
on with tyranny beyond a certain point," he would say.
" The kris and the bullet finish the story. You may
clothe the acts of tyranny in careful official language,
you may cover the deeds of cruelty with the plea of
commercial necessity, and it may all seem safe and plau-
sible on the pages of your reports and ledgers, but the
ink of the writing is blood-red, and the shadows on the
screens are shadows of ruined villages and debt-ridden
peasants, and after that, the bodies of white men lying
gashed and hidden in the jungle. Whereas the prosper-
ous effects of fair and statesmanlike dealing come to the
surface every time." Such thoughts were not the mere
vapourings of an eloquent tongue. In actual experience
conduct and character crowned the precepts. Raffles
ruled Java for five critical years. He was able to claim
RAFFLES SLANDERED 39
that in these years a revolution was effected which two
centuries of Dutch administration had scarcely dreamed
of. Slavery was abolished ; the use of torture in the
law-courts was abolished ; trial by jury was instituted ;
a system of land tenure was devised which made the
Government's income depend upon the people's pros-
perity. The removal, in these various directions, of
shackles that hampered free development of a people's
resources and energy sent the revenue up to seven times
the highest total reached under the old regime, and
inspired those feelings of confidence and just dealing in
the native mind which are the best guarantee of loyalty
and peace.
When the island was restored to the Dutch in 181 6
all these changes were quietly accepted and continued.
Tyranny itself had been taught a lesson of enlightened
statesmanship. And the gulf between the old and the
new is bridged by the work of a man whose courage and
genius could neither be denied nor prevent him from
being hated.
Hated ! of course. No man can do work which over-
turns other men's policies and deprives rascals of ill-
gotten gains without being hated. Such hate, however,
may be a clean thing. There is, besides, an unclean and
slanderous hate, and Raffles found this to his cost. " A
man's foes shall be they of his own household," says an
ancient manuscript. Raffles found the saying all too
true. His slanderers were his associates. There were
two of them : one was Blagrave and the other was
Gillespie. Blagrave was proceeding to the Moluccas in
the Company's service shortly after the British were
established at Batavia, and, attracted by the new Colony,
readily accepted a temporary post as secretary on
Raffles's staff. A very brief experience of him was suffi-
cient to prove his unsuitableness. His personal habits
were disagreeable, and his talents were not brilliant
enough to compensate. So Raffles told him he was no
longer wanted in Java, and should go on to his own billet
at the Moluccas. Blagrave declined to take such instruc-
40 STAMFORD RAFFLES— THE MAN
tions, and was summarily dismissed. Instead of going
on to the Moluccas he made his way to Calcutta. In
Calcutta he met General Gillespie, who also was chafing
with anger at Raffles. Gillespie was a man of consider-
able influence and achievements. As commander of the
troops in Java he had been given a seat on the Council
when Raffles was made Governor of Java in 1 8 1 1 . The
two never pulled together. The military mind collided
with the political. Raffles wanted to reduce expenses
and send away some of the troops as unnecessary.
Gillespie always stood out for a full military establish-
ment, pleading the possibility of a re-invasion by the
French from Europe to recover their lost island. Some
costly appointments on the military staff were made by
Gillespie, and Raffles, with his hand on the money-bags,
would not sanction them. These, however, are just
the ordinary and perpetual collisions found everywhere
between the civilian and the soldier ; and had the dis-
putes remained within that official atmosphere, there
never need have been serious trouble. It is always the
personal rather than the official conflict that stirs the
muddy depths of enmity. After the battle of Jocjo-
carta in June 1812, the troops under the command of
Gillespie got out of hand, and plundered the captured
town. Gillespie apparently acquiesced in this breach
of British rule, and Raffles as Governor strongly pro-
tested. The General was compelled to admit his error,
sheltering himself with the weak excuse that he had been
wounded, and consequently discipline in the army had
been allowed to slacken. After the work of military
subjection was completed, Gillespie went to live at
Tjipanas, in the mountains beside the mineral springs.
There he lived in luxurious retirement, developing an
extensive estate. Being head of the army he claimed
exemption from the taxes imposed by Government ; he
also hired labourers, but refused to pay them wages, thus
claiming to be a law to himself, in spite of the definite
assurance of the Government to the natives that all
labour would be duly paid for. It was indeed an insolent
JEALOUSY OF CONTEMPORARIES 41
attempt to reintroduce for his own personal benefit the
feudal system which had been the widespread evil of
the former Franco-Dutch rule. Raffles made sure of
his facts, and then drew Gillespie's attention to the
misconduct. To such a man as Gillespie interference
like this was unheard of, and intolerable. That a
civilian should meddle with a military officer's privileges !
What rudeness and indecency was this ! He sputtered
out his rage. But against the calm, suave, studied
politeness of Raffles he made no more impression than
spray against a rock. This point, too, had to be yielded.
Something still more serious came out in the controversy.
At Samarang there was an orphan school for girls. The
General had used the terror of his name and office to
demand for immoral purposes a girl from that school.
Misconduct of this kind in Batavia itself had before this
tarnished the General's reputation. Evidently he be-
longed to that school of thought where selfishness and
lust override the ten commandments. When these
things came to Raffles 's ears he refrained from pushing
enquiries to an extremity, for the publicity of an open
rupture between the Governor and the General would
tend to weaken the Government's authority. And so
Gillespie escaped.
In the career of Raffles one has frequently to encounter
quarrels of this kind. Wherever he went undercurrents
of enmity ran strong. In Penang it was Bannerman,
in Java it was Gillespie, in Singapore it was Farquhar.
One wonders who was to blame. It certainly looks bad
when the same one quarrels with many ; and the im-
mediate judgment suggests that the one could not always
be innocent. Why did so many of his compeers hate
him ? Did his ability provoke their jealousy ? Was
it the fact that he had come into the service of the Com-
pany, not by the usual way of family tradition and
I favour, but by the force of sheer merit, and so always
seemed an outsider and an upstart ? Was it ?
There are many surmises easy to make. But this may
je said, that in all the quarrels one can recognise a high.
42 STAMFORD RAFFLES— THE MAN
clean, disinterested earnestness over against the loose
morals and the slack, proud disdain of those who despised
the natives and who thought themselves born to rule,
ruling being interpreted as arrogance. lago said of Cassio:
" The daily beauty of his hfe makes me ugly," and
Shakespeare thought that a sufficient seed of hate and
tragedy. Such a saying may be the key to the mystery
of Raffles's frequent quarrels.
It happened that Lord Minto retired from supreme
office a few weeks after the fuming Gillespie arrived in
Calcutta. He was succeeded by Lord Moira. The new
" Pharaoh " did not know " Joseph " ; and it was easy
for Gillespie to drop poison into his chief's mind.
Blagrave and Gillespie laid their heads together, and
on the I St January 1814 Lord Moira 's Council had before
them formulated charges against the administration in
Java. All the proceedings were conducted by the
Secret Department. Seventeen definite charges were
examined, the chief being that Raffles had been a private
purchaser of Government lands at the time he was
Governor of Java ; that he had rejected a tender of a
higher sum in one lot than the price he and his friends
were willing to offer ; that he had rewarded his chief
friend and co-partner in these transactions with the
lease of a mountain famous for its edible birds' nests
(a Chinese delicacy) at an unduly small sum. A cunning
mixture of truth and falsehood held these charges to-
gether. It was true that Raffles had privately purchased
some Government land, and this was against the rules
of the Company. But the situation was exceptional,
and critical for the whole future of the Colony. In the
chaos of the times public confidence had to be restored.
The commercial leaders would not purchase unless they
had the Government in some way behind them. To
meet the case Raffles took his reputation in his hands and
became a joint-purchaser with others at a public sale of
land. This gave the necessary confidence, and the
commercial future of the Colony was assured. Lord
Minto, in his original instructions to Raffles, had fore-
A DRAMATIC SCENE 43
seen the possibility and sanctioned it. Gillespie himself,
as a member of the Council, had given his consent at the
time. Of course the fact that the Governor became a
private purchaser of land was open to very grave
objection. It was a risk incurred to encourage timid
purchasers, and it attained its purpose. Why did Gilles-
pie not protest at the time ? He was present at the sale.
He was silent when he should have spoken ; now he
spoke when he should have been silent. What motive
prompted that ?
The other charges were mostly false. The birds'
nests were mares' nests. A fair price had been paid
for the lease. No one save those who wished to
besmirch Raffles ever thought of saying otherwise. As a
result of the secret enquiries a letter containing the whole
string of charges and demanding explanations was drawn
up with unseemly haste, and on the 24th February 1814
it arrived in Java, without previous warning of any kind.
It fell like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
A dramatic scene, partly vouched for by eye-witnesses,
partly revealed in private letters, partly guessed at by
the sympathetic imagination, enables us to see far into
the workings of Raffles's mind. The day the letter
arrived a large party of British and Dutch residents had
assembled at Government House, Buitenzorg. A play
was to be performed by the members of Raffles's staff,
and a ball was to follow. After three years of strenuous
toil Raffles had attained the pinnacle of his success, and
had so gained the confidence of all that even the heredi-
tary enmity between Dutch and British had vanished.
There did not seem a cloud in the sky ; and this brilliant
assembly celebrated his achievement. In the midst of
the festivity the blue packet with its red tape and seal
was handed to the host, and, excusing himself to his
guests, he retired for a few minutes to peruse the message.
When he returned no visitor could perceive the slightest
alteration in his manner. He went in and out among
his friends and guests with that alluring smile Abdullah
speaks of, engaging, animated, losing himself in the
44 STAMFORD RAFFLES— THE MAN
happiness of his companions. Only Olivia, his wife,
saw the look of suppressed pain that lingered in his eyes.
It was very late when all the guests had retired, and
relaxation was possible. He sank into a chair, for a
moment felt as if he would faint ; a sudden pang
stabbed him somewhere in the centre of his skull. Then
he recovered, felt calm, and looked up at Olivia, smiling.
The smile did not deceive her.
" What has happened, Stamford ? " she asked.
" Something is wrong. Tell me."
" Oh, it's only a letter that I have received from
Calcutta. I must answer it at once. Here it is. Read
it. While you are reading, I will think out my reply."
She took the big blue packet from his hand, opened
it, and slowly read. But as she went on, a surge of feel-
ings welled up within her and clouded her eyes so that
she could not see the words. Suddenly she burst out :
" Oh, I can't stand it ! "
" Stand it ? Stand what ? " Raffles quietly asked.
" I cannot stand your quietness in face of this slander.
You ought to be raging and stamping 1 "
As she spoke, she herself crumpled up the papers in
her hands, crushing them with passionate gestures ;
then she threw them on the floor and stamped on them
with her foot again and again and again.
" Don't, Olivia, don't ! That's Government paper.
You must show it proper respect." His raillery was
lost on her.
" No ! " she cried hysterically. "It's a viper — a
slanderous viper — a cold-blooded, stinging viper, and
you ought to be battering and slaying it. Oh, I'm so
sorry ! "
The wave of indignation had spent itself as suddenly
as it had risen, collapsing into womanly weeping. For
a time the room was perfectly still, save for the convul-
sive beating of her sobs. When she recollected herself
he was saying, " That's better, my dear. You are a
good wife to me. You have helped me and cleared my
brain by exploding rage for me. Now I can write my
I
RAFFLES VINDICATED 45
reply clearly. See, I will get pen and paper and write
it here. We shall write it together, and slay this viper
of slander before we go to bed. Then we shall both feel
better in the morning."
And the letter that was written may be read on page
225 of Mr. Boulger's most excellent biography.
The sequel to all this is very sad reading. Before
Raffles 's reply reached Calcutta General Gillespie was
dead ; a brave soldier's fate had overtaken him in the
battle of Kalunga. The Government Secret Depart-
ment which had been so hasty in accepting the charges
became very slack and slow in considering their refuta-
tion. Thirteen months passed before Lord Moira's very
stiff and unyielding minute on the subject was issued.
Meanwhile many things had happened. The great
European war was ended. The British had given Java
back to the Dutch. Olivia was dead. And (but very
grudgingly) Raffles had been appointed as Governor of
Bencoolen.
Before taking up his new duties he went to England
for his first furlough. There he memorialised the
Supreme Council at Leadenhall Street for a full acquittal.
Then it was found that so averse to Java and its value
(although it was the richest of the Eastern Islands and
more valuable at that time than British India itself)
were the nincompoops in office that despatches from
Java had not even been opened. The complete justifica-
tion of the policy and work of Raffles came very tardily
on the 13th February 181 7. He had been in the School
of Slander for three bitter years.
When Raffles was saying good-bye to his Java staff
in March 1816, he did what great men, who are also men
of deep feelings, on rare occasions have been known to do
— for a brief moment he dropped the official reserve, and
spokewords that gave a vision of his innermost sanctuary.
" You have been with me," he said, " in the days of
happiness and joy — in the hours that were beguiled
away under the enchanting spell of one of whom the
recollection awakens feelings which I cannot suppress."
I
46 STAMFORD RAFFLES— THE MAN
It was of Olivia he spoke. Whoever would under-
stand the soul of Stamford Raffles must ponder over the
element of enraptured romance he hints at in the
words " enchanting spell " which then escaped from his
lips, loosened for an instant.
The spell had lasted twelve years when the words were
spoken, and, though he married again and had all the
diverting allurements of a family of young children to
dim the memory of Olivia, it is undoubted that she
was for ever to him as one who had been buried in
his heart.
She was ten years his senior, and a widow when he
first met her. One day in August or September 1804,
a tall Irish lady with flashing black eyes, calling herself
Mrs. Olivia Fancourt, presented her petition at the East
India House for the pension due to her late husband,
who had been an assistant surgeon in India from 1791
until his death in 1800. It fell to Raffles to receive and
arrange the lady's business. .So, across the counter,
talking prosaic details of finance, our Romeo met his
Juliet. Love cares nothing for conventional barriers.
Difference in their ages and widowhood created no
difficulty. Some six months later, when Raffles received
his appointment to Penang, the two were married in the
Parish Church of St. George, Bloomsbury, and sailed
away together for life's adventure in the Far Eastern
seas.
And it was not only upon Raffles that the enchanting
spell of Olivia lighted. In the highest circles she shone
as a star. Among the ladies of the Court at Calcutta
Lord Minto distinguishes her as " the great lady with
dark eyes, lively manner, accomplished and clever. She
was one of the beauties to whom Anacreontic Moore
addressed many of his amatory elegies." John Leyden,
in a letter, called her " my dear sister Olivia," and, in a
poem written immediately after a visit to Penang during
which he had been the guest of Raffles and Olivia at
" Runnymede," and had been tended through a time
of severe sickness by his hostess, apostrophising the
DREAMS OF A MALAY EMPIRE 47
departed year (i 805), this great scholar and friend of Sir
Walter Scott thus expresses the soul of friendship —
But chief that in this Eeistern isle.
Girt by the green and glistening wave,
Olivia's kind endearing smile
Seemed to recall me from the grave.
When far beyond Malaya's sea
I trace dark Soonda's forests drear,
Olivia I I shall think of thee
And bless thy steps, departed year.
Abdullah, whose reminiscences are our chief authority
for the personal touches in Raffles's career, speaks of
Olivia as one " in every respect co-equal with her
husband's position and responsibilities — ^when buying
anything he always deferred to her. Thus, if it pleased
his wife, it pleased him. Her habits were active — sewing
— writing — always at work with diligence, as day succeeds
day. Unlike the Malayan women who, on becoming
wives of great people, increase their arrogance, laziness,
and habitual procrastination, Mrs. Raffles kept her hands
in continual motion, like chopping one bit after another.
She did the duty of her husband ; indeed, it was she who
taught him. Thus God had matched them as King
and Counsellor, or as a ring with its jewels."
This moulding influence of Olivia upon her young
husband was supplemented by the even more remarkable
influence of John Leyden. They were a trio of friends.
Three months in Penang under Raffles's roof welded
them all together in a friendship that was passionate and
lifelong. The great dream of a Malay Empire under
British guidance was stimulated in Raffles's mind during
the intercourse of those memorable days he spent with
the spacious and fiery mind of the amazing Scottish
scholar. There had been an ancient Malay Empire.
Even to-day the Malay bears the marks of an imperious
and dominant race. Aristocracy, like the perfume of a
faded flower, hovers about many of their ways. But
luxury and success spoiled the hardihood of the imperial
race. Long centuries ago, the crowd of States had been
united under one suzerain. He was the Bitara, or Lord
48 STAMFORD RAFFLES— THE MAN
Protector, and ruled in Java. Why not revive the
ancient title under the British flag ? asked Leyden.
Might not the Governor-General be the " Bitara " of
a new Malayan Confederation of States ? Let the rights
of individual rajahs be respected. Let the freedom of
the seas be established. Let piracy be swept from the
avenues of trade. Let slavery be abolished. Let the
Chinese, or any others who came only to oppress the
honourable citizens, feel the power of a strong, just rule.
Under such a " Bitara " as the good Maharajah of
Bengal (as Leyden suggested to Lord Minto himself)
this could all be done. Away with the Chinese tax-
farms ! Away with the Dutch monopolies ! Away
with the Americans who recklessly introduced firearms !
Malaya for the Malays ! Let kindly civilisation, with
freedom of trade, freedom of religion, freedom of educa-
tion, bring peace to the torn and plundered islands of
ancient Malaya !
Raffles, Olivia, and Leyden were welded together into
a triple chain of noble ambition as such thoughts as these
were melted and moulded in the furnace of their friend-
ship.
Together the three of them went to Java in 1811.
The success of Minto's expedition seemed to herald the
fulfilment of their vision. Alas, two days after the
battle of Cornelis, Leyden died ! His eager mind had
drawn him immediately to the archives of Batavia,
and he commenced a study of the papers for help in the
scheme. He went into a room that had long been
closed up, spent some time examining the musty insect-
bored volumes on the shelves. When he came out of
the room he was a stricken man. Two days of fever
and he died in Raffles's arms. This was a cruel stroke
of sorrow. One of the friends would never see the dream
fulfilled. But two were left. So, as we have seen.
Raffles and Olivia carried through their great Java
work. Three years they toiled together, and then
Olivia followed Leyden into the shadows. Raffles was
now alone. And when the crash came in 1816, and the
RAFFLES AT BENCOOLEN 49
British removed from Java, the dream seemed com-
pletely vanished.
The next three years, till 18 19, must have been bitter
and solitary. Many a day, had we been able, we might
have interpreted his feelings in some such way as this :
He is stationed at Bencoolen ; as his enemies sinisterly
think, shunted there out of the way. When we look
in upon him he is in a reminiscent mood. The day
has been nerve-racking and tiring. He has closed his
eyes, and the paper he was reading lies idly upon his
knees. This, as Abdullah has told us, is his favourite
attitude for meditation. Abdullah knew not to disturb
his master when he fell into such an attitude. This
time, however, the tired mind has dropped into something
deeper than reflection. The weary brain has stolen a
march upon his will, and he sleeps. In his sleep reminis-
cence becomes a vision. The miracle of ancient times
repeats itself, and the shadow on the dial has gone back
several degrees. The years are abolished. He is back
in Java again. Java ! His lost Paradise. Olivia and
Leyden are with him. He and they have just been
talking of their Malayan dream. Somehow, every time
Raffles felt himself sorely pressed with cares of state
; and out of touch with the harmonies of things, every
time the petty, tantalising demands of life jarred him, it
, was always to these two his soul reached back. Oh,
I how full and glorious had been those Java days 1 Olivia
is sitting beside him at the table. Across the room, with
[ his back towards them, stands Leyden ; he is searching
[for some book on the shelf. That is like him ; like the
[eager student and the friend of the great Sir Walter.
jLeyden turns, his big eyes shine out of his round,
iboyish face. He has found the book he wanted. Then
Ihe talks. How gloriously Leyden talks 1 . . . Then, with
[a slight shiver, the dreamer awakes. The paper falls
from his knee. He makes a quick gesture to catch it,
and the movement brings him completely back to his
lonely world. " Dear me ! I must have been asleep.
Are they gone? quite gone? Where are they? They
1—5
50 STAMFORD RAFFLES— THE MAN
were here so vividly a moment ago. Where are they —
my friends, OUvia and Leyden ? Their bodies are in
Java. But they, where ? And the great dream of
Malaya we dreamed together 1 Is that completely
vanished too ? "
It seemed vanished ; but it was not so. The School
of Sorrow had now completed the work commenced in
the Schools of Tyranny and Slander ; and of Raffles,
as of Charles Lamb, S. T. Coleridge might now have
said : " I look upon you as a man called by sorrow
and anguish and a strange desolation of hopes into quiet-
ness, and a soul set apart and made peculiar to God 1 "
A soul set apart, indeed ! An instrument now com-
pleted, tempered, and ground and set I And when 1819
arrived, the hour of Singapore's destiny struck, for the
man of her destiny was ready.
II. Steps Towards Singapore
When the fatal decision was made that Java was to
be handed back to the Dutch, it seemed the knell of
British ascendancy in Malaya. Nothing was able to
stay the encroachments of the monopolists. Pontianak
and Malacca fell into their hands. Experienced British
traders prepared to withdraw. The Native States began
to accept the inevitable. Driven from honest trading,
and made desperate by the extreme severity of the
white man's punishments, pirate parties increased all
along the coasts, until the seas became infested with
danger. Devotion and patriotism, which might have
been the pillars of racial virtue, became crimes. Soon
Raffles was driven to say, " I much fear the Dutch have
hardly left British traders an inch of ground to stand
upon."
On the 20th March 181 8 he arrived at Bencoolen to
take up his new work as Governor there. Difficulties
beset him on every side. It was known that he was in
great disfavour with the London Secret Committee. His
friends on the Governing Board had to use their utmost
influence to prevent his being recalled altogether and
INTERVIEW WITH LORD HASTINGS 51
put out of the service. The fact was that the authorities
had accepted the Dutch ascendancy in the Far East as
settled, and were in terror lest any fresh collision of trade
interests in the Straits might involve trouble and war
in Europe. Now Napoleon was crushed they were
determined at all costs to maintain peace. But Raffles
had come back to Malaya with a clear policy in his mind.
He saw farther into the future than any of his contem-
poraries, and to his mind the time had come for a
supreme stroke. It was now or never. Singapore
was the point of action he had secretly determined on.
His secret was known only to one or two.
His first step towards Singapore was the winning of
Lord Hastings, who had succeeded Lord Minto as Gover-
nor-General in Bengal, whence all movements of policy
were directed. In a letter intimating his arrival at his
post as Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen, Raffles asked
permission to visit Calcutta to lay before the Supreme
Council there his ideas concerning Sumatra and the
Archipelago. He was cordially permitted. Hastings
was big enough to apprehend and accept his brilliant
subordinate's daring suggestions, and Raffles came away
from the interview with a special twofold commission :
to settle the Acheen dispute and to occupy or create a
trading station somewhere south of Malacca, Rhio and
Johore being indicated as possible places. But even as
he sanctioned this new move, Hastings, remembering
the opposition to Raffles at home, had some misgiving.
Raffles instinctively had an inkling of this wavering in
^he mind of his chief, and determined to act with light-
ing promptitude. On the sth December he received
lis completed instructions. On the 12th December he
sailed in the Nearchus for Penang. On the 3 1 st December
he arrived at Penang. Here, however, he was beset
with a myriad obstacles, and an extraordinary and
dramatic duel of interests and wit ensued during the
next three weeks between Governor Bannerman of
Penang and the newly appointed Agent, seeking at last
the realisation of his life's long dream.
'o
52 STAMFORD RAFFLES— THE MAN
Again a little imagination is needed to get inside what
happened. New Year's Eve at the dawning of 1819
opens the drama. The arrival of Raffles dropped like a
stone into the peaceful pool of official life in Penang.
Plottings and small ambitions were violently upset by
his coming. Governor Bannerman, either because he
had accepted the supremacy of the Dutch in the Straits
as an irretrievable fact, or, more probably, because
jealousy prompted him to resent the new commission
which made Raffles independent of the Penang Govern-
ment, did his utmost to upset the new scheme. The
affairs of Acheen and the establishment of new trading
stations had hitherto been in Bannerman's hands. It
was natural for a small man to feel resentment at the
intruder who poached upon his preserves. And these
preserves, especially in Acheen, were in very delicate
condition at this juncture. Johor, the legitimate King
of Acheen, was a highly educated man, but had fallen
under evil influences and drunken habits. There had
been disputes in the royal house, and a band of chiefs
wished to depose Johor and make Saif king. Saif was
the son of Syed Hussain, a wealthy Penang merchant.
The security of the rival claimants depended upon which
of them could win the support of the British authorities
in Penang. By lavish gifts and secret intrigues the
Penang merchant had so wormed himself into favour that
the Penang Government had joined the plot to dethrone
Johor and establish Saif as King of the Acheenese. Six
months before this, both claimants had sent representa-
tions to Lord Hastings, and it was the settlement of this
dispute that had been put into the hands of Raffles.
Raffles, it was rumoured, favoured strongly the claims
of Johor, the legitimate king. His coming was very
untimely for the plans of Syed Hussain and the officials
of Penang who were involved. These had got round
Governor Bannerman, and roused his already jealous
feelings against one whom they called an interloper.
The other item in Raffles 's new commission was dis-
tasteful to the entire policy of the Penang officials.
I
HOSTILITY AT PENANG 53
Any trading station further east than Penang would
be bound to threaten Penang's prosperity and leading
position. For many years it had been the policy of
the Penang Government to prevent this. And now
that the Dutch had taken over Malacca, it became a
fixed policy that no British trading station should be
established as a rival to Penang. Raffles was the one
man in the Service who had all along stood up against
this traditional and parochial policy. At last, by his
persuasive tongue, he had convinced the Chief in Bengal
that a larger policy was possible as well as expedient.
Unless the British secured a station somewhere on the
main trading-route round the south of the Malay
Peninsula, the Dutch would soon have entire control
of all the Far Eastern commerce.
The Dutch were pressing in everywhere. The supine,
not to say scandalous, attitude of the Penang officials
gave the Hollanders chances they were quick to seize.
Malacca itself had been given up to them in September
1 81 8, and Major WilHam Farquhar, the late British
Resident, was actually in Penang waiting for a home-
ward-bound ship, disgust at the futility of opposing the
Dutch encroachments making him irritated at the
whole Service. When Raffles reached Penang he
immediately found a kindred spirit in Farquhar. The
news had just arrived that Rhio had been occupied by
the Dutch. To Farquhar's mind the only other avail-
able spot for a British station was the Karimon Islands.
Any day the Dutch might land there. No one men-
tioned Singapore. It was a decayed and forgotten
place. Yet already Raffles had settled in his mind that
Singapore was the destined place. Among so many
enemies he kept his own counsel.
The Dutch were pushing into Acheen affairs. A
Dutch brig sailed into Teluksamoy and sent a present
of three guns to King Johor, saying they would become
his protector and restore his authority if he gave the
word. Johor was tempted, but answered that he would
wait first for the reply now daily expected from the
I
54 STAMFORD RAFFLES— THE MAN
British. The truth was, he had received a private
letter from Raffles sent even before Raffles went to
consult Lord Hastings in Calcutta, and he trusted in
that. Still, if the British failed him, he would put him-
self under the Dutch flag. Knowledge of this crisis
made Raffles feel that there was no time to lose. Both
in Acheen and in the search for a new trading station
in the south, days, if not even hours, might turn the
scales.
In both directions Governor Bannerman was blocking
the way. He would not consent to give Raffles the ships
and men he needed, neither for the one part nor the
other of the double commission. He persisted in urging
delay. There were difficulties, he said. They had
better refer the whole matter again to Bengal. The
new Dutch encroachments raised new questions. All of
which was simply a clumsy effort to keep Raffles
kicking his heels in Penang, and prevent him going
either west or south.
Raffles, as we have seen, found a kindred spirit in
Farquhar. Let us listen to them talking over the
breakfast-table at " Runnymede," where Raffles and
his wife. Dr. Jack, and Farquhar were gathered one
morning during the first week of 1819.
Farquhar : " What do you think you will do ? "
Raffles : " I haven't made up my mind yet. Things
seem to be very crooked here. Even bribery and
corruption are afoot. Do you know, yesterday a string
of pearls was left here as a present to my wife from some
wealthy Arab — Hussain himself, I think. Does he
think he will bribe me ? I can't make out what the
Governor wants. He will neither consent to my going
to Acheen nor to my going south. And he knows very
well that every hour is precious. We are likely to be
ousted from the whole country if we do not hurry up."
Farquhar : " Well, I am done with it. I want to get
home. Now that the Hollanders have Malacca and
Rhio, we may as well retire. There is only one small
chance left. That is, to get Karimon. Karimon is the
RAFFLES AND BANNERMAN 55
only possible key out of our prison. Once let them get
Karimon, and the whole trade route by the south is
theirs."
Raffles (bending his head down upon his hands,
with finger-tips pressed together, and a faint flicker of
a smile hovering on his lips) : " Then you think Karimon
is the place. Well, will you join me in securing it ? I
am commissioned by Lord Hastings to settle the Acheen
affair first, and after that to go south and find a site
for a new trading station. From what you say, and
from what I know, delay is fatal. If you would go on
to secure Karimon, I could go to Acheen, settle that,
and then come on to join you. In that way we might
foil the enemy in both places."
Farquhar was persuaded. Raffles, of course, had no
intention of making Karimon the place. But he felt
himself in the midst of plottings. He remembered his
misgivings about Hastings. As a matter of fact a
countermanding letter was actually on the way pro-
hibiting him from making the effort to found a new
colony. Nothing but the promptest action could gain
the day. He went to his desk and wrote to Banner-
man :
" My commission is to go first to Acheen and settle
the dispute there. After that I have to proceed south
and make a stand for British interests at some point
beyond Malacca. The Dutch have taken Rhio. This
was anticipated by Lord Hastings. My commission
tells me to find a spot the Dutch have not yet occupied.
In my mind I have such a spot where we may maintain
the British flag flying. I cannot disobey my instruc-
tions, and therefore must go to Acheen first. My
decision is made. Give me the necessary facilities so
that I may send Farquhar to search for likely places
down the Straits, until I am ready to join him."
This was exactly what his enemies wanted. Banner-
man and those around him now thought they had
Raffles in their net. Arrangements were hastily made,
56 STAMFORD RAFFLES— THE MAN
and on the i8th January, Farquhar, in charge of a Httle
squadron of ships, left Penang Roads and sailed towards
the south. Farquhar's ships were hardly out of sight
when Governor Bannerman wrote to Raffles earnestly
urging him to postpone his Acheen mission, on the plea
that a reply to a reference which had been made to the
Bengal Authorities was due in a few days. Raffles was
to be held up idle in Penang. This was what Dr. Jack
sarcastically called " Bannerman's master-stroke."
The moment Raffles received the Governor's communi-
cation, he took action. Official sanction now covered
the apparent disobedience to the order of his com-
mission, which was Acheen first and then the new colony.
A special messenger was secretly sent to Farquhar,
whose ships, outside the harbour, were at anchor waiting
for the tide that would enable them to pass through
the shallow south channel. Farquhar was instructed
to proceed slowly, and expect Raffles to make up on
the squadron. It was well on in the afternoon when
that message was delivered and Farquhar sailed. The
ship which had been waiting in readiness to take Raffles
to Acheen was in the harbour. All that night busy
men were carrying Raffles 's baggage on board. Before
daybreak the eager dreamer, now on the verge of his
great adventure, was in his study writing a reply to the
Governor, and saying : " I agree to your request to delay
my journey to Acheen. Meantime, not to waste time,
I am off to join Farquhar and to carry out the second
part of my commission, and to found the new colony in
the South."
When Bannerman, and the various officials and others
who had duped him, got up on the morning of the
19th January, it was to find that the bird had broken the
meshes of the net and flown at daybreak, not to be
recalled. The memorable voyage had begun. There
were six ships in the little fleet. It is worth while re-
calling their names : two cruisers, Nearchus and Minto ;
and four merchant ships. Mercury, Indiana, Enterprise,
and Ganges. The Minto carried Raffles.
LANDING AT SINGAPORE 57
To please Farquhar they halted and inspected Kari-
mon. It was found to be impenetrable jungle and quite
unsuitable. On the evening of the 28th January they cast
anchor at Pulo Skijang, and the moment for the glorious
beginning had arrived.
III. The Glorious Beginning
Mr. Buckley, with his characteristic painstaking, has
arranged for us a host of minute details by which we
are able to follow the movements of Raffles almost
step by step when he landed in the morning. The
entrance to the river was thick with mangrove trees.
The little canoe, carrying Raffles and Farquhar and one
sepoy soldier, was rowed up the stream some 400 yards.
On their left was a slight hill covered with jungle, and
beyond that a wide stretch of marsh. No inhabitant
was to be seen on that side of the river. On their right
appeared a clearing with some forty or fifty Malay huts
and one larger house. A few coconut palms stood in
the foreground. Boats, swarming with men, women
and children, retreated up the river as the strangers
advanced. Opposite the big house the canoe halted,
and the two adventurers landed. Farquhar sat down
under a tree, saying : "I'll wait here and keep my eye
on the boat." Raffles walked up to the house. Far-
quhar then followed and came to the edge of the
verandah. The Tumungong came out and gave them
some rambutan. Then Raffles went inside. The con-
versation that followed made a favourable impression
upon the Tumungong, and about four in the afternoon
Raffles and his companions returned to the ships lying
at anchor near St. John's Island.
Next day the work of colonising was begun. Tents
and baggage were brought ashore. The scrub that
filled the plain was cut down to make room for the
tents. A well was dug, and, as a token of friendship,
all drank of the water. Raffles spent most of that day
with the Tumungong, and a preliminary treaty was made.
More than this the Tumungong was unable to do, for
I
58 STAMFORD RAFFLES— THE MAN
though he was chief of the island of Singapore, he held
his rights under the Sultan of Johore. A difficulty
arose because of this, for the Sultan had recently died,
and the succession was in dispute between two sons.
Hoosain, the eldest son of the late Sultan, was on the
island of Pinigad, near Rhio, waiting there till the
dispute should be settled. According to Malay custom,
no Sultan could be enthroned without the necessary
regalia, and the regalia was in the jealous possession of
Tunku Putri, the widow of the late ruler. Farquhar
was therefore dispatched to interview this spirited old
lady. When he landed in Pinigad, he found Sultan
Hoosain quite willing to follow the lead of the British.
Abdullah gives a gross and graphic picture of this
potentate. He was a fleshly man, shapeless with fat,
as broad as he was long ; his head was so sunk in his
body that he seemed neckless. He walked with feet
wide apart as if balancing the mass he had to carry.
The voice that issued from his wide, sensuous mouth was
husky and toneless. When he sat, he slept. This was
the man Farquhar returned with on the sth February.
Meantime, Raffles had made considerable progress with
his scheme. The ground of the coming city had been
surveyed. " Here I am in Singapore," he wrote to
Mr. Marsden, " true to my word and in the enjoyment
of all the pleasure which a footing on such classic ground
inspires. It is the very seat of the ancient Malayan
Empire. There will be violent opposition on the part
of the Government of Penang. But if I keep Singapore
I shall be satisfied." On Saturday, the 6th February,
the fruits of Raffles's survey appeared. A careful treaty
was drawn up, inscribed on sheets of rough, thick, white
foolscap. The British were authorised to establish a
factory, and in return the Tumungong and Sultan both
agreed that no other nation should receive trading
rights in the place. Full protection of the Malays was
guaranteed by the British, and ample income allowances
for the two chiefs were ratified. To this document the
seal of the Honourable East India Company, on thick.
FOUNDATIONS OF GOVERNMENT 59
red sealing-wax, was attached. Raffles signed. The
chops of the Sultan and the Tumungong were made by
holding the brass seal in the smoke of a lamp until it
was covered with lamp-black, and then pressing it
upon the paper. That same day Raffles, as Lieutenant-
Governor of the new station, handed to Major Farquhar
a long letter he had drafted, conveying minute instruc-
tions about the future development of the city. At
last the dream was becoming a visible reality, and the
quick spirit of Raffles saw already the crowds flocking
to create a fair and flourishing colony. That lonely
week of thought planted the seed of a hundred years.
Even to-day the plans he conceived for the future of
the city he loved to call his " political child " make
wonderful reading as they are unfolded in minutes, and
proclamations, and speeches fortunately preserved. In
them we see the dreamer as a practical statesman. He
foresaw the amazing mixture of races that would gather
at the new port upon the highway of the seas. To meet
this unusual condition he laid aside both the idea of
maintaining by law the customs of the natives and the
idea of imposing European laws with their civilised
but foreign processes. His guiding rule was to reach
after first principles, and to make the government of
the Settlement stand simply for the suppression of
crime, the security of property, and the encourage-
ment of the free growth of moral and mental gifts in
the whole populace. The Malays were compelled to
lay aside the kris ; gambling and cock-fighting were
made illegal because they induced quarrels and robbery ;
slavery was prohibited ; the use of opium and spirituous
liquors was strictly regulated in order to suppress
intoxication ; the far-reaching principle was laid down
that if a woman debased herself by prostitution, no one
save herself was to be allowed to trade upon her sin —
a brothel was to be an impossibility in Singapore ! The
whole trade of the port was to be free and open to all.
A copestone was placed upon this arch of civic life by
the establishment of a college, founded and generously
6o STAMFORD RAFFLES— THE MAN
endowed for permanent generations, in which Malayan
and Chinese literature was to be fostered, and education
afforded for the sons of the higher classes of natives and
others. " Education," said Raffles, " must keep pace
with commerce in order that its benefits may be insured
and its evils avoided. However inviting and extensive
the resources of a country may be, they can best be
drawn forth by the native energies of the people them-
selves. Singapore is the most eligible situation for an
educational establishment. It is a place, central among
the Malay States, hallowed by the ideas of a remote
antiquity, venerable in its associations and memories
as the seat of their ancient government and the home
of their ancient line of kings. If commerce brings
wealth to our shores, it is the spirit of literature and
philanthropy that teaches us how to employ it for the
noblest uses. It is this that made Britain go forth
among the nations strong in her native might to dispense
blessings to all around her. I am sanguine in my hope
that Singapore will stand foremost in effecting that
grand object of Christian civilisation."
Under the sway of such elevated and imperial thoughts
the foundations of the Lion City of Malaya were laid
a hundred years ago.
It is somewhat disconcerting at first to remember
how few of the days of his life Raffles really spent in
the city which for ever embalms his fame: in 1819,
from the 28th January to the 7th February, ten days ;
in 1 820, from June to September, barely four months ;
in 1822-3, from October to June, another eight months.
That was all, just one year, in three broken visits ;
and three-fourths of the time he suffered from head-
aches that seemed to split his skull. Yes, it is somewhat
disconcerting to think of it. But he came to his work,
an instrument set to perfection. Time is not needed
for great work, if the hand that works is a master-hand.
One has seen a painter, after long brooding, moving
backward, forward, to this side, to that side, standing
BANNERMAN AND THE DUTCH 6i
abstractedly as if doing nothing, while the onlooker
grew aweary of waiting, suddenly step up to the
canvas and with the quick flick of his hand put just
one tiny speck upon the painting ; no more ! but all
the skill of concentrated genius appeared in the wonder-
ful and glorious effect of that divine touch. The
picture lived. And one has seen a golfer address his
ball with flourishes and glances and measurings until
it seemed as if nothing but palaver was in the game,
and then, a subtle swerving of the lithe body, a sudden
complicated jerk and stroke, and the ball rose from
the grass as if inspired and ran like a live thing straight
for its hole, and disappeared. Such a master-painter
and such a golfer was Raffles, only he painted upon the
canvas of an empire's life and struck the golf-ball of
an empire's destiny.
In one of his letters he said that he liked to look
" a hundred years ahead" ; and during that week in
February 1819, and during the brief visits he made
afterwards to see how his political child fared, his eyes
always had the far-away look of the dreamer who dips
into the future far as human eye can see, though his
hands were always those of the practical worker. Over
Singapore, therefore, as over few of the cities of the
world, hovers the glory of an ideal.
Raffles foresaw that there would be violent oppo-
sition to the new colony, and sure enough the storm
came from almost every quarter. The Sultan and the
Tumungong funked, and sent cringing letters of ex-
planation to the Dutch ; the Dutch Governor of Malacca
wrote to Governor Bannerman of Penang that Singa-
pore had been seized by force, and threatened to attack
the new station. Bannerman replied deprecating any
acts of war, pleading that he had written the Governor-
General denouncing Raffles and all his doings. It was
a base despatch, from a man who looked into the
future with fluttering and cowardly heart. At the
moment he wrote this letter of trembling fear. Banner-
man had in his hands an urgent appeal from Farquhar
I
62 STAMFORD RAFFLES— THE MAN
asking for reinforcements in view of the expected Dutch
attack. Bannerman replied : " Give up this mad
adventure. Are you justified in shedding blood ?
You have the cruiser Nearchus and the brig Ganges
with you. Remove your party in them. You must
not expect help from me till I have heard from Bengal.
A force from here could not oppose the overwhelming
armament at the disposal of the Batavian Govern-
ment." The letter to Bengal had ridiculed the founding
of Singapore as one of " Raffles 's aberrations," and so,
on the 2oth February, Lord Hastings wrote : " Raffles
was not justified in sending Major Farquhar. If the
post has not been obtained he is to desist from any
further attempt to establish one." Had Raffles gone
first to Acheen, as his original commission instructed
him, Singapore would never have been founded. For-
tunately, the post had been secured three weeks before
that despatch was penned. In a later despatch
Hastings said that since the station had been occupied
and the British flag hoisted, the inevitable had to be
accepted and the flag maintained. When the news
reached London the Secret Committee at India House
could not restrain its fear. They seemed frantic with
anxiety, and wrote Hastings as if in immediate dread of
a war with Holland : " Any difficulty with the Dutch
will be created by Sir Stamford Raffles 's intemperance
of conduct." And these were our practical statesmen !
But the practical mystic had baffled them. Events
proved that the " political child " was safe. In July
1820, to his cousin. Raffles summed up the situation :
Instead of being supported by my own Parliament
I find them deserting me and giving way in every instance
to the unscrupulous and enormous pretensions of the
Dutch. . . . The great blow has been struck, and though
I may personally suffer in the scuffle, the nation will be
benefited. I should not be surprised were the ministers
to recall me."
OVERWHELMING SORROWS 63
IV. The Crushing of a Titanic Soul
While Singapore was thus lifting up its sunrise head
the shadows of sunset were grimly gathering on the
pathway of its founder. Bencoolen was the head-
quarters of the Settlements under his care, and thither
he went when he left Singapore on the 9th June 1823.
The East had now lost its fascination for him. No
wonder ! He who had been the proudest and happiest
of fathers was suddenly bereft of all his children.
Leopold, " the handsomest and most princely little
fellow that ever lived," just two years old, sickened,
and after scarcely a day's illness, died in June 1821.
Charlotte (the " Water- Lily " he called her), four years
of age, and Stamford, eighteen months, both died in
January 1822. In an effort of desperation to save her
life it was hastily arranged to send Ella, the only
remaining child, home to England. Under the strain
of all these griefs he collapsed. " I have been desper-
ately ill," he wrote in February 1822, " and confined to
a dark room the last ten days. A severe fever fell on
my brain, and drove me almost to madness. . . . All
our thoughts and all our wishes are now turned home-
wards. . . . Left without a single child ! and how recently
we had a round and happy circle ! "
Death struck at friends as well as children. In Sep-
tember 1822 Dr. Jack, the companion of many travels,
the chief enthusiast with Raffles in amassing the huge
collection of fauna and flora and curios now packed
in the Bencoolen sheds waiting for the homeward
Iourney, Jack, who was to have accompanied him to
England, was struck down with acute malaria, and
lied in Raffles 's house. " All my future views of life,"
aid the bereaved friend, " were intimately blended
vith plans and projects which we had formed." In
823 another letter tells of another blow. " My dear
and valued friend, Captain Salmond, is no more. ... I
have just opened his will and find he has nominated me
as his sole executor in the following words : — ' I appoint
64 STAMFORD RAFFLES— THE MAN
my only friend, Sir Stamford Raffles, to be my executor,
and I pray God he will take charge of my estate and
children.' The loss of poor Salmond is quite a death-
blow to the Settlement. How is it that all we love
and esteem, all those whose principles we admire, and
in whom we can place confidence, are thus carried off
while the vile and worthless remain ? "
All this accumulation of woes fell upon a nature of
wonderful natural buoyancy. Raffles always impressed
people with his bright enthusiasm. Abdullah said of
him : " He spoke in smiles." One can see the slightly
stooping figure of middle height, with fair hair crowning
a massive and shapely head, coming forward, eager to
talk, the spontaneous smile, like the flame of a lamp,
lighting up the whole face. Little things gave him
delight. He would go into lively laughter at the
gambolling of a monkey or the prattle of a child. People
were always on the watch about his house to sell him
curios. The discovery of a rare plant or an unusual
animal was certain to draw his interest and make him
happy. He loved to have people about him, and in
any entertainment that was afoot he was the centre
of life and spirit. Simplicity, energy, courage, hopeful-
ness were the secrets of his character. Yet he never
was physically strong. It was his spirit that carried
him through. Attacks of illness crippled him all his
days. In his later days one of his hands became
cramped. He suffered agonising pains in the head.
It was observed that his delicate and sensitive mind
was easily thrown into moods of depression. " Sir
Stamford is a very bad patient," wrote Dr. Jack once,
" there is no keeping up his spirits when he is ill." Of
religion he rarely spoke, but he went far into the heart
of things when he said : " To me Christianity is the
simplest of all religions, and therefore the best." In
the eyes of the natives he seemed a king. He loved the
Malays, and they in turn worshipped him. Of Henry
Esmond, Thackeray said that if he had gone into the
woods the wild tribes would at once have hailed him as
RAFFLES RETURNS TO ENGLAND 65
Sachem. That is the kind of man we have in Stamford
Raffles. Men marvelled as they saw him controlling
business. He would write a despatch himself, and at
the same time keep two assistants going to his dictation
upon other business. His personal staif toiled for him,
responding with eagerness to the energy of that brain
and the sympathy of that great heart.
As last he was ready to leave the East for ever. All
that remained to do was to gather together the accumu-
lations of natural and literary memorials of his Eastern
life. Between Raffles and the Company that employed
him there were many causes of quarrel. One of the
chief was his expenditure of the Company's money in
collecting objects of natural history and scientific
interest. The fat merchants of Leadenhall Street saw
no gain in securing quadrupeds and birds for a Zoo-
logical Garden, or in dried specimens of tapir and
seladang for a museum, or in manuscripts of ancient
Malayan learning. Raffles, therefore, had to put his
personal fortune into his scientific collection. And
when the chartered ship Fame was ready at daybreak in
February 1824 to stand out to sea, she carried as her
cargo a perfect menagerie and museum, animals and
plants and curios, as well as some three thousand draw-
ings and maps, one a great map of Sumatra on which
he had spent years of labour. Many of these things
were priceless because they could not be replaced, and
the whole was reckoned by Raffles to have cost him
something like £30,000.
How peaceful his mind must have been that day as
the ship glided on ! The long struggle of ambition was
crowned with success. With work well done he was
returning home, bringing his sheaves with him. The
garnered treasures of the long years were safely stored
beside him. Everything promised a quiet voyage, and
after that retirement and well-earned rest. Alas, one
day's sailing was all that ship attained ! The night came
down, and most of the passengers had retired to rest
when, at 8.20 p.m., the alarm of " Fire ! " shrieked
1—6
I
66 STAMFORD RAFFLES— THE MAN
through the ship. A careless steward had gone down
to the store-room with a naked hght in his hand to draw
off some brandy. HesHpped,theUght fell, the hquid took
fire, and in a few minutes the whole ship was in flames.
Ten minutes after the cry of alarm, all the crew
and passengers, most of them in the scantiest of hastily
snatched garments, were out on the sea in two frail,
small boats : and Raffles saw his life's work blaze to the
heavens in blue saltpetre flames, and then vanish in a
cloud of dull smoke. Eighteen hours later it was a very
faint and famished company that landed on the beach
of Bencoolen, glad to escape with the bare possession of
life. It was two months before another ship could be
ready. During that time, by dint of incredible labour.
Raffles had gathered again an immense store of specimens
to make up as best he could his heart-breaking losses.
The titanic soul was stunned and bruised, but not yet
beaten.
So, behold him again on his way home, halting at St.
Helena, where he receives the news that his mother is
dead, landing at Portsmouth on the 22nd August, shaken,
but " in better health than could have been expected."
A few months later we find him settled in his new farm-
home at Hendon, with William Wilberforce as his
neighbour, and deep in the counsels of Sir Humphrey
Davy, who was promoting the Zoological Gardens at
Regent's Park. But every bit of work now takes virtue
out of him. Headaches of the most violent nature
render him useless for days. A stroke that looked hke
apoplexy pointed a dismal and grim finger towards the
end. He recovered, and again became full of schemes.
Many of his friends urg»d him to take up Parliamentary
life, and the prospect of this dangled alluringly before
his eyes. First, however, he must get his financial
affairs settled. There were several accounts between
him and the Honourable Company in a state of uncer-
tain abeyance, some of them old accounts reaching
away back to the days of his administration in Java ;
complicated items that we need not tarry to explain.
STATUE OF SIR STAMFORD RAFFLES IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY
661
DEATH AT HENDON 67
Enough that they were financial vexations ; and that
Raffles hoped the Directors, remembering his services
and his losses on the Fame, would treat him fairly, if
not generously. A poor pension of £soo was mooted.
In case of possible demands, should the Directors harden
their hearts, he had placed his Eastern property in the
care of the great banking house of Palmer in India.
On the 1 2th April 1 826 the bolt from the blue fell. The
Directors revealed themselves as flinty, hard as steel.
A peremptory demand for the refunding of moneys up to
the sum of £22,272 was made. The total was worked
out with mathematical minuteness in petty percentages
and extra charges, in disputed " out-of-pocket " ex-
penses and so forth — one item being " house-rent in
Singapore," as if they were dealing with some runaway
tradesman. A few days after this demand was delivered
the mail arrived from India with the news that the great
banking house had failed, and in the wreck £16,000 of
Raffles '.s property disappeared. He was driven to the
necessity of craving indulgence until he could sell the
investment he had put aside for his family. Without
doing this he could not meet the claim.
Take a last imaginative look at him. He is sitting at
his table in Highwood, the Hendon house, one arm limp
at his side, the other flung across the table upon a heap of
papers all covered with weary figures and writing : " a
little old man, all yellow and blanched, with hair pretty
well bleached." The smile is wintry now. How old is
he ? Feelings would say something like a century. The
years say forty-five, if he lived till the 5th July. On the
15th June, in a letter to his clergyman cousin, he wrote :
" I have had a good deal to annoy me since I saw you
last, but it is a worldly affair, and I trust will not mate-
rially affect our happiness." The hay harvest drew him
out to his fields, and a few sunny days seemed to banish his
cares. After that he was sick and low for several days
with a bihous attack. On Tuesday, the 4th July , he retired
about eleven o'clock. The household had planned a
special day for the morrow ; it would be his birthday.
68 STAMFORD RAFFLES— THE MAN
Early on the summer morning his room was found
empty. Search was made. At the bottom of a flight
of stairs, struck by a stroke of epilepsy, lay the worn-
out body. The mighty spirit had at last escaped to its
well-earned rest.
The Life is the Man. What a man does reveals what
he is. Simply in the record of his shining achievements,
with no embellishment save the colouring brought by
eyes of sympathy and admiration, conscious of his
limitations but wishing only to remember his amazing
and sterling virtues, his stirring and golden example,
we hail across the century that great soul whose per-
manent monument is a living and noble city, and whose
memory will abide as a true empire builder and a great
Christian statesman, in the name Raffles of Singapore.
CHAPTER III
THE GOVERNMENT
SOME ACCOUNT OF OUR GOVERNORS AND
CIVIL SERVICE
By Bernard Nunn, Resident of Malacca
The subject is undoubtedly one which finds fittingly a
place in a book commemorating the Hundredth Anniver-
sary of the foundation of the Settlement of Singapore.
For the history of a place is the history of the men who
make it and live in it ; so that if we could portray the
lives of our governors and civil servants fully and accu-
rately, there would result a complete record of Singa-
pore during her hundred years of life. That would be,
however, not the history of Singapore as a single town or
settlement, but as the capital (if not the mother city) of
British Malaya. For though the Settlements rose one
by one and remained for a time under separate govern-
ments, and though Singapore was the latest founded of
the original three, they were very soon welded into
one whole, at the head of which, almost at a bound,
stood Singapore. And the prescient settlers of the
Straits, official and unofficial alike, were ever labouring
towards a further end — that of intimate relationship with
the neighbouring Native States of the Peninsula. This
article will show that the history of Singapore from a
time very soon after her starting-point was that of her
sister Settlements, and that gradually, imperceptibly,
but inevitably it became entwined with that of the
Malayan States, until the two main groups formed the
British Malaya of to-day.
And we cannot confine ourselves to an account of the
69
.-^L.
70 THE GOVERNMENT
lives and career* of governors and civil servants merely
in their relation to Singapore history and local politics,
omitting reference to their actions in the other Settle-
ments and in the States. Our most modern claim is
that we have one Civil Service, and the Straits Governors
have been connected with the Native States from the
first inception of British relationship with the latter.
It is proposed, then, to give a brief account of the
leading officers of the Civil Service, whether their careers
were mainly connected with Singapore or not, and, in
doing this, reference will be made to their idiosyncrasies
as well as their talents, their personal characteristics at
the same time as their politics, all with the deep respect
due to good and honest men who have deserved well of
their mother country and of British Mala5^a. The history
of our progress is so complicated that, in order duly to
set our stage and marshal our actors, some division into
act and scene is necessary. This may, perhaps, be effected
by separating the story into four main periods, as fol-
lows : —
The Four Periods
I. The founding and early History of the Settlements
to the date of Combination, 1826.
II. The Combined Settlements under the East India
Company to the date of the Transfer to the
Colonial Office, 1867.
III. The increase of intimacy with the Native States
of the Peninsula to the date of the Federation of
the Malay States, 1896.
IV. Modern Times.
Period I, 1 786-1 826
The First Period presents the initial difficulty of being
remote, and the books from which information is gathered
all betray to a somewhat marked extent the personal
feelings and predilections of the writers rather than the
clear, cold facts of the true historian. But this method
in many ways commends itself to us who pry for personal
detail and local colour amid the dull precisions of fact.
I
FRANCIS LIGHT 71
And the real romance and glamour of those days cannot
fail to attract, as one by one the actors take the stage,
just as the first view of the Straits, even in this matter-
of-fact age, does still impress and charm the new-comer.
Of course Malaya had endured a long and chequered
past ere ever the British came to know or have dealings
with her. But of the old warrings of Malay, Portuguese
and Hollander, tales and legends of Sang Superba,
Wertemanns, Francisco d 'Albuquerque, and their like,
ancient captains and seafarers in the Golden Chersonese,
we have not to tell. At the time our First Period opens
the Dutch were the European nation most in view in
this part of the East, for they held Malacca and many a
territory and island in the Straits, while the famous East
India Company, whose name is even now used by natives
as the designation of the British Government, was
content with one poor station at Bencoolen in Sumatra.
Up to 1786 the British had no foothold in the Straits.
Captain Francis Light, 1786-94
Then our first actor comes on the stage. Mr. Francis
Light, a shipmaster and friend of Warren Hastings,
arranged the cession of Penang, in those early days
known as Prince of Wales's Island, in honour of the then
heir to the throne (afterwards George IV), whose birthday
fell on the day succeeding the formal taking over of the
new Settlement in 1786. The other contracting party
was the Sultan of the neighbouring State of Kedah, with
whom Captain Light was on excellent terms, though it
appears that there is no ground for the tradition that
he married the Sultan's daughter and received Penang
I as his wedding-portion. Captain Light became Superin-
tendent of the island and Settlement, and will always
have the glory of having founded the first successful
" Colony " of the East India Company. So we find
him approved even by that sarcastic chronicler, Mr. J. T.
Thomson, F.R.G.S. (" late Government Surveyor Singa-
pore "), after whom is named Thomson Road, who cites
him as an example of the superiority of the " uncove-
72 THE GOVERNMENT
nanted " over the " covenanted " Civil Service of the
(by him) very much detested and execrated Company.
We shall allude to Mr. Thomson's views later ; in this
instance his rare praise is thoroughly deserved.
Captain Light's plans and dreams were not limited
to the furtherance of British interests in Kedah and the
northern portion of the Peninsula. His guiding idea
was to establish his country's influence in this part of
the world, and so curb the aggressive policy of the Dutch ;
and he perceived that the means to this end included the
securing of the Straits, an achievement which would also
safeguard our trade with China and the Farther East.
But it was necessary for him to deal first with Kedah
in order to establish Penang, the new Settlement designed
by him as the taking-off place for later advances ; and
it turned out that the inevitable problems and difficulties
that ensued formed his life's work. He is a romantic
and a great figure, and he undoubtedly laid the foundation
of British authority here, thus obtaining for us the
nucleus of what is now British Malaya.
Penang remained a Settlement subordinate to Bengal
until 1805, and in these years was ruled by Superinten-
dents and Lieutenant-Governors. During this period
government servants were largely dependent for their
salaries on private trading, and about this Mr. Thomson
has much trenchant, and in some instances well-deserved,
criticism to make with reference to the acts and speeches
of certain of the higher placed officials, one of whom, the
last Superintendent, Major MacDonald, he quotes as
saying, with reference to the non-official colonists, who
in those days were only present on sufferance or licence
from the East India Company : " As merchants only
should Europeans be permitted to settle ; if to their
convenience a few acres of ground for a house, garden,
and a few cows were thought necessary, I certainly am
of opinion it [sic] should be granted ; and, where a
spirit of industry — a love of improvement — is evinced
in Europeans, worthy of indulgence, I should have no
objection to an extension of grant." No wonder that
MALACCA'S FORTIFICATIONS 73
Mr. Thomson styles him " a grammarless, inflated, and
insolent puppet in power ! "
After this gentleman we find a Lieutenant-Governor
at Penang, Sir George Leith, who arranged the purchase
of Province Wellesley from Kedah in 1800. This even
then fertile tract of country was later benefited, as was
also Penang, by the Siamese invasion and devastation
of Kedah in 1821, the fleeing population of the latter
making excellent settlers in British territory. But in
those days unfortunate Kedah was ceaselessly ravaged
by the Siamese and by internal strife, while at the last
even the British appear to have assisted her enemies,
with the result that " the Province " was replenished
with colonists, and " Englishmen speculated and grew
rich on the troubles of their neighbours " (Thomson).
That historian is content to leave the responsibility at
the door of the East India Company rather than at that
of the Home Government, and modern writers have
concluded that the Company's blame lies only in failure
generously to assist an old and friendly neighbour.
Mr. Robert Farquhar was Lieutenant-Governor of
Penang in 1803, and Mr. Dundas was first Governor in
1805, when the Settlement became an independent
Presidency of India. As such she continued under
several undistinguished Governors until 1826, when she
formed one of the " Incorporated Settlements of Prince
of Wales's Island, Singapore, and Malacca."
Malacca, i 795-1 826
Between the years 1795 and 181 8 the British were in
occupation of Malacca. We had taken over that Settle-
ment in the first place nominally as protectors of legiti-
mate Dutch rights usurped by Napoleon, and were pre-
pared to restore the place to its real owners at the
Peace of Amiens in 1802. But the war went on, and
the cost of administration became heavy, trade having
been largely diverted to Penang. It was under these
circumstances that Mr. Robert Farquhar, Penang's
Lieutenant-Governor, recommended that Malacca
74 THE GOVERNMENT
should be abandoned and her fortifications destroyed.
This proposal was sanctioned by the Court of Directors,
and the historic monuments of the past razed to the
ground at great expense ! And Malacca would have
been deserted by the British had it not been for the
efforts of the greatest of our pioneers in Malaya, Thomas
Stamford Raffles, who strongly urged on Lord Minto,
the Governor-General, the fact that such betrayal of
the local population would be a reflection on British
credit. Raffles had come out to the employment of
the East India Company in 1805 as Assistant Secretary
at Penang ; he afterwards became Colonial Secretary
there under Governor Dundas, and later, after a visit
to Calcutta in 1807, was given by Lord Minto a special
commission to act as " Governor-General's Agent in the
Eastern Seas." The wisdom of his advice to continue
the Settlement of Malacca was soon proved, for the
expedition which assembled for the conquest of Java
used the town as a base in 181 1.
By the Treaty of Vienna in 181 8 Malacca was given
back to the Dutch ; but she was again taken over by
Great Britain in 1824. In 1826 she joined her sister
Settlements as above stated.
Raffles, Lieutenant-Governor of Java
(1811-16)
After the conquest of Java Raffles became Lieutenant-
Governor of that island at the age of thirty, and after
only six years' service ip the East. He stayed there
for five years and then went home to recuperate. On
his return he was appointed to the charge of Bencoolen,
the mean original Settlement of the Company in
Sumatra. He had been knighted at home, and Ben-
coolen was made a Presidency in order to give him the
title of Lieutenant-Governor. It was about this time
that he laid before the Governor-General, Lord Hastings,
his scheme of occupying a central station in the Straits
south of Malacca. Two treaties were made, the first
with the Temenggong of Johore on the 30th January
SINGAPORE'S DEBT TO RAFFLES 75
1 8 19, the second with the Sultan and Temenggong on
the 6th February of the same year, as a result of which
Singapore was founded and placed under the Govern-
ment of Fort Marlborough, Bencoolen. Colonel (then
Major) William Farquhar was associated with Raffles
in the quest for a suitable barrier to Dutch influence in
the Straits, and he, and others on his behalf, have
claimed the honour of founding Singapore. It is
remarkable that one of his supporters is the famous
Abdullah (as chronicled in the Hikaiat), but later his-
torians, notably Sir Frank Swettenham, after examina-
tion of the evidence, have convicted the Munshi of
hearsay, and on the exhibits — the two treaties — have
given judgment in favour of Raffles.
Early Days of Singapore, 1819-25
There followed a period, 1819-25, when Singapore
was a struggling Settlement : for the first five years
subject to Bencoolen, with Raffles at the latter seat of
government ; for the next two subordinate to Bengal,
after the retirement of Raffles to England.
During the early part of this time she had to strive
against attacks and discouragement, which fortunately
Raffles was near at hand to combat. Lord Hastings
even, at one time, bade him desist from his enterprise
for fear of Dutch susceptibilities ; at another, Colonel
Bannerman, Governor of Penang, tried to wreck the
: new foundation, and counselled the Calcutta authorities
to that effect. This sisterly jealousy was no doubt
caused by Penang 's failure to found a Settlement at
Rhio. As Swettenham sums up the situation — " Had
it not been for Raffles, his insistence, his arguments, his
.labours to secure supporters for his scheme, it is certain
ithat Singapore would have been abandoned by the
British, and equally certain that it would now be a Dutch
possession." And with Raffles's final triumph he asso-
ciates the mercantile community of the Settlement,
who exerted all their influence to aid him.
Raffles went home in 1824, and, after having been
76 THE GOVERNMENT
attended by almost every imaginable misfortune, died
there two years later, " a little old man, all yellow and
shrivelled, with hair pretty well bleached," as he him-
self records — and only forty-five years old. Among
his many and varied acts in Singapore he furthered the
administration of justice by appointing magistrates,
founding Residents' courts, and instituting trial by jury.
He did much towards the planning of the new city, and
he instituted a system of land revenue. He was ardent
in the cause of education, and founded the famous
institution, now known by his name, to which succeed-
ing generations owe so much. He abolished slavery
in Singapore and Malacca. He left behind him the
outlines of a constitution for the Settlement for the
guidance of Mr. John Crawfurd, a new Resident of his
selection, thus laying the foundation of that enlightened
administration which has admittedly secured her lasting
prosperity.
Raffles and Light were the first of our nation to recog-
nise the importance of introducing British influence
into the Malayan Peninsula and Archipelago in order to
counteract that of the Dutch in Java. And, as the
former himself wrote in the early days of Singapore :
" You may take my word for it, this is by far the most
important station in the East, and as far as naval
superiority and commercial interests are concerned, of
much higher value than whole continents of territory."
It was his prescience and persistence only that
secured for us what, we have termed the capital city,
the centre and starting-point from which sprang, first
the Straits Settlements, and later British Malaya. Sir
Frank Swettenham expressed it in another passage :
" To him we owe Singapore, the gate of the Farther East,
a naval base of the highest importance, a great com-
mercial centre and the most prosperous of British Crown
Colonies. Indirectly, the foresight which secured
Singapore for the British Empire led also to the exten-
sion of British influence through the States of the
Malay Peninsula. ... In this no British party and no
I
EARLY TOWN PLANNING 77
British Government can claim to have taken any part.
. . . The man to whom the credit belongs gave his
talents and his life to achieve an end which he believed
to be necessary to the prestige, the power and the trade
of England in the Far East."
It is some consolation to us, as it must have been to
him, to know that, when he left Singapore for the last
time, the esteem and affection towards him of all
nationalities was shown in the most heartening farewell
address.
Colonel William Farquhar, First Resident
A word must here be said of Colonel William Farquhar,
the other outstanding figure of the earliest period of
Singapore's history. He was an officer of the Indian
Army, and was present at the surrender of Malacca in
1 795. He was in charge of that Settlement as Resident
on several occasions, and there has been some difference
of opinion as to whether it was he or Mr. Robert Far-
quhar of Penang who destroyed the fortifications in
1807. The discredit for this act of vandalism probably
belongs to the latter. He was Resident at Singapore
between the years 1819 and 1823.
At this period Singapore was regarded by the Supreme
Government as a military station. The Resident,
■ among his other duties, was the pohce magistrate.
Other Government officials were, apparently, an Assis-
itant Resident, a master attendant, a chaplain, a police
[.officer, and a survey officer. Farquhar's term of office
; was not specially noteworthy. It is understood that
[it was he who first suggested the establishment of a
Court of Requests, a name that survived up to modern
times. He also at one time inquired of Raffles whether
European merchants could be permitted to correspond
with the Native States ! He vied with Raffles in town-
planning, paying especial attention to the left bank of
the river. And he is responsible for the magnificent
esplanade, the land there being preserved on his protest
8o THE GOVERNMENT
Ava. He also wrote papers on scientific subjects, and
contributed to Logan's Journal. In 1856 he published
a Descriptive Dictionary of the Indian Isles. He was
first President of the Straits Settlements Association
formed in London in 1 868, the year of his death. Among
the principal acts of his Residentship the one perhaps
most discussed at the time was' his effort to legalise
gaming in order to produce revenue. Here Raffles was
against him ; but Buckley states that the preponderance
of European public opinion was with Crawfurd, on the
ground that a Farm could control gambling, whereas an
inefficient police force could not. Mr. Crawfurd also
laboured to establish a system which should separate
executive and judicial authority. But the most
important historical events of his term of office were
the two treaties of 1824.
The Two Treaties of 1824
The first, made with the Johore authorities, obtained
the complete cession of Singapore and the final aliena-
tion of all native claims to title thereto. The other
was the treaty between Great Britain and Holland,
under the terms of which the British gave up all their
possessions in Sumatra, with an agreement that no
future settlement should be made there, while the Dutch
gave up Malacca and agreed to abstain from all political
interference in the Malay Peninsula. They also with-
drew their objections to our occupation of Singapore.
So at this date we see not only our capital city finally
and completely established, but also the scope and field
of her ambitions and future enterprises clearly and dis-
tinctly defined.
Mr. Crawfurd was succeeded by a Mr. Prince, who had
been in the Bencoolen service, where he kept a private
river for the purpose of private trade, and, according
to Raffles himself, maintained himself for many years
without any charge to Government.
A TRINITY OF SETTLEMENTS 8i
The Three Settlements United
The three Settlements became the " Incorporated
Settlements of Prince of Wales's Island, Singapore, and
Malacca " in 1826. They also formed a fourth Presi-
dency of India. This event closes the First Period of
our history. Until 1826 there were no Governors of the
Colony, only Governors of Penang since 1795 (succeed-
ing Superintendents and Lieutenant-Governors), while
there were Residents at Singapore and Malacca, with
Raffles as Governor-General's Agent and Lieutenant-
Governor of Bencoolen in the background. Nor was
there a Civil Service proper to this country, the only
civil servants being a few covenanted officers of the
East India Company, drawn from the Bengal and
Bencoolen services, together with military officers and
a larger number of the " uncovenanted " taken into
government employment from other occupations. But
there were signs of the formation of a local Civil Service
in the fact that young officials from the Company's
service in other places were being appointed to junior
posts of Assistant Resident and the like in the Straits,
and there, by various stages of promotion, were rising
to the higher ranks of the administration. One of the
first of these was Mr. S. G. Bonham, afterwards to be
Governor of the Incorporated Settlements, and, later
still, Governor of Hongkong.
Period II, 1826-67
Our Second Period describes the history of the
Combined Settlements under the East India Company.
During this time the country must have been at least
happy, if the old proverb is true, as there is really little
to record. Gradually but surely Singapore asserted
herself as the most important of the Settlements, and
it is therefore with her domestic politics, her small local
bickerings (usually of unofficials versus officials), her
slow but sure climb upwards to prosperity, that (after
the first few years at any rate) historians have mainly
concerned themselves.
1—7
82 THE GOVERNMENT
Mr. Robert Fullerton, First Governor
The first Governor of the Straits Settlements, Mr.
Robert Fullerton, a Madras civilian, resided at Penang,
which in those days ranked as senior — witness the
order of the names in the title of the Colony and its
Court of Judicature at that time. Under this arrange-
ment there was a Resident Councillor in charge of
Singapore, and probably one at Malacca, though little
is known of the last-named, except that Mr. Fullerton
at one time desired to make it the capital for some
reason unexplained. His term of office was not a par-
ticularly auspicious one. He discouraged freedom of
the Press, and, like some of his predecessors, objected to
the presence of " Settlers " without licence from the
East India Company. The latter, however, on refer-
ence made, decided that as the persons then in question
had obtained " respectable employment," there was no
objection to their continuance at the Settlement so long
as they would " conduct themselves with propriety 1 "
Mr. Fullerton also had difficulty with the Chinese
agriculturists over a land-tax which he wished to intro-
duce, and, worse than that, he got into trouble with the
Company because the revenue of the Straits did not
increase as the expenditure certainly did. So the
Governor-General himself. Lord William Bentinck,
arrived in 1827, and remodelled the system of govern-
ment. Mr. Fullerton was swept away, and Mr. Ibbetson,
once Resident Councillor of Penang, reigned in his stead.
Soon afterwards the Straits ceased to be a Presidency,
and came under the Government of Bengal. We may
say here that in 1851 they passed to the control of the
Supreme Government of India, whence they finally
emerged as a Crown Colony in 1867.
There is nothing of importance to note with regard
to the Civil Service during this administration. A
Recorder was appointed from home, and various civil
servants sat in the Court of Requests, notably Mr.
Bonham and Mr. Presgrave, the latter a name later
well-known in the Straits. We also learn that civil
CRITIC OF THE CIVIL SERVICE 83
servants were expected to pass examinations in Chinese
and Siamese, an admirable rule tending towards effi-
ciency, though one may doubt the wisdom of selecting
Siamese as the second language while no mention is
made of Malay. The junior officials of the Service were
apparently described generally as " Assistants " at this
time.
Mr. Ibbetson
Little is known of Mr. Ibbetson, who held office till
1833. But during his period occurred the two Naning
wars, the result of unrest among the natives of that
district, now part of Malacca, upon the British taking
over suzerainty from the Dutch. There was also con-
siderable friction between the Executive and the
Judiciary, and in the years 183 1-3 the Governor pre-
sided over the courts in the absence of a Recorder.
Mr. Ibbetson himself held Assizes.
Mr. Murchison, 1833-7
He was succeeded by Mr. Kenneth Murchison, who
also presided in the Courts until the arrival of a Recorder.
Mr. Murchison had served previously in Penang, where
he had cultivated a very remunerative hobby, to wit,
land. For the Indian Government still, it seems, en-
couraged their Straits officials to invest their savings
in this manner ; and in this connection, we may note,
from criticism of the class for their keenness in this
direction which has been recorded, the existence of a
recognised Civil Service in the Straits, which had come
into definite being since the combination of the Settle-
ments. It was no doubt still but an offshoot of the
E.I.Co.'s service, but the remarks of Mr. J. T. Thomson
refer to that variety of the species domiciled in this
country. According to him the sea-front in Province
Wellesley was the property of " the Company's chief
official," who planted his two rows of coconut trees in
front of the ancient plantings of the natives. The same
individual maintained private ferries over the rivers,
and between Georgetown and the Province, also appro-
84 THE GOVERNMENT
priating the holdings of the inhabitants and driving
them from their patrimonies. And as to proof of these
charges ? Mr. Thomson, apparently, had none to bring.
His information seems to have been drawn from native
sources, for he was evidently at least as much under
such influence as the officials he chastised. Nor does
he ever name the persons he attacks. Oh the whole, it
seems that several pinches of salt are needed for the
digestion of his narrative.
But as we are on the subject of the Civil Service of
this period, and of Mr. Thomson, a few final quotations
from that mordant writer may not be out of place.
Writing in 1865 he says :
" Thirty years ago the E. I. Co.'s Civil Service was
rapturously named the finest Service in the World.
To live in it for twenty-one years and to do nothing,
either good or bad, but merely to beware of committing
oneself, was all that was necessary for the attainment
of fortune, pension, and honour. . . . Once nominated,
the Civil Servant had no further care in this world, for
had he not talents for the political or revenue depart-
ment, he was always fitted for the sacred office of a
Judge. And were he not fitted for that even, it was of
little consequence — he could always draw his monthly
salary bill and take his pension in due course."
He explains this by saying, " In early days the E. I. Co.
were mercantile adventurers, and their servants adven-
turers of all grades," for early civil servants were
" merely nominees of the Directors ; the service was
closed to talent." And in bitter conclusion he remarks
that while civil servants were " privileged classes " in
India, they were not drawn from the " privileged
classes " in England, the Service being not confined at
all to the aristocracy.
Mr. S. G. Bonham
Mr. Samuel George Bonham, whose name as a civil
servant has already been mentioned, succeeded Mr.
A POPULAR GOVERNOR 85
Murchison in 1837. He, like his three predecessors,
resided at Penang, at least at the commencement of his
term of office. Of him Mr. Thomson remarks : " He was
an upright man judged according to his lights, forgetting
how power might have been abused by an incompetent
or dishonest successor. As a good Company's servant
he was desirous to relieve Government from the heavy
burden of instituting a Court of Judicature, in which
he saw no use when such men as himself and Thomas
Church were there to perform the offices of judges of
the people. He retired from charge of the Government
respected and beloved by all who were so fortunate as to
have access to him. With him was not found any of the
repulsive hauteur of the Bengal Civilian." One wonders
what personal feelings lie behind these remarks, which do
not altogether disguise the powder in the spoonful of jam.
Mr. Bonham is also singled out for praise as having
allowed unofficials to serve the Company's Government.
He afterwards became Governor of Hongkong, and
was created a baronet for his services. As already
stated, he was one of the first Straits civil servants,
having been appointed Assistant Resident in Singapore
in 1823. He had originally come out to the Bencoolen
service at the age of fifteen. During his Governorship
" the last remnant of Slavery which existed in the
British Settlements in the Straits of Malacca has been
for ever abolished by the unanimous accord of the in-
habitants themselves." So Buckley quotes from a
Government notification signed by Mr. Bonham in
1842. We must also record that during his twelve
years of office, first as Resident Councillor and later as
Governor at Singapore, he saw that Settlement, which
now became the seat of the Straits Government and the
residence of the Governor, increase in importance every
year until it was recognised among the first of the com-
mercial ports of India. Mr. Bonham was distinguished
for his liberal hospitality, especially exhibited during
the continual passage of troops and men-of-war on their
way to the various China expeditions.
86 THE GOVERNMENT
Mr. Thomas Church
A prominent civil servant of his time was Mr. Thomas
Church, who became Resident Councillor in Singapore in
1837. He also had been a member of the Bencoolen
Civil Service, and, on the abolition of that Government,
was transferred to Penang. In 1828 he was Deputy
Resident at Malacca, and in that capacity had some
dealings with the Chief of Naning before the war of
1 83 1. He retired in 1835, but, changing his mind, came
out again and actually administered the government for
a time in Singapore, displacing Bonham (who was then
acting) owing to some uncertainty as to their relative
seniority. Afterwards he served under Bonham ; but
his hopes of succeeding him were disappointed, a
rumour, according to Buckley, being current at the time
that it was known in Calcutta that he did not give good
dinners, which difficulty was felt to be insurmountable.
He was in charge of Singapore during a part of the
next Governorship, but he did not act as Governor,
Mr. Blundell directing the Government from Penang.
Mr. Church was renowned as a diligent worker, disposing,
inter alia, of the greater part of the civil business of the
Singapore Courts, visits of judges being then rare and
hurried. The verdict of the time was that he was a
very useful public servant, unaffectedly anxious for the
welfare and advancement of Singapore, which owed
him much. He was also thanked by the rulers of Johore
for his help and advice, which helped to make that
country " populous again." He seems to have had a
reputation for a certain closeness, but he was at times
generous if not liberal. His wife, who survived him,
died in Singapore as late as 1884. " Singapore may
well wish to see his like again, . . . one of the most
hardworking, conscientious men that ever came there."
Major Low, circa 1850
Another famous civil servant of this time was Major
Low, whowas employed as magistrate, chief of police, etc.,
mainly in Penang, till 1850. He was also a writer on
"A PERFECT GENTLEMAN" 87
the agriculture, geology, and history of the Straits and
the Malay Peninsula ; one of the first in a field in which
our Civil Service has since so greatly distinguished itself.
Mr. E. a. Blundell, circa 1843
Another officer of outstanding eminence at this period
was Mr. Edmund Augustus Blundell. It was confi-
dently expected that he would succeed Governor Bon-
ham, but the powers that were willed otherwise, and
Colonel Butterworth held office from 1843 to 1855.
At the time of Colonel Butterworth's appointment
there was considerable criticism directed against Lord
Ellenborough, the Governor-General, who seemed " to
place his special delight in depressing and mortifying
the Civil Service, and bestowing all the lucrative and
honourable posts on the Military." Thus Buckley
quotes the Singapore Free Press of the time. And
stress was laid on Blundell's claims to office as being
familiar with the language and customs of the people,
and a keen agriculturist who might have encouraged
cultivation and opened up new districts in the Settlement.'
Mr. Blundell went to India for a time on transfer, but
he returned as Resident Councillor, Malacca, in 1848,
at which date the same paper hoped that his appoint-
ment there was only preliminary to his restitution as
Governor of the Straits, and that " our present worthy
Governor " would receive an appointment in his own
profession. Mr. Blundell did come back in that capacity,
but not till 1855, a sufficiently long wait.
Colonel William John Butterworth
Colonel Butterworth entered on his duties in a blaze
of unpopularity, not of course directed at him person-
ally so much as against the Company for passing over
Mr. Blundell. But, though thus handicapped at the
start, before he left Singapore he had won the good
opinion of the inhabitants, who gave him a most hand-
some address on his departure. His twelve years of
office saw several improvements and innovations. He
88 THE GOVERNMENT
did a great deal in the cause of education, and he estab-
lished the Volunteer Corps, which boasts the proud
motto " Primus in Indis." The trade of Singapore
also during this period continued largely to increase.
Governor Butterworth has been described as " a perfect
gentleman, though a good deal of a military Bahadour."
He was also, it seems, an arbiter elegantice, who at-
tempted to introduce black as the social evening wear
instead of the white of that fortunate day. And his
efforts in this direction have, to a certain extent, un-
doubtedly been successful, though there appears to be
some tendency nowadays towards a counter-revolution.
An address of the Chamber of Commerce on his retire-
ment, which Buckley quotes, leaves no doubt that he
earnestly advocated every measure calculated to pro-
mote the interests of Singapore, that he did not per-
petuate the fault of some of his predecessors in making
personal access a difficulty, and that he was truly
appreciated by the mercantile community.
One noteworthy event of his administration was an
epidemic of Chinese rioting, indirectly due to troubles
in China, but probably the work of secret societies,
with which he dealt firmly, his proclamations pointing
out that the Government would not put up with such
behaviour from alien sojourners in the country. In his
work the Governor was well supported by Mr. Thomas
Dunman, who had been appointed Superintendent of
Police, and had already placed that establishment on a
sound basis. He held this post from 1843 to 1871.
Mr. Thomson also instances him as a type of the use-
ful " uncovenanted servants " of the Company.
Another notable civil servant of this time was Mr.
William Willans, who became a clerk in the Land
Office in 1842 and retired in 1882 as Colonial Treasurer.
He was a nephew of Mr. Church, and held at various
periods nearly all the official posts of the Service. On
his appointment as Coroner, in addition to being Chief
Clerk of the Treasury, Official Assignee, etc., etc.,the Free
Press said : " He is a young gentleman of great activity,
OPPOSITION TO PORT DUES 89
but how he will be able to attend to all the duties of
his multifarious employments we are quite at a loss to
conceive." Several young gentlemen of the Civil Service
have probably since broken his record ! Mr. Willans
died at Brighton in 1903, and the Free Press, in an obi-
tuary notice, praised his kindliness of disposition, re-
marking that his friends noticed in him a likeness to
Thackeray's Colonel Newcome.
The paper also recorded that he cultivated a nutmeg
plantation of i ,600 acres, which is now the site of Tanglin
Barracks. He -is also worthy of note as having drawn
a pension for twenty-one years after a service of forty
in the Tropics.
Mr. E. a. Blundell
Mr. Blundell succeeded Colonel Butterworth as
Governor, after having been out in the cold for twelve
years. He had been a Penang civil servant since 1821,
and had served in India for a time after Mr. Bonham's
retirement from the Straits. He acted as Governor on
several occasions before his permanent appointment.
Curiously enough, when he did succeed to the highest
post of government, he disappointed expectations.
During his administration there was constant friction
between the official and unofficial elements. At one
time the whole of the " independent and unpaid "
Justices of the Peace resigned office on a question as to
the appointment of the police, who were termed " dis-
gracefully inefficient." There was also an attempt to
introduce port dues on shipping, to which the merchants
made successful opposition. The government effort
was described at a public meeting as "in direct viola-
tion of the principles upon which the Settlement was
established and calculated to endanger the very exis-
tence of its trade." There was trouble, too, in the
enforcement of new Police Acts, ending in riots, and the
policy of the Governor and conduct of the authorities
in afterwards failing to support their subordinates was
severely criticised by the unofficial public. It was even
90 THE GOVERNMENT
threatened to report the Governor to the Supreme
Government, but this idea was not proceeded with.
Mr. Blundell was, however, rather roughly handled by
the Press, and before his retirement became even
unpopular.
In connection with Mr. Blundell's term of office, Mr.
Buckley has pointed out that, on the authority of per-
sons present at the time, the Governor was consulted by
Lord Elgin, then British High Commissioner in China,
and on his way thither, in the old Government House
on Fort Canning, as to the advisability of diverting the
troops bound for China to India, on the news just re-
ceived of the outbreak of the Mutiny. Mr. Blundell,
as we know, had Indian experience, and on being
questioned as to whether in his opinion the trouble was
likely to spread, answered in the affirmative. He is
undoubtedly, then, entitled to a share of credit for a
decision which probably saved Calcutta. Major McNair,
who was present at the time as Private Secretary, is
one of Mr. Buckley's authorities for this account of the
matter.
An interesting light on the condition of the Civil
Service about this time is thrown by a petition to the
Secretary of State in 1856, which claims that " Several of
the officers discharge duties which are not implied in
the designation of their offices." Thus the Resident
Councillors of Penang and Singapore were Treasurers
and Auditors of their own accounts, Accountants-
General of the Court, Superintendents of Lands, Regis-
trars of Shipping, Vendors of Stamps, and Presidents of
Municipal Commissioners,while at Singapore the Resident
Councillor " was also Registrar of Imports and Exports,
and it was utterly impossible with such multifarious
duties to give them the attention they required. The
Resident Councillor at Malacca, however, has ample
time for the performance of the duties incident to the
various offices he holds as stated." It appears, then,
that at this time there were Resident Councillors at all
three Settlements. But we think that a later generation
SIR \V. ORFEUR CAVENAGH, K.C.S.I
1.90]
TRANSFER TO COLONIAL OFFICE 91
will scarcely now endorse the remarks as to the leisure
of the official head of Malacca.
Colonel Cavenagh
Mr. Blundell was succeeded in 1861 by Colonel Orfeur
Cavenagh, a Mutiny veteran, who came to the Straits
expecting to stay a short time only, but actually endured
till the transfer to the Colonial Office in 1867. He had
the reputation of taking a great personal interest in his
work, and he identified himself with the life and the pro-
gress of Singapore. He stood out against attempts to
impose prejudicial taxation, such as income tax and
tonnage dues. He was especially known for the readi-
ness with which he invariably made himself accessible
to all classes of the community, and was in all respects
a most popular chief. He died in 1891 as K.C.S.I.
The Coming Transfer
At the very commencement of his administration it
was evident that the transfer of the Settlements to the
control of the Colonial Office was imminent. And it
is here that a brief account of the reasons for the transfer,
taken largely from Mr. Buckley and Sir Frank Swetten-
ham's book, to both of which we are indebted for many
(not all acknowledged) quotations, may be given. The
principal cause of the transfer was the feeling in Singa-
pore, which had been growing for years, that the Supreme
Government in Bengal was able to give very little atten-
tion to the affairs of the place, so far from Calcutta and
so different from India in many respects. It was also
certain that but small interest was being taken in the
now rapidly extending relations of the Straits with the
Native States, the ultimate aim of Raffles's policy and
the goal of the hopes of all thinking citizens of Singapore.
Matters of foreign policy also, dealings with neighbour-
ing powers, such as, in particular, Holland, were being
delayed by having to pass through the office of the
Governor-General.
Another most important reason for the change was
92 THE GOVERNMENT
urged by Lord Canning, the Governor-General at that
time. This was the necessity of providing a Civil
Service which should, ab initio, become acquainted with
the language and customs of the Malays and Chinese of
the Settlements, rather than a collection of Indian
officers who must commence the study after different
experiences elsewhere. Lord Canning insisted that if
the Straits Settlements were to remain under India it
would be necessary to devise a system by which its
servants should receive a special training, and that
without such a provision the Indian Government would
not be doing justice to this country.
In spite of these strong reasons for transfer, opinion
on the subject, even in the Straits, was not unanimous.
But one of the chief deciding factors in its favour was
clearly the belief that under the Colonial Office there
would be more encouragement for the cultivation of
intercourse with the Native States of the Peninsula.
And, as Buckley reminds us, the strongly expressed
desire of Europeans in India after the Mutiny to have
their government placed directly under the Crown gave
the Straits Settlements, then part of India for adminis-
trative purposes, an opportunity of raising the same
question.
To cut a long story short, the transfer, which had been
discussed throughout most of Mr. Blundell's adminis-
tration (he, it may be noted, was not in favour of it)
and all of Colonel Cavenagh's, finally became settled in
1867, after multitudinous references, reports, speeches
in Parliament, etc., etc. The most vexed question at
this time was as to the extent of the military contri-
bution to the Imperial Government.
Some remarks of an author writing just before the
transfer, Mr. John Cameron, F.R.G.S., may be of interest
here. He described Colonel Cavenagh as "a most
painstaking Governor," one who made himself acquain-
ted with the most minute affairs of government, and was
well acquainted with the character and peculiarities of
the population. " But," he comments, " the Hmited
A STRAITS CIVIL SERVICE 93
power of the Government of the Straits was little calcu-
lated to develop administrative capacity. Though
surrounded by important interests, the Governors
have but too often found that they can interfere neither
with dignity nor with effect. It is to be hoped that,
under the direct control of the Imperial Government,
the Governor will be vested with full powers as Her
Majesty's Representative and Plenipotentiary in the
Malay Peninsula and Indian Archipelago."
As to the accomplished fact, the same writer also
made some valuable remarks. He admits neglect of
the Settlements by India, who had nothing in common
with so distant a Province, but adds that Raffles founded
Singapore on so liberal and enlightened principles, that,
in spite of neglect, the enterprise of her merchants and
excellent geographical position gave her a high com-
mercial importance. " Penang and Malacca prospered
with her, though not to the same degree." He claims,
however, that the Indian Government never sought to
make a profit out of the Straits, and only tried to raise
sufficient funds to cover civil and military expenditure.
He eulogises the care of Raffles and Crawfurd, who
watched over early development, and did not try to
hurry on enactment after enactment in ill-directed haste,
and he finally sums up by saying that " the Indian
Government will hand over a trust honestly kept."
With this measure of praise and blame to the past
incumbents of the hegemony of the Straits, we come to
the end of our Second Period. A very important stage
in our history has been reached. That nucleus of British
influence in the Malay Peninsula, the Straits Settle-
ments, was now ready to expand and develop on the
lines dreamed of by Raffles and laboured for by the ener-
getic citizens of Singapore who followed him. To aid
that expansion and development it was necessary, as
Lord Canning, Mr. Cameron, and others foresaw, to
possess Governors with less hampered powers and civil
servants specially trained and educated for the task in
hand ; the former to be responsible directly to the
94 THE GOVERNMENT
Home Government, and not through the medium of
Governor-Generals in India. The latter to be " Our
Civil Service," not a collection of military officers and
gentlemen sent haphazard from Bengal.
Period III, 1867-96.
Our Third Period comprises the years between the
date of the transfer and the date of the federation of
the Native States.
During this time the aim of Light and Raffles, and of
all those foreseeing citizens who had fought for and
brought about the transfer, was definitely achieved — the
extension of British influence from the Straits to the
Malay Peninsula. The foregoing periods had seen the
first foundations of scattered Settlements gradually
formed into one edifice ; seen this edifice shed the scaffold-
poles of India's protection which it had outgrown, and
stand at last firm in its own strength and inspiration.
The present period sees the Governors, officers, and
private citizens of the Crown Colony no longer content
with a starting-point of British influence in the Middle
East, but ever insisting on the establishment of that
influence throughout the whole of Malaya. And, in
examining the history of this important stage of develop-
ment, we see, bound up with it, the growth of the Civil
Service, that necessary instrument to aid the progress of
the great idea, advancing on the lines advocated by Lord
Canning, Thomas Braddell, and others who had the
country's interests at heart.
Colonel Harry St. George Ord, 1867-73
The first Governor under the new regime was Colonel
Harry St. George Ord, of the Royal Engineers, who
came to the Straits from the West Coast of Africa. He
was an unpopular Governor, being regarded as masterful
and overbearing, and extravagant in his views of what
was due to the dignity of his office. He did not seek
advice, and did not accept it when it was tendered.
On his arrival the usual Crown Colony constitution, com-
COLONEL ORD CRITICISED 95
prising an Executive and a Legislative Council, came into
being. The new Governor's character being what it
was, it is not surprising that the unofficial element was
soon in opposition. All the same, Ord was a man of
strong character and ability, the latter especially finan-
cial, for, coming to a country which had always been a
burden on Indian finances, he made it pay its way, and
even accumulate a credit balance. But it must be
admitted that his administration did little to advance
the dominating aim of this period. Herein he differs
from the majority of his successors. And in the end, it
may have been an advantage that the first Governor
should have let the Colony first settle down to the
changed order of things, and see the worst points as
well as the best, in order that, after reaching social and
financial stability, she might be in a position to develop
her plans farther afield, reculer pour niieux sauter.
Sir Frank Swettenham, in his British Malaya, has
selected Governor Ord as an example of the evils, criticised
by Lord Canning as above described, incident on the
recruitment of officers from India or elsewhere, men
wholly ignorant of Malay customs and affairs, for
service during the early period of the country's history.
He accuses Ord of having used all his influence to have
the arrangement carried out by which the British
abandoned their treaty obligations in Sumatra in return
for Dutch concessions in West Africa, a result of which
was to let in the former for the costly Ashanti expedi-
tion and the latter for the interminable war in Achin.
He goes on to say that Penang in particular suffered
severely from the consequent hardship and misery in
Northern Sumatra and the anarchy and piracy that
followed ; adding that, as Raffles's object had been to
secure for Great Britain the keys of the Straits of Malacca,
Achin in the north and Singapore in the south, it looks
rather like the irony of fate that the first Colonial Gover-
nor should have devoted much of his time and all his
influence to undo part of the work of the Founder of
Singapore !
96 THE GOVERNMENT
Sir Frank also criticises the lack of interest shown by
Governor Ord in the Malay States, and remarks that,
except for some visits to the East Coast in his yacht and
some intercourse with Johore, he did little towards the
cultivation of that friendship with the States by which,
according to Raffles's injunctions, British influence was
to be there advanced. And he adds that, in the early
days of this period, the knowledge of Malaya and
things Malay, which had been Raffles's guiding force, and
had inspired Marsden, Crawfurd, Logan, and Braddell,
was gradually dying out. For Braddell only remained,
and he at that time, as Attorney-General of the new
Colony, was too much occupied for such researches. So
during the years 1867-74 little was actually known
of the independent States of Malaya. Government was
not sympathetic to commercial enterprise in that
direction, and it appears that piracy and oppression,
strife and bloodshed, were the order of the day in those
countries. When Ord did on one occasion attempt to
use his influence to settle matters in the State of Sel-
angor little good was effected. Disturbances there and
also in Perak continued. For, as Sir Frank remarks,
" Where all classes and nationalities are fighting, where
neither life nor property have safeguard, where crime
meets with neither inquiry nor punishment, the wisest
counsels unsupported by power to enforce them will be
in vain."
Colonel Macpherson, First Colonial Secretary,
Straits Settlements
Among the principal officials of this time was Colonel
Macpherson, formerly Resident Councillor at Singapore,
who became the first Colonial Secretary, S.S. Mr.
Willans was Treasurer, and held that office till 1882.
Major McNair was Colonial Engineer, and Mr. Braddell
was Attorney-General. Colonel Henry Man was Resi-
dent Councillor at Penang, and acted as Governor in the
interregnum before Governor Ord's arrival.
I
BIRTH OF BRITISH MALAYA 97
Major McNair
Major McNair is famous as the builder of St. Andrew's
Cathedral from the design of Colonel Macpherson. He
also built Government House. In both cases convict
labour was employed, as described in his interesting
book, Prisoners their own Warders. He also put into
order and completed the waterworks of Singapore.
In 1875 he was Chief Commissioner in Perak during the
disturbances, and he was later Resident Councillor,
Penang, being created C.M.G. in 1879. He acted on
several occasions as Colonial Secretary, and was noted
for his consideration and courtesy.
Governor Ord went on leave in 1871, and the news-
papers hoped he would not return after his " restless,
turbulent four years." He did come back, however,
and in 1873 three Unofficial Members of Council resigned
as a protest against the uselessness of their membership.
The Press ascribed this action to Sir H. Ord's " inordinate
greed of power and personal vanity, which kept the
community in a perpetual state of ferment." Yet 1873
is described as a very prosperous year, and there is
little doubt that the Governor's good management of
revenue and keen regard for government money-
making placed the public finances in a sound position.
Major-General Sir Andrew Clarke, 1873-5
We have said that there was little in Governor Ord's
administration to advance the dominating aim of this
period of our history. But, though for a while in the
background, the dream of Raffles, the purpose of his
successors, was still alive. All that was required now
was the man — someone to lead and encourage our
colonists on their journey to the much-desired goal.
Good fortune sent Sir Andrew Clarke. Then really
began the great period of progress in the history of
Malaya, a period marked by the tenure of office of some
of her most distinguished servants.
Major-General Sir Andrew Clarke arrived in Singa-
pore in 1 873 with definite instructions from the Secretary
1—8
98 THE GOVERNMENT
of State, Lord Kimberley, to make a new departure in
policy. He was expressly directed to ascertain the
actual condition of affairs in each of the Native States,
and to report what steps could be taken by the Colonial
Government to " promote the restoration of peace and
order and to secure protection to trade and commerce
with the native territories." He had also orders to
give attention to the provision of British officers to
reside in the States.
These instructions practically conceded the whole
point on which the Straits commercial community had
for long been insisting. Fortunately, Sir Andrew was
the right man in the right place. He had an excellent
way with natives, especially of the ruling class. One
of his interests in this part of the East was his personal
friendship with King Chulalongkorn of Siam. As
Governor Sir Andrew was most popular, and succeeding
Governors have paid tribute to his great qualities, per-
haps the highest praise possible. As the first actual
builder of British Malaya, of which the Straits Settle-
ments form but a part, he was a pioneer of Empire
ranking next in eminence to Light and Raffles.
Sir Andrew lost no time in dealing with the situation,
and he proceeded to pacify the States of Perak, Selangor,
Sungei Ujong, and Rembau in turn. Among other great
qualities, he possessed the happy capacity for picking
out the right men to serve as his instruments, and for
giving them his unswerving support. This encourage-
ment was undoubtedly a determining cause of the fruit-
fulness of this period in capable and distinguished officials.
The first State to be dealt with under the new policy
was Perak. There strife was rampant, not only between
the Malay chiefs, but between the Chinese settlers, who
engaged in constant clan dissensions, so that, in order
to prevent anarchy, it was necessary to deal with both.
Mr. Walter Pickering, First Protector of Chinese
It was Sir Andrew Clarke's good fortune to find ready
to his hand Mr. Walter Pickering, who at that time was
A DISTINGUISHED OFFICIAL 99
in charge of Chinese affairs at Singapore. He was the
first " Protector of Chinese," and his name survives to
this day as a designation, among the cooUe class at
least, for the Chinese Protectorate at Singapore. Mr.
Pickering had had an adventurous career, having been
wrecked and practically enslaved for some years in the
island of Formosa. He came to Singapore as a Chinese
interpreter in 1871, at the age of thirty, and retired in
1 889, five years after being created C.M.G. He possessed
the greatest influence with the Chinese of the Straits,
many of whose dialects he spoke, and he is famous not
only for his work in the Native States, but for his later
collaboration with Governor Sir Cecil Smith in the
abolition of Chinese secret societies. It has been said
of him that he succeeded in proving that the object of
the Chinese Protectorate was to defend the Chinese,
not against possible foreign aggression, but against
exploitation by their own countrymen. A writer in
1885 said that his qualifications for the post of Protector
of Chinese were " of such an exceptional character that
it is in the highest degree unlikely that the office can
ever be filled by another." Later history may perhaps
question the truth of this conclusion ; it can only
endorse the implied tribute. It is not surprising that
Pickering's work roused the opposition of the worst
elements of the Chinese races in the Straits, and several
attempts were made on his life.
The Treaty of Pangkor, 1874
Mr. Pickering died at home in 1907, famous as the
first of a line of officers, expert in Chinese language and
custom, who have formed one of the most valuable of
Malaya's assets, and whose record has entirely proved
the wisdom of Lord Canning's demand for civil servants
specially trained and shaped for service in this country
of so many peoples, manners, and creeds. His mission
in Perak was entirely successful, and, as a result, a con-
ference was arranged between the Malay chiefs and
Chinese headmen on the one side and the Governor on
100 THE GOVERNMENT
the other. So came about the Treaty of Pangkor,
the 20th January 1874, the legal foundation of the
Federated Malay States of to-day. Under its pro-
visions a British Resident in Perak was appointed,
whose advice should be asked in all questions save those
of Malay religion and custom, and who should oversee
the collection of revenue and the general administration
of the State.
Messrs. Arnold Wright and Reid, in their book The
Malay Peninsula, describe this policy of Sir Andrew
Clarke as a bold one for a pro-Consul to follow without
definite instructions from home, the British Government
being, by a stroke of the pen, committed to an active
intervention in Malay affairs from which they had pre-
viously shrunk. The Governor was, however, enthu-
siastically supported by the best mercantile opinion in
the Straits, and this step was characterised by the
Straits Settlements Association as " the most important
that had for years been taken by the British Govern-
ment in the Straits of Malacca." Sir Frank Swettenham
also remarks that Sir Andrew was a man of energy and
decision, ready to take any responsibility, who decided
that this was no time for talking ; the situation de-
manded immediate action, and he would take it, reporting
what he had done, not what he proposed to do.
Mr. J. W. W. Birch, Colonial Secretary, 1870-4
At the signing of the Treaty the Governor was accom-
panied by his Colonial Secretary, Mr. James Wheeler
Woodford Birch, who, after a mission in Perak in the
same year, was appointed first British Resident of that
.State, a post which it is said he was anxious to obtain.
Mr. Braddell, who was throughout largely concerned in
the settlement of the Native States and appointment of
the first Residents, was also present, and so was Major
McNair. Mr. F. A. Swettenham was there, too, having
been employed about that time in many missions
among the various disputants, and being immediately
after the Treaty associated with Mr. Pickering in seeing
PERIOD OF EXPANSION loi
that the Chinese kept their part of the agreement.
Among his various comments on the event is the follow-
ing : " Lord Kimberley gave Sir Andrew Clarke the right
to open the door of the Malay Peninsula, he even sug-
gested where he might find the key. The permission
was entrusted to the right man, and Sir Andrew put the
key to the lock, opened the door, and left the rest to
his agents and successors."
But, as he also remarks, the new departure was not
plain sailing, for the real difficulties had not even begun.
And " only after the loss of many valuable lives, the
expense of infinite persistence and resource, did the
experiment end in complete success." For (he goes on)
it was one thing to send two or three white men into this
new unexplored country, telling them to give good
advice and to regulate its finances and administration,
" with no force behind them but their own courage, tact,
and ability, and the spectacle of British power miles
away." It was quite another thing to evolve peace,
order, and prosperity out of these difficult conditions.
We repeat that Sir Andrew was skilled in finding men,
and emphasise his good fortune that there were such
men at hand as he found. He next proceeded to the
negotiations by which Selangor obtained a British Resi-
dent in Mr. J. G. Davidson, with Mr. Swettenham as
Assistant, also in 1874. And affairs in Sungei Ujong
and Rembau were, at any rate temporarily, settled by
Mr. Pickering after a very stormy time, the former
State obtaining an Assistant Resident in Captain
Tatham, R.A.
Our account of the Governors and Civil Service has
now reached the period when their history is concerned
with that of the Native States rather than with that of
the Colony. All the leading officers of this time were
more or less connected with the big events of the
Peninsula. The domestic politics of the Straits Settle-
ments towns are rather in the background. And we are
left with an impression of Sir Andrew Clarke as a great
man, popular and sympathetic, to whom belongs the
102 THE GOVERNMENT
fame of being the first founder of the Federated Malay
States. His features, as preserved in the splendid bust
in the entrance hall of the Singapore Club, are a mirror
of courage and determination. The names of the leading
civil servants of his time have already been mentioned.
During the remainder of his administration there is not
much to chronicle. But Swettenham warns us that all
the reports of the Residents showed that there was
abroad a feeling of unrest, and that those whose profits
and influence were threatened were not taking kindly
to the new order of things.
Sir Andrew Clarke left the Straits for a seat on the
Council of the Viceroy of India in 1875.
Sir William Jervois, Governor, 1875-7
He was succeeded by Sir William Jervois, also of the
Royal Engineers (the third of our Governors in succes-
sion to belong to this famous Corps), and the new
administration was to witness the inevitable outbreak
against the changed order of things. And we may well
contrast the policy of these two Chiefs of the State,
who, though undoubtedly aiming at the same result,
yet strove to achieve it in widely different ways. Sir
Andrew Clarke's policy with respect to the Native
States was to prepare them gradually to take their
place in the British Empire by giving them advisers
who should guide the chiefs, but not dictate to them,
and, while pointing out their duty, refrain as much as
possible from interfering with their authority. Sir
William Jervois, on the contrary, was not fond of the
native rulers, and he tried to hasten the development
of the country by making the States " protected " ;
he designated the officers stationed in them as " Queen's
Commissioners " instead of Residents, and his policy,
instead of being one of " advice," became one of " con-
trol." It has, however, been doubted whether time
enough had been allowed for Clarke's policy to justify
itself, and whether to hasten a new one, which smelt so
strongly of annexation, was not more than ill-advised.
DEATH OF MR. J. W. BIRCH 103
Sir William, at any rate, immediately on succeeding to
office, became engrossed in the Malay problem.
Trouble in Perak in 1875
At this time the Resident of Perak was finding diffi-
culties in his official dealings with Sultan Abdullah, who
had gained his throne under the Pangkor Treaty. Means
to enforce the Suzerain's demands were wanting. It was
doubtless for this reason that Governor Jervois decided
on the appointment of Queen's Commissioners, and
prepared agreements to carry the change into effect,
to which Abdullah, on ascertaining that his rival would
sign them if he refused, finally assented.
The negotiations were conducted by the Resident,
Mr. J. W. Birch, and Mr. Frank Swettenham. Pro-
clamations necessary to give effect to the new arrange-
ment were handed to them to distribute in the principal
Perak villages. It was while engaged in this duty
that Mr. Birch was murdered by the Malays at Pasir
Salak on the 2nd November 1875, Mr. Swettenham
narrowly escaping.
Then, of course, ensued a general flare-up, in the
course of which the Governor came in for official censure
as having taken the new measures entirely on his own
initiative. The Home Government appears to have been
apprehensive that the troops of the necessary punitive
expedition that followed might be employed " for
annexation or other political objects," and to have
realised with horror that the Governor's action had
committed them to onerous responsibilities.
The immediate result of this " curious experiment in
administration," as Swettenham calls it, was that Mr.
Birch was avenged, and the lesson taught that British
authority could not be flouted with impunity. But Sir
Frank draws the moral that twenty years of " good
advice "would not have accomplished for peace and order
and good government what was done in six months by
force of arms. So, by precipitating an inevitable crisis,
Governor Jervois's policy may perhaps be rated as above
104 THE GOVERNMENT
that of Governor Clarke. At any rate, " from this point,"
say Messrs. Wright and Reid, " may be said to date
the introduction of the Pax Britannica into Malaya."
Though for some years more there were isolated incidents
to disturb the peace, the country as a whole acquiesced
in the arrangement which brought her directly under the
aegis of British control.
Sir William Jervois has been described as " a man in a
hurry," and his policy of haste has been criticised. Yet,
again to quote Swettenham, the means by which he
relieved the situation in Perak, which had reached an
impasse, were as far from those he had devised as the
end was better than any which his proposals could have
secured.
Mr. J. W. Birch, First British Resident,
Perak, 1874-5.
Mr. Birch also had the reputation of being rather
hot-headed ; but it is certain that his only error (if such
it can be called) was in allowing his zeal to outrun his
discretion in his eagerness to right the wrongs of the
country which had been committed to his charge. For
he- displayed the greatest energy in travelling far and
wide, and inquiring into the complaints of the poor and
oppressed. He set his face firmly against the odious
practice of debt-slavery and other evils of the time, and
it was undoubtedly on account of his efforts in this
direction that he became unpopular with the chiefs.
For, while Abdullah and his party had gained the end
for which they had invoked British assistance, his
adversaries, of course, regarded the British Resident as
their natural enemy. All these causes led to the un-
timely death of one of the most devoted and energetic
officers Malaya ever possessed, and one who left behind
him a brilliant example for his successors.
There is really little to record of the history of the
Colony during this period, in which the stirring events
in the Native States naturally overshadowed everything
else.
i
DEVELOPMENTS AT SINGAPORE 105
Sir William C. F. Robinson
Governor Jervois retired in 1877. He was succeeded
by Sir William C. F. Robinson, who remained in office
two years. Apparently during this brief term he never
visited the Malay States. He did, however, issue " In-
structions to Residents," warning them that they had
been placed where they were as Advisers and not as
rulers, and would be responsible if trouble were to spring
out of a neglect of this principle. But, as Mr. Arnold
Wright points out in his Twentieth Century Impressions,
the then Secretary of State, Sir Michael Hicks-Beach,
realised that at this stage much must be left to the
discretion of the men actually on the spot. The Resi-
dents were selected specially for their knowledge of the
Malays, and they could not merely stand by and look on.
It was fortunate, indeed, that the head of the Colonies
recognised this fact, and to him therefore falls a share of
credit for the successful result of the labours of these
early years, in which a lack of courage would have
militated seriously against the chances of such an
achievement.
The outstanding happenings in Singapore during
Governor Robinson's administration were such homely
events as the completion of the waterworks, the forming
of the Straits branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, the
opening of Tanjong Pagar graving-dock ; and in Penang,
the laying of the foundation-stone of the Town Hall.
During the rule of three Governors, between the years
1 873 and 1 879, there is really nothing of more importance
than the above to record as regards the Colony. But,
all. the same, she was continually if slowly increasing
in importance and prosperity, and Singapore had by
this time assumed a fitting garb in which to reign as
the capital city of a British Malaya which was clearly
soon to be.
And in the Malay States these few turbulent years
comprise the total sum of her unhappiness under the
new conditions. With the troubles safely over, a
io6 THE GOVERNMENT
better time quickly came, and an era of consummate
peace and prosperity followed hard on the bad old
past.
Sir Frederick A. Weld, Governor, 1880-87
Undoubtedly the most important administration of
this latter part of ou/ Third Period was that of the next
Governor, Sir (then Mr.) Frederick Weld. His term of
office, which was longer than that of the three last
Governors combined, was full of importance and benefit
to the whole Peninsula. Again, however, as is natural
in the light of then recent events, it was not with the
Straits and Singapore that the new Governor's dealings
were primarily concerned.
His efforts were mainly directed towards the con-
solidation of the welfare of the Malay States, and he
was also fortunate in having the assistance of excellent
officials to look after the Colony during his frequent
tours of inspection. His age, as we shall see, was again
one of great civil servants, both in the Colony and the
States.
Mr. Weld, before he came to Malaya, had been Governor
of West Australia and of Tasmania, and had at one time
been Prime Minister of New Zealand. At the time of
his arrival here the Residential system in the States was
in full swing, and the country was increasing in riches
and prosperity ; but there was still building and buttres-
sing to be done. The traditions of many years had to
be broken through and the way made clear for the
smooth running of the machine of to-day. Here Mr.
Weld scored, just as did Sir Andrew Clarke, owing to
his personality. He had the faculty of inspiring affec-
tion in those who served under him, and he also won
great influence among the native races.
To the excellent Life of Governor Weld, by Lady Lovat,
there is an interesting preface by Sir Hugh Clifford,
who at an early age was one of Weld's officers. He
sums up the Governor as follows : that he was more of a
statesman than an administrator ; he saw the brilliant
A SAGACIOUS ADMINISTRATOR 107
future of the protected Malay States, and he ordered all
things for the attainment of it. He displayed great
energy in acquainting himself with the country and what
was going on in it, making frequent journeys in all parts
of the States. He recognised that their internal admin-
istration would have to be assimilated closely to that
of the Colony, but he made it his business to ensure
that that assimilation had a slow, gradual, and natural
growth. It was owing to this policy that there came
about the cordial understanding between Malay chiefs
and British officials that is the rule to-day. For he
saw that anything like annexation would have turned
the native rulers into enemies, and he showed his
statesmanship in his absolute avoidance of it.
While engaged in the affairs of the Native States, Sir
Frederick (for he was created K.C.M.G. early in his
administration, and became G.C.M.G. a few years later)
left the direction of affairs in the Colony to his principal
officers, Mr. Cecil Clementi Smith being Colonial Secre-
tary, Singapore, and Sir A. E. H. Anson Lieutenant-
Governor of Penang. Among the outstanding events
of the time in the Colony was the resettlement of matters
connected with land. The Governor also encouraged
Indian immigration, which he favoured in preference to
Chinese.
Sir Cecil Clementi Smith was Colonial Secretary from
1878 to 1885, and, as he succeeded Sir Frederick as
Governor in 1887, a fuller account of him will be given
later.
Major-General Sir Archibald E. H. Anson was Lieu-
tenant-Governor of Penang, being the last officer to hold
the ampler title, one which is still coveted for its chief
official by the citizens of the Northern Settlement. He
administered the government of the Straits on occasions
during the term of office of Governor Ord and during the
intervals between those of Governors Jervois and Robin-
son, and of Robinson and Weld. He was a Crimean
veteran, and took an active part in the Sungei Ujong
War of 1875-6. He became Major-General in 1879,
io8 THE GOVERNMENT
and retired in 1882. But as is natural considering its
history, the best-known names of the Weld period are
those of the officers employed in the Native States. At
this time the system of appointing cadet officers for the
Civil Service of the S.S. by open competition -was in
force, but had not assumed its present shape. Be it
whispered that Governor Weld was not of opinion that
the young officers of the establishment were suited for
the early spade-work in the Native States. As he
wrote on one occasion : " It is too much to expect young
officers of the Cadet S.S. Class to manage the affairs
of Sri Menanti and Johol. They have not the experience,
nor do they carry weight enough, and no amount of
cramming or success in competitive examinations will
teach a man to manage natives and win their confi-
dence." He therefore relied on the men of experience
whom he most fortunately had at hand, such famous
officers as Low, Rodger, and Martin Lister. Yet it is
a little difficult to understand the real meaning of Sir
Frederick's comment. For when he came to the Straits,
as we shall see, the first competitive scheme had pre-
sented Frank Swettenham, C. W. S. Kynnersley, and
others who had already won distinction, while the second
(to which he probably referred) has produced many
more really great men to whom the country continues to
owe a debt of gratitude. We may also, perhaps, re-
spectfully interpolate that, in spite of his remarks. Sir
Frederick still did make use of a very young man for
an exceedingly difficult and dangerous service when he
sent Mr. Hugh Clifford on a mission to the State of
Pahang at the age of twenty-one. True the latter had
then been in the country for over three years, and his
selection was entirely justified by its success ; but may
we not surmise that one of the other young officers might
not have been trained and used in the same way ? Some
of them and their successors have done a good deal
in the same line since. As a result of Mr. Hugh Clif-
ford's mission, Pahang finally asked for and was given a
British Resident in 1888.
LOW, RODGER, AND LISTER 109
Sir Hugh Low, Resident, Perak, 1877-89
Sir Hugh Low was Resident of Perak from 1877 to
1889, and tliere earned the right to be considered one of
the most successful of our administrators. He was
famed for his tact and consideration to the natives, and
one of his greatest reforms was the final abolition of
debt-slavery. It was during his term of office that the
immense prosperity of the State of Perak had its begin-
ning. As Swettenham points out, when Low arrived
in Perak the State was overwhelmed by a heavy debt,
with no visible resources to meet it. He left it with
a flourishing revenue and a large credit balance. The
same writer adds that Sir Hugh understood, what those
in authority should never forget, that the only way to
deal with a Malay people is through their recognised
chiefs ; moreover, they should be consulted before taking
action, not afterwards. He died in 1906, having on his
retirement been created G.C.M.G.
Mr. John Pickersgill Rodger was appointed first
Resident of Pahang in 1 888, a post he held for eight years.
Later he became Resident in turn of Selangor and
Perak, and he was appointed Governor of the Gold Coast
Colony in 1903. He became K.C.M.G. in 1904.
The Hon. Martin Lister, a brother of the present Lord
Ribblesdale, was Superintendent of Negri Sembilan in
1887, and afterwards first British Resident till 1897.
He died on his way home on leave. He is cited by Sir
Frank Swettenham as an example of those Residents
and District Magistrates who gave of their best to
secure the success of the country, and died while still
holding offices of great trust and responsibihty therein,
one of those English servants of the Government to
whom " the present prosperity of the Malay States is
mainly due."
When Sir Frederick Weld left Malaya in 1887, the goal
of Sir Andrew Clarke's efforts, the bringing to the
country of civilisation and a higher position in the scale
of humanity, was nearly in sight. The work was carried
no THE GOVERNMENT
along on the same lines by Weld's successors until
Federation was attained in 1896.
We see, then, that Sir Frederick's term of office was
mainly devoted to a fostering care of the States of the
Peninsula, while the administration of the Colony was
entrusted to his officials. The natural trend of events
made it inevitable that while the Settlements were
comfortable and prosperous, the chief acts of the heads
of the administration were connected with an attempt
to bring about the same happy state in Greater Malaya.
Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, Governor, 1887-93
Sir Cecil Clementi Smith succeeded Sir Frederick Weld
as Governor. He had had a brief period of service in
Ceylon before he returned as Governor to the Straits.
As regards the Native States he continued the policy of
his predecessor, and always sympathetically regarded
the idea of federation, which was beginning to loom
large on the horizon. He also strongly supported rail-
way development, which was making great strides at
this highly progressive time.
When he first came to the Straits he had seen service
in Hongkong, whence he obtained his knowledge of
Chinese character and custom. He is described as a tall,
stately personage, dignified, and a fine debater, and after
his retirement was held in high esteem by the Home
Government. During his term of office here there
was remarkably good feeling between Government
House and the community at large, as the Press of the
time remarked. Public matters were carried out in a
moderate and sensible manner, and " with attention, if
not always in concurrence with, the views of the public " ;
and, when Sir Cecil left the Colony for Ceylon in 1885,
everyone was unanimously in favour of his returning to
the highest post.
In every way in which interest could be shown in the
domestic problems of the place Sir Cecil was conspicuous:
he had all the interests of Singapore and the Colony near
at heart. He was a strong advocate of the cause of
SIR CECIlv CLEMENTl SMITH, G.C.M.G.
Vanity Fait Cartoon by R. W. Braddell.
SIR CECIL CLEMENTI SMITH iii
education, herein following Raffles's example, one of his
aims being as far as possible to educate Malays with a
view to employment in the administration. It was
largely through his efforts that there has grown up that
body of Malay officials now taking an " active and re-
sponsible share " in the government of the F.M.S.
Sir Cecil was also a firm supporter of the Singapore
Volunteer Corps, of which he was Honorary Colonel
from 1890 to the time of his death. Perhaps the most
important measures passed during his terms of ofhce,
as Administrator and as Governor, were those which
aboHshed secret societies, to the great satisfaction of the
Chinese community at large. In the Straits Chinese
Magazine, of a date some years after his retirement, there
appears an article by a Straits-born Chinese on the sub-
ject, praising him for an action for which " present and
future generations of Chinese must feel ever grateful."
The actual debate on the first Societies Ordinance,
passed during his administration of the Government in
1885, is described as a model of force, in which the Ad-
ministrator ; Mr. Bonser, Attorney-General ; Mr. W. E.
Maxwell, acting Colonial Secretary; Mr. A. M. Skinner,
Colonial Treasurer ; Mr. Shelford, Mr. Adams,. and others
took part. The measure was carried by ten votes to
seven, and has been cited as an instance in which the
official vote, although utterly opposed by the unofficial,
has amply justified itself in the years that followed.
Sir Cecil, in his speech, " tore to pieces " the description
by one speaker of the societies as " cherished institu-
tions," characterising them as the " cherished institu-
tions " of a lot of scoundrels and blackguards, and he
announced his intention of seeing the measures proposed
carried through, and not left as a damnosa hereditas
to his successors. During his term of office as Governor
in 1889 a revised Ordinance was passed, improving
on the former one ; and it was in his administration
that a Chinese Advisory Board, consisting of representa-
tives of all Chinese races, was appointed, " an institu-
tion which has to the present time proved of the greatest
i
112 THE GOVERNMENT
utility and benefit, not only in affording facility to the
Government for ascertaining the feelings of the Chinese
community on any question it may choose to raise,
but in securing for the Chinese an easy and inexpensive
means of ventilating their views on any subject which
might be considered by them inimical to their interests."
Sir Cecil died in London in 1916 ; he had since his
retirement visited the Straits on his way out to Shanghai
to preside over the Opium Commission in 1909. As
was evident on that occasion, from his reception by his
former officers, he was among the most popular of our
Governors.
Sir J. Frederick Dickson, Colonial Secre-
tary, 1885-92
During a brief absence of Sir Frederick Weld in 1887,
Mr. John Frederick Dickson administered the govern-
ment. He had been appointed Colonial Secretary in
1885 after Sir Cecil's transfer to Ceylon, and he held that
office till 1892. He was a good debater and a man of
much ability, but he was much criticised at the time for
an order that no foreign transport nor man-of-war should
go into New Harbour without leave of Government,
a prohibition which it was said would do Singapore
irreparable mischief by driving away the lucrative
business of coaling French transports during the Annam
War. This rule was, however, soon modified, no doubt
to the satisfaction of the mercantile community. Mr.
Dickson was created K.C.M.G. in 1888, and again ad-
ministered the government in 1890.
Mr. William Edward Maxwell succeeded Sir Frederick
Dickson as Colonial Secretary in 1892, and held office
till 1895. His record is to be found elsewhere in this
volume.
The First Cadets
Mr. Dudley Francis Amelius Hervey, who was
Resident Councillor in Malacca from 1882 to 1893, had
been appointed a Straits Cadet in 1867, the year of
I
THE FIRST CADETS 113
the transfer, the first officer of that class in the Straits.
During a long career he held many and varied ap-
pointments until he settled down at Malacca. In his
earlier service he accompanied several expeditions,
among others, proceeding to Acheen to inquire into
the treatment of British vessels there. He also went
on political visits to Kedah, Pahang, Trengganu, Kelan-
tan, and Selangor in 1870. In 1883 he accompanied
Sir F. Weld to Negri Sembilan to pave the way for
opening up the Residential system there. He became
C.M.G. in 1892, and remained at Malacca till his re-
tirement in 1893. He died in 191 1.
Mr. a. M. Skinner
Mr. Allan Maclean Skinner held the substantive
appointment of Colonial Treasurer from 1881 to 1887,
when he became Resident Councillor in Penang, an office
which he retained till 1897. He was the second Cadet to
be appointed, coming out in the year after Mr. Hervey.
In his early years he took an active part in the bombard-
ment of Selangor in 1871 and the Perak negotiations in
1874, and in the proceedings generally which established
British influence in the Peninsula. He was created
C.M.G. in 1890 " in recognition of good work done."
He originally helped largely to found the Straits branch
of the Royal Asiatic Society, and edited and contributed
to its Journal for several years. Ill-health forced his
retirement in 1897, and at the time of his death he was
engaged in writing a history of the Straits Settlements.
He acted as Colonial Secretary on several occasions
between 1884 and 1888. He was the first Inspector of
Schools in theColony,and the originator of its educational
system. He died at home in 1901.
LiEUT.-CoL. Sir C. H. B. Mitchell, R.M.L.I.,
Governor, 1894-9
After a short interregnum, in which Mr. W. E. Max-
well administered the government, Lieut.-Colonel Sir
Charles BuUen Hugh Mitchell succeeded Sir Cecil Smith
1—9
ii6 THE GOVERNMENT
local racial problems when he first arrived here, he very
soon acquired the necessary insight to deal successfully
with races such as Malays, Chinese, and Eurasians. For
his personal traits were fairness and frankness ; he never
flinched from duty, however disagreeable. He was
watchful also to prevent uncalled-for restrictions of the
privileges hitherto enjoyed by Asiatic settlers. He was
benevolent, though firm and decisive. Though he was
often, on his arrival, criticised for love of economy, and
he used to boast of having " an economic soul," critics
soon recognised his sincerity, and in the end became his
admirers. And the writer concluded : " We feel confi-
dent that the Colony will long cherish the memory of Sir
Charles Mitchell." A tribute of this kind given with
such obvious sincerity in a paper published by our
Chinese fellow-citizens may worthily form a Governor's
in memoriam. The sentiments expressed in it were
shared by all other sections of the community.
There were no other events of outstanding importance
to Singapore or the Colony during Sir Charles Mitchell's
administration. Her history was one of peaceful and
prosperous development, after the indignation aroused
by the question of the military contribution had died
down, and the financial position had begun to improve
about the year 1895.
The Federation, ist July 1896
But Sir Charles Mitchell had entered on his term of
office with a still more important mission than those
detailed, being no less than to report on the advisability
of federation for the four chief Malay States. His
report was in favour of the scheme if the Malay rulers
approved it, and this they did. So federation came into
being on the ist July 1896, when the Governor of the
Straits Settlements became High Commissioner for the
Federated Malay States and Consul-General for British
North Borneo, Brunei, and Sarawak.
Mr. Frank Swettenham, who had been British Resi-
dent of Perak since 1889, was appointed First Resident-
FEDERATION OF MALAY STATES 117
General, F.M.S. He was created K.C.M.G. the next
year. In British Malaya he deals at some length with
the reasons that made federation desirable and indeed
necessary. One of the principal of these was the diffi-
culty of the Governor at Singapore exercising any
really effective control over men so circumstanced as
the British Residents of the States, and this had led to a
system of journals transmitted by them to Singapore
from time to time, together with estimates of revenue
and expenditure submitted yearly, with an annual
report on administration. Sir Frank points out that in
ten years the Residents found they had no time to keep
journals, and so that method of supplying information
to the Governor was abandoned. Also that, being in
those days separated from correspondence with each
other by lack of means of communication, they were
inclined to follow their own lines without particular
reference to their neighbours, while, save in the years
from 1876-82, when there was an Assistant Colonial
Secretary for the Native States stationed in Singapore
(Sir Frank himself for the greater part of the time),
there had been no real attempt from headquarters to
secure the much-needed uniformity. In fact, each
individual Resident was beginning to go his own way and
to resent interference. So differences of system and
policy grew as the States developed, and, after being
only irritating, became unbearable, until federation
became a necessity. The weak point of the Residential
system, Sir Frank concludes, was that it placed too much
: power in the hands of one man, and this made it desir-
[able that a satisfactory arrangement should be evolved
[under which a bad man could not " do an infinity of
[harm without hindrance." And so " a system which
[ on the whole worked admirably for twenty years had to
give place to the natural outcome of that system."
It was Sir Frank himself who drew up a scheme of
federation and submitted it to Sir Cecil Smith before his
departure. He also visited the States, explained the
scheme to the Malay rulers and British Residents, and
ii8 THE GOVERNMENT
secured the consent of all. He states that the Malay-
rulers cordially approved the scheme because it did
not touch their status in any way, though it formally
recognised the right of the Resident-General to exercise
a very large control in the affairs of the States. He
was not styled an Adviser ; his authority, both in the
general administration and as regards the Residents, was
clearly defined. He was plainly declared to have exe-
cutive control under direction of the Governor of the
Straits, who would in future be termed High Commis-
sioner for the F.M.S. The Malay rulers believed that
federation would make them stronger and more im-
portant, and the rulers of the richer States were large-
minded enough to welcome the opportunity of pushing
on the more backward ones for the glory and ultimate
benefit of the whole Federation. They clearly realised
the great advantage of an arrangement by which they
should stand together as one, with inter-state friction
and jealousy banished, and in possession of a powerful
advocate who should voice their requirements to head-
quarters far more efficiently than any Resident could do.
As to the Residents, Sir Frank says that, though they
realised that the scheme would deprive them of some
authority and status, they welcomed federation because
they saw that the existing arrangement was unsatis-
factory and becoming impossible, while the new one
would make for unity, efficiency, and progress.
The names of the Residents in the year of federation
may here be recorded : Mr. W. H. Treacher, C.M.G.,
Selangor (news of his death at home came the other
day) ; Hon. Martin Lister, Negri Sembilan ; Mr. J. P.
Rodger, Pahang; Sir (then Mr.) Frank Swettenham,
C.M.G., was, as we have seen, Resident, Perak.
So the Federated Malay States " arrived," and, with
the new order of things, Kuala Lumpur in Selangor,
then a little mining town, was, on account of its central
position, selected for the seat of the Resident-General
and the heads of Federal Departments. As Messrs.
Wright and Reid write, it was an insignificant place,
I. llS]
RT. WOR. BRO. HI-; SIR CHARIJvS MITCHICI.I,, K.C.M.G.
District Grand Master 1895-9.
MILESTONES OF PROGRESS 119
with apparently no future. And they continue that
" in the last seventeen years there has been called into
being a new capital, well worthy to take its place among
the leading cities of the Empire."
We close our account of this period with the dream
of Raffles well on its way to realisation, and all the
labours of our pioneers during all the years of our history
amply justified. There has never been any looking-back :
the Federated Malay States from this point have only
gone on increasing in years, riches, and honour.
Period IV, 1896 to Present Day
Our Fourth Period, which tells of modern times, com-
mences with British Malaya fairly established and ready
to work out her destiny. Just as the bickerings and
strugglings among chiefs and peoples in the Malay States
were happily over and done with, so also the great
Colony of the Straits Settlements found herself well set
on the prosperous course which she has continued to
follow without interruption until to-day.
The years of which we shall now narrate the happen-
ings will merely show milestones on the path of progress,
no less in the Colony than in the nowadays famous
Federated Malay States. The labourers on this well-
trodden road will be found to include among their
number the names of many men who deserve well of
the commonwealth, not least, by any means, among them
being those of the Governors and Civil Servants.
In this article, treating as it does of Governors and
Civil Service, with the history of the country displayed
as the environment of their lives and deeds, one cannot
any more divide the tale of the development of the two
halves of British Malaya, the Straits and the States.
For the Straits Governor commences this period as High
Commissioner for the F.M.S., and the two Civil Services
in the course of it become united. So, for once, speaking
of the Civil Service before we tell thej^story of the indi-
vidual Governors of modern times, we give a brief sketch
of the history of the Civil Service of the two divisions
120 THE GOVERNMENT
of British Malaya, the Malayan Civil Service as it now
begins to be called.
History of the Civil Service in British
Malaya
In early days our officials were recruited from the
ranks of the Indian Civil Service, the Presidency of
Bencoolen in particular being drawn upon, as in the case
of Messrs. Bonham and Church. These two officers came
to Malaya early in their careers, after some experience
of the natives of kindred races, and proved in all ways
more sympathetic and more successful than their
brethren brought in direct from India or the Indian
army.
We have noticed that the latter appointments were
constantly and severely criticised, and have recorded
Mr. Thomas Braddell's advocacy (in 1858) of a close
Civil Service, specially recruited and leavened by the
admission of qualified members from among the " people
outside," as a leading Straits official once designated
the unofficial element. We have applauded, too, the
stress which Lord Canning laid on the importance of the
provision of such a service of our own, which he made
one of the first reasons for severance of the Straits from
India and placing them under the Colonial Office. It
was this insistence, doubtless, that prompted the first
appointment of a Straits Cadet (for that title then came
into general use) in the actual year of the transfer, when
Mr. D. F. A. Hervey joined our Civil Service. At this
time appointment appears to have been by selection
without examination : only two Cadets came out under
this early system, the other being Mr. A. M. Skinner,
who joined in the following year. Who shall deny that
in these two cases the method of appointment was
justified ?
First Competitive Scheme
In 1869 Lord Granville made certain alterations in
the arrangements " for the selection, etc., of such Cadets
I
^m NEW CADET SYSTEM I2i
^B as might be required for recruiting the Civil Service
^B of the Straits Settlements," and a scheme of competitive
^B examination by the Civil Service Commissioners was
^B started. This fixed the age of candidates as between
^B twenty and twenty-three, and directed obligatory and
^» optional subjects as the test of fitness. A similar scheme
was approved for the sister services of Hongkong and
Ceylon about the same time.
The first Cadets under the new system included Mr.
F. A. Swettenham, and it remained in force till 1882,
the Cadets coming out in these years including Messrs.
J. K. Birch, C. W. S. Kynnersley, A. P. Talbot, H.
A. O'Brien, E. C. Hill, F. G. Penney, E. M. Merewether,
and W. Egerton. Mr. E. W. Birch came out also during
this time, but was apparently excused examinations, as he
had previously been employed for a time in the Colonial
Office.
Second Competitive Scheme
In 1 882, when Lord Kimberley was Secretary of State,
; open competition for the services of the Straits Settle-
: ments, Hongkong, and Ceylon was initiated, successful
candidates being allowed to choose in their order among
'the vacancies in the three Colonies. There was a
, preliminary (qualifying) examination, followed by com-
' petition under a more advanced scheme. Candidates
.under this system appear at first to have spent a time
lat one of the universities after the qualifying exami-
1 nation. The Cadets first appointed under it were
Messrs. R. N. Bland and W. Evans, followed in the next
[years by, among others, Messrs. R. G. Watson, A. W. S.
O'Sullivan, J. O. Anthonisz, G. T. Hare, E. L. Brockman,
and J. R. Innes. The limits of age for candidates were
[between twenty-one and twenty-four on ist August, the
month in which the competition was held.
It must be remembered that the system of entrance
(examinations for Cadets then applied to the Straits
Settlements only of the two parts of British Malaya,
appointments of officers of the same class in the Malay
122 THE GOVERNMENT
States being made by nomination. During part of this
time, from the later 'Eighties onwards, they were ap-
pointed to the several States and entitled Junior Officers.
Third Joint Scheme
In 1896 Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, then Secretary
of State for the Colonies, decided to cancel the scheme
in force since 1882 in favour of the examination pre-
scribed for the Home and Indian Services, and in that
year the system of joint examination and selection of
successful candidates between the three main services.
Home, Indian, and Eastern Cadetships, was instituted.
The services which the term " Eastern Cadetships "
then comprised were Ceylon, Hongkong, Straits Settle-
ments, and Federated Malay States, the last-named
coming into line upon the federation.
This system continued in force until interrupted by
the Great War, and was resumed, with some modifications
caused by war conditions, on its termination. As
was clearly inevitable, the two Malayan services after
1896 became gradually interchangeable. It had always
been stated that an officer in any of the three last-
named services (not Ceylon) might conceivably be
changed from one to another, though this rarely happened
in practice. About the year 1906 it was definitely laid
down that the Cadet Services of the Straits and the F.M.S.
were to be regarded as one for purposes of promotion.
So, in a few instances earlier, and constantly after 1908,
Cadets originally gazetted to one of the two services
have been transferred from one to the other ; and
it is now expressly stated in " Rules and Regulations "
that they must distinctly understand that they " will
be liable to be transferred at any time from the service
of one of these Governments to that of the other," such
transfer taking place in practice, in the majority of
cases, on promotion of a Cadet officer to a higher class.
A later development has been the admission of the
Unfederated or Protected States into the confrater-
nity, for Cadets of the S.S. and F.M.S. Services have
MALAYAN CIVIL SERVICE 123
for the most part been seconded for the executive,
judicial, and administrative posts in the new countries.
Supernumerary appointments in the two elder services
have therefore been created in order to provide a number
corresponding to that of the seconded officers.
" The Malayan Civil Service "
Our Civil Service, then, embracing as it now does the
three main branches of Straits, F.M.S., and Unfederated
States, among which the Cadet officers are interchange-
able (though Cadets are still gazetted to either S.S. or
F.M.S. on first appointment or on promotion), has clearly-
reached a stage when some common title is desirable,
and the recently elicited feeling of the majority of its
members has proved to be in favour of the name" Ma-
layan Civil Service," a most worthy and important
appellation, as well as a very gratifying proof of present
unity and friendship.
The Civil Service and the War
Before leaving the subject of the Civil Service and its
past and present constitution, we think it will be recog-
nised as fitting and proper that some mention should
be made of the part played by its members in the Great
War. At the end of the year 191 4 there were in the
Malayan Civil Service, composed of Straits and F.M.S.
Cadets, together with the junior officers and one or two
others appointed to the F.M.S. Civil Service before
federation, 211 names. This number includes a few
Cadets who came out in that year. Of these 2 11 , no less
than forty-five served in the War. Ten of these were
killed in action, or died on or as a result of service.
Their names are : — John Beach, Tom Lowis Bourdillon,
George Eric Cardew, William Stanley Fames, Robert
Claude Hawker Kingdon, Harold Evelyn Pennington,
Harold Stedman Richmond, George Hawthorn Minot
Robertson, Guy Hatton Sugden,and Alan Austin Wright.
They were all officers of the junior classes of the Service.
Of these, T. L. Bourdillon was awarded the Military
124 THE GOVERNMENT
Cross ; other recipients of this honour, happily surviving,
being Meadows Frost, Alan Custance Baker, Thomas
Perowne Coe, and George Montgomery Kidd. The
first-named is now an officer of twenty years' service,
having come out originally in 1898.
Truly a glorious record, and one of which the Civil
Service may well be proud, holding as it undoubtedly
does a foremost place among those of other professions
in all parts of the Empire. It must be remembered
that a wise decree allowed only the younger and fitter
of those actually in Europe to join the Army, it being
considered that the King's Service in this country
required the others to remain at their posts.
The Period of British Malaya
Throughout we have to bear in mind that, though
the Colony and the Federated Malay States still remain
absolutely distinct, yet the Governor of one is the
High Commissioner of the other, and the officers of their
two Services are interchangeable. Henceforth we are
speaking of British Malaya, and it is her history that
we relate in telling the stories of our Governors and
Civil Service. And apart, of course, from the Great
War, whose horrors scarcely touched us and whose
far-reaching consequences, even, failed to divert our
unswerving course, the most important historical
fact of this our final period of development is the
admission of the Protected or non-Federated States
into the confraternity, the dreams of our founders and
forerunners becoming thus fully and finally realised.
After the death of Sir Charles Mitchell there was an
interregnum of nearly two years, in the course of which
Sir James Alexander Swettenham, who was Colonial
Secretary during the latter part of the late Governor's
term of office, and Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham,
then Resident-General, F.M.S., successively adminis-
tered the government. It is a remarkable and unprece-
dented fact that two brothers should have held in turn
this high office.
THE TWO SWETTENHAMS 125
Sir J. A. Swettenham
Mr. James Alexander Swettenham, C.M.G., as he
was when he came to the Colony, was appointed a
writer in the Ceylon Civil Service in 1868, and served
there till 1883, when he was transferred to Cyprus.
He was made Colonial Secretary S.S. in 1895, and created
K.C.M.G. in 1898, when administering the government
during the absence of Sir Charles Mitchell, on leave.
His service in the Straits was spent entirely in Singapore.
In congratulating him on the honour of K.C.M.G., the
Straits Chinese Magazine said : ' ' The strict and incessant
attention that he always gave to the multifarious duties
of his post as chief of the Secretariat has indeed become
proverbial. By a happy coincidence his brother. Sir
Frank Swettenham, is at the head of the affairs of the
neighbouring F.M.S., between which and our Colony
there exists such close intercourse. We may fairly
hope to see, during the administration of the
brothers of the two countries respectively, a greater
interdependence and mutual intercourse resulting from
a stronger community of interests between them."
The same magazine, after Sir Frank's subsequent
Governorship and retirement, in mildly criticising what
the writer considered to be a lack of sympathy on his
part with the Chinese population of the Straits, compared
the different attitude of Sir Alexander, especially in
respect of matters such as Chinese education. Sir
J. A. Swettenham became Governor of British Guiana
in 1 90 1, and he was afterwards Governor of Jamaica
between 1904 and 1907. During his second administra-
tion of the Government of the Straits the Singapore —
Johore railway was commenced.
Sir Frank Swettenham
In September 1901 Sir F. A. Swettenham was
appointed Governor. Earlier in the year he had, as
Administrator, entertained our present King and Queen
on their visit to Singapore during the Ophir voyage.
126 THE GOVERNMENT
Sir Frank's career has been touched upon at various
times throughout this article, but we may here sum it
up. He passed into the Straits Civil Service after
competitive examination, under the first scheme for
Cadets, in 1870. After some years spent in various
posts in Penang, he was Assistant Resident, Selangor,
and Deputy Commissioner with the Perak Expedition
in 1876 and 1877. He then became, successively.
Assistant Colonial Secretary for Native Affairs from
1876 to 1 88 1, Resident, Selangor, in 1882, Resident,
Perak, from 1889 to 1895, and first Resident-General
of the F.M.S. from 1896 to 1901. After his retirement
from the Straits he was created G.C.M.G., and has
performed various war services, being appointed, during
191 5, Joint Director of the Official Press Bureau in
London. He has been made a Companion of Honour,
one of the few to hold that distinction.
One of the most noticeable points in connection
with his record is that he was the first Governor of the
Straits, and the only one up to the present whose
career has been entirely spent in our Civil Service ;
and his appointment to the highest office here must
have been most pleasing to him, not only because it
kept him in the country which he knew and loved, but
on account of his views, already quoted, as to the
necessity of a Malayan Civil Service for Malaya. We
should note, however, that his later years of service
had little intimate connection with the Colony until
his administration of the government in 1901. For,
as we have seen, his time was spent mainly in the Native
States, and it has been justly stated that their enormous
prosperity after the federation was largely due to his
eff'orts. On his promotion to the Governorship, an
English weekly paper remarked : " Never was a big
appointment better deserved," and, in allusion to his
selection as first Resident-General, " it was only fitting
that this post should be given to the man who directly
effected the federation."
During his brief Governorship, from 1901 to the end
SIR FRANK ATHEI,STANE SWETTENHAM, G.C.M.G., C.H.
U36]
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS 127
of 1903, nothing of great importance befell either Singa-
pore or the Colony. In the F.M.S., on the other hand,
forces were already at work, which led to the final result
of attracting the other Native States of the Peninsula
to British suzerainty. To allude very briefly to this
development before turning to Sir Frank's administra-
tion in the Colony, it may be noted that in the early
years of the twentieth century British influence began
to show in the State of Kelantan, where Mr. R. W. Duff
had, with the approval of Government, started his
" development " enterprise. As a result of some
friction with the Siamese authorities, Siam being then
Suzerain of the State, Sir Frank went to Kelantan in
1902, and brought about an agreement limiting the
Suzerain's powers, and at the same time arranging
for the appointment of a British officer to act as Adviser
to the Sultan. This was the first step towards the
extension of British influence in the Unfederated States,
the main historical event of this our modern period.
In a speech, at a farewell banquet given to him on
his retirement in 1903, Mr. John Anderson, the Chairman,
summed up the principal acts of the departing Governor's
term of office. As the Free Press reports it :
" The scheme commonly known as Mr. Matthews'
(of Coode, Son and Matthews) Harbour Scheme was
really projected by Sir F. A. Swettenham, to whom the
Colony was also greatly indebted for the currency
[conversion scheme, now in its first stages of introduction,
fto give stability to the gold value of the Singapore
[dollar. It was his strength and influence that led to
lobtaining sufficient money for the construction of the
iVictoria Memorial Hall, as the Town Hall was not large
lenough for the growing community. Sir F. A. Swetten-
[ham had had to do with the completion of the first
[effort of this Settlement in railway working, with an
[aim to promote and contribute to a trunk line from
^Singapore to Burma and India."
Mr. Anderson also advanced the suggestion of a bridge
lacross the Johore Straits, to be called Swettenham
128 THE GOVERNMENT
Bridge. And he remarked on the unique record of
the Governor's service in the Straits, of which we have
spoken. He, too, tributed Sir Frank's labours in the
F.M.S. and his poHcy there, which " has contributed so
much to the welfare of the Colony."
A writer in the Straits Chinese Magazine, lamenting
his early retirement and praising his eminent fitness to
direct the government of the Colony and the F.M.S. ,
remarked that " with an accurate and extensive know-
ledge of the history and language of the native population
of these lands, Sir Frank has been able to use his keen
critical judgment, his sharp sense of humour, and his
business acumen with most fruitful results in the
administration of the most prosperous of British Crown
Colonies." All expressed opinions draw us to a con-
clusion as to the service of this, our own Governor,
that he was one of the principal benefactors of British
Malaya, not only as a pioneer, but as an administrator
as well.
Yet he is even more widely known as a real lover of
the Malay country, an expert in the language and
customs of its people, and one of a band of literary men
whose writings have introduced Malaya to the world
outside. His books, The Real Malay and Malay
Sketches, are put in the hands of all intending visitors
to these parts as a guide to the country's life and legend.
And the personal element which enters into the character
sketches and studies makes them all the more attractive,
especially when he describes the early efforts of the
British officials in the new country, their difficulties
and dangers. Who that reads is not thrilled by the
chapter describing the murder of Mr. Birch and the
writer's most narrow and remarkable escape from the
same fate ? Besides this. Sir Frank is a lexicographer
and a grammarian, as witness his English — Malay
Vocabulary and the part-written Dictionary, both of
which have served as first aid to the new students.
And a historian as well, for the work herein so often
quoted, British Malaya, contains chapters on the old
SIR ERNEST BIRCH 129
history of Malaya and on the development of the F.M.S.,
which cannot be surpassed for interest and knowledge.
Mr. C. W. S. Kynnersley, C.M.G., 1872-1904
Mr. Charles Walter Sneyd Kynnersley was appointed
a Cadet in 1872. He held at various times nearly all
the posts of the Civil Service in the three Settlements.
He also accompanied the expeditions to Perak and Sungei
Ujong in 1875, and went with Sir Frederick Weld on a
mission to Borneo in 1887. He was Resident Councillor
at Malacca in 1895, and held the same post at Penang
from 1897 to 1904, administered the government for
a few months in 1897 ^^^ 1898, and acted as Colonial
Secretary for a time before his retirement. He was
created C.M.G. in 1899. The Singapore Free Press of
March 1902, when he went on leave, said of him that it
was agreed by all that he had done yeoman service for
the Colony, which had been his home for thirty years,
and drew attention to his somewhat unique record of
having been at the head of each of the three Settlements.
The writer added that Mr. Kynnersley had managed
to keep himself free from the bonds of the Red Tape,
never repulsing anyone who had anything to offer for the
good of the Colony worth listening to. And that, as our
representative at the Coronation of King Edward VII,
he would be a true one, alike for his personal
character and his public career. Mr. Kynnersley died
at home of heart-failure in 1904, and the same paper
then said that " it would be hard to name any Govern-
ment official who had a higher reputation for quiet,
steady work, sound judgment, and courtesy to all with
whom he was brought in contact. As Resident
Councillor, Penang, he was greatly regretted in the
Northern Settlement, and his reign here came to an
end amid the regret of all classes of the community."
Sir E. W. Birch, 1878-1910
Mr. Ernest Woodford Birch, eldest son of Mr. J. W.
IW. Birch, first Resident of Perak, was appointed a Straits
I — 10
130 THE GOVERNMENT
Cadet in 1876, though he only came east in 1878. In
his earher years he was for some time Land Officer in
Malacca, where his name is still well known among the
Malays for his connection with the Ordinances relating
to Customary Land and with the perfecting of the
Penghulu system. Later he was British Resident in
Negri Sembilan andSelangor,andwas for a time Governor
of British North Borneo. He is best known, however,
as British Resident of Perak from 1904 to 19 10, being
created K.C.M.G. while holding this office. It will be
long before his name is forgotten in the State, or indeed
anywhere in the F.M.S.
A " Many Happy Returns " column in the Planters'
and Miners' Gazette, reprinted after his retirement on an
anniversary of his birthday, spoke of him as " a shining
example of optimism," and ascribed his great success
as an administrator to his personal touch with the
people, which he did much to impart to every District
Officer and Assistant who came under his spell. And the
writer quoted from a farewell address to him in a Chinese
theatre at Ipoh : " The name of Birch shall never be
forgotten amongst us. . . . The example given by you
of independence, loftiness of purpose, fidelity to friends,
and of patriotism will still shine before us, so that you
may know that here in the Malay States, and above all
in Perak, you have not lived and worked in vain." The
same article lauded his magnetic personality and
wonderful influence, all that he did for Kinta's capital
and her scattered villages, where his was a " household
name " among Malays, Chinese, and Tamils, as well as
Europeans. And concluded that in his retirement he
still clings to the links that bind the Homeland and
Malaya, " but these are nowadays composed of rubber
and tin, serving in themselves as a daily reminder of the
development that these industries made in Perak during
the term of his administration."
Sir Ernest was famous also for his capacity for games,
though it has been remarked that he liked to have his
own way in " running things," one story going that he
SUCCESSFUL CADETS 131
came to Singapore with a visiting team, and took charge
of a smoking concert given in their honour by the S.C.C.
with great success. We may add that during the War
he has especially identified himself with Malayan war
charities and schemes such as the F.M.S Hospital and
provision of comforts for the crew of the battleship
Malaya.
Sir Walter Egerton, i 880-1904
Mr. Walter Egerton was also a Straits Cadet, being ap-
pointed in 1880. His early service was as Land Officer
in Province Wellesley ; but he afterwards served in all
the Settlements, acting as Colonial Secretary in Sir
Alexander Swettenham's administration after the death
of Sir Charles Mitchell. He was Resident of Negri
Sembilan from 1902 to 1904. He had considerable
knowledge of engineering, of which he made use when in
charge of Sungei Ujong in the pioneer days. He was
famous as an organiser and administrator, and was also
one of the first to take an interest in rubber-planting in
I the Straits ; for, when Acting Resident Councillor there
I in 1 899, he persuaded native planters in Malacca to try
this form of cultivation, to their immense subsequent
profit. He was appointed High Commissioner, Southern
[Nigeria, in 1 903 , and Governor of Lagos in 1 904 . Created
fK.C.M.G. in 1905, he became Governor of the amalga-
mated Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria in
1 1906. He was afterwards appointed Governor of British
|Guiana in 191 2, and he retired in 191 7.
Sir E. M. Merewether, i 880-1 902
Mr. Edward Marsh Merewether came out as a Cadet to
the Straits Service in the same year as Mr. Egerton.
He served in all the Settlements, and acted for a time as
|Resident Councillor, Malacca. He was British Resident,
Selangor, in 1901, and left Malaya in 1902 to take up
the post of Lieutenant-Governor and Chief Secretary
to the Government of Malta. He was created K.C.V.O.
in 1907, and appointed Governor of Sierra Leone in
132 THE GOVERNMENT
191 1. He has been Governor of the Leeward Islands
since 191 6, becoming K.C.M.G. in the same year.
Sir Hugh Charles Clifford, i 883-1903
We have already spoken of Mr. Hugh CHfford in the
time of Governor Weld. He joined the Perak service
as a Cadet in 1883, and was Collector of Land Revenue,
Kuala Kangsar, in 1885. His mission on special service
in Pahang in 1 887 paved the way for the appointment of
a Resident in that State. He himself was Assistant
Resident there in 1888, and he acted as Resident several
times thereafter, displaying much energy in dealing with
those discontented with the new order of things, whom
he hustled out of Pahang and into the independent States
of Kelantan and Trengganu. After a short period as
Governor of British North Borneo, he was made Resident
of Pahang in 1901. He then left Malaya, and served as
Colonial Secretary, Trinidad, from 1903 to 1907, when he
was appointed Colonial Secretary, Ceylon. He was
created K.C.M.G. in 1909, and was Governor of the
Gold Coast from 191 2 to 191 9. He now holds the
appointment of Governor-General of Nigeria. His
chief work in Malaya was in connection with Pahang,
of which State he is one of the principal benefactors.
A distinguished literary man, he has written much about
Malaya and her people, both in the form of short stories
and longer works. Of the former and best known are
Bush-whacking and In Court and Kampong. Of the
latter Saleh, a Study and A Sequel. He is also joint
author with Sir Frank Swettenham of a Malayan dic-
tionary, and he has translated the Penal Code into
Malay.
Mr. a. W. S. O'Sullivan, i 883-1 903
Mr. Arthur Warren Swete O'Sullivan was appointed
a Cadet S.S. in 1883, and served in many of the posts of
the three Settlements. While Assistant Colonial Secre-
tary he was selected by the Colonial Office for the appoint-
ment of Colonial Secretary, Trinidad, but before he could
AN EVENTFUL ERA BEGINS 133
take it up occurred his untimely death at Singapore in
1903. He was a strong supporter of the Royal Asiatic
Society, an obituary notice in whose Journal described
him as an able and hard-working officer with a talent for
languages, being proficient in Dutch, Tamil, Malay, and
more than one dialect of Chinese. He laboured to open
up the wide field of Dutch learning and research into
the Malay language to English readers, so setting an
example which later scholars have followed with dis-
tinguished success.
Mr. G. T. Hare, C.M.G., I.S.O. 1884-1904
Mr. George Thompson Hare was appointed a Cadet
S.S. in 1 884, and spent his first years in China studying
the Hokkien language at Amoy. He was undoubtedly
the most notable of the " Chinese Cadets," and a true
follower in the steps of the famous Pickering. On the
federation he was appointed Secretary for Chinese
Aflfairs at Kuala Lumpur, and in British Malaya Sir
Frank Swettenham has recorded the unique influence
that he established among the Chinese, and the benefit
that his knowledge of the revenue farm system brought
to the Government finances. In 1903 he took up the
newly created post of Secretary for Chinese Affairs, S.S.
and F.M.S., the famous old title of Protector of Chinese,
Singapore, then falling into abeyance for a time. Ill-
health unfortunately soon caused his retirement, and he
died at Singapore in 1904. He wrote exhaustive articles
on Chinese subjects, as, for instance, those on the Wai
Seng Lottery of Canton and the game of Chap Ji Ki,
published in the Royal Asiatic Society's Journal. He
was also the editor of the Hokkien Vernacular and the
Text-book of Documentary Chinese, which are still in use
in the examination schemes for Cadets studying Chinese.
Sir John Anderson, Governor, 1904-11
Sir Frank Swettenham was succeeded as Governor by
[Sir John Anderson in April 1904, and a most eventful
era in the history of British Malaya began. We enter
\
134 THE GOVERNMENT
with a certain diffidence on the task of giving a necessarily
brief description of the outstanding events of this ex-
tremely modern period in the Colony and in Greater
Malaya.
Sir John Anderson entered the Colonial Office as a
result of the open examination for the Home Civil
Service in 1879. He later served on several Commis-
sions, and was Secretary to the Conference of Mr. Joseph
Chamberlain, then Secretary of State, with the Colonial
Premiers in 1902. In the previous year he had accom-
panied our present King and Queen, in their world-tour
in the Ophir, in the capacity of representative of the
Colonial Office, and it was then that he paid his first
visit to the Straits. Afterwards he served on the Alas-
kan Boundary Commission, and then became Governor of
the Straits, where he remained, with two short hohdays,
till 191 1, when he was appointed Permanent Under-
Secretary of State for the Colonies. In December 1915
he came out to Ceylon as Governor at a time of con-
siderable stress in that Colony, and he remained there
till his death in March 191 8. He was created G.C.M.G.
in 1909 and K.C.B. in 1913.
Of his career in Malaya it has been said that " he jerked
the Colony out of a rut, and did something," and he has
the credit of starting a new order of things. Among
the chief features of his administration was his municipal
policy, in which he displayed his considerable legal
knowledge. He strongly stood out for " back lanes "
against an unofficial opposition, which was for a time
successful, his attitude being that the state of numbers
of native houses in the larger cities of the Straits should
not remain a permanent scandal, and that there was a
higher point to be considered than that of capital and
other interests; in short, that "light and air" must
somehow be admitted into such dusty and unwholesome
quarters.
Another was the famous expropriation of the great
Tanjong Pagar Docks. Here he was quite of the general
opinion that the price fixed by the arbitration was
SIR JOHN ANDERSOX, G.C.M.G., K.C.B.
'• 134]
FIXITY OF EXCHANGE 135
excessive ; but he had the courage of his convictions, and
carried on the work, one of his last public utterances in
the Colony being of his firm belief in the future of the
port. And, though his policy has been criticised,
it has always been admitted that he boldly and in a broad
spirit tackled the question of the future. For the
acquisition of this property by the Government was but
a starting-point in a series of public improvements de-
signed to strengthen Singapore's commercial position.
Taken with the construction of the railway through
Johore, commenced about this time, it gave a new signi-
ficance to the port, and opened up for it a fresh vista of
achievement.
Yet another of Sir John Anderson's important acts was
the fixing of the value of the Straits dollar, a matter
dealt with elsewhere in this book. The importance of
it was the steadying influence to trade, though there
has always remained some criticism as to the wisdom
of choosing such a relatively high rate as two shillings
and fourpence. Messrs. Wright and Reid remark :
" It is contended that the rate is against the interests of
the exporters of Straits produce, but as time goes on
there will be less grumbling heard, more especially when
it is recognised that the fixity of exchange has had a
direct influence in bringing capital into the country for
personal investment, while the comparatively high rate
of the dollar has had an indirect but beneficial influence
in attracting much-needed labour to the Peninsula."
Another event of considerable importance for the
Colony was the institution of the Government Monopolies
Department as a direct result of the Opium Commission
appointed in 1907. For its report, while pronouncing
against prohibition, suggested a system of proper control
" of what, in excess at any rate, is admitted to be a
wasteful and seldom beneficial habit," and at the same
time pointed out the vital importance of the opium
revenue to the local finances.
In this connection we may here quote the remarks of
Messrs. Wright and Reid on Sir John Anderson's proposal
136 THE GOVERNMENT
to substitute an income-tax for the revenue likely to
be lost under a new policy as to opium. " Sir John,"
they say, " was a sound administrator and a man of
exceptional discernment, but in this instance he had
miscalculated the forces likely to be arrayed against a
proposal of this kind. The European community almost
to a man condemned the scheme which was calculated to
cast an undue burden upon them, owing to the inevitable
evasion of the impost by the wealthy native classes. On
the other hand, the natives were up in arms against a
tax which seemed to them to carry with it such undesir-
able possibilities in regard to their personal freedom and
the privacy of their business arrangements." And they
conclude that " with statesmanlike instinct the Governor
bowed to the storm, and income-tax was relegated to
the official pigeon-hole, probably never to be brought
out again."
Well, inter arma silent leges, and the patriotism of all
classes of the community during the War has shown that
in a time of stress, when there comes a chance of bearing
some of the Mother Country's burden, selfish protesta-
tions are also silent.
Sir John Anderson also effected various changes in the
Civil Service, not all of which were greeted with appro-
bation by its members. It is true that he instituted the
practice of appointing civil servants to the Judicial
Bench, and continued a new departure by which they
were made heads of the Municipalities ; but on the other
hand he was somewhat criticised for reducing the status
of certain appointments during a period of temporary
financial difficulty about the year 1910.
Events in Greater Malaya
In 1907 Labuan, after a somewhat varied career as a
Colony, independent and dependent, was annexed to
the Straits, and became part of the Settlement of Singa-
pore. A further development occurred in 191 2, after
Sir John's departure, when she became a Fourth Settle-
ment of the Colony.
EVENTS IN GREATER MALAYA 137
In 1906 the Governor S.S., who had been Consul-
General for Brunei, British North Borneo, and Sarawak,
became High Commissioner for Brunei, as the result of a
treaty with the Sultan, who had expressed a desire for a
more definite form of British protection. In 1908 the
Governor became British Agent for British North Borneo
and Sarawak, instead of Consul-General, as he had re-
mained since 1896. In 191 1 the title High Commissioner
for the F.M.S. was changed to that of High Commissioner
for the Malay States.
This last change was due to the transfer of suzerainty
over the Native States of Kedah, Perils, Kelantan, and
Trengganu from Siam to Great Britain, under the Anglo-
Siamese Treaty of 1909, the first steps towards which
event were taken in the time of Sir Frank Swettenham.
And according to The Malay Peninsula, the new regime
instituted in 1902-3 did not long work smoothly, owing
to the existence of jarring elements which were bound
sooner or later to come into collision, while a German
scheme for a railway connecting Siam and the F.M.S.,
being brought to the notice of the Foreign Office, was one
antecedent of the treaty. On completion of the formal
arrangements, Sir John visited Kelantan and announced
the assumption of the British Protectorate there. The
authors quoted go on to say that the desired goal was
then reached, the spectre of foreign interference in the
Peninsula being laid for ever.
It was during this administration also that the im-
portant State of Johore came into closer relations with
Great Britain. Earlier pages of this article have indi-
cated the necessary connection between such near neigh-
bours as Johore and Singapore throughout the history
of the latter as a Settlement. In 1885 the then Sultan
placed his foreign relations under the control of the British
Government, and undertook to receive a British Agent
at his court. In our Modern period Mr. C. B. Buckley,
author of the Anecdotal History so often quoted by us,
acted as an unofficial Adviser to the present Sultan ;
and, in consequence of a request from the Sultan in 191 o.
138 THE GOVERNMENT
Mr. D. G. Campbell, C.M.G., of the F.M.S. Service,
was transferred to Johore to act as Adviser, and on his
death Mr. F. J. Hallifax.
The Federal Council, 1909
The Federated States also were not unaffected by the
changes of this progressive period. In 1909 an agree-
ment between Sir John Anderson, as High Commissioner,
and the rulers of the States was signed for the constitu-
tion of a Federal Council, consisting of the Rulers, Resi-
dents, unofficial members, and some heads of depart-
ments, the last-named subject to the recommendation
of the High Commissioner and the approval of the
Sovereign.
The High Commissioner presides at meetings of the
Council, of which the Chief Secretary F.M.S. is, of course,
also a member. This latter office was instituted, very
shortly before Sir John left Malaya in 191 1, in place of
that of Resident-General, a post created at the federation
in 1 896, and, after a history of only fifteen years, swept
away by the flowing tide of centralisation.
As we have already stated, Sir John Anderson became
Permanent Under-Secretary for the Colonies in April
1 9 1 1 , after a very strenuous seven years' work, when ' ' he
left the Colony . . . with a reputation not surpassed
by the record of any of his immediate predecessors."
Messrs. Wright and Reid continue: " His name will always
be coupled in Malayan history with the territorial
changes which are to influence so tremendously the
political future of the Malay Peninsula." "His rule
here," said the Singapore Free Press in a memorial
notice, " was certainly distinguished by work done, and
he was personally deeply respected by all." The same
paper recorded that he was confronted by very difficult
problems on his appointment as Governor of Ceylon,
the chief being the inquiry into the matter of the rising
there in 1915. It was extremely tiring and delicate
work, " but Sir John, who had ever considered the
public service before his own health or feelings, worked
TRIBUTE TO A GOVERNOR 139
incessantly and thoroughly, and dealt with the whole
matter. There is little doubt that the anxiety of this,
together with his ordinary duties as Governor, made
inroads upon his health greater than it could stand, and,
as he refused to quit his post as long as he felt he was
able to carry out his duties to the State, it may truly be
said that his death is a sacrifice to the interest of the
Empire, which has thereby lost one of its most distin-
guished rulers." In our Legislative Council, four days
after his death, the Governor, who had served under him
as Colonial Secretary S.S. and Chief Secretary F.M.S.,
after reference to his brilliant intellect and excellence as
an administrator, said : " In addition. Sir John was always
willing to assist and to advise. I may say that he was
not only a very gifted man, but a very human man.
Many here in Malaya have lost a good friend. ... He
died, as he would have wished, at work for the good of his
country to the very end." And a leading unofficial
member added : " He was a broad-minded and far-seeing
man, and I think we can, without offence to those who
came before him, say that from the day of his arrival in
the Colony we seemed to emerge from a somewhat paro-
chial atmosphere into a clearer, healthier, and freer one."
Sir William Taylor, 1901-10
Mr. William Thomas Taylor served in Cyprus
from 1879 to 1895. He was Auditor-General of
Ceylon from 1895 to 1901, and acted as Colonial
Secretary there. He was appointed Colonial Secretary
S.S. in 1 90 1, and administered the government before
Sir John Anderson's appointment in 1904 and during
one of the latter's short terms of leave in 1906. He was
Resident-General F.M.S. (the last to hold the substantive
appointment) from 1904 to 1910, when he retired, having
been created K.C.M.G. in 1905. He has latterly been
in charge of the Malay States Information Agency in
London, and was mainly responsible for the successful
administration of the F.M.S. War Hospital in
Hertfordshire.
140 THE GOVERNMENT
Mr. F. G. Penney
Mr. Frederick Gordon Penney was appointed a Cadet
S.S. in 1876, and was the first Cadet to become Colonial
Secretary, in which office he succeeded Mr. Taylor in
1905, after having been Colonial Treasurer since 1898.
He retired in 1906. In his earlier years he had experi-
enced the usual varied career of the Straits Cadet, seeing
service in all the Settlements, and his retirement was
much regretted.
Mr. R. N. Bland, C.M.G.
Mr. Robert Norman Bland was appointed a Cadet in
the Straits service in 1882. He held various offices in
the three Settlements, and was also in charge of Sungei
Ujong from 1893 to 1895. He became Colonial Treasurer
in 1904, and was successively Resident Councillor,
Malacca, from 1904 to 1907, and of Penang from 1907
to 1910, when he retired. He became a C.M.G. in the
latter year. He is the author of the illustrated work
Historical Tombstones of Malacca, which has done much
to preserve the records of monuments of the past,
otherwise only too likely to perish, and he was a frequent
contributor to the Royal Asiatic Society's Journal.
Mr. W. Evans
Mr. William Evans also became a Cadet S.S. in 1882.
He studied Hokkien in Amoy, China, and the greater
portion of his earlier service was spent in Chinese de-
partments, he being Protector of Chinese, Singapore,
for some years up to 1903. During this service he had
on one occasion the unpleasant experience of being
detained by riotous coolies when endeavouring to make
peace in an immigrant depot, and it is surprising that
he escaped with little damage, some of his assailants
having to be shot by the police before he could be re-
leased. In 1904 he was seconded to South Africa for
the purpose of organising Chinese labour for the Rand
after the South African War, for which service he re-
ceived the thanks of the Government of the Transvaal.
WAR AND NEW TAXES 141
On his return to the Straits he was Resident Councillor,
Malacca, until 19 10, in the course of which service he
acted as Colonial Secretary on several occasions. He was
the last to hold the title of Resident Councillor, Malacca,
officers in charge of that Settlement since his time not
being members of the two Councils and being designated
Residents. He became Resident Councillor, Penang, in
1910, and retired in 1913.
Sir E. L. Brockman, 1886 to Present Time
Mr. Edward Lewis Brockman also started his career
as a Cadet S.S., having been appointed in 1886. His
early service was spent in various posts in the Colony,
where he acted as Colonial Secretary in 1905-6. He
acted as Federal Secretary F.M.S. in 1907, and as Resi-
dent-General in 1907-8. At various times he has
acted as, or held the substantive posts of. Resident in
Perak, Pahang, and Negri Sembilan. He was appointed
Colonial Secretary S.S. in 191 1, and Chief Secretary
F.M.S.,in succession to Sir Arthur Young, in the same
year, an appointment which he still holds. He also
administered the government of the Straits for some
months in 191 1. He became C.M.G. in 1908 and
K.C.M.G. in 1912. It was during his term of office as
Chief Secretary that the battleship Malaya was pre-
sented to the Imperial Government by the Federated
Malay States.
Sir Arthur Young, Governor, 1911-19
Sir Arthur Young succeeded Sir John Anderson as
Governor S.S. At the time of writing he is still our
Governor, though he has definitely announced his
approaching retirement. It is noteworthy that Sir
Arthur (as pointed out by the President of the Singa-
pore Municipality at the ceremony of unveiling of the
Raffles Statue in its new abode, in front of the Victoria
Memorial Hall, on Centenary Day , the 6th February 1 9 1 9),
has broken all records for length of service as Governor
under the Colonial Office, his nearest rival being Sir
142 THE GOVERNMENT
Frederick Weld. The record of Colonel Butterworth,
who held the post, as we have seen, under the India
Office for twelve years, is still unapproached. While
holding the Secretaryship since 1906, and since his
appointment as Governor, he has enjoyed merely a
shadow of leave, for, having gone home a few weeks
before the outbreak of war, he immediately returned,
and so has remained at his post practically throughout
the struggle and all its attendant difficulties and an-
xieties here. He was created G.C.M.G. in 1916 and
K.B.E. in 1918.
The principal happenings of his Administration in the
Colony could not fail to be overshadowed by the more
stirring events in Europe. Yet Singapore witnessed
even so the final completion of the great dock scheme
in the opening of the Empire Dock by the Governor
in 191 7, the opening of the King's Dock having taken
place about a year before the War. There were other
occurrences of varied importance, mainly, except for
the tragic interruption of the mutiny of February 1915,
of an (outwardly at least) ordinary " carry-on " descrip-
tion. Certainly the Colony halted not nor stayed in
her progress, and the rumblings of the world earthquake,
save on that one occasion, left her quite unscathed.
Honour and credit for this state of things are undoubtedly
due to those who had to con the ship and weather the
storm.
As already stated, a tax on income, a war-tax, was
introduced. The Ordinance creating it came into
operation on the ist January 191 7, and was intended to
give an opportunity to citizens to take some share in
the financial burden of the Mother Country during the
War. This new institution was on the whole most
patriotically received, and has produced a very acceptable
contribution to our Empire's resources. For the same
purpose excise and other duties have come into being
both in the Colony and the F.M.S. And we must not
omit here an allusion to the magnificent response of
British Malaya to imperial needs both in men and money.
SIR ARTHUR HENDERSON YOUXG, G.C.M.G., K.B.E;
I. 142)
RAILWAY EXTENSIONS 143
It has been said that, taking into account the whole
number of British men in our confraternity here, the
tale of those who volunteered for active service rivals
that of any other country of the Empire. And as to
contributions to War funds and charities, the amount
subscribed by all races and classes of our people, in
Colony and Native States alike, is really immense.
We must notice an increase in prosperity in all the
Malay States, Federated and Unfederated, which have,
practically without interruption, advanced since their
admission to British suzerainty. Through railway com-
munication between Bangkok and Singapore was
established in 191 8, by completion of the line through
Southern Siam, Perils, Kedah, and Prai. A section of
railway is also open in Kelantan.
In 1 91 4, on the initiative of the Sultan of Johore, a
subsidiary agreement to that of 1885 was signed, by
which a General Adviser, with powers similar to those
exercised by British Residents in the F.M.S., was
appointed in that State.
In May 1919 the State of Trengganu came into line
with the Unfederated States in accepting the appoint-
ment of a British Adviser.
Throughout all his various activities of official
life Sir Arthur Young has always been noted as
an all-round sportsman, though it is, we believe,
not even yet generally known that he played twice
for Scotland versus England in the Rugby Inter-
nationals of 1874. On his first arrival in the Straits
he was a regular player in cricket matches at the S.C.C,
and he was a winner for several successive tournaments
of" the Veterans " at lawn tennis. He is well known
as the keenest of golfers, and was President of the Singa-
pore Golf Club for many years, only relinquishing the
post on his impending retirement.
In the course of his duties he has travelled far and
wide in the Peninsula, and he made a special journey
of inspection to Gunong Tahan in 191 2 in search of a
site for a hill station for Malaya, to which we may
144 THE GOVERNMENT
hope it will be decided to give,as he himself has suggested,
the name " Arthur's Seat," or some other commemorative
designation. His generosity in the cause of all War
charities has been most notable, and his unfailing
kindness of heart in dealing with the too often tragic
(if trivial) affairs of the most humble subordinates of
the Government service has been most sincerely
appreciated.
We will conclude this very brief account of his admin-
istration with an excerpt from another article on the
subject : " His rule is too recent to need any more
detailed chronicle, but posterity will agree with his
generation that in all things he has upheld the honour
of the British flag and the great Service to which he
belongs."
It is, of course, clearly obvious that the task of a
writer dealing with this modern period, in relation to its
leading Civil Servants, is not an easy one. We do not
propose, therefore, to attempt to speak of more than two
or three of the prominent officials of Sir Arthur Young's
administration of whom no account has so far been given
in this article or elsewhere in this book.
Mr. R. J. Wilkinson, C.M.G., 1889-1916
Mr. Richard James Wilkinson has spent his whole
career in various offices of the F.M.S. and the Colony.
He was appointed a Cadet S.S. in 1889, and served in
the Colony till 1903, when he became Inspector of
Schools, F.M.S. He was Secretary to the Resident of
Perak in 1909, and acted as Resident, Negri Sembilan, in
1910, obtaining the substantive post in 191 1 . He made
his mark in the Education Department, where he intro-
duced modern methods and broke away from old
traditions. He was then noted as a ready writer, keener
on the scholarly side of the Government service than the
Executive, and had no small share in directing public
attention to the history and development of Malaya,
in the capacity of general editor of a series of hand-
books on Malay subjects printed under the auspices of
PRODUCT OF THE CADET SYSTEM 145
the F.M.S. Government. Among his various works
the famous Dictionary of the Malay Language has
proved of immense assistance to students and scholars.
But he was not to be left in this, to him, probably
most congenial sphere.
Soon after his rather unexpected appointment as
Colonial Secretary in 191 1, he administered the govern-
ment of the Colony, and he was doing so for a second
time at the outbreak of war in 19 14, Sir Arthur Young
having gone on leave some two months previously. At
this important crisis he had the exceptionally onerous
task of preventing panic and disaster throughout
Malaya. And the result of his efforts has been well
summed up as follows : " Public opinion has endorsed
his method of dealing with the food and tin questions in
which he went to the best authorities locally, and, having
heard their views, brought to bear on them a keen
critical faculty, and courageously accepted the responsi-
bility of acting on his judgment." Surely a curious
position for a man who had in his early service been
considered a somewhat retiring scholar, to find himself
in. And may we not comment that the brilliant result
reflects some credit on our system and the Service in
which he had been trained ? Mr. Wilkinson became
C.M.G. in 1912. In 1916 he was appointed Governor
of Sierra Leone, in which post he is still serving.
Mr. F. S. James, C.M.G.
Mr. Frederick Seton James succeeded Mr. Wilkinson
as Colonial Secretary in 19 16, after a period of service on
the West Coast of Africa dating as far back as 1896,
in the course of which he was Political Officer with the
Aro Field Force in 1901-2. He was created C.M.G. in
the latter year for his services. He acted as Colonial
Secretary and Deputy Governor of Southern Nigeria on
various occasions between 190 7 and 191 2, and as Governor
and Commander-in-Chief in the latter year. On the
amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria in 1914
he was appointed Administrator of the Colony. Since
I — II
146 THE GOVERNMENT
his arrival in the Straits he has inaugurated with the
greatest success the local " Our Day " movement in
connection with the Red Cross, which has obtained in
three years well over three hundred thousand pounds
sterling, and achieved for Malaya a position among all
contributors in which she rivals even the great self-
governing colonies.
Appointed to the direction of Food Control in 191 8,
he was later seconded as Food Controller, and has
addressed many meetings throughout Malaya, urging
on citizens of all races the duty of making the country
self-supporting. At the time of writing he has again
assumed his substantive post of Colonial Secretary, and
it is announced that he will administer the government
on the departure of Sir Arthur Young.
Mr. D. G. Campbell, C.M.G.
Mr. Douglas Graham Campbell joined the Selangor
P.W.D. in 1883 from Ceylon. He afterwards became
a District Officer in the same State, and he made his
mark in the development of the land system under
Mr. W. E. Maxwell. He was Secretary to the Resident,
Selangor, in 1 901, and Resident, Negri Sembilan, in 1904,
acting also on various occasions as Resident of Selangor
and Pahang. Early in 19 10 he was appointed by Sir
John Anderson to be Adviser to the Sultan of Johore, and
he became General Adviser to the Johore Government
under the agreement of 1914. He was created C.M.G.
in 191 2. He died in 1918, at Singapore, after a very
brief and sudden illness. An obituary notice in the
Times tributed the financial success of his administration
which made Johore " the envy in a few years of the other
Native States," and called special attention to the
reform of the land system there carried out under his
auspices.
Conclusion
We have come now to the end of the story of our
Governors and Civil Servants, and of the land which has
"MEN IN THE LONG FIELD" 147
been a scene of their labours. And we have shown, we
trust in not too wearisome a fashion, though, we are
aware, only too inadequately, the gradual development
of this great dominion of British Malaya, which has
witnessed the growth and expansion of the Service from
which its British officials are drawn.
We hope that incidentally we have proved by examples
given that the Old Country has done well by the young
in providing her with men deserving well of both. And
may we not, when we think of the difficulties, doubts,
and dangers through which she has been steered, have
some confidence in the future skill and judgment of a
Service which has already produced such men, to guide
her through the years in that peace and prosperity so
often promised us to follow after the great world con-
vulsion ?
Before closing, however, we will anticipate a criticism
which can hardly fail to be made. What has much of
the tale that has been told to do with Singapore and her
Centenary ? The answer is, that it must surely be
clear that we have paid her the greatest compliment in
our power. We have shown her whole history to the
present time, not confining ourselves to a " village-
pump " chronicle of her petty struggles and squabbles.
We hope we have succeeded in displaying her as the
absolute rock and foundation on which the whole of our
confederation and confraternity depend ; as a city
grown-up and dominant, not merely an eager little
town ; as, in fact, the centre to which all her more
youthful or less important sisters refer, the capital and
crown of British Malaya in being, with Raffles, Light,
and all the other seers famed for ever as dreamers
" whose dreams came true." There is another matter
that we must also in our concluding words note and
never forget, namely that the stories we have told of
distinguished officers are samples only of those of many
other great ones of the company of " The Men in the
Long Field," as Alfred Lyttelton once termed the
Colonial Civil Service.
148 THE GOVERNMENT
These are the " lesser stars," of Newbolt, a galaxy
that includes many who died at their posts out here,
and as surely for their country as ever our young and
valiant brothers of the Service who gave their lives in
the Great War.
They are men of whose like a well-known novelist, in
one of his latest books, made an ex-naval lieutenant,
who became a colonial administrator, say: " We have
to go about the world and make roads and keep the peace
and see fair play . . . that's the job of the Englishman.
He's a sort of policeman. All the world's his beat, India,
Africa, China, and the East, all the seas of the world.
This little fat green country, all trim and tidy and set
with houses and gardens, isn't much of a land for a man
unless he's an invalid. It's a good land to grow up in
and come back to die in, or rest in. But in between. No 1 "
The following books and papers have been consulted
and, in some cases, largely quoted from in preparing this
article :
Mr. C. B. Buckley's Anecdotal History of Old Times in
Singapore ; Colonel Vetch's Life of General Sir Andrew
Clarke ; Mr. John Cameron's Our Tropical Possessions
in Malayan India ; Lady Lovat's Life of Sir Frederick
Weld ; Mr. J. T. Thomson's Some Glimpses of Life in the
Far East, and Sequel ; Sir Frank Swettenham's British
Malaya ; Messrs. Arnold Wright and Thomas H. Reid's
The Malay Peninsula ; and the former's Twentieth
Century Impressions ; the Straits Chinese Magazine.
To the writers of or in the above my best acknowledg-
ments are due ; I also tender thanks to the following
gentlemen who have assisted me with their advice or
material at their disposal : H. Marriott, R. St. J. Braddell,
and W. Makepeace,
THE FIRST COUNCILLORS 149
THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
By Walter Makepeace
The Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements
dates from 1867. It meets generally in Singapore, and
the present Council Chamber is the large room of the
old Court which was replaced by a new Court House built
in 1 864 ; but Council has met on occasion at Government
House, and on the 12th September and 28th December
1872 meetings were held in Penang, and at Malacca on
the 1 7th September of the same year. At the Penang
meetings Mr. F. A. Swettenham acted as Clerk of
Councils, and at the Malacca meeting Lieutenant H. St. G.
Ord, 78th Light Infantry. His Honour the Judge of
Penang, Sir William Hackett, sat at the meetings later
in the year.
The Council first met in Singapore on Monday, the
1st April 1867, when the Royal Instructions dated 5th
February 1867 and Colonel Harry St. George Ord's
commission under the Great Seal to be Governor and
Commander-in-Chief were read. The Chief Justice
(Sir Benson Maxwell) administered the oaths to the
Governor, and the oaths as Members of Council were
then taken by the Chief Justice (Sir Benson Maxwell),
Brigadier C. Ireland (commanding the troops), the Acting
Lieutenant-Governor of Penang (Colonel A. E. H.
Anson), the Acting Colonial Secretary (Colonel Macpher-
son), the Attorney-General (T. Braddell), the Colonial
Engineer (Major J. F. A. McNair, R.A.), the Honourables
W. H. Read, F. S. Brown, T. Scott, and R. Little, M.D.
By direction of His Excellency the Governor, the
Chief Justice declared : " That the Islands and Terri-
tories known as the Straits Settlements cease to form a
part of India, and are placed under the Government
of Her Majesty as part of the Colonial Possessions of
the Crown."
Mr. H. F. Plow was first Clerk of Councils. Acts were
150 THE GOVERNMENT
passed for the appointment of public officers, for powers
for the Govemor-in-Council and the Lieutenant-Gover-
nors, for the performance of certain judicial duties and
replacing the Recorders, for declaring dollars legal tender
and public accounts to be kept in dollars and cents. It
was resolved to open the meetings to the public, a short-
hand note to be taken of the proceedings, but not to be
published by any person without the authority of the
Council, the Clerk to supply a report " for the informa-
tion of the Editors of the several local newspapers."
Four meetings were held in May, and in June Colonel
Cooke replaced Brigadier Ireland. The first petition
was presented by Mr. Read in June, referring to the
Excise Bill.
In the following notes the names of the Unofficial
Members of Council are given, with the years in which
they first took their seats. The Official Members of
Council changed so often, as promotion or leave occurred,
that their names cannot be recorded.
1867.— C. H. H. Wilsone.
1868.— nil.
1869.— W. R. Scott; W. Adamson.
1870. — Hoo Ah Kay Whampoa.
1 87 1. — -J. J. Greenshields.
In this year the Administrator delivered his Address
on the 17th May, and retired, the Officer Commanding
the Troops taking the chair. The Auditor-General
brought up the Address in reply to the speech of His
Excellency, prepared by a committee appointed for that
purpose, and it was unanimously adopted. If His
Excellency's speech be read, the Address in reply will
be seen to consist of " We concur." The Bills for the
Singapore Railway Company and the Singapore and New
Harbour railways were brought up, and Counsel, Messrs.
Atchison, Aitken, and ' Guthrie Davidson appeared.
There were some lively passages at arms, and witnesses
were called to speak to the respective merits of Tanjong
Pagar and New Harbour. Many meetings were occupied
by this enquiry.
PROTEST BY RESIGNATION 151
The Table of Ordinances passed in 1 870 is a long one —
twenty-seven in number, including one for the abolition
of imprisonment for debt, for establishing a money-order
system between the Colony and the United Kingdom,
to suppress common gaming-houses and lotteries, and a
contagious diseases ordinance.
The Council of 1871 included the Governor, the Chief
Justice, the Officer Commanding the Troops, the Lieu-
tenant-Governors of Penang and Malacca, the Judge of
Penang, the Colonial Secretary, the Attorney-General,
the Treasurer, the Auditor-General, the Colonial Engineer,
the Honourables W. H. Read, F. S. Brown, T. Scott,
W. R. Scott, William Adamson, and Hoo Ah Kay— eleven
official members and six unofficials.
1872. — -T. Shelford.
Sir Benson Maxwell strongly objected to the renewal
of the Act 20 of 1867, giving the Governor power
to deport not only aliens but others. The I)uke of
Buckingham and Chandos did not accept all the Chief
Justice's points, but he laid it down that the person to
be deported must be summoned before the Executive
Council, if he chose to be heard before them, and a
written record of their opinion of the desirability of
removing him from the Colony. " It is very question-
able whether a Colonial law can properly authorise
deportations to any place beyond the limits of the
Colony," and the section was to be amended, ordering
the banishment and prescribing a punishment if he did
not remove himself. The Chief Justice and Mr. Read
protested when the Bill was brought up for amend*
ment.
In September of this year Mr. T. Scott, Mr. W. R. Scott,
and Dr. Little resigned their seats on the Legislative
Council, strongly protesting against the Juries Bill
and " the uselessness of being on the Council." Sir
Harry Ord's rule had not proved acceptable. The
Grand Jury, whose presentment had been made the
vehicle of the expression of public opinion, was abolished.
The Militia and Municipal Bills had been withdrawn.
152 THE GOVERNMENT
The resignation of the three members " in consequence
of executive rough-riding" was accepted; but early in
the following year Sir Andrew Clarke sent for them, read
the letter from the Secretary of State accepting their
resignations, and offered them reappointment, which was
accepted.
1874.— H.W.Wood.
1875-— J- M. B. Vermont; R. B. Read.
1876. — David Brown; J. R. MacArthur ;
Walter Scott.
1887.— I. S. Bond.
August 1886—" The hon'ble I. S. Bond has sent in his
resignation as a member of the Legislative Council. . . .
There is a very general feeling that it would still further
weaken the minority if he retires. As the Government
have shown the example of setting law at defiance (on
the Malacca Lands Bill), and as the Chief Justice has
been taken away (on an excuse of following other Colonies
which no one now believes to be the real one), it is neces-
sary to have a lawyer in the Council who is not bound
to follow His Excellency into matters which his judg-
ment and honest mind would refuse to carry him." This
is a contemporary comment.
1879.— Robert Campbell; S. Gilfillan.
1880. — F. C. Bishop; J. Graham; A. Currie.
1882.— W. G. Gulland ; G. M. Sandilands.
1883. — Seah Liang Seah.
1884.— G. T. Addis.
1885.— T. Cuthbertson; T. Shelf ord.
1886. — John Allan; John Anderson; John
Burkinshaw.
Very protracted debates were held in the two last
years over the Malacca Lands Ordinances. The
Legislative Council meeting on Supply took from half-
past two till nearly seven o'clock. Mr. T. Shelford,
Mr. T. Cuthbertson, Mr. Burkinshaw, and Mr. Allan
(Penang) all spoke on the question of appointing a
British Resident at Johore, and lost by the usual official
majority, nine votes to seven. But the unofficial
THE SOCIETIES ORDINANCE 153
agreed to spend another $50,000 on the forts of Singapore,
and $30,000 for the Queen's Jubilee.
1887. — C. W. Conington ; John Finlayson ;
H. W. Geiger ; J. P. Joaquim.
The debate of the year was the Municipal Ordinance,
over which in committee many disputations took place.
1888.— J. Y. Kennedy,
In 1889 took place what is probably the classical
debate in the history of the Council on the Societies
Bill, well worth reading even after this lapse of time.
There were many vigorous and lucid speakers among
the unofficials, while it would be difficult to find better
debaters than Sir Cecil Smith and Mr. J. W. Bonser. At
the conclusion of the second reading Mr. Wm. Adamson
asked permission to retire without recording his vote, but
the Governor ruled he could not do so, and the measure
was carried by the eight official votes to seven unofficial.
It is interesting, after a lapse of thirty years, to attempt
to assess the relative values of the opinions expressed
in the light of the operation of this Ordinance.
1890. — G. S. Murray ; Tan Jiak Kim.
In the preceding year Mr. T. Shelford laid on the table
a formal protest against the Municipal Ordinance, and
again, in 1890, protested against Clause 12 of the Oaths
Bill.
In 1 89 1 Sir J. F. Dickson, who had been Colonial
Secretary to Sir Frederick Weld, and was popularly
believed to be the power behind the throne, died. It
is recorded that the Colonial Secretary made a remark-
able speech on the Chinese Immigration Ordinance,
" which was disclaimed by the Governor as an expres-
sion of Government opinion."
1 891 also saw the great combined struggle between the
Legislative Council and the War Office, through the
Colonial Office, on the amount of the military contribu-
tion. Every member of the Council was willing to pro-
test to the utmost, and the resolution was carried by
seven votes to six " in the usual way," " under instruc-
tions." Mr. Shelford again put in his protest, which
154 THE GOVERNMENT
was unanimously adopted by all the members of the
Council, the Official Members expressing their sympathy
with the " opposition."
1892. — T. C. Bogaardt ; A. L. Donaldson.
The year following there was the debate on the Regis-
tration of Partnerships, and much divergence of opinion
among the unofficials.
In November 1893 a vacancy occurring for Penang,
the Chamber of Commerce nominated Mr. A. Hutten-
bach. The subsequent election was declared null and
void, and Dr. Brown was declared the candidate for
nomination.
1894. — ^A. Huttenbach ; Lim Boon Keng.
The longest recess took place in this year, 1895. The
Legislative Council met on the 2nd September, after a
recess of eight months. This was, of course, due to
the resignations of members over the military contri-
bution, and the refusal of office of others asked to take
their places.
1896.— J. M. Allinson ; D. Logan; W. J.
Napier.
The Municipal Amendment Bill was keenly debated.
In committee the Attorney-General, Mr. Shelford, and
Mr. Burkinshaw are each credited with sixty reported
speeches.
1898.— Dr. W. C. Brown.
1899. — C. Stringer.
1900.— T. E. Earle; W. H. Frizell ; C. W.
Laird ; J. Bromhead Matthews.
1903. — Hugh Fort ; D. J. Galloway ; John
Turner.
1904. — E. W. Presgrave ; W. P. Waddell.
1905.— W. H. Shelford.
This year the Tanjong Pagar Arbitration Bill was
considered, and Mr. Hugh Fort appeared as Counsel at
the Bar of the Council.
1907. — A. R. Adams ; T. S. Baker.
1908. — E. C. Ellis ; M. R. Thornton.
1909. — C. McArthur.
OFFICIAL REPORTS OF COUNCIL 155
1910. — F. W. Collins ; C. W. Darbishire ; R.
Young.
191 1. — D.T.Boyd; C.I.Carver; W.W.Cook;
G. Macbain ; Seah Liang Seah.
1912. — H. M. Darby.
191 3. — D. A. M. Brown.
1914. — E. D. Hewan ; C. H. Niven ; F. M.
Elliot.
191 6. — John Mitchell.
191 7. — R. J. Addie ; A. Agnew.
191 8. — D. Y. Perkins.
Notes and Reminiscences
For the first four years the debates of the Legislative
Council were reported in the official proceedings in
full, but who the reporter was is not stated. As Mr.
Arthur Knight was, even as far back as 1 870, in the
Audit Office, it may have been he ; but then the
difficulty is to explain how for three years following no
verbatim reports seem to have been published. The
newspapers were not allowed to publish any report at
all of the proceedings of the Legislative Council except
those officially supplied, so we find constant complaints
of the reports being delayed. The debates certainly
seem to have been of a high standard, and there is a
notable report of a debate between the Chief Justice
(Sir Benson Maxwell) and the Attorney-General (T.
Braddell), full of force and legal subtlety.
The writer of this article, then in Government service,
left it in 1887, partly because he was asked to come to
Singapore to act as shorthand reporter in place of Mr.
Knight, going on leave, without extra pay. This was
an error of judgment on his part, for joining the
Singapore Free Press, he found he had to do the reporting
of the Council for that paper — also for nothing — as part
of his duties, and they were used for the time being as
the official reports. On occasions later, in 1905, when
the official shorthand reporter was on leave, he had to
do the same, and for the past three years a member of
156 THE GOVERNMENT
the Singapore Free Press staff has acted as official short-
hand writer. However, the point is, that from 1887
to 1902 he had plenty of opportunity of " sampling "
Council eloquence. The Clerk of Councils, who is
usually the Assistant Colonial Secretary, and acts as the
official recorder of both the Legislative and Executive
Councils, is expected to possess the diplomacy of a
Cecil and the secrecy of a Queen's Messenger. He gener-
ally succeeds ; or else is transferred to another appoint-
ment. Mr. H. F. Plow was the first Clerk of Councils ;
he was also private secretary to Sir Harry Ord. Mr.
A. P. Talbot was for long the Clerk of Councils, and as
such he was hard to beat.
In the old Council Chamber (which in theory every
British subject may attend when the Council is sitting,
but there is no record of any person not connected with
the Council attending more than once) there was one long
table. In a room notoriously bad for sound this made
reporting somewhat of a task. Major McCallum tried
wires along the ceiling, but the punkahs prevented these
having any beneficial eff"ect, especially as the newspaper
reporters sat at the backs of the unofficials, who (again
in theory) were the only orators whose speeches the
public wanted to read, though, as a matter of fact, they
were far more keen to hear expositions from the
Governors of their policy. The atmosphere was depress-
ing, and when the debate went on after 5 p.m. a few
solitary candles were brought in. But it must have
been the punkah's soporific effect that led to a three
hours' debate eventually being cut down to three
columns. The writer always used to be interested in
the Officer Commanding the Troops. He hardly
remembers one who could resist the temptation to
forty winks, and Sir Charles Warren without disguise
closed his eyes to think deeply upon the plans he was
making for the conversion of Singapore into a fortress.
Sir Frederick Weld was the Governor when my semi-
official connection with the Council began. He was
a moderately good speaker, with a good delivery, but,
A REPORTER'S DILEMMA 157
like many other people, he could not always understand
what " those damned dots " meant when it came to
dealing with figures. On one occasion he was reading
his address, and on coming to the figures of revenue,
something like $1,763,000, he turned to his Colonial
Secretary, after one or two tries to put them as 17
somethings, 176 other things, and wanted to know what
he was to say. Sir Frederick Dickson, who had been
an official in Ceylon, having something to do with
figures, prompted him, and the old gentleman went on
happily with what was quite a statesmanlike address,
till he came to some more millions.
Sir Frederick Dickson had, in common with Mr.
Thomas Shelford, a keen tongue, and a most illegible
handwriting. Sir Frederick once rather astonished the
Council by pleading for more roadside trees to give
shade to the natives, even if it meant spending a few
thousand dollars extra on repairs to the roads. On
another occasion Mr. Shelford mentioned that a certain
clause in the Municipal Bill would not be approved of
by the " people outside," and Sir Frederick rather con-
temptuously asked : " Who are the people outside ? "
The writer had reason to remember this, because as
official shorthand writer the references were duly put
in the transcript, and he became the shuttlecock for a
lively game, for the Colonial Secretary struck out his
query, but Mr. Shelford, who had later got home some
of his most stinging remarks on this text, declined to
cut out his very smart retorts. With the cunning of
a real Government official, the reporter, failing to please
both gentlemen, fired in his verbatim transcript officially
to the Clerk of Councils, and left him to settle the matter.
Writing of verbatim reporting, Mr. August Huttenbach
was most difficult in this respect. Perhaps he thought
in German — though he was an excellent English scholar.
At any rate, quite half of his sentences were never
finished at all. The reporter took the usual liberty of
making thehonourable member'sspeech readable, andwas
on one occasion taxed with not giving a verbatim report.
158 THE GOVERNMENT
Would he do it ? With pleasure. He took great pains,
and got the " hms and hahs," the duplicated words, and
all the rest of it, and faithfully reported them. Mr.
Huttenbach read the speech through, smiled, and
interrogated " Really ? " " Really? " " Then I leave
it to you, Mr. Reporter."
Mr. Thomas Shelford was a very clear, incisive, and
capable debater. He had a most complete set of Council
papers and records, and got up his speech as any lawyer
would his opening address, long quotations and authori-
ties all pat. He made rough notes of the speech, and
was seldom far away from them. The sting of the
remark was generally in the tail of the sentence, and
the speaker had a knack of dropping his voice there,
making it very difficult for the reporter to hear. How-
ever, Mr. Shelford 's notes, when you could read them,
were a help. The finest ending the writer remembers
was in a speech attacking the Crown Agents for the
Colonies, and giving as an instance an indent " for that
common and well-known garment the sarong," for the
inmates of Malacca Hospital. " The Agents sent out a
consignment of ' red flannel petticoats ' — fit emblems
of the department itself."
The heads of the local banks used to be nominated to
the Council in olden days, till the head offices, with a
narrowness of view that one would not have expected,
forbade their managers to accept the post. Mr. G. S.
Murray, of the Mercantile Bank, was a tower of strength
to the Government in financial and trade matters. He
spoke very clearly but extremely quickly — i8o to 200
words a minute. Mr. W. H. Frizell, of the Chartered,
was the most polished speaker the writer remembers in
Council, his occasional speeches being perfect models
of English prose. Sir Cecil Smith was also a very fine
speaker, with a singularly easy delivery and clearness
of expression.
Legal members of the Council as a rule were severely
practical and clear, and did not indulge in florid speech-
making. Sir John Bonser and Sir Walter Napier were
GOVERNORS AS SPEECH-MAKERS 159
good debaters, and very keen. The writer's best
experience was that of Mr. Hugh Fort's speech at the
Bar against the Tanjong Pagar Expropriation. In a
speech of 1 4,000 words not half a dozen corrections were
found necessary.
Sir Charles Mitchell was bluff and outspoken, and there
never was any doubt as to his meaning or his intention
to carry out his designs. Sir Frank Swettenham was a
good speaker, equally plain in his way of demolishing
arguments against him; but there was a subtle suggestion
of sarcasm in all he said. Sir John Anderson was an
exceedingly nervous speaker, and never in his public
speeches did justice to his wide and accurate knowledge
of matters and the clear and far-sighted views he took.
He was always clear, but seldom rose to eloquence.
CHAPTER IV
LAW AND CRIME
LAW AND THE LAWYERS
By Roland St. J. Braddell
Wherever an Englishman goes, he carries with him
as much of English law and liberty as the nature of his
situation will allow. Accordingly, when a Settlement
is made by British subjects of country that is unoccupied
or without settled institutions, such newly settled
country is to be governed by the law of England, but
only so far as that law is of general and not merely local
policy and modified in its application so as to suit the
needs of the Settlement.
When the Settlements of Penang and Singapore were
occupied by the British, the only existing population was
Malay, consisting of a few famihes at each place, and sub-
sisting on fishing and piracy ; there were no settled
institutions, and the places were virtually unoccupied.
The two Settlements, then, came under the rule that
English law was introduced either on the ground that
they were unoccupied or that they were possessed of no
settled institutions. Over this question there raged,
however, a controversy based principally upon the
proposition that as both places were part of the territory
of Mohammedan sovereigns (the Rajah of Kedah and the
Sultan of Johore respectively), therefore the law of the
land, or lex loci, to use the legal term, must be Moham-
medan law. This controversy did not receive its quietus
until 1872, when the Privy Council adopted a decision
of Sir Benson Maxwell, and held that the law of England
160
LEGAL CHAOS AT PENANG i6i
was the law of the land, with the necessary modifications
as to its application. All the actual decisions bear upon
the Settlement of Penang, and there is no decision as to
Singapore, because it has always been recognised that
no distinction can be drawn between the two Settle-
ments for this purpose.
Before approaching the legal history of Singapore, it
is necessary to take a very short glance at the legal
history of Penang up to the date when the Union Jack
first flew from the Singapore beach. In 1786 success-
ful negotiations with the Rajah of Kedah were concluded
by Captain Francis Light for the cession of the Island
of Penang, and on the i ith August 1786, the eve of the
birthday of the Prince who later became George IV, the
British flag was hoisted, and the island re-named " Prince
of Wales's Island." Legal chaos existed in Penang
until 1807, when a Charter of Justice was granted by
the Crown, and the Court of Judicature of Prince of
Wales's Island was established, consisting of the Gover-
nor, three Councillors, and a professional Judge, styled
the Recorder of Prince of Wales's Island. This Court
had jurisdiction in Penang only, and when Singapore
was founded, in 1 819, the Penang Court was quite unable
to give any assistance to the new Settlement, even if it
had been disposed to do so. The Charter of 1807 is
usually referred to as the First Charter.
By our first treaty with Johore, in 18 19, we obtained
only a lease of part of the Island of Singapore, with
the right to erect a factory thereon ; the full cession
of the island was not obtained, and even what had been
done was at first unacknowledged by the Crown or
Parliament. The Government in India, therefore, felt
that it was without any power to delegate authority to
the local officers for the due administration of justice.
Law and order, however, had to be preserved as far as
possible. Sir Stamford Raffles, in 18 19, accordingly
instructed Major Farquhar, the first officer in charge of
the new Settlement, to consider the larger part of the
population as camp-followers, subject to his military
I — 12
i62 LAW AND CRIME
authority as Commandant, but pointed out that by
virtue of his office as Resident he was necessarily also
Chief Magistrate, and left it in his discretion to act either
as Commandant or Magistrate. In his instructions of
the following year Raffles emphasised further that
Singapore was to be considered as a military post rather
than as a fixed Settlement, the Resident being instructed
that no artificial encouragement was to be given to the
immigration of natives.
Justice, civil and criminal, was administered by the
Resident by summary process, and after the manner of
a court of conscience. Punishments were confined to
very small pecuniary fines, imprisonment and hard
labour, never exceeding six months' duration ; and
where disgrace accompanied the offence, whipping, in
no case exceeding three strokes of a cane. In the capital
offences of murder and piracy the only resource was to
imprison the offenders indefinitely when the evidence
was unquestionable and clear, which it very rarely was.
Captains (or heads of castes) and Penghulus of kampongs
(villages) were appointed amongst the Asiatic races, and
were looked to for assistance in keeping order, and for
advice on matters affecting native law and custom ; a
Police Force was constituted and paid for by the Govern-
ment and the Night Watch Fund subscribed by the
mercantile community.
In 1823 two Regulations were passed, which provided
for the establishment of an efficient Magistracy at Singa-
pore, and for the mode in which local Regulations having
the force of law should be enacted ; and it is amusing
to note that the first regular administration of justice
in Singapore was ordained by what were in all proba-
bility illegal instruments. The power of framing Regula-
tions, which were executive orders, was vested in the
Governor-General of India by an Act of Parliament of
1773, but subject to certain conditions and with certain
limitations. The gravest doubts existed as to the
validity of those issued for the Straits, because the
conditions mentioned in the Act were generally neglected,
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE 163
and many of the Straits Regulations were held from
time to time to be invahd, notably the Singapore Land
Regulation of 1834. On the other hand, the Regis-
tration of Imports, and Exports Regulation of 1833
was only repealed by the first Registration of Imports
and Exports Ordinance of 1886. Whether valid or
invalid, the Regulations were the only form of local
written law until 1 834, .when the Indian Acts com-
menced.
Returning to the Regulations of 1823, under Regula-
tion Ilia Commission of the Peace was issued appointing
certain gentlemen as Justices of the Peace, and amongst
their names occur those of A. L. Johnston, Alexander
Guthrie, Charles Scott, and C. R. Read. Two of the
Justices were to sit with the Resident in Court to decide
civil and criminal cases, while two others acted in rota-
tion to perform the minor duties of their office. Juries
were to consist o,f five Europeans, or four Europeans
with three respectable natives. The Resident's Court
was to sit once a week, the Magistrates' twice ; the
offices were to be open daily. Regulation VI of 1823
provided further for the administration of justice, and
Sir Stamford Raffles issued a Proclamation stating the
leading principles of the justice to be administered
which, though of that type commonly termed " natural
justice," seems to have been admirably suited to the
needs of the new Settlement. The following paragraphs
from the Proclamation give an idea of the spirit of the
whole :
" Let the principles of British law be applied not only
with mildness, but with a patriarchal kindness and in-
dulgent consideration for the prejudices of each tribe
as far as natural justice will allow, but also with refer-
ence to their reasoning powers, however weak, and that
moral principle which, however often disregarded, still
exists in the consciences of all men.
" Let all the native institutions, as far as regards reli-
gious ceremonies, marriage, and inheritance, be respected
when they may not be inconsistent with justice and
i64 LAW AND CRIME
humanity and injurious to the peace and morals of
society.
" Let all men be considered equal in the eye of the law."
Those words contain the secret of British colonising
success, for they state in the main our policy with regard
to the native races to be found within our Empire. As
will be seen later, the Charters and the Judges have
done all in their power to preserve the freedom of native
institutions upon which Sir Stamford Raffles insisted.
In January 1824 Mr. Crawfurd, the Resident, re-
ported that he was engaged in administering, as far as
possible, Chinese and Malay law to those races, which
though legally incorrect, must undoubtedly have proved
a great attraction to Chinese and Malays to settle in the
island. He went on to report that " the case with
respect to Europeans is very different : there exists
no means whatever in civil cases of affording any
redress against them nor in criminal cases any remedy
short of sending them for trial before the Supreme
Court at Calcutta." It is, indeed, a sad fact that both
in Penang and Singapore in the very early days of those
Settlements the Europeans were lawless and turbulent ;
many of them set a disgraceful example, and being
virtually immune from the law, openly flaunted the
authorities. It should, however, be remembered that
very many of these breakers of the law were low-class
adventurers attracted to the new Settlements by the
hope of spoil ; to the majority of their earliest European
settlers both Penang and Singapore owe a debt of very
great gratitude.
By 1824 the necessity for a proper judicial system in
Singapore had become urgent, and soon after the treaty
of that year granting to the British sovereignty over the
island, Mr. Crawfurd wrote to Bengal on the subject,
asking for a Charter of Justice to be obtained from the
Crown on the lines of that granted to Penang in 1 807, and
for the appointment of a professional judge. In 1825
Singapore and Malacca were annexed to Penang as one
A LOOSELY DRAWN CHARTER 165
Presidency, and on the 27th November 1826 the Crown
granted a new Charter of Justice to the East India
Company for the three Settlements, by which the juris-
diction of the Court of Judicature at Penang wasextended
to Singapore and Malacca, and the Court was renamed
" The Court of Judicature of Prince of Wales's Island,
Singapore, and Malacca," Penang remaining its head-
quarters. The Court consisted of the Governor, the
Recorder, and the three Resident Councillors of the
Settlements. But for the changes of nomenclature and
extension of jurisdiction the new Charter (commonly
called the Second Charter) was the same as the old.
The Judges of the Colony have without exception
held that the Charter of 1807 introduced into Penang
the English law as it then existed, and in a series of
decisions dating from 1835 they have also held that the
Second Charter of 1826 introduced into the three
Settlements the English law as it existed on the 26th
November 1826. The Charter was a loosely drawn
instrument, and many of the Recorders, notably Sir Ben-
jamin Malkin, criticised it on that account ; but one is
by no means sure that this very looseness was not its
principal virtue, for it enabled our Recorders gradually
to build up a series of decisions which may now be called
the common law of the Colony, exercising a ripe discre-
tion and wise choice which might have been seriously
hampered, to the detriment of the young Settlements,
by a closer wording of the Charter. In particular was
the door left wide to the Judges to decide what modifi-
cations of the English law were necessary on account
of the religions and usages of the Oriental races living
in the Colony. The Third Charter of 1855, which still
has force, retained the words of its predecessors in this
last respect. It may be sufficient, therefore, to quote
the words of Sir Thomas Braddell in a judgment, con-
curred in by Sir William Hyn5man-Jones, in the cele-
brated Six Widows Case in 1907 :
" Now it may be perfectly true to say that the Charter
does no more than adopt a principle in agreement with
i66 LAW AND CRIME
the law of England, but it does nevertheless expressly
declare that the Court of Judicature shall have and
exercise jurisdiction as an Ecclesiastical Court so far as
the several religions and customs of the inhabitants of
the Settlements and places will admit.
" I am unable to regard this declaration in the light
of being surplusage and intended to do nothing more
than if it simply declared in general terms that the
Court of Judicature should have and exercise jurisdic-
tion as an Ecclesiastical Court according to the law of
England without more.
" The qualifying words seem to me to have been
• inserted because it was recognised that the laws of
England would necessarily require to be administered
with such modifications as to make them suitable to
the religion^ and customs of the inhabitants who were
intended to be benefited by them. They were dictated
from a regard for that constant policy of our rulers to
administer our laws in our Colonies with a tender solici-
tude for the religious beliefs and established customs
of the races living under the protection of our Flag, and
I regard them as such as a charge to our Courts to
exercise their jurisdiction with all due regard to the
several religions, manners, and customs of the inhabi-
tants."
Polygamy amongst Mohammedans and Chinese has
accordingly been recognised, and the offspring of such
unions treated as legitimate, the Statute of Distribu-
tions being construed so as to cover the widows and
childrenof MohammedansandChinese; on the other hand,
the Chinese practice of adoption has not been recognised,
nor have the Chinese been allowed, in defiance of the
rule against perpetuities, to tie up their property for
generations with a view to the due performance of the
" Sin-chew" or ancestral worship.
The Court set up by the Charter of 1826 for Singapore
and the other Settlements was a Recorder's Court, which
differed essentially in its constitution from the King's
Courts of the principal Indian Presidencies. At these
latter the form of process had all the technical intrica-
THE FIRST RECORDER 167
cies of the Superior Courts in England ; in the Recorder's
Court the forms were so simphfied as to suit the Enghsh
law to the state of society among the native inhabitants,
thus making the administration of justice cheap, simple,
and so far efficient. It suffered, however, from a most
serious defect, for the Governor and the official members
were not only Judges of the Court, but superior in rank
to the Recorder. In this manner there was a most
impolitic union of the executive, legislative, and judicial
functions ; and the independence and dignity of the
judicial functions were necessarily impaired or degraded
by placing the only lawyer, and only efficient judge of
the Court, in an inferior and dependent situation. This
state of affairs, which was the source of endless friction,
continued under the Third Charter of 1855, and was
only finally abolished in 1868, though as a matter of
fact the executive officers did not sit as judges for a
long time before the latter date.
The first Recorder under the Charter of 1826 assumed
his duties in August 1827, and almost immediately there
began between him and the Government " those mis-
chievous discussions," as the Indian Law Commissioners
later termed them, which eventually led to his recall
and removal from office. The records of the Court
abound with the disputes which took place between the
Executive and the Recorder, Sir John Thomas Claridge,
great irascibility of temper being shown on both sides.
Singapore was the principal sufferer, for the Recorder
refused to go on circuit, his reason being the " direct
insult offered " to him by not providing him with a
proper ship in which to travel. As a consequence, the
Governor, Mr. Fullerton, had to hold the first Assizes in
Singapore on the 22nd May 1828, the Resident, Mr.
Murchison, sitting with him, but not the Recorder. A
suitable ship was, however, provided the next year, and
in his charge to the Grand Jury the Recorder poured out
his grievances, one of which was that he had not been
provided with a steam vessel as he had been given to
understand in England would be done ; he also made
i68 LAW AND CRIME
general allusions derogatory to the Court establishment,
and his charge to the Jury formed one of the heads of
accusation against him on his recall. It was about this
time that steamers had first been talked about in
Singapore, with the result that a violent controversy
broke out between the Malacca Observer and the Singa-
pore Chronicle as to the merits of such vessels. The latter
paper had the last word, when it remarked that steamers
would lead to the resort to Singapore of " penned up,
bilious individuals " ! Whether this remark referred
to the Recorder or not, however, did not appear.
At the September Assizes, 1829, there was tried the
first false case in Singapore of which a record remains.
Singapore was described once by the late Mr. Justice
Edmonds, Deputy Public Prosecutor at the time, as
" a town of false cases," and the lengths to which
Asiatics will often go to gratify their revenge by
bringing false cases against their enemies are amazing.
In this particular case, a Malay girl, named Ley Wha,
was charged with administering arsenic poison to a
Chinese family to which she was cook, and Kim Seang,
a Chinese man, was charged as an accessory before the
fact. The defence was that a packet had been given
to the girl by a Javanese woman, named Champaka,
who had told the girl to put it in the food, as it was a
charm which would prevent her mistress from beating
or ill-using her. It was further proved that Champaka
had been the mistress of one Che Sang, a rich Chinese
who bore a grudge against Kim Seang, and who was the
father-in-law of the head of the family to which the
Malay girl was cook. Kim Seang was a book-keeper to
Messrs. Napier and Scott, and Mr. Charles Scott gave
strong evidence on his behalf, proving an alibi for him, and
also swearing that he had heard Che Sang threatening
Kim Seang. The accused were unanimously acquitted,
but no steps seem to have been taken against Che
Sang, who was the principal Chinese merchant of
his time. The case is referred to because it is a perfect
type of an Asiatic false case, and has been the fore-
RECORDER DISMISSED 169
runner of thousands. Che Sang was a character in his
way. He was a miser, keeping his money in iron chests
(as everyone did then, for there were no banks) and
sleeping amongst the chests. But in spite of his miserh-
ness, he was a great gambler. One day he lost a con-
siderable sum, which caused him so much distress that
he cut off the first joint of one of his little fingers, with
an oath not to play any more ; but so ingrained had the
habit become that even this did not cure him, and he
returned to his gambling, from which it is said that much
of his fortune had originally come. He died in 1836,
and his will was the cause of a Singapore Jarndyce v.
Jarndyce, which was not concluded until 1880. He used
to boast that he had so much influence over the Chinese
that, any day he said the word, he could empty the place
of all the Europeans ; fortunately, he never tried.
His funeral was attended by from five to ten thousand
people, so that it certainly seemed as if there was some
truth in his boast.
Sir John Claridge was recalled to England, and dis-
missed from his office, though the Privy Council held
that no imputation rested on his capacity or integrity
in the exercise of his judicial functions so as to preclude
him from further employment ; but he was never again
employed under the Crown, though Parliament was
several times moved in his behalf, the last time as late
as 1845, by Mr. W. E. Gladstone. Whatever the merits
were between the Executive and Sir John Claridge, the
latter had the sympathy of the people of Penang, and
before he left, addresses were presented to him by
European and Chinese merchants, the names appended
to them containing those of all the best-known of the
Penang mercantile community. The Chinese address
was a very amusing document, and is so typical of the
old-style Chinese flowery writing that it is well worthy
of notice. It opened with these words : " All the
merchants and people of the Island of Penang, bowing
to the ground, present themselves before the bar of the
great official Judge of Penang, Malacca, and Singapore,
170 LAW AND CRIME
Tuan Hakim the Magnate " ; it then praised the virtues
of the Recorder, of whom it is stated that his " strict
purity and integrity also exceeded the ancient Heang
Chung Whang, who, when he watered his horses, threw
money to pay for it into the River Wei " ; and it con-
cluded with the confident hope that " Your Excellency
will return to your office in this land, and cause all the
merchants and people of the island again to see the
azure heaven of your countenance, and enjoy abundantly
the renovating showers of your administration. What
a delight this will be ! "
After the Recorder's departure, the Resident Councillor
continued to conduct the business of the Court in Singa-
pore until the 30th June 1 830, when the three Settlements
ceased to form a Presidency, and were made subordinate
to the Government of Fort William in Bengal. The order
bringing this change into force directed that in place
of a Governor there should be a Resident or Commis-
sioner for the affairs of the three Settlements and a
Deputy Resident at each of them. As a result, the
erroneous opinion was come to that the Charter was
virtually repealed, for it constituted the Governor and
three Resident Councillors as Judges of the Court, and
there were no longer any such officials. The Court
accordingly proclaimed itself out of existence. No
tribunal was put in its place, though for a time Mr.
Murchison held a Court in Singapore at the request of
the merchants, for which he received an official reprimand,
and was told to close the Court. The administration
of justice thus entirely collapsed, and a regular crisis
ensued.
Public meetings were held in Singapore and Penang,
and petitions were sent home to Parliament. But matters
went from bad to worse ; prisoners committed for trial
filled the gaols, there being no Court of Oyer and Ter-
miner; a complete stagnation of business arose from
want of confidence in securing the fulfilment of contracts
or obtaining payment, since the only Court in" existence
was the Court of Requests, which had jurisdiction only
«
m
U
O
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K
H
SIR BENJAMIN MALKIN 171.
up to thirty-two dollars. This regrettable state of affairs
lasted until the 30th March 1832, having commenced
on the 30th June 1 830. In 1 83 1 the Court of Directors in
London informed the Government in India that a wrong
view of the matter had been taken, and that the Charter
was still legally effective ; but to remove all doubts they
ordered that the styles of Governor and Resident
Councillor should be restored. This was done in course
of time, and the Court reopened in 1832, in which year
Singapore became the headquarters of Government, and
has remained so ever since. Penang, however, remained
the headquarters of the Court, since it was found that
the legal work there was more intricate and important
than at Singapore, and also because the Recorder's
official residence was at Penang and he had none in
Singapore, to which the Court only removed its head-
quarters after the Third Charter of 1855.
The new Recorder, Sir Benjamin Malkin, arrived at
Penang in February 1833. He was a man of very exten-
sive learning, and although he was in the Straits only
until June 1835, he left his mark on our law by some
very important decisions. Sir Benjamin had been a
Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and in 1835 was
appointed Chief Justice of Calcutta, where he died in
October 1837. He was very popular in the Straits,
taking a leading part in public affairs at Penang, and
being widely known for his generosity and interest in
any useful or charitable object, for which his purse-
strings were ever ready to open. He had been one of
the active managers of the Marylebone Savings Bank in
London, and he caused the establishment of a savings
bank in Penang in 1833, for which he drew up the rules
and called a public meeting to set it going. A proposal
to establish a similar one in Singapore the same year
fell through, and it was not until 1874 that one was
founded in the Post Office.
Sir Benjamin Malkin's judgments were scholarly, and
showed how profound a lawyer he was ; the subjects
with which they dealt were frequently very intricate,
172 LAW AND CRIME
but many of them remain ruling cases to this day.
Thus in 1835 he decided that a Mohammedan might
ahenate his property by will, despite the Mohammedan
law to the contrary, and in his judgment also decided
that the law of England was introduced into Penang
by the Charter of 1807, applying in this case a previous
decision of his to the effect that the Charter of 1826
abrogated the Dutch law in Malacca and introduced the
English law. To him was due that most important
Indian Act XX of 1837, by which it was provided that
all immovable property situate within the jurisdiction
of the Court, as far as regarded the transmission of the
same on the death or intestacy of any person having a
beneficial interest therein, or by the last will of such
person, should descend as chattels real.
During Sir Benjamin's tenure of office the first Law
Agent was admitted in Singapore in 1833 — Mr. Napier,
the merchant . The three Charters of Justice all provided
that suitors might appear by agents permitted or
licensed by the Court either generally or specially for the
particular occasion, but they provided for no qualifica-
tion to be possessed by such agents. They also provided
that the licences should be held at the absolute discretion
of the Court, and should be revocable at pleasure without
any reason being assigned. The first order regulating
the admission of Law Agents was passed by the Court
at Penang in 1 809 ; it followed the words of the Charter,
and provided for Law Agents general and special. In
the next year the licensing of General Agents was
abrogated in consequence of the necessity to recall the
licence issued to Mr. Thomas Kekewich for libelling
an officer of the Court and for contempt. A most
extraordinary case concerning the will of Mr. Keke-
wich is to be found reported, in which the Court held the
will to be a " wicked, false, and malicious libel " on
the Court in consequence of statements made in it, and
the executors were committed for contempt in daring
to ask for probate of the will I
The Order of 18 10 remained in force until 181 7, when
ADVOCATES AND SOLICITORS 173
two professional gentlemen, having applied in Penang
for admission, the Court ordered that General Agents
would be appointed in future, and this practice continued
until 1839, when Sir Wilham Norris discontinued it, and
ordered the admission of Special Agents only. This
was in consequence of an attempt to do away with Law
Agents altogether. A young lawyer from India had
applied for admission in Penang, and had been entirely
refused, after which he commenced a newspaper cam-
paign, arid, having the public behind him, finally forced
his admission, though only specially. The practice of
admitting only Special Agents continued until 1852,
when Sir William Jeffcott discontinued it, bringing in a
body of rules providing properly for the admission of
Law Agents, and in particular requiring them to pass an
examination. When the Supreme Court was established
in 1868, the Ordinance effecting it provided that all the
Law Agents of the old Court of Judicature should be
" Advocates and Attorneys " of the new Court, and this
name was continued until the Courts Ordinance of 1878,
when the present style of " Advocates and Solicitors "
was introduced.
The Courts Ordinance of 1873 was the first to put the
Bar on a proper footing and require a genuine qualifi-
cation for admission, providing for either an admission
in the United Kingdom as barrister or solicitor, or the
local qualification after examination. It also provided
for a yearly certificate to be taken out upon payment
of a fee, and. the payment of an admission fee. A pre-
vious attempt to require the payment of an admission
fee had been made by an Order of the Governor-in- Coun-
cil under the Courts Ordinance of 1868, but, upon the
application of Mr. Isaac Swinburne Bond, Sir William
Hackett held this to be ultra vires in 1869. From the
beginning the lawyers have practised both branches of
the profession by whatever name they were called, and
the present style of Advocates and Solicitors describes
accurately their functions.
Mr. Napier's name is worthy of remembrance in Singa-
174 LAW AND CRIME
pore, for he took a leading part in its affairs for many
years, being one of the best-known characters in the
place in his day, and a general favourite. His peculiar
way of carrying his head and of brushing his hair, com-
bined with a general swagger, earned him the nickname
of " Royal Billy." He it was who invested Mr. James
Brooke, then Governor of Labuan and afterwards
Rajah of Sarawak, with the K.C.B. in 1848. The
investiture took place in the Singapore Assembly Rooms,
and judging from a description by Mr. W. H. Read, in
1884, of the ceremony, Mr. Napier appears to have
spread himself considerably. Mr. Napier was Lieutenant-
Governor of Labuan, and the Queen's Warrant for the
investiture was accordingly addressed to him. Mr. Read
writes : " Fully impressed with the importance of the
functions he had to perform (and perhaps a little bit
more than was necessary), the Lieutenant-Governor
endossed his uniform, begirt himself with his sword,
and was marshalled into the room prepared for the cere-
mony in ' due and ample form.' His head was higher
than ever, his hair more wavy, and with the strut of a
tragedy tyrant, he proceeded to mount the steps of the
dais, and, to the horror of the assembled spectators, sat
down on the Royal Throne I There was a general titter,
and the Admiral, Sir Francis Collyer, who was present,
made an exclamation more vigorous than polite in its
language. The ceremony proceeded, and Sir James
Brooke made a suitable reply, which, as a local paper
observed, 'alone saved the whole from* becoming a
burlesque,' so utterly did ' Royal Billy ' overact his
part. Peace be to his ashes I A better fellow and a
truer friend, or a sterner enemy, did not exist, and one
soon forgot his little failings in the society of a man of so
amiable a character, and so well up in most subjects."
Admiral Keppel was a great friend of Mr. Napier, to
whom there are many references in the Admiral's diary.
It was at Mr. Napier's house, in 1843, that the Admiral
first met Rajah Brooke, then Mr. Brooke, and, as he
puts it in his diary, " was initiated into the mysteries.
"ROYAL BILLY" 175
depths, and horrors of pirates in the ways of the Malay
Peninsula." In 1848 the Admiral brought the Napier
family back to Singapore from England in H.M.S.
Meander, and a sad event occurred on the voyage, which
the Admiral records in the following truly nautical
fashion on the 17th February :
" At daylight Napier's little boy, James Brooke, aged
5 months, found dead in its bed — s.ad blow to the parents
— supposed to have gone off in a fit. Poor Mrs. Napier
— ^poor Napier ! Nurse in hysterics."
The entry is worthy of Mr. Jingle ! Of all the notes
about Mr. Napier in the Admiral's diary, this is the most
likeable, though all show a true friendship : —
" Sth October 1844. — Lots of rain — Napier spliced this
morning — ^Tiffin at Balestier's to meet the happy pair.
Good fellow Napier and a pair well-matched."
The bride was the widow of Mr. Coleman, the architect,
to whom Singapore owes so much.
Mr. Napier's best claim to remembrance, perhaps, is
that he was one of the founders of our admirable morning
paper, the Singapore Free Press, in 1835, which he edited
until 1 846, when he retired from practice as a lawyer and
handed over his editorial pen to another lawyer, Mr.
Abraham Logan. In 1848 Mr. Napier returned to the
East as Lieutenant-Governor of Labuan, having on his
staff as Secretary Mr. (afterwards Sir) Hugh Low, who
married his daughter by his first wife. Miss Catherine
Napier, in 1848. Admiral Keppel has the following
shrewd entry in his diary of the voyage out in the
Meander :
" Sth May. — Miss Napier having this day attained her
nineteenth year, champagne and a dance in the forecabin.
Think there is something in the wind between her and
Low ! "
Napier Road is named after Mr. William Napier ;
it led to his house, built in 1854, where Tyersall is now.
Heretired from the East in 1857, when Boustead and Co.
sold the house and its sixty-seven acres of ground. He
176 LAW AND CRIME
was the first Chairman of the Straits Settlements Asso-
ciation, founded on the 31st January 1868, the first Free-
mason to be initiated in Singapore, in 1845 at Lodge
Zetland, and one of the two Presidents of the first cele-
bration of the Feast of St. Andrew in 1835. He took a
keen interest in all that went on in the place, and was
a generous subscriber to all charities ; to education in
particular he gave much time and trouble, being a
Trustee of the Singapore Institution from 1836 to 1857.
The administration of justice in India and its depen-
dencies, and the whole question of their good government,
had been causing considerable anxiety in England, with
the result that in 1833 there was passed a most impor-
tant Act of Parliament by which a body, styled the
Indian Law Commissioners, was appointed to enquire
into the jurisdiction, powers, and rules of the Courts
of Justice in India and its territories. The Report,
dated 1842, contained over two hundred pages of mat-
ter concerning the Straits alone, which led to endless
correspondence, conflicting minutes, and bewildering
suggestions, including one by Lord Auckland, the
Governor-General of India, to the effect that the
Recorder's Court should be abolished. None of the sug-
gestions was carried into effect, and the net result of it
all was a great waste of public time and money so far as
the Straits were concerned, for matters were left in
statu quo ante. The Act, however, went on to make
important provisions, for it constituted a local Govern-
ment for the whole of the territories of India, consisting
of a Governor-General and Councillors to be styled
" The Governor-General of India in Council." To this
body was entrusted, among other functions, the power
of legislation within its jurisdiction on all save certain
excepted subjects. From 1834, accordingly, the Indian
Acts began to apply to the Straits, but only such as did
so expressly or could be held to do so impliedly. The
old Regulations were superseded, and until 1 867, when a
local Legislature was constituted, the Indian Acts formed
the local written law of the Straits Settlements, in ad-
PETITIONS AGAINST PIRACY 177
dition to which there were, of course, such Acts of Parlia-
ment and Orders of the Crown in Council as were applied
to them. The Indian Acts applying to the Colony were
revised by two Commissioners under an Ordinance
of 1889, and a few of them, notably the Wills Act of
1838, are still in force at this date.
Great inconvenience had been experienced owing to
the Court of Judicature possessing no jurisdiction in
Admiralty ; at the very first Assize held in Singapore,
Governor Fullerton, in his charge to the Grand Jury, said
that " two persons accused of piracy must now be dis-
charged for want of Admiralty jurisdiction, a defect
already noticed, and which it was expected would in due
course be amended." This was quite up to the best
standard of official assurances, for the first time when the
need of Admiralty jurisdiction in the Straits had been
expressed was in 1803, by Mr. Dickens, the first profes-
sional Magistrate in Penang, and an uncle of the great
Charles Dickens ; and though Governor Fullerton 's
" in due course " was uttered in 1828, it was not until
1836 that the Court was at last clothed by Act of Parlia-
ment with this most necessary jurisdiction. The waters
of the Straits were infested with pirates, there had been
many serious failures of justice, countless murders had
been committed, innumerable ships captured and looted,
and Grand Juries had made repeated presentments of
the state of affairs, but it took officialdom fifty years to
wake up, from 1786 to 1836. By 1835 the position had
become intolerable, and petitions were signed by all
the European mercantile community to the King and to
the Governor-General of India on the subject of piracy ;
the position at that time was so bad, indeed, that Euro-
peans in sampans were actually attacked in the Singa-
pore Roads while on their way to visit their ships.
Piracy was perfectly organised in Singapore, and a large
trade in arms was openly conducted in Kampong Glam ;
in the Dindings there was a regular pirate stronghold,
where the prahus went to refit, and where the pirates
kept their stores, plunder, and captives. In 1836 H.M.
I— 13
178 LAW AND CRIME
Sloop Wolf arrived, commanded by Captain Edward
Stanley, R.N., and when she attacked the Bindings
stronghold no less than eighty men, women, and children
were freed from captivity there. For long after the
Court was given the power to try pirates their malevolent
trade continued, for though they could be tried, the
first difficulty was to catch them. It took years to
stamp out piracy, and even as recently as Good Friday
1909 there took place one of the worst cases that ever
occurred in the vicinity of Singapore. A Chinese junk
had left Singapore the night before bound for Saigon ;
at about one o'clock in the morning, when she was at
a point one mile from the coast of Johore, and some
twenty miles from that of Singapore, two boats crept
towards her from the shore, the first containing four men,
the second ten. The pirates, who were Chinese and
Malays, climbed noiselessly on board the junk, and then
fell suddenly on the sleeping crew and passengers with
axes, parangs, krises and knives. In a minute or two
the junk became a shambles ; five men were hacked
to death, two terribly wounded were thrown into the
sea, and four left covered with wounds on the blood-
stained deck ; but seven who were in the hold succeeded
in hiding themselves, and were not hurt. Five Chinese
were arrested and duly convicted of piracy ; as the crime
had taken place out of the jurisdiction, no charge of
murder could be brought against them under the Penal
Code. These five men were duly sentenced to death,
but the case became a leading one, for Mr. V. D. Knowles,
counsel for the defence, took the point that the Courts
of the Colony have no jurisdiction to inflict capital
punishment for the off'ence of piracy. This point was
reserved by the Chief Justice, Sir William Hyndman-
Jones, and on being heard by a full Court, was decided
in favour of the defence, and the five miscreants escaped
a well-merited hanging, but were sentenced to penal
servitude for life.
In September 1836, a new Recorder, Sir William
Norris, arrived : his immediate predecessor, Sir Edward
A
THE COURT HOUSE 179
Gambier, who had arrived in 1835, had been appointed
a Puisne Judge at Madras in 1836. Sir WiUiam Norris
had been called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1827,
and been appointed Chief Justice of Ceylon in 1835,
after having served there previously as a Puisne Judge.
He held office in the Straits until June 1 847, an unusually
long period, and retired on pension to England, where
he died at Ashurst Lodge, Sunningdale, in September
1859. During his tenure of office as Recorder he did a
very great deal to mould and form our law, and his
name may be linked with those of Sir Benjamin Malkin
and Sir Benson Maxwell as its fathers.
In November 1839 Sir William Norris opened the
new Court House in Singapore, and it will be convenient
here to give a short history of the present Supreme
Court building. The site on which it stands was leased
in 1827 to Mr. Maxwell, the merchant, who built upon it
a handsome house to the designs of Mr. Coleman, the
architect, which he leased to the Government at five
hundred rupees a month. In 1841 the Government
bought the site and the house for $i 5,600. The original
building, which was situated where the Puisne Judge's
wing of the Court is at present, was standing until the
whole structure was altered in 190 1. A new wing was
added in 1875, which explains the date on the Royal Arms
over the Chief Justice's chair at present. In the early days
the building formed the Government offices, the Court
being held in a centre room upstairs and the side-rooms
being used as offices for the Resident Councillor and
other officials, while the Land Office was accommodated
downstairs. In 1839, however, a one-storeyed building
was added at the side of the original house, and the
Court was held there, the main building being given over
entirely for Government offices ; it was this new building
which Sir William Norris officially opened. In 1854
it was presented by the Grand Jury as totally unsuitable
for a Court of Justice, owing to the noises which issued
from an adjoining shipbuilding yard ; but nothing was
done until 1 864, when the building was turned into a
i8o LAW AND CRIME
Post Office, and the foundation-stone of a new one was
laid. This building was used as a Court House for a few
years only ; then an exchange was made. The Court
House was made into the present Council Chamber, and
the Court went back to its old site, the building being
extended in 1875 and reconstructed in 190 1, as has been
said. The present Court House is admirably suited
to its purpose, the two Courts being lofty and well
ventilated, with ample accommodation for the Bar, the
Jury, and the spectators, while the acoustics are excellent.
The central tower, including the Bar robing-room, is the
only part of the old Court now remaining.
The records during Sir William Norris's tenure of
office disclose most forcibly the relations which subsisted
between the executive and the professional judge.
Following in the wake of his predecessors, he frequently
laid stress on the defective constitution of the Court,
and recommended the complete separation of the
judicial and executive functions. Soon after his arrival
he had evidently realised the attitude of the executive,
for there is a curious note of his in the Penang records.
Governor FuUerton had written a minute in 1829
recommending the abolition of the Recorder's Court
and the substitution therefor of a Mayor's Court on the
old Indian model, in which the Resident would preside
as Mayor, with merchants sitting as aldermen. The
Governor referred to the system of the Recorder's Court
as " more expensive and worse adapted than any system
which could be devised." In the paper containing this
recommendation Sir William Norris in 1836 had under-
lined the words quoted above, and added in the margin,
" You say so because you could thus brook the inde-
pendent spirit of the man who is entrusted with the
administration of that system."
One of the greatest causes of friction was as to the
respective powers of the professional and lay judges, and
of the right of the former to sit in appeal on the decisions
of the latter. A typical instance may be given by way
of illustration. In September 1846 Mr. Thomas
FRICTION WITH LAY JUDGES i8i
Church, Resident Councillor of Singapore, and so a lay
judge of the Court, passed a decree giving possession
of the vessel Iron Queen to the owner's agents, and con-
demning the captain in costs, which not being paid he
was taken to gaol. Sir William Norris arrived on
circuit in November, and the captain petitioned him,
whereupon the Recorder granted a rule calling on the
owners to show cause why the Resident Councillor's
order should not be reviewed and set aside. Mr. Church
was much incensed, and filed on the record a protest
against " the novel and unprecedented proceedings of
the Recorder." Sir William, however, had the matter
argued and made the rule absolute, holding that he as
professional judge had power under the Charter to set
his lay brethren right when they erred. The extra-
ordinary attitude of the executive officers to their
judicial duties may also be illustrated by Mr. Salmond's
action when he was appointed a Judge at Malacca in
1847 ; he insisted on taking the oaths of office in his
palanquin outside the Court, and overruled the protests
of the Registrar, who objected to this undignified
procedure.
In addition to continuous friction with the lay judges.
Sir William Norris was further hampered by having no
professional lawyers at the Singapore Bar. Much
depended on the Recorder, particularly in criminal
cases. In those days, of course, the prisoner could not
give evidence ; but his counsel was not allowed to speak
on his behalf either, nor was he allowed to have a copy
of any of the depositions of the witnesses called against
him, having to rely on his own memory solely. The
usual sitting Magistrate was a civil servant, the Justices
of the Peace mercantile men, who attended occasionally
when the presence of two Justices was required by law.
That Sir William Norris should have been so successful
in his office, therefore, redounded even more to his credit
than a perusal of his admirable judgments would show.
In 1840 he inaugurated the present method of swear-
ing witnesses, for he held that Indian Act V of that year
i82 LAW AND CRIME
was law in the Settlements, and that native witnesses
would therefore have to be affirmed . The Indian Act was
limited to Hindus and Mohammedans, but Sir William
Norris held that its provisions should be extended by
analogy to Chinese under an Act of George IV, which
gave courts a discretion to affirm Quakers and Moravians.
In his judgment he said that the Indian Act " may well
be hailed as a just and wise measure, no less due to the
honour of Almighty God and the credit of a Christian
Government than to the scruples of conscientious judges,
magistrates, and witnesses," a somewhat sweeping
assertion ; but Sir William was celebrated for occasional
eccentricities of language in his judgments. His sentence
in a Penang amok case is preserved in the third volume
of Logan's Journal, and is typical of a judicial style long
since passed away. The accused had lost his wife and
only child, and as a consequence ran amok, having
pointed out which facts the Judge proceeded : " Unable
or unwilling to submit with patience to the affliction
with which it had pleased God to visit you, you aban-
doned yourself to discontent and despair, until shortly
before the bloody transaction, when you went to the
Mosque to pray ! — to pray to whom or what ? Not
to senseless idols of wood or stone which Christians and
Mohammedans equally abominate, but to the one omnis-
cient, almighty, and all-merciful God, in whom alone
Christians and Mohammedans profess to believe ! But
in what spirit did you pray, if you prayed at all ? Did
you pray for resignation or ability to ' humble yourself
under the mighty hand of God ' ? Impossible. You
may have gone to curse in your heart and gnash with
your teeth, but certainly not to pray, whatever unmean-
ing sentences of the Koran may have issued from your
lips " ; and so forth and so on, with much about the
Devil described as the " father of lies " and " a murderer
from the beginning." The marvel is that the accused
did not run amok again in Court !
But to return to the swearing of native witnesses.
Prior to the Indian Act of 1840 natives had been sworn
NATIVES AND THE OATH 183
by the oath most binding on their consciences, such as
swearing on the Koran at the Mosque for Mohammedans
or cutting a cock's head for Chinese. The present law
is to be found in the Oaths Ordinance of 1890, which
repealed the Indian Act.
Despite the differences between the Recorder and the
Government, he acted as legal adviser to the latter, as
did the other Recorders, a system against which many
of them demurred, considering that it placed them in a
most anomalous position in Court. Mr. W. Caunter
had been " Law Agent to the Hon'ble Company " at a
salary of six hundred rupees a month from 1828 until
the suspension of the Court in 1830, and in 1834 Mr.
Balhatchet held the same appointment for a month or
two ; otherwise, the Company had never had its own
advisers. The Recorders continued to advise Govern-
ment until 1864, when Mr. Thomas Braddell was
appointed Crown Counsel at Singapore and Mr. Daniel
Logan Crown Prosecutor at Penang.
Sir William Norris was succeeded by Sir Christopher
Rawlinson, who had been Recorder of Portsmouth ;
he held office until 1850, when he was promoted Chief
Justice of Madras. M. Fontanier, who had been French
Consul at Singapore, gives a description of the Recorder
in his book published in 1852, Voyage dans I'Archipel
Indien." He says that Sir Christopher was very tall
and very thin, and if he had not had a prepossessing ap-
pearance, would have much resembled Lord Brougham.
He had been a Police Magistrate at London before
becoming Recorder at Portsmouth, so M. Fontanier
says. In the course of his duties in the latter office he
attended a civic reception of Louis Philippe on his
arrival in England. As the Recorder was attired in his
robes and full-bottomed wig, and was a very tall man, he
was unable to stand upright in the saloon of the ship.
This tickled the King so much that he remarked, laugh-
ing, " Que voulez-vous ? Quand on a fait ce vaisseau
on ne pensait pas a votre perruque ! " M. Fontanier also
gives us a description of the scene in Court when the
i84 LAW AND CRIME
Court of Judicature sat at Singapore. The Governor
presided, with the Recorder on his right and the Resident
on his left ; the Recorder sat in his robes, but the other
two wore no uniform. The Recorder decided the points
of law as they arose, and was the only person to speak,
but " so well that one could not understand why he
did not form the Court alone." If a Frenchman could
see this, it seems strange that the executive officers
could not have seen it also ; but they seem to have
regarded jealously their right to sit in Court ; indeed.
Governor Bonham actually tried in his day to abolish
the office of Recorder altogether.
In 1848 jurisdiction was conferred on the Court for
the relief of insolvent debtors by an Act of Parliament
of that year, the Recorder being the sole Commissioner
or Judge of the Insolvent Court and Mr. W. W. Willans
the first Official Assignee. The Act had been passed as
the result of agitation by the merchants of Singapore,
■ and of the first three insolvents to come before the Court
one had been in gaol for five and a half years ; he was
discharged. The Court thus established lasted until
1870, when the Supreme Court was vested with juris-
diction in Bankruptcy ; the present law is to be found
in the Bankruptcy Ordinance of 1888.
Sir Christopher Rawlinson's best work was probably
his rigorous attack upon the defective system of prison
discipline. He stated that although the High Sheriff
was nominally charged with the control and superin-
tendence of the gaol, yet, owing to his being annually
appointed and other circumstances, he had very little
to say in the matter, and was next to useless. The
Recorder recommended the abolition of the office of
High Sheriff and the appointment of an Inspector of
Prisons, reforms which came about during the time
of Sir Benson Maxwell, who took up the agitation com-
menced by Sir Christopher Rawlinson and brought it
to a successful conclusion.
From the time of the First Charter the Governors
annually appointed the High Sheriffs, who in turn
I
I
HIGH SHERIFFS AND COURT FEES 185
appointed their Deputy Sherififs. The High Sheriff
was paid by the fees received ; the Deputies were allowed
a small monthly salary by the Government, but they did
all the work, the High Sheriff being a mere figure-head.
This system continued after the Second Charter, though
by an Order of Court in 1827 the Deputy Sheriffs were
also allowed to receive in excess of their salaries one-
half of the fees granted to the High Sheriff. This
arrangement continued until 1832, when, on being ap-
pointed High Sheriff for that year, Mr. Salmond, a
gentleman already referred to, kept all the fees for him-
self, a brain-wave which appears to have appealed to
nearly all his successors. Both Sir Christopher Rawlin-
son and Sir Benson Maxwell considered the office of
High Sheriff as a lucrative sinecure and nothing more.
In 1859 the High Sheriffs were deprived of the fees,
which were paid in future to the Treasury, and the High
Sheriff and his officers received fixed salaries. From
i860 the title of Sheriff was used, the " High " being
dropped, and in 1868 a Sheriff was appointed for each
Settlement ; this is the practice to this day, the office
being combined with that of Registrar of the Court.
From the earliest day of the Settlements until about
i860 the Sheriffs always called any public meetings
necessary on the requisition of members of the com-
munity. This right to a public meeting was insisted
on by the public for long ; thus in 1827 a High Sheriff in
Penang refused to call one when required to do so, with
the result that the Grand Jury presented the matter as
follows :
" The Grand Jury present that custom, if not law, has
made it imperative upon the Sheriff to call at the request
of the community any public meeting to which there can
be no legal objection."
The sanction of Government was necessary, but this
would seem to have been a formality. These old
Sheriff's meetings played a vitally important part in the
history of Singapore, for the public seem to have been
i86 LAW AND CRIME
always ahead of the Government in those days, and
hardly a thing worth the doing in the way of better
government was done until one or more Sheriff's meetings
had urged it. By this means, in conjunction with the
Grand Jury system, the public for long had a very
real voice in public affairs, of which in these days they
are practically entirely deprived.
Shortly after the Second Charter the High Sheriff was
entrusted with the charge of the civil and criminal gaols
of the Colony ; but the power was, of course, delegated to
the Deputy Sheriff at each Settlement, who was allowed
a European gaoler and a staff of peons. This system
continued until the passing of the Prisons Ordinance
of 1 872, when the Government took over the entire charge
of the prisons, the Sheriffs being relieved of that duty
and Inspectors of Prisons appointed for the different
Settlements.
A new Recorder came in 1850, in succession to Sir
Christopher Rawlinson, who was promoted to be Chief
Justice of Madras. This was Sir William Jeffcott, born
in Ireland in 1800, and of the Irish Bar, where he went
the Munster Circuit. In 1 842 he emigrated to Australia,
and, before doing so, was presented with handsome
pieces of plate by the Circuit and the solicitors in
testimony of his merits. A Dublin paper said of
him prior to his departure : "As a lawyer he was
among the most rising on the Munster Circuit. Nearly
related to the late lamented Chief Baron Wolf, he
possessed much of his ability, integrity, and sterling
independence of character. Indeed, Mr. Jeffcott has
established a reputation at the Bar of being a sound and
a safe lawyer," which reputation he fully sustained as
a Judge during his tenure of the Recordership in the
Straits. While in Australia he officiated as a Judge of
the Supreme Court at Port Philip, but not finding the
country congenial, he returned to Ireland, where he
resumed his practice at the Bar. As will be seen later,
he became the first Recorder of Singapore, and it is said
that he was much disturbed as to his future, which was
A REVOLTING MURDER 187
supposed to have led to his death in Penang in October
1855. In private hfe he was highly esteemed, being of
a generous and benevolent disposition and very charit-
able. He took a deep interest in education in the Straits,
and embraced every opportunity of promoting its im-
provement. As a judge he is said to have been rather
irritable owing to a painful internal malady, but the Bar,
which understood this, respected and liked him, and his
death was deeply regretted by all who knew him.
Sir William Jeffcott's best work was a thorough re-
vision of all the practice of the Court, including the
regulations for the admission of law agents ; this
work was painstaking and thorough, and reading through
the rules which he passed, one can realise how useful
they must have been in the administration of justice.
In 1 85 1 a very remarkable case was tried before
Sir William Jeffcott and the lay judges. Mr. Buckley
says that it caused a greater excitement in Singapore
than any before or since ; but he was writing at the
beginning of this century, and the case of Effendi,
referred to later on, probably holds the record at this
date, at least amongst the Asiatic communities.
The accused was a man named Haji Saffar Ally,
the Malay and Tamil interpreter in the Police Court, a
man of great importance among his own class and beyond
it. In September 1 850 a policeman on patrol duty came
upon a little Arab slave-boy lying in the road shockingly
maimed, burned with hot irons, and wounded. The
poor little fellow, who was only twelve years old, told
the policeman that he was in Saffar Ally's employment,
and that he had been ill-treated by his master and
others. He was sent to the hospital for treatment, and
in time Saffar Ally, his eldest son, and four others were
committed for trial ; but when the Assizes came on in
October the boy was not to be found. It appeared that
a man in police uniform had come up to the hospital with
a letter authorising the boy's removal, and had gone
off with him. The Recorder suspected foul play, and
refused to hear the case in the boy's absence ; so he
i88 LAW AND CRIME
committed the prisoners to gaol in default of their
finding bail, and stood the case over to the next Assizes.
The result of this was that a most revolting and cruel
murder was committed by Saffar Ally (who had
succeeded in finding bail) and some others whom he
persuaded to assist him.
The boy had been got out of the hospital by means of
a false uniform and a forged letter ; Mr. Dunman, the
head of the police, found that he had been taken in a
sampan to Rhio, but brought back again, after which all
trace of him was lost. Later a native heard a Kling in an
adjoining house talking in his sleep, and crying out that
he had killed a boy. The listener gave information to
the police, who discovered that the body was likely to
be found somewhere up the Singapore River. For two
days the police rowed slowly up and down the river,
until at last they observed some bubbles in the water,
which burst as they reached the surface, and from which
a bad smell arose. A peon dived down, and eventually
the body of the boy was found, with head nearly cut off,
the feet tied together, a rope round the neck and another
round the waist, joined into a sort of network and
weighted down by a heavy stone. Lastly, they found a
boat with blood-stained boards close toSaffar Ally's house
on the river. It was proved that this boat had been
borrowed from the owner by Saffar Ally after he had
obtained bail, on the pretext of its being needed to
convey firewood. One of those concerned in the crime
was used as Queen's evidence, and gave a circumstantial
account of the murder, which was committed on the
night of the great Hindu festival.
The excitement at the trial was very great, and al-
though it rained heavily all day, an enormous crowd
congregated outside the Court all the time of the trial,
which commenced at nine in the morning and did not
conclude until after nine at night. The accused were
convicted, and hanged a week later.
Crime is said to be hereditary, and in Saffar Ally's case
this proved to be so, for thirty-four years later his son,
BETTING ON A VERDICT 189
Akbar Ally, was tried for forgery ; and the natives
crowded the Court inside and out, as at his father's trial.
The case was again a remarkable one, for the prisoner
had been for years a clerk in a certain class of lawyer's
office, where men such as he can do a lot of villainy if
their employers are careless, since many natives appear to
trust the lawyer's clerk as much as the lawyer himself, a
trust which is remarkably seldom abused. Indeed, the
account of the practice of law in Singapore would not be
complete without a tribute to the honesty and capacity
of the better lawyers' clerks, many of whom are men
of importance in their own community, and most useful
members of society. Akbar Ally was one of the black
sheep, and had embarked on a whole series of frauds,
for which he was convicted, dying in gaol.
In 191 2 another little Malay boy was cruelly murdered,
the body being thrown into the sea opposite Raffles's
Reclamation, where it was observed by a police officer
at low tide. A Malay named Effendi was arrested and
tried for the murder before Sir William Hyndman- Jones,
the Chief Justice, and a special jury. After a trial
lasting six days the accused was acquitted, and the
authorship of the murder remains a mystery. On the
last day, when the verdict was given, the Chief Justice's
Court was crowded almost to suffocation, natives filling
every available space, standing in the corridors, and even
down the stairs, and right out into the space between
the Court and the Victoria Memorial Hall, so that far
more than three-quarters of them could see and hear
nothing, but had merely come to await the verdict.
When the Jury returned to Court, after a short retire-
ment, and acquitted the accused, there was a loud and
prolonged outburst of applause, the reason for which was
by no means gratification at the triumph of innocence.
The case for the Crown was circumstantial, and was most
powerfully, though absolutely fairly, presented by Mr.
George Seth, Deputy Public Prosecutor at the time.
Singapore at tbat time suffered from an epidemic of
book-makers, which had in the end to be stamped out
igo LAW AND CRIME
by the passing of an Ordinance making betting an
offence. One of the fraternity was in Court and heard
Mr. Seth's opening, with the result that he commenced
betting long odds upon a conviction. These odds
dropped day by day as the defence played their cards ;
but he had made a very bad book, and though he hedged
towards the end of the trial, it appeared that the loud
applause was due to successful bets I These facts,
which came out after the trial, had a good deal to do
with the eventual driving of the book-makers out of the
place, as the Chief Justice on hearing of them was
naturally much incensed.
In 1854 very great dissatisfaction was expressed in
Singapore owing to the infrequent visits of the pro-
fessional Judge and the bad decisions of the lay ones,
with the ultimate result that in 1855 the Crown granted
a third Charter of Justice, by the combined effect
of which and an order of the local Government in May
1856 the Court was composed of two divisions : the one
had jurisdiction over Singapore and Malacca, and con-
sisted of the Governor, the Resident Councillors of
Singapore and Malacca, and the Recorder of Singapore ;
while the other had jurisdiction over Penang and Pro-
vince Wellesley, and consisted of the Governor, the
Resident Councillor of Penang, and the Recorder of
Penang. There were thus to be two professional judges,
one resident at Singapore and the other at Penang.
Beyond these alterations the new Charter was a repeti-
tion of the second one, and the Courts have held that it
introduced no new body of English law. It is still in
force in the Colony, and in the celebrated Six Widows
Case its terms were strongly invoked, as has been related
already.
By the new Charter Sir William Jeffcott was appointed
Recorder of Singapore, at a salary of eighteen thousand
rupees a year, the same as he had previously been
receiving ; but it was provided that every future Recorder
of Singapore was to receive twenty-five thousand.
No Recorder was appointed by name for Penang, but it
AN AFTER-DINNER SPEAKER 191
was provided that the salary of the post should be
twenty thousand rupees a year.
The new Charter was duly proclaimed in Singapore
on the 22nd March 1856, and as Sir Wilham Jeffcott
had died, Sir Richard Bolton McCausland, of the Irish
Bar, was appointed Recorder of Singapore, while Sir
Peter Benson Maxwell, of the English Bar, became
Recorder of Penang.
Sir Richard McCausland sat on the Bench in the
Straitsfor ten years, retiring on pension in 1 866, and living
for many years afterwards in Ireland. He was called
to the Bar in Ireland, and prior to his appointment to
the Straits had been secretary to his uncle, Lord Plunkett.
He was a very kind-hearted, genial Irishman, a sound
and experienced lawyer, and a thoroughly courteous
gentleman on the Bench. In private life he was im-
mensely popular, and in particular his services were in
great request as an after-dinner speaker, for he possessed
the true Irishman's wit and capacity for the right word
in its right place and at the right time. On St. Patrick's
Day, the 1 7th March 1 866, a farewell dinner was given in
the Town Hall to him, the like of which, it was said,
had not been seen in the place before. Tables were
laid round three sides of the room, and were all occupied,
Mr. W. H. Read being in the chair.
Sir Peter Benson Maxwell became Recorder of Singa-
pore on Sir Richard McCausland's retirement, and Sir
William Hackett, previously Chief Justice of the Gold
Coast Colony, was appointed Recorder of Penang.
Sir William Hackett had taken his degree at Trinity
College, Dublin, in 1846, after which he was called to
the Irish Bar and went the Munster Circuit. In Novem-
ber 1 85 1 he was called to the English Bar at Lincoln's
Inn, and joined the Northern Circuit, but practised
principally at the Chancery Bar until August 1 861 , when
he was appointed Queen's Advocate of the Gold Coast,
of which Colony he became a Chief Justice, and at one
time, in 1864, Lieutenant-Governor. He was knighted
on his appointment to the Recordership of Penang.
192 LAW AND CRIME
On April ist 1867 the Transfer took place, and the
Straits Settlements became a Crown Colony ; by the
Government notification of the same date it was
announced that Her Majesty had been pleased to approve
of the Recorder of Singapore being styled the Chief
Justice of the Straits Settlements, and the Recorder of
Penang being styled the Judge of Penang. Thus ended
the era of the Recorders, and as the Transfer always
must be the great dividing-point in any local history, it
will be convenient now to look back a little before
continuing to deal with the legal affairs of Singapore
when it formed part of a Crown Colony.
The position which the Court of the Recorder held in
the eyes of the public is best shown by what Mr. Cameron
wrote of it in his book Our Tropical Possessions in
Malayan India, published in London, 1865 :
" To the non-official community the Supreme Courts
have served the purpose of a representative institution,
and have always been a wholesome check upon the
mal-administration of the Government. In earlier
times, when the Company's servants, responsible only
to an indifferent council at Calcutta, paid little regard
to the interest and little respect for the opinion of the
mercantile residents, the Supreme Court remained as
a place of appeal, where the Grand Jurors might from
time to time raise their voice in such a manner that it
could not be well disregarded. The judges have always
been men of standing ability, barristers of the Court at
home, whose acquirements were such as to obtain for
them from their Sovereign the distinction of knighthood,
in addition to the honour of an appointment of no small
value. They were completely secured from the Indian
Authorities, and by supporting the presentations of
their Grand Juries, have done good service to the
Settlement, independent of the value of their ordinary
duties."
The success of the Court was due to the Recorders
themselves, who were all able and distinguished men,
and most of whom were promoted to high positions on
the Indian Bench. They were well paid, and, as a result,
ABLE REGISTRARS 193
able lawyers were attracted to accept the position. The
salary of the Recorder under the First Charter was
fixed by it at £3,000 per annum ; but when the other
two stations were added under the Charter of 1826, the
salary was raised to Rs. 18,000, or nearly £4>ooo per
annum, at the rate then current. Under the Third
Charter the Recorder of Singapore received Rs. 25,000,
or £2,500 per annum, the Recorder of Penang Rs. 20,000,
or £2,000 per annum. These salaries were naturally
attractive, and when we come to deal with the present
conditions of salary and pension of the Judges of the
Supreme Court, more will have to be said on the subject.
The office of Registrar of the Court is a most important
one, and Singapore has been singularly fortunate in
having had able Registrars, both before and after the
Transfer. As will have been seen, Singapore received
a separate Court establishment only after the Third
Charter of 1855 ; before that there had been one
Registrar for the Court, residing at Penang, and having
under him two " Senior Sworn Clerks," one at Singapore
and one at Malacca. Mr. Alexander John Kerr was
the Registrar of the Court from 181 8 to 1855, in which
year he was offered the Senior Registrarship under the
Third Charter, but refused it, and retired with thirty-
eight years of splendid service to his credit. Although not
a professional, he was held in great repute as a lawyer,
and the records abound with papers and legal opinions
of his, drawn up at the request of the Executive, by
whom he was frequently consulted.
Mr. Kerr having refused further office, Mr. H. C.
Caldwell, Senior Sworn Clerk at Singapore, was appointed
Registrar for that Settlement, and Mr. A. Rodyk, Senior
Sworn Clerk there, at Penang. They declined the
salaries offered them, but asked to be allowed to keep
the fees, as had been the previous practice. Government
sanctioned this, and the Registrars continued to be paid
by fees until April 1861, after which date all fees were
paid into the Treasury and the Registrars were paid
salaries. This meant a great loss of income ; how great
I— 14
194 Law and crime
may be seen from the fact that Mr. Kerr had latterly
been in receipt of an income of over seventeen thousand
rupees yearly. It is small wonder, then, that it is recorded
how one of the Registrars used to go about for some years
after 1861 complaining to all and sundry that he had
been robbed " of his fees " ! The salaries paid were very
low, and continued to be until the eighties, when the
Judges took up the matter ; but even at this date the
Registrar of the Supreme Court receives far too low a
salary in the opinion of many competent to judge.
Mr. Caldwell came to financial grief, and left the
country in 1856, paying off all his creditors later on,
and Mr. Alexander Muirhead Aitken was appointed in
his place ; he had been admitted as a law agent in Singa-
pore in 1852, and later, in 1 864, was called to the English
Bar. He retained the post a very short time, and in 1857
Mr. Christian Baumgarten was appointed, and held the
post until 1874, when he resigned it and resumed private
practice. He had been admitted a law agent in Singa-
pore in 1846. Mr. Baumgarten, a tall, fine-looking old
gentleman with grey hair, was a great character, and
greatly beloved by the young men who formed the
petit juries of those days ; " old Bummy " they irrever-
ently called him, and loved to have a little joke with him.
He was a very bad reader, for he had the misfortune to
have lost several front teeth. The result was that he
often made a sad mess of the documents which had to
be read out in Court ; but being a kind-hearted, good-
natured old gentleman, was quite ready to join in the
titter that used to run round the Court when he broke
down at some particularly difficult word. There are
some kind folks whom the world laughs with but never
at, and of these was Christian Baumgarten. He died
in 1887, loved and respected by all who knew him. Like
Mr. Catchick Moses and Mr. M. J. Carapiet, he always
wore a tall, black, beaver hat, and it is a curious fact that
most of Singapore's characters in the old days did the
same ; it was a headgear which only very few wore, but
which those who did appear to have lived up to. The
CHRISTIAN- BAUMGARTEN.
I. 194]
LAWYERS AS JOURNALISTS 195
Baumgartens, like the Velges and the Rodyks, were an
old Dutch family that continued to reside in Malacca
after the place had been ceded to the English ; and they
were a very legal family, for Alexander Baumgarten was
admitted a law agent in 1 862, Alexander Augustus Baum-
garten in 1 863, and Horatio Augustus Baumgarten in 1864.
As has been said, no professional qualification was
necessary to become a law agent in the old days. The
first lawyer to be admitted in Singapore who possessed
a proper qualification, and who attained to any position
at the Bar, was John Simons Atchison, admitted in 1859.
Up to that date the most able Singapore lawyers had
been Mr. W. Napier, already spoken of, Mr. Abraham
Logan, Mr. Robert Carr Woods, senior, and Mr. Alexan-
der Muirhead Aitken, mentioned above as having been
Registrar for a short period.
To two lawyers Singapore owes its excellent journals,
the Singapore Free Press and the Straits Times, the
former having been founded in 1835 by Mr. W. Napier,
the latter in 1 845, with Mr. R. C. Woods at its control.
When Mr. Napier retired from practice in 1846, he
was succeeded as editor of the Singapore Free Press by
another lawyer, Mr. Abraham Logan, who later, in 1848,
purchased the paper from Mr. W. R. George. Mr. Logan
had been admitted in Penang in 1842, with his famous
brother, James Richardson Logan, the founder of
Logan's Journal ; the only qualification which the
brothers possessed was that they had read law at
Edinburgh University. After practising a few months
in Penang, Mr. Abraham Logan advertised, in September
1842, in the Singapore papers that he had commenced
practice as a Law Agent and Notary Public. Bar
etiquette had not then been introduced, and was not,
indeed, until the beginning of the 'Seventies. The follow-
ing advertisement by Mr. R. C. Woods in the Singapore
Directory, which he founded, is amusing to note :
" Debts recovered. Rents collected. Bills and Loans
of money negotiated, and every branch of Legal Agency
conducted."
196 LAW AND CRIME
One wonders that nothing was added about " cheap- .
ness and despatch," though those commodities are not
generally associated by the public with old Father Antic
the Law.
Mr. Abraham Logan became one of the leading lawyers
of Singapore, and was one of its foremost men for many
years. He was born at Hatton Hall in Berwickshire, the
31st August 1 816, his younger brother, James Richard-
son, being born at the same place on the loth April 1819.
The two brothers arrived in Penang in February 1839,
and having been admitted law agents there, left for
Singapore, where they started practice together in 1842,
and continued together until 1853, when James Richard-
son Logan went to Penang, with which place his name
is more particularly connected, and where he died in
1869. A monument is erected to his memory in front
of the Penang Supreme Court ; the inscription states
that his death in the prime of life was regarded as a
public calamity. He deserves, undoubtedly, a full bio-
graphy ; but its place must be in the history of Penang,
when that comes to be written, and this very short notice
of him must suffice here, as his name was connected but
slightly with Singapore.
Not so Mr. Abraham Logan, who, although he died in
Penang in 1873, spent the best years of his life in Singa-
pore working for the public good, and acquiring merit,
as the Buddhists say, to no small extent. His residence
was at Mount Pleasant in Thomson Road, and his office
in Battery Road, at the rear of Messrs. John Little and
Co. 's premises at that time. After his brother's departure
in 1 8 s 3 , he practised alone until 1862, when he was j oined
by Mr. Thomas Braddell. The firm of Logan and
Braddell continued until 1867, when Mr. Braddell
became Attorney-General and Mr. Logan gave up
practice. Its present representative to-day is Braddell
Brothers, the partners in the firm since Mr. Logan's
retirement having been Mr. J. P. Joaquim, uncle of
Mr. G. R. K. Mugliston, lately Secretary to the Straits
Settlements Association, Sir Thomas de Multon Braddell,
A LEADER OF THE COMMUNITY 197
Mr. R. W. Braddell, Sir John Bromhead Matthews,
Mr. T. J. M. Greenfield, Mr. John George Campbell,
Mr. V. D. Knowles, and the present writer. The
Attorneys-General were allowed private practice until Mr.
Bonser's promotion to the Chief Justiceship ; and that
accounts for the fact that although Mr. Thomas Braddell
became the first Attorney-General of the Colony, he was
able to continue practice. Sir John Bromhead Mat-
thews, who had retired from the firm in the 'Nineties
and joined Mr. Presgrave at Penang, was also appointed
Attorney-General of the Straits Settlements in 1909,
but being appointed Chief Justice of the Bahamas
shortly after, did not assume the post, which later went,
in 191 1, to Sir Thomas Braddell, who held it until he
became Chief Judicial Commissioner of the Federated
Malay States in 191 3. Mr. Charles Garrard, Registrar
of the Supreme Court at Malacca, compiler of Garrard's
Ordinances, was an assistant in the firm for several
years.
Some idea of the leading part played in public aff'airs
by Mr. Abraham Logan may be formed from the follow-
ing committees to which he was elected at public
meetings of the community, and which form almost an
epitome of the history of Singapore for twenty-five
years : 1846, to form a Presbyterian Congregation in
Singapore and procure a minister therefor ; 1852, to
draw up a memorial to the Court of Directors to obtain
the appointment of a resident local judge in Singapore,
which memorial resulted in the granting of the Third
Charter; 1854, to petition Parliament upon currency
matters; 1856, to petition Parliament against certain
objectionable Acts passed by the Bengal Legislative
Council, and again in that year to draw up a memorial
against tonnage dues; in 1858, to petition Parliament
against convicts being sent to Singapore ; 1 860 , to petition
Parliament against the proposed imposition of an income-
tax ; and in 1 862 to draw up a memorial to the English
Ministry and the Viceroy in India against the military
contribution. He played a leading part in the agitation
igS LAW AND CRIME
which brought about the Transfer, being a member of
committees appointed in 1857 and 1862 to petition
Parliament on the subject, and in 1864 being one of the
committee that drew up a most important report on the
finances, resources, and commerce of the Straits for the
Commissioners appointed to report upon the proposed
Transfer. Mr. Logan left Singapore in 1869, and went
to Penang, where he died on the 20th December 1873.
He was Secretary of the Singapore Chamber of Com-
merce from its foundation in 1850 to 1868.
Mr. Robert Carr Woods, senior, was born on the 31st
July 1 816, and in 1840 he went to Bombay. Whilst in
India his time was spent chiefly in writing for the Press,
and he paid much attention while there to the native
character, in order to study which he travelled in India
for some time in disguise, being more than once mis-
taken for a political spy as a consequence. In 1845 he
arrived in Singapore to be the first editor of the Straits
Times, which he acquired later. In 1849 he was ad-
mitted a law agent in Singapore, and his knowledge of
the native character, his talent and uprightness won for
him an extensive practice. He was called to the Bar at
Gray's Inn in 1 863, as were many of the law agents during
the 'Sixties, since the Benchers of that Inn, at their re-
quest, made an arrangement, allowing them to be called
in a very short time, provided that they engaged only
to practise in the Straits . The only obj ect of the arrange-
ment was to raise the local status of the lawyers — a very
desirable one, too, for if the Bar is to be really efficient,
it must possess the respect of the public, and the status
of a barrister-at-law was in those days high in the social
scale, higher indeed than it is now. Mr. Woods lived
at first in Zetland House, and from there the Straits
Times was first edited ; later he bought and created the
beautiful property, well out of town on the Serangoon
Road, called Woodsville. Botany was his favourite
hobby, and the laying out of the grounds at Woodsville
was a labour of love ; in selecting his trees he gave
preference to those, such as the champaka, which would
A VERSATILE BARRISTER 199
aflford food for birds by their fruit, with the result that
not only were the grounds of Woodsville the best laid
out in Singapore, but in them was to be seen a greater
variety of birds than anywhere else. Mr. Woods was
an enthusiastic Municipal Commissioner, and it was
fortunate that during one of his terms of office, in 1865,
the task was entrusted to him of laying out the new
cemetery which the Municipality had just acquired,
and which is now known as the Bukit Timah Cemetery.
The one blot on Mr. Woods's career was his unfortunate
persecution of Rajah Brooke in 1854 ; the Rajah was,
of course, acquitted of all blame, and he generously and
pubHcly forgave Mr. Woods in 1861. Mr. Woods acted
as Attorney-General in 1870, and in 1875 was appointed
to act as Senior Puisne Judge ; but his health had begun to
fail : he sat on the Bench only for a few times, and died
on the i6th March 1875, being buried in the cemetery
which he had rendered one of the most picturesque spots
in Singapore. His funeral was attended by His Ex-
cellency the Governor, all the leading officials and
unofficials, and it may be doubted if any man has left a
greater blank in Singapore by his death than Mr. Woods
did, for he was the mainstay of nearly every hospital,
school, charitable and other public institution in the
place, giving to them his money and his time without
stint. He was one of the very few Europeans who
adopted Singapore as their permanent home. From 1 861
to 1872 Mr. Woods was in partnership with Mr. James
Guthrie Davidson, in the legal firm of Woods & Davidson.
Mr. Davidson was one of the ablest men who have
ever practised at the Singapore Bar. He was admitted
an Agent and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Scotland
in February 1861, and being a nephew of Mr. James
Guthrie, the well-known merchant, came to Singapore
to seek his fortune, and was admitted as a law agent
in July 1 861, joining Mr. Woods in partnership. His
ability and his thorough knowledge of his profession,
acquired in one of the leading offices in Edinburgh, were
soon recognised, and his name came to be one of the
200 LAW AND CRIME
best known at the Bar. Mr. Woods understood the
native character well, as has been said, and had a large
native practice ; it was only natural, therefore, that Mr.
Davidson, too, should acquire a large native clientele.
So well did he come to understand them, and so well
did they like and trust him, that the natives of
the Peninsula came to look upon him as a friend on
whom they could depend entirely, and there was no
doubt that his influence, like that of Mr. W. H. Read
and Mr. Braddell, was very extensive. In 1872 he was
appointed Resident of Selangor, and later of Perak, but
he resigned the Government Service in 1876, after doing
very admirable work in the Native States ; indeed, it
was fortunate that there was such a man free to assist
the Government in its difficult task. Perhaps there is
no one whom the Asiatic will trust closer than his
lawyer, no one in whom he will place more confidence ;
and this may to a great extent explain the very big
influence which the lawyers of Singapore have exerted
in the past in the history of the place. It is also a fact
that they were generally " agin the Government " in the
early days, as indeed were most people.
Mr. Woods having died, Mr. Davidson went home to
England, and returned, in December 1876, with Mr.
Bernard Rodyk, and these two gentlemen commenced
practice in 1877 as Rodyk and Davidson, a firm which is
still in existence in Singapore, and was led until last year
by the Hon. Mr. F. M. Elliot, O.B.E., a nephew of the
late Mr. C. B. Buckley and a grand-nephew of Captain
EHiot, of the Madras Engineers, who did such splendid
work at the Singapore Observatory in the 'Forties. Mr.
Elliot is a grandson of that Sir Henry Myers Elliot who
was Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, and
who came to Singapore with Lord Dalhousie when
the Governor-General visited the place in 1850. Mr.
C. B. Buckley was a partner in Rodyk and Davidson
for a long time, and other partners have been Messrs.
E. J. and William Nanson, Mr. C. V. Miles, and Mr. H. B.
Baker.
I
A "BREEZE" IN COURT 201
Mr. Davidson died in February 1891, at the age of
fifty-three, as the result of a carriage accident, while on
his way to the Cathedral from his house, Ardmore. He
was one of the foremost men in Singapore, and truly one
of those whose character and conduct should be a shining
example to those who come after him, as the Attorney-
General said in open Court when Bench and Bar assem-
bled to do honour to his memory. He took a leading
part in the affairs of the place, although he always
refused a seat on the Council, as did Mr. C. B. Buckley.
The most amusing episode in Mr. Davidson's career,
and one which caused the greatest excitement at the
time, is that related in the reported case of Davidson v.
Ord ; it occurred in June 1867. Mr. Davidson was
retained to appeal against a decision of the Commis-
sioner of the Court of Requests, Captain Ord, and he
duly gave notice setting out the grounds of appeal.
Later he received a chit from Mr. Norris, the Clerk of
the Court, asking him to call at the Commissioner's
office on the following Monday. He did so ; the
Commissioner, however, was not in his office, but
sitting in Court, where Mr. Davidson found him.
Captain Ord objected to Mr. Davidson having sent the
notice of appeal, saying it was an improper one and
improperly served. Mr. Davidson replied that he knew
his own business best, and required no instructions from
Captain Ord, who then said : "I treat your notice with
contempt, Sir," throwing it on the table. Mr. Davidson
replied : " If that is all that you have to say to me, you
might have saved yourself the trouble of sending for me,
and me the trouble of coming to you." Captain Ord
retorted that he had a great deal more to say to Mr.
Davidson, but the latter said he did not wish to hear it,
and walked away. As he reached the door, Captain
Ord called out in a loud tone : " You are fined $25 for
contempt of court," and Mr. Davidson somewhat
naturally replied : " I wish you may get it." The fine not
being paid, Mr. Davidson was lodged in the Civil Gaol.
All sorts of dodges were tried to get him out, the Governor
202 LAW AND CRIME
himself, Sir Harry Ord, even going up and asking him
to come out I In the end the fine was remitted, and out
Mr. Davidson came. He took action against Captain
Ord, and duly recovered a small sum of damages. Sir
Benson Maxwell holding that the gallant Captain had
no power to commit for contempt. Mr. R. C. Woods
appeared for Mr. Davidson, and the Attorney-General,
Mr. Braddell, for Captain Ord. The whole affair was
delightfully Gilbertian, and should be a lesson of how
not to do it.
Mr. Davidson's great opponent at the Bar in the
'Sixties was John Simons Atchison, a brilliant lawyer and
an eccentric character. Like Mr. Davidson, he was a
relative of a Singapore merchant, Mr. H. M. Simons,
and in consequence had his office in Messrs. Paterson,
Simons and Co.'s godown, as do Messrs. Drew and Napier
at this date. Mr. Atchison was admitted an attorney
at Westminster in 1855, and came to Singapore in 1859,
where, being a man of exceptional ability, he soon
acquired an extensive practice. He was a rather tall,
small-boned, but very fat man, weighing some eighteen
stone, with a round, jolly-looking, clean-shaven face. A
man of such an appearance might be expected to be a
great character, and Mr. Atchison certainly was. One
of his eccentricities was to drink enormous quantities
of soda-water ; another was his dress — patent-leather
shoes, with cotton drill trousers, a fancy cotton waist-
coat, and dark blue frock-coat, with, of course, a black
silk hat. He took no exercise, always driving about
wherever he wanted to go in a very small victoria drawn
by a sturdy piebald pony. He was always agitating
against the Government, holding a sort of general re-
tainer for the public, and devoting many hours of valuable
time to its service, very often with but scant recognition
or thanks. His particular bugbear was the Executive
Council. One Sunday evening Mrs. Atchison came back
from the Cathedral to their residence, Blanche House
(at the back of the late Teutonia Club), and remarked
that prayers had been requested for those members of
LEGAL ADVERSARIES 203
the congregation then at sea, but that she could not
think who it could be. " My dear," said Atchison,
" I can tell you who they are. It must be the Executive
Council, because they are always at sea." If a friend
declined to join him in any of his many agitations he
would say : " Never mind, old fellow, when I write my
history of Singapore merchants you shall have a chapter
all to yourself " ; but like most of the best books, it has
never been written. His clerk, F. T. Cork, was an even
better-known character than he was, being perhaps the
best-known lawyer in Singapore, although a subordinate.
Guide, friend, and philosopher, Cork used to live with
Mr. Atchison when the latter's wife was at home, and
used to tender good advice without fear or favour to his
principal on things legal and general ; the abuse that
Mr. Atchison would shower on him in return was a con-
stant source of amusement. Mr. Atchison had a fiery
temper, and the rows that he and Mr. Davidson used to
have in Court were continuous ; but as soon as they got
into the robing-room, they were the best of friends — a
case like that of Montagu Williams and Douglas Straight.
Mr. Atchison only bothered about the cases with big
fees, and it was Cork who used to have to look after" the
bread and butter of the office," as he called it. Mr.
Atchison's attendance at the office was irregular ; he
might be in Court, he might be in a long chair on the back
verandah of his house reading, or he might be at the Club
agitating against the Government ; but Cork was always
at the office, and so came to be very well known and
trusted, the relationship between the two being that of
counsel and attorney. It was Cork who introduced the
system transferring land by means of printed forms,
which he did in order to meet the wish of the natives
for some cheap form of conveyance. One Chief Justice
stated in the Legislative Council that although the system
might be called cheap and nasty, still any of these forms
that had come before him gave good titles and were effec-
tive. Mr. Atchison died in 1875 at Bangkok, where
he had gone on a retainer in a big case.
204 LAW AND CRIME
Mr. Alexander Muirhead Aitken was admitted as a
special law agent in Singapore in 1852, and was called
to the English Bar at the Middle Temple in 1864. He
took a leading part in public affairs for many years, and
his name is to be found on many of the committees
appointed at public meetings to carry on local agitations.
As has been said, he acted as Registrar of the Court for a
short while in 1 856 ; and in 1 870 he acted for a month or
two as Attorney-General. Otherwise he practised pri-
vately, in 1 861 with Mr. Abraham Logan, leaving him the
next year, and from 1871 to 1873 with Mr. Bernard
Rodyk. In 1873 Mr. Alexander Leathes Donaldson
joined Mr. Aitken, and the next year they were joined
by Mr. John Burkinshaw, the firm being called in the
Directory Aitken, Donaldson and Burkinshaw, though
in the Bar records Aitken and Co. Mr. Aitken retired in
1879, and the firm became Donaldson and Burkinshaw,
as it is to-day. Of the various leading members of the
firm more will be said later.
Resuming now the thread of events after the Transfer,
it must first be remarked that for some years Judges
were on the two Councils. At first a place was given to
the Judge of Penang on the Executive Council and to the
Chief Justice on the Legislative Council. The last
Chief Justice to sit on the latter body was Sir Thomas
Sidgreaves, but the title " Honourable " is still retained
by courtesy for the Chief Justice, the other judges being
addressed as their Honours. In 1871 the Judge of
Penang was given a seat on the Legislative as well as the
Executive Council ; this lasted until 1 878, when he ceased
to have a seat on either body.
Mr. Thomas Braddell was appointed Attorney-General,
and stationed at Singapore, while Mr. Daniel Logan was
appointed Solicitor-General and stationed at Penang ;
the arrangement as to stations has been followed ever
since. The Attorney-General has always been a member
of both the Legislative and the Executive Councils ;
the Solicitor-General has never been a member of either.
The duties which fell upon Mr. Braddell were very
REFORMING COURT PROCEDURE 205
arduous, and only a man of his great physique and in-
domitable purpose could have coped with them. Those
who knew him always tell how the light on his verandah
burned into the small hours of the morning, night after
night, even after those dinner parties for which he was at
one time celebrated. The task of giving the Colony its
own body of Statute Law was immense ; legislation from
India had never been very successful, and had been a
source of complaint by the public on many occasions.
Mr. Braddell was much criticised at one time for his many
amending Bills ; but a great many of these were caused by
the Colonial Office in England, and when he retired, early
in 1883, he left behind him a very valuable body of laws.
One of his first tasks was to remodel the Court and
its procedure. By an Ordinance of 1 867 the Governor
ceased to be a Judge of the Court, and by another of 1 868
Ik the Resident Councillors ; this latter Ordinance abolished
~ the old High Court of Judicature, and substituted for it
the Supreme Court of the Straits Settlements, a title
which has been retained ever since ; but the Charter of
1855 was preserved, save so far as its provisions were
inconsistent with the new Ordinance, and all Courts
Ordinances since have preserved it also.
In 1870 the old Insolvent Court was abolished, and a
Bankruptcy Court substituted by an Ordinance which
followed on the lines of the English Bankruptcy Act
of the previous year. Imprisonment for debt was
abolished, and all the debtors released from the Civil
Prison. Sir Benson Maxwell, the Chief Justice, gave
great assistance in this Ordinance, with reference to
which the Governor, Sir Harry Ord, remarked that the
Legislative Council " must justly feel proud that the
Colony has taken the lead of others and followed so
closely the steps of the Mother Country in the intro-
duction of such valuable measures of legal reform."
The next great task was the reform of the Criminal
Law, which had proceeded on the lines of the English
Common Law, and of which the procedure was cumber-
some. The Indian Penal Code had been made law in
2o6 LAW AND CRIME
India in i860, but the Act did not apply to the Straits ;
however, a few weeks before the Transfer the Governor
had passed an Order bringing it into operation as from the
I St July 1867. This Order was repealed by an Ordinance
of 1867, as the Bar opposed the introduction of the Code.
It was brought in finally by an Ordinance of 1 87 1 , and the
criminal procedure was brought into line with it, and
gradually with the Indian Criminal Procedure Code.
In 1874 the Grand Jury was abolished, which caused
three unofficials to resign ; it had done splendid public
work prior to the Transfer, but its duties were found
irksome, and to take up too much of the time of the senior
merchants. Moreover, as there were unofficials on the
Legislative Council, it was felt that the functions of
the Grand Jury with regard to public grievances could
quite well be performed by the unofficials. The intro-
duction of the Penal Code and the simplification of
procedure were undoubted benefits to the community.
In July 1 871 Sir Benson Maxwell retired, and the
Colony lost an invaluable public servant, at whose
judicial career it is now necessary to look. No lawyer
coming to the Straits can hope to practise his profession
with justice to himself or benefit to his clients unless
he familiarises himself with Sir Benson's reported
decisions. Two years after his arrival in Penang he
pronounced, in the case of Regina v. Willans, a judgment
of which any English judge might have been proud,
however great. It is one of the roots of the law of the
Colony, and a study and knowledge of it are essential
to anyone concerned in the administration of justice
here. A Mr. Duncan Pasley, the manager of the Valdor
Sugar Estate in Province Wellesley, preferred a com-
plaint against an agricultural labourer for having
absented himself from his work on the estate, but the
Magistrate, Mr. Willans, declined jurisdiction, as he
held that, having previously convicted the same labourer
for a previous absenting, the jurisdiction given to him
by the Act 4, Geo. IV, c. 34, was exhausted, and that he
could not punish the labourer for a fresh absenting upon
A FAMOUS PROBATE CASE 207
the same contract. As a result a rule was obtained
calling upon Mr. Willans to show cause why he should
not hear and adjudicate upon the complaint. Sir Benson
made this rule absolute, holding that the Magistrate was
wrong in his view of the law, and it is interesting to note
that though he did not know of it at the time, the Court
of Queen's Bench in England had decided the same thing
the same way some months before. In his judgment
Sir Benson went into the whole question of how far
English law applied to the Colony, and that is why the
judgment is so important. As Mr. Buckley, himself a
lawyer, observes in his Anecdotal History of Singapore,
Sir Benson " had so much reliance on his knowledge of
the law and his readiness to alter his view of it, if it were
shown to be in doubt, that nothing that arose was left
undecided, and the temptation of a weaker mind to
avoid any doubtful or troublesome question, by deciding
a case upon some point which had never been raised, as
Sir Benson's successor did, never occurred to him."
This fearlessness of character gave to the Colony the
judgment in Willans's case, and many other judgments
without which the law here would have been much the
poorer. Sir Benson settled for ever the vexed question
of the lex loci, as has already been mentioned at the
beginning of this paper ; he also decided that the Statute
against Superstitious Uses and the Statute of Mortmain
did not apply to the Colony, but that the rule against
perpetuities did, and the Privy Council upheld him.
He consolidated and settled the general question of the
modification of English law to suit the native inhabitants,
and the rule that he laid down with regard to Chinese
marriages has been followed ever since. In 1867 he
decided in a case in Singapore that the Chinese were
polygamous, and that the secondary wives of Chinese
are entitled to share in the widow's third under the
Statute of Distributions equally with the first or principal
wives. In 1907 this judgment was violently attacked
in the famous Six Widows Case, but Sir Benson's decision
was upheld in the Court of First Instance by Sir Archibald
208 LAW AND CRIME
Law, Acting Chief Justice, and in the Appeal Court by
Sir William Hyndman-Jones, Chief Justice, and Sir
Thomas Braddell, then a Puisne Judge. Mr. Justice
Sercombe Smith, however, dissented, and came to the
alarming conclusion that no union of a non-Christian
Chinese domiciled in the Colony could be legal unless he
were married according to the English Common Law, a
decision which would bastardise a tremendously high
proportion of the Chinese in the Colony.
The facts in the Six Widows Case were that a Mr. Choo
Eng Choon, who was a bank compradore and nick-
named " Tongkat Mas," or " gold walking-stick," had
died intestate in Singapore, leaving a very large fortune
behind him. No less that six Chinese ladies came forward
claiming to be his widows, as a result of which the matter
was referred to the Registrar, Mr. C. E. Velge, to find
who were the lawful widows and issue of deceased, and
that gentleman found that there had been one " principal
wife," who had pre-deceased Mr. Choo Eng Choon;
that after her death he married one of the claimants as
" principal wife," and had taken three of the others
as " inferior or secondary wives" ; while the remaining
two were pronounced to be wives in no possible sense of
the word. The proceedings before the Registrar were
very long, and much interesting evidence was recorded
as to Chinese marriage customs. The Registrar's
certificate was attacked on the ground that the Chinese
are not a polygamous race, and that if they are the Courts
of this Colony will not recognise polygamous unions.
The attack failed, as has been stated, but the case was
not carried to the Privy Council. The case began in
October 1905, and concluded in June 1909 ; no less than
eleven counsel were engaged in it, including all the leaders
of the Singapore Bar, as the questions raised were of
vital importance to the Chinese generally. The position
with regard to Chinese marriages is very unsatisfactory,
for their law is not really followed ; but in the main it
is better that a great number of the Chinese should not
be bastardised, and, until legislation is introduced on the
COURT CEREMONIAL 209
subject or unless the Privy Council unsettles the current
of local decision in the matter, the Six Widows Case
remains the last word on the subject.
Sir Benson Maxwell published in 1 866,fromtheGovern-
ment Printing Office, a book called The Duties of Straits
Magistrates, which was prescribed for the examination
of all civil servants. The fifth chapter on the Con-
struction of Statutes, consisting of thirty-nine pages, led
in after years to that well-known leading textbook.
Maxwell on Statutes, first published in 1 875 in London and
now in its fourth edition. Sir Benson was also part author
of the reports known as Maxwell, Pollock, and Loundes,
of which there is no copy in the Colony. The writer has
not been able to verify the title of these reports.
While Sir Benson was Recorder in Penang, he did
away with a very long-standing custom, which had
prevailed from the proclamation of the First Charter in
1808. It had been the practice at the opening of the
Court each day for the High Sheriff or his Deputy, along
with his staff, to receive the Recorder at the entrance to
the Court, and to conduct him to the Bench, remaining
standing until the Court had been proclaimed. The
Sheriff carried a white wand, the Bailiffs black ones, a
Jemadar carried a long silver-plated stick, and two
Soubadars carried each a silver-plated dragon-head
staff. This practice was in accordance with the East
India Company's practice in India, where all officials
at that time carried on with great state. Sir Benson
stopped it on the ground of economy, but the silver
sticks still precede the Chief Justice into Court. Some
of the peons in the Court at Singapore still wear the
brass badge, on the scarves across their chests, of the old
Court of Judicature. The only other relics in the Court
at Singapore are the two interpreters' stools, one in
each Court, the peculiar shape of which has often been
remarked upon. They had their origin in the following
curious way. Mr. Braddell, the first Attorney-General,
was a very big and powerful man, who found that his
weight tired him a good deal as he stood up in Court ;
I— IS
210 LAW AND CRIME
so he had two stools made, one for each Court, of such
a height that as he stood up he could partly sit on them.
When he left the Colony these stools were cut down, and
are the present interpreters' stools. In Raffles Museum
will be found the first seal of the Singapore Court of
Judicature.
Sir Benson Maxwell retired in July 1871, and
in 1882 was appointed to organise the Courts in
Egypt after the British occupation, a post of great
importance at the time. He died at Grasse, in the south
of France, in 1893, but his name will always live in the
law of this Colony. His career is dealt with further in
another article in this work.
When Sir Benson Maxwell retired he was succeeded
by Sir Thomas Sidgreaves, who held the position until
he retired in February 1886. He was born in 1831,
and was educated at Stonyhurst and London University ;
in 1857 he was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn, and
went the Northern Circuit. He was knighted in 1873.
Sir Thomas did not enrich the law to any great
extent, but he was greatly respected and liked by the
Bar. A sound, if not a great lawyer, his strong common
sense and knowledge of the world enabled him to over-
come the difficulties of his position ; he was, perhaps,
most in his element as a criminal judge, his summings-
up in particular being models of judicial oratory.
The best of his reported decisions is undoubtedly
his judgment in 1 874 in the Admiralty action concerning
the Chow Phya, the names of the promovants in which
are in themselves almost a history of the 'Seventies ; they
were Harry Minchin Simons, W. W. Ker, W. Paterson,
W. Cloughton, Joseph Burleigh, Jos^ d 'Almeida, and
Hoh Ah Kay, or, as he is better known, Whampoa. A
rather curious coincidence about this case is that the
master of the Chow Phya was one George Orton,
brother of the Tichborne claimant, Arthur Orton,
whose trial for perjury was then proceeding in London
and causing wild excitement.
Like Sir Richard McCausland, Sir Thomas Sidgreaves
LOCAL CANDIDATE FOR THE BAR 211
was a well-known speaker at social functions, being
greatly sought after in particular as a proposer of the
healths of newly married couples, and many were the
brides who started on the sea of matrimony with a
cheery God-speed from Sir Thomas. Socially he was
very popular, his hospitality being well known, and
amply supporting the high dignity of his office. To
the profound surprise and regret of his many friends in
the Straits, news was received that he had died by his
own hand two days before Christmas 1893 '> 1^0 reason
could be assigned save a temporary derangement.
In March 1873 a young man presented himself to the
Supreme Court at Penang praying to be examined for ad-
mission to the Bar, and if successful to be admitted ; but
his prayer was opposed because he was not yet twenty-
one. The Judge, Sir William Hackett, reluctantly
held against the young man, but allowed him to be
examined, which he was in due course, and, having
passed with flying colours and attained full age, he was
admitted to the local Bar on the ist May 1873. The
young man was Robert Garling Van Someren, until lately
the doyen of the local Bar, of whom a fond farewell was
taken by his brethren and by the Bench at Penang and
at Singapore towards the end of 191 8. For forty-five
years Mr. Van Someren practised in the Courts of this
Colony, and upheld their highest traditions. No man
who has ever practised in our Courts has ever earned or
deserved a higher affection, a higher esteem, or a greater
place in its annals. Gifted with a marvellous memory,
he scorned notes beyond a few odd jottings on his brief,
and to the very last it was a marvel to everyone how a
man could store in his brain the knowledge which Mr.
Van Someren did. Over and over again the writer has
heard questions put to Mr. Van Someren in the Court of
Appeal, quite off the particular points which he was
arguing, but which he would answer out of the stores of
his memory by referring to some case bearing on the
question, and frequently by giving the names of the
parties and the volume and the page of the report,
212 LAW AND CRIME
without referring to note or book ; and the writer
hardly ever found his references to be wrong. Just
before he retired he argued an intricate point in the
Court of Appeal, dealing with immovable property, in
a way that would have brought the highest credit on a
leader of the Bar at the zenith of his powers and his
physical strength.
Mr. Van Someren was born at Penang on the 15 th
March 1852. His father, Peter Robert Van Someren
(who had been born in India, educated in England, and
thereafter had returned to India), was persuaded to go
to Malacca by a relative, Mr. Samuel Garling, who was
Resident Councillor in Malacca. In about 1832 or 1833
Mr. Van Someren's father was placed in charge of the
Land Office at Malacca, and later in Penang,where in 1 837
he married Cornelia, youngest child of Mr. John Rodyk,
who, like Mr. Van Someren's grandfather, was a Dutch-
man, and who had been Governor of Ternate, which was
blockaded by British men-of-war during the war between
England and Holland. Ternate capitulated to the
blockade, and John Rodyk, amongst others, was made a
prisoner, and transferred to Bencoolen by the English.
After the exchange of Malacca for Bencoolen in 1824 the
British Government removed, and John Rodyk volun-
tarily went to Malacca, and from that time resolved to
throw in his lot with the British, as did many other
Dutch.
Mr. R. G. Van Someren was the second child of the
marriage ; his elder brother, Mr. Samuel Van Someren,
died in 191 2. His father retired from Government ser-
vice and went to India in 1857, but returned to Penang
the next year. Through the influence of Mr. Alexander
Rodyk, the Registrar of the Court, and of Sir Peter
Benson Maxwell, he was appointed Coroner, which in
those days was a salaried office of importance, and which
he held until his death in 1 861 . On his death his young
children were taken charge of by their uncle, Mr. Alex-
ander Rodyk, mentioned above, and in 1 864 were sent
to England for their education. In December 1868.
ROBERT GARI,ING VAN SOMEREN,
I. ai2]
THE VAN SOMEREN FAMILY 213
Mr. R. G. Van Someren returned to Penang, and was
articled to his cousin, Mr. Charles Rodyk, a younger
brother of that Mr. Bernard Rodyk who has been men-
tioned as one of the founders of Messrs. Rodyk and
Davidson. Immediately on his admission to the Bar
Mr. Van Someren was taken into partnership by Mr.
Charles Rodyk. Later he practised in partnership in
Penang with Mr. Gregory Anthony and Mr. T. Gaw-
thorne. In 1900 he came to Singapore, and commenced
partnership with Mr. Edaljee Khory, a Parsee barrister
and a very popular Freemason, after whom a Lodge of
Mark Masons in Singapore is named. This partnership
continued until Mr. Khory 's retirement in 1908, after
which Mr. Van Someren practised alone until he retired,
but chiefly as Counsel.
Mr. Van Someren's name will be preserved for many
years by his splendid book on the Courts and their
procedure, which is now in its second edition : no one
but he could have written it, and the present which he
made to the profession of his vast stores of knowledge
was a fitting gift from one who was always ready to
lend his assistance to any of his professional brethren
who asked it. He was, in particular, always exceedingly
kind and helpful to the junior Bar, and the writer had
on many occasions to thank Mr. Van Someren for assist-
ance or advice.
In 1876 Mr. Van Someren married Alice, daughter
of Mr. Abraham Logan, who has already been mentioned.
All of his sons have served in the Great War : Robert
Abraham is a doctor in Government service in connection
with sleeping sickness in Uganda, and on the outbreak
of war he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps, in which
he is now a Captain, with the British East African
Forces ; Alexander Grant Vermont, who is a Major in
the Royal Army Medical Corps (Regular Forces), served
during the War in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and in the North-
West Provinces, and is now on the staff at Lahore ;
Walter Noel was a Lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps,
and was wounded in September 1918 in France, but is
214 LAW AND CRIME
now convalescent ; Victor Gurney is a doctor and
L.R.C.P., L.R.C.S., L.D.S. of Edinburgh University-
he was in British East Africa when war broke out, and
became a Captain in the forces there ; Claude Donald
was a Lieutenant in the Machine Gun Corps, and was
killed in the great German attack on the 21st March
191 8, after fighting from 3 a.m. till 7 p.m., when he fell,
the only person left untouched in his detachment being
one small " runner," who made a desperate effort to
carry back his Lieutenant's body ; but he was too young
and too small, for Lieutenant Van Someren was a big,
strong man ; finally Vernon, who was a student at Gray's
Inn, but joined up on the outbreak of war, fought through
Ypres, Loos, Bethune, Hulluch Quarries, the Somme
battles, and the great battles which ended the War,
gained the Military Cross, the Distinguished Service
Order, and the Croix de Guerre, and became the youngest
Lieutenant-Colonel in the Army (he was twenty-three
on the 26th November 191 8). The record of his sons
during the War is therefore something of which Mr. Van
Someren is justly very proud.
The Rodyks were a very legal family. Of the sons of
the old Mr. John Rodyk, Mr. Van Someren's maternal
grandfather, Alexander was Registrar at Penang,
William Registrar at Malacca, and James Sheriff of
Penang ; while of the grandsons, Bernard and Charles,
already spoken of, were lawyers at Singapore and Penang
respectively.
It is necessary now to return to the history of the
Supreme Court, which was re-constituted in 1873, when
provision was made for four Judges, two at Singapore
and two at Penang. This Ordinance first created the
local Appeal Court, and therefore more Judges were
necessary. In consequence of this, Mr. Snowden, then
Senior Magistrate at Singapore, and Mr. Justice Philippo,
a Puisne Judge at British Guiana, were appointed Judges
of this Colony. The former, however, held the post
only a short time, being appointed a Puisne Judge at
Hongkong, and in his place Mr. Theodore Thomas Ford
THE BAR COMMITTEE 215
was appointed. Mr. Ford, or Sir Theodore Ford as he
is to-day, was born in 1829, the son of Mr. George
Samuel Ford, an English solicitor. He was called to the
Bar at the Middle Temple in 1 866, and for three years
worked on the staff of the Weekly Reporter in the
Chancery Courts. In 1868 he joined the Western
Circuit, and was appointed to the Straits Bench in 1874,
becoming Chief Justice in 1886, being knighted in 1888,
and retiring in 1889. Sir Theodore is living at Upper
Norwood, and those who remember him on the Bench
out here speak of him with respect and affection. He
was always most punctual in taking his seat on the Bench.
He also suffered from a slight hesitancy of speech, which
made him speak very slowly and impressively. During
the trial of an Assize case he came on to the Bench one
afternoon at two o'clock sharp, with the result that one
of the jurors, a well-known watchmaker, was absent.
Some minutes elapsed before the Juror walked in, and
without any hurry or apology took his seat in the Jury-
box.
Sir Theodore said to him : " You — are — late, Mr.
Motion — ten — minutes — late — I think."
The Juror looked at his watch, and said : " No, my
Lord, five minutes only."
" Very — well — Mr. Motion — as you — are — a — watch-
maker— you ought — to — know — the correct — time — but
— as I — am — the Judge — I — know — the correct — fine —
that— is— fifty— dollars 1 "
The Ordinance of 1873, which re-constituted the Court,
also gave the Bar its first real code of regulations, as has
been pointed out previously. Quick to recognise the
advantage of receiving a proper status, the Bar organised
itself in 1875, with the avowed object of raising the
standard of etiquette among its ranks. General meet-
ings came to be held regularly, under the chairmanship
of the Attorney-General, to deal with matters affecting
the profession. The first of such meetings occurred on
the 30th July 1875, when Mr. A. L. Donaldson was elected
Honorary Secretary, and the advantage of having a
2i6 LAW AKD CRIME
pcnnaneiit executive committee brroming apparent,
veiy quiddy the fiist Bar QHmnittee was dected a few
months later ; it consisted of Messrs. Bond, Donaldson,
and Edwin Koek. From that time onward a Bar Com-
mittee has been elected annually. In 1907 the G>urts
Ordinance made this body a statuttHy one, and gave it,
what by consent it had had befme, the charge of the
etiquette of the i»trfession, wiuch, as introduced in 1 875,
b that of the Ri^ish Bar, with the necessary modifica-
ticHis.
The most imp<Htant year in the annak of the Court
was 1878, when the SujHeine Court was finally recon-
stituted, and three most imptHtant Ordinances were
introduced dealing with the Courts generally, the i»t>-
cedure to be followed, and the body of law to be
administered. In 1875 Ei^lish law had undergone a
mighty upheaval by means of the Judicature Act, and
the rules made under it ; Equity was fused with Common
Law, iHxxedure was siiq>Iified, and many anachronisms
and injustices were swqit into the lumber-room of the
lanr. Mr. Braddell had been working away since 1867
<m the improvemoit of local law and procedure, and he
at mice seized <m the Judicatnre Act as the very model
necessary, in which the Bar fully suppcnted hun. By
this means we were saved the pos^le calamity of having
to suffer under the Indian Gvil Procedure Code, as do
the Federated Malay States to-day. By the Courts,
the Cvil Procedure, and the Civil Law Ordinances of
1878 sweepii^ refcxms were introduced into the Straits,
and the law put oa a proper basis ; by the last of these
Ordinances Mr. BraddtH introduced the English law
rdatii^ to partnership, corporations, banks and bankii^,
principal and agoits, carriers by land and sea, marine
insurance, average, life and fire insurance, and "mercan-
tile law generally," by wiudi last expression we have
received such important English Acts of Parliament as
the Sale of Goods, Bills of Exchai^e, and Infants' Relief.
To a mercantile community this goierous introduction
of Ei^Ush law has proved a very great blessing, and it
COURT PROCEDURE REVISED 217
was all done in the simplest language and in a single
section. Indeed, the outstanding feature in all Mr.
Braddell's work was the simplicity of the language used
and the wide generalities by which the Courts were left
to exercise a wise discretion. There was none of that
pronounced distrust of the Courts which modem
legislation shows, that extraordinary desire to pro\nde
for everything and to close every chink and cranny
against judicial interpretation. The block of legislation
thus introduced in 1 878 stood until 1907, when Sir Walter
Napier repealed and re-enacted it all with amendments,
modifications, and additions, bringing it all up-to-date
in the most masterly fashion.
In 1876 Mr. Braddell had provided for procedure by
and against the Crown in an Ordinance which is still in
force, ver\- little amended. It was a novel and original
piece of work, which other Colonies have adopted, and
for which the English law officers of the CrowTi gave him
great credit. The greatest novelty in it was that the
Crown was allowed to be sued in tort.
For his work on the Ordinances of 1878 Mr. Braddell
received high commendation from the Governor, Sir
\V. C. Robinson, and from the Secretary of State for the
Colonies, who obserN'ed at the end of his despatch
intimating the allowance of them : " I cannot conclude
this despatch without expressing my sense of the care
and ability with which the Attorney-General has pre-
pared these Ordinances."
In 1 876 the number of Judges was reduced to three.
Mr. Justice Phillips was appointed temporarily, but only
held the post for a few months.
In 1877 Mr. Justice Thomas Lett Wood was
appointed. He was educated at Westminster School and
Trinitj- College, Cambridge, where he took his MA.
degree in 1846. From that year till 1851 he practised
as a special pleader, and was then called to the Bar at the
Inner Temple ; from 1 864 to 1 866 he acted as Attorney-
General of Vancouver ; from 1 866 to 1 870 he was a
member of the Legislative Council of British Columbia,
2l8 LAW AND CRIME
and was appointed Chief Justice of Bermuda in 1871,
which post he held until his appointment to the Straits.
In 1886 he became Senior Puisne Judge, and in 1892 he
retired. There is a portrait of him in the Supreme Court
at Penang. He was a very venerable-looking man with a
long white beard, but was most active in mind and body.
He astonished the natives by the strenuous tennis,
walking, and riding in which he indulged, for they could
not understand how such an old man, as they thought
he must be, could be so strong. Mr. Justice Wood was
fond of sitting late to finish Assize cases, and on one
occasion adjourned his Court from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. to
enable a jury to make up its mind whilst he went home
to dinner ! He was a very sound Judge, but his great
independence of speech and his views in general deprived
him of that promotion to which most people considered
him entitled.
In 1883 Mr. Braddell retired, and Mr. John Winfield
Bonser was appointed Attorney-General. Sir John
Bonser, as he became, was born in 1 847, the son of the
Rev. John Bonser, of Hastings. He was a man of
brilliant parts, being a Scholar and later a Fellow of
Christ's College, Cambridge, winning the Tancred
Studentship in Common Law at Lincoln's Inn in 1869,
and being Senior Classic at Cambridge in 1870. In
1 872 he was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn, and in 1 883
was appointed Attorney-General of the Straits Settle-
ments, which post he held until 1893, when he was
appointed Chief Justice. As Attorney-General his work
was scholarly and sound, and he will be remembered as
the Attorney-General who put through that most
important and difficult group of bills to reform the
Land Laws, in particular the Conveyancing and Law
of Property Ordinance and the Registration of Deeds
Ordinance ; he also brought the Bankruptcy law up-
to-date in 1888. In his practice at the Bar (for he
was allowed to practise privately, though he was the
last Attorney-General to whom this privilege was
allowed) he was best known as what is called a case-
SIR EDWARD O'MALLEY 219
lawyer, and his reputation stood very high. Unfor-
tunately he made himself very unpopular over the
military contribution, being the only member of the
Legislative Council to support the proposals of the Secre-
tary of State, with the result that his appointment
as Chief Justice met with harsh criticism in the
Singapore Free Press, though the Straits Times warmly
supported it. However, he held the post a very short
time, being appointed Chief Justice of Ceylon in 1893,
which appointment he held until 1901, when he was
appointed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy
Council. Sir John's first wife (whom he married in
1 883) was the sister of the brothers Nanson, of Messrs.
Rodyk and Davidson. He died in 1914, after a brilliant
and useful career.
As has been said. Sir Theodore Ford retired in 1889.
He was succeeded as Chief Justice by Sir Edward
Loughlin O'Malley, who was born in 1842, and was the
son of Peter Frederick O'Malley, Q.C. He graduated
at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1 864, and was called to
the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1 866, after which he
went the Norfolk and South-Eastern Circuits. Sir
Edward was a keen politician, but was unsuccessful in
his efforts to get returned to Parliament. He contested
Bedford in the Conservative interest in 1868 without
avail, but when Mr. Gladstone first introduced Home
Rule, and caused thereby the great split in English
politics. Sir Edward, being a Home Ruler, changed over
to the Liberal Party. In January 1906 he contested the
Kensington South Division in the Liberal interest, and
the very important election at Lewisham in December
1 9 10, on both occasions as a Liberal and unsuccessfully.
From 1876 to 1879 he was Attorney-General of Jamaica,
and from 1879 to 1889 of Hongkong. He held the Chief
Justiceship of the Straits Settlements from 1889 to 1892,
and made himself exceedingly popular socially and with
the profession. He gave a close and painstaking at-
tention invariably to even the most trivial cases, and
bestowed a careful study and consideration on his judg-
220 LAW AND CRIME
merits, appeals against which were almost impossible,
as he always used very sharp-pointed pencils for writing
his notes, which were very short and ornamented with
numerous sketches ; indeed, more sketches than notes 1
Perhaps he will be best remembered for his work on the
draft Criminal Procedure Code of 1892, which became
law, with certain amendments, in 1900, and, though re-
amended and re-enacted since, is the Code in force at
this date. It was based on the Indian Code, and its
introduction has undoubtedly been very beneficial to the
administration of justice. He did not remain long out
of harness after his retirement, as he was appointed Chief
Justice of British Guiana in 1895, which post he held
until 1898, when he was appointed Chief Judge of
H.B.M.'s Ottoman Empire, from which he retired in
1 903 . In 1 909 he was a member of the Royal Commission
on the Mauritius. It is very interesting at this date to
recall that during the Franco-Prussian War Sir Edward
joined the Red Cross Society, and assisted in nursing
the sick and wounded. At a later period he became a
Charity Commissioner, and did much work in alleviating
distress in the East End of London. Sir Edward is an
Esquire of St. John of Jerusalem and a Justice of the
Peace for the County of Oxford, where he is now living
at Cuddesdon, a kindly, sympathetic man, and remem-
bered with affection by all still out here who knew him.
He was succeeded by Sir Elliot Bovill, who was born
in 1848, a son of Mr. William John Bovill, Q.C. He
held office only for five months, dying of cholera, which
he contracted in Malacca, where an epidemic was raging,
and where he had gone to hold the Assizes. In the
few months Sir Elliot was here he made himself recog-
nised as the ablest Judge since Sir Benson Maxwell,
and his sudden death was deeply deplored by the
Bar and by the public, with whom he was a firm
favourite. He was President of the Singapore Golf Club,
and being an old Leander oarsman, had taken great
interest in rowing locally. He was succeeded by Sir
John Bonser, as has been said already.
4 s
o S
a
A CLASSICAL JUDGE 221
In 1885 the number of the Judges of the Supreme
Court was again raised to four, and in 1886 Mr. Justice
Sheriff, who had been Chief Justice of British Honduras,
was appointed third Puisne Judge, and Mr. Justice
Pellereau, Procureur and Advocate-General of the
Mauritius, fourth Puisne Judge. The latter retired in
1890, and died in 1892 ; he was personally very popular
with all classes, and was a strong lawyer and an impartial
judge. His impartiality was particularly noticeable
in those appeals against his own judgments, on which,
under the old Rules, he had to sit. Not infrequently
during an appeal he would point out to the Appellant's
Counsel points in his own decision which were perhaps
the weakest. The reports contain several very useful
decisions of his, but nothing very important.
Mr. Justice Pellereau was a great classical scholar,
and rather fond of Greek and Latin quotations in his
speeches and notes, which led to misunderstandings
sometimes. In a certain case before him the Tamil
interpreter having described a prawn-catcher as an
" apprehender of prawns," the Judge wrote the words
down, and added the Latin word sic. On appeal the
copyist, thinking that perhaps a mistake in spelling had
been made by the Judge, wrote down " apprehender of
sick prawns," which caused much amusement in Court,
and outside as well. The late Mr. A. Y. Gahagan, who
was an inimitable raconteur and mimic, used to introduce
a garbled version of this incident in his little sketch
A Scene in the Singapore Police Court, which will doubtless
be remembered by many old residents. Mr. Pellereau
was a very handsome and dignified figure on the Bench,
and most courteous and kind in his manner. He
put down gang robbery in Province Wellesley by the
heavy sentences which he passed.
Mr. Justice Sheriff remained here a very short time,
exchanging in 1887 with Mr. Justice Goldney, of British
Guiana, an arrangement which the Secretary of State
permitted. Sir John Tankerville Goldney was born in
1846, the third son of Sir Gabriel Goldney, Bart., of
222 LAW AND CRIME
Bradenstoke Abbey, Wiltshire, thus coming of a family
that had been settled in Wiltshire for several centuries.
He was educated at Harrow and Trinity College,
Cambridge, where he graduated in 1867. He was called
to the Bar at the Inner Temple in 1869, was Attorney-
General of the Leeward Islands, 1880, Acting Chief
Justice there from 1881 to 1883, when he was appointed a
Puisne Judge at British Guiana. He remained in the
Straits until 1892, when he was appointed Chief Justice
of Trinidad, retiring in 1900. He is a Justice of the
Peace for Wiltshire, and was High Sheriff of that County
in 1910, and resides now at Mark's Park, Corsham. Sir
John Goldney did some exceptionally useful work here ;
he and Mr. Bonser were appointed Commissioners in
1889 to determine what Indian Acts still remained in
force, and to revise and publish the same. He was one of
the Committee who prepared the draft Criminal Pro-
cedure Code in 1892, and he did most useful work on a
Commission to consider the Police Force, which will be
referred to in another paper dealing with that force.
Such decisions of his as have been reported show him to
have been a sound lawyer, and possessed of hard common
sense. He will perhaps be best remembered as the
Judge who tried to introduce the wig into these Courts,
whereby a veritable storm was raised, for such members
of the Bar as were English barristers went into Court
in their wigs, much to the annoyance of Mr. A. L.
Donaldson, who being a solicitor and a very senior
member of the Bar, had to submit to a practical illus-
tration of the fact that he belonged to what is termed the
junior branch of the profession. The result was wild
excitement in the profession, much writing in the papers,
and a Bar meeting at which " the wearing of wigs was
deprecated until an order was issued to that effect " and
" uniformity in the matter of forensic costume " was
considered desirable, a motion proposed by Mr. Donald-
son and seconded by Mr. William Nanson, also a solicitor,
and carried by twelve votes to two, one member not
voting. There followed a second motion to the effect
JONAS DAMEI< VAUGHAN.
From a painting by himself.
I. 222]
WIGS AND GOWNS 223
that the English barrister's wig was unsuitable for this
climate — carried by eleven votes to one ; and so say all
of us, though the late Mr. Justice Earnshaw, when
sitting in his own Court, always wore his wig. As a
matter of fact, there is no real rule as to an advocate
and solicitor's costume ; in Singapore solicitors wear
barristers' gowns, in Penang they wear their own proper
gowns ; barristers at both places, of course, wear stuff
gowns.
When Sir John Goldney came here from the West
Indies he brought with him a superb negro butler named
Eraser, who ruled the household with a rod of iron, and,
like most of his race, was exceedingly fond of fine raiment.
Eraser was a well-known figure in Singapore while
the Goldneys were here, and there are many stories of
him, but not fitted for this sober history. Mr. Justice
Goldney had great common sense and shrewdness ; but
he once startled his Court by stating from the Bench
that " no one's house furniture should exceed $2,000
in value." He was one of the founders of the Singa-
pore Golf Club.
Having brought the history of the Court down to 1 893,
it is necessary now to look at the prominent members
of the Bar since 1867. The first name that occurs is
that of Mr. Jonas Daniel Vaughan, who had a career that
was long, varied, and useful. In 1 842 he entered the
Bengal Marine as a midshipman, and went straight off
to the China War in the Tenasserim. He was present
with the fleet, under Sir William Parker, at all the oper-
ations from the capture of Chefoo to the ratification of
the Treaty of Peace under the walls of Nankin, including
the battle of Woosung and the capture of Ching-Kiang-
Eoo, for which services he received the China Medal.
After the war he served on the Straits station in the
Phlegethon, and was present at the capture of the town
of Brunei and the destruction of the strongholds of the
Lanun pirates on the north-west coast of Borneo. Later
he became Chief Officer of the Company's famous war
steamer, " the fighting Nemesis," as she was called. In
224 LAW AND CRIME
1851 Governor Butterworth appointed him Chief Officer
of the Hooghly, and later Superintendent of Pohce at
Penang, an office which he held till 1856, when he became
Master Attendant at Singapore. From 1861 to 1869 he
was Assistant Magistrate and Resident Councillor at
Singapore, when he retired. He was called to the Bar
at the Middle Temple in 1 869 while home on leave, and
on his return was admitted in Singapore. He was a man
of exceptionally wide information, and his knowledge
of scientific subjects was unusually large. He wrote a
good deal of useful matter about the history of Singapore
in the newspapers, and occasionally acted as Editor for a
time when others were absent ; this was done purely in
the public interest, for in those days the papers did not
have a circulation sufficiently large to allow of any
pecuniary remuneration. Socially he was immensely
popular, for he was a fine singer and the best amateur
actor of his day. His practice was chiefly a criminal one,
for which his experience in the police and as a magistrate
peculiarly fitted him, as did his great knowledge of the
native ways and customs. In March 1875 he was
appointed as a temporary Puisne Judge, but he resigned
in August, and resumed his practice at the Bar. His
death was sad and mysterious ; he had been on a visit
to Perak, where his married daughter was living, and was
on his way back to Singapore in the s.s. Malacca on the
17th October 1891. He was in good spirits that night,
and talking to the Captain on deck at nine o'clock, but
was not seen afterwards. There seems to be no doubt
that he fell overboard by accident in the night. Mr.
Vaughan was a veryold friend of the writer's grandfather,
Thomas Braddell, and when the Supreme Court met on
the 28th September 1891, to do honour to Mr. Braddell,
who had died on the nineteenth previously, Mr. Vaughan
made a long speech from the Bar, in which he did more
than justice to his old friend. It was fitting that
the same number of the Straits Law Journal should
contain the obituary notices of these two old friends
whose careers had such similarities. Mr. Vaughan, like
BOND AND THE KERINGAS 225
Mr. Braddell, was one of the foremost Freemasons of his
time.
Mr. Isaac Swinburne Bond was called to the Bar at
the Inner Temple on the 26th January 1867, and was
admitted to the Straits Bar on the 31st July 1869. He
practised alone until 1881, when he was joined by Mr.
Alfred Drew, who had been admitted a solicitor in
England in 1881. Mr. Bond was the first lawyer to be
placed on the Legislative Council in 1877, from which
time he served until he retired in 1886. He was the hero
of an amusing episode which has been frequently told,
but which will bear telling again. It occurred at a
garden-party in Singapore, and he was Acting Attorney-
General at the time. Attired in top-hat, frock-coat, and
plaid trousers, he was expatiating to a lady on the beauty
of a tree under which they were standing. He had,
however, the misfortune not to have noticed a nest of
those red ants called Keringas ; this omission the Keringas
repaired very quickly, and the unfortunate gentleman
soon found himself in such agonies that he tore off to his
palanquin, into which he jumped and drove away. As it
proceeded down the long drive, garments hurtled out
of the window one after another, concluding with the
plaid trousers 1 However, the story is probably by that
inimitable raconteur, Mr. Benjamin Trovato, whose
circulation in Singapore is abnormal.
After Mr. Bond's retirement Mr. Drew practised
alone, until he was joined by Sir Walter John Napier in
1 889, when the firm became Drew and Napier, as it is to-
day. Of its leading members more will be said later.
It has already been mentioned that Mr. A. M. Aitken
was the founder of the firm of Donaldson and Burkinshaw.
These latter two gentlemen were in leading practice
from the 'Seventies until the 'Nineties. Both of them were
respected and popular, and did much useful work in the
place.
Alexander Leathes Donaldson was admitted an
Attorney at Westminster in 1865, and to the local Bar
in 1873 ; John Burkinshaw was admitted an Attorney
I— 16
826 LAW AND CRIME
at Westminster in 1863, and to the local Bar in 1874.
When Mr. Bond retired his place on the Legislative
Council was given to Mr. Burkinshaw ; in 1 893 it went
to Mr. Donaldson, in 1 896 back to Mr. Burkinshaw, Mr.
Donaldson having retired in 1895. ^^r. Burkinshaw con-
tinued to be on Council until 1902, when he retired. He
died in England in 1909 ; Mr. Donaldson is still living.
These two gentlemen built up the leading European prac-
tice of their day, and their jack-in-the-box possession of a
seat on the Legislative Council undoubtedly gave the
firm great influence. Both of them were sound legis-
lators, displaying force and wisdom in their speeches, and
being of undoubted assistance to the deliberations of the
Council. Both of them were extensive landowners in
Singapore, and their estates still exist, Mr. Donaldson's
in the region of Orange Grove Road and Mr. Burkin-
shaw's next to Tyersall and at Mount Elizabeth. Mr.
Donaldson lived at Orange Grove, which the gharrj- syces
long called " Rumah Donaldson " ; Mr. Burkinshaw at
Mount Elizabeth, which similarly was known as " Bukit
Burkinshaw." Mr. Donaldson's sister married Mr. P. T.
Evatt, of Messrs. Lyall and Evatt, a well-known and
popular sportsman, broker, and accountant, the news of
whose death in recent years was received with great
regret by his many friends in Singapore.
The literature of the profession had been greatly
enriched in 1885 by the publication in Singapore of three
volumes of Law Reports by Mr. James William Norton
Kyshe, at that time Acting Registrar of the Court in Ma-
lacca ; a fourth volume appeared in 1 890. In the compila-
tion of these reports Mr. Kyshe had the invaluable assist-
ance of Mr. Van Someren. The reports are admirable and
well chosen ; they contain also a most invaluable historical
preface, and the amount of work put into them by Mr.
Kyshe must have been very great. Mr. Kyshe was
educated at Downing College, Cambridge, and was
called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1880. He passed
the Civil Service examination in 1871, and after holding
various appointments in the Mauritius from that year
SIR LIONEL COX 227
till 1 877, he became Deputy Registrar at Penang in 1 880,
and was Sheriff of Singapore in 1892. In 1895 he was
appointed Registrar at Hongkong. He retired on
pension a few years later, practised for a time in Cairo,
and died recently in England.
In June 1888 the Straits Law /owrna/ was commenced,
under the able Editorship of Mr. S. R. Groom so far as
the legal side of it was concerned. It continued until
June 1892. In 1893 the Singapore Bar Committee
commenced issuing the Straits Settlements Law Reports,
which have continued to be issued by them from time
to time ever since.
On the 8th November 1893 Sir WilUam Henry
Lionel Cox was appointed Chief Justice. He was born
in 1844, the son of Dr. George B. Cox, M.D., of Mauritius,
and was educated at the Royal College, Mauritius, being
called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1 866. In 1 880
he was appointed Substitute Procureur and Advocate-
General of the Mauritius, and in August of that year
Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court. In August 1886
he became Procureur and Advocate-General, which
position he held until his elevation to the Chief Justice-
ship here. He retired in 1906, and is now living in Eng-
land. Sir Lionel was perhaps the best Assize Judge we
have had here, having a wonderful grasp of facts, and was
a most ready speaker, notwithstanding certain peculiar-
ities of accent due to his being equally fluent in French
as in English. He had the ability to place the most
complicated facts before a Jury in the simplest manner.
Though most courteous, he was very careful to preserve
the dignity of a Judge both inside and outside his Court,
and woe betide anyonewho presumed to undue familiarity.
The best story told about him is really not so much to
do with him as with infantile precocity. The march of
education in Singapore had familiarised the young with
a good deal more, apparently, than they were intended to
learn. A father and mother were disputing over the
guardianship of a small boy, and Sir Lionel, who was a
most kindly man and who took a peculiar interest in the
228 LAW AND CRIME
young, insisted on seeing the little man. He was duly
produced, and, standing in the witness-box, his head just
appeared over the ledge. Sir Lionel addressed him :
" Now, my little man, your father and your mother each
of them wish to take care of you. Tell me, which would
you pwefer ? "
The little man answered with no hesitation : " I don't
care a d — n I "
" Ah," said Sir Lionel, " there spoke the voice of the
father ! I give you to your mother's care ! "
Sir Lionel had two favourite recreations — bridge, or
" bwidge " as he called it, for his r's always gave him
trouble, and reading Horace and Virgil in the original.
Sir Lionel's rubber of bridge was a rite performed by him
with regularity at the Singapore Club. Now, you cannot
play bridge except for money, and once you play a game
for money you commit the act of gaming or gambling.
If, moreover, you are rash enough or stupid enough to
commit this act in what the law calls a common gaming-
house, the results are apt to be unpleasant. In the local
Ordinance the expression " common gaming-house "
covers a multitude of sins, and the question arises as to
whether it covers gaming in a bona fide social club. A
decision of Sir Lionel Cox has always been followed to
the effect that gaming in such a club is quite legal. As
a matter of fact. Sir Lionel went out of his way to decide
the point, and the case is often called " Cox's after-
tiffin bridge case " as a consequence !
He was, perhaps, not a profound lawyer, proceeding
rather on the principle that if he found his facts rightly,
the law was generally pretty obvious ; and in this he was
right, for very few appeals against him seem to have been
successful. He was exceedingly popular with the Bar,
and was a great favourite socially in Singapore.
In 1892 Mr. William Robert Collyer, I.S.O., was
appointed a Puisne Judge ; he was born in 1842, the
second son of Mr. John Collyer, a County Court Judge,
whose family seat was at Hackford Hall, Reepham,
Norfolk, where Mr. Collyer is now living.
A VALUABLE PUBLIC SERVANT 229
Mr. Collyer was educated at Rugby, and was a scholar
of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he
graduated in 1865, from which year until 1867 he was an
Assistant Master at Chfton College. In 1869 he was
called to the Bar at the Inner Temple, and after holdfng
appointments at Sierra Leone and the Gold Coast, was
made Queen's Advocate of Cyprus in 1 88 1 , which position
he held until he came to the Straits Bench. When Sir
John Bonser was appointed Chief Justice, Mr. Collyer
became Attorney-General, holding that post until he
retired in 1906. Mr. Collyer was a typical English
gentleman, of an old-fashioned type now fast disappear-
ing. He was open-hearted, hospitable, sporting, with
strong convictions and prejudices, but never believing
evil of anyone or anything, and incapable of a mean
action. He endeared himself to everyone with whom he
came into contact, and the interest which he took in
everything that made for social and moral betterment in
Singapore made his place a very hard one to fill when he
left. The way he got through the arduous work which
is the lot of an Attorney-General, without breaking down
and with great speed, has always been a marvel since he
left, and it may well be said of Mr. Collyer that his true
value as a public servant was never realised until he had
retired. The most important Ordinances which he put
through were the Municipal Ordinance of 1896, the
Women and Girls' Protection of the same year, the
Tramway Ordinance of 1902, the Indian Immigration
Ordinance of 1904, and the Railway Ordinance of 1905.
His annual output of Ordinances was always over
twenty, while in 1902 it was no less than thirty-
seven, an output never exceeded, and only equalled by
Sir Walter Napier in 1907. In addition to all this he
used always to conduct the principal Crown prose-
cutions at the Assizes, and of course he had to give
opinions and advice to the various Government
Departments.
In February 1893 Sir Stephen Herbert Gatty was
appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court. He was
230 LAW AND CRIME
born in 1849, the son of the Rev. Alfred Gatty,
Vicar of Ecclesfield, York, and sub-Dean of York
Cathedral ; he is thus a brother of Sir Alfred Scott
Gatty, the Garter King at Arms. He was a Scholar
of Winchester and New College, Oxford, was called
to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1874, and
went the North-Eastern Circuit. In 1883 he was
appointed Attorney-General of the Leeward Islands,
and from 1885 to 1892 of Trinidad, where he received a
Colonial Patent as Queen's Counsel in 1891. He was
in the Straits only a short time, being appointed Chief
Justice of Gibraltar in 1895, and being knighted in 1904.
Mr. Justice Gatty is best remembered here as being the
only Judge we have ever had who participated in amateur
theatricals and sang a good comic song at a smoking
concert.
In February 1894 Sir Archibald Fitzgerald Law was
appointed a Puisne Judge. He was born in 1853, the
son of Mr. Michael Law. He took his degree at Oriel
College, Oxford, for which University he played Rugby
football. In 1879 he was called to the Bar at the Inner
Temple, and from 1880 to 1892 he served in various
appointments in Cyprus. In 1906 he was appointed
Chief Judicial Commissioner of the Federated Malay
States, and was knighted in 1908.
In July 1894 the four Judges in the Colony were,
therefore. Cox, C. J., and Collyer, Gatty, and Law, J. J.
Straits Produce summed up our Bench in the following
witty lines :
Three Judges from three distant islands sent,
Mauritius, England, Cyprus represent ;
The first in elegance of speech is strong,
The next in comedy — the last is— long ;
The Fount of Justice felt there was a flaw.
And so to make a Bench she added Law.
Mr. Justice Law was an exceedingly sound Judge,
though not a very quick one. The best of his judgments
is undoubtedly the one he delivered in the Six Widows
Case. He never was prepared to take anything for
SIR WALTER NAPIER 231
granted, but always liked to feel his ground well before
he trusted to it. When Counsel stated propositions of
law of which he was not certain, he had a habit of saying
in a deep voice, which made the remark quite terrifying
to the junior Bar : " Well, Mr. Briefless, you say so —
but I don't know." The writer has endeavoured to
express the tones of voice and the final crescendo, having
been many a time forced by the remark to produce or
fail to produce authorities. Sir Archibald was a most
satisfactory Judge to practise before, courteous, patient,
taking infinite pains, and eventually delivering thor-
oughly sound judgments, though, of course, like all
Judges, he did not always receive the approval of the
Appeal Court. Mr. Gilbert Carver, of Messrs. Donaldson
and Burkinshaw, married one of his daughters.
By this time the Bar had received several increases in
its strength. In March 1889 Sir Walter Napier was
admitted, and joined Mr. Drew in partnership, thus
founding the firm of Drew and Napier. Sir Walter
was born in 1857, the son of Mr. George W. Napier, of
Alderley Lodge, Cheshire, and was educated at Rugby
and Corpus Christi College, Oxford. On leaving Rugby
he had been articled to a firm of solicitors at Manchester ;
but he broke his articles, and went up to Oxford instead,
where he took a first in law. After holding an Inns of
Court Studentship in Civil Law, he was called to the Bar
at-Lincoln's Inn in 1881, and practised as a " local "
in Manchester from 1882 to 1888. His talents speedily
appealed to the litigants of Singapore, and to the general
public, to whose service he devoted much of his time. In
1 896 he was appointed an Unofficial Member of Council,
and held the position until 1897, being reappointed
from 1900 to 1907. He was Attorney-General from 1907
to 1909, when he retired, and received the honour of
knighthood for his great services. After his retirement
he served, in 191 2, on the Colonial Office Committee on
the land tenure of West African Colonies and Protector-
ates, another member of the Committee being Sir
William Taylor, K.C.M.G.
232 LAW AND CRIME
Sir Walter's first participation in public life in the
Colony was by a speech at a meeting held in the Town
Hall, in 1890, to endorse the protest of the Unofficials
against the Military Contribution. Not long after this
he became Secretary of the Straits Settlements Associ-
ation, in which position he acted during practically
the whole of the time that he was not on the Legislative
Council. In March 1893, as Secretary, he drafted the
Memorandum of the Association on the Military Contri-
bution question, in which Mr. W. G. St. Clair gave great
assistance. He was not content, either, to leave his
own profession where he found it ; he worked hard to
improve it, and the legislation of the Colony, even before
he became Attorney-General. It was upon his sugges-
tion that the Bar Committee commenced the publication
of the Straits Settlements Law Reports, and he was the
first Editor in 1 893. In 1 898 he published his Introduction
to the Study of the Law Administered in the Colony of the
Straits Settlements, an invaluable piece of work that was
well received by the Judges and the profession, and
favourably reviewed by Sir Frederick Pollock in the
Law Quarterly Review. This work was accepted by
Oxford University as a dissertation for the degree of
D.C.L.jtowhichSir Walter proceeded in 1900, his brother,
Professor H. S. Napier, Merton Professor of English
Language and Literature, proceeding to the degree of
Doctor of Letters at the same time. Sir Walter also
contributed articles and papers on legal subjects to the
Straits Chinese Magazine and the Straits Philosophical
Society, of which he was one of the original members.
Sir Walter's career as a legislator is unique. He is the
only Unofficial Member of the Council who has ever
introduced a Bill and got it passed into an Ordinance ;
indeed, he did it twice. He prepared those two most
useful pieces of legislation, the Married Women's Property
and Partition Ordinances, both of 1902. The former is
still in force, and the latter is now absorbed into the body
of legislation introduced by Sir Walter as Attorney-
General in 1907, which reformed the civil procedure and
FORENSIC RIVALS 233
civil law of the Colony. In 1904 he had printed for
private circulation a very valuable memorandum con-
taining suggestions for the improvement of the law of the
Colony, and laid it before H. E. Sir John Anderson, who
had arrived in the Colony about that time. Many of
these suggestions were ultimately carried out during
Sir Walter's Attorney-Generalship and after. Thus,
one of the suggestions was for the consolidation of the
Merchant Shipping Laws which Mr. Huttenbach had
urged in 1895 and 1896, and the necessity for which had
been endorsed by the Shipping Commission of 1898.
When Sir Walter was Attorney-General he took up
this question, and prepared the very valuable measure
which became the Merchant Shipping Ordinance of
19 10, and in which he had the assistance of Captain
Boldero, R.N., and Commander Radcliffe, R.N., each of
whom was Master Attendant, and of Mr. W. J. Trowell,
while in the work in London he collaborated with Sir
Ellis Cunliffe, the Solicitor to the Board of Trade.
Sir Walter's name must always stand high in the law,
and deserves the remembrance of all practitioners at our
Bar. One of Sir Walter's great opponents at the Bar
was Mr. William Nanson, of Messrs. Rodyk and Davidson,
and a good story is told of one of their battles in Court,
which illustrates Mr. Nanson's Httle eccentricities. He
always went on the plan that if the Judges did not know
any law it was their fault, and he would not be bothered
to go out of his way to teach them. On this particular
occasion Sir Walter Napier was moving for an interlocu-
tory mandatory injunction, and he went into it all with
his usual thoroughness and acumen. Mr. Nanson, who
had been fidgeting throughout the speech, got up to
reply as soon as it was finished, and this was his reply :
" My Lord, it is one thing to ask for an interlocutory man-
datory injunction ; it is an entirely different thing to get
it " ; whereupon he sat down ! On another occasion he
had appeared unsuccessfully for a client, who was ordered
to pay over a fairly large sum of money to the Official
Assignee. Mr. Nanson applied for a stay of execution.
234 LAW AND CRIME
but the Judge did not see why he should grant it. " Well,
my Lord," said Mr. Nanson, " it is like this. If we pay
over now, the Official Assignee will distribute the money
among the creditors, and when your Lordship's decision
is upset our money will be gone ! " He did not always
come off best in his encounters with the Bench, however.
On one occasion he was appearing for Syed Mohamed
Alsagoff, and raised a long technical objection against
his opponent, based on a Statute of Charles II. He
went into this Statute at great length, and commented
on its application to the case he was arguing. At last
Sir Lionel Cox could stand it no longer, and brought it to
an abrupt conclusion with this remark: " But, Mr.
Nanson, you see the star of Alsagoff had not awisen in
the days of the Mewwy Monarch I "
In 1893 Sir Hugh Fort was admitted, becoming a
partner in the firm of Messrs. Donaldson and Burkinshaw.
Straits Produce at once pounced on the fact, and
. announced it thus :
"In order to add to the defences, a well-known firm
of lawyers have recently set up a fort of their own. It
is not probable that a fortress or any smaller forts will
be added for some time."
They never have been, for Sir Hugh died unmarried in
London in June 1919. It is said that Sir Hugh had the
finest brain of any man who has ever come to the Straits,
not merely in legal affairs but in public ones as well.
He was a Member of Legislative Council from 1905 to
1908, and again from 1909 to 1910, being knighted in
191 1 after he had retired. For years he held a leading
place in Singapore life ; he led its Bar, the Unofficials
on its Legislative Council, and his word was law in all
matters of sport and club life. As an advocate Sir
Hugh was deadly ; he pounced on a weakness, he made
the strength of his own case seem impregnable, and he
was always cool and collected, while to his opponents
he was fairness itself.
He possessed one eccentricity that endeared him to
I- 2341
SIR HUGH FORT.
SIR EVELYN ELLIS 235
the native spectators of the tennis tournaments at the
Cricket Club : he always wore a white handkerchief
round his head to prevent the perspiration from dimming
his spectacles, and the natives never got reconciled to
it, so that Sir Hugh always had a good gallery. As an
owner and as a member of the Sporting Club Committee,
his services to racing in the Straits were invaluable.
Sir Hugh was born in 1862, the son of Mr. Richard
Fort, of Read Hall, Whalley, Lanes., who was Member
of Parliament for Clitheroe. He was educated at
Winchester and New College, Oxford, and was called to
the Bar at the Inner Temple in 1887. While at the
English Bar he was part author of Talbot and Fort's
Index of Cases, a most useful work, though out of date
now.
Of the other partners in Messrs. Donaldson and Burkin-
shaw were the Hon. Mr. C. I. Carver, who just recently
retired, Mr. Harold Millard, who gave his life for his
country in the Great War, Mr. Gilbert Carver, on
active service till May 19 19, Mr. H. R. L. Dyne, Mr.
Dudley Parsons, and Mr. H. B. Layton.
In 1896 Sir Evelyn Campbell Ellis came from Hong-
kong to join Messrs. Drew and Napier, in which firm he
became a partner. He was born in 1865, the son of
Dr. Robert Ellis, M.R.C.S. In 1891 he was admitted
as a solicitor in England, but it was as an advocate that
he excelled, like Sir Arthur Adams, K.B.E., of the Penang
Bar. Sir Evelyn was an Unofficial Member of the
Legislative Council from 1908 till 1916, and was Acting
Attorney-General in 191 2 and 191 3. On the departure
of Sir Hugh Fort, Sir Evelyn Ellis took his place as
leader of the Bar, leader of the Unofficials, and President
of the Sporting Club. He and Lady Ellis, whose early
death was so deeply deplored, were most hospitable and
popular ; and when they left for England, they left
behind them a social blank. One hears that during the
War Sir Evelyn's talents found scope for employment in
Government offices in London.
At the Bar Sir Evelyn Ellis seldom lost a case ; his
236 LAW AND CRIME
methods as an advocate were far more blunt and emphatic
than the more rapier-like thrusts of Sir Hugh Fort, but
just as effective. Neither in Court nor in Council would
he brook opposition, and from the very definite way he had
of stating his propositions he came early to be known
as Cocky ; one can say this, because he always insisted
on his friends calling him by that name, which was one
of affection, and intended only to sum up his very force-
ful character. Sir Evelyn was a monster for work, and
if genius really is an infinite capacity for taking pains,
then he possessed it.
After Sir Walter Napier, Sir Evelyn's principal partner
in Messrs. Drew and Napier, was Mr. E. F. H. Edlin, or
" Peter "as he was always called, from the fact that he
was a nephew of Sir Peter Edlin, Recorder of London.
No more delightful man to know and to be a friend of
has ever come to the Straits ; he was sympathetic and
generous in disposition, a very sound lawyer, and a keen
sportsman. His sad death in 191 3 cast a gloom over
the whole place, and he is remembered with regret and
affection by many both of his profession and outside it.
The other partners in the firm have been the Hon. Mr.
D. Y. Perkins, Mr. M. J. Upcott, and Mr. P. Robinson.
From the middle of the 'Nineties to the middle of the
next decade was the Augustan era of the Singapore Bar,
and it must be many years before the high standard
reached then can be attained again. The prospective
litigant had Napier, Ellis, Fort, C. I. Carver, Wilham
Nanson, F. M. Elliot, the brothers Braddell, Rowland
Allen, Delay, Emerson, and Van Someren from which
to choose, and, if he could not find one of them to satisfy
his requirements, he deserved to lose his case.
The firm of Allen and Gledhill was started by Mr.
Rowland Allen, who came out to Messrs. Joaquim
Brothers in 1895, having been called to the English
Bar in 1893. Mr. John Joseph Gledhill joined him in
1901, and since then the partners in the firm have been
Mr. Leigh-Clare, Mr. L. E. Gaunt, Mr. H. C. Cooke-
Yarborough, and Mr. Richard Page.
SIR EVEI,YN CAMPBEH EI,I,IS.
I- 236]
A STRONG EQUITY LAWYER tjy
The firm of Sisson and Delay was started when Mr.
James Arthur Delay joined Mr. Sisson in iSyi. Mr.
Arthur James Sisson was admitted in i88S, and was in
partnership with Mr. Edwin Koek for some time. The
other partners in the firm have been Mr. Charles Emer-
son, >Ir. Clement Everitt, and Mr. H. D. Mundell.
When Mr. Justice Gatty was appointed Chief Justice
of Gibraltar, the vacancy on our Bench was filled by the
appointment of Mr. Andrew John Leach, who had been
educated at Sir Roger Cholmondeley's School, Highgate,
and St. John's College, Oxford. He was called to the
Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1876, and practised in Hongkong
for some years, acting as Puisne Judge and Attorney-
General on several occasions between 1887 and 1895.
He retired in 1Q04, and shortly afterwards died of
cancer, from which terrible disease he had been suffering
in Singapore, and which made him naturally rather
irritable on the Bench.
Mr. Justice Leach was the best equity lawyer we
have ever had in the Straits. He was very genial and
full of humour, a keen cricketer, and a golfing enthusiast.
He was rather a terror in his Court, where his sarcastic
remarks and sharp tongue lashed impartially Counsel
and litigant. Legal stories are not generally so humor-
ous to the public as to the lawyer, and " laughter in
Court " frequently follows a remark that seems far from
funny ; but the following account of an occurrence in
Mr. Justice Leach's Court possesses genuine humour.
The plaintiff was a young man, whom we will call
Isaac Moses, and he arrived in Court accompanied by his
mother, a large lady dressed in her best satin dress, and
wearing a hat composed principally of red feathers ;
she took a seat near the witness-box. The son entered
the box, and before being sworn was asked by the Judge
what was his name. " I key " was the reply. " What
does Ikey stand for?" came from the Bench. The
silence of astonishment overwhelmed the plaintiff.
" Will you answer me ? " came sharply from the Judge,
who glared at the witness through large spectacles.
238 LAW AND CRIME
The witness shuffled, but no words came from him ; his
mother said in a stage whisper, " Isaac," which the
young man promptly repeated.
" Tell that woman to sit at the back of the Court and
keep her mouth shut, or I'll turn her out," thundered the
Judge.
" What's your other name ? "
" Mo — mo — motheth."
" Very well, Isaac Moses, now you can be sworn."
A Bible was handed to the witness, who, grasping it
quickly, was about to kiss it, when a roar came from the
Judge, who was well known to be a devout Roman
Catholic, " Stop — what are you ? "
The witness dropped the Bible and stared at the Judge
tongue-tied for some seconds.
This was too much for the mother, who, hiding her
face behind a large fan, whispered loudly to her progeny :
" Say you are a Roman Catholic, Ikey ! "
Doubtless the ceiling fell and justice was done ! An
eye-witness told the writer this story, and it is too good
to escape preservation.
In 1897 Sir William Henry Hyndman-Jones was
appointed to the Straits Bench. He was born in 1847,
the son of Mr. William Henry Jones, of Upper Norwood,
and was educated at Marlborough and Trinity College,
Cambridge. In 1 878 he was called to the Bar at Lincoln's
Inn, and was sent in 1 880 to enquire into the working and
administration of the Barbados Police Force. The
next year he was appointed to act as a Judge of the
Barbados Court of Appeal. After serving in various
legal capacities in the West Indies, he was appointed to
the Straits Bench. In January 1906 he became Chief
Judicial Commissioner of the Federated Malay States,
and in August of that year Chief Justice of the Straits
Settlements. He retired in 1914. His successor,
Sir John Bucknill, in a speech which he made to
the Bar on taking his seat, referred to Sir William as
the " Nestor of the Colonial Bench," and a more apt de-
scription could not have been given. The Bar hoped
I
1. 2381
SIR WII.MAM HYXDMAX-JOXES.
NESTOR OF THE COLONIAL BENCH 239
that he would be appointed to the Privy Council, a
distinction which he more than deserved, but the
appointment was not made, and Sir William lives in
retirement at Jersey.
Sir William was the beau ideal of a Judge, learned,
quick at grasping law and fact ; of most stately presence,
and possessed of a fine figure, he dominated his Court, and
filled it with an atmosphere of dignity that accorded with
the finest traditions of the Bench. Courteous and kind,
he had always a helping hand for the struggling junior,
and he certainly taught more law and more etiquette to
the younger members of the Bar than any Judge who has
ever sat here. Jurymen speak of him in the highest
admiration, but to the Bar he was perhaps at his best
when presiding over the Court of Appeal. Counsel were
kept to the point, decisions were rapid ; there was no
constant interruption, no wrangling with Counsel, and
work in the Court of Appeal, while he presided, was a
pleasure and often an education.
He was possessed of a strong sense of humour, but it
did not evince itself by jokes. He had a habit of placing
his handkerchief over his mouth when anything appealed
to his risibility ; but the blue eyes over the handkerchief
told their tale, and the Counsel who could call a twinkle
into them by a witty remark did not find his task any
the more difficult in consequence.
When he said anything humorous he did it in such
a dry and logical way that it became all the more
funny. During the hearing of the Appeal in the
Six Widows Case he convulsed the whole Court by a
little passage which he had with the late Mr. Montagu
Harris.
Mr. Harris was a very sparkling and amusing speaker,
but he was not very logical, and in the course of his
argument he invited the Court of Appeal to step into
the shoes of the deceased Choo Eng Choon, to which Sir
William drily replied that in that event the Court would
be assembled elsewhere. Harris retorted that he meant
during Choo Eng Choon 's lifetime, to which Sir William
240 LAW AND CRIME
further replied that in that case the Court would have
nothing to do with the matter ! Sir William was the
only Judge who could deal effectually with Mr. Harris,
and he did it always in so kindly, humorous a way that
the latter had to accept defeat.
When the same case was before Sir Archibald Law,
Mr. Harris waxed very indignant at the attempt to
upset his client's rights. " It is unreasonable," he said,
" for my learned friends to come here with antiquated
Chinese laws and attempt to upset the law of this Colony
in half-an-hour ! "
Sir Archibald said with a groan : " Half an hour !
In four days, you mean ! "
" What is four days in eternity, my Lord ? " Getting
no reply, Mr. Harris answered himself by saying, ' ' A mere
drop in the ocean I " And to those engaged in the case
it certainly seemed to be eternity before we had done
with it.
In 1 90 1 Mr. Swinford Leslie Thornton was appointed
a Puisne Judge. He had practised at the local Bar a
short while, and was appointed Registrar of the Court at
Malacca in 1 887, a post which he held for some five years.
In 1894 he was given the Attorney-Generalship of St.
Vincent, and in 1896 was made Resident Magistrate at
Jamaica.
Sir John Anderson caused the retiring age for a Judge
to be fixed at fifty-five, reserving the right to the Execu-
tive to retain their services after that age if thought fit.
Mr. Justice Thornton was the first to suffer under this
rule, and his retirement caused great indignation.
The next Judge to suffer by the rule was Mr. Justice
Fisher, who had been appointed to the Straits Bench
after long services in Ceylon, Cyprus, and Jamaica ; and
he was so cut up about it that he literally died of a broken
heart.
It is said by many that this rule has robbed the Bench
of its independence, the more so now that all our Judges
but one are from the Civil Service. The question of the
appointment, salary, and qualifications of our Judges is
REGISTRARS OF THE COURT 241
at present one that is exercising the Bars of Singapore
and Penang very much, and the present position is
vastly unsatisfactory.
In 1907 Sir Thomas Braddell was appointed a Puisne
Judge. He is the only member of the Bar who has ever
received the substantive appointment, though in the
'Seventies temporary appointments were made from the
Bar. As Sir Thomas is the writer's father, and as his
career is dealt with elsewhere, more cannot be said about
him here.
When Mr. Christian Baumgarten resigned the
appointment of Registrar in 1874, the post went to Mr.
Charles Eugene Velge. He was a son of Mr. J. H. Velge,
who was well-known in Singapore in the old days for
his hospitality. Mr. C. E. Velge had been called to the
Bar at the Middle Temple in 1 870. He held the Registrar-
ship until 1907, at the end of which year he retired,
dying in September 191 2. Mr. Velge was a splendid
Registrar, and throughout his long career held the com-
plete confidence of Bench and Bar. He was exceedingly
fond of racing, and was as good a judge of a racehorse's
capacities as any man who has been out here.
When he retired he was succeeded by Mr. Felix Henry
Valentine Gottlieb, who had joined the Government
Service in 1 880, and had been called to the Bar at the
Middle Temple in 1892. He was a son of Mr. Felix
Henry Gottlieb, F.S.S., F.R.G.S., who was also a
barrister, and who had joined the Government Service
in 1 846, holding many legal appointments in it until 1 882,
when he resigned and commenced private practice in
Penang. He was a sornof old " Captain " Gottlieb, who
through the influence of the Duke of Clarence (afterwards
William IV) had been in the Naval dockyards in
England , and became the first Harbour Master at Penang.
Mr. F. H. V. Gottlieb's brother, Mr. G. S. H. Gottlieb,
was also a barrister, and practised in Penang and Cairo,
where he died. Mr. F. H. V. Gottlieb died in 191 7,
having remained at his post, after he was overdue for
his pension, from a strong sense of duty ; he felt that by
I— 17
242 LAW AND CRIME
carrying on he was doing what little was possible to
him during the Great War, and his death came as a
great shock to the Bench and the Bar, in whose respect
he stood very high.
The first Chinese barrister to be admitted to the local
Bar was Mr. Song Ong Siang, M.A., LL.M., in 1 894. He
was born in 1871, and was educated at Raffles School,
Singapore, and Downing College, Cambridge. He held
the Guthrie Scholarship from 1883 to 1888, and entering
the Middle Temple in 1889, had a brilliant career, for he
won the Scholarship in Constitutional Law and Inter-
national Law in June 1889, and the hundred-guinea
Studentship in Jurisprudence and Roman Law in June
1890. He was called to the Bar in 1893. Mr. Ong
Siang has worked for the welfare of his countrymen
in Singapore for many years. He is a fine rifle-shot, and
has always been a keen Volunteer, having formed one
of the Straits Contingent for the Coronation in 1902.
The second century of Singapore history finds the
Singapore Bar on those pleasant terms of friendship
which should always mark its conduct ; its doyen is
Mr. Edwin Rowland Koek, who was admitted in 1888.
The War has made gaps in our ranks. We have had to
mourn the death of Mr. Philip Walton, S.V.A. (Donaldson
and Burkinshaw), accidentally killed in the Mutiny on the
1 8th February 1915 ; Captain Harold Millard (Donaldson
and Burkinshaw), Northamptonshire Regiment, who,
after serving through the Gallipoli Campaign, was killed
in action on the Western Front on the i ith April 191 7 ;
Captain C. R. a Beckett Terrell, M.C. (Drew and Napier),
Royal Field Artillery, who was^killed in action on the
Western Front on the 10th June 191 7 ; and Lieutenant
Hector Alan Lane (Sisson and Delay), East Lancashire
Regiment, who was killed on the 25th May 1915, at the
second Battle of Ypres.
In addition to these gallant souls, we remember with
pride that out of our not very large number the following
have served during the Great War : Captain Gilbert
Squarey Carver (Donaldson and Burkinshaw), ist
I
WAR SERVICES 243
Cheshire Regiment, wounded on the Western Front on
the 9th October 191 7 ; Captain A. K. a Beckett Terrell
(Drew and Napier), Royal Field Artillery, served on the
Western Front ; Lieutenant W. M. Graham (Drew and
Napier), who was first engaged on ambulance work on
the Western Front, then joined the French Air Force, and
afterwards the Royal Flying Corps, and who also served
on the Italian Front, was awarded the Croix de Guerre
and the British Military Medal ; Lieutenant-Commander
L. E. Gaunt, R.N.V.R. (Allan and Gledhill), who served
with the Grand Fleet ; Mr. H. C. Cooke- Yarborough
(Allan and Gledhill), Ambulance Driver, British Red
Cross attached to the Italian Third Army ; Captain
J. A. Lucie-Smith (Allen and Gledhill), Dublin Fusiliers,
served in Salonika ; Mr. T. G. Ryott (Allen and Gledhill),
Corporal H.A.C., served in France ; Lieutenant E. W.
Willett (Allen and Gledhill), served in Mesopotamia with
the Transport ; Lieutenant C. Dickenson (Sisson and
Delay), R.G.A., who had the misfortune to be captured
in the Hitachi Maru by the German raider Wolf
while on his way to England ; and Lieutenant
R. L. L. Braddell (Braddell Brothers), R.G.A., who was
in the fighting on the Western Front from the German
attack in March 191 8 to the signing of the Armistice.
The writer hopes that this article may not be thought
too biographical : after all, the history of a place such as
Singapore is chiefly the history of the men who lived in it,
and the thought that an endeavour to show what manner
of men the Judges and lawyers of the place have been
would prove of more value than the statement of facts
and details of a dry nature that would be more fitted for
a law book. That this article contains many omissions
he feels very conscious, but seeks to excuse himself in the
following lines from Lamquet :
J'ai tant de choses &. vous dire
Qu'on en ferait un livre entier,
S'ii me fallait vous les 6crire
J'y sScherais tout I'encrier.
The best thanks of the writer are due to Mr. Maurice
244 LAW AND CRIME
Rodesse, of the Supreme Court, whose long acquaintance
with the Court and its characters is now unique, and
who, with his usual unfailing courtesy, has supplied the
writer with much of the material in the later part of this
article.
CRIME: ITS PUNISHMENT AND PREVENTION
By Roland St. J. Braddell
The scope of this article covers so many matters of
importance to our community of mixed races that the
writer has thought it best to divide it into separate
sub-headings rather than to attempt to cover the whole
ground chronologically, a course which could only lead to
confusion.
The Police Force
The history of the Singapore Police Force really begins
with the appointrnent of Mr. Thomas Dunman to it ;
prior to that the police were little better than the old-
fashioned " Charleys," and were hopelessly insufficient
and inefficient. The first head of the police in Singapore,
appointed in 1819, was Mr. F. J. Bernard, a son-in-law
of Major Farquhar. In 1 82 1 he had under him a writer,
a jailer, two sergeants, and seventeen constables. By
1 84 1 the force consisted of the Sitting Magistrate as
Superintendent, three European constables, and an
assistant native constable, fourteen officers and no
policemen.
Writing in 1828, Mr. Crawfurd mentions that several
cases of murder occurred in the course of the year,
perpetrated in open day and witnessed by numbers ; but
he says that the proportion of such crimes was not so
high as in Penang owing to the higher price of labour in
Singapore, and the consequent hearty and flourishing
condition of the Settlement.
Mr. J. T. Thomson, writing of the 'Thirties, mentions
the great number of murders that went unpunished in
consequence of the great laxity of the Government.
THE POLICE FORCE 245
He says that he had not been two days in Singapore
before he came across the dead body of a Khng, lying
across the pubHc road, within half a mile of the town,
with his throat cut from ear to ear, and that he had not
been here six months before he fell across five human
beings weltering in their blood, also lying on the public
road two miles out of town. In four years he counted
no less than twenty bodies of murdered men on the
public roads, all within a few miles of the town. As
usual, during this period the police were hopelessly
underpaid ; the real head of the force received only £60
per annum. The result was that they made up theif
pay out of the gambling which was rife all over the
Settlement.
In 1 83 1 the force consisted of only eighteen men, and
that was a year of great lawlessness, as was 1832. The
Chinese Hoeys or secret societies were a constant source of
trouble ; the first mention of them occurs in 1831, when
the Resident Councillor sent a list of questions about
them to the Superintendent of Police, but no action was
taken. At that time it was said that a secret society
exceeding one thousand men was established in the
jungle, where they actually had an armed fort. In
1832 the Grand Jury, in their presentment at the Assizes,
referred to the numerous burglaries that had been com-
mitted by gangs of Chinese in bodies of fifty to one hun-
dred men. They said that the atrocities of these
villains had increased to such an extent that if some
active measures were not taken to put a stop to their
career, there was every possibility of their becoming so
powerful that it would not be safe for anyone to reside
at a distance from town or to settle as a cultivator in
^•the interior. Nothing much seems to have been done,
and crime and lawlessness continued unchecked for
years until, as a result of a long series of robberies and
attacks by numbers of armed Chinese, a public meeting
was held at the office of Messrs. Hamilton, Gray and Co.,
on the loth February 1843, with Mr. Thomas Oxley, the
Sheriff, in the chair. A number of resolutions were
246 LAW AND CRIME
passed, calling attention to the prevalence of crime, and
asking for the improvement and more energetic manage-
ment of the police.
The Government acted at last, and in September
of that year appointed Mr. Thomas Dunman, an assistant
in Messrs. Martin, Dyce and Co., to the office of Deputy
Magistrate and Superintendent of Police. Mr. J. T.
Thomson, in a later book about the Straits, wrote that
' ' it was Congalton who swept the Malay waters of pirates ;
it was Dunman who first gave security to households
jn Singapore by raising and training an efficient police
force."
The Resident Councillor, however, was ex officio
Commissioner of Police, and Mr. Dunman 's position was
not satisfactory at first. In 1856 strong opinions were
expressed that the duties of Commissioner of Police
should not be hampered with magistrate's work and
duty in the Resident Councillor's office, and as Governor
Blundell shared in this view, the Governor-in-Council
from Calcutta agreed to make the office a separate and
distinct one. It was, naturally, conferred on Mr.
Dunman in June 1857, and on the Transfer he became
Commissioner of Police for the whole Colony, retiring
finally in 1871.
Mr. Dunman's success was pronounced, and Mr.
Buckley says that one secret of it was that as he was known
and liked among all classes of the community, European
and native, they were willing to give him assistance and
information. He used to go about the town at all hours
of the day and night, so that little went on that he did
not know about. He was, also, thoroughly trusted by
the headmen of the secret societies, who knew that they
could trust him not to divulge the source of any informa-
tion which they gave him.
During his period of office there were three serious
outbreaks of riot. The first occurred in 1846, in con-
sequence of the authorities refusing to allow a funeral
procession at the burial of one of the headmen of a
secret society unless it did not exceed one hundred
CHINESE RIOTS 247
persons. But the most serious troubles that have ever
occurred in Singapore, excepting the mutiny of the sth
Light Infantry in 191 5, were those of 1854.
Trouble had been brewing between the Hok-kiens
and the Teo-chews for some time ; but the actual cause
of the outbreak was, as is often the case, quite trivial.
A Hok-kien and a Teo-chew had a quarrel over the price
of some bananas, high words ensued, the quarrel was
taken up by the bystanders, and blows followed. The
battle grew in extent, and spread from street to street ;
all the shops and houses were quickly closed and barri-
caded, and the fight became general throughout the
town. Mr. Dunman found that the police could not
cope with it, so the military were called out and parties
landed from H.M. Ships Sybille, Lily, and Rapid. They
succeeded in clearing the streets, but the spirit of clannish
hatred had become thoroughly aroused. None of the
shops dared re-open, and when any of the streets was
left unguarded the men on both sides would rush out
and commence the fight again. Finally, finding that
they could only fight at short intervals and in small
numbers in the town, the two clans marched out in
large bodies into the country, where many pitched battles
took place, and large numbers were killed on both sides,
the heads of the dead being cut off and carried on the
spears of their adversaries.
All the merchants' godowns in town were closed and
business completely suspended. The residents were
sworn in as special constables, as also were many of the
captains and officers of the ships lying in the harbour,
and detachments of these were sent all over the country-
side while the military guarded the town. The rioters
offered little resistance to the Europeans, so that not
one of the troops, police, or specials was seriously hurt ;
they were only anxious to fight each other. After about
a fortnight both clans began to quieten down, and
matters were eventually cemented up between them by
the most influential of the Chinese merchants. In a
great measure owing to these riots, the Singapore
248 LAW AND CRIME
Volunteer Rifle Corps was founded in this year. Mr.
Dunman was thanked by the Government for his services
in the riots, and was presented with a sword of honour.
The next riots occurred in 1857, but were not nearly
so serious ; they were due to the passing of a new
Municipal Act which the Chinese did not understand.
The military and the volunteers were called out, and
distributed through the town, so that peace was soon
restored.
In 1863, or thereabouts, the police were first put into
regular uniform, the idea being introduced by Mr.
K. B. S. Robertson, then Deputy Commissioner of
Police, who died at Mount Pleasant, Thompson Road,
on Good Friday 1 868. Mr. Dunman never wore uniform,
however, except on very ceremonial occasions. The
full dress of the native police, Malays and Klings alike,
was dark blue serge coat and cap, white trousers, and
black shoes. In 1879 there were complaints all round
against the serge, which was too thick, and which at that
time was used for ordinary work, both for trousers and
coat, the white trousers being used only for parade and
special duty. The Police Commission of that year
recommended a lighter serge, and for day duty khaki,
but it was not until 1890 that khaki was experimented
with. At that date drabbet tunics were in use by both
Europeans and natives. A hundred men were put into
khaki to begin with, but they were made to wear white
gaiters, which proved very unpopular owing to the trouble
of keeping them clean. By 1 893 khaki was found to be
a success, and the force was put permanently into it, the
gaiters being done away with ; blue serge and white
gaiters, however, remained the full dress until 19 10.
The officers' full levee dress of dark blue cloth, velvet
cuffs and collar, with silver braid, was abolished in
1902, and white drill substituted as full dress. The
result is that no commissioned officer of the police can
wear a uniform in England, not even the probationers
when undergoing training at the Royal Irish Constabu-
lary School.
COMPLAINTS AGAINST POLICE 249
Mr.Dunman was succeeded on his retirement by Colonel
Samuel Dunlop, R.A., C.M.G. In 1875 he became
Inspector-General of Police for the whole Colony ; this
title had been introduced in 1871 by the Police Force
Ordinance of that year. Colonel Dunlop performed
other valuable services besides his purely police duties.
In November 1874 he was sent as Commissioner with
the forces despatched to quell the disturbances in Sungei
Ujong, and in November 1875, after the murder of Mr.
J. W. W. Birch, was appointed Special Commissioner
temporarily for Perak affairs. He organised the expedi-
tion which captured the Pasir Salak stockades, and was
present at their capture. During the December opera-
tions in Perak he was Commissioner to the Forces, and
accompanied General Colborne's force up the Perak
River and across country to Kinta. He remained in the
police until 1 884, when he was appointed Acting Resident
Councillor in Penang, which post he held for a year, and
then returned to the police. In 1889 he was appointed
President of the Singapore Municipality, and retired in
1890. His daughter married Mr. W. P. Waddell, of
Boustead and Co.
The police force from 1857 to 1871 was under the
Police Act of 1856 ; the Police Ordinance of 1871 was
repealed, and re-enacted in 1872, under which latter
Ordinance the force remains at this date.
Although Mr. Dunman had been very successful with
the police, considerable dissatisfaction with the state of
the force was expressed in 1870, so that the Honourable
Mr. Thomas Scott took up the question in the Legislative
Council, and drew up a very careful memorandum on
the question, which he addressed to the Governor in
February 1871. As a consequence the Ordinance of
that year was passed. In his memorandum to the
Secretary of State upon the Ordinance of 1872, Governor
Ord pointed out the necessity for accommodating the
police and their families in proper quarters. At that
time they were distributed all over the town, wherever
they could find accommodation. A beginning was made
250 LAW AND CRIME
by building married quarters at the various country
stations, and a marked benefit to the service at once
evinced itself; but it was found impossible to do this
in town. The withdrawal of the native troops as a
result of the Transfer had, however, placed the Sepoy
Lines at the disposal of the Government, and accommoda-
tion was found in them for a number of the police.
By 1879 the police had got into a very bad state ;
there were no less than 770 cases of crime in the force in
1878, when it numbered 5 50, and complaints were general,
with the result that the Unofficials took up the matter
in Council, and a Commission of Enquiry was appointed,
consisting of Mr. Cecil Smith, then Colonial Secretary,
Mr. W. W. Willans, the Treasurer, and Messrs. W. H.
Read, Walter Scott, and T. Shelford, the last three all
being Unofficial Members of the Council. The force
at this time consisted of an Inspector-General, a Super-
intendent, a Chief Inspector, six inspectors, ten sub-
inspectors, two sergeant-majors, eleven sergeants, forty-
two corporals, and four hundred and fifty-four con-
stables.
The Commission highly recommended the superior
officers. Major Dunlop, they said, though having no
special training, possessed the advantages of the valuable
education which his scientific corps, the Artillery, gave ;
but they found that he was unduly lenient, and had
weakened the moral of the force consequently. The
inspectors were mostly enlisted in the Colony, and gained
their position more by force of circumstances than by
their own merit, but the inducements were too small to
attract better men. Here was the old story of parsimony,
and at this present date, although the police are an
admirable force, their pay and pensions stand in need of
great increases if the efficiency of the force is to be
preserved. The Commission found that the inspectors
were not, as a body, men on whose fidelity and capacity
reliance could be placed. Corruption was believed to
exist amongst them to a greater extent than was provable
in a Court of Law.
NATIVE POLICEMEN 251
The native force was composed of Malays and Klings
in about equal proportions, and of them the Chief
Justice, in his evidence before the Commission, said that
he found them very ignorant and deficient in intelligence,
with some marked exceptions. Bribery and corruption
were rife amongst them ; Mr. J. D. Vaughan, the lawyer,
said that they were just as bad as they had been twenty
years before when he was in the police. They were
hopelessly over-worked, getting about four hours' rest
at a time, with the result that they were always going to
sleep on their beat. One sub-inspector said, in his
evidence, " During the night I go the rounds. Gener-
ally I find the men asleep on their beats. They sit down
and drop off to sleep." Their hours of duty were a six-
hour stretch, and they were physically unfitted for it.
In 1884, however, one still finds the Inspector-General
reporting that the Malay and Kling constables were
over-worked, seldom getting more than three and a half
hours off duty at a time.
In their evidence Major Dunlop and Messrs. Braddell,
the Attorney-General, and Ommaney, Superintendent
of Police, stated that they preferred the Klings to the
Malays, but most of the other witnesses held the contrary,
as the Klings were prone to drink, bribery, and cruelty.
The Commission reported in favour of having Malays
only, but Klings continued to be appointed for years
afterwards.
There were no rules or regulations for the governance
of the police ; certain clauses of Ordinances were read
at Roll Calls, and the corporal of each section was sup-
posed to go round and teach the men their duty.
The detective branch under Inspector Richards was
highly spoken of by his own superior officers, the Chief
Justice, the Attorney-General, and many others. He
had eighteen N. CO. 's and men under him, all Klings and
Malays. Chinese informers were very largely relied on,
as they are to this day ; Chinese had been tried as regular
detectives, but had failed, as they entered the secret
societies and devoted themselves to the interests of those
252 LAW AND CRIME
societies which paid them best. The Commission found
that on the whole the detectives worked well, but were
far too few in number.
Paragraph 57 of the Commission's Report reads as
follows :
" The different races, the numerous Secret Societies,
the wide-spread communities, and the extent of country-
all render it most difficult to provide a satisfactory and
honest supervision by Police over these Settlements.
At any rate it cannot be done without much greater
expenditure than has yet been incurred ; but inasmuch
as it is among the first duties of Government to ensure
reasonable protection to the inhabitants of the Colony by
which the persons are attracted here to develop its
resources, it may be earnestly hoped that now the
Revenue permits, no further time will be lost in placing
the Force on an efficient footing."
The Commission's recommendations involved large
increases of pay, but they quoted in support this
language of a former Secretary of State : " There can be
no such short-sighted and injudicious economy as that
which would refuse the necessary outlay for maintaining
the police in a state of complete efficiency for the preservation
of order and the enforcement of the law, without which
industry can never flourish.'^ The words are printed
here in italics, because they cannot be over-emphasised.
Among the many recommendations were the estab-
lishment of police schools for the education of the police,
concentration on the Malays as the recruitment popula-
tion of the police and a rejection of the Klings, and the
introduction of Sikhs.
The Government, as usual, cogitated long over this
Report, so that Major Dunlop, in his report for the year
1880, said that the delay in giving effect to the recom-
mendations had brought the force to a lower state than
he had ever known. " Many years must elapse before
the evil effects of this delay must pass away," he wrote,
and also the Government inaction presented " a disas-
trous check to local recruiting."
EUROPEANS AND SIKHS 253
In 1 88 1, however, a move was made, police schools
were started, the police were relieved from the duty of
keeping order in the Magistrates' Courts and serving
summonses and process, which latter duties were en-
trusted to peons under ushers responsible to the
Magistrates, Chinese interpreters were appointed to the
most important divisions in Singapore, and the Inspec-
tors were arranged in classes. The Inspector-General,
in his report for this year, stated that " for the first time
for many years no inspector has been dismissed the
force." In the next year the improvement was further
marked, the establishment of good conduct pay having
materially assisted.
The year 1881 was a most important year in police
annals, for two new contingents were introduced, the
European and the Sikh. On the 25th March two
inspectors and twenty-one trained European constables
arrived in the Colony, and on the next day an Assistant
Superintendent and fifty-four Sikhs arrived from the
Punjaub, while a further batch arrived in August, and the
full contingent for Singapore and Penang, 165 of all
ranks, was complete by November. The Assistant
Superintendent was Mr. Stevens, who volunteered for
service in the Straits force and brought the Sikhs from
the Punjaub ; he was their first officer, and had much
to do with the success of the experiment.
The European contingent " came out with exaggerated
ideas of the value and nature of their appointments, and
when they came to realise that money was not so valuable
here as in England, and that they were intended for
work, not show, they exhibited a considerable amount
of discontent." However, they soon realised that their
officer^ were using every endeavour to secure their
comfort, and so settled down and worked satisfactorily.
In 1882 Major Dunlop was able to report that the con-
tingent was proved, and that it had smartened the native
police up considerably ; but he recommended that their
pay was insufficient. In 1892 the European contingent
was reported to be in a mutinous condition : grievances
254 LAW AND CRIME
over pay as usual, and grievances which were fully
justified. In 1906 the inspectors were reported as being
the backbone of the service, and since then the system
of employing Europeans as constables and sergeants
has been done away ; they are used only in the higher
ranks.
The Sikh contingent proved an immediate success,
and the service became very popular in the Punjaub.
In his report for 1881 Major Dunlop said : " I have no
hesitation in stating that the Sikh contingent will form
the nucleus of an admirable armed police," and so it
proved. In 1890 he reported that they were the best
and most satisfactory contingent in the force, and in 1 894
a large part of them volunteered and were employed in
Pahang during the disturbances there. In 1891 and
1892 the Sikhs were first employed on beat duty, and,
proving a great success, have been so utilised ever since.
Finally, it may be recorded with satisfaction that during
the Mutiny in 191 5 the Sikhs stood fast, and proved
themselves worthy of their salt.
In 1886 the new Central Station was occupied ; this is
the present one. The old one had been reported by
Major Dunlop as in a ruinous condition, and full of vermin.
In 1902 the administration block of buildings was pulled
down, and the offices were moved to temporary buildings
on Hong Lim Green, at the back of the Police Courts.
In 1905 the present police offices were completed and
occupied.
Towards the end of 1888 another Police Commission
was appointed to enquire into the causes of the difficulty
in recruiting for the native police force. The Com-
missioners were General Sir Charles Warren, G.C.M.G.,
the Honourable Mr. William Adamson, and Mr. Justice
Goldney. As a consequence of their recommendations,
a new scale of pay was introduced in 1 890 for the Sikh
and native contingents.
The Commission reported also in favour of employing
more Chinese ; at the time of its meetings there were
six Chinese constables at Kreta Ayer and a few employed
CHINESE AS POLICEMEN 255
in the Detective Department. In 1890, therefore, a
fresh departure was "made by bringing down twenty-five
Chinese constables from Hongkong, and a second batch
in the next year. They were a disastrous failure, as many
of them were found to be of the Hongkong criminal
classes ! The venture ended in entire failure, and it was
not until 1902 that an experiment was made again with
Chinese. Plain-clothes constables were appointed, and
proved a success. There are Chinese in the force at this
date doing well as sub-inspectors, detectives, and
uniformed constables.
Colonel Dunlop was succeeded as Inspector-General
by Mr. Robert Walter Maxwell, third son of Sir Peter
Benson Maxwell, the Chief Justice, whose secretary he
was from 1869 to 1871, when he joined the police. Mr.
Maxwell had acted as Inspector-General on several
occasions prior to his appointment in 1891. He was a
very good officer, but unfortunately had to retire owing
to ill-health in August 1894, dying in England in 1895.
In 1 89 1, as a result of the report of the Commission
of 1 888, the duties of the Inspector-General were changed
from executive to administrative, and the Chief Police
Officer became the head of the executive. At first the
Inspector-General was given a room in the Government
Offices, and though he was put in direct telephonic
communication with the Central Station, this was found
to be a bad arrangement, so he moved over to the Central,
where his offices have been ever since.
Mr. Maxwell was succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel
Pennefather, who was appointed in 1895, and who had
previously served in the Inniskilhng Dragoons. He had
had no police experience, and always remained the
military officer rather than the policeman. He retired
in 1905.
In 1897 a detachment of Malay pohce went home for
the Diamond Jubilee, and were attached to the Malay
States Guides under Lieutenant-Colonel R. S. F. Walker.
Previous to 1904 appointments as officers in the force
were made by transfers of officers from other Colonial
256 LAW AND CRIME
police forces, and by nomination of gentlemen by the
Colonial Office ; but in 1904 a new syStem was introduced,
the Police Probationer system. Entrance to the com-
missioned ranks in our police is now gained only after
examination and probation. Many of the probationers
are sent to China to study Chinese, a most necessary
qualification in a place where the vast majority of the
criminal classes are Chinese. The new system of
appointing officers has proved a great success, and the
type of officer that now comes to our force should ensure
its future.
Lieutenant-Colonel Pennefather was succeeded, in
1 90 5) by Captain William Andrew Cuscaden, I.S.O.,who
was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where he was
senior sophister, and who served in the 4th Royal Dublin
Fusiliers, in which battalion he was Instructor of Mus-
ketry. He entered the Gold Coast Constabulary in 1 879,
became Assistant District Commissioner at Lagos in
1880, receiving the thanks of Government for organising
native levees and raising a force of 6,000 men. In 1883
he was appointed Chief Inspector of the Straits Force,
and the next year Assistant Superintendent of Police.
" Tim," as he was always called, was a most genial
Irishman, very popular socially, and a successful police
officer. He was a huge man, and had played Rugby
football for Ireland, but like most big, powerful men, was
very kind-hearted. He dearly loved an Irishman
naturally, and while he was here the Police Courts rang
with the brogue, for nearly all his recruits came from the
Royal Irish Constabulary. He retired in 1913, and when
the War broke out resumed his old position of Instructor
of Musketry, in which he did most useful work, helping in
the training of the new battalions. One of his sons is now
Chief Police Officer in Johore.
In 1906 the Malacca depot for training Malay police
was started under Inspector Tyrrell, and has done very
useful work. This inspector performed valuable ser-
vices while he was out here, but he fell sick, and resigned
in 1908.
CAPTAIN WILUAM ANDREW CUSCADEN, I.S.O.
■ 256]
DEEDS OF BRAVERY 257
In 1 9 14 the present Inspector-General was appointed,
the Hon. Mr. A. R. Chancellor, and under him the police
have flourished. He has had the unique honour of being
appointed to the Legislative Council, the first Inspector-
General to be so appointed.
The writer is glad to pay a tribute to the police of
Singapore after thirteen years' experience of them and
their work in the Police Courts. Despite the poor con-
ditions of the service, the inspectors are a capable, hard-
working, and honest set of men, and one only hopes that
the future will see such all-round increases in pay and
pensions as will make the force one an appointment in
which is sought after.
Considering the time that the force has been in
existence and the good work that many of its members
have put in, it has been much neglected in the bestowal
of honours. Mr. Dunman received a sword of honour,
as we have seen, but no decoration. In 1847 Constable
Simonides received a gold medal for having suppressed
1 1 1 gambling dens in ten months. Major Dunlop
received the C.M.G. and Captain Cuscaden the I.S.O.
and the King's Police Medal. Mr. Van der Beck received
the I.S.O. for his services as Financial Assistant, and
retired in 191 2 after 41 years' service, a magnificent
record. Imperial Service Medals have been won by
Sergeant-Majors Bololoh and Puteh, each with forty
years' service. King's Police Medals have been won
by constables Salabad Khan and Mohamed Ali bin
Nabi, both for bravery. The circumstances are such,
that a record of these deeds of bravery cannot be
omitted ; they were acts that the whole force and the
public may well be proud of.
At 9 p.m. on the 21st July 1914, P.C. 154, Mohamed
Ali bin Nabi, was on duty in Hailam Street when he heard
the sound of fighting in Bugis Street near by. He
proceeded in the direction, and saw a Malay sailor named
Mahmud bin Hitam fighting with another. He arrested
Mahmud, when the latter's comrade Ismail came up
and rescued him, both running off, followed by P.C. 1 54.
I— 18
258 LAW AND CRIME
Mahmud, after a little, turned, and drawing a knife, tried
to stab the constable in his chest ; but the latter succeeded
in warding off the blow, getting his hand severely cut in
doing so. The constable then took a cane from a man
seUing them near by, and again approached the two
sailors, whereupon Ismail came up and knocked him
down with a blow on the jaw from his fist, and as the
constable lay on the ground he was stabbed by Mahmud
in the left shoulder, after which Mahmud ran off. The
constable could not now use his left hand or arm ; but he
gave chase, and, coming up with Mahmud, brought him
down with his cane, which he then dropped and seized
Mahmud's hand, grasping the knife. This, however,
Mahmud managed to slip to his other hand, and got home
a stab on the constable's back, which caused him to let
go. The chase then began again, and the constable once
more came up with Mahmud. Both men rolled over on
the ground together, Mahmud stabbing furiously at his
captor, who could use only one hand. In all probability
the constable would have been stabbed to death, had not
Mr. Goodman, of the Chinese Protectorate, come to his
assistance, as well as a Lance-Corporal of the K.O.Y.L.I.,
who knocked the knife from Mahmud's hand. Another
Lance-Corporal of the same regiment and a civilian also
came up, and Mahmud was arrested. The constable was
wounded in six places, but made a marvellous recovery.
At 8.30 p.m. on the 8th June 1916, a Cantonese named
Koh Yeow Swee was stabbed to death in Pagoda Street
by two other Cantonese named Lam Chai and Ah Sap.
This was the culmination of trouble which had been
brewing between a lot of hew workmen employed by a
goldsmith in South Bridge Road and the old lot of men
whose places had been taken by the new ones. The
men above-named met as they were heading two gangs
which had collected to fight the matter out. Following
the murder, a free fight started between the two gangs,
who were armed with knives and iron bolts. The police
were quickly on the scene. Amongst the first arrivals
was P.C. 281, Ali, of the Central Station. He attempted
REGISTRATION OF CRIMINALS 259
to arrest one of the Chinese, who struck him several times
with an iron bolt, besides which the constable received
some stab wounds ;,but he managed to hold his prisoner
until assistance came. Police reinforcements arrived,
and many of the rioters dashed into Wayang Street,
where they continued to fight. P.C. 292, Salabad Khan,
was alone on beat duty in Wayang Street, but he went
straight into the fight, and attempted to arrest one Lim
Ah Wah, who was armed with a long knife. The
constable pursued Lim Ah Wah for some distance, when
the latter turned suddenly and stabbed the constable
in the chest below the left collar-bone. The constable,
however, closed with his assailant, whose arms he
managed to pin to his side. During the struggle that
ensued Salabad Khan received two more stab-wounds,
but still held his prisoner, though weak from loss of blood.
Assistance eventually arrived, and Lim Ah Wah was
secured. Salabad Khan reached hospital in a state of
collapse, and was not expected to live, but he made a
marvellous recovery, fortunately.
Detection and Registration of Criminals
The detection of crime is, of course, a matter of
supreme importance to any community. We have seen
how the Police Commission of 1879 reported favourably
on the detective branch of the police force, and since then,
naturally, vast improvements have been made.
In 1889 Detective-Inspector Richards, who may
almost be described as the father of our detective force,
took his pension, after twenty-nine years' service ; his
retirement was a great loss to the force, but his successor,
Inspector Porteous, proved every bit as capable.
In 1884 the detective force had been organised under
Inspectors Holmyard and Richards as a separate depart-
ment, and was mentioned in that year for its good work.
In 1899 Chief Inspector Perrett, of the MetropoHtan
Police Force, was appointed to Singapore. It was a
new appointment, and its object was to make the super-
vision of known criminals systematic. This is an ex-
26o LAW AND CRIME
ceedingly important branch of police work, and the extent
to which the detective forces in Europe rely upon it is
very great . Criminals have a habit of always committing
the same type of crime, so that when, for instance, a safe-
robbery occurs, the police turn up their record of known
safe-robbers, find out which are out of gaol, hunt them
up, trace their movements at the date of the crime, and
generally arrive at a discovery of the criminal.
In 1 90 1 a Criminal Registration Department was
started, with Chief Detective-Inspector Perrett in charge.
He got the work well in hand, and in 1902 the finger-
print system was studied, and introduced in the next
year, in which the Inspector-General was able to report
that both it and the registration of criminals were in
thorough working order. Chief Detective-Inspector
Perrett was promoted to Assistant Superintendent in
1907, since when he has retired. He was a very capable
officer, with a very pleasant manner in Court, where he
conducted his prosecutions with skill.
The success of the finger-print system in Singapore
was largely due to Sergeant Flak, who was responsible
to a great extent for the system of registering them.
He retired, became a planter, and then went to New
York, where he entered the finger-print department, and
revised the system there throughout.
In 1902 the Criminal Procedure Code was brought into
operation, and by it a great and beneficial change was
introduced in the investigation of crime by giving the
police proper powers of summoning witnesses and taking
statements from them compulsorily. Mr. J. R. Innes,
C.M.G., was appointed the first Deputy Public Prose-
cutor, and was of the greatest assistance in facilitating
the work under the Code ; indeed, without his help its
novel provisions could hardly have been made intel-
ligible to the force. Mr. Innes was Acting Chief Judicial
Commissioner of the Federated Malay States when he
retired in 1919.
In 1904 the Detective Department was reorganised,
and the new post of Chinese Sub-Inspector was created,
A CLEVER DETECTIVE 261
Mr. Tay Kim Swee being appointed. He resigned
fairly recently, and is now clerk to a firm of lawyers.
In 19 10 a central finger-print registry was started at
Kuala Lumpur and placed under an expert. This was a
wise move, as the interchange between the Colony and
the States, each having its separate registry, led to delay
and confusion.
The great value of the finger-print system was illus-
trated in 1 9 1 2 by Chief Detective-Inspector Taylor, in the
New Bridge Road gang robbery case, which will be
noticed later.
Mr. Taylor is without doubt the finest detective we
have had out here, and the public owed him a great debt
of gratitude while he was in charge of the Detective
Department. Originally in the Army as a gymnastic
instructor, he joined the Metropolitan Police Force,
from which he went into the Railway Police as a detective,
and this proved a fine training-ground for his service
in Singapore. In the Johore Piracy case of 1909, which
is mentioned in the article on " Law and the Lawyers,"
he put in some very clever work ; in 191 2 he routed out
the foreign pimps and bullies who lived on the proceeds
of prostitution, and in that year broke up Mah Tow
Kuan's most dangerous gang of robbers, referred to later
in this article. One of Mr. Taylor's smartest bits of
work occurred when a robbery at a foreign firm of pearl
merchants had resulted in the removal of a whole season's
catch. Consternation ensued ; but the police went at it
all through the night, so that the next morning Mr.
Taylor was able to report thirty-six arrests and the
recovery of every one of the pearls ! In 1 914 Mr. Taylor
was appointed head of the Preventive Service of the
Government Monopolies in succession to Mr. Howard,
who had done yeoman service there, and also as Chief
Inspector. Mr. Taylor's departure was a great loss to
the police force, to which it is hoped he will return when
the Criminal Investigation Department starts in earnest.
The formation of this department is essential, and its
absence during the Mutiny and the War generally must
262 LAW AND CRIME
have been felt severely ; it resulted, at all events, in
Fort Canning having to perform duties that belonged
more properly to a Criminal Investigation Department.
In 1901 the estabhshment of a C.I.D., as it is usually
called, was first advocated. The present Inspector-
General has been working for long on a scheme, which is
now to come into operation.
A Criminal Intelligence Branch is to be organised, and
housed, it is hoped, in a fine new administrative block
to be erected on the corner now occupied by boarding
officers' quarters at the junction of Cecil Street and
Robinson Road, near the Detective Station. In this
same building the Criminal Investigation Department
will be housed, under an Assistant Superintendent and
four inspectors, with a staff of detectives, on considerably
higher rates of pay than the uniform branch so as to
attract a good class of man. The department is to be
divided into five branches : (a) Criminal Investigation,
(b) Banishment and Deportations, (c) Police Gazette,
(d) Criminal Museum for instructional purposes, and
(e) Photography.
In the near future it is hoped to start a police depot
for the systematic training of the future members of the
force, which will supersede the present archaic and
inefficient methods.
If these reforms come into being, the Settlement will
owe a great debt of gratitude to the energy and foresight
of its present Inspector-General. They are essential
reforms, as anyone engaged in criminal practice at the
Bar will say at once, and they should not be hampered by
that parsimony which has for so long blocked the way
of police reform.
Notable Crimes
So far as the statistics of crime go in Singapore, they
show it to be far above any town of its size in Europe ; but
how far these statistics are really reliable is a matter into
which it is not proposed to go here. The Government
possesses one very powerful and most necessary deterrent,
THE BANISHMENT ORDINANCE 263
banishment; but this applies only to aliens, and not to
British subjects.
The power of banishment was first conferred on the
Government by an Indian Act of 1864; the present
powers are contained in the Banishment Ordinance of
1888, by virtue of which any alien may be banished if it
appears to the Governor-in-Council that his presence in
the Colony is inconsistent with the public safety or
public welfare, and if the person whom it is proposed to
banish claims to be a British subject, the burden of
proving that fact lies on him. The power rests in the
sole discretion of the Executive Council, and the Supreme
Court has held that it cannot interfere in any way what-
soever. As Sir Walter Napier wrote in an article in the
Straits Chinese Magazine in 1 899, " that a man may, if he
be an alien whose presence in the Colony is considered
undesirable, be summoned before the Executive Council,
deprived of the assistance of Counsel, and tried by a
Court every member of which is sworn to secrecy,
irresistibly reminds one of the Star Chamber and of
Courts Martial in France." Agitations against the
Ordinance have often been engineered ; but it is an
essential one for the good government of the Colony,
and there is not the slightest reason to suspect that the
powers have ever been abused.
The orderliness of large crowds of mixed races in
Singapore have frequently been a matter of comment
and surprise. Thus in the Pohce Report for 1887, the
Jubilee year, the Inspector-General observed that " the
enthusiasm evolved by its celebration amongst the
Chinese and Malay and Tamil communities was most
remarkable, and the peace and good order maintained by
the immense crowds collected in the towns of the Colony
showed how genuine the rejoicings were and how very
contented our mixed population is." Similarly, the
remarkable absence of crime during the Diamond Jubilee
celebrations was noted in the Report for 1897 ! and
recently the Centenary Celebrations, which caused an
enormous concourse of people at the Race Course,
264 LAW AND CRIME
were marked by a total absence of drunkenness and
crime.
The most frequent type of crime in Singapore is
against property, and of it gambling is the father and
the mother. Gambling is one of the curses of the Colony ;
it is the cause of the greatest distress and misery, too
often because of the appeal which gambling makes to
Chinese women. It is always rife in Singapore ; but at
times there are gigantic outbursts, that force public
attention upon it. The Gambling Suppression Depart-
ment does its best ; but if gambling is to be really
suppressed, the Department must be reorganised and
enlarged, and a vigorous campaign must be instituted
against the owners (and "not merely the occupiers) of
common gaming-houses, most of which are well known to
the police. A reliance on informers such as is now the
case is merely futile, and plays into the hands of these
people, who are well known to levy toll from the gaming-
houses in return for not informing.
At first gambling was permitted by the Government
under licence; but in 1823 Raffles asked the opinions of
the Magistrates about the desirability of such licences,
and they unanimously represented their great and
growing evils ; so the system was abolished and public
gaming prohibited. The evils of gaming were thus
recognised within the first four years of the Settlement's
existence.
It was alleged, in support of the gambling farm, that
by putting it under regulations the quantity of vice was
diminished ; but Raffles said that independently of the
want of authority in any Government to countenance evil
fof the sake of good, he could not admit that the effects of
any regulation whatever, established on such a principle,
could be put in competition with the solid advantages
which must accrue from the administration of a govern-
ment acting on strict moral principles, discountenancing
vice, and exercising its best efforts to repress it.
It is not merely a matter of ethics or morals that
gambling should be stopped, nor does the mischief lie
CHINESE LOTTERIES 265
in the fact that the pubhc are cheated by the gambhng
proprietors, for as a matter of fact they very rarely are.
The real mischief lies in the fact that gambling is an
inherent vice with the Chinese and the Malay, and that
too great indulgence in it almost invariably leads to
crime. There are hundreds of well-known cases of
prosperous chops [firms] being ruined by it, estates
dissipated, and employees embezzling their employer's .
property, while robbery and theft are too often the
result of serious gambling losses and consequent im-
poverishment.
In 1870 the Chinese petitioned Government for the
suppression of the Wha Whey Lotteries, then wide-spread
all over the town. The petition stated that " this gam-
ing has an irresistible allurement to silly poor natives to
rush headlong into it," and it referred to the consequent
crime and ruination of both sexes. As a consequence
the Gaming Ordinance of 1870 was passed in exceed-
ingly strict terms.
In 1886 things were so bad that a Commission of
Enquiry was appointed, and in consequence of their
report the present very strict Ordinance of 1888 was
passed. The Gambling Suppression Department was
instituted in 1889 to carry out its provisions.
As has been said, every now and then there comes a
great outbreak of gambling in Singapore. In 1893 the
great Wei Seng lotteries were held all over the town in
defiance of the law, and were stopped only by the
banishment of some of the most influential gamblers.
This is a form of lottery of which one never hears at this
date ; another form that has gone out is the Wha Whey,
which with the Wei Seng seems to have lost all popularity
since 1903.
The last outburst of gaming occurred in 191 6, when
the Johore Gambling Farm was still in existence. The
trains to Johore were crowded, and huge lotteries were
held in Singapore, decided by the Johore declarations.
So widespread was this wave that lotteries were actually
discovered to be held by the employees of a big European
266 LAW AND CRIME
bank and a big European firm, the tickets being sold on
the premises, though, of course, on the sly and without
the knowledge of the employers, while a most flourishing
lottery was conducted in the Marine Police Station until
discovered by the Inspector in charge ! There was also
at least one murder traced directly to Chap Ji Ki.
Singapore is on the whole singularly free from serious
crime ; but every now and then it is startled by daring
crimes, and it may be interesting to note shortly a few
of the more serious cases.
On the 31st March 1887 persons residing next to
No. 70 North Bridge Road, a coffee-shop, complained
to the police of ill-odours arising from the house. The
police broke it open, and found that the occupant, a
Russian Jewess named Sally Rosenburg, had been
murdered, and her body thrown into the well. ' Three
days previously a man named Sigismund Grabowski had
been found wandering about at New Harbour Dock
almost without clothing ; he stated that an attempt had
been made to drown him. He was sent to hospital, and
discharged on the day the murder was discovered ; but
as the police found that he had been seen recently in
company with the deceased woman, he was arrested and
charged with her murder. After very great efforts to
obtain evidence — efforts which extended to the bringing
of evidence from Japan — he was duly convicted ; the
sentence to death, however, was commuted to penal
servitude for life. This was a particularly brutal murder,
for the murderer first strangled the woman, then battered
her head with an iron bolt, dragged her downstairs, and
threw her into the well. The principal piece of evidence
against him was his hat, which fell into the well, and
which he forgot to take out of it. The cause of the
crime seems to have been jealousy.
During the course of the trial of Grabowski there was
some reference to the premises being bewitched, and it
is an extraordinary fact that two more murders took
place at those same premises, the last being the " Globe
Hotel Murders," as they were called.
CURIOUS SEQUENCE OF MURDERS 267
About eight years after the first murder another
Russian Jewess, who also kept a coffee-shop at 70 North
Bridge Road, was murdered by strangulation. She was
found dead some days after the murder, and the culprit
was never discovered.
In 191 8 a third Russian Jewess, Mrs. Sally Liebmann,
proprietress of the Globe Hotel, as 70 North Bridge
Road was now called, was murdered by a Chinese servant.
She was first strangled, and then beaten about the head
with an iron bolt. The murderer dlso killed an old
lodger named Landau. The object of the murder was
robbery, but the servant took singularly little. He was
duly hanged. One wonders whether any other house in
the world can have been the scene of such extraordinary
coincidences as were shown by these three murders.
The last murder brought up again the question of
registering domestic servants. In 1886 a petition was
sent to Government for this purpose, signed by all the
best-known inhabitants and firms. A Bill was prepared,
but the Hailam Kongsi agitated so hard that Govern-
ment dropped it. In 1893 the Inspector-General, in his
report, advocated it owing to the many thefts by Hailams
in Singapore. " At present," he wrote, and it is just as
true to-day, " certificates of characters are handed over
by one servant to another, and so long as a man does his
work well, no questions are asked by his master." In
189s there was an outbreak of burglaries in Tanglin ;
in one week only no less than four European houses were
rifled. The servants were considered by the police to be
at the bottom of nearly all these burglaries, and com-
pulsory registration was again advocated. In 1904 the
Police Report again stated that the Hailams were re-
sponsible for most of the thefts in European houses. In
1907 no less than eighty Hailam servants were sent to
gaol. Recently an Ordinance providing for compulsory
registration was passed, but Government has not yet
brought it into force, although the case for registration
is overwhelming.
From the end of 1901 until April 1902 there was an
268 LAW AND CRIME
outbreak of thefts and burglaries in Tanglin, which cul-
minated in the shocking murder of Mr. George Ruther-
ford, manager of the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company.
On the morning of the loth April burglars broke into his
residence at Ardmore. Their entrance awoke one of the
inmates, and the alarm was given by a lady, who was
immediately attacked by one of the burglars with a knife,
and was wounded several times. Mr. Rutherford was
just entering the room when the burglars rushed out
past him. He endeavoured to grapple with one of them,
and was stabbed in the abdomen, the wound proving
fatal within a few hours. The burglars then made their
escape ; but enquiries were made by the poHce, with the
result that three Cantonese were arrested ; two of them
were hanged, and the third died in gaol at Penang, while-
serving a long term of imprisonment. Inspectors
Brennan and Howard did fine work in breaking up the
gangs of burglars in 1902 ; the latter retired as head of
the Government Preventive Service.
Perhaps the most daring murder that has ever occurred
in Singapore was the Pasir Panjang murder in 191 1.
The deceased was a Chinese Towkay, who lived in a bun-
galow at Pasir Panjang, and he was murdered by three
men, who showed the greatest daring. They first cut the
telephone wires from the house so as to prevent com-
munication with the police ; then wearing masks they
walked into the house, enquired of the persons sitting in
the front room which of them was the Towkay, and on
being informed shot him dead, after which tliey made
their escape. The only clue was a straw hat, and as the
bungalow was some way from the nearest police station,
it was some time before the police could get to work.
However, within forty-eight hours they got on the track
of the murderers, and then began a most exciting chase.
The three men were tracked into the country, and thence
to the Serangoon River, where it was found that they
had taken a boat to Johore. They were then tracked
through Johore, and right up the east coast to Bangkok,
where two were arrested. The third escaped to Hong-
BRAVE CHINESE DETECTIVES 269
kong, with the police still hot on his track, and thence
to Macao, from which place there is no extradition. All
sorts of ruses were employed to entice him into British
territory, but they were unsuccessful. It was, however,
ascertained that he joined a band of Chinese rebels,
and was killed during a looting expedition. This case
reflects the highest credit on Chief Detective-Inspector
Nolan, who had charge of it, and Sergeant Ah Chong,
who tracked the miscreants, particularly when it is
remembered that most of the ground over which the
murderers were tracked was jungle.
The detective force has been fortunate in possessing
three very fine Chinese detectives. Sergeants Ah Chong,
Hup Choon, and Ah Piew ; their nominal rolls (on which
are recorded the various cases with which they have been
concerned) are such as any Scotland Yard man might be
proud of.
The Pasir Panjang murder was not the only case in
which Sergeant Ah Chong distinguished himself. He
had much to do with the dispersal of a very desperate
gang of Cantonese robbers that gave great trouble in
191 2. This gang was responsible in that year for the
gang robbery at 141 New Bridge Road, a spirit-shop
near the Railway Crossing. The leader of the gang was
a most desperate criminal, Mah Tow Kuan, who had been
banished for gang robbery in the Federated Malay States,
and of whom more will be said later. The gang entered
the shop at about 8 p.m., and called for drinks, which were
served. At a given signal they closed the door, and
threatened the bar attendants with knives and revolvers.
Then, having collected all the property upon which they
could lay their hands, they left the house, going along
New Bridge Road, firing as they ran. The alarm once
given, the robbers were followed by a number of persons,
amongst others by one of the shop assistants, who was
fatally stabbed by one of the gang.
In the meantime some European police and warders,
hearing the report of fire-arms near their quarters at
Pearl's Hill, appeared on the scene, and arrested one of
270 LAW AND CRIME
the robbers ; the native poHce arrested two more, and
shortly afterwards a fourth was captured. Later still
four men were caught. Out of the eight one was hanged,
one got a life sentence, two fourteen years, and two ten
years ; the rest were acquitted of this crime, but sen-
tenced for other gang robberies. Two of those first
arrested had previous convictions for highway robbery
at Taipeng.
This was the most daring robbery ever committed in
Singapore, and it was fortunate that swift punishment
overtook the criminals. The drinks had led to their
undoing, for Inspector Taylor carefully preserved the
glasses, took the finger-print impressions on them, and
so fixed the guilt upon the criminals. The case is prob-
ably a world's record, owing to the number of convictions
obtained by means of finger-prints only.
The final disruption of this gang is also a very exciting
story. The police discovered that they were in the habit
of visiting a certain low resort in Chinatown, and Sergeant
Ah Chong was instructed to have it watched. He put
two police touts on to this duty, and one evening they
saw three of the gang arrive. They both went off^ to find
Ah Chong ; but while they were away five more of the
gang entered the house, so that when Ah Chong returned
there were eight men to tackle, a fact of which he was
unaware. He was accompanied by one of the touts, and
a very powerful and active detective, who has since made
a name for himself, and is now a sergeant in Malacca.
The gang were always armed, and had never hesitated to
fire on their pursuers, but although this was known to
them. Ah Chong and his companions went upstairs to
arrest the robbers. The first man to step into the room
was the detective, and he discovered eight men and a
woman in it. The eight men were all armed with
revolvers and knives, which they at once produced.
Seeing what was in the wind Ah Chong and the police
tout at once made their escape from the house, the
former going off to summon the police, and the latter
staying to watch the house. While the gang were
A DARING CRIMINAL 271
questioning the detective, one of them stood in the door-
way of the room with his legs apart, guarding the exit.
Another of them suggested that the detective had better
be killed, and at that moment the woman sprang on his
back. He immediately bent down and shot her over his
head ; then he slipped through the legs of the man at the
door, throwing him over at the same time, and dashed
out of the house, after which he and the tout closed and
barred the front door. The eight robbers then took to
the roof, and the police coming up, a cordon was drawn
round the house, but not before some of the gang escaped.
An all-night chase over the roofs followed, in which
Captain Chancellor and Inspectors Taylor and Sheedy
and others took part. Several of the gang were caught,
one attempting suicide, but the leader, Mah Tow Kuan,
escaped. Many attempts were made to capture this
man in Singapore without success, but he was finally run
to earth in Java, extradited, and punished. During the
midnight chase across the roofs it appears that he was
concealed in a dark spot near which Inspector Taylor
came several times, but without seeing him. When he
was brought before the Inspector after his extradition, he
said : " Is this the Tuan who came near me that night?
It is lucky he did not find me, for I had him covered with
two revolvers the whole time." Members of the gang
said that on occasions Mah Tow Kuan had executed
traitors and others to preserve discipline. This man
had a most extraordinary head, very flat looked at full
face, a very narrow, high forehead, and the back of the
head projecting so that it looked like that of a woman
with her hair done up at the back. His head accounted
for his name, since Mah Tow means a bean, and the shape
of the head was not unlike a bean.
One of Sergeant Hup Choon's best bits of work was
when he and Sergeant Bachee (commonly known as the
hanlu or ghost) went along the Dutch coast as private
individuals to look for the boat in which the Johore
pirates of 1909 committed their depredation. They
eventually discovered it, jammed on a rock and water-
272 LAW AND CRIME
logged. It was floated with barrels tied on to keep it
up, and Bachee and another Malay brought it to
Singapore, after a very rough voyage, in the course of
which Bachee said he " died several times " ! This is
a good instance of police thoroughness, for the boat was,
of course, a most necessary piece of evidence.
There was at one time a big outbreak of godown
burglaries in town. They were engineered by a very
clever gang of Chinese, which was broken up largely
through the instrumentality of Detective-Sergeant Ah
Piew. At first two men were caught and convicted ; but
on the very night after their conviction Sergeant Ah
Piew captured the two ringleaders, who were in a private
rikisha. He tied their queues together, and walked along
behind the rikisha, which he ordered to proceed slowly to
the nearest station. One of the two burglars had a
small pocket-knife, and with it he cut apart the queues
of himself and his companion. On entering a dark street
where no one was moving about, the burglars and the
rikisha-puller then turned on the detective, and a struggle
ensued for twenty minutes, in which the detective was
stabbed all over the body and the burglars escaped.
Sergeant Ah Piew was a very fine detective, with
plenty of initiative. On one occasion a murder occurred
at Ann Siang Hill, and the murderer got away. Ah
Piew was put on to the case ; but the very same day he
disappeared, and as days went by and no news could be
got of him, he was thought to be dead. About three
weeks after, however, he walked up the steps of the
Detective Station in a very ragged and famished con-
dition, together with a Chinese in an even worse condition
than himself. When asked where he had been, it appeared
that he had got on to the track of the murderer, and
followed him across the sea and into certain foreign
territory near Singapore, where he managed to catch him
and bring him back. . On another occasion Ah Piew in a
similar way tracked a culprit right through the Federated
Malay States, and managed to capture him and bring
him back. The native police do not usually show initia-
BANK ROBBERY 273
tive, and Ah Piew was much missed when he retired ;
he is now dead.
The most celebrated robbery that has ever occurred in
Singapore was the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank case
in 1901, when $270,000 in notes were stolen out of the
bank safe and a mighty sensation caused. The crime was
committed between Saturday the 25 th May and Tuesday
the 28th, Monday having been a public holiday. Some
months prior to the robbery the duplicate keys of the
safe had been stolen from another bank where they were
kept ; these keys the thieves had evidently obtained, for
the safe had not been broken open. Enquiries were
made and fourteen Tamils were arrested, $7,000 being
found in several places. Later on information was
received that a suspicious telegram had been sent to
Colombo by one of the persons arrested, and this clue
being followed up, $257,000 were recovered. The head
tamby of the bank and others were convicted ; they
had removed the notes in a portmanteau, and then packed
them up and forwarded them to Ceylon by the French
Mail. Chief Inspector Jennings had much to do with
the successful issue. He had retired from the police at
the time, but was retained by the bank to assist the
regular authorities. The case had a sequel, for the
accused charged some of the police with maltreating
them to extract confessions, but after a trial at the
Assizes all the police so charged were acquitted.
Burglary and house-breaking are amongst the com-
moner of crimes in Singapore, which has had its Charles
Peace. During the last quarter of 1907 an epidemic of
burglaries broke out in Tanglin, and continued until a
Chinese named Lim Koon Kee was arrested in Grange
Road at four in the morning on the 7th January 1908.
On his person were found a silver watch, the property of
an officer at Pulo Brani, and a gold pin and studs, which
had been stolen from the Officers' Mess there. Further
enquiries were made, and the lodging occupied by his
wife was searched, where a great quantity of stolen
property was found. His success was the fruit of
I— 19
274 LAW AND CRIME
individual cunning and daring. Local experience shows
that burglars work in couples, but Lim Koon Kee, like
Charles Peace, preferred to work alone, and, like that
great burglar, was a mild-looking individual of respectable
appearance. He was put away for a long term and
released at its conclusion, whereupon another epidemic
of burglaries broke out, and continued until he was again
captured.
Coining and forgery are very common crimes, and
hardly an Assize goes by without one or two cases. In
1898 the Far East was saved from a flood of forged notes
by the arrest in Singapore of two Germans named Grosse
and Schultz, passengers to Hongkong by the German
Mail. They tried to buy 500 sovereigns from a Tamil
money-changer in return for notes of the Hongkong and
Shanghai Bank. The money-changer had actually
parted with £236 in gold when he became suspicious,
and by means of a trick got Grosse to go with him to
the bank, where the notes were pronounced to be
forgeries. The police were called in, the steamer
was searched, and counterfeit notes to the extent of
$221,015, besides instruments for forging more, were
found in the possession of the Germans, who were
arrested and received long sentences. Letters were
found in their boxes which showed that the forgeries had
been carried out in Cologne.
Traffic in deleterious drugs forms another type of
offence that is fairly common owing to its profitable
nature. Morphia was introduced into the Colony in
large quantities in 1906 by some European chemists,
and administered as an antidote for the opium habit.
The cure was worse than the disease ; the poorer classes
found it cheaper, and a roaring trade was done. The
Opium Farmer, to protect himself, began importing the
drug, but Government stepped in and prohibited him.
Stringent legislation was passed, and the sale of delete-
rious drugs save under a licence became heavily punish-
able.
Offences against the Revenue are, of course, very
SECRET SOCIETIES 275
common. A large smuggling business in chandu is run
by Hailams,but it is chiefly for transhipment to Australia.
They employ agents of every nationaHty,even Europeans,
and the devices used are very ingenious ; but our pre-
ventive service is very smart, and the penalties inflicted
are very heavy. Amongst places utilised for the conceal-
ment of chandu may be mentioned the soles of shoes,
the wooden framework of deck-chairs, false bottoms to
buckets and boxes and cooking utensils, vegetables and
fruit, bicycle tyres and bedstead frames. Finally it may
be remarked that there is a singular absence of sexual
crime.
Secret Societies and the Chinese Protectorate
The Triad Society may be said to be a thing of the past
in Singapore at this date ; but for years these societies
played a great part in the life of the place, and no history
of Singapore could be complete without a notice of them.
The secret society proper was really a political
organisation ; they were all branches of the great
Chinese Secret Society, the Thien-Ti-Hui or Hung
League. This great Triad Society was established in
China in the seventeenth century, and had for its object
the overthrow of the Manchu Dynasty. To belong to it
in China held a person liable to decapitation, and every
endeavour was made there to stamp it out. It was
extraordinary, then, that for many years our Govern-
ment should countenance it in the Straits. Commencing
as a purely political movement, the Triad Society soon
cast a baneful influence over every branch of the
administration of government in China. In the Straits,
however, the purely political aspect hardly existed ;
the secret societies were, in fact, but large friendly
societies. Every sinkeh (new-comer) joined them on his
arrival for the assistance and advice which the headman
could give him. The Chinese are accustomed, or were
in the past, to lean upon or dread some superior and ever-
present power in the shape of their Government, clans,
or village elders, and it was natural, therefore, that the
276 LAW AND CRIME
ignorant Chinese who came to Singapore in the old days
should have flocked into the secret societies. In
addition to these new-comers, most shop-keepers and
traders were members, in order to receive the protection
of the society which they joined.
These societies were good in so far as the headmen
were the counsellors and protectors of their ignorant
countrymen, and in so far as they assisted the authorities,
which they did to a large extent ; in fact, both Mr.
Pickering, the first Protector of Chinese, and Major
Dunlop, the Inspector-General of Police, at one time
advised the necessity for retaining them because other-
wise the police would often be powerless. They were bad
in so far as that disputes between rival societies fre-
quently led to rioting and bloodshed, and they were also
dangerous to a certain extent for the reason that each
society, or Hoey, contained a large proportion of lawless
and unprincipled characters, so that some of them offered
a degree of protection to criminals when the headmen
were evilly disposed. As late as 1893 a secret society
was discovered, called the Sui Lok Peng On, or Broken
Coffin Society. Its members travelled as passengers
between Penang, Singapore, and Hongkong, and robbed
other passengers on the voyage, throwing their rifled
boxes overboard ; hence the name of the society. In
1902 another, the Kwong Woh Pit Soi Society, was
formed by some Cantonese for the purpose of committing
gang robberies, and had its headquarters in Sago Lane.
Amongst the first laws enacted in Hongkong was one
for the suppression of Triad Societies. The Ordinance
of 1845 described them as " associations having objects
in view which are incompatible with the maintenance
of good order and constituted authority and with the
security of life and property, and aff'ord by means of a
secret agency increased facilities for the commission of
crime and for the escape of offenders."
These words were even more true of Singapore ; but our
Government was more time-serving, and, looking weakly
towards the uses of the societies, it shut its eyes to
PROTECTOR OF CHINESE 277
their dangers, so that it was not until 1 869 that anything
was done towards dealing with them, although Grand
Juries and public meetings had repeatedly urged action.
In that year the Government legislated for the regis-
tration and control of the societies, but not for their
suppression. It acted in consequence of riots having
taken place in Penang between members of two
societies there, which resulted in great destruction of
property and loss of life. The Ordinance carried out
the recommendations of a Commission of Enquiry
consisting of Messrs. Braddell, the Attorney-General,
W. H. Read, Thomas Scott, and F. S. Brown, Members
of the Legislative Council ; and the operation of the
Ordinance was entrusted to the police, who carried it out
very slowly and in a very slipshod fashion.
There was no European officer in the Straits who was
a Chinese scholar until 1871, when the late Mr. William
Alexander Pickering, C.M.G., was first appointed as
Chinese Interpreter to the Supreme Court. He was one
of the most remarkable characters who have ever been
here. He spoke Hok-kien and Cantonese especially
well, and also Kheh and Teo-chew. In 1877 he was
appointed to the newly created office of Protector of
Chinese. His success was instantaneous, and to this day
the Protectorate is called Pik-ki-lin, the Chinese version
of his name. The Protectorate opened in that year in a
Chinese shop-house in North Canal Road ; from there it
moved to two four-storey shop-houses in Upper Macao
Street, then to a new shop-house in Boat Quay, and
finally, in 1886, to its present offices, which were
specially built for the purpose, in Havelock Road.
As soon as the Protectorate was started, the registra-
tion and control of the secret societies were transferred
to it, and Mr. Pickering soon reduced chaos to order. He
had under him two student interpreters : Mr. W. Cowan,
who later became Protector of Chinese in Perak and
Selangor, and the late Mr. Hoo Wing Chong, who was
a nephew of the late Mr. H. A. K. Whampoa, C.M.G.,
M.L.C., and was the first Consul for China in Singapore.
278 LAW AND CRIME
Mr. Pickering gained the most extraordinary influence
over the Chinese here, and the Protectorate under him
acquired those traditions that have made it, perhaps,
the most efficient and beneficial department in the
Government Service. These traditions have been ably
fostered and added to by subsequent Protectors, such as
the late Mr. G. T. Hare, the late Mr. G. C. Wray, the
late Mr. Warren Barnes, Messrs. C. J. Saunders, Peacock,
and Beatty, the present Protector. If the police are
the Government's right arm in suppressing crime, then
the Protectorate is its very powerful left arm.
In 1878 Mr. Pickering was able to report that the
registration of the societies was complete, that the head-
men had rendered prompt and efficient assistance when-
ever called on, and that there was a growing disposition
to refer disputes and quarrels to the Protectorate instead
of fighting on every occasion. The party in the wrong
was invariably ordered in serious matters to pay com-
pensation in money or to apologise to the aggrieved
party, presenting to him a pair of red Chinese candles
and a piece of red cloth. At the same time, as a token
of respect to the Protector, a pair of red candles was
always presented to him, so that in those days the Pro-
tectorate always had from twenty to thirty pairs of red
candles, wrapped in Chinese red paper, hung up on the
walls of Mr. Pickering's office. The Protectorate to this
day is just as popular with the Chinese for the settle-
ment of their disputes, though, of course, many are
referred to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
In 1878 a refuge for Chinese women was established,
and ever since of all the good work done by the Pro-
tectorate not the least has been its work in the pro-
tection of women and girls ; the Poh Leong Keuk Home
for women was first occupied in 1887, since when it has
done splendid work.
Mr. Pickering used to visit the lodges of the societies
frequently, and often attended the initiation of candi-
dates. The lodges were run on lines somewhat similar
to Masonic ones : each lodge had its Master, and all
MR. PICKERING ASSAULTED 279
combined to form a Grand Lodge with a Toa-Ko or
Grand Master; but for many years previous to 1876 no
one had dared to come forward and undertake the
onerous and responsible duties of that office. Each
lodge had a substantial Hui-Koan or meeting-house ;
thus Carpenter Street is still called Ghee Hok Street in
Chinese, from the fact that the Ghee Hok Society had its
meeting-place there, and China Street is similarly called
Ghee Hin Street. The Grand Lodge had a very superior
building at Rochore, where twice a year the Five
Ancestors were worshipped, and feasts with theatricals
held in their honour.
In 1879 the Police Commission went into the question
of suppressing the secret societies, and reported against
the expediency of Government using the societies for
assistance in keeping order and arresting criminals, which
they said was only bolstering up the waning influence of
the headmen and office-bearers ; but nothing was done
until a brutal assault on Mr. Pickering by a member of
the Ghee Hok Society, in 1887, brought the question
vividly to the front again. This attempt on Mr. Picker-
ing's life was considered to be due to his action in getting
the Gambling Commission appointed with a view to
suppressing the gambling then very rife in the town.
The criminal, a samseng (hired bully) named Choa Ah
Siok, went to the Protectorate with the head of an axe
hidden in his sleeve. On arriving before the Protector,
he hurled this weapon at Mr. Pickering's head. For-
tunately only a glancing blow was the result, but the blow
caused complications that led to Mr. Pickering's retire-
ment in 1 889. Choa Ah Siok was captured, and received
a long term of imprisonment. While in gaol he stabbed
Chief Warder Harrington in the stomach, and for this
offence was given a life sentence, in the course of which
he died in gaol. Mr. Pickering died on the 26th January
1907.
In 1 888 Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, the Governor, opened
the question of the total suppression of the secret socie-
ties with the Secretary of State, and his despatch is
28o LAW AND CRIME
very interesting. He stated that there were in that
year eleven societies in Singapore, with 1,122 office-
bearers and 62,376 members ; while in Penang there were
five, with 361 officers and 92,581 members. This gave
a total of 156,440 registered members; and some idea
of the size and influence of these societies in the Colony
may be gained from the fact that the 1881 census num-
bered the Chinese at 153,532. By 1888 the Chinese had,
of course, increased enormously, but the figures are
startling.
The Governor gives an account of an initiation which
he had witnessed, and says that all the sinkehs on arrival
were made members of some one or other of the societies :
" A lodge is held. They are admitted one by one
under an arch of drawn swords. Passwords are taught
them as they go on from stage to stage round a lofty
altar decorated with the insignia of the society. Sub-
sequently the oath is read out to them from a paper,
which is burnt, and the ashes are mixed in a cup with
water into which a drop of blood is made to fall from
the pricked finger of each novice. A portion of this
horrible mixture is then drunk by everyone, and after
a cock has been strangled and thrown out into the street
— one of the officers of the society shouting, ' May ye
perish like that cock if you break the oath you have
taken ' — the ceremony is concluded."
The whole ceremony, which was very long and very
interesting, will be found described in two articles by
Mr. Pickering in Numbers i and 3 of the Journal of the
Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.
As a result of the Governor's taking the matter up, an
Ordinance was put through in 1889, which provided for
the total suppression of the secret societies. The en-
quiries instituted to ascertain the best substitute resulted
in the creation of the Chinese Advisory Boards in 1890.
A substitute was, of course, necessary, as otherwise the
large number of ignorant Chinese in the Colony would
have been left without guidance at all.
The Straits Chinese Magazine, in 1897, said that the
A RESPECTED OFFICER 281
gratitude of the Chinese was due to Sir Cecil Smith, who
was unsupported by the Unofficial Members of Council,
but was backed only by his Executive, particularly Sir
John Bonser, the Attorney-General.
A very well-known figure at the Protectorate is that
of Mr. Ho Siak Kuan, who joined the Government Service
as a student interpreter in February 1884. He was
born in Canton, where he studied Chinese in Canton City,
and coming later to Singapore, learnt English at
St. Andrew's Mission School and Raffles School. Ever
since entering Government service, Mr. Siak Kuan has
worked in the Protectorate, where for many years he has
held the position of Chief Chinese Translator. He was
standing beside Mr. Pickering when that officer was
assaulted. Owing to his long connection with the
Protectorate and his straightforward character Mr. Siak
Kuan has earned the respect and confidence of the
Cantonese, Hok-kien, Teo-chew and Kheh communities in
particular, and his influence amongst the various Chinese
communities generally has been of much assistance
to the Government.
The exact functions of the Chinese Protectorate
have never been defined. It is responsible for the ad-
ministration of the Societies Ordinance, the Women
and Girls' Protection Ordinance, and the Native Passen-
gers' Lodging House Ordinance. Until indentured
labour was abolished in 1914, the Protectorate used to
control all Chinese indentured labour. One of the most
important of its duties is the recommendation of persons
for banishment, more especially in the cases of traffickers
in women and girls, the headmen of dangerous societies,
and promoters of public gaming. The Protector is
Chairman of the Chinese Advisory Board, and thus is
the channel through which the Board conveys its views
on proposed legislation, and other matters to Govern-
ment.
The Protectorate endeavours to know as much as
possible about the Chinese in Singapore and their affairs,
a difficult task with such a large Chinese population
282 LAW AND CRIME
speaking at least ten different dialects, but one that it
has always performed with great success owing to the
high personal qualities which its officers have always
possessed, and the confidence and trust with which they
have always been regarded by the Chinese of Singapore.
Prisons and Convicts
The original gaol seems to have been a wooden build-
ing near the end of the east bank of the river, and was
only intended to be temporary ; but it was not until
about 1833 that a new gaol was built on the site of the
present Central Police Station. It was built on a swamp,
and was inundated at every high tide, which was very
prejudicial to the health of its inmates. It was, more-
over, a very insecure place, the custody of the prisoners
depending practically upon their inability to avoid being
hunted down in the small Settlement. In 1833 the
Grand Jury presented that certain prisoners who had
escaped had done so because they were permitted to go
a considerable distance outside the gaol without any
guard to fetch water. The wall round the gaol was only
a few feet high, and on Sundays those imprisoned for
debt used to enjoy a walk in the evening by the simple
expedient of stepping over the wall 1 Being built on a
swamp the gaol sank gradually, until the prisoners had
finally to be put in what had been the upper storey of
the building. On the 6th February 1847, the twenty-
seventh anniversary of the Settlement, the foundation-
stone of a new gaol was laid at Pearl's Hill, now enclosed,
and forming a part of the present Criminal Gaol.
These gaols were those in which were detained persons
awaiting trial and persons imprisoned for debt ; they
were called His or Her Majesty's Gaols (whichever was
the case), and were under the control of the Sheriff for
a long time.
No history of Singapore could be complete without
some considerable reference to its very remarkable
convict system and to the work done by the convicts.
At about the time, 1787, when the transportation of
PRISONERS THEIR OWN WARDERS 283
English convicts to Australia was sanctioned by our laws,
convicts from India began to be sent to Bencoolen, a
place singularly adapted for the purpose. Sir Stamford
Raffles had the faculty of ameliorating the conditions of
all the places into which he came, and of their inhabitants
it is natural, therefore, that it should have been he who
first set to work to improve the condition of the convicts
at Bencoolen, with the result that a large body of people
who had been living in the lowest state of degradation
soon became useful labourers and happy members of
society. He thus laid the foundation of the remarkable
Singapore system ; for, when Bencoolen was given up,
the convicts were removed, in 1825, to Singapore, where
Raffles's system continued to be applied to them.
The convicts thus received into Singapore numbered
eighty from Madras and 1 20 from Bengal, and Singapore
continued until the Transfer to rank with Malacca,
Penang, and Moulmein as the Sydneys of the East.
Lines were built for the reception of these convicts and
more, up to the number of seven hundred, while space
was left for extension so as to accommodate two thousand.
The lines were on the present old gaol site, and extended
from Bras Basah Road to Stamford Road. They con-
sisted of long ranges of low attap-sheds enclosed by a
high wall, but being built on swampy land were far from
healthy.
Although the utilisation of Singapore as a convict
station drew frequent opposition from the public, it
turned out to be a boon to the town. Labour was scarce
and expensive, with the result that the convicts were
soon employed to reclaim swamps, make roads, and erect
buildings and bridges, so that for years the history of the
convicts is the history of the Public Works Department.
They filled in the swamp to the east, and made Com-
mercial Square (the present Raffles Place) ; they built
St. Andrew's Cathedral and Government House ; they
made South and North Bridge Roads and the big roads
leading out of town into the country ; and it is impossible
to walk anywhere in the town and environs of Singapore
284 LAW AND CRIME
without continually being reminded how the place was
once a convict station.
As the convicts were the labourers for the Public Works
Department, it was natural that the post of Superinten-
dent of Convicts should be doubled with that of Executive
Engineer; and even after the Transfer, when the post
of Colonial Engineer was created, that officer at first had
his offices in the old gaol at Bras Basah Road. In 1833
Mr. George Drumgold Coleman was appointed Superin-
tendent of Convicts and head of the Public Works, and
he it was who first began the employment of the convicts
on large outside works by reclaiming land from the sea
and marshes. He died in Singapore in 1844, and was
succeeded next year by Colonel Man, of the Madras
Native Infantry, who held the post until 1855, when he
was promoted to the position of Resident Councillor at
Malacca. The Public Works Department was constituted
in 1872, and two Royal Engineer officers and two non-
commissioned officers were sent out from England to
make it efficient.
The system of control applied to the convicts at
Singapore is best described by the title of Major McNair's
well-known book. Prisoners their own Warders, and at the
time when it was evolved it was as far ahead of con-
temporary thought as was the free trade upon which
Raffles insisted for his new Settlement. Its author was
Mr. Bonham, who, finding that the convicts worked
willingly and behaved well, discharged the peons who
had acted as warders, and selected certain of the convicts
to supervise their fellows, giving them pay and advan-
tages over the rest, and thus affording a strong
inducement to the convicts to behave well.
The convicts were allowed great latitude ; indeed, the
paper in 1856 said that they possessed privileges which
many free subjects did not. Besides working almost
unguarded on the roads and other public works, the con-
victs were in great demand for long as domestic servants.
They were paid both for their private and public work,
and the short-period ones generally contrived to save
HANDICRAFTS IN PRISON 285
enough to set themselves up on their release as cattle-
keepers or owners of bullock-carts, carriages, and horses
for hire ; one died in 1865 leaving $50,000 to his heirs.
In the early days the convicts were allowed to go freely
into the town to make any necessary purchases, and at
the Mohurrum were allowed to go in procession round
the town until 1856, when the practice was stopped. It
will be seen, then, that some of the worst characters from
India were kept in check by what was really almost
personal influence alone ; and not merely were they kept
in check, but happy and contented. In 1854, during the
Chinese riots of that year, the convicts were actually so
reliable that they were employed to follow the rioters into
the jungle and disperse them, which they did, and duly
returned to captivity with none missing.
The secret of it all seems to have lain in three prin-
cipal factors : the personal influence of the Superin-
tendents, the system of promotion, and the provision
of congenial occupations. The mention of this last
factor serves to remind one of the wonderful economic
organisation of the gaol. It has been stated how the
convicts were used as labourers and domestic servants ;
it remains now to notice shortly how they were used as
artisans. The introduction of handicrafts was due to
Colonel Man, who commenced by carpentering on
European methods and with English tools. By 1849
the work of the convicts was such that no Chinese
carpenters could come near it, and it may be remarked
that the old Guthrie's timber bridge across the river was
entirely the work of the convicts. Brick-making and
blacksmith's work was next started, with equal success ;
a large brick-field was started in 1858 at the Serangoon
Road, under a trained European brick-maker, and bricks
continued to be made there until the abolition of the
convict system in Singapore. The pits can still be seen
between Balestier Road and Moulmein Road. In 1867
a silver medal was won by the convicts' bricks at the
Agra Exhibition. The blacksmiths learnt to cast and
forge from the raw state all ironwork needed for public
286 LAW AND CRIME
works, and eventually there was practically no trade
that was not taught and carried on in the gaol, which
consequently became one of the most wonderful sights
of the town. The long lounge cane chair which is to be
found so much in use all over the Far East was invented
and perfected in the Singapore convict gaol.
It has been said that the lines originally were long
ranges of attap-sheds ; but these were gradually replaced
by permanent buildings, until by 1 860 the whole gaol
had been rebuilt, and every building in it was a permanent
one ; so that the proverb amongst the convicts was that
" an open kampong had become a closed cage," and this
cage itself was entirely made by its inmates. This gaol
extended from Victoria Street to near the present
Ladies' Lawn Tennis Club, the main entrance being in
Bras Basah Road ; the only parts remaining now are a
portion of the Maternity Hospital in Victoria Street,
including the entrance to it, and the present Malay
Volunteer headquarters.
After the Transfer a great change came about ; but
before going to that it will be as well to look at the careers
of the men who made the old system what it was.
Of our three great prison reformers, Colonels Man and
Macpherson and Major McNair, Dr. Mouat, the Inspec-
tor-General of Gaols, Bengal, reported in 1865 that they
were " entitled to rank in the first class of prison officers
and reformers in India."
Colonel Man, who was appointed in 1845, died in
England with the rank of a General Officer. His last
office in the Straits was that of Resident Councillor at
Penang, and after the Transfer he went to the Andaman
Islands to inaugurate the Singapore system there, as all
the transmarine convicts were sent to these islands after
the Transfer.
In 1855 Colonel Man had been promoted to the
post of Resident Councillor at Malacca, and he was
succeeded as Superintendent of Convicts by Colonel
Macpherson, of the Madras Artillery, who held the post
until 1858, when he succeeded Colonel Man at Malacca,
FAMOUS SUPERINTENDENT 287
and became Lieutenant-Governor in 1868 and Colonial
Secretary later. He had served in the China War in
1 84 1 -2, and in 1843 was appointed Staff Officer to the
Artillery in the Straits. He goes down to posterity as
the architect of St. Andrew's Cathedral, in the compound
of which there is a monument to his memory, and in the
body of which there is a memorial window over the west
doorway. He died in 1 869, in Singapore, and lies buried
in the Bukit Timah Cemetery.
The next Superintendent, and most famous of the three,
was that very able officer, Major McNair, R.A., C.M.G.,
F.R.G.S., F.L.S., of the Madras Artillery, who had come
to Singapore in 1856 as Adjutant to the Artillery. He
first came to the Straits in 1853, but was posted to
Malacca at that time. He retired in 1884, and so had a
residence in the Colony of thirty-one years. In 1861
he learnt photography in England while on leave, so as
to introduce into Singapore the practice of photographing
convicts. In 1867 he was appointed Colonial Engineer,
and the first works which he had to undertake were the
construction of Government House, which he completed
in 1869, and the waterworks, with which previous
engineers had tinkered without success. Mr. Buckley
thought his best epitaph would be that " waterworks
were finished in his time, and the water ran through the
pipes." In 1875 he went as Chief Commissioner to
Perak during the disturbances, an account of which he
wrote under the title of Perak and the Malays. His
eldest daughter married Mr. Thomas Scott, of Guthrie
and Co., and his youngest, Mr. Charles Stringer, of
Paterson, Simons and Co. He shared with Mr. W. W.
Willans, the Colonial Treasurer, the honour of being the
oldest surviving servants of the Honourable East India
Company.
To return to the history of the prisons and convicts,
it should be remarked that the local convicts were kept
in the same gaol as the transmarines. The Prison
Commission of 1872 reported that this was bad, because
punishment was lost sight of, and no deterrent or re-
288 LAW AND CRIME
formatory influence was brought to bear. This Com-
mission reported that the whole prison system for the
local convicts was utterly defective. From the Report
it appears that the men worked in association by day
and slept together in one ward by night. The Com-
mission consisted of Messrs. J. W. W. Birch, Colonial
Secretary, T. Braddell, Attorney-General, and Thomas
Scott, Whampoa, and W. H. Read, with Dr. H. L.
Randell, the P.C.M.O. The Attorney-General and Mr.
W. H. Read did not agree with the employment of
prisoners on non-productive work, such as the tread-
wheel, crank and shot drill ; but the rest of the Commis-
sioners did, and Lord Kimberley, the Secretary of State,
ordered a tightening up of discipline and more severe
punishment. Penal labour, he said, should not be
sacrificed for the profit to be derived from the industrial
labour of prisoners, for reports from Governors of
Colonies where penal labour had been introduced were
uniformly in its favour. So the old system passed, and
the convicts were employed no more upon public works.
In 1873 the transmarine convicts (of whom there
were 1,327) were removed to the Andamans, save those
who were released or were shortly to be released. The
gaol was handed over entirely to the Colonial authorities
for a criminal prison ; but it proved unhealthy, and was
condemned later by a Commission of Enquiry, which
advised the erection of a new one. In the meantime
the new prison system had been introduced. The
essential features were penal labour, separation and
classification of convicts, penal diet, and remission for
good conduct marks. On the 13th February 1875
there was a serious outbreak at the criminal prison, in
the course of which the Superintendent, Mr. Dent, was
killed. The immediate cause of this outbreak was due
to a preconcerted arrangement on the part of some
Chinese prisoners in the middle grade to eifect their
escape. They were able to concert their plans because
the prisoners were not yet entirely separated ; working
unobserved, they prepared many of the weapons used
FIRST TRAINED WARDERS 289
in the outbreak. The Superintendent lost his Ufe in
defence of a warder who was being attacked, and it is an
extraordinary fact that none of the warders at this time
were armed.
A Committee was appointed to enquire into the cir-
cumstances of this outbreak, and they recommended the
construction of a new gaol on the cellular plan at Pearl's
Hill, near to the Civil Prison. The construction of a new
gaol had already been considered by the Government ;
at first it had been proposed to build it at Pulo Brani,
but eventually the site of the present gaol was settled
upon, and Major McNair drew up the plans for a new
cellular gaol (the present one) on the most approved
English model at the time. The foundation-stone was
laid, on the 30th January 1879, by the Governor, Sir
W. C. F. Robinson, and the gaol was completed by 1882,
when the prisoners were all moved in and the old gaol
site was abandoned.
In 1877 trained warders were first introduced, a chief
warder and two warders being brought out from English
convict prisons. The experiment proved successful,
and these men gave efficient aid in improving the state
of discipline. But the success of the new system was
due chiefly to Major W. R. Grey, the Superintendent
who succeeded Mr. Dent. In 1875 he went through a
special and thorough course of training in England, and
was very well reported upon by the various Governors
of the prisons to which he was attached. How thorough
this training was may be seen from the fact that he served
a week in all the offices from assistant warder to Governor.
Major W. R. Grey had been in the 30th Regiment, and
had served in Ceylon, China, and New Zealand before
coming to the Straits. He was through the China War
of 1 860, mentioned in dispatches, and specially promoted
to Major. He was also mentioned for his services
during the campaign in New Zealand, for which he held
the medal, as also the China medal and clasp. He was
appointed Superintendent of the Singapore gaol in 1 875,
and Inspector of Prisons in 1880, retiring in 1893, when
I — 20
290 LAW AND CRIME
he was succeeded in the latter post by Mr. (now Sir)
E. M. Merewether, ever since which time the post has
been held by a member of the Civil Service.
PIRACY
By Dr. Gilbert E. Brooke
" And a little breeze blew over the rail that made the headsails lift,
But no man stood by wheel or sheet, and they let the schooners drift."
From the dawn of ocean-going trade the cupidity of man
was probably at work in devising the best methods for
relieving the trader of his merchandise as swiftly and
cheaply as possible 1 Opportunity makes a thief ; and
the facilities afforded for ambush and escape by the
numberless islands, creeks, and mangrove swamps of the
Malayan Peninsula and Archipelago were dominant
factors in determining the freebooting career which was
so largely adopted on the trade-routes of those regions.
As early as June 1823 Sir Stamford Raffles applied for
a vessel to cruise against pirates, whose attacks on
traders he described as being extraordinarily frequent,
and as affording serious obstacles to native trade with
Singapore. On the 27th August in that year, Mr.
Crawfurd, the Resident at Singapore, hired the ketch
Bona For tuna, Captain Johnston, to proceed with troops
against the pirates of the North-East Coast I The rate of
hire was to be $500 for fifteen days, with $167 extra if
five more days were required. The troops were in
charge of Dr. Jackson, and the Government was to make
good any enemy damage. The ketch, however, returned
on the I ith September after a fruitless search.
The first piratical attempt on a European vessel from
Singapore took place in May 1826, when seven pirates,
who had shipped as deck-passengers from Singapore to
Batavia by the Dutch schooner Anna, rose and attacked
the crew during the voyage. They were, however,
driven into the sea and drowned.
It was in that year that the fifth number of the
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MALAY PIRATES 291
Singapore Chronicle contained an excellent sketch of
Malay piracy — probably from Mr. Crawfurd's pen. A
peaceful agricultural population was to be found chiefly
in Java and in certain districts of Sumatra. Most of the
other coastal regions of the Peninsula and Archipelago
supported a Malay population, nominally fishermen, but
usually pirates, with the secret connivance of their
reigning princes.
The pirate " prahus " were generally from forty to
fifty feet in length, with a beam of about fifteen feet. The
decks were made of split Nibong palm, cut into lengths
so that any part of the deck could be rolled up. They
were furnished with a large mainsail for'ard made of
kajang (mat) stitched on bamboo spars, hoisted on a
tripod bamboo mast, and there was generally a smaller
sail on a single spar aft. The smaller prahus put up a
thick plank bulwark when fighting ; but larger ones, like
the Illanoon (Lanun) prahus, were fitted with a stout
bamboo ledge, which hung over the gunwale fore and aft,
and was flanked with a protecting breastwork of plaited
rattan about three feet high. The ordinary crew
consisted of about twenty to thirty men, but they were
augmented by a rowing gang of lower caste or captured
slaves. A small prahu would have nine oars a side ;
a large one would be double-banked, the upper tier of
oarsmen being seated on the bulwark projection and
hidden behind the rattan breastwork. The armament
consisted of a stockade near the bow, mounting iron
or brass four-pounders, and another stockade aft,
generally furnished with two swivel guns. There were
also four or five swivels, or "rantakas," on each side,
mounting small brass guns. The pirates kept their hair
long, and let it loose in battle to increase their ferocious
appearance. Many of them carried bamboo shields,
and they were armed with spears and krises, and such
muskets or other fire-arms as could be obtained. As a
rule, in the early days, they chiefly attacked vessels
which were stranded or becalmed, but their daring
greatly increased as years went by.
292 LAW AND CRIME
Their hunting-grounds, of which Singapore was one
of the favourite pivots, formed an ideal venue, not only
on account of their topographical facilities, but because
they lay in the main routes of commerce, which became
yearly more prosperous.
As the trade of Singapore increased, the menace of
piracy loomed on the horizon with unpleasantpersistence.
Many remedies were suggested, of which perhaps those
by Crawfurd were as reasonable as any. He suggested
that industrial habits should be encouraged amongst the
natives ; that a ready and free market should be found
for their productions ; that discovered piracy should be
condignly punished ; that native princes, when found
to be implicated, should be heavily fined ; that the head-
quarters and haunts of pirates should be destroyed ; that
thevarious European Governments should act in concert ;
and that armed steamboats should be more frequently
employed in hunting for and attacking the pirate fleets.
Notwithstanding these and other suggestions, however,
piracy continued its course more or less unchecked for
the subsequent twenty years, and Government assistance
was often spasmodic and ill-directed. The Netherlands
Indies Government were occasionally to the fore in taking
official action. The Governor-General, Van den Bosch,
whotook office about 1830, combined the Naval Residency
cruisers and small-draft schooners into an anti-pirate
flotilla, which was put in charge of a Captain Kolff, an
officer of the Colonial Marine. An admirable report by
this officer (which was, however, not published until
1846-7, when it appeared in the Moniteur des Indes-
Orientales) showed the wide distribution of pirate haunts,
comprising Mindanao, Sulo, the whole of Borneo, Buro,
Pilolo, Celebes, Billiton, Lingga, the East Coast of
Sumatra, and all the southern portions of the Malay
Peninsula. This Dutch action roused the British
Government, who sent H.M.S. Southampton to act in
concert with the Honourable Company's schooner
Diamond, and they were instrumental in routing a fleet
of thirty prahus ; and the Governor-General of British
PIRATE HAUNT DESTROYED 293
India wrote to the Governor of the Netherlands Indies
recommending concerted action, a suggestion heartily
acceded to by Van den Bosch.
The first result of this action was the appearance of
H.M.S. Wolf in May 1831 ; but instead of deahng with
pirates she was used to blockade the coast of Kedah.
In August a number of Bugis Nakodahs, headed by the
chief of the Bugis kampong in Singapore, notified the
Government that their trade was being jeopardised
by the pirate fleets of Pulo Tinggi ; and that, if the
Government did nothing, they would be forced to leave
Singapore altogether. H.M.S. Crocodile and H.M.S.
Cochin were at once despatched, but returned empty-
handed.
During the following June, as no further official action
was being taken, the Chinese merchants of Singapore
armed four large trading junks, with the idea of using
them against pirates, in which service they proved very
useful.
In 1833 H.M.S. Harrier destroyed a notorious haunt
in the Straits of Dryon. Pirate fleets blockaded the
coast of Pahang, but lay low when the Government
schooner Zephyr went up to look for them. At the ses-
sion of Oyer and Terminer of the Court of Judicature in
May, the Grand Jury reverted to the subject of piracy,
and the Recorder, Sir B. Malkin, remarked that the
matter of Admiralty jurisdiction had been overlooked
when framing the Charter of the Straits Court. Things
got worse rather than better, and, on the 23rd April 1835,
a public meeting was held, at which a Memorial was
drafted to the Governor-General in Council asking for
effective measures to be taken ; and a further Memorial
to the King in Council, asking for the grant of Admiralty
jurisdiction to the Straits Court. These Memorials had
the desired effect, for Letters Patent were issued on
the 25th February 1837 granting Admiralty jurisdiction
to the local Court. H.M. sloop Wolf, Captain Edward
Stanley, arrived once more, in March 1836. Her First-
Lieutenant was a Mr. Henry James, who died in 1 898
294 LAW AND CRIME
as a retired Commander, in his ninety-ninth year. His
life was published in 1 899, under the title of A Midship-
man in Search of Promotion, which narrates the doings
of the Wolf in Singapore. The concession on the part
of the Government of India in sending the JVolf was not,
however, quite as generous as would appear at first sight ;
for, on the 13th January 1836, the Governor informed
the merchants of Singapore that the Supreme Govern-
ment had directed him to submit a draft Act and Schedule
for the levying of duties on imports and exports " to
meet the expense of effectually protecting the trade
from piracy ! " This caused great alarm, and vigorous
measures were taken to prevent this death-blow to the
prosperity of the Settlement. The opposition proved
effectual, and the intention was abandoned.
It was about this time that the authorities at Singapore
sought the co-operation of the Resident at Rhio. The
latter official was sympathetic, but pointed out that,
although the population of Rhio and Lingga was alto-
gether bad, it was notorious that a great number of the
pirates actually lived in the New Harbour and Telok
Blanga districts of Singapore itself — where they got
their information and their powder and shot, and where
they were able to get rid of their booty without difficulty.
The Wolf was at first occupied in taking captured
pirates to Calcutta for trial, whence they were brought
back after conviction and hanged on the beach in
Singapore. When Admiralty jurisdiction was obtained,
the Wolf devoted herself to pirate-hunting, in concert
with H.M.S. Rose, and the H.C.'s schooner Zephyr
(Captain Congalton), especially off Tanjong Panyusu
(Point Romania) in Johore. They often met with in-
different success, but commented on the vast numbers
of wrecks and skeletons with which the shores and
islands of Johore were strewn.
In May 1836 H.M.S. Andromache, Captain Chads,
arrived from Trincomalee on special anti-piracy work.
Mr. S. G. Bonham, the Resident Councillor of Singapore,
was appointed Joint-Commissioner with Captain Chads,
SURPRISE FOR THE PIRATES 295
and the expedition left Singapore on the 23rd June, pro-
ceeding via Rhio to Gallang, where they destroyed a noted
pirate stronghold. They then worked up the east coast
to Pahang, and then sailed via Singapore for the Siak
River, in the north-east of Sumatra, eventually returning
by way of Penang and the Native States. Their diary
and report constitute volume 335 of the Early Colonial
Records in the Straits Settlements Secretariat. Captain
Chads had already seen active service, having been
First-Lieutenant of the frigate Java, which was fired, and
sank in action with the American ship Constitution, on
the 29th December 1812. Years afterwards, Captain
Chads was in command of the Cambrian in Singapore
Harbour, when the old Constitution entered the port
round St. John's Island. The old captain's eyes
glistened, and he was heard to remark : " What would I
not give to have twenty minutes with her now 1 "
Another man-of-war which frequented Singapore
about this time was the Raleigh, Captain Michael Quin,
which did valuable work in the neighbourhood of Lingga,
on the lines mentioned by the well-known Senior
Surgeon Montgomerie, who had written a long report to
Government on " Piracy and its Prevention."
In March 1837 the steamer Diana was sent to Singa-
pore by the Indian Government, and was given to
Captain Congalton, who had commanded the Zephyr
and other Government schooners for many years. The
encounter of this first Colonial steamer with pirates
is worth recording. She was the first steamer to be
built in India, with a tonnage of 160 and a speed of five
knots. Her complement consisted of three Europeans
and thirty Malays. In company with H.M.S. Wolf,
which was a sailing craft, she started off on her first
adventure, leading the way by virtue of her superior
speed 1 They fell in with six large pirate prahus, which
were attacking a junk. The pirates, seeing the smoke
from the Diana's funnel, took her to be a sailing ship on
fire, and scenting an easy prey, they transferred their
attentions from the junk to the Diana. To their horror,
IL
296 LAW AND CRIME
the vessel came right up against the wind, and poured a
destructive fire into each prahu as she passed it, and
then repeated the process after turning. For nearly
two years the Wolf and Diana worked together, chiefly
on the east coast of the Peninsula ; and many a pirate
was caught and stronghold destroyed. In recognition
of his services, the mercantile community of Singapore
presented Captain Stanley, of the Wolf, with a hundred-
guinea sword ; and he was both the recipient of thanks
from the Chamber of Commerce and guest at a public
dinner in his honour.
Captain Congalton got no public recognition of his long
services, but his name is one which will never die in the
annals of the Colony. He was born in Leith on the 23rd
March 1 796, and ran away to sea as a boy. After reaching
the East, he joined the H.C.'s armed schooner Jessy,
Captain Poynton, as Mate. He was in that ship in the
Burmese War, and there he won the approval of the
famous novelist Captain Marryat, of H.M.S. Lame.
In 1826, when Captain Poynton was made Harbour
Master at Malacca, Congalton took command of the
Zephyr, and remained in the Colonial service until his
death in 1850.
For a few years the fierce activities of the pirates
seemed actually to diminish ; but a recrudescence soon
occurred, and the period 1 843-9 was full of gruesome
activity and dogged retribution. The attacks were often
made quite close to Singapore, as in the case of a junk
which left with twenty-two crew and twenty-six pas-
sengers, and had six chests of opium as part of her cargo.
She was shortly afterwards set upon by pirates, who
butchered forty-three, and looted and burnt the junk.
The five survivors were picked up by H.M. brig
Algerine.
It was about this time that the Hon. Harry Keppel,
twelfth child of the fourth Earl of Albemarle, and later
an Admiral of the Fleet, began his long connection with
the East and friendship with Sir James Brooke of Sara-
wak. In 1 843 he was in command of the Dido, which did
PIRATE FLEET DEMOLISHED 297
doughty deeds against the pirates of Borneo, and de-
stroyed vast numbers of prahus.
To the Hecla fell the honour of finding a new method
of attacking the enemy. They allowed the prahus to
get alongside, and then turned their fire-hose on them
charged with boiling water. The pirates, who were
generally nearly naked, preferred to face the sharks, and
promptly disappeared overboard !
During the following year H.M. surveying ship
Samarang, Sir E. Belcher, K.C.B.,had an uncomfortable
experience. They were making some observations off
Gilolo, an island near Celebes, when they were attacked
by ten Klanoon prahus. They managed to destroy
several of the latter ; but Sir Edward was wounded
in the thigh by a one-inch swivel ball, which knocked him
into the sea. One of the officers of the Samarang was
a midshipman named Brereton, a cousin of Sir James
Brooke, and a great-nephew of Dr. Wilson, the Bishop
of Calcutta, who laid the foundation-stone of St.Andrew's
Cathedral, Singapore, on the 4th March 1856.
In 1849 the Sarebas pirates became very active, and
H.M.S. Albatross, Captain Farquhar, was sent to deal
with them. This turned out to be the largest pirate
engagement on record. They fell in with a fleet of more
than a hundred war-prahus, manned by about 3,500 men.
This whole fleet was practically demolished, and Captain
Farquhar and others were awarded £20,700 by the
Singapore Supreme Court. Sir Arthur Farquhar, K.C.B.,
was afterwards Commander-in-Chief in the Pacific and
at Devonport.
From the year 1 849 Malay piracy gradually declined ;
but a reign of Chinese piracy began, which did not die
out until the 'Seventies. As an example of their methods
the case of a Cochin-China junk might be mentioned.
After anchoring in Singapore, a number of Chinese
boarded the ship, which they would have searched and
doubtless looted had it not been for the intervention of
a French missionary-passenger, the Rev. Father Beurel.
When the junk was about to leave Singapore, another
298 LAW AND CRIME
French missionary took passage by her ; and Father
Beurel, who was afraid of what might happen, apphed
to the Master Attendant (Captain Russell) and the
Resident Councillor (Mr. Church) for protection. This
was refused, as one gunboat and four of theTemenggong's
vessels had already gone to Pedra Branca, and the other
gunboat could not be spared. Off Cape Romania the
junk was becalmed, and they were at once attacked by
pirates. The crew had only two muskets, and things
looked serious when the missionary's pistol (which was
overloaded) exploded and put him out of action.
Fortunately a breeze sprang up just then, and they were
able to shake oif the prahu and to return to Singapore.
The year 1855 saw a remarkable increase in piracy,
chiefly Chinese. The Government steamer Hooghly
proved to be too slow, so a public meeting was held in
May, at which the following resolutions were adopted :
" I. That the meeting viewed with deep concern the
ravages committed by pirates, Chinese particularly,
in the immediate vicinity of the port, to the great destruc-
tion of human life and detriment to trade.
"2. That in order to remedy the present insecurity
of life and property, petitions be prepared and forwarded
to the Supreme Government, the Houses of Parliament,
and the Admiral on this station, urging them to take
vigorous measures to suppress piracy in these parts.
"3. That the Singapore Community are so thoroughly
convinced of the necessity of protection for the junks
now about to leave for China, and so indignant at the
long-continued supineness of the Authorities on the
subject of Chinese piracy, that if the men-of-war now
in the roads will not interfere, the Community itself
agree to subscribe to hire an English vessel to see the
junks safely beyond the Gulf of Siam, and that the local
Government be requested to license the said vessel.
*"' 4. That the meeting highly approves of the conduct
of the local Government in detaining the suspicious junks
now in the harbour until the trading junks are safely
beyond their reach.
"5. That Messrs. Guthrie, W. H. Read, Logan, and
A DARING ADVENTURE 299
R. DufF be appointed a Committee to carry out the
foregoing resolutions."
The result was that the Admiral was ordered to send
a vessel to the Gulf of Siam.
During the next fifteen years piracy died out ; and,
for the latter half of the Colony's life, instances have been
rare and adventitious. On the 5th May 1884, at early
dawn, a tongkang was at anchor outside New Harbour,
and her crew of six were fast asleep. The boat (which
was loaded with twelve piculs of rice) had left Singapore
on the previous afternoon, and anchored off Pulo Sudong.
Suddenly a prahu from Pulo Siking, containing six armed
Malays, came alongside, and methodically proceeded to
kill the Chinese. The sixth man (in the attitude of suppli-
cation) had his hands cut off and throat gashed, and was
left for dead. The pirates were about to disembark the
rice into their prahu, when Pilot Captain J. C. Davies
passed in his steam-launch on the way to s.s. Glengarry.
Seeing something amiss, he approached the tongkang ;
but the pirates prepared to attack him, so he backed his
launch and then rammed the prahu, which sank at once.
The pirates dived, and swam to a reef, where five of them
were captured by the headman of Pulo Bukum. Accom-
panied by three boatsful of Malays, they were brought td
s.s. Glengarry, but were mistaken for additional pirates,
and were received with a fusillade, much to their disgust.
The five men were convicted, and hanged outside the
gaol on Saturday, the 2nd August,in the presence of about
5,000 of the public ; and the bodies were buried at the
foot of the gallows.
The final piracy of the century took place on the
1 2th April 1909, at Cape Romania, a spot which had seen
so many similar encounters in the past. A large junk
bound for China was becalmed on a bright moonlight
night, and had anchored some distance from shore. The
crew and passengers were all asleep, when they were
stealthily attacked. Five had already been mutilated
and killed, and four more had been seriously injured,
when a dog barked on shore, and the pirates hurriedly
300 LAW AND CRIME
decamped. The junk returned to Singapore on the
following day with her gruesome cargo.
This closes our brief review of piracy and its connection
with Singapore.
For the first fifty years of the Settlement's existence
the evil ran like a scarlet thread through the warp and
weft of local circumstance. Not a week passed without
the shadow dominating the horizon. Not a volume of
official correspondence was bound that did not contain
its reiteration ad nauseam.
To-day the grandsons and great-grandsons of the
bloodthirsty and turbulent pirates assimilate mild in-
struction at the feet of Government Gamaliels, and make
their peaceful pilgrimage when the necessary tale of
dollars is complete.
CHAPTER V
LAND TENURE
By James Lornie, Collector of Land Revenue, Singapore
About a hundred years ago all land in Singapore was the
property of the State. The history of the land tenure is,
therefore, a reflection of the views of successive adminis-
trators regarding the best means of encouraging the
permanent occupation of the land and the amount of
compensation to be paid to the State for the total or
partial surrender of its rights. The Treaty of the 6th
February 1 8 1 9 between Sir Stamford Raffles and Sultan
Husain and the Temenggong Abdul Rahman was merely
an arrangement which secured permission to erect a
factory or factories on part of the Sultan's dominions.
It was natural, therefore, that in the early days of the
Settlement httle could be done beyond making what
appeared to be the necessary reservations for public
purposes, and arrangements for the settlement of the
various nationalities who flocked to it as soon as it was
founded. In a letter dated the 2Sth June 1819, Raffles
gave instructions to Major Farquhar regarding the allot-
ment of the ground available, and instructed him to take
proper measures to secure to each person " the indispu-
tive possession of the spot he was allowed to occupy."
A proper register was to be kept, and each occupant was
to be granted a certificate entitling him to clear a spot
of ground of specified dimensions, and to hold it according
to such regulations as had been or might afterwards be
established for the factory. These instructions, however,
were not fully carried out. From the very beginning the
influx of settlers was too great to be dealt with by Major
301
302 LAND TENURE
Farquhar and his limited staff, and when Raffles returned
in 1823 he found he had to alter many of his arrange-
ments. At an early date permanent leases appear to
have been given, and about the beginning of 1 823 instruc-
tions were received from India that land was to be let
either on perpetual leases or for a term of years to the
persons offering the highest amount of quit rent. The
Bengal Government apparently intended to limit the
term of the leases to ninety-nine years ; but their views
were not followed by the local authorities, the explan-
ation given in 1827 being that in the minds of the
applicants a ninety-nine year lease conferred too limited
an interest in land. In the same year it was reported
that 576 of such leases had been made by Sir Stamford
Raffles, or Major Farquhar by his authority, that the
leases conferred only the privilege of occupancy and
conveyed no right, not even that of transfer to others,
and that the rents of them had never been paid. In
addition to these leases, what were known as location
tickets were issued, giving the right of possession for
two years, during which the land was to be cleared and
application made for regular leases — -a modification of
the original certificate of occupation.
It was not long before it was found that the arrange-
ment with the Sultan and Temenggong required modi-
fication, and before his final departure in 1823 Raffles
made an agreement by which, with the exception of the
portion which had been allotted to the Chiefs at the
beginning of the year, the whole of the island of Singa-
pore and the islands immediately adjacent were placed
at the entire disposal of the British. This agreement was,
however, regarded as incomplete, and the final settlement
was left to his successor, Mr. Crawfurd, who carried out
the negotiations which ended in the Treaty of the 2nd
August 1824, by which the island of Singapore, and the
adjacent seas, straits, and islands, were ceded to the East
India Company in full sovereignty and property. At
the beginning of the same year the Treaty of London
had been signed, by Article XII of which the King of the
LOCATION TICKETS 303
Netherlands withdrew his objections to the occupation
of Singapore by British subjects. The uncertain tenure
of the island and a long discussion regarding the form
of grants for a time prevented the issue of permanent
titles; but in a report in January 1824 Mr. Crawfurd
recorded his opinion that in order to attract agricul-
turists it was necessary to give a good and permanent
tenure, of a simple nature, with few formalities of transfer,
and without real property rights as in England. To
discourage the appropriation of large areas by specula-
tors, he proposed in the first instance to grant an
occupation or location ticket, entitling the holder
to a permanent grant after a proper survey, provided
the land had been cleared within a specified time ; this
procedure, he pointed out, would reduce the number of
conditions in the grants, and enable the area granted to
be defined with precision. His proposals were approved
in a letter of the 2 7th October 1825 .which authorised him
to issue location tickets and to grant leases to persons
having commercial establishments at Singapore or
desiring to settle there. The location tickets were
issued in great numbers, apparently without registration,
and in 1827 it was computed that they had been granted
in the vicinity of the town to an extent only 14,000 acres
short of the whole area of the island, which was accounted
for by the fact that the measurement of land could not
keep pace with the rush of applications.
In 1826 took place the incorporation of Penang,
Malacca, and Singapore as a single Settlement under the
Government of Penang, Resident Councillors being
appointed for Singapore and Malacca. This resulted in
a serious attempt being made to settle the land question.
The lands cleared and occupied were then estimated
to amount to 13,800 acres, most of which was
held without any title whatever. The explanations
given were the sudden increases of population, and the
fact that as rent became payable only on the issue of a
grant, many persons preferred to postpone their applica-
tions for the permanent title. In January the following
304 LAND TENURE
year a notification was published that all persons who
failed to fulfil the terms of their contracts to clear and
build on land before the ist May would forfeit
their rights, which led to the resumption of 217 lots of
leasehold land. At the same time persons who had
complied with the conditions of their titles or location
tickets were granted new leases in the form which had
been approved by the Government of Bengal. These
constitute the earliest of the existing titles, Numbers 1-43
and 46-53 being issued on the 20th April 1826. The
exchange proceeded with considerable rapidity, and in
1828, after the new titles had been issued to all who
were held entitled to them, it was reported that they
comprised 481 lots of land amounting to 313 acres, and
that, with the exception of two for what is now known as
Government Hill and Mount Sophia, they were within
the narrow limits of the town.
About the same time Mr. FuUerton, the first Governor
of the combined stations, fixed the terms on which
999-year leases could be obtained by the holders of land
within the town limits at a quit rent of $45 an acre — the
average rate of the earlier titles. In the case of lands
outside the limits of the town, it was felt that there was
not sufficient information available for the determina-
tion of a fair rent on a permanent title, which led to the
introduction of a system of renewable leases . Applicants
were allowed a certain period in which to clear the land
for which they had applied, at the end of which they were
required to apply for a survey of the land they had
cleared, when they became entitled to a series of fifteen-
year leases.at gradually increasing rents up to a maximum
originally fixed at $10 an acre, and subsequently reduced
to $6 for lands beyond the limits of the town, but within
two miles of the Bridge of Singapore, and $3 outside
these limits. At any time during his tenancy the holder
of a fifteen-year lease was entitled to a 999-year lease
at the rate declared to be the maximum.
These conditions formed what was known as the
Singapore Land Regulation of 1830, which made pro-
PETITION FROM CULTIVATORS 305
vision for the appointment of a Superintendent of Lands,
Registrar of Titles,Transfers,and Mortgages, and Collector
of Quit Rents, fixed the terms of which land could be
obtained and the procedure to be followed, and the fees
to be charged in the registry. This regulation was
approved by the Court of Directors of the East India
Company; but about 1833 it was declared by the
Recorder to be invalid on the ground that the Governor-
in-Council of Prince of Wales's Island, Singapore, and
Malacca, on whose authority it had been passed, had
no power of passing regulations except for imposing
duties and taxes. In approving the regulation the
Court of Directors had taken exception to the term of
999 years and the fixed quit rent of $45 an acre for town
lands, and asked that these matters should be recon-
sidered, the result of'which was that the Bengal Govern-
ment in 1 83 1 sanctioned all leases already granted, but
prohibited the issue of any further leases on the old
terms. This decision left matters in considerable
uncertainty, and apparently the local authorities per-
mitted various persons to occupy land without title,
and without payment of rent, in the hope that titles
could be obtained on more favourable terms when
experience had shown this to be necessary. In 1833
the Governor reported that 415 acres were held on
fifteen-year leases under the old regulation, the holders
of which were anxious to know the terms on which they
could obtain renewal, and that in his opinion the price
of agricultural produce was so low that no one was likely
to engage in agricultural pursuits unless he could obtain
land on long leases or a grant in perpetuity at a rent of
one to three rupees an acre, according to the situation
and quality of the land. In 1836 the Agricultural and
Horticultural Society drew up a petition to the Governor-
General, pointing out that the soil of the island was
suited to the cultivation of cotton, sugar, pepper, and
nutmegs, and that in their opinion a great portion of
the island was likely to remain an impervious jungle
unless a more liberal system of sale or leasing of land
I — 21
3o6 LAND TENURE
was adopted. They asked, therefore, that lands might
be sold outright, or leased for a term of not less than
ninety-nine years. In forwarding the petition, Mr. Bon-
ham, Acting Governor, remarked that the small amount
of quit rent which the petitioners were prepared to pay
for land would seem to indicate that they were not very
sanguine as to the suitability of the soil for the cultivation
of the products specified in the petition, and that so far
from the greater portion of the island being likely to
remain an impervious jungle, cultivation had never
extended so rapidly as at the time he wrote, owing to the
rise in the price of gambier, which rendered it probable
that all the high ground in the island would be under
cultivation in four or five years. All this land was being
occupied by Chinese planters without title, and as most
of the earnings of the Chinese cultivators were spent on
goods which paid an excise-tax, he did not think the
Government was likely to lose thereby. In his opinion
it was better that the soil should be cultivated than that
large tracts of land should be encumbered by speculators
who would take advantage of a low land-tax to hold up
land in the hope of making a profit from its rise in value.
The petition arrived at a time when the affairs of the
Straits Settlements were receiving a considerable amount
of attention from the Government of India, and it is
referred to in a minute of the Goyernor-General, Lord
Auckland, in which he dealt at great length with the
history of the land tenure of each of the Settlements, the
nature of the various products, and the best means of
securing permanent cultivation of the land. The conclu-
sion he arrived at was that the best policy was to grant
the land in perpetuity at a fixed rent, or at rates of
rent assessable according to some fixed principle ; but
in view of the restrictions imposed by the Court of
Directors, he proposed to grant twenty-year leases,
renewable at a fixed rent for a further term of thirty
years, for so much of the land as had been for the last
five years cultivated or chiefly occupied with produce
of a specified nature, or in cases where money had been
NINETY-NINE YEAR LEASES 307
sunk in irrigation works or the erection of valuable
buildings. In the case of town lands he favoured sixty-
year building leases, or preferably similar leases, for a term
of ninety-nine years. A decision of the Governor-
General-in-Council, in accordance with these views, was
communicated to Mr. Young, the Commissioner, specially
sent from India to report on the land administration of
the Straits, and was published by him as a Government
notification on the 7th September 1837. The appoint-
ment of the Commissioner was made under a special
Indian Act No. X of 1837, and in the same year another
Act, No. XX, of great importance to the Straits, was
passed providing that all land in the Eastern Settlements
was to be treated as if it were and had always been of the
nature of personal property. At the time the Act was
passed the only titles existing in Singapore were leases,
so that for the time being it affected only Penang and
Malacca. At the beginning of 1838 the first of the
present ninety-nine year leases were issued, in accordance
with the notification of the preceding year, seventy-one
leases bearing date the ist January 1838, and during
the next few years they were issued in considerable
numbers. The prices obtained for the early leases
naturally compared unfavourably with what had been
paid for 999-year leases ; but there was soon a
considerable improvement, and the number of leases
issued about the year 1842 shows that there must have
been considerable demand for land throughout the town.
The ninety-nine year leases were subject to the condition
that a tile-roofed house should be erected on each
leasehold within a period of two years : the sixty-year
leases which were issued in 1838 and 1839, and have all
expired, only required the erection of a house.
In the case of agricultural land the terms were not
regarded as satisfactory. In his report on the land
tenure of the Straits, the Commissioner expressed his
strong disagreement with the policy of short leases
favoured by the Court of Directors. His objections
were based on the experimental nature of the policy,
3o8 LAND TENURE
which was entirely different from what had proved a
success in all the larger colonies throughout the world,
the lack of encouragement to incur the expensive outlay
required for the cultivation of valuable products, and
the existence of a more beneficial tenure in Penang,
Province Wellesley, and Malacca, and also in Ceylon.
The evils of the short-lease system he summarised as the
encouragement to speculators to hold large tracts of land
in the hope of disposing of them at a profit, the use of
land under the pretence of agriculture for the extraction
of timber and the burning of charcoal, the partial clearing
of land for the sake of one or two crops, and the wasting
of the soil by the cultivation of pepper, gambler, and
other exhausting crops. He had little sympathy with
the gambler planter, whom he regarded as by no means
the pioneer of colonisation as some had supposed, but
rather as the locust of cultivation. In his opinion
nothing was clearer than the fact that the man who in
a country like the Straits merely cut down the large
forest trees and neglected to follow this up by effective
clearing and treatment of the land was not a benefactor,
but an enemy of agriculture, the mischief being aggra-
vated by the forcing of the soil to the utmost by gambler
and pepper planting. At the same time he considered
the interests of the people and the State would be better
served by the small native cultivators than by the more
imposing efforts of the spice cultivators or the specula-
tive undertakings of the growers of sugar and cotton.
During his stay in the Straits, Mr. Young was also
engaged in a report on a draft Act for the collection of
land revenue and the registration of transfers of land,
and in 1 839 this Act was passed by the Legislative Council
of India, and received the assent of the Governor-General.
The Act, known as the Straits Land Act, made provision
for dealing with unauthorised occupation of Crown land,
the granting of leases, and of permits for temporary
occupation pending survey, the erection and preserva-
tion of boundary marks, the subdivision of grants and
leases, the collection of land revenue, and the registration
THE FIRST LAND SURVEY 309
of mutations of title. The last provision had been the
subject of some discussion, and a suggestion had been
made to omit it altogether and leave it to be dealt with
in a separate enactment. The Singapore Land Regulation,
with its provisions for registration, had, however, been
repealed by Act X of 1837, and Mr. Young strongly-
urged the necessity of having some form of registration,
and the Government of India adopted his views. The
provision made was admittedly imperfect, and it was
expressly stated that it was to be replaced as soon as
possible by a more elaborate system ; but it remained in
force in Singapore until it was superseded by the
Registration of Deeds Ordinance of 1886, and it is in
force in Malacca at the present day.
The Act provided that the conditions of land alienation
should be determined by the Government of Bengal,
but this Government preferred to leave the matter to
the Government of India, which had passed the Act, and
early in 1840 the subject received the consideration of
the Governor-General-in-Council. The question of the
term of the leases was again brought up, when it was
decided that without reference to the Court of Directors
no longer term than that provided by Section V of the
Act could be granted. This was the term of twenty
years, renewable on certain conditions for a further
period of thirty years, as laid down by Lord Auckland.
At the same meeting it was decided to sanction the
appointment of a Surveyor, with a suitable establish-
ment, for Singapore, and in November of the following
year Mr. J. T. Thomson came to Singapore to take up the
duties of the appointment. Soon after his arrival a
notice was published calling upon all holders or occupiers
of land to point out their boundaries, and the first serious
survey of the island was undertaken. At this time
agriculture was in a flourishing condition, and there were
further demands for an improvement in the conditions
on which land could be obtained from the Government,
which now obtained the support of Mr. Bonham, Acting
Governor, and of the Resident Councillor, Mr. Church.
310 LAND TENURE
In a letter dated the 2 ist June 1 842, the former proposed
the alienation in fee-simple of all land required for agri-
cultural purposes within two miles of the limits of the
town at a rate of ten rupees an acre, and of all land
situated at a greater distance from the town at five
rupees an acre, the rate of ten rupees to be subject to
modification by the local authorities according to cir-
cumstances. These proposals were referred to the
Government of India, and approved in April 1843. A
few exceptions were made in the case of certain lease-
holders ; but the restrictions in their case were removed
the following year, when it was declared that the object
of the Government in relinquishing their rights in the soil
for ever was not so much to secure an immediate and
adequate pecuniary return as for the purpose of creating
improving proprietors. In the case of town lands no
modification was allowed, and the issue of ninety-nine
year leases continued.
The Court of Directors had previously left the matter
to the discretion of the Government of India, and time
has fully justified the criticism contained in the following
comment made by them on receipt of the news of the
decision : " From the map which you have now trans-
mitted of the town and environs of Singapore it appears
that the new limits within which the land is to be retained
as the property of the Government coincide in most
places with the present outline of the town, and that its
future extension is scarcely at all provided for except on
the western side. We presume that this was well
considered ; but we should have expected that you would
have reserved at so flourishing a Settlement a more
ample margin for future increase." When it is remem-
bered that three years previously Mr. Bonham had
reported that there were many valuable spots adjacent
to the town for which he could obtain a rental of five
rupees an acre, and strongly urged the desirability of
granting ninety-nine year leases for all land for which he
could obtain this rent, and that among the areas affected
by the decision were what is now the most densely
A CHANGE OF POLICY 311
crowded part of the town — the area round Sago Street,
and locaUties hke Government Hill and Oxley Rise,
situated over a mile from the mouth of Singapore River,
it is easy to see that the Court of Directors took a sounder
view of the matter than the authorities and the Govern-
ment of India.
The new titles — the existing freehold grants— are
expressed as made under Indian Act X of 1842, an Act
for the simplification of conveyancing, and from 1845
onwards they were issued in large numbers. The original
intention of granting them for the encouragement of
agriculture was soon forgotten, and large areas were
alienated which have remained tidal swamps until this
day. Curiously enough the decline of agriculture
started almost immediately afterwards, and in the major-
ity of cases the Government had as little success in their
endeavours to create improving proprietors as they had
in obtaining an adequate pecuniary return. No change,
however, was made in the land policy until the transfer
of the Settlements to the Colonial Office in 1867. After
that date a few grants in fee-simple were made, which
may have been on terms previously approved ; but in the
majority of cases the titles were 999-year leases, which in
some cases contained a provision for renewal for a further
period of 999 years. The rents fixed were very low, and
there were no onerous conditions, so that these titles are
practically as favourable as those granted by the East
India Company and the Secretary of State for India
before the Transfer. From i88o onwards the terms be-
come harder, and for the first time appeared a condition
prohibiting the use of land for burial purposes without
the consent of the Governor, an indication of one of the
great evils which had grown up under the previous
system. The great drawbacks at this time were the
absence of a systematic survey of the island and the
inadequacy of the Land Office staff, which allowed
encroachments on Crown land to go on unchecked, and
favoured the accumulation of arrears of rent. It was
obvious that the whole question of l^nd administration
314 LAND TENURE
modified in favour of the Municipal Commissioners, but
the principle of the Ordinance remains the same.
In recent years, with the rise in the value of land due
to the prosperity of the rubber industry, there has been
a noticeable tendency towards the formation of large
estates and the disappearance of the small fruit and
vegetable cultivator from many parts of the island. A
change of this nature can hardly be said to be in the
best interests of the Settlement, and to counteract it
there has been a marked increase in the number of
permits for the temporary occupation of Crown land,
which are renewed year after year, and have had con-
siderable effect in keeping the small cultivator on the
land. With the same object in view it has recently
been decided to issue thirty-year leases at reduced rates
of premium and quit rent, requiring the cultivation of
one-fifth of the land with fruit and vegetables. It is
hoped in this way to increase the supply of foodstuffs,
and to give a better tenure than that of the annual
permit, but at the same time one which will not be
sufficiently attractive to encourage the absorption of the
land in a large estate.
CHAPTER VI
MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
By F. J. Hallifax, formerly President of the Municipal
Commissioners , Singapore.
A HISTORY of the Municipality of Singapore within the
Umited space at the disposal of the writer must be either
a bald chronological table with lists of names, events, and
statistics, or must elect to refer the reader to other records
for mere statistics, and content itself with being little
more than a sketch.
The chronological and statistical method, though
doubtless it would appeal more strongly to a specialist,
would be out of place in a history such as this, compiled
as it is to commemorate one particular milestone in the
life of the city. A century in the life of a city is " like
an evening gone." What the archaeologist of a.d. 2019
will seek to find in the archives of the Raffles Museum
of his day will not be how many dollars we collected and
how many we spent, but rather to get an idea of what
sort of a city it was in its younger days. The dry bones
of statistics are available in many forms, much more
accurate and concise than any likely to be found in a
Centenary History, and it is certainly not this volume
that the student would take down from the shelves if
he wished to lighten some dark spot of revenue, expendi-
ture, or vital statistics. I will attempt, therefore, to
outline the growth of the Municipality since its birth,
making passing references to outstanding events and
persons only so far as they affect the Municipality, and
must leave the curious reader to fill in details of the
picture for himself from the materials to be found in
313
3i6 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
musty records of the Municipality or of the Government.
For interesting incidents and persons other than muni-
cipal the reader must seek elsewhere in this volume.
Lists and rows of figures unfortunately cannot be alto-
gether avoided, but they will be introduced as sparingly
as possible.
Municipal government owes its life in the first instance
to the need for roads. Before long roads have to be
followed by drains, and then by the collection and destruc-
tion qf the refuse that accumulates on and in them.
The provision of means of lighting would probably
follow next, water supply being still left to individual
effort, and not becoming a municipal care till a later
period. Then with the growth of the community it
becomes necessary to interfere with private and insani-
tary ways of living and of obtaining water, and a
Municipal Water Supply and Markets would be estab-
lished, which in turn would lead to the evolution of a
Health Department. Fin.ally would come organised
protection from fire. Legislation for the constitution
of the Governing Body would not necessarily be an early
stage in the evolution, though the collection of money
to pay communal expenses would have to be provided
for from the beginning. Such things as building
regulations, public gardens, and amenities would only
come within municipal purview at a much later stage,
with means of public transport and public housing
probably last of all.
The bibliography of the Municipality can be dismissed
in a very few words. In the beginning there was no
special municipal law, the town, such as it was, being
administered directly by the Central Government. But
the Government had other things to attend to, and was
apt not to give as much attention to the parish pump as
the inhabitants of the town thought it deserved. So
agitation was set on foot, and produced a Municipal
Committee or Watch Committee, the first embryo of
the Municipal Commissioners of to-day. It was modest
in its scope, and was concerned chiefly with providing
MUNICIPALITY ESTABLISHED 317
and upkeeping a small force of police to keep order in the
town, though it also drew the attention of the Government
to such abuses as it considered should be dealt with, a
function that it shared for many years with the Grand
Jury. Various Committees were formed to attend to
drains, street lighting, and regulation of buildings, the
first recorded being in 1822, but no special municipal
law was enacted. The Committees were appointed as
occasion demanded ad hoc, and had no continuous life,
nor were they in any way representative. Naturally
they failed to give satisfaction. Strong protests about
them induced the Government in 1854 to take steps to
extend the Indian Municipal Laws to the town, but it was
not till 1856 that an Act to establish a Municipality was
passed. This remained the charter of the town for thirty
years. The transfer of control from the East India
Company to the Home Government involved merely the
adoption of the Indian Act, which was not superseded till
1887, when the first Municipal Ordinance by the Straits
Settlements Government was passed. The representa-
tion on the Governing Body was intended to be popular.
In this it cannot be said to have had any conspicuous
success. This Ordinance remained in force till i8g6,
when an amplified Ordinance superseded it, which was
in turn repealed and superseded by the Municipal
Ordinance of 191 3, the law in force to-day. By the
last-mentioned Ordinance all pretence of popular
representation on the Board of Municipal Commissioners
was finally abandoned. It had never been more than a
fiction, and had led to abuses. It is (more or less)
authentically related that one of the infrequent contested
elections was won by one vote by an astute candidate
with a memory for faces. He sat at the polling-booth all
day. Voters were not numerous, and it was easy to tell
for whom their votes would be cast. As the hour for
closing the poll drew near, it was pretty clear that there
was going to be a dead-heat. This was a contingency
that had not been altogether unexpected, and an extra
voter or two had been induced to remain in reserve in an
3i8 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
adjoining hotel. The proud privilege of exercising their
rights of " popular representation " would not alone
have brought them to the booth, but they were willing
to wait and confer the honour of their votes on anyone
who would supply them with refreshments at inter-
vals. At the psychological moment one was supported
to the polling station, and his strategic use of re-
serves duly rewarded the candidate by a victory by
one vote.
An index to the activities of the Municipality will be
afforded by its finances. In the beginning whatever
funds were required were doled out of the general
revenues of the Government. There was trouble about
using such funds for the benefit purely of the inhabitants
of Singapore, and in 1825 or .1826 an assessment on
houses to defray expenses of municipal works had already
been established. It brought in about $400. Previously
the Committees had evidently been hard put to it to
find money, the most original method of raising it being a
proposal to have a public lottery for the purpose. In
1840 the assessment on houses was fixed at 8| per cent.,
reduced to 8 per cent, in 1843, but very little appears to
have been attempted. Buckley records that in 1843
" $1,900 was spent on roads " and " a sum of $18.62
was spent to enclose the Esplanade."
With the passing of the Municipal Act of 1856 the
revenue and expenditure were put on a more regular
basis. The rapidity of the growth of the town as
revealed in the accounts of income and expenditure is
remarkable. In 1856, the first year after the establish-
ment of a regular municipality, the income amounted to
$56,688.72 and the expenditure to $62,799.96. Inci-
dentally this is instructive as an early instance of
precocity. To spend more than your income is perhaps
normal for municipal commissioners of longer-established
municipalities, but it would have been expected, perhaps,
that in their first year they would have cut their coat
more according to their cloth.
In 1863 the revenue had increased to $114,928.87.
GROWTH OF REVENUE 319
The expenditure was on the right side of this for the first
time, and stood at $103,319.62.
Twenty-five years later, in 1888. the revenue stood at
$597,929.48 and the expenditure at $S39.097-SS« This
was the first year after the new Municipal Ordinance
had been brought into force. Taking the figures of
municipal revenue and expenditure as the criterion
from 1887 onwards, the growth of the town was steady
if not rapid. This continued till 1902, when there was
a slight set-back ; but the progress was resumed the next
year, and has continued ever since. The $597,929.48
of 1888 had grown to $4,514,543 in 1917, and expenditure
had increased from $539,097.55 to $4,263,787. For
the growth of thirty years these figures are remarkable.
With the passing of the Municipal Act of 1856 a
regular Municipal Council was established. The first
Chairman was Captain H. T. Marshall, Superintendent of
the P. and O. Company, and member of the Chamber
of Commerce. A secretary was naturally appointed at the
same time, the first holder of the post being Mr. C. R.
Rigg, who held it for ten years. Captain Marshall's
tenure of office "was only for one year. When he vacated
his appointment there seems to have been some difficulty
in filling it, for no less than three other gentlemen held
the office before the next twelve months.
The Directory for 1857 gives ' ' Assessment Department,
Commissioners, pro tern., Chairman H. T. Marshall,
Captain McPherson, Thomas Dunman, ex officio, John
Harvey, Tan Kim Seng ; Secretary and Collector of
AssessmentjChristopher Robert Rigg; Overseer of Works,
L. Pahill, temporary office. Commercial Square, over
Messrs. J. G. Boyd and Co.'s godown." In 1861 the
Municipal Secretary had a room in the Police Office, and
the Commissioners held meetings in the old Court House.
Afterwards Captain Macpherson seems to have held
the substantive appointment for ten years till 1869,
with short intervals, probably when he was on leave.
During the intervals the office was temporarily filled by
others, of whom the best known in the history of Singa-
320 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
pore is Mr. W. H. Read, who was Chairman for a few
months in 1 869. He again held office from 1 875 to 1 880.
Mr. J. W. W. Birch, whose subsequent death in 1875 in
Perak led indirectly to the estabhshment of the Federated
Malay States, was Chairman from 1 870 to 1 874. Captain
McCallum, R.E., afterwards Sir H. E. McCallum,
G.C.M.G., Governor of Ceylon, was Chairman for three
years, from 1883 to 1886. Mr. Alexander Gentle was
Chairman for ten and a half years, from June 1890 to
the end of 1900, the longest single period. There was
one interval in it of eight months, in 1897, when Mr. W.
Egerton, afterwards Sir W. Egerton, K.C.M.G., Governor
of British Guiana, acted for Mr. Gentle while the latter
was on leave. From the retirement of Mr. Gentle to
the present time the office has been held by Messrs.
J. O. Anthonisz, two and three-quarter years ; W. Evans,
three months ; E. G. Broadrick, six and a half years ;
F. J. HalHfax, seven and a half years ; W. Peel, at
present in office, with short intervals during which
Messrs. J. Polglase, R. J. Farrer, and Dr. W. R. C.
Middleton have acted during the absence on leave of the
substantive holder.
The office of Municipal Secretary has seen fewer
changes. The first Secretary was Mr. C. R. Rigg, who
held office from 1 856 to 1 866, when he resigned. He was
succeeded by Mr. H. Hewetson, who came from the Land
Office. He died in 1 882, and is chiefly remembered as an
enthusiastic amateur conjurer. Judging from the pieces
of discarded conjuring apparatus left lying about, he
appears to have found time to keep his hand in practice
during business hours. He was succeeded by Mr. D. G.
Presgrave, who went on leave in 1891 and did not return
to Singapore. The vacant office was filled by Mr. John
Polglase, who still holds it in the centenary year,
a period of continuous service of more than a quarter
of the total life of Singapore.
Of the municipal engineers, the first was Mr. J. W.
Reeve, who was appointed in 1858. Previous to that
time such advice as was required in engineering matters
ALEXANDER GENTLE.
I. 320]
PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES 321
was provided by the technical advisers of the Govern-
ment, occasionally supplemented by civil engineers in
practice in the town. Subsequent holders of the
appointment were Mr. Carrington (died at Batavia in
1878 while on short leave), Mr. Howard Newton (went
to Bombay and died in 1897 of cholera), and Mr. T. C.
Cargill. Mr. Cargill left the Municipal service in 1883,
and set up in practice in the town as a civil engineer.
He designed the present Coleman Bridge, and built
part of it as a contractor. Mr. James MacRitchie was
appointed in 1883. He built the filters at Bukit Timah
Road, and did much to improve the roads of the town.
On his death, in 1895, Mr. S. Tomlinson was appointed
from Bombay. He held the office till 1900, when he
resigned, and was succeeded by Mr. R. Peirce. Mr.
Peirce effected a very great number of changes and im-
provements during his tenure of office, the most impor-
tant of which are the extension and improvement of the
water supply and the installation of a water-carriage
system for sewage for the city. He resigned on account
of ill- health in 191 6. The work of the appointment had
by that time increased so greatly that it was decided to
split up the duties. Mr. B. Ball was appointed Municipal
Engineer for roads, sewers, and general engineering
works, and Mr. S. Williams was put in independent
charge of the waterworks. The lighting of the town
was also at the same time made an independent charge,
under the control of Mr. J. P. Hallaway as Gas Engineer
and Mr. J. H. Mackail as Electrical Engineer. That is
the constitution of the Municipal Engineering Depart-
ment in the centenary year. The pubhc health of the
town seems to have been left to look after itself for many
years. Epidemics of disease fortunately never became
serious, and such advice as was required was supplied by
the Medical Officer of the Government. It was not till
the Municipal Ordinance of 1887 was passed that a
separate Municipal Health Department was established.
Dr. W. Gilmore Ellis, of the Government Medical Service,
carried on the duties till 1 892, when Dr. E.G. Dumbleton
I — 22
322 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
was appointed. He held office only for about a year,
and was succeeded by Dr. W. R. C. Middleton, the present
Municipal Health Officer. After a few months in the
office in 1893, Dr. Middleton went to England in order to
qualify in Public Health. He returned in January
1894 with the Diploma of Public Health, and has held
the appointment of Municipal Health Officer for the
quarter of a century that has since elapsed. During his
periodical absences on leave, the work was carried on
by Dr. J. A. R. Glennie, his chief assistant.
The lack of a properly organised Health Department
in the early years had its inevitable consequence. The
growth of the town was only regulated in externals, and
that but very slightly, while out of sight the insanitary
conditions of China were perpetuated in their new homes
by the ever-increasing stream of Chinese immigrants
who were attracted by the growing trade of the country.
Houses were not built fast enough to accommodate new
arrivals, and overcrowding was the result. The resis-
tance to disease acquired by generations of living in
insanitary conditions in their own country enabled the
Chinese to support conditions in Singapore that would
have exterminated a race less inured to them. But, as
the Health Department became more firmly established,
and as more reliable statistics of death and disease
became available, it became obvious that everything was
not as it should be. Professor W. J. Simpson was
selected to come out from England and report on the
sanitary conditions of the town. He made an exhaustive
examination of the town in 1906, and submitted a very
complete report, which disclosed an appalling state of
affairs in the life below the surface. The result has been
that enormous sums of money have had to be spent in the
closing years of the first century of the life of the city to
undo the damage caused by the laissez faire policy of
previous years. As the century closes the authorities are
keenly alive to the need of sanitary improvements in the
housing and habits of the people, much good work has
been done, and much more is under consideration. But
■BS
w tf
£-1
TOWN PLANNING 323
the cost of undoing the damage will be enormous, and
the inhabitants of the town will need to make up their
minds to support a heavy burden of taxation before they
will be able to claim that their city is as good as it
ought to be.
The town is well served with roads. Raffles took
care that this should be the case, and ensured it by the
instructions he issued in 1 822 to the Committee appointed
to arrange the planning of the town. This minute of
the 4th November 1822 may be called the first Town
Planning Act for Singapore. The Committee were
instructed " to line out the different streets and highways,
which should as far as practicable be at right angles."
The breadth of streets was left undetermined ; evidently
the point had been discussed, but there had been differ-
ence of opinion. Detailed instructions were given with
the purpose of having an orderly and well-laid-out town,
with " kampongs " reserved for various nationalities.
Within the limits laid down (three miles along the coast
from Teluk Ayer to opposite Tanjong Rhu, and inland for
a distance varying from half a mile to a mile), the roads
and streets then laid down are the streets of to-day.
The parallel streets from Beach Road inland as far as
Bencoolen Street on the north side of the river represent
the oldest portion of the town. On the south side the
land was a swamp, and such orderly and easy arrange-
ment was not possible, though the inland portion as far
as Cross Street was evidently dealt with by the
Committee. But this must have been at a much later
date, for it is obvious from the absence of bridges that
practically all the life of the town was on the north side.
A single wooden bridge, built about 1822, was for many
years the only direct connection between the two banks,
other than that afforded by a ferry service. A second
bridge was apparently not required till 1840, when a
brick bridge was built by Mr. Coleman, and called after
him. This joined New Bridge Road and Hill Street, and
remained in existence till 1886, when it was replaced by
the present structure, but retained its name. The first
324 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
Elgin Bridge was renewed in 1843. Cavenagh Bridge
was built in 1 868, and remains now as originally designed.
It may be conjectured that the period about 1880 to
1890 saw the most rapid development of the business
quarter on the south side of the river. Ord Bridge
(1886), Read Bridge (1889), and the two bridges at
Pulau Saigon ( 1 890) were all built in that period ; and
Battery Road itself was found to be too narrow for the
busy traffic of the business quarter, and had to be widened
in 1890.
Anderson Bridge, the most imposing of the bridges
over the Singapore River, was built in 1910. Something
had to be done to relieve the congestion caused by the
narrowness of Cavenagh Bridge : it was decided not to
attempt to enlarge it, but to build an entirely new bridge
instead.
Roads added later may occasionally be identified by
their names, e.g. New Bridge Road, which undoubtedly
was made about the time that Coleman Bridge was made
( 1 840) ; Prinsep Street was made through the land
granted in 1859 to C. H. Prinsep for a nutmeg estate, and
would therefore date subsequently to that grant.
Havelock Road, Neil Road, and Outram Road bear their
dates upon them; they were made about 1857, ^J^d
named after the heroes of the Indian Mutiny. A map
of the town dated 1858 shows Orchard Road extending
only to where the junction with Nassim Road is now.
There is much to be said in favour of a system of naming
roads and streets by which some indication is given of
the dates of their construction.
Grange Road was made about 1 866 ; it previously
existed as a private pathway through Dr. Oxley's
property, but only as far as where Irwell Bank Road
now is. Paterson Road was opened up at the same
time through private property. It was foolishly saddled
with conditions imposed by the owners of the property,
which have operated to its detriment as a public road
ever since.
The roads within the municipal limits in the centenary
c =
SB
CONSERVANCY 325
year extend to about 119 miles. The state in which
they are maintained has often been the subject of favour-
able comment by visitors from other cities, though it
must be confessed that the inhabitants of Singapore
have not always been so loud in praise. The amount of
money spent on the roads is naturally very great, and
out of all comparison with the expenditure in the earlier
days, when roads were often mere tracks, when there were
no rubber- tyred vehicles and no motor-cars. We have
become more exacting than our forefathers in the
standard we require in our roads, and naturally the bill
for maintenance corresponds. In the last years of its
first century of life Singapore spends annually very little
short of half a million dollars in keeping its roads in order.
The Conservancy of the town, one of the most im-
portant spheres of activity of the Municipality, has
grown from nothing to its present dimensions. Drains
and refuse had to look after themselves till they obtruded
too much on public notice. Then spasmodic attempts
were made to deal with them, the first recorded being
in 1827, when a Committee was appointed to look into
the question and get the frontagers to build their drains.
The Committee did as much as it could, and reported
about a mile of drains completed in the town. System-
atic destruction of refuse was not established till 1889,
when the first incinerators were built at Jalan Besar.
These were supplemented by additional ones erected at
Tanjong Pagar and Alexandra Road, and all the refuse
of the town, amounting to about 600 cartloads a day,
is now scientifically destroyed. About 2,000 coolies are
now permanently employed in cleaning the drains and
keeping the streets free of refuse.
The disposal of sewage has always been a difficult
question. The style in which the town is built and the
absence of access to the backs of the houses make
collection by hand an unsatisfactory method. Sewers,
on the other hand, were said to be unsuitable for a town
in the tropics with an ignorant population. The advocates
of a sewerage system made no progress till Professor
326 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
Simpson, in 1906, issued his report on the sanitary
requirements of the town. He strongly advocated
sewers, and recommended the Shone system of evacu-
ation by automatic ejectors worked by compressed air.
The low levels on which the town is built make it impos-
sible to have a complete system of gravitation sewers,
and pumping, automatic or otherwise, seemed to be the
only remedy. In 1911 the Municipal Engineer, Mr. R.
Peirce, submitted a scheme by which the town was divided
into sections. Gravitation sewers were to be used to
certain central points, whence the contents of the sewers
were to be pumped to a distance and there disposed of
in accordance with the latest scientific methods. The
scheme found more favour than Professor Simpson's,
which was to have been very costly, and was adopted
by the Municipal Commissioners to be carried out.
Progress was retarded by the Great War, but the close of
Singapore's first century sees the city with the frame-
work of a modern sewage system, and with an installation
for disposal of sewage in full and satisfactory operation
at Alexandra Road.
The water supply of a large city is always an
important and often a troublesome question. In the
early days of Singapore this did not trouble the heads
of the Local Government over much, and the inhabitants
naturally were quite content to draw their water from
wells without any care for the future. In the first
instance the authorities did not appear to be so much con-
cerned for the supply to the people as for the supply to
the shipping. Singapore's importance depended on its
attractiveness to trading vessels, and it was highly
important that vessels should be induced to touch at
the port for fresh water. There were no streams in the
island suitable for water supply, so a small reservoir was
built. It was inadequate and badly made, and as early
as 1823, less than five years after the flag was hoisted
in Singapore, Mr. Crawfurd, the Resident, proposed to
spend $1 ,000 on a new reservoir and waterworks. But
nothing was done for the supply of the city, which
WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM 327
depended as before entirely on wells. As the town grew
the wells became more and more inadequate and more
and more insanitary. What had been a well in an open
garden or compound, reasonably capable of providing
good water, had become a well in the courtyard of a
house, surrounded on all sides by a crowded population
whose drainage was the source of the water at the bottom
of the well. Complaints were frequent, and much
hardship was suffered in times of drought ; but by some
fortunate chance no epidemic of disease seems to have
resulted.
In 1852 a report was made byJ.T. Thomson, proposing
a scheme for the supply of water to the town from the
head-waters of the " Singapore Creek." It was to cost
;£28,ooo to complete, and was to provide 546 million
gallons of water a year. The establishment required for
maintenance was to be two peons and ten convicts
under the supervision of an officer. Nothing came of this
scheme. In 1857 Tan Kim Seng offered $13,000 for the
purpose of bringing water to the town ; he proposed to
get it from Bukit Timah. Nothing practically came
of this scheme either for about five years, when it was
finally decided to make an impounding reservoir at
Thomson Road. For this, of course, far more money was
required than Tan Kim Seng's $13,000, so that donation
was used in erecting a fountain near Johnston's Pier to
commemorate his generosity. The fountain was erected
in 1882.
The impounding reservoir at Thomson Road, for
which the plans were approved about 1862, remained
the only source of water till 1900. It had had to be
enlarged about 1891, and again in 1904. In 1900 the
Kallang River Reservoir was constructed, part of an
elastic larger scheme which was to be put in hand as
the need for more water should arise. This need was
made very evident by a water famine which occurred in
1902, which caused much discomfort to the inhabitants
and a good deal of trouble to the authorities. Each of
these schemes required supplementary service reservoirs
328 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
to allow the water to reach the houses by gravitation.
The service reservoir on Mount Emily was the first of
these, built about 1878. It was followed twenty years
later by the service reservoir on Pearl's Hill.
The water from the impounding reservoir was received
at a pumping station at the foot of Mount Emily. Thence
it was pumped up to the high-level reservoir. No
filtration took place till about 1889, when the first
filters at Bukit Timah Road were constructed. Since
that date the filters at this station have been gradually
extended, between the years 1892 and 1895, and after-
wards again between 1898 and 1904, and between 1906
and 191 1. At the present time there are seventeen
filters at Bukit Timah Road. But this was not enough
to deal with all the water supplied to the town, and when
the Kallang River impounding reservoir was built in
191 1 an additional battery of nine filters was constructed
at Woodleigh. The total area of the filters at the present
time is very nearly thirteen acres. Even this is not
always sufficient ; a small proportion of unfiltered water
has frequently to be used for consumption in three or
four months in every year when consumption is heavy.
Not that this is a point of any great importance ; the
necessity of filtering the water at all has always been
questioned from a sanitary point of view. The catch-
ment areas for the two impounding reservoirs have been
cleared of all human habitation or activity, and possible
sources of contamination have been carefully excluded.
If it were not for the fact that unfiltered water is apt
to cause deposits in the pipes, and so both to increase
the expense of pipes owing to shorter life, and to de-
crease the amount of water that the pipes can carry,
there would be no necessity to filter the water at all.
The area of the Thomson Road catchment is 1,890 acres,
and of Kallang River catchment 3,007 acres, the two
reservoirs between them being capable of holding a
supply of water sufficient for the requirements of the
town for a period of several months, even if no rain
fell at all.
EXPENDITURE ON WATER SUPPLY 329
The pumps for elevating the water to the high-level
reservoirs at Mount Emily and Pearl's Hill are capable of
dealing with about 9,500,000 gallons a day. This was
considered quite a safe maximum not so many years ago.
Thomson's water scheme in 1852 provided for a total
annual supply of 546,000,000 gallons, a good deal less
than 2,000,000 gallons a day. Thomson doubtless had
an eye to future requirements, but his calculations of
the probable growth of Singapore were very wide of
the mark. The 7,000,000 gallons a day mark has been
habitually passed for some years, and the 9,000,000
gallon mark is now too near to be safe. Further exten-
sions both of the pumping plant and of the high-level
service reservoirs are indicated for very early in the
second century of the existence of Singapore. The site
for an additional high-level reservoir has already been
obtained from the Government, on Fort Canning.
It is extremely difficult, if not quite impossible, to
ascertain the total amount of money that has been sunk
in the various works for the supply of water to the town.
It has, however, been ascertained that $686,872 were
paid between 1878 and 191 8 for the various pieces of land
required for the impounding reservoirs, filters, service
reservoirs, and pumping stations, offices, etc.
In the same period of forty years $2,321,017 were spent
in construction works on the two impounding reservoirs
and $469,597 on the service reservoirs at Mount Emily
and Pearl's Hill. Filters absorbed $2,427,936 from
1889 to 191 3 ; buildings for the Water Department
$200,786 from 1878 to 1914.
The pumping station was first installed in 1878 ; but
the engines had to be replaced by more powerful ones in
1893, at a cost of about $67,000 ; and again in 1902-6,
when the existing set of Worthington pumps was in-
stalled, at a cost of $145,000. The total money sunk
in the pumping station and plant is calculated to be
$282,539. Mains represent a total outlay of $2,125,888
between 1878 and to-day, and meters $214,991.
The grand total of capital outlay in the waterworks
330 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
as they exist to-day, and excluding the not inconsiderable
sums occasionally spent in the earUer years before the
water system assumed its present form, is calculated to
be $8,8i 1,054.
The lighting of a town is of nearly as great importance
as its water supply, and should be before it in point of
time, and it is in some measure an index both of its
prosperity and orderly government. Absence of good
lighting means increased opportunity for evil-doers.
The history of Singapore is full of references to gang
robberies and burglaries, some of which attained almost
to the dignity of military operations. In 1 842 an attack
was made by an armed body of about fifty persons on
a house near the river in South Bridge Road, and other
similar robberies were of frequent occurrence. An
attack on a house on Mount EUzabeth in 1846 was
carried out by a gang of about 200 Chinese, and appears
to have been a regular siege. With better lighting of
the streets the chances of escape became much less
favourable, and we hear less about gang robberies,
though they continue, of course, to occur.
The streets were first lighted in 1824, but the lighting
was very feeble. Oil-lamps (probably coconut oil or
animal oil) continued to be the only medium of light
till 1864, when gas was used for the first time, supphed
by the newly established Gas Company. Petroleum did
not begin to be used till 1868. The Gas Company
continued in existence till 1900, when it was purchased
by the Municipality, and has been a Municipal Depart-
ment ever since. The purchase-price was settled at
£41 ,420. There have been many additions and improve-
ments to the plant in subsequent years, so that the
capital value of the concern in 1917 stood at $1,282,510.
It has been an excellent investment financially, contri-
buting a handsome profit each year to the relief of rates.
But it is questionable whether a smaller degree of pros-
perity would not really have been a greater advantage
to the town, for it cannot be denied that the prosperity
of the gas-works has not been without influence in
LIGHTING AND TRANSPORT 331
holding back the more extended use of electricity. In
this respect Singapore is very far behind the times, a
fact to which the municipal authorities have at last
awakened. But for the Great War this reproach would
have been removed before the centenary year.
The electric lighting of the town was installed in 1906,
the light being used for the first time on the 6th March
in that year. The current is purchased in bulk from the
Singapore Electric Tramway Company and sold by the
Municipality for distribution as a monopoly. The
installation at present covers only a small portion of the
town — the suburbs are untouched. The financial results
of this arrangement are moderately satisfactory ; but the
initial mistake of failing to provide its own generating
station will always, it is to be feared, be an obstacle to
prevent the Municipality from reaping as great benefit
as it might otherwise have done.
One of the most noticeable features of Singapore is
the character of the traffic in its streets. In the earlier
days the Municipality, such as it was, concerned itself
very little about the traffic. The most it did was to
enumerate vehicles and horses, and collect taxes on
them. The returns for 1840 showed 170 four-wheeled
and forty-four two-wheeled carriages, with 266 ponies ;
from which it may be inferred that a certain amount of
locomotion was on horseback. Contemporary accounts
of the state of the roads would confirm this. No great
change in the character of the traffic took place for
forty years, though naturally its volume increased.
Horses and ponies were universally used, and the horse
trade was a big business. Horse auctions were held
periodically in Raffles Square— it was not till 1886 that
they were discontinued. In 1880 there arrived the first
specimens of the jinrikisha, which was eventually des-
tined to become such a distinctive part of Singapore
street life. Jinrikishas were first imported from Shang-
hai in that year. They became popular at once, though
apparently naturally not with the drivers of gharries,
who saw their bread being taken from their mouths.
332 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
and who accordingly struck work and caused a good
deal of inconvenience in 1881, the year after the jin-
rikishas arrived. But they grew in numbers year by
year, till at the present time there are about 9,000 daily
plying for hire in the streets, with an army of 20,000
coolies, who gain their living by pulling them. It was
not to be expected that such a number of ignorant
coolies would be kept in order without some trouble.
Threats of strikes and attempts at disturbances have at
times been made, but nothing of importance has ever
come of them. The most serious was a strike which
lasted for seven days in January 1903. At first the
control was in the hands of the pohce. It was not till
1888 that it was handed over to the Municipality. The
increasing number of jinrikishas (there were about i ,800
of them then) was causing concern to the authorities,
who proposed to limit their numbers ; but this proposal
was never acted on. A special department to look after
them was established in 1892, and a special Jinrikisha
Ordinance passed in that year (Ordinance V of 1892).
The control is now regulated by the Municipal Ordinance
of 191 3, but the special department remains.
But for jinrikishas and a certain number of gharries,
which are gradually becoming altogether extinct,
Singapore is badly served in the matter of means of
locomotion. Steam trams were started in 1 885, and ran
as far as Rochore, but the enterprise had a life of only a
few years. In 1905 the Singapore Electric Tramways
Company was established, the only public transport
company in Singapore. The effect of cheap and rapid
transport is very clearly evident in the districts served
by the Company, where new suburbs are in process of
springing up.
The volume of traffic in the main arteries at the present
time is surprising. In a period of twelve hours 12,572
vehicles were counted passing over Cavenagh Bridge,
14,451 over Coleman Bridge. The majority were
naturally jinrikishas. Of these, statistics were taken
in 191 7 over six main bridges simultaneously for one
PUBLIC MABKEIS 333
period <rf tvdve horns, and die residt siiowed that
72,772 jinriktshas crossed one waef or die odwr in that
time.
Statistics of tiaflh: do not aiyrar to have been taken
at any r^iolar inlavals. Compaiisans are tbocfete
impossiU^ bat ^nres are araibblr for 1910 and 1917-
These show that 214 motor-cais crossed Andoson Bkii%e
in 1910 in tivdvc boms, cnmpared with 2/167 ™ ^9^7-
This is pcihaps not smprisnig, wfaui it is icmenibered
that the nse of motor-cais is of such modem giumtlh; hot
boOock-caits have been witii OS fiton the bc^imung, and
nn^^ ahnoist be eiqiected to deticj&e in »—"■>«**'> as
motor traffic iuaeased. Y^ in 1917 i;oo6 boDoi^-
carts crossed Iiislilulion Bridge, near the Raffles Hotd,
in LwiJvc horns, <iiwmiaied with 563 in 1910.
The mimiripal markets of 5Sngapore are five in 1
atthepresoittinie. The nerd far adifitionala
tion Ibs abcad^been reoognised, and at least two
ones win before hwg have to be built. The fiist market
was bodh in 1822. It was a fish maiket at Tdnk Ayer,
and had to be removed before kxig " as a measiue of
pofice " and " far the general convenience and deanfi-
ness <tf the pboe." In 1825 anew bail£ng was erected,
estimated to cost $4,316.60, on the site of tiie present
Telnk .\yer Market. This was said to be a " vciy
commodioas " one, an octagonal bnildii^ <rf 120 feet
(fiameter. It was the only gmeral maifcet in the town,
and as early as 1841 it was very evident that it was not
enoogh far the needs of the fdace. Kllmborough
Market was boilt in i84S> fallowed by Rochore Market
and Chrde Terrace Market in 1872. FHtmbii^i»^li
Market was enlarged in 1 899 by the adifitian of a boiUng
vdiich formed part of the Ediubiugh Ednfaitian of
that time. The vdH^ baildDDig was bot^b^ as it stood,
dismantled, txot^b^ oat and re-erected as a portioa of
the market. The old baihfing at Tdnk Ayer was
replaced by a larger market in the year 1894. Ordiard
Road Market was built in 1894, and Kanrfang Keiban
Market in 1913. Between 1888 and 1917, diat is firam
334 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
the date of the estabhshment of a formal Municipality
to the present time, a total sum of $589,457 is recorded
to have been spent on the erection and extension of the
markets. The right to collect fees and tolls in the
markets was " farmed " till 1909, the farmer finding it
a very lucrative business. In the interests of public
health the farm system was abolished in EUenborough
Market in 1909, and in all the others in 191 o. The
markets have since then been managed directly by the
oflEicers of the Municipality. The profits have probably
not been so great as under the farm system, but the loss
is more than counterbalanced by the gain in cleanliness
and good order. At the present time the markets
bring in a gross revenue of nearly $300,000 per annum,
and compare very favourably with markets in any of
the other large Oriental cities.
Singapore has, in the hundredth year of its existence,
neither a Town Hall nor proper Municipal Offices.
The first Town Hall was known as the Assembly Rooms,
and was situated at the foot of Fort Canning, at the
junction of Hill Street and River Valley Road. It was
a very modest structure, with an attap roof. It lasted
for ten years, and then had to be demolished. It was
replaced by the Town Hall, where is now the Victoria
Memorial Theatre. There was a great deal of trouble
about the building of it, and there were quarrels about it
at various times as long as it remained a Town Hall.
The foundation-stone was laid by the Governor, Colonel
Butterworth, in 1855, with elaborate ceremonial, but
the building does not appear to have been completed
till 1 86 1. It was used as assembly rooms, municipal
offices, and library for many years, proving inconveni-
ently small. In 1891 it was described as " Singapore's
Black Hole."
The Victoria Memorial Hall was begun in 1902, on a
site adjoining the old Town Hall. The foundation-stone
was laid by Sir F. A. Swettenham on the 9th August
1902. It was completed in 1905, and formally opened
by Sir John Anderson on the 18th October. The total
MONUMENTS AND AMENITIES 335
cost was $357,388. It was perhaps intended to take
the place of the Town Hall, which was converted into
the present Victoria Memorial Theatre, but has never
been put to any but very occasional use.
The Municipal Offices were in the old Town Hall till
1893, when they were moved to Finlayson Green, to the
building now occupied by the Borneo Company. There
they remained till 1900, when the present magnificent
site was purchased for $300,000 ; but the magnificent
offices to correspond remain still to be built.
Singapore, as a municipality, is singularly lacking in
public amenities. Botanical gardens exist, and a very
good museum, but these are not in any way under the
control of the Municipahty. The beautiful esplanade
(fifteen and a half acres) is vested in the Municipality it
is true, but the control and management are leased to
the Singapore Cricket Club and Singapore Recreation
Club. It was in 1 822 that this open space was saved by
Colonel Farquhar from being handed over to the builders.
Sir S. Raffles had intended all this district to be used for
commercial offices, and it was only through Colonel
Farquhar 's protest that this was not done. " We are
indebted, therefore, to Colonel Farquhar for the present
esplanade " (Buckley). The only other public open
space is what is called " People's Park," at the foot of
Pearl's Hill, and this is the only municipal open space
in Singapore. It was handed over to the Municipality
in 1 889 for use as a public garden and recreation
ground. It must be confessed that it is not a success
from either point of view.
Of public monuments Singapore can boast of three :
a statue of Sir Stamford Raffles, unveiled in 1887 in the
middle of the Esplanade, and removed in the centenary
year to its present site ; a memorial of the visit of the
King of Siam, erected in 1872 in the form of a bronze
elephant in front of the Town Hall ; and the Obelisk, at
the mouth of the Singapore River, erected in 1850 to
commemorate the landing in Singapore Island of the
Marquis of Dalhousie. There is also the public fountain,
336 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
erected in 1882 near Johnston's Pier, to commemorate
a public-spirited offer by Mr. Tan Kim Seng to improve
the water supply of the town.
Incidentally it may be mentioned that the first
specimens of the beautiful avenue of angsana trees at
the Esplanade were brought from Malacca in the very
first year or two of Singapore's history. The original
trees flourished at the mouth of the river for sixty years
before they died of decay. The existing avenue on the
sea side of the Esplanade was planted about 1890. It
afforded a glorious sight when the trees were in bloom,
but it is to be feared that its days are numbered. The
trees were attacked in 191 6 by an insidious fungus
disease, which had already destroyed many trees in
Penang, and many of them died in spite of all efforts to
save them.
In the course of its history the town went through
the ordinary stages of development in the matter of
protection from fires. First of all there was, as usual,
unrestricted building and no protection at all. Raffles,
in his foresight, laid out the main lines of streets, but he
did not at first concern himself so much with the con-
struction or position of the houses. The inevitable fires
took place, and each one, on the well-known principle
of locking the stable door after the theft, led to agitation
for protection. A big fire is recorded in 1830, which
caused damage to the extent of $350,000, and burned
down Philip Street and one side of Market Street. " It
cleared away a lot of badly constructed houses, and led
to a great improvement in the street." By a curious
coincidence, which had a habit of recurring in later years
till quite a recent date, this fire took place at Chinese
New Year. In those early days the only defence against
fire was the use of convicts, troops, and volunteers to
fight the flames. The next stage was the formation of
a volunteer brigade, but many fires were necessary
before this was achieved. From 1830 to 1843 the town
appears to have been in danger, on several occasions,
of being reduced to ashes. By 1 846 the popular agita-
DALHOrSIE PIER AND THE OLD TOWN HAU., WHERE THE MUXICIPAI, OFFICES
WERE UNTIL 1893.
PART OF THE OLD HOTEL DE L'EUROPE, NOW THE MUNICIPAL OFFICES.
I. 336]
VOLUNTEER FIREMEN 337
tion seems at last to have resulted in one fire-engine
(probably a manual) being provided, in charge of the
police, but its services were not as effective as they might
have been, owing to lack of water. By 1 864 the police
had two engines, Guthrie's had one, and the convicts had
one, so progress was not rapid, and much loss was suffered.
But the town was indirectly benefited on each occasion
by the destruction of numbers of huts and rickety houses.
On one occasion as many as 210 native houses in
Kampong Glam were burnt down, and on another
about 140 (probably one-tenth of the town).
It was not till 1880 or 1881 that anything like an
efficient Brigade was organised, and it is interesting to
note that its officers (volunteers) included a future
Governor of Ceylon (then Captain H. E. McCallum), a
future Governor of the Straits Settlements (then Mr. F.
A. Swettenham), and a future Governor of Sierra Leone
(then Mr. E. M. Merewether). This Brigade was small,
but quite efficient as far as it went. The trouble was
that it did not go far enough, and fires continued to
occur and do great damage as before; the period just
before the Chinese New Year seemed to be specially
favourable for outbreaks. There were extensive fires
in 1884, 1886, and 1890. In May 1889 a proposal was
mooted to build a fire station in Raffles Square, but it
was abandoned owing to local opposition. In 1888
the Brigade took its present form of a properly equipped
professional brigade. It proved costly in comparison
with the old volunteer brigade, but its cost has been
saved many times over to the town in the decrease in
loss of property by fire. The time for " turn out "
was reduced to a matter almost of seconds, and fires
at Chinese New Year ceased to occur. When a powerful
engine took to rushing up to a fire and getting to work
to extinguish it within a few minutes of the outbreak,
the causation of " accidental " fires ceased to have
attractions. Traces of the causes of the " accident "
were almost certain to be left, and then trouble occurred
in recovering insurance moneys and in other ways. The
1—23
338 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
annual loss by fire is now very small compared with the
enormous value of the property at stake, and in view
of the risks to which it is exposed. In the last ten years
the average annual loss has been $51,500, a total which
was greatly swelled by an exceptional loss of $183,000
in 19 1 6. Since the Brigade became a municipal concern,
in 1888, the total loss has been $2,671,000, an average
of $89,000 a year.
The Brigade is an all-motor one, with quite up-to-date
equipment housed in two stations, the Central Station
in Hill Street and a smaller station in Cross Street.
Horses ceased to be used in 191 2. The outbreak of a
fire continued to be signalled to the town by the firing
of a gun on Fort Canning till 1896. In that year this
signal was discontinued, and no public signal is now
made. The Brigade depended on its own vigilance or
on the telephone till 1915, when a system of street fire-
alarms was installed, with alarm-boxes at convenient
places.
In the earliest days, naturally, as there was no
Municipality, there were no municipal limits, but it
was not long before it became evident that some limits
would have to be fixed if the town was to develop in an
orderly fashion. In 1822 Raffles took this in hand, and
laid down his first skeleton plan for the future develop-
ment of the city. He appointed a Commission, con-
sisting of Captain Davis, Mr. George Bonham, and Mr.
A. L. Johnston, to enquire and report how best the town
should be laid out, giving them general directions for
their guidance. Though his new Settlement was as the
apple of his eye, and though no man more thoroughly
appreciated the importance of the city he was founding,
his first estimates of what it was likely to grow to were
modest in the extreme. He thought a stretch of about
three miles along the coast from Teluk Ayer to the
Rochore River would be enough, with space reserved
for extension inland for from half a mile to a mile.
These, then, may be considered the first municipal
limits, and Raffles 's Memorandum the first Town
MODERN SINGAPORE 339
Planning Act. If he could revisit the scene of his work,
he would find a city stretching from Pasir Panjang to
Tanjong Katong, say eight to ten miles along the coast,
and more than four miles inland.
Raffles 's Memorandum was the first Municipal Ordi-
nance, and it may claim to be as good as any that has
followed it. It did not make vain attempt to deal with
every mortal contingency, but contented itself with
indicating the main lines by which the Commissioners
should be guided, leaving much to discretion, and
allowing for the possibility that circumstances might
alter cases.
The area of the Municipality in the centenary year of
the city is about thirty square miles. The municipal
limits were first definitely laid down in 1887, under the
new Municipal Ordinance of that year. They remained
unaltered for nearly twenty years before they were
revised and republished again in 1906 under the provi-
sions of the Municipal Ordinance of 1896. Since that
date they have remained unchanged, with the exception
that a portion of the Tanjong Katong district was
included in 191 8.
In 1827, nine years after the foundation of the town,
the population was 13,732. There were no " municipal
limits " then, but there was no population except in the
town itself. In the next year the population had grown
to 15,834. In 1 88 1 the census gave a population of just
about ten times as great, 1 53,493. Since then the census
has been taken regularly at ten-yearly periods, the figures
for 1 891, 1901, and 191 1 being 161,595, 206,286, and
259,610 respectively. In the centenary year the popu-
lation within municipal limits is estimated to be 305,000.
Singapore in the hundredth year of its life is a big
city, equipped with good roads, magnificent harbour
and dockyards, miles of wharves, a water supply
adequate for its needs for many years to come, passably
well lighted, and boasting a partial but efficient system
of sewers by which the sewage is conveyed to a distance
and disposed of by modern scientific methods.
340 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
Many substantially built offices, banks, and godowns
testify to the volume of its trade and the prosperity of its
inhabitants. The many palatial dwelling-houses of the
merchant princes, scattered far and wide over the suburbs,
add their convincing testimony. Sir Stamford, " re-
visiting the glimpses of the moon," might well feel proud
of the city which he founded in the face of jealous
opposition, which he nursed so wisely in its infancy with
far-sighted solicitude, and whose growth and importance
have so amply justified his most sanguine and confident
hopes.
CHAPTER VII
THE PEOPLES OF SINGAPORE
INHABITANTS AND POPULATION
By Hayes Marriott, Acting Colonial Secretary, Straits
Settlements
In attempting to write an account of the inhabitants
and population of Singapore, it is necessary from the
nature of the subject to rely almost entirely on the labours
of those who have gone before. I have not hesitated to
borrow from any source that was available to me, and
I acknowledge my indebtedness to all those whose work
has enabled me to compile this paper.
Singapore is now, and since its foundation always has
been, one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.
In 1897 J- D. Vaughan says that it contained twenty-
eight or more nationalities. In the 191 1 census no less
than fifty-four different languages were recorded as
being spoken in the Settlement and forty-eight different
races (counting Chinese and Indian as only one each)
were represented.
I propose to take the history of the population as nearly
as possible in chronological order from the date of its
foundation in 18 19, tracing its progress up to 191 1,
when the last census before its hundredth birthday was
taken.
At its foundation the population amounted to about
150 individuals dwelling in a few miserable huts under
the rule of an officer of the Sultan of Johore, styled the
Temenggong. About thirty of them were Chinese and
the rest Malays, who had accompanied the Temenggong
when he settled in Singapore in 1 8 1 1 .
341
342 THE PEOPLES OF SINGAPORE
Abdullah, the Munshi, who did not come to Singapore
until several months after its foundation (and who
cannot, therefore, be implicitly relied on) states that when
Raffles landed there were on the banks of the Singapore
River four or five small huts and a few coconut trees,
and that the Temenggong lived in a somewhat larger
hut. He states that at the end of Kampong Glam
there were two or three huts belonging to Orang Laut,
of the Glam tribe, where kajangs and sails were made.
It seems very possible that the numbers of the Orang
Laut may have been under-estimated. In 1848, in the
Journal of the Indian Archipelago, there is a notice of a
settlement of Beduanda Kalang in the Pulai River in
Johore. These are said to have been the descendants
of a settlement in Singapore which was removed by the
Temenggong upon the cession of Singapore. They
originally consisted of a hundred families, living in as
many boats, but owing to the ravages of small-pox had
by 1 848 dwindled down to eight families. Another tribe,
the Orang Seletar, closely allied to the Beduanda Kalang,
were still in considerable numbers in the rivers and
creeks flowing into the Old Strait and into the estuary
of the Johore River.
In an account by an old inhabitant of Teluk Saga (pub-
Ushed in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Straits
Branch) who was living in 1 882, and who remembered the
landing of Raffles, it is stated that there were at the time
under one hundred small houses at the mouth of the
river, and that the only large one was the Raja's (i.e. the
Temenggong 's), which stood back from the river near
where the Obelisk stood in 1882 (not far from the site
of the Cricket Club). He also mentions that there were
about thirty families of Orang Laut, half of whom lived
in their boats near the site of the present Government
Offices, and the other half in a place called Kampong
Temenggong.
Some of these Orang Laut were still in Singapore in
1 82 1, for Crawfurd, in passing through Singapore, men-
tions a visit from some of them. He describes them as
IMMIGRATION FROM MALACCA 343
of rough exterior, with an awkward and uncouth speech.
Otherwise he could observe but Httle essential difference
between them and other [sic] Malays. He says
that they had adopted the Mohammedan religion, and
were divided into at least twenty tribes, distinguished
usually by the straits or narrow seas which they
principally frequented. By far the greater number
were born, lived, and died in their miserable canoes, and
their sole occupation was fishing. They had been
notorious as pirates, and he describes them as indolent,
improvident, and defective in personal cleanliness.
These Orang Laut, besides being the ancestors of some
of the Johore settlers, are with little doubt also the
ancestors of many of the present inhabitants of the
villages of Selat Sinkheh and Teluk Saga on Pulo
Brani. Abdullah the Munshi's description of men who
" jumped into the sea from their boats, dived like fish,
disappeared from sight, and rose again on the surface
400 or 500 yards from where they went in " reminds one
very much of their present day descendants, who clamour
for silver pieces whenever a steamer enters or leaves the
harbour.
After its foundation the town of Singapore grew very
quickly. On the nth June Raffles wrote that his new
Colony was thriving most rapidly, and that though it
had not been established four months it had received an
accession of population exceeding 5,000; these, he added,
were principally Chinese, and their numbers were daily
increasing.
In spite of the endeavours of the Dutch to prevent
emigration from Malacca to the new Settlement, and in
spite of the still greater dangers from pirates, good
prices and high wages induced the Malacca Malays to
take the risk. " Those who reached Singapore made
profits of over 100 per cent., and when this became
known the eagerness to go increased the more." Most of
these emigrants were labourers and small shopkeepers,
but within eight months fishermen also went, and within
a year had erected fishing stakes in Singapore waters.
344 THE PEOPLES OF SINGAPORE
Unfortunately the troubles of the Malacca Malays do
not seem to have ended upon their arrival in Singapore,
for Abdullah tells us that in the early days the truculent
Rhio Malays were too much for the more peaceable
immigrants, and that feuds between the two were con-
stant.
As early as June 1819 the number of different nation-
alities had so increased that it became necessary to make
regulations regarding the allotment of locations. It
was arranged that the Chinese should move to the
southern side of the river, forming a kampong below a
large bridge situated probably near where Elgin Bridge
now is. All the Malays and people belonging to the
Temenggong were to move to the same side of the river,
to form a kampong above the bridge.
The control of the island at this time was a double
one. The English only held the land from Tanjong
Malang to Tanjong Katong as far inland as the range
of a cannon shot, but excluding the kampongs of the
Sultan and Temenggong. All persons living within
these boundaries were under the authority of the
Resident ; outside, the inhabitants were under their
respective captains, heads of castes, or Penghulus, with
a right of appeal to a Council consisting of the Sultan,
the Temenggong, and the Resident.
In February 1820 the population was already more
than three times that of Bencoolen, and was still rapidly
increasing. In 1821 the population was estimated at
4,727 persons, of whom twenty-nine were Europeans,
2,851 Malays, and 1,159 Chinese. In July 1822 Raffles
describes it as overstocked with merchants ; but in
November of that year he appears to have changed his
opinion, as he says that in little more than three years
it had risen from an insignificant fishing village to a
large and prosperous town containing at least 10,000
inhabitants of all nations, actively engaged in commercial
pursuits which afforded to each and all a handsome
livelihood and abundant profit.
In this year (1822) the Chuhahs (natives of Madras)
THE FIRST CENSUS 345
had so increased in numbers that they petitioned for the
appointment of a captain or headman, and in October of
that year a Committee was appointed for appropriating
and marking out the quarters or departments of the
several classes of the population. It consisted of three
European gentlemen, together with a representative
from each of the principal classes of Arabs, Malays,
Bugis, Javanese, and Chinese. In the directions given
to this Committee for their guidance, suggestions were
made for the location of the Chinese on the south-west
of the river, the Bugis on the spot beyond the residence
of the Sultan in Kampong Glam, the Chuliahs up the
Singapore River, and the Arabs in Kampong Glam,
immediately adjoining the Sultan's residence. The
Malays, being principally attached to the Temenggong,
would not, it was considered, require a very extensive
allotment, and were expected to settle near Panglima
Prang's (River Valley Road) and on the upper banks
of the river.
In January 1823 there were no less than nine European
mercantile houses, and it is stated that there was abun-
dant employment for capital as fast as it accumulated.
In January 1824 the first census was taken. The
population consisted of 10,683 persons, and included
74 Europeans, 4,580 Malays, and 3,317 Chinese.
In a report written about this time by Crawfurd
(then Resident of Singapore), it appears that the Chinese
were principally Macaos and Hokkiens. The latter are
described as the most respectable and the best settlers.
All the merchants and most of the good agriculturists
were of this class. The Bengalis were few, and only
menials ; the Klings were numerous and respectable
traders ; the Bugis are described as numerous, and
distinguished from the other islanders by industry and
good conduct. They were, however, all traders and
not agriculturists.
With regard to the proportion between the sexes at
this period, Mr. Crawfurd states that among the followers
of the Sultan and Temenggong the proportion of women
346 THE PEOPLES OF SINGAPORE
to men was two to one, but that among the free settlers
this proportion was more than inversed, and that in the
case of the Chinese the disproportion was so great that
there were at least eight men to every woman.
Censuses were taken in 1825, 1826, and 1827. In
these censuses the floating population, the convicts from
India, and the military withtheir followerswere excluded.
In 1827 Crawfurd estimated that the convicts numbered
about 600, the military about 1,300, and the floating
population about 2,500. He states in regard to these
censuses that the most rapid increase of the population
took place after the formation of the Settlement, when
the field was nearly unoccupied. The most numerous
class of the inhabitants was the Chinese. In Singapore
they were commonly divided into five classes, all
industrious. These were the Creoles, a mixed race ;
natives of Macao and other islands at the mouth of the
Canton River ; natives of the town of Canton and other
seaports of the Province of the same name ; natives of
Fokien ; and, finally, a race of fishermen from the sea-
coast of the Province of Canton, commonly denominated
Ay a.'
He describes the Creole Chinese as intelligent, always
acquainted with the Malayan language, and occasionally
with the English ; they were considered inferior in
industry to the rest, but were beneficially employed as
brokers, shop-keepers, and general merchants. The
emigrants from Fokien were considered superior, both
in respectability and enterprise, to the rest of their
countrymen. Next to them came those of the town of
Canton and other principal ports of that Province. The
Chinese of Macao were not considered very respectable,
and the lowest in the scale ; the most disorderly, but the
most numerous, was the race of fishermen.
The next numerous class of the population were the
natives of the islands. Incapable of maintaining com-
petition in almost any line with the Chinese, these had
' I have been unable to identify this race. It is most probably that
we now know as Teo-chiu.
BRITISH SETTLERS 347
rather diminished than increased during the preceding
four years. Their principal employment was as fisher-
men, wood-cutters, boatmen, and petty cultivators and
petty shop-keepers. The most respectable were the
Bugis, who were almost always employed in trade. Of
the pure Malays, the most docile and industrious were
the emigrants from Malacca. The lowest in the scale
were the Malays of the immediate neighbourhood, and
the worst among those were the retainers of the native
princes.
The Indians of the Malabar and Coromandel coast
stood next to the Chinese, and of the Asiatic population
came nearest to that industrious people in usefulness
and intelligence.
Speaking of the British settlers, Crawfurd states that
during the first eight years of the history of the Settle-
ment no restraint or condition whatever was imposed
upon the settlement and colonisation of Englishmen,
no licence was demanded, and they were permitted to
own property in the land upon terms as liberal and easy
as could be supposed in any new settled colony. Few
as were the British settlers of Singapore, they constituted,
in reality, the life and spirit of the Settlement ; and he
adds that it could be safely asserted that without them,
and without their existing in a state of independence and
security, there would exist neither capital, enterprise,
activity, confidence nor order.
Censuses were again taken in 1829, 1830, 1832, 1833,
1834, and 1836.
In Mr. J. G. Bonham's report on the census of 1829
he notes that the principal addition to the previous
census appeared to be among the Chinese, and that
though it was a notorious and well-authenticated fact
that agriculture was on the decHne, indeed nearly
extinct, yet no less that 883 more male Chinese appeared
to be engaged in the interior of the island than in 1827.
He had questioned some of the principal and best-
informed Chinese on the point, and they fully corrobor-
ated what the census showed, and they stated, what
348 THE PEOPLES OF SINGAPORE
Mr. Bonham had reason to know, that numbers of
Chinese Hved together in the country, without any
visible means of Uvehhood, and who, there was too much
reason to apprehend from the frequency of robberies
recently, must live entirely on plunder. He considered
that the surplus of the Chinese population had come over
from Rhio.
The figures for these earlier censuses cannot, however,
be regarded as very accurate. In 1833 we are told
that they were collected by the two constables who were
attached to the Settlement, and who had many other
duties to perform. No fixed principle was adopted
with regard to the headings " Europeans," " Native
Christians " and " Indo-Britons." Some enumerating
officers appear to have included as " Europeans " all
who wore European clothes, while others seem to have
endeavoured to distinguish those who really were of
European extraction. Moreover, as stated before, the
convicts (whose number in 1833 was estimated at about
1,200) and the military and their followers were not
included.
In 1833 the number of European mercantile houses
had risen to twenty, consisting of seventeen British, one
Portuguese, one German, and one American.
Censuses were again taken in 1 834 and 1 836. Writing
on the latter census, Newbold states that the Europeans
and Chinese constituted the wealthier classes. The
Europeans were for the most part merchants, shop-
keepers, and agents for the mercantile houses in Europe.
Most of the artisans, agriculturists, and shop-keepers
were Chinese. The Malays were chiefly fishermen and
timber-cutters, and the Bugis almost entirely engaged
in commerce. The Indians were petty shop-keepers,
boatmen, servants, etc. He remarks upon the dispro-
portion between the sexes, and accounts for it by the
strict prohibition of the emigration of females from
China, to the fluctuating nature of the population, and
to the obstacles presented to a permanent settlement by
the land regulations then in force. With regard to the
t.348]
CHHTTY (MONEVI^ENDKR).
CHINESE WOMEN 349
alleged prohibition of the emigration of women from
China, Mr. J. D. Vaughan states that there was no law
in China prohibiting the emigration of women, but that
there was a reluctance on the part of the Chinese to
quit their native country, and that it was only necessity
compelled them to do so.
In the census for 1836 (and probably in the earlier
censuses, for the divisions in 1829 were Singapore,
Kampong China, Kampong Glam, country and islands)
the Settlement was divided into two portions, the town
and country. The town extended from the Rochore
River on the east to Mr. Ryan's Hill (now Bukit Pasoh),
and inland to a line drawn parallel to Mount Sophia.
Within this area there were 12,748 males and 3,400
females. By nationalities there were 8,233 Chinese,
3,617 Malays, and 2,157 Klings, the remainder consisting
of Bengalis, Bugis and Native Christians.
The country comprised all the island outside the town,
and included the neighbouring islands. It was sub-
divided into two districts, viz. Singapore Town and
Kampong Glam. The population of Singapore Town
amounted to only 4,184, consisting of 2,358 Chinese,
i>7SS Malays, and the remainder mainly Klings and
Bugis. The district of Kampong Glam, including the
islands of Pulo Tekong and Pulo Obin, had a popula-
tion of 9,652. Of these 4,288 were Malays, 3,178
Chinese, 1,575 Bugis, and the remainder Javanese,
Balinese, Bengalis, and Klings.
A striking feature was that not only was the propor-
tion of females to males greater in the country, but the
actual number of females was greater in the country.
It should, however, be pointed out that the Chinese
females enumerated in this and the earlier censuses
cannot have been pure Chinese, and must be the Creoles
or half-breeds referred to by Crawfurd. In 1837 it is
recorded that no Chinese woman had ever come to
Singapore from China, and it is said that only two
Chinese women had ever been in the place, these being
two small-footed ladies who had some years previously
350 THE PEOPLES OF SINGAPORE
been exhibited in England. Even as late as 1876 Mr.
J. D. Vaughan stated that he knew of no instance of a
respectable Chinese woman emigrating with her hus-
band.
At the census of 1840 the population had risen to
39,681. The total included the floating population, the
military force of the station, and the Indian convicts.
It is stated that if these had been excluded, the increase
over the census of 1836 would have been about 4,000,
of which fully three-quarters were Chinese.
The Chinese at this time are said to have been chiefly
Hokkiens, Khehs, Teo-chius and Cantonese. Between
1840 and 1850 the immigration of Chinese into Singapore
was very large. In 1843 the number was 7,000, in 1844,
1,600, while up to March 1845, 6,833 had arrived of the
latter, 1,168 by square-rigged vessels and the remainder
in junks. In 1848 the number arriving in square-rigged
vessels was 1,330, and in junks was 9,145. The junks
came down from China towards the close of the north-
east monsoon, and the greatest number to be seen in
the harbour was in March and April.
Writing in the Journal of the Indian Archipelago in
1848 Mr. Seah Eu Chin estimated the total number
of Chinese in the Settlement at 40,000. This was appar-
ently an over-estimate, as the census figures for the
following year show. These, he considered, consisted
mainly of Hokkiens, Malacca-born Chinese, Teo-chius,
Cantonese, Khehs, and Hailams. The greatest number
of married Chinese were among the Malacca-born, the
next greatest amongst the Hokkien shop-keepers, and
the least amongst the Cantonese (he evidently forgot
the Hailams). He puts the total number of married
Chinese at 2,000.
At the census of 1849 the population was 59,043.
The Settlement was divided into four parts, the town,
the country, the rivers, and the islands. The population
of the town was 25,916, the country 22,389, the rivers
1,929, and the islands 2,657. In addition, the military,
convicts, and floating population amounted to 6,152.
GROWTH OF POPULATION 351
This was said to be a very small increase over the
census of the preceding year (the figures of which I
have been unable to obtain), and was accounted for
by the fact that the soil of the island was getting ex-
hausted, and that plantations were being opened up in
Johore.
For the year ending the 30th April 1850 the number
of immigrants was 10,928, of whom 7,726 arrived in junks
and 3,202 in square-rigged vessels.
In 1852-3 the number of Chinese immigrants into
Singapore was 11,434. Towards the end of 1853 large
numbers arrived from Amoy. There had been dis-
turbances in that city, and many of the immigrants had
taken part in them. As considerable financial assistance
had been given to the rebels by the Singapore Chinese,
they brought with them the wives and families of many
of the most respectable Singapore Chinese merchants.
Mr. Vaughan, however, who arrived in the Colony in
1856, states that a Chinese woman was seldom seen out
of doors at that time, whereas twenty-five years later
they could be met at every turning, sauntering about
with their children, or driving in omnibuses and hack-
carriages.
The census of 1 860 was taken by the police, and the
total population amounted to 81,734 persons, of whom
2,385 were Europeans and Eurasians, 50,043 Chinese,
15,202 Malays, and 12,973 Indians. From the 1871
census report it would appear that the figures of this
census were absolutely unreliable. From 1871 onwards
the censuses have been taken at regular intervals of
ten years.
At the end of this paper I have set out the figures for
each census of the Settlement so far as I have been able
to obtain them, and from the last five censuses I have
added details in respect of the European (and American)
and Chinese races. An examination of the figures for
the censuses from 1871 to 191 1 shows a large and steady
increase in almost all nationalities.
Amongst the Europeans the increase in the British
352 THE PEOPLES OF SINGAPORE
is much larger than in any other nationahty, and though
the total increase in the others is considerable, the
individual increases are insignificant.
The Eurasian community, which is important as being
indigenous, has more than doubled since 1871.
The Malay races are well holding their own. The
Malays of the Peninsula have a natural increase, while
the Javanese and Boyanese are still increasing by
immigration.
In the 191 1 census the Chinese and Indians were
divided into Straits-born, China or Indian-born, and
Chinese or Indians born elsewhere. The languages
spoken were also enumerated, but as a considerable
number of the Chinese and Indians speak Malay or
English, the totals of the persons speaking Chinese and
Indian languages do not at that census tally with the
totals of Chinese and Indians enumerated.
Amongst the Chinese the most notable rate of increase
is in the Straits-born, who since 1881 have risen from
9,527 to 43,562. The Hokkiens run them very close in
an increase during the same period from 24,981 to
90,248. The Cantonese, Teo-chius and Khehs also show
very large increases, and the Hailams more than main-
tain their numbers. A remarkable feature is the sudden
appearance in the 1901 census of 12,888 Hok-chius.
These dropped to 3,653 in the next census (191 1), and
their places were partially taken by i ,925 Hing-Hoas and
3,640 Hok-Chhias.
The Indian races have increased from 10,754 in 1871
to 27,770 in 191 1.
Amongst other nationalities I need only mention the
Japanese, who from a single individual in 1871 had in-
creased to 1,409 in 191 1, and whose numbers have with-
out doubt considerably further increased since.
The proportion of females to males in the population
has been very constant throughout the history of the
Settlement. Omitting the census of 1849 (when the
proportion was only 20-4 per cent.), the proportion has
never been below 23-4 per cent. (189 1) nor above 28*9
i-r
Hi
PROPORTION OF CHILDREN 353
per cent. (191 1). It is encouraging that the proportion
in the last census is the highest recorded, and as in that
census there were enumerated in the Settlement no less
than 42,022 females and 38,308 males whose birthplaces
were in the Colony or Malay Peninsula, it is clear that
there is now the nucleus of a large settled population.
Taking the Malays, the Straits-born Chinese, and the
Eurasians collectively, it is interesting to note that the
females outnumbered the males in 191 1 by 108*5 to
100. This is further borne out by the age constitution
of the population.
In England and Wales, at the 191 1 census, the pro-
portion of children under fifteen to the whole population
was 30-6 per cent. In Singapore at the last five censuses
the proportion has been : 1871, i8-i per cent. ; 1881,
16-4 per cent. ; 1891, 14-3 per cent. ; 1901, 17-4 per
cent.; and 191 1, i8-i percent. It is evident, therefore,
that though the proportion is still low, there is at least
a tendency to improvement.
The population and prosperity of Singapore will
doubtless be always largely dependent upon outside
factors. We have seen how a disturbance in Amoy sent
many settlers here, and it is well known that famines in
India have a marked effect upon immigration into the
Colony. The price of tin is immediately reflected in
the numbers of Chinese immigrants, and the opening
up of rubber estates is responsible for the large influx
of Javanese. But the figures of the censuses clearly
prove that there is a steady increase in the numbers of
those who look upon this Settlement as their home, and
it is to this permanent population that the Settlement
must look in the main for its future prosperity.
1—24
354 THE PEOPLES OF SINGAPORE
WORKS CONSULTED
Vaughan's Manners and Customs of the Chinese of the
Straits Settlements, 1879.
Newbold's British Settlements in the Straits of Malacca,
London, 1839.
Sir F. Swettenham's British Malaya, London, 1907.
Hikayat Abdullah, Singapore, 1880. (Malay edition.)
Journal of the Indian Archipelago, Singapore.
Crawfurd's Embassy to Siam, 1 82 1 .
Memoir of the Life and Public Services of Sir Thomas
Stamford Raffles' by his Widow, London, 1835.
Anecdotal History of Singapore, by C. B. Buckley, 1902.
T. Braddell's Statistics of the British Possessions in the
Straits of Malacca, Penang, 1861.
Cameron's Our Tropical Possessions in Malayan India.
Census Reports.
CENSUS RETURNS
355
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Natives of Coro-
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Siamese
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356
THE PEOPLES OF SINGAPORE
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CENSUS RETURNS
357
POPULATION— (con«nM«d)
1849*
i86ot
M.
F.
Total.
H.
F.
Total.
Europeans .
243
117
360
1.503
882
2,385
Eurasians
472
450
922
—
—
Armenians
35
15
50
—
—
—
Jews
18
4
22
—
—
—
Arabs .
121
73
194
63
52
117
Malays
6,612
5.594
12,206
7.148
4.740
11,888
Chinese
25.749
2,239
27,988
46.795
3.248
50.043
Natives of India
5.423
838
6,261
11,608
1.365
12.973
Javanese
1. 139
510
1,649
2.514
894
3,408
Balinese
78
71
149
—
—
Caflfres
I
2
3
—
—
Parsees
23
—
23
—
—
—
Siamese
4
I
5
12
2
14
Boyanese
720
43
763
Bugis .
1.458
811
2,269
477
429
906
Cochin -Chinese
II
16
27
—
Total .
42.107
10,784
52,891
70,122
11,6X2
81.734
Military and Followers .
—
—
609
. —
—
—
Continental Convicts
—
—
1,426
—
—
—
Local Convicts
122
—
—
Persons living on board
vessels and boats in the
Roads
—
—
2.995
—
—
—
Omitted through change
or obscurity of residence
—
—
1,000
—
—
—
Grand Total
—
—
59.043
—
—
—
'Journal of the Indian Archipelago, iv. 10.
t Braddell's Statistics of the British Possessions in the Straits of Malacca, Penang, 1S61,
358 THE PEOPLES OF SINGAPORE
POPULATION— (con<."MM«(i)
1871
1881
M.
P.
Total.
H.
F.
Total.
Europeans and Americans.
Resident .
623
299
922
815
468
1.283
Floating
403
4
407
641
29
670
Prisoners
21
—
21
33
—
33
British Military-
481
115
596
718
65
783
Total Europeans
1,528
418
1,946
2,207
562
2,769
Eurasians
1.063
I.IOI
2,164
1,509
1,585
3.094
Chinese
46.104
7.468
54-572
72,571
14.195
86,766
Malay Races.
Achehnese
—
—
I
I
2
Balinese .
—
—
—
—
—
Banjarese
—
—
—
—
—
Bataks
—
—
—
—
—
Boyanese .
1.377
257
1.634
1.504
607
2,111
Bugis
1,018
978
1,996
1.038
1,016
2,054
Dyaks
I
I
20
23
43
Javanese . .
2.156
1.084
3.240
4.119
1,766
5.885
Jawi Pekans
—
—
389
373
762
Malays . . .
10,059
9,211
19.270
II 471
10,684
22,155
Philippines
7
—
7
85
5
90
Total Malays
14.617
11,531
26,148
18,627
14.475
33,102
Indian Races.
Bengalis and other
Indians not particu-
larised .
640
304
944
1,207
344
1,551
Burmese .
17
9
26
33
19
52
Parsees
24
II
35
22
6
28
Tamils
7,701
1,633
9.334
8,412
2.095
10,507
Indian Military .
412
3
415
—
—
Total Indians
8.794
1,960
10.754
9.674
2,464
12,138
Others.
Abyssinians
I
2
3
—
—
Africans
4
—
4
17
15
32
Annamese .
12
8
20
6
24
30
Arabs
275
191
466
551
285
836
Armenians
36
28
64
45
35
80
Fiji Islanders
—
—
Japanese .
I
—
I
8
14
22
Jews
30
27
57
116
56
172
Mauritians
.
Persians .
4
I
5
2
2
Siamese
25
19
44
53
70
123
Singhalese
6
I
7
39
3
42
Syrians
—
—
Turks (Asiatic) .
—
—
—
Convicts .
848
8
856
—
—
—
Total others .
1,242
285
1,527
835
504
1,339
Grand Total
74,348
22,763
97,111
105.423
33,785
139,208
CENSUS RETURNS
POPULATION— (con«».««<i)
359
189 X
190X
M.
F.
Total.
M.
F.
Total.
Europeans and Americans.
Resident .
1.434
868
2,302
1.737
1,134
2,861
Floating .
1.734
48
1,782
465
3
468
Prisoners
10
10
—
—
—
British Military
1. 134
26
1,160
417
78
1.205
495
Total Europeans
4.3J2
942
5.254
2,619
3,824
Eurasians
1.764
1.825
3.589
2,015
2.105
4,120
Chinese
100,446
21,462
121,908
130,367
33.674
164,041
Malay Races.
Achehnese
3
—
2
2
—
2
Balinese
—
—
—
—
Banjarese
—
—
—
—
Bataks
—
—
—
—
Boyanese .
1, 808
869
2,677
1,701
i,on
2,712
Bugis
864
775
1.639
519
480
999
Dyaks
43
53
96
15
14
29
Javanese .
6,056
2.485
8,541
5.659
2,860
8,519
Jawi Pekans
156
146
302
310
355
665
Malays
11,940
10,761
22,701
11,987
11.073
23,060
Philippines
30
4
34
67
27
94
Total Malays .
20,899
15,093
35.992
29,260
15,820
36,080
Indian Races.
Bengalis and other
Indians not particu-
larised ,
2,728
724
3.452
2,728
514
3.242
Burmese .
13
13
26
8
6
14
Parsees
4J
13
54
18
8
26
Tamils
10,171
2.332
12,503
10,841
2,950
13.791
Indian Military .
—
—
750
—
750
Total Indians
12.953
3.082
16,035
14,345
3.478
17.823
Others.
Abyssinians
—
—
—
—
—
—
Africans .
10
4
14
5
3
8
Annamese .
16
16
32
5
10
15
Arabs
503
203
806
523
396
919
Armenians
36
32
68
43
36
79
Fiji Islanders
—
—
—
—
Japanese .
58
229
287
188
578
766
Jews
106
84
190
247
215
462
Mauritians
—
—
—
—
Persians
4
5
9
3
3
6
Siamese
80
131
211
61
107
168
Singhalese
143
16
159
194
50
244
Syrians
—
—
—
—
—
Turks (Asiatics)
—
—
—
—
—
—
Convicts .
—
—
—
—
—
—
Total others .
956
820
1,776
1,269
1.398
2,667
Grand Total
141.330
43.224
184,554
170,875
57,680
228,555
36o
THE PEOPLES OF SINGAPORE
POPULATION— (60H««i4«i)
>9it
H.
F.
Total.
Europeans and Americans.
Resident
Floating
Prisoners
British Military
—
—
—
Total Europeans
4,091
1,620
5.7"*
Eurasians
Chinese
Malay Races.
Achehnese
Balinese
Banjarese
Bataks
Boyanese
Bugis .
Dyaks
Javanese
Jawi Pekans
Malays
Philippinos .
2,257
161,648
2
35
I
3,028
615
I
6,909
47
11,884
80
2.414
57.929
2
62
2,058
629
I
4.315
61
12,120
46
4.671
219.577
2
2
97
I
5,086
1,280
2
11,224
108
24,004
136
Total Malays
22,638
19.294
41.933
Indian Races.
Straits-born Indians
Indian-born Indians
Burmese ....
Indians bom elsewhere .
2,304
20,252
7
506
2,240
2,373
8
80
4.544
22,625
15
586
Total Indians .
23,069
4.701
27.770
Others.
Abyssinians
Africans
Annamese
Arabs .
Armenians
Fiji Islanders
Japanese
Jews
Mauritians
Persians
Siamese
Singhalese
Syrians
Turks (Asiati
Convicts
c)
5
7
708
40
4
513
312
2
43
135
I
14
4
4
518
25
896
283
2
104
34
3
I
9
II
1,226
65
4
1.409
595
2
2
149
169
4
15
Total others
1,786
1,874
3.660
Grand Total
215,489
87,832
303,321
♦ Exclusive of Floating Population
CENSUS RETURNS
361
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Belgians .
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Bulgarians
Danes
Dutch
Finlanders
French
Germans .
Greeks
Hungarians
Italians
Moldavians
Norwegians
Poles
Portuguese
Roumanians-
Russians .
Spanish
Swedes
Swiss
Turks
Unspecified
West Indians
36z
THE PEOPLES OF SINGAPORE
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THE DOMICILED COMMUNITY 363
THE EURASIANS OF SINGAPORE
By A. H. Carlos.
A hundred years ago there was no Eurasian in Singa-
pore, nor until Raflfles came any Europeans or Chinese.
It was the generous policy of the founder of the Settle-
ment to make it free to all races, and from that freedom of
residence has sprung the important section of the com-
munity sometimes called the Domiciled Community
in India, the Burghers in Ceylon, which has this year
decided to adopt in Singapore the name of Eurasian for
the fresh start made in organising and making itself
felt.
Thomasz Farrao, the earliest remembered Eurasian of
Singapore, was born in Penang, his father coming from
Bangalore, being a man of means who traded between
India, Penang, and Burma in copra and rice a hundred
years ago. In the early part of the nineteenth century he
settled in Penang, and three children, Thomasz, Anthony,
and another, were there born to him. Thomasz came
to Singapore a few years after Raffles had founded the
Settlement, and he seems to have been one of the first
men to own land on the island. A daughter-in-law is
still alive, and several grandchildren. Anthony remained
in Penang, and traded between that port, Burma, and
the port which afterwards became Port Weld.
Among the older names well known in Singapore, that
of Leicester stands out in relief. Edward Barnaby
Leicester was transferred from Bencoolen to Singapore
in 1827. He was the son of Robert Leicester, who went
out as a writer to India in the Company's service in the
middle of the eighteenth century. A brother, John
Leicester, also came to the Straits, but of his descendants
only one is remembered. He was chief clerk in the
Police Courts, and the compiler of the Straits Law
Reports published in 1877. But the family had soon
settled down to that honest, steady, and responsible
364 THE PEOPLES OF SINGAPORE
work in the Colony which is so characteristic of the good
Eurasian famihes. The 1847 Directory has the name
of six : Edward and John, clerks, Imports and Exports
Office ; Edward R., clerk in the Accountant's Office ;
James, in Boustead,Schwabe and Co.; and William, whose
occupation is not given. Edward Barnaby's descendants
have spread throughout the Colony, and played an import-
ant part in its work and development. Three of the sons,
William Edward Barnaby Leicester, John Barnaby
Leicester, and Henry Barnaby Leicester (the last-named
by a second marriage), have done earnest and conscien-
tious work for the Government. The youngest, Henry
Barnaby Leicester, is still alive, having been in the service
of the Tanjong Pagar Co. since January 1882, passing
into the Harbour Board, where he is still employed.
Thus we have still living the son of a man who served
under Sir Stamford Raffles. The child of his elder
brother, William Andrew Benjamin Leicester, took up
the Medical Service, and his two sons are in the service
of the Colony. William M. Leicester, a son of John,
adopted the same profession, and went to Edinburgh,
where he graduated M.B., CM.
Before the original unveiling of the statue of Sir
Stamford Raffles in 1887, enquiry was made in the
Straits Times if there were any whose fathers had been
connected with the Bencoolen service under the illus-
trious founder of the Colony, and three were named :
Francis Nicholson, of Syme and Co., President of the
Singapore Recreation Club ; Jonathan Edward Hogan,
Chief District Surveyor, Singapore ; and James Henry
Leicester. A fourth not mentioned by the newspaper
was Henry Barnaby Leicester, a contributor to this
History, who has been mentioned above.
Francis Nicholson, referred to above, was the son of
George Nicholson, clerk to Captain William Scott,
Harbour-master at Bencoolen, afterwards in charge of
the Marine Department in Singapore.
The doyen of the Eurasian Community of Singapore
at the present day is George Samuel Reutens, in his
EURASIAN CHESS-PLAYERS 365
eightieth year. He was born at Penang, the son of
PhilUp Reutens and Clara Painter, the daughter of the
famous rounder-up of pirates a hundred years ago,
But Painter's real name was Pinto, which he changed
when entering the East India Company's Service on
his arrival from Lisbon. Phillip Reutens of Penang had
a healthy family, twenty children by his second wife, and
one of his sons, Patrick Allan, was for thirty years Secretary
to the Straits Steamship Co., Ltd. He was a first-class
chess-player, as so many Eurasians have been, to mention
only Paul Mclntyre, L. M. Cordeiro, T. R. Miles, and
G. S. Reutens.
Mr. G. S. Reutens was educated in Penang, joining
John Company in 1856. The year afterwards he was
transferred to the Marine Department in Singapore, and
retired in 1 902 . He has had thirteen children ; one of his
daughters married Captain Carruthers. He has some
interesting details to give of his grandfather's career.
Captain Painter was commander of a British schooner
carrying twenty-four guns. After his first raid on the
pirates he brought a number of them into Penang, and
was instructed to carry them under hatches to Calcutta
to be tried. The Grand Jury there did not return a true
bill, and the pirates were sent back to Penang, and there-
upon instructions were given to him not to bring any
more pirates into port. It is related how well he carried
out this instruction, and the Straits of Malacca were
made comparatively safe.
Hogan is another Penang name. John Hogan was
sent to Bencoolen by the East India Company over a
hundred years ago. After the transfer of Bencoolen he
went over to Penang, and became Collector of Land
Revenue. His son, Jonathan Edward, was for many
years in the Survey Department of Singapore, and his
grandsons, Henry Clarence Hogan and Edward Hogan,
are well known in Singapore. H. C. Hogan was educated
at the Raffles Institution, and went to work with J. M.
Cazalas, one of the first engineers and mechanics here.
Later he married a Miss Cazalas, and managed the busi-
368 THE PEOPLES OF SINGAPORE
such as Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court, his
substantive appointment then being Chief Clerk of the
PoHce Court. After his retirement he became convey-
ancing clerk to Mr. Farrer Baynes, that brilliant though
erratic lawyer. He was instrumental in founding the
St. Anthony's Boys' School, and later St. Anne's School.
Two of his sons followed the medical profession, and a
daughter married Nelson Leicester, a descendant of
Robert.
The name of Yzelman goes back to Jacob Yzelman,
who left Leyden for the East about 1 799, and settled in
Rhio, where his children were born. For a time he was
teacher in Malacca, and the Baumgarten and Westerhout
families were among his pupils. He came to Singapore
in 1 847, and his sons, Herman Gregory and Ernest Jacob,
followed the teaching profession, Ernest being one of
the first masters at the Raffles Institution. A younger
brother, B. A. Yzelman, was appointed Head-master of
the Kampong Glam Malay School in 1876.
The Angus family is an old one in Singapore, and none
more respected. Gilbert Angus and his brother William
came over from Bencoolen about seventy-five years ago.
Gilbert was a partner in Whampoa and Co., and after-
wards in business on his own account. His son Gilbert
was a well-known trusty skipper sailing out of Singapore.
The sons of William turned rather to mechanics, and have
made their mark as engineers.
So the tale could be told of Fernandez the taxidermist ;
of the Batemans, who half a century ago were land
agents ; the Deskers, one of the first butchers ; the
Clarkes, whose livery stable was started over forty-five
years ago ; the Cashins, at one time of the Opium Farm ;
the Cordeiros ; the Corneliuses, showing how great has
been the influence in the development of the Colony of
the Eurasian families.
We conclude with one who has attained distinction in
Government Service, Mr. J. N. van der Beek. His
ancestor was a Dutch settler in Malacca, and his father
was Francis Charles van der Beek, who was born in
COMPETITIVE SCHOLARSHIPS 369
Malacca in 1831, and there married Adrianna Grosse.
Mr. J. N. van der Beek was born in Malacca in 1855,
and was educated at the Raffles School under Mr. Bagley,
joining the Government Service in 1871. He was Clerk
at Government House under nine Governors, commencing
with Sir Harry Ord and ending with Sir John Anderson.
In 1903 he received the I.S.O. for long and faithful service.
The record of the Eurasian Community is less easy
to follow than that of some other sections of the com-
munity, but enough has been written to show that in
the history of the hundred years they have played
their part faithfully and well in commerce, the law, the
medical service, the Government Service, and as inde-
pendent tradesmen and merchants.
Queen's and King's Scholars
The Queen's Scholarships were founded by Sir Cecil
C. Smith, then Governor of the Straits Settlements,
in 1885. What was initiated by him was, during the
regime of a later Governor, Sir John Anderson, reversed
in 1909. Into the reason for the reversal of policy we
need not enter ; much has been said for both sides. The
impression, rightly or wrongly, in the minds of the domi-
ciled community is that the reversal may be attributed
to a possible fear that the aspirations of the sons of the
soil were likely to create a situation such as exists in
India and other progressive countries, where the per-
manent population is demanding a large share in the
administration of the country of their birth through their
educated members.
Two scholarships were given every year from 1886
to 1905, then from 1906 to 1909 only one. For some
years the scholarships meant £180 a year ; this sum was
later increased to ;£200, and finally to £250 per annum.
It will be seen from the subjoined that the Eurasian was
in the running nearly every year.
1886
Winners, C. S. Angus and James Aitken. The former
qualified in London as a civil engineer, and returned to
1—25
370 THE PEOPLES OF SINGAPORE
Kuala Lumpur and joined the F.M.S. service. Both
were from the Raffles Institution, Singapore. James
Aitken is a well-known lawyer in Singapore.
1887
P. V. S. Locke received his early training at the
Penang Free School, and won a scholarship from the
Raffles Institution. He graduated M.B., Ch.B., at
Edinburgh, and returned to Penang, where he built up a
large practice.
1888
Dunstan A. Aeria, like his predecessor, studied first
at the Northern Settlement, and finished at the Raffles
Institution. He passed in civil engineering in London.
After doing good business at Kuala Lumpur, he has
settled in Singapore, and is engaged on construction
work at Johore.
1889
H. A. Scott was a Raffles scholar. He passed in
London as civil engineer, and on his return to Singapore
joined the Municipality as Building Inspector. He was
the son of Thomas Scott, who owned a restaurant in
North Bridge Road some sixty years ago, and married
a daughter of Francis James Clarke. He died some
years ago.
1891
H. O. Robinson and F. O. DeSouza. The former, who
was from the Raffles Institution, passed as civil engineer
in London, and on his return joined the F.M.S. Service.
The latter was the first pupil from the St. Joseph's
Institution, Singapore, to win the scholarship. He
proceeded to Edinburgh, where he graduated M.B.,
CM. On his return he started on his own account,
and is a general practitioner with a large practice. He
married Beatrice, eldest daughter of the late Anthony
Mclntyre, who was for many years a book-keeper at
Boustead and Co,
MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS 371
1892
A. H. Keun passed out from the Raffles Institution,
and graduated M.B., CM., at Edinburgh. He joined
the Government Service on his return, and resigned while
he held the appointment of Colonial Surgeon, Malacca.
He is the son of the late A. H. Keun, who was an active
member of the Community over half a century ago.
1893
H. C. Keun, brother of A. H. Keun, was also from the
Raffles Institution. After graduating M.B., Ch.B., at
Edinburgh, he practised at Wolverhampton, where he
died in 1903.
1894
H. A. D. Moore studied first at the Raffles Institution,
but won the scholarship from the Anglo-Chinese School.
He graduated M.B., Ch.B., at Edinburgh, and remained
in England.
1895
J. C. J. da Silva was first at St. Xavier's School,
Penang, and later at the Raffles Institution. He was
enrolled at Guy's Hospital, London. During his first
two years he displayed great promise, and attracted the
special attention of his teachers. Unfortunately, how-
ever, he was not as careful with his limited allowance of
£200 per annum as with his work, with the result that
for the next two years he was always in pecuniary
difficulties. He could not afford to meet his fees, so
that at the termination of his four-year scholarship he
found himself hopelessly stranded in London. After
hacking at journalism for a few years, he returned to
Penang, and was for many years Sub-Editor of the Straits
Echo. He died in 191 8, at the early age of 41.
1899
R. E. Smith was from the St. Xavier's School, Penang.
He took up medicine in London, but returned to the
372 THE PEOPLES OF SINGAPORE
Straits without completing his course. He is a B.A.
of Emanuel College, Cambridge. On his return he
joined the Educational Department of this Colony, and
was for some years on the staff of the Raffles Institution.
He is at present Head-master of the King Edward
School, Ipoh.
1900
William Samuel Leicester passed out from the Raffles
Institution. He is a B.A. of Cambridge and M.R.C.S.
and L.R.C.P. of London. On his return he joined the
Medical Department of this Colony, and is now the
Medical Officer, Pahang. He is the son of the late
Andrew Barnaby Leicester, who served the same
Medical Department for twenty-five years, and grandson
of William Samuel and great-grandson of Edward
Barnaby, who came to the Straits a century ago.
1901
R. H. McCleland is L.C.E. of DubUn. He is from the
Penang Free School. He passed in engineering at
Trinity College, Dublin. He is at present in the Civil
Service of this Colony.
1903
W. J. C. LeCain was from the Raffles Institution. He
passed as Civil Engineer in London. He is a B.Sc.
(London), A.M.I.C.E., A.K.C. England. He returned to
Singapore in 1909, and is a partner in the firm of Seah
and LeCain, of Raffles Chambers. Of mathematicians
he is one of three of whom the Community may well be
proud .
1904
Noel L. Clarke won the scholarship from the Raffles
Institution. He proceeded to Cambridge, and graduated
B.A., B.S. A telegram from Singapore announcing the
serious illness of his mother made him leave the Univer-
sity, but before he could proceed south he received the
message of his mother's death. He remained in London,
DISTINGUISHED STUDENTS 373
and completed the M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P. course, taking
the L.S.A. degree at the same time. He returned to
Singapore in 1909, and in a short time worked up a very-
large practice. At the present day he is one of the
leading medical men in the city. His love of sport is
well known. He is a good left-hand bowler, and has
played in many important local cricket matches. In
the Community he is recognised as one of the prominent
men.
1905
The order of the scholarships was E. R. Carlos, F. R.
Martens, and R. L. Eber, all of whom were from the St.
Joseph's Institution. Martens, who is not a British
subject, was debarred. It is known that his average in
higher mathematics has never been beaten, he having
secured 99^ per cent.
Ernest Richard Carlos was the youngest son of Albert
Benjamin Carlos and Rose Isabella (Brisson), who came
to Singapore from Madras in 1880. He studied at
Edinburgh, and in the short space of five and a half years
graduated M.A., B.Sc, M.B., Ch.B. Besides his studies,
he took a keen interest in the literary activities of the
students. In his last year he was elected a member of the
Committee of Management of the Edinburgh Uni-
versity Union, it being the first time in the history of the
University that an Easterner held such an office. He
returned to the Straits in 191 1, and for a short period
was with Dr. Noel L. Clarke. His health, however, had
begun to give way directly after he left college, and to
recoup he gave up private practice and made some
voyages as a ship's surgeon. He died in 191 5.
Rene Lionel Eber, eldest son of Frederick William
Eber of the Government Service, went to Cambridge,
where he graduated B.A. He is a barrister, now in the
firm of Braddell Brothers, and is well known in musical
circles. He is the grandson of Alberto Eber, who in
1850 was in the firm of Jose Almeida and Sons, after
whom Eber Road is named.
374 THE PEOPLES OF SINGAPORE
1906
J. R. Aeria won the scholarship from St. Xavier's
School, Penang. He proceeded to Edinburgh, and
graduated M.B., Ch.B. He is now Medical Officer at
Muar. His cousin, W. A. Aeria, was for many years in
the Medical Department of this Colony.
1907
C. H. da Silva, a St. Joseph's boy, was barely sixteen
when he won the scholarship. He proceeded to Cam-
bridge, and after a brilliant career, graduated B.A.,
LL.B. He was too young to qualify as a barrister, and
had to wait in London a year before he could pass out.
He returned to Singapore, and joined Battenberg and
Chopard. After the death of Mr. Chopard this firm has
been known as Battenberg and Silva. It will be remem-
bered that da Silva was Counsel for the defence in the
trial of the 5th Light Infantry mutineers.
1909
Stephen de Souza won the scholarship from the
St. Joseph's Institution, Singapore. He proceeded to
London to take up engineering. At the outbreak of
war he joined up, and was given a commission. He
has elected to remain in the Army.
1910
George Russell won the scholarship from the Raffles
Institution and proceeded to England, where he also
took up engineering. At the outbreak of war he joined
up, and was sent to Mesopotamia with the British Forces.
THE CHINESE OF SINGAPORE
There are evidences of the early intercourse between
China and the Islands of the Archipelago to be found in
the discovery of coins dug up in Singapore in 1827 from
the ruins of the ancient Malay settlement (Crawfurd),
in the presence of porcelain of a former age found in
CHINESE SETTLERS 375
Borneo and Java, and in the literary records of China
itself. The latter attribute the first intercourse to
A.D.421. After a long interval, it was resumed in
A.D. 964, the date of the earliest coins used, the only
coined money of the Archipelago before the advent of
Europeans. Albuquerque, when he took Malacca,
found Chinese junks lying in the roads. Dr. Dennys
thinks there is not much evidence of their settling as
early as that, for Barros, in enumerating the different
nations who had settled in Malacca, makes no mention
of the Chinese. In view of the distant period at which
intercourse took place, it is extremely likely that the
Chinese had settled in Malaya, and this is confirmed by
the Chinese traveller Sam-po-kung, who says that the
Chinese of Malacca had formed a continuous settlement
for six centuries.
To deal fully with such a long period of connection
would need more space than is available in this book,
and only a sketch of the Chinese in Singapore can be
given, to compile which Mr. Song Ong Slang's MSS.
of a separate and important work on the Chinese of
Singapore has been placed at the disposal of the writer.
Newbold says that when the British flag was hoisted
on the plain, there were 1 50 fishermen and pirates living
in a few miserable huts, and about thirty of these were
Chinese. Neither Raffles nor Abdullah Munshi mentions
Chinese settlers at the founding of the Settlement, but
as Raffles, early in June 18 19, gives instructions for
the separation of the kampongs, and states that four
months after establishment the population had received
an accession of more than 5,000, principally Chinese, it
is quite plain that the Chinese population was even then
of considerable importance. A little more than a year
from the foundation, Raffles said that there was a popula-
tion of ten or twelve thousand, principally Chinese again.
Although this estimate was a sanguine one, there is no
doubt that from the earliest days of the Settlement the
Chinese bulked largely among its inhabitants, and early
took up a high position among its merchants and crafts-
376 THE PEOPLES OF SINGAPORE
men. In 1 822 Raffles had occasion to divide the Chinese
into classes, and to establish a Chinese kampong.
One of the earliest settlers was Seah Eu Chin, who
came from Swatow in 1823. He was a young man of
learning, his father being Secretary to the Yamen of a
Sub-Prefecture. Seven years later, when he was twenty-
five, he was established in Kling Street in a considerable
business as commission agent, supplying the junks
trading from Singapore to various ports. He was the
first to start gambier-planting, having tried many other
cultivations first. In 1840 he became a member of the
Singapore Chamber of Commerce, and in 1850 he headed
the deputation of the Chinese to Lord Dalhousie. He
lived till 1883, and saw his sons become very influential
men in the town, among them Mr. Seah Liang Seah.
This is quoted as a typical instance of the founding of
influential and wealthy Chinese families in the Straits.
By 1850 the Chinese had reached over fifty thousand
out of 80,000, by 1 881 they numbered 86,766 out of
139,208, and in 191 1 there were 219,577 Chinese out of a
total of 303,321. Consideration of these figures will
show how impossible it is, even if the material were
readily available, to treat of the Chinese Community of
Singapore adequately in a book of this description.
Some of the leading men are referred to in various
articles. Their careers as individuals are full of interest,
and have not failed to attract the attention of previous
writers on Singapore, residents and casual visitors.
The Chinese Community of late years has greatly
progressed in organisation. With long centuries of
organised life behind it, this is not to be wondered at,
and it would take a very big volume to tell of all their
numerous activities in the mart, in friendly and charit-
able societies, in works of private charity, individual and
collective, the liberal support they have always given
to education, works of public utility and ornament, and
the splendid foundation they form for the business
prosperity of Singapore.
CHAPTER VIII
SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
SINGAPORE DEFENCES
By Walter Makepeace.
The history of Singapore as a fortified place does not
reveal any creditable or consistent policy. Raffles, in his
Memorandum of 6th February 1819, bases his recom-
mendations on the advice of Captain Ross, supplemented
by his own personal inspection. On the hill overlooking
the Settlement he gave authority for constructing a
small fort or a commodious block-house, capable of
mounting eight- or ten-pounders, with a magazine of
brick or stone, and a barracks for thirty European
artillery and temporary accommodation for the rest
of the garrison in case of emergency ; on the coast
one or two strong batteries for the protection of the
shipping ; at Sandy Point a redoubt, and further east
a strong battery. " These defences, with a Martello
tower [these were mostly erected on the English coast
at the end of the eighteenth century as a defence
against a French invasion] on Deep Water Point . . . will
in my judgment render the Settlement capable of main-
taining a good defence." He recommended confining the
cost of these to the lowest possible limit, and appointed
Lieutenant Ralfe, of the Bengal Artillery, to be the
Assistant Engineer to Colonel Farquhar, at a salary of
$200 Spanish per month. He made arrangements for
naval support, and directed a general account, with
particulars of every disbursement under Military Estab-
lishment, and a quarterly return of the expenditure and
remains of military stores.
377
378 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
Colonel Farquhar had to take up the first gun with
Malacca men, no Singapore man daring to ascend Bukit
Larangan (now Fort Canning). The real Fort Canning
was not constructed till 1859. The height of the hill, as
determined by Mr. J. T. Thomson, is given as 156 feet.
The construction of the fort made necessary the removal
of Raffles 's House, the old Government House described
in Begbie's book (1833), the centre part being the original
house, and tradition is that it was here that Lord Elgin
walked up and down all night long when he reached
the momentous decision to divert the troops intended
for China to Calcutta to aid in the suppression of the
Indian Mutiny (Buckley, pp. 652, 653). The fortifi-
cations were completed in 1861, and the European
artillery, hitherto stationed on Pearl's Hill, overlooking
what is now People's Park, were handed over to the
Commissariat.
At the transfer Fort Palmer had seven 68-pr. guns,
eight " 8-inch shell guns " (mortars), and two 13-inch
mortars, two of which later were placed in front of the
Memorial Hall, with a few 13-pr. carronades.
Fort Palmer was then a small earthwork overlooking
the eastern entrance to Keppel Harbour, and had five
56-pr. guns. In the early 'Nineties this fort was made,
for that time, a formidable defence, with four lo-inch
breech-loaders, which now lie on the ground laid bare
by the cutting down of the hill to get soil for the Teluk
Ayer second reclamation. These guns were the first
fired by electricity in Singapore, under Colonel Burton
Brown. A number of officials and civilians were asked
to the first practice, the target being a barrel with a red
flag, floating away at sea. A lucky shot early in the day
sank the barrel, upon which the Colonel remarked that
the practice was over, implying that too great skill had
spoiled the show. This was believed by a few people
who knew nothing about artillery practice in those days
at 8,000 yards. When Fort Palmer was finally disman-
tled the guns were tumbled down the hill. An Indian
contractor bought one for a ridiculously small sum, $40,
FORTIFICATIONS 379
we think, one of the conditions being that he had to take
it away under forfeit of $200. He spent weeks trying
to handle the unwieldy mass, and finally cried off. Any-
body who wants an imposing pair of gate posts could
have the guns now as a gift. A similar experience was
that of Robert Allan, of Riley Hargreaves, who bought
two of the old 7-inch muzzle-loaders. Splendid metal
they are, and Robert broke some dozens of drills
and used many pounds of dynamite in trying to break
them up. He also gave it up as a bad job, and used
the guns, so it was said, as the foundation for a punching
machine. There are several of these old guns waiting
for someone to take them away, little hurt by their long
exposure to the weather, but where they are they will
remain till the lallang grows over them, and some future
cultivator strikes his " changkol " upon them with much
surprise.
Fort Fullerton was built by a civilian from Madras,
who was sent here as Governor in 1825, and who made
himself conspicuous by his general wrongheadedness.
When he arrived. Government House was a bungalow
in front of the Court House, and all the residents " lived
on the other side of the river." The demolition was
begun in 1865, as it was thought that the battery would
draw the fire of an enemy " upon the most richly
stored warehouse in the place," and ended in June 1873,
at the time of a rumour that Sir Andrew Clarke was to
fortify Singapore at a cost of ;^20o,ooo or £300,000,
" which would be met by flat mutiny." The complete
demohtion was not over till 1890, when the first Volun-
teer Drill Hall was built by Major McCallum, and a gun
emplacement for a 7-inch muzzle-loader constructed for
S.V.A. drill purposes. This finally disappeared when
the Reclamation from Johnston's Pier to the mouth of
the river was made. In the reconstruction of 1 854, super-
vised by Captain Collyer, R.E., who had convicts placed
at his disposal, the original battery was enlarged to thrice
its former size, and armed with 56- and 68-pounders. It
extended from the river to Johnston's Pier, with a house
38o SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
for the officers in the centre, barracks for the soldiers
alongside the road, and fine trees planted. The estimated
cost of these works was $840,000.
Fort Faber had two emplacements just above the
Istana Lama, half-way up the hill, to command the Selat,
Sinki, and the western half of the harbour. Their
emplacements still exist, as do the granite sets laid
down on the top of Mount Faber for two mortars.
The money spent on the fortification has amounted to
so great a sum that no wonder (1867) " the military
expenditure was regarded by the mercantile community
as very unsatisfactory, and it swallowed up in 1863
nearly one-half of the revenue." The petition of the
inhabitants in 1 860 or thereabouts said :
" From the extensive fortifications . . . which have
of late years been constructed in Singapore, as well as
from large and costly barrack accommodation which has
been provided for European troops, it would appear to
have been the intention of the Government of India to
convert Singapore into an important military station,
these works obviously contemplating the maintenance
of a force far beyond all local requirements in its amount
and character."
The petition went on to favour a local corps, and to
deprecate the further employment of a contingent from
the Madras Presidency, sickness being so generally
prevalent that " a few weeks after their arrival . . .
frequently reduced the regiments to mere skeletons."
The local force to be recruited on the spot, to combine
Eurasians, Malays, Bugis, Javanese, with a small
European force to support them, would be found sufficient
for all local exigencies.
For Singapore a force of 400 privates and the necessary
officers was estimated to cost £15,000 per annum.
Two small swift steamers, similar to Her Majesty's
despatch-boats, and of very light draught of water, to act
against the pirates, partly under the Governor's orders
and partly manned by natives, were recommended for
NEW DEFENCES 381
the protection of trade and the suppression of piracy,
more especially Chinese piracy, " which has increased of
late years to a great extent." The Hooghly was old,
very slow, and ineffective. The Mohr and Tonze were
ordered for the Straits, but Admiral Hope, of the China
Station, could not spare them, as he wanted them for an
expedition up the Yangtse. The advantages of Singapore
as a naval depot were pointed out, " within easy reach
of supplies of teak timber from Siam and Java, as well
as our own territory of Mulmein."
After the Transfer the fate of the Singapore defences
was keenly discussed. In April of 1 872 the 80th Regiment
arrived, " still wearing the Scotch cap and heavy red
tunic " while on duty here. The garrison was then
1,024 men, and cost £62,713, of which the Colony paid
£52,000. It was borne in upon the public mind that
the Colony was ' ' defenceless, ' ' and £ 1 8 ,000 were proposed
to be spent on armament, including rifled guns, electric
torpedoes, batteries, including the mortars for Mount
Faber (which were never placed there), all on the main-
land. Six years later an exhaustive paper on the pro-
posals was laid before the Legislative Council.
Lieutenant Henry E. McCallum began his Colonial
career as Private Secretary to Sir William Jervois in
1875. The Governor recognised that he had a brilliant
young officer, and called upon him for assistance in
preparing a plan for the fortification and defence of the
place. In 1878 Captain McCallum was brought back
from Hongkong, where he had gone on military duty,
and given sole charge of the designing and construction
of fortifications for the station, and from that year date
the present defences of Singapore, which in the nature
of things are now almost obsolete.
The main idea seems to have been to transfer the
forts to the islands to the south of New Harbour, thus
denying access to an enemy to the docks, stores of coal,
and works. With this object the forts were constructed
at the east and west entrances to the harbour, and looking
southward, on Blakan Mati and Pulo Brani, a sub-
382 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
sidiary fort being at Pasir Panjang, on the north shore of
the New Harbour. Pasir Panjang was subsequently
removed from the scheme of defence. There was also
a fort at Tanjong Katong, armed with two 8-inch
Armstrong guns, come by through the accident of their
passing through Singapore at the time of the Franco-
Chinese War. Tradition has it that the origin of Fort
Tanjong Katong lay in the fears of the merchants of
the place, who asked, " What is to prevent a man-of-war
coming in from the east and shelling the town ? " On
which the military authorities, with great guile, mur-
mured, " We never thought of that," and built Tanjong
Katong on the sea-shore — most substantially, with the
Colony's money — placed the two guns, which were no
earthly use elsewhere, in position, and gave orders that
on the outbreak of war the fort was to be abandoned !
It was an early example of military camouflage. The
guns being on the sea level, a high tower was built for
range-finding instruments, but on the sands it shook so
much that the delicate operation of determining the range
was impossible ; besides, the range of the guns was use-
less ; there was no adequate supply of ammunition for
this gun, which is of a calibre outside the British Artillery
scheme ; and a landing party could have taken the fort
without much effort and without serious losses. When,
therefore, during practice the R.G.A. blew the chase off
one of the guns, declared (and denied, but the tampion
was never found) to be due to failure to remove the
muzzle tampion, the fort became, as it was always
intended to be, a real " wash-out."
The construction of the new forts on the islands was
proceeded with vigorously. In 1887 all the rights on
Blakan Mati were acquired, and the following year
Button Island was taken over.
The Commissariat and Ordnance Department was
removed to Pulo Brani, and it was then discovered
that the part of the island leased to the Straits Trading
Company ought to have been at the disposal of the
military. Before long the major portion of the fortifi-
SIR CHARLES WARREN, G.C.M.G., K.C.B.
I. 382]
MILITARY COMMANDERS 383
cation was completed, and then arose the trouble of the
armament, which the home people failed to supply. To
call the attention of the British public an advertisement
was placed (at Mr. W. G. St. Clair's expense, we beUeve)
in the Daily News every week, " When is Singapore to
have its guns? " In March 1889 six Hotchkiss guns
arrived for the protection of the mines defending New
Harbour. Some were placed in subterranean casemates
near Lot's Wife, the narrow western entrance. In April
of that year the Straits commenced as an independent
military command under Sir Charles Warren, a regular
Tartar, but who succeeded in making Singapore the
fortress it is. In August 1 889 the first of the heavy guns
was shipped. An announcement was made in February
1890 that " the two I o-inch guns yet remaining . . . are
now completed by the makers." The makers seem to
have been the chief people to benefit by them, as they
were the Fort Palmer guns. In November 1890 the
9*2 guns were tested, and in the next year the S.V.A.
Maxim guns (cahbre 450), subscribed for by the pubUc,
were received.
Nothing need be said of the present position or arma-
ment of the defences of Singapore, but the preceding
facts must be understood in order that the attitude of
the public on the Military Contribution may be appre-
ciated.
The G.O.C.'s that have held the substantive command
in the Straits are :
1883 (Hongkong). Major-General J. N. Sargent, C.B.
1887 (Hongkong). Major-General Cameron, C.B.
1889 (Straits). Major-General Sir Charles Warren,
G.C.M.G., K.C.B.
1894. Major-General H. T. Jones Vaughan, C.B.
1899. Major-General J. B. B. Dickson, C.B.
1905. Major-General Sir A. R. F. Dorward, K.C.B. ,
D.S.O., R.E.
1906. Major-General R. Inigo Jones, C.V.O.,.C.B.
1907. Major-General T. Perrott, C.B.
1910. Major-General T. E. Stephenson, C.B.
384 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
1914. Major-General R. N. R. Reade, C.B.
1915. Major-General Sir D. H. Ridout, K.B.E., C.B.,
C.M.G.
SINGAPORE VOLUNTEERS
By Lieutenant-Colonel G. A. Derrick, C.B.E., V.D.,
Commandant S.V.C.
It is an interesting historical feature that the institu-
tion of a volunteer force in Singapore took place
several years before the great volunteer movement in the
United Kingdom, which took its rise in 1859.
The raising of a Volunteer Corps for Singapore was
first mooted in 1 846, after the Settlement had been dis-
turbed by an alarming series of Chinese riots. In 1854,
as the result of the recurrence of Chinese riots and the
outbreak of the Crimean War, a public meeting was
held on the 8th July of that year, with the concurrence
and support of the then Governor, Major-General W. J.
Butterworth, C.B., at which it was decided to form a
Volunteer Corps, under the name of the Singapore
Volunteer Rifle Corps.
The total membership of the Corps when raised was
sixty-one. The Governor became its first Colonel, and
Captain R. Macpherson, Madras Artillery, its first
Commandant.
At the first review of the Corps, held on the 8th March
1855, the Governor read a despatch from the Supreme
Government of India, noting, in terms of approbation,
the promptitude with which the Singapore Volunteers
had come forward with the offer of their services, and
expressing the hope that their example might be followed
in other parts of India. At a later review, held on the
26th November i860. Colonel Orfeur Cavenagh, the then
Governor, in an address, alluded to the formation of the
Corps which had the honour to be the first enrolled in
India, and was therefore entitled to bear on its colours
the motto Primus in Indis.
REVIVAL OF VOLUNTEERING 385
This continued to be the Corps motto until the separa-
tion of the Straits Settlements from the jurisdiction of
the Indian Government in 1867, when it was changed to
In Oriente Primus, which motto the Singapore Volunteer
Corps still bears.
In the early part of 1 868 the Corps was augmented by
the formation of a half-battery of Field Artillery. The
officers and N.C.O's had to provide themselves with
horses, and the members to find a pair of ponies for each
gun and ammunition wagon.
There were many vicissitudes in volunteering in Singa-
pore in the years following, the Corps at times dwindling
to a mere remnant, then again showing something of its
old activity. In the year of the Jubilee of the reign
of Her Majesty Queen Victoria (1887) it had once more
shrunk to a small half-company, the late Major Grey,
.Superintendent of the Gaol, being the Commandant
then.
Noting the altogether inadequate constitution of the
Corps, which then contained not more than half-a-dozen
Europeans, Mr. W. G. St. Clair, Editor of the Singapore
Free Press and an old Burma Volunteer, urged, in an
article in that journal, the value of a Volunteer Artillery
Corps as a local reserve to the Royal Artillery in garrison,
and he got together some friends, who had all served as
Volunteers before coming to Singapore, to form a
Provisional Committee for the purpose of taking the
necessary steps to place the matter before Govern-
ment; and on the ist December 1887 a Sub-Committee
of that body, consisting of Messrs. W. G. St. Clair, G.
Bruce Webster, and M. Bean, was granted an interview
by the Governor, Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, G.C.M.G.,
there being also present at the interview, Major-General
Sir W. G. Cameron, the General Officer Commanding
the Troops, who was here on inspection. Major Davies,
Military Secretary, and Lieutenant-Colonel Cardew,
2nd Battalion South Lancashire Regiment. The result
of the interview was entirely satisfactory, the Governor
accepting with pleasure the services of a roll of Volunteers
I — 26
386 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
submitted, and asking the Provisional Committee to
proceed with the work of organisation.
The Singapore Volunteer Rifle Corps was disbanded by-
proclamation on the 1 6th December 1 887, and the Singa-
pore Volunteer Artillery embodied by proclamation on
the 22nd February 1888, the hst of enrolled members at
the date of embodiment being ninety-six ; of these, fifty
per cent, have since passed over to the great majority,
seven only now remain in Singapore, of whom only one,
the present Commandant, has remained on the active
str-ength of the Corps since its formation . The Governor,
Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, G.C.M.G., became the Honorary
Colonel of the Singapore Volunteer Artillery on the loth
February 1890, and remained so until his death on the
7th February 191 6.
Mr. W. G. St. Clair, who may justly be termed the
" Father of the Corps," joined the S.V.A. on its formation,
as a Sergeant, and remained an active member until the
Sth February 1903, at the time of his retirement being,
as Senior Major, the Second-in-Command, and having on
more than one occasion acted as Commandant, during
the absences on leave of the substantive holders of the
appointment.
At the outset the S.V.A. was detailed for work on
the 7-inch R.M.L. and 8-inch R.B.L. coast defence
guns and so continued until towards the end of 1896,
when the unit took charge of the mobile armament,
consisting of a battery of 7-pr. M.L. mountain guns,
these being in 1903 exchanged for lo-pr. B.L. mountain
guns ; when, however, in 1906 the latter were withdrawn
from the command, the S.V.A. reverted to its original
role of garrison artillery, and has ever since remained
unchanged.
In the year 1889 four Maxim guns were subscribed
for, to be presented to the S.V.A., one by H.H. the late
Sultan of Johore, one by the late Mr. Cheang Hong Lim,
and the remaining two by the Chinese, Arab, Malay, and
Chetty Communities.
The guns arrived in Singapore on the 4th April 1891,
THE DRILL HALL 387
and were formally presented at the Queen's Birthday-
Parade, held on the Esplanade on the 28th May 1891.
This acquisition made the Singapore Volunteer Artillery
the first Maxim-Gun Company in the British forces,
regular or auxiliary. Since 1902 the Maxim-Gun Com-
pany has been worked as a separate unit.
In the year 1891 the present Drill Hall (the head-
quarters of the Corps) was built to the design of Major
(afterwards Sir) H. E. McCallum, G.C.M.G., the first Com-
mandant of the reconstituted Corps. It is an excellent
example of a really useful building for Volunteer
purposes, being lofty and airy, and having a floor-space
in the main hall of 100 feet by 55 feet. It is constructed
of wood, with a corrugated iron roof, and was originally
erected on the site of the present Master Attendant's
office, where it stood for sixteen years, when it was
taken down, removed, and re-erected on its present site,
so that it has already withstood the ravages of climate
and white ants for over twenty-seven years, and will still
be good, with ordinary care, for many years, a fine
testimony of the excellence of design, material, and
workmanship.
The S.V. A, continued to be the sole Volunteer unit until
after the outbreak of the South African War in 1 899,
when the British battalion of the regular garrison of the
Settlement, having been withdrawn and substituted by
a native battalion of the Indian Army, the British
community in 1900 formed a Volunteer Rifle Corps, which
at first consisted of 100 members, but soon increased to
nearly double that number. These Rifles, raised during
a national crisis, were discontinued in 1904, when the
regular garrison was again brought up to its normal
strength.
In 1 90 1 a further considerable increase took place in
the Volunteers, which now became known as the Singa-
pore Volunteer Corps.
An engineer unit of Europeans was raised, which still
forms an important unit of the Corps. Originally
known as the Singapore Volunteer Engineers, it was later
388 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
on permitted to assume the title of Singapore Royal
Engineers (Volunteer).
The Singapore Volunteer Infantry was also raised,
No. I Company being formed of Eurasians, No. 2
Company of Chinese.
Each company had separate headquarters, No. i
Company in Bras Basah Road, and No. 2 Company in
Beach Road, adjoining the S.V.C. headquarters, where
later the Chinese Volunteer Club was built by pubHc
subscription amongst the Chinese Community, the build-
ing being opened by His Excellency the Governor on
the 4th May 1907.
A Cadet Company was also formed from a nucleus of boys
who had been given elementary drill at Raffles School ;
their number was added to in 1906 by the inclusion of
companies from St. Joseph's Institution and the Anglo-
Chinese School. As the boys were mostly Eurasian
and Chinese, it was hoped the Cadets would act as a
feeder to the infantry. This, however, failed to be the
case, and in the early part of 191 8 the Cadets were with-
drawn from the S.V.C, and school cadet companies
unconnected with the Corps were formed in substitution.
In February 1909 the Eurasian Company of the S.V.I,
was disbanded, the present Malay Company of Infantry
being formed to take its place. The Eurasian Com-
munity, after the outbreak of war, however, more
than once petitioned Government to be allowed
again to take a place in the Volunteer Corps. The
Government acceded to their petition, so that a new
Eurasian Company of Infantry has now been enrolled.
The members of the Company have been carefully
selected, and good results are expected from it.
In 1914 the Medical Company, S.V.C, a development
of a Bearer Section forming part of the S.V.A., was
reconstructed, reorganised, and formed into the Singa-
pore Field Ambulance Company, a very useful and
important unit of the Corps.
So the Corps continued in varying degrees of activity
and popularity until the outbreak of the Great War on
VOLUNTEERS IN ACTION 389
the 4th August 1 914, which naturally gave a great
impetus to volunteering.
Immediately following the declaration of war, the
Corps was by proclamation embodied for active service,
and detachments of the S.V.A. and S.R.E. (V.) at once
proceeded to take up mobilised duty in the forts, duties
which were carried on throughout the War practic-
ally without a break.
As was the case at the outbreak of the South African
War, the reduction of the regular garrison at once brought
about the re-formation, from the British Community, of
the Singapore Volunteer Rifles, closely followed by the
formation of the Veterans' Company of that unit, these
two companies now forming the strongest British
section of the Corps.
The Rifles, very soon after their formation, together
with the Maxim Company, took up certain mobilised
duties in connection with local defence ; the two Infantry
Companies were almost continuously engaged from the
commencement of war on mobilised guard duties ; the
Field Ambulance Company's officers replaced the
R.A.M.C. officers of the garrison, and the men were
occasionally mobilised for hospital duty.
As one of the results of the War, on the 1 5 th February
1915 there occurred the mutiny of the battalion of
Indian Infantry garrisoned here. Of this mutiny much
has been written and said ; suffice it to state here that
the Singapore Volunteer Corps on that memorable
occasion thoroughly proved its value as a most impor-
tant factor in the suppression of the mutiny and in local
defence.
The Corps then received its " baptism of fire," and,
as is recorded on a bronze mural memorial tablet erected
in St. Andrew's Cathedral, lost two officers and nine
N.C.O.'s and men during the outbreak and the operations
connected therewith. Weeks of strenuous work were
carried out by all units in the operations which resulted
in the defeat and rounding up of the mutineers.
One of the lessons learnt by the mutiny was the neces-
390 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
sity for all European residents being trained in the use of
arms, and in order to ensure that all British residents
here should be trained for local defence, the Reserve
Force and Civil Guard Ordinance was passed, and
became law on the 1 6th August 1915.
Under its provisions all male British subjects between
the ages of eighteen and fifty-five who are not members
of His Majesty's Army or Navy or of the Volunteer or
Police Forces of the Colony are compelled to undergo
military training, those between the ages of eighteen
and forty being at any time liable by proclamation to
be transferred into the Singapore Volunteer Corps, those
above forty being enrolled as a Civil Guard. On the
26th April 1 916, by proclamation, all Reservists between
the ages of eighteen and forty were transferred to the
Singapore Volunteer Corps, whose ranks were thereby
very much augmented. It may now be said that all
able-bodied British subjects in the Colony, as well as a
large number of non-European British subjects, are
trained men. After the entry of the United States into
the War, the American subjects resident here, at their
own request, were attached to the S.V.C. for military
training.
In passing it is worthy of note that the local Reserve
Force and Civil Guard Ordinance was the first enact-
ment passed in any British colony imposing compulsory
local military service. •
In 1919, another unit, viz. the Electric Light
Section, S.V.C, was added to the Corps. It is com-
posed of Malays, is enrolled for continuous mobilised
duty, and lives in barracks.
Other units of the Corps are the Band, the Scouts,
and attached to the Rifles are Motor Cyclist, Scouts,
and Signalling Sections.
Incommonwithother ColonialVolunteers,the members
of the Singapore Volunteer Corps have not failed to rally
tq the Mother Country's call for help in the Great War.
Over one hundred officers and men enrolled themselves
in the Imperial Armies, the bulk of them receiving
1
VOLUNTEER COMMANDANTS 391
commissions, and every month thereafter men continued
to join up.
Some have made the " supreme sacrifice," while
promotions and distinctions have been won by others ;
but all have proved themselves loyal, worthy, and hon-
oured sons of the Empire.
The altered conditions under which a large number
of the members of the Corps have been enrolled, and the
nature of the duties now being carried out, differ so
materially from those of the original " Volunteer "
enrolments and duties that the term " Volunteer " is
no longer considered applicable to the Corps' designation,
and Government has already decided to designate the
combined Volunteers throughout the Settlements " The
Straits Settlements Defence Force," the Singapore
Volunteer Corps becoming the " Singapore Defence
Corps."
Legislation is already in hand defining the obligations
of the members ; but although there is this change of
name, the old patriotic spirit which animated the Singa-
pore Volunteer Corps in the past will doubtless remain
unabated in the Singapore Defence Corps, and the
Corps will continue to live up to its proud motto :
IN ORIENTE PRIMUS
As the Singapore " Volunteer " Corps may now be
said to exist no longer, it will perhaps be of interest to
record the names and terms of office of the various
Commandants of the Corps : —
Sir H. E. McCallum, G.C.M.G., 2nd March 1888 —
8th March 1897.
Major R. Dunman, 8th March 1897 — loth March
1899.
Colonel A. Murray, V.D., i8th April 1899— ist March
1905.
Lt.-Col. E. G. Broadrick, ist March 1905 — 31st Decem-
ber 1910.
Lt.-Col. G. A. Derrick, V.D., nth March 191 1 ; still
holds the appointment.
392 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
EURASIAN VOLUNTEERS
By A. H. Carlos.
In the first Volunteer Corps which was formed in 1854
there were, considering the strength of that Corps, a
large number of Eurasians. Many of the names of these
men have, however, passed out of history ; George
Samuel Reutens, who was a member in 1870, is perhaps
the only survivor of his Company. His brother Patrick
Allan Reutens, Patrick Isaiah Woodford, Leicester,
William Clarke, P. J. Seth, Jambu, Angus and Edwin
Tessensohn, are names remembered of the Corps which
was in existence in the late 'Seventies. The men in those
days were drilled at the Police Bharu, then the head-
quarters of the European Police Force, next to the
present Sailors' Home. Target practice took place at
the Racecourse, and many a prize fell to the doyen of
the Community, George Samuel Reutens. When in
season snipe abounded round and about the Race-
course, and the practice of rifle-shooting was profitably
intermixed with pleasure.
Through indifferent recruiting and the scant recog-
nition of imperial needs the Eurasian began gradually to
disappear from the ranks of the Volunteers, and in the
latter part of the 'Eighties there remained hardly one
member of the Community in the Corps. The continued
influx of Europeans began to make itself felt in Singapore
about that time, and the separation into social planes in
the island made itself evident. The Eurasian is by
temperament retiring and by training unable to make
himself heard, and this tended for many years to keep
him from participating in the defence of the Colony.
Individual members of the Community were, however,
alive to the possibilities of having exclusive Eurasian
Companies, and when G. W. P. Guest and Daniel C.
Perreau moved in the matter, the S.V.I, was formed
somewhere in the year 1894, and the best-remembered
names of its members are N. B. Westerhout, J. B.
Westerhout, A. Westerhout, Edgar Galistan, R. D. de
EURASIAN VOLUNTEERS 393
Silva, A. Long, H. S. Finck, and a few others. However,
this Company was disbanded in the first decade of the
present century. Why and how this happened need not
be gone into, although, in passing, it may be remarked
that the Corps was not wholly to blame. The want of
esprit de corps, the absence of sympathy between officers
and men, the absence of continuity and regularly trained
officers, and a feeling of injustice (right or wrong) that
the authorities did not appreciate their services were
no doubt contributing causes.
When the Great War began, on the 3rd August 1914
Daniel C. Perreau wrote to the Colonial Secretary placing
the services of the Eurasians at the disposal of the
Government for local defence. Four days later Mr.
M. S. H. McArthur wrote on behalf of the Government
thanking the Community, the last sentence of this letter
reading :
" It is not, however, possible at present to say whether
any fresh steps will have to be taken for local defence."
On the 8th August Mr. Galistan addressed a similar appeal
to Lieutenant-Colonel Derrick, with a similar result. On
the 1 8th February 191 5,when the mutiny wasin full swing
in the town, Mr. Perreau again approached the Govern-
ment,and received a reply notingthe contentsof this letter
and promising due consideration. Later on, in May
1915, Edwin Tessensohn also suggested to the Govern-
ment the formation of a Eurasian Company of Volun-
teers. The result of this appeal was the same as the
others. In June 191 5, while the " Reserve Force and
Civil Guard Bill " was under consideration, the Singapore
Free Press strongly advocated the policy of allowing the
domiciled community to participate in the defence of
the country. Various letters appeared in the Press
about this time on the subject, and it was in the latter
part of June 191 5 that Mr. Tessensohn received a letter
from Lieutenant-Colonel Owen, making an appointment
to discuss the question of utilising the services of Eura-
sians, These gentlemen met, and certain proposals from
394 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
the General Officer Commanding were conveyed to Mr.
Tessensohn. At a meeting held on the 4th July 191 5,
the seventy Eurasians that had met learnt that the
Government asked them to serve as clerks, store-keepers,
telephonists, signallers, engineers, etc. It is hardly
surprising to learn that these proposals were rejected.
When it is realised that for six to eight hours every day
Eurasians do the self-same work for their living, there
is little wonder that they refused to do similar work after
office hours. There were among the Community some
enthusiastic and earnest workers, and these, after due
deliberation, and inspired by the fact that the man-
power question was becoming acute, convened a meet-
ing of the leading members of the Community and
thrashed out the matter. The result was a mass meeting
at St. Andrew's School Hall on the 7th March 1918,
• when the following resolution, proposed by Dr. Noel L.
Clarke and seconded by H. R. S. Zehnder, was carried
by an overwhelming majority : " That the Government
(or H.E. the Governor) be again asked to consider the
question of forming a Volunteer Corps of Eurasians."
The meeting marked a day unique in the history of
the Eurasians of Singapore. Never before had the
Community banded itself together for the cause of
raising its status. There were over two hundred present,
and the different classes, which had for nearly half a
century kept each other at arm's length, dropped all the
differences which had tended to keep them divided.
On the 9th April 19 18 the Community was given what
it had been asking for for over three and a half years ;
one hundred men were enrolled, and on the 4th July 1 9 1 8
the men were inspected by General Ridout and sworn in.
VOLUNTEER RECOLLECTIONS
By Walter Makepeace.
The soldier's first thought is of his weapon ; angry
adjutants and sergeant-majors often suggest that it is
the volunteer's last thought. Let this first sentence
VOLUNTEER ARMAMENT 395
disprove the soldier-man's " grouse." That master of all
trades, W. H. Read, the first everything in Singapore,
penned a note in 1857 that the Singapore Volunteers
found their weapons heavy, " being more accustomed to
handle the pen than the sword." It was the Enfield —
Brown Bess. The Snider rifle was served out to the
Volunteers in 1 869, and the writer carried out his first
class-firing with this delicate weapon in 1878, so he can
claim to some knowledge of the varieties of " the Volun-
teer's first care." The Martini-Henry was the king of
rifles till the 'Nineties, when the Lee-Metfordcamein, and
in its various marks still neatly pierces the canvas target.
By the way, Charles Fittock, who was an enthusiast
when the iron target was used, patented one with a
detached centre, so that every bull rang down the range
to the limits of the 600 yards firing point. A few
Sniders were turned out, with their big curved bayonets,
to delight the special constables during the mutiny of
191 5, when the size and weight of the cartridge led to a
discussion as to whether the objective of the " specials "
was not the Elephant !
It was proposed to establish a mihtia in 1872, as
the reorganised police force was not considered strong
enough, to be armed with the Snider rifle ; but this
was objected to "on the ground of Prussianism."
That was the ostensible reason. While the Infantry
have been seldom called upon to change their guns,
but only their fire discipline and tactics (which have
been described as different every week, and always
a month behind the W.O. changes), the Singapore
Volunteer Artillery has always been turned on to some-
thing new — old rather, since they got the weapons
discarded by the Regulars. The first gun was the
7-inch muzzle-loader, with a swinging derrick that had
to be dodged if one wanted to escape a broken head, and
a jointed rammer that insisted on catching the trigger-
finger. The old soda-water gun went off right enough
when the lanyard was pulled, and the different operations
of depressing, sponging (not forgetting to serve the vent),
396 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
putting in first cartridge, then shot, then wedge-wads,
elevate and run up could be carried out by a good squad
in two minutes for a round. Next, after a spell at the
8-inch Armstrong breech-loader, we were turned on to a
field-gun, the nine-pounder, which, when fired from the
sands at Tanjong Katong, turned completely over some-
times, and when limbered up to a narrower-tracked
ammunition wagon, invariably did so on the slopes of
Mount Faber, where field drills were carried out. The
" team " consisted of two Deli-gharry ponies, real kickers
and squealers, that didn't mind somersaulting. The
best gun-team had two of the Darkes in it, because the
ponies responded cheerfully to their language, and at a
pinch either Fred or Billy could pick up the frightened
beast and put it on its legs again.
The fort artillery work was often the 8-inch Armstrong,
of which there were two at Tanjong Katong, the "wash-
out " fort. One incident comes back to mind. There was
a big teak semaphore in front of the battery, and on one
rare occasion of practice, the target being a drifting barrel
with a red flag in it. No. i gun followed the target till
Sergeant St. Clair yelled out " Target obscured." Sir
Charles Warren, the G.O.C., looked over the sights and
agreed. Sir Charles Mitchell, the Governor, looked over
thesightsand disagreed. The twoCharleses putten dollars
on their opinions, and the word was given " Fire No. i ."
A prodigious splash out to sea on the right, and a semi-
lunar gap in the stout teak post settled the question.
Who paid for the post and the shot is not recorded.
History passes a friendly hand over the mistakes of the
militarily high in rank. Now, a couple of years after-
wards, the R.G.A. were out at practice with those guns
(and the S.V.A. have always congratulated themselves
on being absent), and the chase of one was unaccount-
ably blown off. They never found the muzzle tampion
of the damaged gun, and quite a fuss was made of the
incident.
Just before the 8-inch gun was used (1891) the Corps
had been presented with four Maxim guns subscribed
VOLUNTEER CAMPS 397
for by the community. They have been in the Corps
ever since, although converted from 450 to 303, and
otherwise modified as to carriage. The Corps then had
a spell at the 2*5 screw gun, then greatly in vogue as an
immense advantage in mountain campaigning. Major
McCallum (either for this or the 9-pr.) had a land range
made at Bukit Panjang, on the Bukit Timah Road, and
regular practice was carried out. Unfortunately the
target was on such swampy ground that the shell would
never burst on impact. Opportunity was taken to test
the small arms men at one or two practices, and whitened
chatties were put up on posts at unknown distances.
Four hundred rounds from the best range marksmen
resulted in two broken chatties, whereat the attendant
tambies murmured Hikmat (magic), which set us wonder-
ing whether the native is so void of a sense of humour
as generally suspected. After a spell at the old 9*2, the
S.V.A. were eventually turned on to the 6-inch Q. F. guns,
the most gentlemanly of the whole crowd, and, incident-
ally, the heaviest man-handled gun, which is perhaps why
the Volunteers have it allotted to them. The new
9'2 guns were later tackled, at the same time as the
6-inch.
The camps have always been a feature of the S.V.C.,
cosy and soldier-like in language in the old days, when
there were only gunners, strenuous and more soldier-like
in language when all the units were in camp together.
What used to be Boustead's rattan godown at Tanjong
Katong, now next to the Swimming Club, was the usual
site ; but many cheery camps have been held under the
coconut trees near the Grove, some very wet (as to
weather) at Keppel Harbour, and others in recent years
in the forts, where the gunners and engineers had a chance
to work together with guns and searchlights — all very
good times.
In 1895 there was a regular Camp Gazette, and copies
which survive show that slang and humour are not the
products of the present generation alone. The jokes
recall many memories to those who heard them, and
398 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
know the writers. Nobody was above criticism. James
Graham wrote quite decent poetry, and extemporised
on known songs, which Major McCallum sang at the
Smokers in the evening :
Beyond the new Fish Market, underneath Fort Palmer's frown.
Lies a piece of reclamation which is slowly settling down ;
Where the stones are sharp as bayonets and the smells are sweet
as hay.
And no one ever goes there but the gallant S.V.A.
Down in Teluk Ayer Bay,
Where they drills the S.V.A. ,
Can't you hear the bullets pinging as the Maxims blaze away
Down in Teluk Ayer Bay,
Where the smells is new-mown 'ay.
And the sergeants swear most 'orrid on the firing practice lay.
For those who can never remember the words, and only
a few tunes, an S.V.A. chorus was devised — when none
other is known — a version of the Old Hundredth. It
was a tradition that the Sergeant-Major should always
sing a song, hke the little Major (C. J. Davies), whether
he could or not, and few who heard it will forget Sergeant-
Major Grimmer's " When shall I send you the cradle ? "
Ever proud of the place of the artillery in the British
Army, the gunners put on side, and treat with contumely
the other branches of the Corps. And really, when the
first Rifles unit was formed, while the Boer War was on, it
was ridiculous to see a few elderly gentlemen standing
on one leg, or marching round the Post Office to the
" left, right " of the Drill Sergeant. Those who cheer-
fully dismounted the gun and limber, flung the fragments
over a five-foot barricade of Sandy Morrison's soda-
water cases, over themselves, and snapped the fragments
together and opened fire, saw no outlet for their energy
in ceremonial parades. When by chance these veterans
meet, years afterwards, recall the happy young days and
mourn that " volunteering is not what it was," they
might remember what Willie Reid, of the Hongkong
Bank, said : " Man, but you're forgettin' your chum
Anno Domini."
Here is a camp song (1894) that in some way antici-
pates by twenty-one years what afterwards took place :
IMPERIAL DEMANDS 399
CAMP SONG II
A Fragment
Oh ! when the row shall start in Singapore,
You will wish you 'was a member of the Corps,
And could go and have your fun.
Round a comfortable gun,
Instead of marching till your feet get sore,
" Rahnd the Town,"
Up and down.
Keeping civil order for the Crown,
While those they don't require
Can come and jadi tukang ayer.
And bring us ayer batu
From the Town.
THE MILITARY CONTRIBUTION
By Walter Makepeace.
Undoubtedly the greatest effort made by the Colony in
its history was that resulting from the increased military
contribution demanded by the Imperial Government.
From the creation of the Colony it had been self-support-
ing as to its civil establishment, and in addition had
paid £59,300 for the years 1868 to 1871, £si)595 iri
1872-3, and £50,845 from 1874 to 1889. Early in 1890
the Secretary of State demanded, in addition to sums
for barracks and military works, a contribution of
£100,000 per annum. The grounds for the increase
were : (i) that it was one of the terms of the constitution
of the Colony that the Home Government should not
be called upon to defray any part of the civil or military
government of the new Colony, and (2) that the revenues
of the Colony were in such a flourishing condition that
they could bear without inconvenience the increased
amount. In obedience to instructions. Sir Frederick Dick-
son moved in the Legislative Council that the revenue
for 1890 be charged with the sum of £100,000. No
official said a word in favour of the vote, except that it
was done in pursuance of the Secretary of State's des-
patch. The motion was carried by the seven official
votes to six, tradition having it that one official member
registered his vote " under compulsion, aye."
400 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
Mr. Adamson and Mr. Shelford then moved a resolution
protesting against the doubled demand, and declaring
that in no case should the Colony be called upon to pay-
more than half the cost of the garrison. This resolution
was accepted unanimously, the Governor holding that
its acceptance did not invalidate the vote given by him-
self and his official colleagues, by direction of the
Secretary of State. The Straits Settlements Association
in Singapore and in London held meetings of protest.
The Official Members of Council, with two exceptions,
addressed minutes pointing out the injustice of the
increased demands. In 1891, the Imperial Government
having refused to diminish their demands, two similar
votes were carried by the official majority. Mr. Thomas
Scott, on behalf of the Straits Settlements Association,
sent in a powerful memorandum. In June 1891 Mr.
de Lisle moved the House of Commons in committee to
reduce the vote of the Colonial Office by £300, and called
attention to the grievances of the Colony ; but the motion
was lost, though Mr. Goschen said, in order to meet the
view of Sir Thomas Sutherland, that if the revenues of
the Colony should decrease, the Government would feel
inclined to review the situation. In 1892 the condition
of the Colony seemed to warrant, an application on this
ground, but the original home demand was insisted on.
The following year a memorandum was drawn up by
Mr. Walter Napier, expounding the whole matter on
behalf of the Straits Settlements Association, it being
claimed (i) that the contribution exacted was of
excessive amount and obtained in a mode opposed to
the principles which should regulate the relations
between the Mother Country and one of her Colonies, and
(2) that the present financial state of the Colony was
such that the payment would not be continued without
grave consequences to its future prosperity. 1 894 saw
the final crisis of the protracted dispute. In London
and Singapore the agitation continued. A question
was asked in the House and evaded by Mr. Buxton.
On the 26th July a deputation waited on Sir Charles
RESIGNATION OF UNOFFICIALS 401
Mitchell and put the whole case before him, asking him
to telegraph home. In August questions were again
asked in the House of Commons, and at the end of five
years the contribution was reduced to £80,000 for 1894,
£90,000 for 1895 ; for the next three years £100,000-
£120,000 with a reiterated claim that it was the duty of
the Colony to bear the whole cost of the garrison, hinting
that in 1899 it might have to be £144,000 or £153,000
according to two different estimates.
Public opinion at the end of the year was turning in
favour of the resignation of the Unofficial Members of
the Legislative Council, and of all who held honorary
civil office under Government or on Government nomi-
nation, as a protest. This was actually carried out
next year, and a large public meeting in the Town
Hall unanimously supported and approved of these
resignations of the Unofficial Members of the Council
(not all the Penang members), the whole of the Jus-
tices of the Peace, and the members of the Chinese
Advisory Board. Offers to other members of the public
of appointment to replace those resigned were refused,
by Mr. Bogaardt among others. Under protest, the
enhanced payment was made till 1895. ^^ February of
that year, Mr. William Adamson, on behalf of the Colony,
wrote a memorandum in which he quotes Mr. Shelford :
" All we ask for is simple justice. We are quite willing
to pay for the cost of our own trade ; we are willing, in
conjunction with other Colonies, to pay a just apportion-
ment of our Imperial obligations ; but we protest as a
gross injustice against being called upon to pay for the
protection of what is practically wholly and entirely the
British commerce and trade which passes through these
waters to other parts " ; and he pointed out that the
Straits paid £100,000 for a garrison of 1,558 ; Hongkong
£40,000 for 2,966 ; Ceylon £81,750 for 1,659 ; Mauritius
£18,750 for 875 ; South Africa and Natal £4,000 for
3>33i ; West Africa nil for 1,163 ; Jamaica and the West
Indies nil for 4,288 men.
The matter was subsequently settled on a basis of
1—27
402 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
percentage of revenue, Lord Ripon accepting the Colony's
terms, viz. 17^ per cent. The Defence Contribution
Bill was read on the 7th May 1896. The question
subsequently was raised as to the cost of barracks, etc.,
and the method of computing the assessable revenue,
and finally 20 per cent, was adopted.
EARLY VOLUNTEERING AND SHOOTING
By Walter Makepeace
The invaluable Buckley gives the following account
of the start of volunteering in Singapore, and the date
justifies the old motto Primus in Indis. He writes :
" On the evening of Saturday, 14th February 1857,
the Singapore Rifle Volunteer Corps was presented with
a set of colours, which had been prepared for it by Mrs.
Butterworth, the widow of the late Governor, under
whom the Corps was embodied, and who continued its
Colonel up to his death. Governor Blundell presented
the colours to Mr.W. H. Read, the Senior Lieutenant, and
addressed the Corps. Mr. Read replied, and the following
is the final passage of his reported speech : ' We seek
not the glory of the battlefield, nor to embroider the
names of victories on these colours. Ours are less
martial, more peaceful aims. Our object is to assist in
protecting the lives and property of the public, and to
show the evil-disposed how readily Europeans will
come forward in the maintenance of order and tranquil-
hty. Should we ever be called upon to act, we shall be
found prepared to do our duty, contented with the
approbation of the Government and the applause of our
fellow-citizens.' "
The story is carried on by an article in the Straits
Chinese Magazine by Mr. Charles Phillips, who had been
asked by Mr. Song Ong Siang to write a short account
of the early days, and it was found after Mr. Phillips's
death among his papers. His connection with the Volun-
teers began in April 1 866, the Corps consisting, at the May
birthday parade, of Captain Commandant H. E. Wilsone
(Hamilton, Gray and Co.) ; Lieutenant von der Heyde (a
RIFLE-SHOOTING 403
partner of Behn, Meyer and Co.) ; Ensign R. Duff
(William Macdonald and Co.) ; Hon. Surgeon Dr.
Little, and forty-seven N.C.O.'s and men. They did
well at drill this year, and were complimented by Major-
General Sir Orfeur Cavenagh. In 1868 a drum-and-
fife band, under the Drum-Major of the Madras Native
Infantry, encouraged the men, but when the regiment
left Singapore the band failed for want of an instructor.
This year also a half-battery of artillery was added to
the Corps, and carried on for some years, but for want of
interest created by firing practice it gradually declined,
and the guns and horse equipment were handed over to
the Perak Government. Field exercises with hired
ponies, and more often, when the ponies were not avail-
able, man-draught by the gunners, may have been too
strenuous. " Europeans were few in those days, and
there was absolutely nothing to encourage them in
volunteering but hard work." When the Duke of
Edinburgh visited Singapore (1869), the Corps provided
a mounted escort and a guard of honour of sixty-two
men. The mounted escort was much admired and
praised, and the members of it were : Messrs. R. Dunman,
McPherson, J. C. Ker, R. W. Maxwell, G. A. Maclaverty,
Bligh, Rae, C. E. Velge, O'Laughlin, and C. Phillips —
most of whose names occur elsewhere in this history.
This year saw the change from the old smooth-bore
to the short Snider carbine, chosen by Colonel McPherson,
and it proved a fairly good weapon from 100 to 300 yards.
The stimulus to rifle-shooting created a new interest, and
raised the strength of the Corps to over one hundred men ;
but as the Racecourse range was only 400 yards long, it
was later abandoned (in 1878), and the old artillery
range at Balestier taken over. The start of rifle-shooting
dates from the Snider, and competitive shooting began
in earnest, prizes for shooting being given by Mr. W. H.
Read (who was the first Volunteer enrolled), then Captain
Commandant, Lieutenant Duff, Sergeant (R.) Dunman,
and Sergeant Buckley. The last-named held his com-
mission till 1878, when he retired to allow Major Grey
404 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
to reform the Corps, which by this time had fallen off
sadly in numbers. The Rifle Association was formed in
1873 ; but in the two previous years matches had been
fired against the Gordon Highlanders and the 80th
(Staffordshire Volunteers), but the short Snider was too
great a handicap against the military long weapon.
Few civilians joined, as they were not able to get rifles
useful for competition; but the disadvantage notwith-
standing. Colonel Cardew complimented them in 1887,
remarking on the value of good shooting. Through the
'Seventies there were many skilled shots, R. Dunman and
Charles Phillips (though with characteristic modesty he
himself does not mention it) being among the best. The
opening of a military range at Tanglin took away a great
element of interest in the Association, which nevertheless
recovered in the late 'Eighties, when the Martini-Henry
came in, and from 1887 W. G. St. Clair played a large part
in the encouragement of this sport, so essential to soldiers
and volunteers.
The first challenge for a shooting match outside the
Colony was sent to Shanghai in January 1872, and
" considering the prevalent weather of Singapore the
risk (on the date fixed) is rather one-sided." The
matches were established on a regular basis in 1889,
though there was no match in 1890, and Penang came
into the triangle of Shanghai, Hongkong, and Singapore
on five occasions ; but the Northern Settlement was lowest
of all, except on one occasion, as might have been
expected, considering the small choice compared with
the larger Settlements. Up to 191 3 Hongkong had
won 10, Singapore 9, and Shanghai 5 ; the 1904 win for
Singapore was made in a tie of 919 with Hongkong by
scoring highest at the longest range.
There have also been odd matches, Singapore Volun-
teers against Ceylon and Rangoon. The annual meetings
of the Rifle Association have for many years been a great
source of encouragement to shooting, and the keen
competition has brought to the front many excellent
shots, such as C. M. Phillips (son of Charles Phillips),
VOLUNTEERS AT BISLEY 405
R. W. Chater, and M. K. Watt, who have been tempted
to try their luck and skill at Bisley, against the represen-
tatives of continents and gold medallists, under different
climatic conditions to those under which they usually
shoot.
In individual efforts, F. M. Elliot gained tenth place
in the King's Hundred in 1905, and Chater thirty-fourth
in 1908, while Phillips won the City of London Cup in
1 9 1 o. In 1 9 1 o the local Volunteer Corps very sportingly
sent a team of eight men (not its best, but only such as
were able to get leave) to compete for the Empire Shield
and the Kolapore Cup. The totals in the former were :
Great Britain, 2,177; Canada, 2,105; Australia, 2,045;
India, i ,973 ; Singapore, i ,972. " The Orientals failed at
the longest range." Individual scores for Singapore
were : Major Elliot, 259; Sergeant Galistan, 257; Lieu-
tenant Cuthbert, 256; Captain Phillips, 253 ; Sergeant Tan
Cheow Kim, 248 ; Sergeant Long, 239 ; Sergeant Walker,
232; Lieutenant Kemp, 228. In the Kolapore Cup the
figures were : Great Britain, 798 ; Canada, 796 ; Australia,
7T] ; Guernsey, 770 ; Malay States Guides, 763 ; South
Africa, 756 ; India, 745 ; Singapore, 742. For Singapore
Tan Cheow Kim, the first Chinaman to shoot at Bisley,
headed the list with an excellent 99.
SINGAPORE AND THE GREAT WAR
By W. Bartley, of the Straits Settlements Civil Service
The war history of Singapore has been singularly un-
eventful. With the exception of the mutiny of the
5th Light Infantry, which will be dealt with later, there
have been no spectacular occurrences ; but in spite of this
lack of the picturesque there has been much of interest.
The position of Singapore as a distributing and collecting
station for the Netherlands East Indies, Siam, the Philip-
pines, and to a certain extent for the Treaty Ports of
China, in all of which there were at one time large enemy
interests, gave full scope for testing the efficacy of the
Trading with the Enemy Regulations, while her total
4o6 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
dependence on sea-borne trade and supplies, not merely
for her prosperity, but for the very means of existence,
rendered her peculiarly liable to all the effects which
arose from the shortage of shipping. The restrictions
on export, which became so general that all countries
suffered from them, bore at first with peculiar hardship
on Singapore, owing to the fact that the main exports
were of great military value, and were controlled from the
very outbreak of hostilities, though the hardship of this
was in the later stages perhaps more than counter-
balanced by the fact that they were of such value that
shipping had to be provided to deal with them.
The war history of Singapore is, in fact, not the history
of a place, but the history of a system of legislation
restricting commerce, and its interest lies in the imme-
diate effects of this action and the lessons which can be
deduced from them with regard to trade and possible
trade restrictions after the War.
Before dealing with this, however, it is desirable to
give a short sketch of the actual history of Singapore,
which, like all other parts of the Empire, was completely
surprised by the outbreak of war. Even on the 3rd
August, after news of the declaration of war on Russia
arrived, it was confidently believed that the British
Empire would not be involved. On the 4th August,
however, with the news of the invasion of Belgium, it was
realised that the worst was to be feared. The German
subjects of military age left for Tsingt.au, examination
of ships in the harbour commenced, and there was a
frantic rush for supplies of rice and milk. Fortunately
the supplies of rice were ample to stand any strain, and
the milk difficulty was efficiently met by a scheme of
retail distribution inaugurated by the Nestle and
Anglo-Swiss Milk Co. in conjunction with Govern-
ment, which at once broke the famine prices to which
milk had been rushed by an unreasoning panic.
Formal notice of the declaration of war between Great
Britain and Germany quickly followed, the local forces
were placed under the Army Act and mobilised, the
A GERMAN RAIDER 407
German ships in harbour seized, and the imports and
exports of rice, dried fish, and flour strictly regulated
to ensure food supplies. All export business stopped,
and for the first (but not the last) time in the history
of Singapore the tin market was suspended, while all
credit ceased. On the loth August all the German
inhabitants signed internment papers, and the crews of
the German ships Chowtai, Ranee, and Quarta were put
on shore, while all immigration of Chinese and Indian
labourers was prohibited.
The same day saw a beginning of a return to the normal
as local shipping restarted running. The stoppage of
the tin market threatened to have a very serious effect ;
but this was met by a Government undertaking to buy
all tin at a fixed price, and this, together with immediate
action for the repatriation of surplus labour, calmed the
situation. Overseas shipping restarted, and although
British ships were advised to avoid the trade routes,
conditions became almost normal, except that the
Chinese merchants for a time acted under the belief
that a moratorium was established.
On the 2ist September, however, the German cruiser
Emden appeared in the Bay of Bengal, and started her
career in local history by the capture of the Indus, Lovat,
Killin, Diplomat, and Trabboch, and all trade routes from
Singapore westward were closed.
On the 26th September came the news of the shelling
of Madras, while on the ist October arrived the second
list of the Emden' s victims, the Tymertc, King Lud,
Ribera, Foyle, Buresk, and Gryfervale. Her ground of
action was, however, now fairly defined, and on the i sth
October the British cruiser Yarmouth sank the Marko-
mania, one of her tenders, and recaptured the Greek
collier Pontoporos with a prize crew on board, and brought
her to Singapore. Hopes of the Emden's capture were
rife, when on the 23rd October came her third and
last list of mercantile victims, the Chilkana, Troilus,
Benmohr, Clan Grant, Benzevell, Exfort, and Egbert, oif
the Minicoys. On the 28th October came the daring
4o8 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
raid on Penang, which resulted in the sinking of the
Russian cruiser Zemchug and the French torpedo-boat
Mousquet. This was the last exploit of the Emden, for
on the 9th November, while raiding the Cable Station
on the Cocos Islands, she was intercepted by H .M. Austra-
lian ship Sydney, and after a running fight went on shore
in flames.
During her time of activity, however, it became evident
that the local Volunteer Forces were not sufficient for the
work of manning the forts and miscellaneous garrison
duty, and a movement was set on foot which culminated
in a meeting on the 23rd October, at which the forma-
tion of the Singapore Volunteer Rifles was decided
upon. On the 28th October voluntary enlistment for
Kitchener's Armies started locally ; on the ist November
it was decided to form a Veterans' Company of the Singa-
pore Volunteer Corps, and enrolment commenced on the
24th November. The first Malayan contingent for the
New Armies sailed on the iith November, and on the
23rd November the granting of commissions locally for
the Home Armies was announced. With the destruction
of the German Fleet under Admiral von Spee at the
Falklands on the 9th December, the last possible menace
to Singapore and to local shipping was removed for the
time, and an uneventful period succeeded until the
dramatic outbreak of the 5th Light Infantry on the
15th February 1915.
Before dealing with this, however, it is necessary to
explain the military position in Singapore. Prior to the
War the garrison, excluding the forts, consisted of two
regular regiments, one British and one Indian. The
British Regiment, the first battalion of the King's Own
Yorkshire Light Infantry, had left for the Front at the
end of 1 914, and the garrison duties were performed by
the native regiment, the 5th Light Infantry, and the
Singapore Volunteer Corps. The 5th Light Infantry
was an Indian regiment of old standing, raised in 1 803
at Cawnpore by Lieutenant F. M. Johnson, and is credited
with having been one of the few native regiments which
MUTINY OF INDIAN TROOPS 409
remained loyal during the Indian Mutiny. The bat-
talion in Singapore was recruited chiefly in the Ranga
district. This regiment was under orders to proceed to
Hongkong by the troopship Nore on the 1 6th February,
and to assist in the garrison duties 200 men of the Johore
Forces had been sent to Singapore on the 14th February
and stationed in the Tanglin Barracks. The forces in
Singapore then consisted of some Royal Garrison
Artillery and Royal Engineers, a small detachment of
the 36th Sikhs, the Singapore Volunteer Corps, a detach-
ment of the Malay States Guides, and a detachment
of the Malay States Volunteer Rifles, who were in a
training camp at Normanton. The sth Light Infantry
had been inspected prior to their departure, all prepara-
tions had been made, and the ammunition had been
collected at the Quarter Guard prior to embarkation.
So far as the public knew, there was no reason to expect
any trouble, and it is difficult to beUeve that the Mihtary
Authorities were any better informed, as the French
cruiser Montcalm was in harbour, and part, at least, of her
crew in Tanglin Barracks until about forty-eight hours
before the outbreak, and could presumably have been
detained until the 5th Light Infantry had sailed.
Such was the position when at about 3 p.m. on the
15 th February the Mutiny broke out with starthng
suddenness. A shot was fired at the Quarter Guard at
Normanton, the Guard Room was burst open, and all
the ammunition was distributed. The first victim was
Captain Maclean, R.G.A., attached to the Malay States
Guides, who was shot in his quarters. Captain Boyce,
of the 5th Light Infantry, who attempted to quell the
disturbance, was shot at the same time ; but the other
officers of the 5th Light Infantry who were on the spot
made their way to the camp of the Malay States Volun-
teer Rifles, who, under Captain Sydney Smith, threw
themselves into the bungalow of Colonel Martin,
Officer Commanding the sth Light Infantry, and with
him put the house into a state of defence. This party,
consisting of Colonel Martin, Major Cotton, Captain Hall,
410 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
and Captain Ball, of the sth Light Infantry, together with
Captain Sydney Smith and eighty-two men of the Malay
States Volunteer Rifles, was promptly besieged in the
bungalow and the telephone wires cut, so that no reliable
information could reach headquarters.
The remainder of the mutineers appear to have
divided themselves into two main bodies, one of which
advanced towards town by the Pasir Panjang Road, while
the other went across country to Tanglin Barracks. The
former party met and shot Mr. C. V. Dyson, District
Judge, Singapore, Mr. Marshall, of the China Mutual
Insurance Co., and Mr. and Mrs. B. M. Woolcombe, of
the Eastern Extension Telegraph Co. Stragglers from
this body, or a part of it which proceeded towards Pasir
Panjang instead of towards town, also shot Messrs.
McGilvray, Butterworth, and Dunn in the bungalow of
Mr. McGilvray at Pasir Panjang, and also Lieutenant
Elliott, of the sth Light Infantry, whose body was found
near the junction of Alexandra and Pasir Panjang
Roads. Messrs. Edwards, of Guthrie and Co., Collins,
of the Straits Bulletin, and Evans, of the Borneo Co.,
together with Private Leigh, of the M.S.V.R., were also
shot in Alexandra Road. This completed the tale of
murders committed by the first detachment, which was
prevented from penetrating into town by the timely
landing of the crew of H.M.S. Cadmus, which was
fortunately lying in port, and to which early news of the
mutiny was communicated.
The second main division reached Tanglin at about
4 p.m., and caught the forces there completely unpre-
pared. These forces consisted of a section of the S.V.R.
under Second-Lieutenant Love Montgomerie, which
formed the guard at the main entrance to the German
prisoners' camp, and a company of Johore Forces, which
held the other posts . Why no warning had been conveyed
to them has never been explained, but the results were
disastrous. Captain Gerrard, of the M.S.V.R., Captains
Culhmore and Abdul Jaffar, of the Johore Forces, Second-
Lieutenant Love Montgomerie, of the S.V.R. , Sergeant
VICTIMS OF THE MUTINY 411
Sexton, A.S.C., Sergeant Beagley, R.G.A., Corporal
Harper, S.V.R., together with Privates Drysdale, Holt,
and Cameron, S.V.R., and Private Jacob bin Salleh, of
the Johore Military Forces, who were on duty there,
and Corporal Lawson, of the S.V.R., who was present,
though not on duty, were killed, while Privates James
Robertson and Wodehouse were wounded and left as
dead. The prisoners of war camp was thrown open,
and the mutineers fraternised with the inmates.
Nothing resulted from this, however, except the escape
of seventeen prisoners, of whom six were recaptured
almost immediately. This body of mutineers withdrew
after they had thrown open the prisoners- of- war camp,
and their later movements are uncertain.
On the same afternoon a couple of stragglers pene-
trated into town by Sepoy Lines and shot Captain Izard,
R.G.A., and Major Galway, R.G.A., in Outram Road,
also firing on Inspector Meredith, S.S.P., who escaped,
although his horse was killed. They then proceeded
along New Bridge Road, where they shot and killed
Messrs. Wald and Smith, of the Eastern Extension
Telegraph Co., Dr. Whittle, of the Government Medical
Service, and Warder Clarke, of the Singapore gaol,
wounding in addition Mr. Flett, of the Eastern Extension
Telegraph Co., and Mrs. Whittle. They penetrated as
far as the Central Police Station, where they fired on the
Sikh guard and then disappeared. This covers all the
known actions of the mutineers until dusk on the 15 th
February.
On the other side, preparations for defence were
organised rapidly. On the first news of the mutiny
coming to hand the Volunteer Guard on King's Dock
moved out, and covered the road at Keppel Harbour,
where they were quickly relieved by a landing party
from H.M.S. Cadmus, which pushed out towards Pasir
Panjang. The Sikh poHce were concentrated at the
Central Police Station and the S.V.C. were mobilised at
the Drill Hall. Parties were organised to bring in the
women and children from the suburbs, and accom-
412 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
modation was provided for them on the steamer Ipoh.
Martial law was proclaimed, and strong pickets sent
out to Tanglin Crossroads and the end of Cluny Road.
The bulk of the R.G.A. were brought from the forts to
the P. and O. Wharf, which was made headquarters, and
Lieutenant-Colonel Brownlow, R.G.A. , with a force
composed of the Cadmus landing party and some R.G.A.,
proceeded to the junction of Pasir Panjang and Alex-
andra Roads, with a view of relieving Colonel Martin and
the M.S.V.R. This force was strengthened during the
night of the 15th by details from the S.V.C. and some
armed civilians, and before dawn on the i6th started to
advance up Alexandra Road against the barracks.
The composite force then consisted of the Cadmus
landing party, eighty strong, twenty-one Royal Garrison
Artillery, fifty Volunteers, principally members of the
recently formed S.V.R.,and twenty-five armed civilians.
The Cadmus landing party, which formed the firing
line, came into touch with the mutineers at about
5.30 a.m., and the S.V.C. advanced to support them and
occupied the barracks. Heavy firing on the left flank
held up the attack for a short time, but the armed
civilians, under Captain Brown, S.V.I., were thrown into
some of the barrack buildings to mask the mutineers'
fire, while the Cadmus party and the S.V.C. moved to the
right and attacked from higher ground. The mutineers
broke, and the bungalow of Colonel Martin was reached.
The combined forces, which were not considered strong
enough to hold the position, retired back along Alexandra
and Pasir Panjang Roads to Keppel Harbour, sweeping
the Golf Links on the way. The total losses in this
operation were one killed. Stoker Anscombe, of H.M.S.
Cadmus, and six wounded. The losses of the mutineers
were never stated, but thirty to forty prisoners were
taken. On the same morning, about dawn, an attack
was made on the Orchard Road Police Station, which
was garrisoned by police and armed civilians, but the
mutineers were beaten off^, leaving two dead behind them.
The 1 6th was a day of organisation. About 200
MUTINY SUPPRESSED 413
European special constables were sworn in, and a force
of 190 Japanese, raised by the Japanese Consul, were
supplied with arms by the Military Authorities. All
motors were requisitioned for transport purposes, and
two armoured cars hastily constructed out of motor
lorries. On the afternoon of the i6th eighty or ninety
of the mutineers surrendered to the forces at Keppel
Harbour. Although it was hardly realised at the time,
Singapore was already safe, for there was no further
fighting, though lively sniping occurred for some days.
The removal of the women and children to ships in
harbour continued, the Eastern Extension Telegraph
Company's cable-ship Recorder, the s.s. Nile, and the s.s.
Penang being placed at the disposal of the Military
Authorities. By the evening of the i6th a complete line
of posts had been established from the P. and O. Wharf
to Cluny Road, cutting off the mutineers from town,
and forces with motor transport were ready to move to
any threatened point. There were no further European
deaths, the last being Lieutenant Legge, Medical Co.,
S.V.C., and Gunner Barry, R.G.A., who were killed on
the 1 6th February.
As a result of prompt action taken by the authorities,
assistance commenced to arrive. On the 17th the
French cruiser Montcalm returned, and landed 190 men
and two machine-guns, on the i8th the Russian cruiser
Orel landed forty men, on the 20th the Japanese cruiser
Tsushima supplied a landing party of seventy-five men,
and on the 21st the 4th (T.) Battahon of the King's Own
Shropshire Light Infantry arrived from Rangoon by the
s.s. Edvana. By that time, however, out of a total of
815 men in the mutinous regiment, 61 5 were in custody,
and fifty-two killed, wounded, or drowned, and nothing
remained to be done except to round up stragglers.
This was a matter of some difficulty, owing to the nature
of the country, and took over a month. A court-martial
composed of Lieutenant-Colonel Brownlow, R.G.A.,
Major Edge, 4th K.S.L.L, and Captain Ball, sth L.L,
was established, which passed sentence of death on forty-
414 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
one of the mutineers and various lesser sentences on
125 others. The executions took place outside the
Singapore gaol, and were witnessed by a huge concourse,
who appeared to have little sympathy with the con-
demned. A military funeral at Bidadari marked the
close of an episode, the danger of which is now almost
forgotten, and tablets in the Cathedral and the Victoria
Memorial Hall, together with a sad array of graves at
Bidadari, are the only remaining marks of Singapore's
trial. To the inexperienced the most remarkable
feature of the mutiny was the way in which a trained
Indian regiment broke before the attack of a half-trained
force, and the greatest credit is due to the Military
Authorities for what appeared to be the rash way in
which they took the offensive with insufficient and raw
troops. A Commission under Brigadier-General Hoghton
was appointed to enquire into the causes of the mutiny,
but its findings were never disclosed, and the causes of
the trouble are not known. The trial of a prominent
Indian merchant, Kassim Mansoor, and his condemnation
for high treason, apparently was not connected with the
Sth Light Infantry.
Immediately after the mutiny Singapore fell back
into its old quietude, and there was nothing further to
mark the progress of the War until the spring of 191 7,
when, with the start of the German campaign of unre-
stricted submarining, the lack of shipping became
noticeable, while the increasing stringency of the export
restrictions in Europe forced her to seek new sources
of supplies, which were found in Japan, the United
States of America, and Australia. The shipping difficulty
to the United Kingdom was met by an Imperial arrange-
ment, which placed a fixed amount of tonnage at reduced
rates at the disposal of Singapore for commodities
which were of vital importance to the United Kingdom,
and was a gold mine to those exporters who were fortu-
nate enough to secure space in the controlled ships, as
they annexed the extra profits represented by the differ-
ence between the controlled and the uncontrolled rates,
SEIZURE OF DUTCH VESSELS 415
and with the exception of the copra industry, local
interests did not suffer heavily. The restrictions on
import into the United Kingdom, however, ruined for
the time a most thriving local industry, the tinning of
pineapples. This industry, which had an out-turn of
about four milhon dollars per annum, and was com-
pletely in Chinese hands, ceased to exist, and practically
all the factories were closed down ; but as European
capital was not involved, the matter attracted little
attention. In March 191 8 the Dutch ships in harbour
were seized, but all except the Rochussen, Van Heeniskirk,
S. Jacob, Van Overstraaten, Van W-aerwijck, and Goentoer
were quickly released. Fearing a recurrence of similar
action, however, the Dutch ships boycotted Singapore,
and the K.P.M. office was closed ; but this was a very
temporary state of affairs, and trade was soon resumed.
As the interest of Singapore in the War was almost
completely financial, it is fitting that the last three
items of interest should be purely monetary. The first
of these was the requisitioning of all local British tonnage,
which took effect from the ist May 191 8. The other
two were connected with the two main industries, tin
and rubber. On the 8th May 191 8 the Government of
the U.S.A. announced that the importation of rubber
for the three months of May, June, and July would be
restricted to 25,000 tons, and the same limit was set for
the following three months. It was also arranged that
preference should be given to Central and South America,
in order to conserve shipping space.
In 191 8 the imports of rubber to the U.S.A. had been
177,000 tons, so that the proposed reduction was very
drastic. It does not appear to have been definitely
discovered whether these limits were really enforced,
but the effect of the announcement on the Singapore
rubber market was disastrous, and prices at the auctions
fell below the cost of production of the majority of
estates, at one time touching thirty-nine cents a pound.
A Committee was appointed on the 1 6th August, and on
the 2nd September changed to a Commission, to enquire
4i6 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY [chap, viii
whether Government should give protection or assistance
to the rubber industry, and if so, what form such Govern-
ment action should take. This Commission presented
a report, dated the 2nd October, recommending a drastic
compulsory reduction in output, and either the formation
of an Imperial Monopoly in rubber under a Rubber
Control Board, which would buy at one shilling per pound
for first-grade rubber, or failing this, that Government
should notify its willingness to buy rubber of a specified
grade at a specified price. They recommended eighty
cents per pound as the price of first-grade rubber for
this purpose. The news of the Armistice on the iith
November, happily, saved the situation.
Tin, however, was a more interesting question. The
demand for tin caused by war requir^tnents had steadily
forced up the price, until in the early part of July 191 8
it stood at $160 per picul in Singapore, and at an even
higher figure in Batavia. In theory this should have
resulted in larger supplies of ore ; but the reverse proved
to be the case, and there appeared to be every prospect
of still higher prices.
On the 12th July the buying of tin was prohibited
except under licence ; but this apparently had no effect,
either on supply or price, which rose to $185 per picul,
but fell back again to $1 75. At this point a single buyer
alone was authorised, and the price fell steadily from
$175 per picul on the 14th August to $143.10 per picul
on the day upon which the Armistice took place. The
steady fall had the peculiar effect of bringing extra
supplies on the market, miners presumably using every
effort to accelerate output before the price went still
lower.
This really finishes the war history of Singapore. But
before turning to the history of legislation, there are
two matters which deserve mention. These are the
War Charities and the Committee of Food Control. The
charities are, of course, inextricably mixed up with those
of the whole Malay Peninsula, the collections for which
on the 31st September 191 8 amounted to $5,171,174.39.
WAR LEGISLATION 417
Of this amount $2,581,958.09 was collected by funds
organised in Singapore, although the money was not
all collected in Singapore itself.
The Committee of Food Control was appointed under
the Imperial Order in Council of the 26th October 1896,
and came into existence on the 3 1 st May 1 9 1 7. Its activi-
ties,so far as the public are aware, were confined tomaking
orders as to the price of milk, fish, and a few other minor
articles. Whether they were in any way responsible-
for the fact that during eighteen months of war, in spite
of a shortage of shipping anti. embargoes on the export
of almost all foodstuffs from the countries of origin,
Singapore never suffered from any lack of essential
foods is unknown, so that it is perhaps unsafe to criticise
them too severely.
We now turn to the less spectacular, but not less
interesting aspect of the subject — War Legislation and
its effects. The War Legislation, with the exception of a
few Ordinances for special purposes, may be divided into
four main heads : military service and training, control-
ling and winding up enemy interests locally, restrictions
on trading with the enemy, and restrictions on import
and export.
The miscellaneous legislation is not of great interest.
It consisted of the Naval and Military News (Emergency)
Ordinance, 191 5, prohibiting publication of news of
movements of ships, troops, and kindred matters ; the
Seditious Publications (Prohibition) Ordinance, 1915,
prohibiting publications dangerous to the public peace
and stopping the importation of dangerous literature ;
the War Loan Ordinance, 1916, allowing the raising of
money to be lent to the Imperial Government for war
purposes ; the Registration of Aliens Ordinance, 191 7,
to keep control over the movements of aliens in the
Colony ; the War Tax Ordinance, establishing a tax on
incomes to provide a contribution to the Imperial
Government for war purposes ; and the Increase
of Rent (War Restriction) Ordinance, 1917, to prevent
increase of rent of smaller dwelling-houses.
1—28
4i8 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
The legislation dealing with military training is more
interesting. The local forces in the Colony at the
outbreak of war were governed by the Volunteer
Ordinance, 1888. It was found that this law was not
sufficient for dealing with large bodies of mobilised
Volunteers, and on the 9th October 191 4 the Volunteer
(Amendment) Ordinance, 1914, was passed, putting the
Volunteers for disciplinary purposes on the same footing
as the Regular and Territorial Forces. On the i6th
August 191 5, when it was realised as a result of the
mutiny that a local force of sufficient strength to deal
with internal troubles was not merely desirable but
necessary, in view of the fact that the Regular Forces
might be still further depleted, the Reserve Force and
Civil Guard Ordinance was passed. This Ordinance
provided for the registration of all British subjects of
pure European descent between the ages of 1 8 and 45 who
were not already Volunteers. All such persons between
the ages of 18 and 40 were made subject to compulsory
military training, with the option of entering the Volun-
teer Reserve, while all between 40 and 55 were subject
to semi-military and semi-police training in the Civil
Guard. In December 191 5 the Volunteer Amendment
Ordinance, 1915, was passed, but it was merely to make it
clear that the Volunteer Forces were subject to certain
disciplinary arrangements, whether there were Regular
Forces in the Colony or not. On the 14th April 191 6
the Reserve Force and Civil Guard Amendment Ordi-
nance was passed to merge all members of the Reserve
Force, and all those undergoing military training, into the
Volunteer Forces, and to give the General Officer Com-
manding the powers to draft such men into any unit
which he deemed fit. This measure was necessary,
because the Volunteers alone were subject to mobili-
sation, which in consequence pressed very heavily on
their small numbers, and also to bring the Volunteer
Forces to full strength. The Volunteer Amendment
Ordinance, 1916, of the i8th May, gave a statutory
footing to the Cadet Corps by attaching them to the
MILITARY SERVICE ORDINANCES 419
Volunteer Corps. On the 14th December 191 7 the
Volunteer Amendment Ordinance, 191 7, was passed to
provide for compulsory parades under penalty, and to
empower the Commanding Officer to impose certain
penalties for disobedience and neglect of duty, and a later
amendment provided for notices of such compulsory
parades and a penalty for not attending the prescribed
number of non-compulsory parades.
The next Ordinance — the Registration and Medical
Examination Ordinance of the 8th December 191 7 —
marked the initial step towards compulsory foreign
service, registration, and medical examination of all
British subjects of pure European descent between the
ages of 18 and 41, and their classification for active
service, but was not coupled with any compulsory
service.
Boards were established to certify whether a man was
indispensable or not ; but even if the Tribunal declared
that a man could be spared, he was not subject to com-
pulsory service, nor could he terminate a contract for the
purpose of offering himself to the Military Authorities
without the consent of his employer. It was, in fact, the
dying effort of the voluntary system, and was succeeded
by the Military Service Ordinance, 191 8, an Ordinance
which came too late to be of much practical benefit, but
which was a courageous attempt to release men for
service in the field.
This Ordinance was passed on the 20th July 191 8. It
provided for re-examination of all Europeans between
the ages of 18 and 41 , and that all Class A men should be
liable for compulsory military service abroad unless they
applied to and were exempted by a tribunal on the
ground of imperial interests or special hardship. This
closed the tale of volunteer and kindred legislation, and
left Singapore with a compulsory volunteer force under
the same discipline as the regular army and the nucleus
of an overseas force in a fairly advanced state of training.
We now turn to the second main branch, the control-
ling and winding up of enemy businesses locally. This
420 • SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
is extremely interesting as showing the development of
the status of an enemy for business purposes and the
steps which proved successively necessary to prevent the
Central Powers from benefiting by their foreign estab-
lishments.
The Legislation started with the Alien Enemies
Winding Up Ordinance, 191 4, passed on the 9th Decem-
ber 1914. This Ordinance empowered the Governor to
appoint a liquidator to wind up any business which was
carried on by an alien enemy or enemy company, or by
anyone on behalf of such enemy or company. An alien
enemy was defined as the subject of a Sovereign or
State at war with His Majesty, while an enemy company
was a company one-third of whose share capital was held
by enemies or one-third of whose directors were alien
enemies. The decision of H.E. the Governor on question
of status was final, and he had powers of inspection of
books in order to decide. The first amendment to this
was passed on the i6th April 191 5. It regularised the
position of the liquidator of Behn, Meyer and Co., and
provided for the order in which debts should rank,
making debts due to persons residing in or doing business
in the Colony rank first for payment. The second
amendment, passed on the 19th October 1915, and
entitled the Alien Enemies Winding Up (Further Amend-
ment) Ordinance, 191 5, went still further, and prevented
the liquidator from paying any liabilities except those
incurred in respect of trade carried on in the Colony.
This is the first recognition in our war legislation of
the international character of trade. On the 26th June
1916 the Alien Enemies Winding Up (Amendment)
Ordinance, 1916, marked a further advance of drastic
nature. The former criterion of enemy character lay
in domicile according to established law. It was now
extended to cover nationality irrespective of domicile.
The law further decreed that all debts and all shares due
to or acquired by a firm which was being liquidated
should vest in the liquidator, including debts and shares
outside the Colony. It also provided that anyone who
LIQUIDATING ENEMY FIRMS 421
bought the goodwill of a liquidated firm should be
prohibited from using the name of such firm without the
consent of the Governor, thus freeing Singapore of
enemy names. Moreover, the surplus assets, if any, were
to be paid to the Custodian of Enemy Property, an
official whose appointment will be referred to later. A
further amendment allows creditors to be paid for debts
due by the head office of a firm being liquidated out of
the proceeds of the liquidated branch after the preferred
creditors' claims have been satisfied. It also provided for
dealing with secured creditors who were enemies, and
depositing the proceeds with the Custodian, for finishing
winding-up operations after the War if necessary, and
for deleting from the Registry of Companies firms dis-
solved by the Governor.
The next amendment allowed appeal to the Courts
against the Governor's decision as to enemy character,
but it also prohibited thepurchaser of any enemyproperty
from purchasing on behalf of an enemy or enemy firm
or from disposing of such property to an enemy or enemy
firm within five years of the end of the War. This is the
first indication of the possibility of a future boycott of
enemy interests.
The next and last step was the Alien Enemies Winding
Up (Amendment) Ordinance, 191 7. This made the
definition of an enemy company much more stringent,
as one director or one-tenth share of the issued capital
was sufficient to give enemy status, and the rules to
prevent indirect transfer to an enemy were made much
more strict. It also provided that the liquidator should
not sell any property to any person other than a British
subject without the sanction of the Governor, and that
no such property should be passed to an enemy or
foreigner in any way. Clean titles to such property
were also provided for.
The third branch. Trading with the Enemy, is closely
connected with, though distinct from, the winding-up
legislation. It started on the 31st October 19 14 with
the Trading with the Enemy Ordinance, 1914, which
422 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
prohibited trading with Germany and Austria-Hungary,
gave power to the Governor to appoint controllers to
local businesses, and prohibited enemy subjects from
carrying on business as bankers except under licence.
On the sth June 191 5 this was followed by the Trading
with the Enemy (Amendment) Ordinance, 1915, which
provided for the appointment of the Custodian, to whom
all moneys due to enemies must be paid. It also pro-
hibited attempting to trade or offering or agreeing to
trade with an enemy, and made assignments of debts
or the like by an enemy invahd. A further extension, of
the 14th July 191 5, prohibited payment of dividends by
companies in the Colony to people of enemy nationality
wherever resident, and provided for the payment of such
sums to the Custodian. The Trading with the Enemy
Amendment No. 3, 1915, went still further, and extended
the amendments of the 14th July to cover all securities,
provided for payment to the Custodian of capital falling
due to an enemy, for a return of all bank balances and
debts of over $200 to the Custodian, who could apply to
the Courts for a vesting order, and extended the status
of enemy for these purposes to all persons declared
enemies by proclamation. This was a most important
departure from previous legislation, as it gave enemy
status to people of enemy nationality in China, Siam,
Persia, and Morocco, in which places enemy countries had
extra-territorial jurisdiction.
The next stage is marked by the Trading with the
Enemy (Extension of Powers) Ordinance, 1916, which
prohibited trading with any person or firm wherever
domiciled if of enemy nationality or association, after
publication of such names in the Gazette. This practically
ended the question of enemy status for trade purposes.
The next amendment, the Trading with the Enemy
Amendment Ordinance, 191 6, of the 2nd May, was on
completely different lines, and enabled the Custodian to
purge local companies of shareholders of enemy nation-
ality wherever resident. This provision was also final
in its own line.
RESTRICTING ENEMY TRADE 423
The Trading with the Enemy (Further Amendment)
Ordinance of the 23rd June 191 6 prohibited payments
by the Custodian to a person of enemy nationaUty
wherever resident.
The total result of this legislation was that all enemy
firms in Singapore ceased to exist, that local businesses
and companies were purged of all interests held by
persons of enemy nationality, that all such interests
were vested in the Custodian, with the right of disposal
to British subjects, and that trading directly or indirectly
with all firms of enemy nationality or association wher-
ever domiciled was prohibited. The names of all enemy
firms disappeared from Singapore, and all local property
and moneys owned by enemy nationals were disposed of,
and the proceeds held by the Government for the post-
war settlement.
The laws relating to imports and exports, the last
general branch, are probably those best known to the
pubHc, as they affected almost all kinds of business. They
are divided into two branches, the restrictions and the
machinery for enforcing them. The original restrictions
were imposed under the Arms and Explosives Ordinance,
191 3, which gave the Governor power to prohibit the
import and export of articles of the nature of explosives,
and also foodstuffs, except under Hcence. At the end
of 191 S, when the restrictions on export became more
strict, and the necessity for restricting imports also arose,
the Arms and Explosives (Amendment) Ordinance, 1915,
was passed, giving the Governor power to prohibit the im-
port or export of any articles. This was followed, on the
I St November 1 9 1 5 , by the Arms and Explosives (Further
Amendment) Ordinance, 1915, which gave power to pro-
hibit by proclamation the export of anything to any place
unless consigned to persons named in such proclamation.
Proclamations, with lists of approved consignees, were
issued in regard to China, Siam, Persia, and Morocco, and
trading with firms or persons of enemy nationality in
those countries was effectively stopped. This system of
approved consignees (generally known as White Lists)
424 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
is the only really effective method of preventing supplies
from reaching undesirable consignees, as it is impossible
to put up dummy covers, as may be done with Black
Lists. The next Ordinance, the Arms and Explosives
Amendment Ordinance of the 4th April 1916, struck a
deadly blow to the German trade with the Netherlands
Indies and Siam. It prohibited the transit through the
waters of the Colony of any goods without the permission
of the Registrar of Imports and Exports. Prior to this
date the direct ships from Holland to the Netherlands
Indies, from Denmark to Siam, and from Spain to the
Philippines carried large quantities of goods either of
enemy origin or to enemy firms through Singapore, and
such goods could not be interfered with. It was not pos-
sible to seize such cargo and to detain ships until enemy-
tainted cargo was unloaded. The German firms in Siam
were thus completely cut off from supplies, as all their ship-
ments from Europe had to passthrough Singapore, and the
German trade with the Netherlands Indies was very con-
siderably curtailed, though they still had some direct com-
munication with Holland. This practically completed
the legislation relating to restrictions, the only further
amendment being one to make employers liable for the
acts of their servants, a very necessary provision in the
case of native firms, in which it is often practically
impossible to discover who is primarily responsible for
any illegal act.
The administration of these Ordinances depended on
the Registrar of Imports and Exports (War Powers)
Ordinances. The first of these, the Registrar of Imports
and Exports (War Powers) Ordinance, 1915, required
certificates of origin for goods from certain places
and statutory declarations of ultimate destination for
goods sent to certain countries. It gave power to
call for landing certificates for goods shipped to
foreign destinations, and empowered the Registrar to
seize summarily any goods which he suspected to be of
enemy origin or to have been imported in contravention
of the laws relating to trading with the enemy, and an
SINGAPORE'S PROSPERITY 425
averment. of the Registrar that he was not satisfied on
these points threw the onus of proof on the suspected
party. Even in a free port such as Singapore this
Ordinance was remarkably effective as regards imports,
but its value for checking exports was not so great. An
Amending Ordinance of the 5th April 191 6, however,
dealt with exports in a much more stringent and effective
manner. It empowered the Registrar to refuse export
of any goods to foreign destinations, placed heavy
penalties on export even of free goods before the permis-
sion of the Registrar was obtained, and created a pre-
sumption for exports similar to that already in force for
imports, i.e. made an averment by the Registrar that
he was not satisfied that goods had not reached an enemy
country or a statutory enemy prima facie proof that
such goods had gone to an enemy destination. At the
same time, ships' owners, agents, and masters were made
jointly responsible for any shipments on their boats
contrary to regulations, and ships' manifests were made
primd facie proof of import or export. This made the
check on export almost as effective as that on import, and
no further amendments were necessary except that of
the 28th June 191 8, which regularised the granting of
licences, gave power to inspect books and documents, and
to demand information if any' offence against the laws
relating to import or export was suspected, and imposed
an extremely heavy penalty for false statements made
with a view of obtaining a licence to export prohibited
articles.
It is difficult to imagine a system of law which could
be more efficient without a large and well-organised
preventive staff.
It was necessary to set artificial bounds to the scope
of this article, and when the Armistice was declared that
date was chosen as a suitable ending. It saved the rub-
ber situation, and although tin was and apparently will
be in an unsatisfactory condition for some time, it may
safely be said that the War left Singapore in a state of
unexampled commercial prosperity. Her able-bodied
426 SINGAPORE'S MILITARY HISTORY
population of British subjects of European descent is
trained to take its part in any future trouble which
may arise. Enemy trade names or enemy interests in
trade or in local property no longer exist, and eifective
machinery has been established to prevent the entry of
enemy goods in future if such action is decided upon.
The problem of the future is to decide how far it is
possible to ban enemy traders and enemy goods from a
port whose prosperity largely depends on its distribution
trade. We have had an example in Germany itself of
strong protection linked with free ports, and the pros-
perity of Hamburg is an object-lesson which must not
be lost sight of. To prevent the re-establishment of
businesses of enemy nationality will be comparatively
easy. To prevent the import of enemy goods except in
small quantities will not be difficult. To do the former
would hardly injure Singapore, but to do the latter may
have a serious effect. We can only trust that if the
century-old policy of Sir Stamford Raffles is reversed,
the development of the Malay Peninsula will compensate
for the possible loss of foreign trade.
CHAPTER IX
EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
By C. Bazell, formerly of the Education Department
If there were no other evidence, the views of Sir Stamford
Raffles on the subject of education alone would be
sufficient to prove that he was far in advance of his time.
In England no annual grant towards education was made
until 1847, and it was not until 1870 that good schools
were planted over the country. But in a minute read
to the leading inhabitants of Singapore on the i st April
1823, Raffles said that " by raising those in the scale of
civilisation over whom our influence or our Empire is
extended we shall lay the foundations of our Dominion
on the firm basis of justice and mutual advantage " ;
that " education must keep pace with commerce in order
that its benefits may be ensured and its evils avoided."
But he warned his audience against expecting too early
a harvest from their sowing :
" The progress of every plan of improvement on the
basis of education must be slow and gradual ; its effects
are silent and unobtrusive, and the present generation
will probably pass away before they are fully felt and
appreciated . . . but a single individual of rank raised
into importance and energy by means of the proposed
institution may abundantly repay our labour by the
establishment of a better order of society in his neigh-
bourhood, by the example he may set, and' by the
Resources of the country he may develop."
Surveying the position of Singa;pore with regard to
the surrounding countries, he pointed out " the advantage
and necessity of forming an institution of the nature of a
4*7
428 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
college which shall embrace not only the object of
educating the higher classes of the native population, but
at the same time that of affording instruction to the
officers of the Company in the native languages, and of
facilitating our more general researches into the history,
condition, and resources of those countries."
Such were Raffles 's views and such his intentions ; but
whether it is that the climate here forbids any sustained
effort, or that the curse on Sang Raj una Tapa, told in a
tale of jealousy and disloyalty, still hangs heavy over
the place, his high ideals passed away with their author.
The Bengal Government regarded Singapore as an
unimportant outpost, the business men considered their
own profits, not their wider obligations, and the College,
betrayed by its trustees and neglected by the authorities,
stood for forty years a whited sepulchre of Raffles's hopes.
The tale must begin here. Founded by Raffles himself,
the College, now Raffles Institution, is the only scholastic
link with the distant past. In its history is contained
the story of how the children were neglected until the
Community, and later the Government, had learnt to
appreciate the wider outlook of Raffles. Next must
come the history of the various missionary bodies, who,
in healthy rivalry first of all for the good of their pupils,
kept aloft the torch of learning, but later, under the evil
spell of the place, sought in unchristian competition their
own advancement. The East India Company gave way
to the Colonial Authorities, but the time for educational
awakening was not yet. Finally, after a hundred years'
lethargy, theGovernment, roused by the more enlightened
activity of a foreign mission, has decided to contemplate
a college of its own.
If, then, at last Raffles's dreams are to be realised in a
new Raffles College, the story of the past, with its efforts
and its failures, set down without partiality and without
concealment, would be a fitting introduction to a mor^
successful future.
Raffles's original plans for his college were modified
somewhat, in consequence of the proposal of Dr. Mor-
RAFFLES'S IDEALS 429
rison to amalgamate with it the Anglo-Chinese College
from Malacca — which proposal was never carried out, as
the College was eventually transferred to Hongkong — •
and it was decided to have three departments in the new
College :
( 1 ) A scientific department for the common advantage
of the several colleges that may be established.
(2) A literary and moral department for the Chinese.
(3) A literary and moral department for the Siamese,
Malays, etc.
Subscriptions were raised, trustees were appointed,
and on the sth June 1823 the foundation-stone was laid
by Raffles himself. To free his foundation from any
financial anxiety Raffles promised, on behalf of the East
India Company :
(i) A grant of $300 a month.
(2) A free gift of land, 600 feet along the sea front and
1,140 feet inland in depth to Rochore Street
(now Victoria Street), lying between the Fresh-
water stream (at present the open drain) and
College Street (now Bras Basah Road).
(3) A large block of land, " a hill with the land ad-
jacent to it to the northward, and at the back
of Government Hill," i.e. Institution Hill to the
north of Fort Canning.
(4) One thousand five hundred acres of uncleared
ground (500 acres for each department).
The start was auspicious, and a successful future might
have been prophesied, but Fate decreed otherwise.
From its earliest days its growth was thwarted by the
hostility of Mr. Crawfurd, Raffles 's successor, and the
apathy of the Trustees. The Government in Bengal
was willing to follow where Raffles led, and in reply to a
letter from him dated the 20th May 1823, concerning the
grants made, while deprecating his haste, as the continued
occupation of Singapore by the British was still uncertain,
did not cancel his arrangements. Also, two years later,
Mr. Crawfurd was told : " We are, however, disposed to
give all reasonable encouragement to the education of
430 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
the natives, and we shall not therefore withhold our
sanction from the grant of a monthly allowance of $300
in aid of the Establishment, for such time as it shall be
required. And we do not disapprove of the endowment
of each of the departments with an assignment of 500
acres of uncleared ground on the usual terms." But
Mr. Crawfurd obviously disapproved of Raffles 's scheme,
and used his influence to prevent its success. First of all
the grant was not paid, though Raffles himself wrote from
Bencoolen on the 23rd January 1824, asking him to
advance the money, on his ( Raffles 's) responsibihty ;
and later, in spite of the reply, quoted above, to Craw-
furd's minute of the nth May 1825, in which he asked
for a decision on the matter, the grant was still unpaid
in February 1826. Following up his first success, Mr.
Crawfurd, in a despatch to the Court of Directors,
suggested that Raffles 's ideas were too advanced to be
of any use, that the school was too far away from the
town to attract pupils, and that a wiser plan would be
the adoption of a scheme of elementary education. His
views prevailed, and early in 1827 the Trustees were
informed that the Government subscription should be
applied solely to the establishment of elementary schools.
Up to this time the Trustees had done nothing, and now
their inactivity was to lead to more serious loss. On
the 9th January 1827 a warning was issued by the
Government that all lands not built upon or applied to
the purposes originally intended would be resumed on
the ist May, a perfectly equitable action. But on the
nth January, only two days later, the Trustees were
informed that the 1,500 acres mentioned above were
to be handed over for the use of the officers of the 25th
Regiment, who had recently arrived. This high-handed
action failed to make the Trustees realise their past
neglect or to rouse them to any activity, and they
surrendered their claim in a letter dated 27th February,
sent by John A. Maxwell, Acting Secretary, Singapore
Institution, to the Honourable John Prince, Resident
Councillor :
A TRUST BETRAYED 431
" SiR,^On behalf of the Trustees of the Singapore
Institution I have the honour to enclose a document
under their signature by which they renounce all claim
to the lot of ground referred to in your favour of the
1 9th ultimo, and I trust the same may be considered satis-
factory with a view to the object for which it has been
framed. The Grants referred to, viz. 499, 500, 501, are
in my possession, and are ready to be delivered up if
necessary."
After this betrayal of their trust, further remissness
was only to be expected. On the i8th August of the
same year the Trustees appear to have attempted —
unsuccessfully — to sell the Institution to the Govern-
ment. Not to be baffled, they then thought of turning it
into a town hall or reading room — a proposal that
drew forth a strong protest from Macao from Dr.
Morrison, one of the original Trustees. A meeting was
held on the 20th November 1828, the last held until
1836, to discuss the matter. Everything, apparently,
was abandoned, and for nearly eight years Raffles's
aspirations lay buried in what the Singapore Free Press
described in 1832 as " the unfinished building or ruin "
that stood " an eyesore to the Settlement, affording a
convenient shelter for thieves."
There were in Singapore Malay schools, mentioned
by Raffles, where the only teaching was a parrot-like
repetition of the Koran. The Rev. G. H. Thompson,
of the London Missionary Society, also taught in a house
at the corner of Bras Basah and North Bridge Roads, his
wife teaching six Malay girls. In 1829 there were two
Cantonese schools, one at Kampong Glam and another
in Pekin Street, a Hokkien school with twenty-two
boys and an English school with an attendance of forty-
eight.
This lack of a school of any standing moved the new
Chaplain in 1833 to apply to the Government for a grant
to establish a free school. A place was given him near
the foot of Fort Canning, by High Street. A Singapore
School Society was formed, subscriptions were raised,
432 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
and on the ist August 1834 the Singapore Free School
was opened under Mr. J. H. Moor. When the building
fell into disrepair, the Committee thought of applying
for the use of the buildings of the neglected Raffles
Institution. The formal application was made on the
15th September 1837.
Meanwhile, on the ist January 1836, a meeting of
subscribers to a monument to be erected to the memory
of Raffles decided that they would best perpetuate the
remembrance of the eminent services rendered to the
Settlement by completing the Institution founded by him
for the purposes of education. The Trustees, now only
two in number, were shamed into action. They met
on the 5th January, nominated ten others to act with
them, and thankfully accepted the subscribers' proposal.
Subscriptions again came in ; repairs were started, and
in December 1837 the Singapore Free School was removed
from High Street to the Institution, then for the first
time used for its original purpose. The new venture was
managed jointly, the Trustees reserving to themselves
the right of resuming the buildings after one year's
notice,andafter refunding $1,800 that had been advanced
for repairs. But later, to avoid the inconvenience of
having two authorities for the Singapore Institution, the
Trustees and the School Society Committee, on the 9th
August 1839 the latter resolved " that from henceforth
the whole shall be vested in the Trustees of the said
Institution, and that the School Committee deliver over
to the said Trustees all funds and property of every
description over which they have hitherto exercised
any control ; and that the said Trustees be requested
to appoint a School Committee of a certain number of
members from their body annually."
The new Trustees did better work than their prede-
cessors, but failed equally to realise the future possibilities
of Singapore or of the school. On the ist March 1844
they opened a girls' department in the Institution,
details of which will be given later. In 1853 they estab-
lished two annual scholarships for boys who had been
SINGAPORE INSTITUTION 433
resident in Singapore for the three years immediately
before the examination. But in 1856 the unhappy
suggestion was made that the land at the back of the
Institution should be sold, and that they should dispose
of " the existing building and ground to the Government,
and apply the proceeds to the establishment of schools
in central positions of the town." Fortunately this
merely remained a suggestion. Far worse were their
actual deeds. In 1839 they obtained from the Govern-
ment a formal grant of the land on which the Institution
stood as far back as Victoria Street — one of the original
grants given by Raffles ; and the next year they asked
for the hundred acres on Institution Hill, but only twenty-
eight acres were allotted to them. They then, in 1 840,
sold the land behind the Institution, between North
Bridge Road and Victoria Street, in nine lots on a 999
years' lease for an annual quit rent of $15 per lot, and
five years later the property on Institution Hill was
disposed of for an annual quit rent of $225. So much
for the business man's control of educational finance.
This Governing Body directed the destinies of the
Institution until 1857, when an action was brought by
the Hon. E. A. Blundell, the then Governor, against the
two resident trustees, William Napier and Thomas Owen
Crane, requiring them to show by what right they
managed the affairs of the Singapore Institution. The
decision of the Court was postponed, for some reason or
other, until the 3 1 st May 1859, and said that ' ' the educa-
tional establishment called the ' Singapore Institution '
was well founded, established, and endowed as a charity
by the late Hon. Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles," and the
Court ordered the Registrar to enquire into the original
endowments of the said Institution and report ' ' by whose
default any part or parts of the said endowment have
since been forfeited or lost " ; and instructed him to
propose a plan for the application of any funds according
to the intentions of the said Sir Thomas Stamford
Raffles, "or as near thereto as circumstances will admit,
having regard to the present income of the said Institu-
I — 29
434 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
tion." The Court further instructed him to appoint
twelve trustees, and to prepare a proper plan for supply-
ing such vacancies as might from time to time occur.
In his report of the 9th July i860 the Registrar declared
that " the unjustifiable resumption of the land with
which the Institution was endowed has been the means
of crippling the resources of the Institution, and has
disabled the Trustees from carrying out the views of
the said Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles " ; that the nomin-
ation of the Trustees at the meeting on the sth January
1836 was irregular, and that their subsequent acts were
irregular and liable to be set aside. The Registrar then
appointed patrons and trustees, and advised the new
Trustees to make application to the Government for the
" restoration of the 500 acres to each of the departments
of the said Institution which had been unjustly resumed
by Mr. Prince on account of the Government, and for the
raising of its present subscription in aid to the sum
originally sanctioned by the Court of Directors." This
report was adopted by the Supreme Court on the 27th
April 1 86 1.
After the new Trustees took over the management, the
Institution entered on a new lease of life with new ideals.
Before we proceed further with that history, however,
it will be worth while studying for a moment the early
inner history of the school during this period. The school
funds were raised by public subscription, by a Govern-
ment grant, and by fees collected from certain of the
scholars. In 1854 the paying section of the school, boys
in the upper school who paid $4 per month for their
education, was done away with, an arrangement that
was altered in 1857, when those who could afford it had
to pay according to their means. After this date the
reports are always headed " Singapore Institution
Schools " instead of " Singapore Institution Free Schools"
as before. But the business community was, on the
whole, indifferent to education, and subscriptions were
few. In 1855 the monthly return from subscribers
was $69, while the Government grant was 400 rupees.
AN INTERPRETERS' CLASS 435
In the report for this year a detailed account of the
expenditure is given to show that the Trustees allowed
no waste. Six boys on the foundation were fed and
clothed out of the general fund, " at an average cost of
six dollars per month each boy, for which they obtain
eight coats, eight pair trowsers, eight bajus, eight pair
night trowsers, shoes about three pairs, one cap, six
pillow-cases, six towels ; their food consists of fish,
pork, and curry, at a cost of three dollars a month each,
the clothing averaging two dollars per month, the remain-
ing one dollar provides [sic] sundries such as washing,
mending, plates, dishes, mats, blankets, etc."
Originally the Institution contained English, Chinese,
and Malay classes. There had been a Tamil class as
well in the school in High Street, that was discontinued
in 1 836, when the transfer to the Institution was contem-
plated. The Malay department was abolished in 1842,
owing to " the great apathy and even prejudice which
exists among this race against receiving instruction."
Of the Chinese masters we read in 1839, " two and an
assistant teach the Hokkien dialect, one the Cantonese,
and one the Teochew. Generally speaking, they are
diligent and attentive. They are paid according to the
average number of boys they collect daily." Two years
later the Cantonese and Teochew dialects were stopped,
as the teachers were unable to collect enough pupils to
justify the expense. In 1859 Mr. W. W. Shaw, seeing
the need of good interpreters, and knowing from experi-
ence how the native interpreters were likely to be
influenced by the Chinese secret societies, handed over,
in conjunction with a friend, $500 invested at 9 per cent.,
to last for five years, to give prizes to Protestant European,
Anglo-Indian, or Portuguese lads to induce them to study
Hokkien and Teochew with a view of getting good non-
Chinese interpreters. This class first started in 1864,
with twenty-six boys. In the next year the fund was
increased by donations of $500 from Chinese residents
and $1,000 from Alexander and James Guthrie, whose
interest in education in Singapore deserves a lasting
436 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
record. These classes were continued until 1894, when
financial troubles brought them to an end.
The English school was divided into an upper division,
with four classes, and a lower division. The curriculum
was what might be expected at that time : English,
arithmetic (including book-keeping), history (which
comprised outlines of ancient history, together with
histories of Greece, Rome, England, and India), chrono-
logy, natural history and philosophy, geometry, mensu-
ration, trigonometry, the use of globes, writing and
drawing, developing the memory, if not the intelligence.
Religious exercises were practised out of school hours,
but were not compulsory, except for scholars and
foundationers. The examinations were public, and were
usually well-attended by the subscribers. In 1870,
however, the Trustees decided " that the style of public
examination pursued at the school is somewhat tedious
and unattractive : on future occasions a more entertain-
ing and satisfactory programme will be provided."
Occasionally there was difficulty in obtaining teachers —
a mutter of the coming storm. In 1855 there was an
average attendance of 130 boys, " but their number has
much increased of late, throwing upon the teachers a
far greater amount of work than can be effectively
performed by one European and two assistants, one of
whom is a native Portuguese and the other is a Chinese
convert." Ten years later, under the new regime, we
read that " the staff of masters is utterly inadequate
to the number of boys under tuition," and in the re-
ports there are constant references to resignation of
masters.
In those early years much seems to have been packed
into a small space. In 1839 a wing to the Institution
building was furnished. " It is spacious and well
adapted to the objects for which it was intended. The
upper rooms are occupied as a residence by the new
Master, the Rev. J. T. Dickinson; one of the large
lower rooms is occupied as the Chinese schoolroom ;
and the other is used as a printing room, where printing
ENERGETIC TRUSTEES 437
work on a small scale is conducted for the benefit of the
Institution." Three years later the right wing of the
building was completed, and was " occupied by one of
the masters and his family ; and the large rooms in the
main building are now exclusively appropriated to the
general purposes of the Institution, the one being used
as a committee-room, the other as a library." This
library was open to subscribers to the Institution, and
was moved from the building in 1862. There were
also in the building the boarding departments for the
boys and for the girls.
The new Trustees appointed by the Supreme Court
formally took over the school property on the 1 5th June
1 861. At once they enquired into the matter of the
lands that had been granted originally and illegally
alienated, but the Supreme Court declared " that the
sales of various lots of Institution lands are valid by
lapse of time, even if they were originally invalid," and
the question was dropped until 1873, when another
unsuccessful attempt was made to recover them. " It
appears that by the Statute of Limitations the Institution
is deprived of all legal claim on Government for the
restoration of the lands, or for compensation, more than
twelve years having elapsed since the decree of the
Supreme Court was issued." The Registrar's advice to
ask for the full grant of $300 a month was ignored.
For a time the mercantile community showed a
little interest in education. In 1865 Messrs. Guthrie
made another donation of $1,000 for the endowment of
a Malay scholarship, the interest being used for the
general fund until instruction was again given in Malay.
A prize fund was started in 1872 by Messrs. Young and
Mooyer with an endowment of $2,000.
Not only were the Trustees more energetic than their
predecessors, but they also had a definite policy in view.
In 1870, on Mr. Bayley's resignation — he had been
head-master for fourteen years — it was agreed, at a
meeting at the Town Hall on the 1 2th February, that a
graduate of one of the home universities should,be sought
438 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
for, the time having arrived " when some step might be
taken for the further development of the views which
were entertained by Sir Stamford Raffles," and the next
year Mr. R. W. Hullett, of Trinity College, Cambridge,
came out as head-master. His arrival marks a distinct
advance in the progress of education in the Colony.
Capable and fearless, for thirty-five years he fought for
the advancement of learning. From the time of his
arrival up to the time that the Institution was taken over
by the Government there is a record of constantly
increasing effort, hampered always by an ever-increasing
lack of funds.
In 1 87 1 boys were sent from Siam to commence their
education preparatory to proceeding to Europe. To ac-
commodate them a separate department was estabhshed,
the Girls' School being moved from the Institution for
that purpose. But the boys were withdrawn the next
year, as an English school had been opened in Bangkok.
Considerable interest in education was shown by Sir
Andrew Clarke, Governor from 1873 to 1875. In 1874
the Government undertook to keep the Institution
buildings in repair. A fixed grant was also paid yearly,
and was formally recognised later, in 1885, as being " in
compensation for land originally set aside by Government
for the endowment of the Institution." In 1876 a new
wing was opened to serve as a school-house for the sons of
Malayrajahs and chiefs, the foundation-stone havingbeen
laid by the Governor on the 7th May 1875. As, however,
the Malays were unwilling to come, the upper part of
the building (the end opposite Raffles Hotel) was used
by the Raffles Museum and Library until 1887.
In 1883 the boys' boarding department was moved to
the house in Beach Road vacated by the girls, and in
August of the next year it was again moved to the corner
house in Bras Basah Road, opposite the school, where
Raffles Hotel now stands. In September 1887 the
boarding department was discontinued. As founda-
tioners had been maintained since 1840, it was decided
that there was " a moral obligation upon the Trustees
CREATING A HIGH SCHOOL 439
to maintain and educate a certain number of necessitous
boys as foundationers," and that "the number should
not exceed twelve." This number gradually dwindled,
and in 1 896 the last of the foundationers left.
When Mr. HuUett arrived, he found old-fashioned
methods in vogue. New methods were soon introduced,
and new life was diffused into the teaching. As the
Inspector of Schools reported, " Mr. Hullett has evidently
done good in checking the ambition that learns too much
and too fast." The aim of the Trustees and of the staff
was gradually to eliminate the lower standards until
only higher work remained. The first difficulty to cope
with was casual attendance and excess of pupils i
To stop inattendance a monthly fee of 1 5 cents was
levied in 1872, and in 1876 a graded scale of fees was
introduced, only to be raised again two years later,
when those in the upper school paid $1 and those in the
lower school (all classes below Standard IV) 50 cents.
But in 1 88 1 we find " the old difficulties of excess of
pupils, unmanageable classes, want of teachers, and
scant accommodation have still to be deplored." More
definite steps were taken in 1883, when only those were
admitted who could pass Standard I, and no boy over
eighteen years of age was allowed to remain in the school.
When the possibility of the Government establishing
higher scholarships was mooted in 1884, " the Trustees
think that the time has now come when the Institution
must gradually leave to others the work done in the
lower classes, and become in a certain measure a sort of
high school for the more elementary schools which have
lately increased so rapidly." In 1888, in pursuance of
this plan, arid " in accordance with the wishes of the
Government," Standard II was made the qualification
for admission, and the advisability of affiliation to
the London University was considered.
During this period, there was close co-operation
between the Trustees and the Government. In 1875,
when the Government opened English branch schools at
Telok Ayer and Kampong Glam, the management of them
440 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
was handed over to the Trustees, who after a year's trial
handed back the responsibihty to the Government. In
187s Mr. Hullett was released from his duties to act as
Inspector of Schools, and three years later the Trustees
allowed Mr. Alex. Armstrong, one of the Institution
masters, to take charge of the Government school at
Malacca. The Institution was looked upon as a semi-
official school. In 1890 " it was arranged that four out
of the five Government schools should give instruction
only in Standards I and II, that one (Cross Street) should
give instruction as far as Standard IV, and that after-
wards pupils should pass on to the Raffles Institution."
And in 1889, when the Government decided to maintain
a special class to teach physical science and chemistry,
" pending the completion of a chemical laboratory and
lecture-room, for the purposes of which the south wing
of the Institution is being adapted. Government classes
are now held at the Raffles Institution for teaching the
various subjects required in the examination for the
Queen's Scholarships." On his arrival the new lecturer
was appointed Government Analyst, and as his extra
duties prevented his fulfilhng his duties as a teacher, the
classes were abandoned at the end of 1890. His office
and laboratory, however, were still in the Institution
building until 1895, when they again became available
for school purposes.
This progressive policy was justified by its results :
in 1879, of the total number of boys examined, 331
were in the lower and 107 in the upper standards; in
1892, 71 were in the lower and 212 in the upper standards.
In 1894 the Inspector of Schools minuted " an Institu-
tion, in which an opportunity would be oflFered of obtain-
ing a more advanced education, is now one of the more
pressing educational needs of the Colony, and I trust,
therefore, that before long it may be found possible
to give effect to the proposal made a few years ago by
the Trustees, that an education of the kind should be
provided at the Raffles Institution, the instruction given
there being confined to higher education only." In
FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES 441
the competition, too, with the rest of the schools in all
parts of the Settlements for the Queen's Scholarships,
the Raffles Institution easily held its own.
But this progress cost money. As higher work
became more general, more European masters had to
be brought out. Subscriptions failed to increase enough
to meet the growing expenditure. In 1890 the Trustees
had suggested that the Institution should be taken over
by the Government, with a representative committee to
manageit,and were told, in a reply dated the lothNovem-
ber, that " His Excellency, after fully considering the
matter in Executive Council, is unable to concur in any
such suggestion, or to hold out any prospect of the
Institution being taken over by the Government under
any circumstances." Every possible retrenchment was
made. The Malay class started in 1885 was discontinued
in 1893, because " in the condition of school finances
the expenditure of $150 was not justified." The next
year the Chinese class also was closed, as "the Government
discontinued the grant for the payment of a teacher, and
the Trustees were unable to meet the expenses of this
class without a vote." In October 1899 boys were
again admitted in Standards I and II, the Trustees acting
on the minority report of a sub-committee and reversing
the policy pursued since 1888.
Financial considerations led them to this. In the
lower classes numbers were large and instruction com-
paratively cheap, so that such classes were a source of
income. On the i6th October 1901 the attention of
the Legislative Council was called to the existing state
of pubUc instruction in the Colony, and early in 1902 a
Commission of Enquiry into the system of English
education in the Colony was appointed. Their report,
issued in April of the same year, contains the following :
" The Trustees of the Raffles Institution have urged
the Government to take over the school on the grounds
that management by Trustees who are constantly chang-
ing is unsatisfactory, and that they find it impossible
to maintain an adequate staff of fully qualified teachers
442 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
from home, as they are not able to offer pensions, and the
funds of the Institution do not permit them to give as
good terms as those received by Government teachers."
The Commission recommended that the Institution
should be taken over by Government, and on the
I St January 1903 the Government assumed the direct
management and control of the Raffles Institution. At
first all went well. In July commercial classes, both
day and evening, were started, and, unlike those in other
schools, flourished without a break. Practical mechanics
and science were also taught, and in 1904 another labora-
tory was equipped for elementary mechanics and experi-
mental science. A change came in 1906, when Mr. R. W.
Hullett retired. Since 1903 he had been acting as
Director of Public Instruction ; but his presence had
inspired the school, and had sustained the Government
in its efforts. After his departure no one had the
courage to importune the Government, or else the
authorities turned a deaf ear. His scheme for gradually
eliminating the lower standards was duly accomplished.
When the school was taken over, out of a total of 530
boys there were 24 in Standards I and II. First of all
these two standards were abolished, then Standard III,
and after October 1906 no more boys were admitted to
Standard IV. Three years later " Raffles Institution •
was unable to find room for all the Standard V boys
who wished to enter in November," and these boys
had to be accommodated in the Government branch
schools. In 1903 there were only forty boys in the
special Cambridge and commercial classes ; in 1909
the number had increased to 150. But while the lower
work was being excluded, the masters necessary for
higher work had been leaving Government service,
without a voice being raised in protest, and without any
effort being made to retain them, until in 191 5 there were
"no less than six vacancies on the European staff of
Raffles Institution," and those vacancies were not caused
by the War. In the next year a new laboratory was
equipped without there being a master to use it. One
EDUCATION FOR GIRLS 443
other useful addition to the building was a large examin-
ation hall, that had been opened in 191 2.
In physical education Raffles Institution has been
fortunate in having its own ground for recreation. In
1902 a Volunteer Cadet Corps was formed, and was
attached to the S.V.C. Until 1906 the Corps consisted
in the main of Raffles boys. After that other schools
took more interest in it, until it was disbanded after the
mutiny in 1915.
Raffles Girls' School
This school, as already mentioned, was opened in the
Institution buildings on the 4th March 1844, with
eleven pupils, six of whom were boarders receiving food,
clothing, and education free, and five day scholars. In
1 871, in order to provide accommodation for boys who
were expected from Siam, the girls were moved to a
house in Bras Basah Road, adjoining the Institution.
The yearly rent was $660, and when this was raised in
1877, the school was moved a little way down Beach
Road. " To this many of the parents raised the objection
that the day scholars had so far to walk alone." For a
long time a Committee of eight ladies supervised and
directed the activities of the school, the Trustees merely
providing an annual grant ; but in 1878 the Trustees,
wishing to co-ordinate the financial affairs of the Institu-
tion, took over the direct management themselves,
asking the ladies simply to visit and make reports and
suggestions. To judge from the reports issued during
the first thirty years by the Ladies' Committee, their
chief object was to shelter the girls from the many
temptations to which they appear to have been exposed,
theprovision of someform of education being buta second-
ary consideration. The girls were in charge of a matron,
who " is especially valuable in the moral and religious
training of the children ; but [sic] she has also kept them
neat and tidy. ' ' Financial problems constantly exercised
the minds of the Committee, for they had to manage
with the amount allowed by the Trustees. The cost for
444 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
boarding each girl was $s per month, and in 1855 this
was reduced to $4, and " with the saving thus effected,
a daily teacher was engaged for a temporary engage-
ment." Later an assistant was engaged to teach for
$10 a month, together with board and lodging for herself
and her two children. In i860, when a resignation left
the school without a teacher, the ladies undertook the
work themselves. The results achieved justified, in
their opinion, the care expended : thus we find " three
of the girls thus rescued are at this time gaining their
living in Singapore as domestic servants, and conducting
themselves to the satisfaction of their employers ; a
fourth is most respectably married at Sarawak " ; and
later, in November i868, one of the free boarders was
married from the school " with the full sanction of the
Committee." This may have led to the fact that in
1 87 1 "to the ordinary branches of education that of
cooking was added for the boarders."
By this time, however, current ideas on education were
filtering out from England, and in the report for 1871 for
the "first time the need of a certificated mistress is
insisted on. That a real demand for education was
setting in is shown by the steady increase in the number
of day scholars : in 1 854 there were sixteen boarders and
three day scholars " in pretty regular attendance " ; ten
years later there were twenty-eight boarders and forty-
three day scholars ; and in 1883 the number of boarders
was sixteen and of day pupils 118. In 1 873 the Govern-
ment made an extra grant to pay the salary of a certifi-
cated mistress, who duly arrived out in August 1874.
From 1876 onwards the reports of the examiners and
of the Inspectors of Schools are most satisfactory, a
curious feature being the apparent inability of the girls
to do arithmetics
General dissatisfaction with the site of the school led
the Trustees in 1881 to commence building a Girls'
School on their own ground on its present site, the
Government giving $6,000 towards the cost of $15,000.
The plans were prepared by the Acting Colonial Engineer,
LADIES' COMMITTEES 445
and the work was undertaken by the P.W.D. " in
consequence of the difficulty of getting reasonable
contracts." " The ground in the playground was filled
up with the earth which was removed from the Esplanade
by the S.C.C." The new school was opened on the 23rd
July 1883, and its usefulness was attested by an imme-
diate increase in numbers, so that in 1884 the Inspector
of Schools minuted that " the attendance has increased
about eighty per cent., and there is scarcely sufficient
accommodation for the number of pupils at present
attending the school in the four class-rooms it contains.
As there is every probability of the increase continuing,
I trust the Committee may be able to provide additional
accommodation by enlarging the present building."
Four years later a class-room and a dormitory were added
to one of the wings, the Government giving half of the
contract price. In August 1888, the better to deal with
the problems that kept arising, the Trustees formed a
" Ladies' Committee " to manage the school, reserving
in their hands the control of the teaching staff and all
expenditure of sums over $20. This Committee set to
work, and three of its decisions were adopted in the
next year :
(i) That no boy over the age of eight years should
remain at the Girls' School.
(2) That the fees for boys should be $2 a month, for
girls $1.
(3) That after Standard VI girls should pay $3 a
month instead of $1.
But all their schemes for improving the school were
checked by the steadily increasing financial difficulties.
In 1 89 1 a special committee of the Trustees, appointed
to consider the matter, reported that during the last
five years there had been a loss of nearly $3,000 on the
working of the school. This loss was adjusted in a pro-
vidential way. In 1 890 the Trustees had decided that the
money given by Mr. W. W. Shaw and Mr. James Guthrie
for the Chinese and the Malay scholarship funds was no
longer required for its original purpose. In all this
446 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
amounted to $6,967, of which $3,000 was the original
donation and $3,967 the accumulated interest. On
being consulted by the Trustees, these two gentlemen
directed that the money should be invested at seven per
cent, and put to a " Guthrie and Shaw " foundation for
the Girls' School, on condition that no part of the money
should be spent on building. In this way the difficulty
was solved for a time ; fresh efforts were made ; in
August 1 89 1 the fees were raised to $2 a month, but
at the end of 1893 the boarding establishment had to be
closed. It was also proposed to discontinue altogether the
Girls' School, but fortunately the lack of money prevented
this, as the Trustees would have had to compensate the
mistresses had their agreements been cancelled, there
being nearly three more years to run. The closing down
of the boarding department, however, ended the financial
trouble, and the school became self-supporting.
All this time its educational prestige had not
suffered, and in 1902, just before it was taken over by the
Government, the Director of Public Instruction referred
to it as " an admirably managed establishment." On
the I St January 1 903 it became a Government school, and
from that date one has to depend for information on
official reports that veil any good work done by Govern-
ment servants under formulas and statistics. In 1904
a training school for normal work was erected by the side
of the main building, and on the ist February 1906 a
training class for women was opened, with an attendance
of three. Its numbers soon increased, and it has been
ever since the one satisfactory and constant feature in the
training of local teachers. In 1 9 1 2 an addition was made
of two class-rooms at the North Bridge Road end.
There had been no special preparatory school for English-
speaking boys, and up to 191 7 these had been able to
attend the Raffles Girls' School ; but owing to lack of
accommodation these boys had to be refused admission
in 191 8, and now they are taken only in the Infant
School. In prestige as well as in results this school is
easily the leading Girls' School in the Colony.
FITFUL ENTERPRISES 447
Missionary Schools (and Others)
The story of the gradual development of Raffles Insti-
tution has been given in detail because its connection
with the past entitles it to pride of place, and the standard
of its achievement has been hitherto the standard for the
other schools in the Colony.
It is now time to trace the history of other educational
bodies that have done good work in the development of
the Colony, but whose services have not received their
proper recognition. There are many schools that
appear for a time, and then quietly disappear, leaving no
memorial. In 1855 " the closing of the Rev. Mr. Sames's
school, by the departure of that gentleman for Europe,
had occasioned an increase in the number of children
at the Institution." In 1861 there was a school at
Tanjong Pagar, containing forty-eight Malays and nine
Chinese, that was " established and maintained at the
sole cost of Mr. Guthrie, the proprietor of the land in the
neighbourhood of the village." In April of the next
year Christopher Morgan Pillay founded a school in
Prinsep Street, under the auspices of the Ladies' Bible
and Tract Society ; and the same year the Rev. Mr.
Venn started a school for Chinese boys in Chin Chew
Street, and another in Victoria Street for Eurasian and
Kling female children. Such schools generally endured
only for the hfetime of their founders. In 1872 there
existed a small school run by the Rev. Father Pierre
Paris, of the Society of Foreign Missions, where the
teacher received $10 a month and " instruction is con-
fined to English reading (with a strong Kling accent) and
writing from copy." This school received occasional
help from the Brothers, but was described in 1874 as
being supported rather than aided by the Government,
and in the next year it was closed down. In 1873
" Ramasamy's School," kept by a Tamil, was inspected
by request. " He charges fees of $1 and more, and yet
many go to him from the cheaper and larger schools."
No Government grant was given, and two years later no
448 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
trace of it is found. In later times a free school was
opened in Havelock Road by Cheang Jim Hean, the
son of Cheang Hong Lim, was inspected for the first time
in 1893, and received a Government grant. It had an
average attendance of forty-five boys and taught up
to Standard IV, but " on the death of its founder in 1901
was closed suddenly, without notice to masters or
pupils."
It is impossible to trace and put on record all the
schools that have existed in Singapore. Of those that
have been discontinued, special mention must be made
of that conducted by Mr. B. P. Keasberry. In 1 840, as a
member of the London Missionary Society, he opened a
day school for Malays in Kampong Glam, but had to give
that up owing to his pupils' unpunctuality and non-
attendance. Having severed his connection with the
Society in 1 847, Mr. Keasberry lived in Singapore, until
his death in 1875, as a self-supporting missionary.
Realising that a day school was of little use at that time,
he moved two miles out of town to Mount Zion, in River
Valley Road, and opened a free boarding school of a
strictly religious character. If their parents consented,
Malay boys were taken for one to four years, and were
educated in the vernacular and in some practical work,
especially in printing and book-binding. None of the boys
were required to profess Christianity, but attendance at
the daily Bible reading and at Sunday Chapel was com-
pulsory. Lessons in the Koran were not allowed, nor was
the Friday holiday given. In 1872 there were thirty-
five boys, and we find that most of his pupils earned their
living later as clerks, interpreters, and printers. The
value attached to his school is shown by the liberal
Government grant, and by the desire of the Inspector
of Schools to make the school the training college for
Malay teachers. When the Training College was opened
later elsewhere, a small industrial class was formed
" to carry on Mr. Keasberry's work." In 1858, in
conjunction with his wife, he tried to start a Malay
Girls' School, but the attempt was a failure, as was also
PRESBYTERIANS AND EDUCATION 449
a day school for Chinese. In 1869 we find " Mr. Keas-
berry's efforts were not confined to his school, and in
particular we may note his numerous translations of
English works into Malay " ; and later, in 1872, " the
Mission Press which was started when the school
flourished has printed almost the only educational works
that are in the language." On his death in 1875 the
school was closed.
The varied history of another school must be given as
an excellent example of the short-lived enthusiasms of
Singapore. The Eastern School was founded about
1 891, for the purpose of teaching Chinese boys English,
and was conducted by Eurasians under an advisory
committee of Chinese. It was situated at first in two
shop-houses near Tan Tye Creek, below Fort Canning,
in River Valley Road, and was moved in December
1893 to the top of a storehouse in Hong Lim Quay, in
Kampong Malacca. The school was to have been closed
by the Government, but the Rev. A. Lamont took it over
in 1895, on behalf of the English Presbyterian Mission.
He was full of enthusiasm, and under his care the school
prospered. The school was moved to " The Mansion,"
and again, early in 1 896, to the old Government Training
College in Club Street, at Gemmill's Hill. Its supporters
believed (so one reads in the Presbyterian Church report)
that from the attendance and the results at the annual
examination it promised to be one of the permanent
institutions of the Colony ! Towards the end of 1 896
Mr. Lamont returned to England, and after his departure
the Presbyterian interest in education gradually faded
away. For four years the school struggled on, until the
management was handed over to the American Methodist
Mission in 1900. " It had not been a success under the
old management, and at the time of transfer the staff
was deplorably weak ; I fear that the Managers have
taken on themselves what is likely to prove for some time
a heavy burden." This forecast proved too true, and
after 1902 the school was closed. Other educational
work had been started by the Rev. A. Lamont. In
1—30
450 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
1 89 1 evening classes for Chinese wishing to learn English
were commenced under his supervision in the " Chinese
Educational Institute," a building at the corner of Hock
Lam Street and North Bridge Road. Under the
auspices of this society a series of popular lectures were
given in 1892, on literary and scientific subjects, on
Saturday evenings in the Raffles Institution. This effort
likewise came to an early end. Mention must be made,
too, of Our Lady of Lourdes Anglo-Tamil School, a small
school for Tamil boys, that was founded in 1885 and
became an aided school in 1886. In 1901 it was reported
as inefficient, and after 1904 it ceased to exist.
But our chief concern must be with the larger mission-
ary schools that have survived to the present time.
They have done most valuable work for Singapore.
When the Government shirked the burden in 1870,
these schools, as they came into being, undertook the
task. Their worth was recognised in the beginning, and
attested by the ready response from subscribers of all
denominations, and by grants of land and money from
the Government. It must, however, be remembered
that some of these establishments are conducted by
alien bodies setthng to do their work in a British Colony.
Their allegiance and their funds are centred elsewhere.
The Commission of 1902 reported that " with regard
to the schools managed by the Christian Brothers and
the Convent schools satisfactory data cannot be arrived
at. The returns of income and expenditure furnished
by them are admittedly incorrect, it having been the
custom to correctly state the income and such part of
the expenditure as is paid to other than members of
these communities, to deduct such expenditure from the
income, and call the balance ' salaries of teachers.' "
In the same report we find, " The Anglo-Chinese schools,
managed by American missionaries and decidedly less
strongly staffed (i.e. than Raffles Institution), manage to
practically meet all their working expenses from the
fees and the Government grant alone." This poHcy
of making a missionary school pay its own way brought
LOCAL JEALOUSIES 451
it about that, " the Anglo-Chinese Schools, both in
Singapore and Penang, while they adhere to the code
rule as to the number of teachers, are in reality under-
staffed, both as regards number and quality of teachers."
Many references are made in the reports to the saving
of money effected by allowing the aided schools to carry
on the education of the Colony. In 1 894 it was observed,
" As opportunities present themselves, it is advisable,
therefore, to allow missionary and other bodies to under-
take the work now being done by the Government
English schools, the Government contributing towards
the expenditure in the form of results grants." When
it appeared that all education would be abandoned to
them, the Government paying out annual subsidies, a
policy of mutual distrust, self-advertisement, and self-
aggrandisement was adopted, and the managers, regard-
less of their pupils, allowed their sectarian differences
to decide their course of action. In 1890 a Government
science class was established for the benefit of those
preparing for the Queen's Scholarships. " It has been
hitherto held in the Raffles Institution building, and the
other principal schools of the Settlement have on this
account objected to their pupils joining the class."
Nine years later an endeavour was made to arrange for
a certain amount of co-operation by interchanging boys
for the study of special subjects. The suggestion came
to nothing, as each school was jealous of its monopoly
of certain subjects, and refused to allow the others to
share. When Mr. R. J. Wilkinson proposed, at a
conference of Managers, that there should be a central
high school for advanced work, instead of the many
small classes in the various schools, the project was
rejected by all except by a Government and by an Eng-
lish mission school.
These facts do not belittle the value of the education
given, but merely show that, as a public work, all educa-
tional work must be able to bear the light of criticism
without sheltering behind the cloak of missionary
enterprise, and that in missionary work as well as in
452 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
education there must be a constant striving towards a
higher ideal. Let us now consider the various schools.
St. Joseph's Institution
This, the senior missionary school, is a Roman Catholic
educational estabHshment. Its foundation was due
entirely to the enterprise of the Rev. Father Beurel.
In the Singapore Free Press of the 22nd June 1848 there
is an account of his proposed school, to be " open to
everyone, whatever his creed may be." Money and
teachers were needed. The former he raised from sub-
scribers of all denominations ; in a letter to the Governor,
dated the 1 6th September 1 868, he states that he raised a
sum of money not less than $2 1 ,000 for educational and
charitable purposes in Singapore. For the teachers he
went to France, and returned in 1852 with six Christian
Brothers.
The school was opened on the ist May of that year, in
the disused church at No. 8 Bras Basah Road, under three
of the Brothers who had come out. On the i st November
1863 Colonel Cavenagh, the Governor, made the school
its first grant in aid. In addition to this official help.
Father Beurel stated that public subscriptions for the
maintenance of orphans amounted to $20 per mensem,
besides an annual grant of $300 from the French Govern-
ment. Though the school was originally intended " for
the gratuitous education of boys of all denominations " —
in 1862 there were fifteen orphans " gratuitously edu-
cated and supported " — changes were soon made.
School fees were levied in 1 863, and in 1 872 the Inspector
of Schools reported : "The school is, of course, of a strictly
Roman Catholic character. The Director assured me
that none are refused admission on religious grounds ;
but having entered, I do not think that pupils of another
creed are invited, or in practice allowed, to withdraw
from the religious instruction." As the school grew,
new and larger buildings were required. The Govern-
ment was approached, and in 1863 the present site was
granted for so long as the Christian Brothers maintained
ST. JOSEPH'S INSTITUTION 453
a school. In 1867 the new school was opened, and pro-
gressed steadily until 1881, when " the management was
transferred from the Brothers, who left Singapore, to
the French Mission, and for some months the school was
left without any proper teaching staff." This was a set-
back ; but partly owing to the energy of the French
Mission, and chiefly on account of the fact that the school
consisted mainly of English-speaking boys (in 1882, out
of 147 presented for examination 114 were Europeans
or Eurasians), a complete recovery had been made by
the time the Brothers had adjusted their differences and
returned in 1886. In 1900 the school buildings were
enlarged by the addition of two semicircular wings, the
Government giving $6,000 on condition that an equal
amount was raised in subscriptions. The numbers
increased, and once again it was necessary to enlarge the
school, and in 1907 the new building was erected in
Waterloo Street, the Government giving $20,000 out
of the total cost of $27,000. In 1890 there were 312
pupils at the school ; now there are four times that
number. This increase is due partly to the control the
Roman Catholic Church exercises over its children, not
allowing them to go elsewhere, and partly to the nature of
the instruction given, which in 1898 was described as
" exceptionally sound and honest." Though no brilliant
results have been achieved, good steady work has been
done. The Community has always recognised its worth
by its generous subscriptions, the Government by its
ready grants, as doubtless the Roman Catholics would
be the first to admit.
The Convent
The Rev. Father Beurel's efforts did not stop at the
Boys' School. On the 7th July 1849 he wrote to the
Government asking for land next to the church in
Victoria Street to found a charitable institution for
females of all classes. When he was told in reply that
sufficient land had already been given for churchpurposes,
on the 1 8th August 1852 he bought with his own money
454 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
the house at the corner of Victoria Street and Bras
Basah Road. In i860 he bought the adjacent lots of
land that had originally belonged to the Raffles Institu-
tion. The convent was first opened in 1854, under
Mother St. Mathilde, with one class attended by Euro-
pean and Eurasian girls. In 1 862 the Government report
states : " The Sisters' School is divided into two depart-
ments, the upper being intended for the children of the
wealthy and the lower for those of the poorer classes,
each class receiving the education suitable to their
position in hfe." In that year eighty-two out of 145 girls
were"almost entirely dependent on the Sisters." In 1872
Mr. Skinner reported that " the revenue is considerable,
amounting to about $10,000, a large part of which is
gained by the pupils' needlework and the Sisters'
efforts in disposing of French goods. . . . The School
fees and boarding charges amount to about $3,000, so,
putting the orphanage aside, the School itself may almost
be considered self-supporting." The pupils, then, were
taught to read French as well as English. The School
was first inspected by the Government in 1881, and since
that time has fully justified its position as an aidedschool.
In 1892 the large building along the southern boundary
was erected, the Government giving one-third of the
cost, the rest being collected chiefly from the non-
Roman Catholic members of the Community. Eight
years later the Government was ready to assist the School,
promising $1,700 as a building grant, provided that an
equal amount was raised by subscription. Another wing
was erected in 191 3, the Government contributing
$20,000 towards the total cost. The official reports on
the work done have been consistently good, and the steady
increase in numbers testifies to the utility of the school.
In 1894 the average enrolment was 253 ; in 1900, 263 ;
and in 191 4, after the opening of the new wing, 621. The
work done is chiefly in the Lower Elementary classes,
for out of the 621 pupils in 19 14 there were only seventy-
three in the Higher Elementary and but nineteen in the
Secondary classes.
EFFICIENT FIRST-GRADE SCHOOL 455
St. Andrew's School
In 1 871 a Chinese Mission School was opened in
Victoria Street, in " a Chinese house, roomy but ill-
constructed for the purpose, for which a rent of $16
monthly is paid, $3 of which is recovered from a sub-
tenant." This school was founded by the Rev. W. H.
Gomes, in connection with the St. Andrew's Church
Mission, and was managed by a Chinese catechist, Loi
Fat. From the beginning English was the only language
allowed ; Bible instruction was given for one hour daily,
and all the pupils were expected to attend. The value
of its teaching was soon recognised, and in November
1 871 the Government sanctioned a capitation grant of
forty cents per head. In 1874 " the new church on
Fort Canning Hill, which is also to be used as a school-
room for the present, is now finished," and the school
was accordingly moved there. At first the numbers
were small, and Standard II was the limit of instruction ;
but steady progress was made, until in 1 884 " the number
of pupils attending the school is so large that the Mission
Church building in which the school is at present held
scarcely affords sufficient accommodation for the pupils."
In 1899 there were 215 boys on the register, and, as it
was decided that St. Peter's Church could no longer be
used, a new school was erected hard by, the Government
giving half the cost. This new building was opened on
the I St March 1900: "The new school is bright, clean, and
airy, but is scarcely large enough for the number of boys
who now attend the school." To afford temporary relief
a drill-room was turned into a room for Primary classes,
an arrangement that still continues. A further addition
was made to the school in April 191 2, in which year the
numbers rose from 245 to 345. The standard of educa-
tion had been steadily improving, until in 191 3 we find
that the school " since the Rev. J. R Lee took charge
a few years ago has changed from a purely elementary
and poorly staffed school into a thoroughly efficient first-
grade school teaching up to and beyond Standard VII."
456 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
In 191 5 a new block was built, at a cost of $17,000, to
which the Government contributed $6,000, half the
estimated price. At the same time the old Mission
House was converted into a boarding house.
St. Anthony's School
A school for girls was opened by Father Jose Pedro
Sta. Anna da Cunha in 1879, in a small house in Middle
Road. The next year it was moved into a compound
house in Victoria Street, near the church. As " St.
Anna's School" it was inspected in 1 880, and was reported
as " under a competent English mistress aided by an
assistant, and the high percentage of passes obtained at
the inspection is especially remarkable considering the
short time it has been in existence." But, " the school
building is small and unsuitable for the purpose, and the
case is one in which a building grant would be well
bestowed. ' ' The school was moved into a larger building
in 1882 ; but further accommodation was still required,
and in 1886 a new school was built in the church com-
pound, the Government contributing $4,000 towards
the cost. Boys had been entering the school, and it was
now known as " St Anthony's Boys' and Girls' School."
The girls were chiefly Malacca Portuguese, and this school
was the only one where they could suitably be taught.
There was, as we read in 1887, but " poor material dealt
with in the school, the children being mostly those of very
poor persons, and of a class who resent anything like a
proper amount of discipline being exercised over their
children." In 1893 two separate schools were formed,
the ground floor of the Parochial House being used for the
boys. The Girls' School was under the control of the
Father of the Portuguese Mission until 1 894, when the
Canossian Nuns arrived from Macao and took over the
sole charge. The numbers in both schools increased
steadily, and satisfactory progress was made. In 1900
" no school showed greater improvement than St.
Anthony's. This was due chiefly to the untiring and
intelligent supervision of the Manager, Rev. Father
CHINESE BENEFACTORS 457
Victal. This school is greatly in want of a better building.
I understand that the management has ample funds
available, and is only delayed by the difficulty of finding
a suitable site." Additions were made to the buildings
in 191 2, and the present average enrolment of the two
schools is 640.
The Anglo-Chinese Free School
In the report for 1887 mention is made of a school for
Chinese at Tanjong Pagar, with an average attendance
of 100, supported by Mr. Gan Eng Seng. This gentle-
man, the chief store-keeper of Guthrie and Co., had
opened, in 1885, a school of his own in a shop-house at
Tanjong Pagar, to afford free education to his fellow-
countrymen. In 1 888 the Government made it an aided
school, and the next year offered a site between Cecil
and Telok Ayer Streets, on which Mr. Gan Eng Seng
erected a building at his own expense. This new school
was opened by the Governor, Sir Cecil Smith, on the
4th April 1893. Until the founder's death Chinese was
taught as well as English, and fees were asked only from
those who could afford to pay. After Mr. Gan Eng
Seng's death it became for a time a purely English
school, charging the usual fees. In 1898 a second build-
ing was erected, at his own expense, by the school
President, Mr. Hok Yong Peng. In 1905 " new and
commodious class-rooms for its primary classes" were
opened. The study of Chinese — Mandarin taught
through Hokkien — was made compulsory again in 191 3,
and the children of poorer parents were once more
admitted free.
The Malaysia Mission of the Methodist Episcopal
Church
This Mission arrived in Singapore in 1885, and com-
menced its school work in the following year. There are
three schools in Singapore that deserve separate men-
tion :
458 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
I. THE ANGLO-CHINESE SCHOOL.
On the I St March 1886 the Rev. W. F. Oldham
opened a school at No. 70 Amoy Street, and, as the
numbers grew, on the ist November of the same year
a new school was opened at the foot of Fort Canning,
the Government having given the site, and the
Chinese having contributed $6,000 to erect the building.
It was first inspected in 1887, when sixty-seven boys
were presented, and from that date it has been an aided
school. Within two years of its foundation there were
350 pupils in attendance, and in 1889 a large building
close at hand was rented and the five lower standards
placed in it. The Government recognised the value of
the work, and gave an additional strip of ground and a
building grant of $3,000. In 1891 the Inspector of
Schools wrote : "The school has now an excellent teach-
ing staff, and with proper organisation it ought without
difficulty to be able to maintain its position as one of
the principal English schools of the Colony." In its
early years its character as a mission school was marked.
This led to some trouble with the Chinese, and in 1896,
" owing to an agitation amongst certain Chinese on the
subject of religious teaching and attendance at religious
services, which were alleged to have been insisted on (the
school) lost a considerable number of its pupils." The
storm, however, blew over. In 1893 a new building was
opened. In 1888 Bellevue, on Orchard Road, had been
purchased for a boarding house ; in 1897 this was rebuilt
as Oldham Hall, to accommodate the Principal, his
family, and the masters, together with room for several
classes. In 1900, to make more room in the school
proper, the three upper classes were moved into this
house. The Government gave more land near the
church in Coleman Street in 1905, together with a grant
of $1 1,500 towards the new building. This was erected
the next year at a total cost of $27,000, the balance
being raised by local contributions. The general level
of the teaching improved, and in 1907 the school was
METHODIST SCHOOLS 459
made Grade I in all departments. Further additions
were made to the building in 1908, and in 1909 a separate
afternoon school was started. This afternoon school
was moved in 191 7 to Waverley House, and the special
classes into Zetland House.
2. THE SHORT STREET METHODIST GIRLS' SCHOOL.
In 1888 there appears in the Government report the
name of the Methodist Mission Anglo-Tamil Girls'
School, teaching up to Standard I, and the next year it
appears as an aided school. Up to October 1891 the
school met in a house in Short Street ; after that date it
was transferred to the Christian Institute, in Middle
Road, at the corner of Waterloo Street. Meant for
Tamils at first, it soon attracted children of all races, and
in 1893 its name was changed to the American Mission
Girls' School. Reference must here be made to a
boarding house and school for English-speaking girls
that was opened at View Place, Mount Sophia, in
May 1894. In 1897 the establishment became a board-
ing house simply, the girls being sent to the Middle Road
school. The steady increase of numbers necessitated
better accommodation, and in 1898 the present site
in Short Street was purchased, the sale of the Middle
Road property helping to cover the cost of the new site.
The new building was opened in February 1900, the
Government having given $3,000 towards the cost. The
Government report for that year says : " The American
Mission Girls' School suffered from a weak staff, and
the work shown in the standards was poor. An inter-
esting and apparently successful start has been made
here in kindergarten work." In 1908, however, the
school was classed as Grade I throughout. Additions
were made to the school buildings in 191 2.
3. FAIRFIELD GIRLs' SCHOOL.
The Mission started a small school for girls in the
Telok Ayer district, and in 1 889 it came under the Govern-
ment Code, teaching up to Standard I. In July 1890
46o EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
it became an aided school, and was duly inspected in the
following November. From 1891 to 1898 its name no
longer appears in the Government list, as apparently
it had become more of a mission to children than a school.
In 1899 application was again made to have it admitted
to the privileges of the Code, and once more, in 1900, it
became an aided school. This same year the Govern-
ment promised $3,000 for a new building on condition
that the Mission raised an equal amount. The Govern-
ment's offer was not taken advantage of. In 1902 the
school was transferred to the building of the Eastern
School, and another move was made the next year to a
shop building at the corner of Cecil and McCallum Streets.
The school was classed as Grade II throughout in 1908,
but the next year the Inspector of Schools minuted that
the school was " understaffed owing to the absence of
Miss Olsen on leave." A new school being urgently
needed, the Government gave a site in Neil Road and
made a loan for building purposes, and in 1910 the
new school was opened as the Fairfield Chinese Girls'
School.
These are the principal schools of the Mission, but its
educational activities do not end here. One of their
efforts was less successful than usual. The Eastern
School was taken over by them from the Presbyterian
Church in 1900, and was closed after the inspection in
1902, although the Government had offered a fine site
and a building grant of $3,000, provided that the Mission
raised the remainder of the required amount.
In 191 5 there were five day schools and two boarding
schools conducted by the Mission. A Tamil school for
boys was opened in 1889, and became aided the next
year. It then had a varied history ; it disappears in
189s from the Government list, to reappear in 1898,
when it is inspected, and in 1899, when it becomes an
aided school once more. It was then situated in an attap
building on the site of the present Kandang Kerbau
Market in Serangoon Road. In 1909 the school moved
into a rented house further down the road, and in 191 3
GOVERNMENT ATTITUDE 461
became the Serangoon English School. There is also
an aided school at Gaylang belonging to the Mission.
Other Schools
Other aided schools there are that do good work, but
are of too recent foundation to call for separate mention,
as the Singapore Chinese Girls' School, founded in 1899,
and the Seventh Day Adventist Mission School. One
school, not aided and apart from the Government Code,
deserves a brief notice. A school was founded in 1842
by Mrs. Dyer, of the London Missionary Society, and was
situated in a house in North Bridge Road, about where
the Anglo-Chinese Dispensary now is. In the 'Fifties
it was moved to River Valley Road, and again to an old-
fashioned house on the sea front, where Raffles Hotel
now stands. In 1861 the present house on Government
Hill was built, under the supervision of Colonel Collyer
and Major McNair. In 1843 the school was taken over
by the Female Education Society, and in 1900 by the
Church of England Zenana Mission. The school now
has about 100 children on the books, mostly boarders,
and is now on strictly missionary lines.
The Government
So far the story has been one of individual and of
missionary enterprise. Behind these efforts there has
been in most cases a power sometimes indifferent and
occasionally benevolent. The attitude of the Govern-
ment must now be taken into consideration. However
much various educational bodies may claim to be inde-
pendent, apart from the Government they can do
nothing.
The Bengal Government at first was doubtful about
the continuation of Singapore as a British possession.
Trade, and the preservation thereof, was its chief anxiety,
and Raffles 's schemes were allowed to drop. But once
the occupation was recognised as permanent, the
Government's attitude towards education was friendly
and liberal. Although the Company refused to shoulder
462 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
the burden itself, it was always ready to assist those who
undertook the task. Sites and building grants were
freely given, and yearly contributions made. In 1863
the Government instituted six scholarships of $6 a month,
tenable for one year. The subjects of the examination
were those already mentioned in connection with the
English curriculum of the time, the total number of
marks obtainable being 1,170. There were thirty-eight
competitors, and the highest number of marks actually
obtained was 935 and the lowest five. Vernacular
education was not entirely neglected; in 1856 two
Malay day schools were founded, one at Teluk Blanga
and the other, known as Abdullah's School, at Kampong
Glam. This latter, " a thatched building, was pulled
down under the orders of the Municipal Commissioners "
in 1 86 1, and a new school had to be erected.
When the Transfer to the Colonial Office was made in
1867, the new Government apparently continued the
grants paid by the old. Official attention, however,
was drawn to the far from satisfactory account of the
present state of education in the Colony, and a Select
Committee of the Legislative Council was appointed to
inquire into the matter. On the 8th December 1870
they reported " that the progress of education had been
slow and uncertain," partly owing to the want of
sufficient encouragement from the Government. ' ' There
are a great number and variety of schools in the Colony,
some purely educational, others combining charity with
education. Many of these are under the control of the
Roman Catholic clergy, but all, apparently, having a
system of their own, unchecked, as a rule, by any Govern-
ment supervision. By Government grants in aid, by
voluntary subscriptions, and other means considerable
sums of money have, during the last few years, been
expended in the cause of education, but owing to the
absence of effective supervision and the want of well-
defined principles on which the schools should be con-
ducted, your Committee is of opinion that the result has
been far from satisfactory." The Committee saw but
VERNACULAR SCHOOLS 463
two courses open : (a) " either to begin de novo and
thoroughly reorganise all the existing estabhshments,
or (b) to take the schools as they now are, and by a
gradual process endeavour to place them on a more
satisfactory and improved basis."
They expressed their unwillingness to interfere with the
vested interests of the missionaries, and recommended
the second course, disregarding the fact that in most
cases the Government hadgiven the land, had contributed
towards the cost of building, and had made a yearly
grant. It is difficult to see why the Committee talked
of " vested interests."
This was a step fraught with serious consequences.
The wiser and more statesmanlike course would have
involved the expenditure of a large sum of money ; and
the deciding factor in the Government's educational
policy has always been financial considerations. The
Commission of 1870 recommended more attention to
vernacular schools. The money voted to pay the
teachers was insufficient : they were underpaid, and
consequently were often unsatisfactory. In 1886 an
official comment is that " not a single teacher now
remains who was a teacher in any of the Singapore
schools five years ago." They could get larger wages
as pohcemen or peons. In 1891 the average salary of
a Malay teacher was $11 a month, but officialdom was
" unwilling to recommend any increase " on the ground
that with the larger number of vernacular schools there
would be increased competition for the posts, and com-
petition would keep the salaries down. Parsimony and
indifference go hand in hand. A training college for
Malay teachers, opened in Singapore in 1878, was, on the
recommendation of a " retrenchment committee," closed
down at the end of 1895. However, it was reopened
at Malacca in 1901, but the headship was reserved for a
member of the Cadet Service, regardless of his quahfi-
cations or the interests of the teachers. How did the
teachers fare? In the report for 1904 it is written:
" Mr. H. C. Sells succeeded Mr. R. J. Farrer as head of
464 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
the College on the 6th July, Mr. Robinson was in charge
for the whole of the school year, with the exceptions of a
fortnight in March (when Mr. Marsh superintended)
and a month again from the loth August to the loth
September (when Messrs. Pringle and Horth successively
undertook the supervision of the College). On the ist
December I [Mr. F. G. Stevens is writing] succeeded
Mr. Robinson as acting head."
Now the College, under a qualified head-master, does
excellent work. In this same year there were in the
whole Colony 375 Malay teachers, and the average per
month of their total salaries c^me to only $13.88.
This policy of starvation was not confined to Malay
education only. There has been a constant succession
of resignations from the Government Service both of
European and of local teachers. In 1887 the official
report states : " I consider that the efficiency of the
Government schools is greatly impaired by the fact that
so many of our certificated teachers leave us after
completing their three years' engagements. They
either return home or find more remunerative employ-
ment elsewhere. We cannot expect to keep them unless
some prospect of advancement is held out." In 1900
the Colonial Office obtained two masters from the West
Indies, as " owing, apparently, to the unpopularity of
educational service in the Straits among scholastic
bodies in England suitable men could not be procured."
During the years 1908 to 19 10 fourteen Europeans and
thirty-one local teachers resigned from the Raffles
Institution and the High School, Malacca. This was
not merely a temporary exodus. In 191 3 three
Europeans and thirteen local teachers resigned. Certifi-
cated teachers, Scottish graduates, Welsh graduates
from universities, and some from Oxford and Cambridge,
have all come and in their turn gone.
Naturally this attitude of the Government towards
their teachers reacted on the aided schools. They adopted
the same methods, and were criticised for poor results.
In the report for 1895, i^i connection with the aided
UNDERPAID TEACHERS 465
schools, we find "it is of course impossible to get really
efficient teachers for the salaries which in many cases
are paid." Four years later the masters in aided schools
" as a class are much underpaid, and often inefficient.
In one school of over 200 boys the average salary of the
teachers was $18 per mensem, or about ;£20 per annum.
In another school, teaching to a high standard, an
interpreter had to be sent for on the inspector paying a
surprise visit, as none of the teachers present could
speak the language in which they were giving instruc-
tion."
In 1886 we read : " From a return recently prepared
by the Audit Office it appears that the amount spent on
education since the Transfer up to the end of 1 88 5 , after de-
ducting fees, etc., received is 2*71 per cent, of the revenue
received during the same period. The estimated expen-
diture for the present year is 4-43 per cent . of the estimated
revenue." In later years the authorities failed to rise
even to this standard, although the educational problem
was greater than before. In the two years before the
War the amount voted for education was less than
3 per cent, of the revenue actually obtained in the Colony,
and of those sums in 191 2 nearly $31,000, and in 191 3
nearly $23,000, were returned to the Treasury, owing
to the fact that Government terms were too low to induce
men to come out.
This policy of drift has had its inevitable result. The
Inspectorof Schools in 1890, when summing up the work
of the previous ten years, wrote : " In Singapore and
Penang there is not a single Government English school
in which instruction is given up to Standard VI, the
highest standard of the Code, and the duty of providing
an education in English sufficient for the requirements
of the Settlement is left entirely to the Raffles Institution,
the Penang Free School, and the Mission Schools." And
four years later : " The English education of the Colony is
almost entirely in the hands of missionary bodies or of
committees over which the Government has no direct
control." And finally it was left to a non-British
I— 31
466 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
missionary society to recognise the educational need of
the Colony.
The Committee of 1870 recommended that there
should be a Superintendent or Director of Schools,
whose duties " would, of course, extend to a thorough
supervision of the schools receiving grants in aid from
Government throughout the Colony, and he should reside
chiefly at Singapore." In 1872 the office of Inspector
of Schools was created, Mr. A. M. Skinner being the first
to hold the appointment. Three years later his duties
were combined with those of Inspector of Prisons and of
Hospitals. The title was changed in 19.01 to that of
Director of Public Instruction, and in 1906 to Director
of Education, S.S. and F.M.S., an Inspector of Schools
for Singapore and Malacca being then created.
Vernacular Schools : Boys
The Committee also recommended a large extension
of vernacular schools in which the boys should be taught
to read and write native and Roman characters. Mr.
Skinner first made a thorough inspection of all the aided
schools, and then devoted his energies to getting a system
of vernacular education into working order. His diffi-
culties were many ; he had to contend with the apathy,
and at times the hostility, of the Malays and a lack of
teachers. In those days education had no attraction
for a Malay : as the 1887 report puts it, " but Httle
worldly advantage is gained by their children attending
school. In fact it is a pecuniary loss to them, when they
are without the service of their children." In 1872, at
Raffles Institution, out of an attendance of 386 only
thirteen were Malays. The Bandarsah schools, where
the Koran was taught, were naturally opposed to the
spread of a more liberal education, and the attempt that
was made in 1881 to incorporate them with elementary
schools was a failure. There were, as we have related
already, two vernacular schools already in existence.
That at Kampong Glam was found to be degenerating
into a Koran school, and Mr. Skinner had to
GENEROUS DONORS 467
reorganise it. Other schools were opened at either end
of the town so as to provide faciUties for the children
in those districts. A school was opened at Tanjong
Pagar in 1874. " Application was made from Govern-
ment to the Hon'ble Thomas Scott for a site for a school
here. The result has been not only the gift of a site for a
school, but also a further gift of $500 to establish scholar-
ships in it from James Guthrie, Esq. The thanks of the
Community as well as of Government are due to these
gentlemen for this further proof of the interest they take
in the progress of the Settlement." In comparison
with this we may quote from the Education Report three
years later : " The Government's interest in the subject
since the Committee's report in 1870 has scarcely been
maintained at that point the Committee seems to have
anticipated." To encourage the Malays to learn English
four scholarships of $3 a month, tenable for one year,
were offered. The holders were to attend the principal
English school in the Settlement, and Raffles Institution
allowed them to enter free. In 1874 a fee of one cent
weekly was charged in the better Government vernacular
schools. This was discontinued in 1886, as it was found
that the teachers paid the fee so as to increase their
capitation allowance. In 1876 there were large attend-
ances in the schools at the west side of the town — there
were 1 50 at Telok Blanga and thirty-one at Telok
Saga (on Pulo Brani). The Maharaja of Johore gave
his residence at Telok Blanga as a school, and in October
a high school was opened there with an English and an
industrial class. " His Highness has always taken much
interest in education, and has assisted its progress in
Telok Blanga and the neighbourhood both by the in-
direct use of his influence and by the direct and liberal
loan of a large building for the Malay College " — thus
the report for 1880. To meet the ever-increasing
demand for teachers, on the ist March 1878 the High
School was turned into a Malay training college, and
speedily justified its existence. In consequence of an
outbreak of beri-beri in 1891, and on the advice of the
468 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
Medical Officer, the college was moved to a site on
Gemmill 's Hill. Four years later, on the recommendation
of a retrenchment committee, it was closed down. The
need of teachers, however, caused it to be reopened in
1 90 1, this time at Malacca, where it now is.
The casual attendance of the pupils was also a source
of trouble. In 1881, " to ensure as far as possible pupils
remaining longer at school than is the case at present,
the parents and guardians of all applicants for admission
to the schools are now required to enter into an agree-
ment, with a money penalty in the event of a withdrawal
of a pupil from the school without sufficient reason within
three years from the date of admission." This arrange-
ment, however, appears to have lapsed very soon.
The building of schools went on steadily, and efforts
were made to disarm hostility by using the schools as
local dispensaries, chiefly for fever mixture. In 1889
there were twenty Malay schools in Singapore, with an
average attendance of 813. As a contrast we might
take 19 1 6, when there were sixteen boys' schools, with an
average attendance of 1,068.
Gradually the Malays were beginning to realise the
advantages of some education. In 1888 those boys who
had passed Standard IV in the vernacular were admitted
free into any Government English school. In 1884
English up to Standard II was taught in the Kampong
Glam Malay School. This instruction was discontinued
for two years, and was restarted in 1 890, this time under
a European master and up to Standard VII. The
two branches of the school, the English and Malay, were
united into one larger school in 1897, called Victoria
Bridge School. The present school buildings, however,
were not built until 1906. A surprising advance was
made in 1 891 , when a night school for adult Malays was
opened in the Kampong Glam School, with an average
attendance of forty-two. The next year fifteen more
night classes wereestablished in Singapore, and continued
to do excellent work until, in 1 894, " in consequence of a
faUing off in revenue," they were abolished.
EDUCATION OF MALAYS 469
In 1893 a Committee appointed to enquire into the
education of Malays in the Colony had no fault to find
with that given in Singapore, where the results of the
boys' schools appeared to be quite satisfactory.
Malay Girls' Schools
The Malay girls' schools have not fared so well. The
Malays were opposed to female education, and their
children only attended in response to pressure. The
first school was opened atTelok Blanga in 1 884, and could
show sixty pupils the next year. In 1887 it had to be
closed, " the attendance having sunk almost to nil."
The next year it was reopened, but in 1889, " owing to
the departure of Ungku Anda, who had taken great
interest in the Telok Blanga Girls' School, and to the
fact that over twenty families having children in the
school removed with her to Johore in April last, the
attendance at the school is less than was the case last
year." The first official inspection took place in 1886,
and from that time onwards we find constant references
to the difficulty of getting children to attend or of finding
competent Malay mistresses. As late as 1906 it appears
to be nearly hopeless to get Malays to show " any interest
in female education." In 1 893 the average attendance of
Malay girls in Singapore was one hundred ; nine years later
we find two girls' schools, with an average attendance
of sixty-five; in 191 6 there were five schools, and an
average attendance of 108. " Two of those girls'
schools are non-Government, conducted by the Methodist
Mission ; the attendance is small, mainly owing to
religious scruples on the part of the Mohammedan
population."
English Schools
In dealing with the teaching of English the Govern-
ment was greatly helped by the fact that other schools
had done the pioneer work, and also that with the excep-
tion of the Malays all races in Singapore were eager to
avail themselves of any opportunity of learning English.
The policy adopted was to afford the various nation-
470 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
alities the opportunity of learning elementary English
through the medium of their own language. The first
two schools, erected in 1 874, at Cross Street and Kampong
Glam, were entrusted to the management of the Raffles
Trustees, who handed them back to the Government after
a year's trial. By the end of 1 879 there were six Govern-
ment English schools, three at either end of the town,
for Malays, Chinese, and Tamils respectively. Of the
Tamil schools that near Cross Street was incorporated
with the Cross Street English School in 1885, and the one
in the Kampong Glam district was closed in 1894, as
the American Methodist Mission had a similar school in
the near vicinity. In 1882 the English class attached
to the Malay College at Telok Blanga was moved to
Kampong BharUjWhichwas made a general branch school.
Excellent work was done there, but in 1898 " the atten-
dance was so poor that the school had to be closed."
The head-master was transferred to the Kampong Glam
Chinese School that " was so badly taught." This latter
school appears in 1907, with an enrolment of thirty-eight,
and after that date is seen no more. The Cross Street
School had a happier history. It was first opened in
1 874, and in ten years' time was teaching to Standard VI,
then the highest standard. Its numbers grew, and it
was so well conducted that it was proposed, in 190 1, to
" establish a Training School in connection with a new
Cross Street School." The training scheme did not
materialise, but a new school was erected at Outram
Road. This was formally opened by the Governor, Sir
John Anderson, on the 26th February 1906, and is now
known as Outram Road School. The demand for educa-
tion was great, and the old Cross Street School had to be
kept as an infant school preparatory to Outram Road.
After the necessary structural alterations, it was opened
on the 1st December of the same year, and by May 1907
had 370 pupils. In 1914 the school was moved to a far
healthier position on Pearl's Hill.
In 1 891 another year was added on to the course for
the study of English by the creation of a Standard VII,
QUEEN'S SCHOLARSHIPS 471
and for the first time the Cambridge Local Examinations
were held in Singapore. Before this the only serious
secondary work had been the preparation for the Higher
or Queen's Scholarships, a short account of which must be
given.
Queen's Scholarships
" In order to allow promising boys an opportunity
of completing their studies in England, and to encourage
a number of boys to remain in school and acquire a really
useful education," the Government, in 1885, offered two
Higher Scholarships of ;£2 5o a year, tenable for five years.
These were to be awarded according to the result of a
special examination set by the University of Cambridge,
provided that the candidate had reached a certain
standard in English. The scholarships were actually
awarded for the first time in 1 886, as in the previous year
the prescribed standard in English had not been reached.
In 1894 and 1895 only one scholarship was offered, " in
consequence of the falling off of revenue." Between
1897 and 1902 they were awarded on the result of the
Cambridge Local Senior Examination, but from 1903
onwards a special examination was again held, more
suited to the needs of the Colony, candidates having to
pass the Cambridge Senior first. From 1908 onwards
only one was offered : " It is intended to expend the
money saved by the abolition of one scholarship on the
improvement of education in other directions." After
191 1 even this one was abolished also, and the improve-
ment is still to come. It has been urged that these
scholarships led to the few brilliant boys being exploited
to the detriment of the many. For some years these
scholarships stimulated the only secondary work in
Singapore, and later a pass in the Senior Examination
was a necessary preliminary. For those who believe
that it is detrimental to the formation of character to
take a boy from the enervating surroundings of Singapore
and plunge him into the more stimulating atmosphere
of Western life it is a sufficient answer to refer to the
careers of Lim Boon Keng (Raffles Institution, 1887),
472 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
Song Ong Siang (Raffles Institution, 1888), and Gnoh Lien
Tuck (Dr. Wu Lien Tek : Penang Free School, 1896).
As Mr. Buckley, on page 138 of Vol. I of his Anecdotal
History, gives a misleading account of the progress of
these scholarships, and as exaggerated claims to successes
in the past are often made, a plain statement of fact is
given herewith. Between 1886 and 191 1 inclusive,
forty-five scholarships were awarded (only one was given
in the years 1890, 1895, 1896, 1908-11). Of these,
Raffles Institution gained 21, Penang Free School gained
II, St. Xavier's, Penang, gained 6, St. Joseph's Institu-
tion gained 5, and the Anglo-Chinese School gained 2.
In 1902 the whole scheme of education in the Colony
was considered by a Special Commission appointed by
the Government. Besides the taking over of Raffles
Institution and certain alterations in the Queen's
Scholarships, the Commission recommended the starting
of commercial and science classes at Raffles Institution,
and that " classes in drawing, geometry, mensuration,
and the use of tools and simple machines be also started,
if or when a sufficient number of pupils can be found
ready to enter them." Scholarships also were suggested
for boys intending to study industrial, survey, and
commercial subjects. Local teachers were to be trained,
the boys in the Normal School that had already been
sanctioned, and the girls in a training class to be estab-
lished in connection with Raffles Girls' School.
Commercial Classes
It remains briefly to summarise the results of these
suggestions. At the end of 1900 a grant was sanctioned
for boys in commercial classes equal to that given for
pupils in the " special " (i.e. the Cambridge) classes.
The Anglo-Chinese School and St. Joseph's promptly
opened classes, and in accordance with the report of
1902 a commercial class was opened at Raffles. But by
1903 there were only two such classes in Singapore, at
Raffles and St. Joseph's, containing twenty boys between
them. Commercial reform was in the air ; a sub-
COMMERCIAL EDUCATION 473
committee of the Chamber of Commerce arranged an
annual examination for candidates over seventeen
years of age, and oifered prizes. The first examination,
with sixteen candidates, was held in 1904, and a second
the following year. After this, in true Singapore fashion,
nothing more is heard of these examinations. To induce
boys to stay longer in the commercial classes, the Govern-
ment offered, in 1905, two scholarships at Raffles Institu-
tion. These classes are meant for boys who have passed
Standard VII ; but, to quote the 1910 report, " very few
boys remain for the whole two-year course, the majority
leaving before they have acquired a sufficient knowledge
of commercial subjects to be of much use to them.
This is due to the ease with which they can get employ-
ment, and to the fact that a completion of the course
does not as yet appear to ensure a larger commencing
rate of salary at commercial establishments." And
again, in 191 2, " as an illustration of this, I may mention
an advertisement which appeared recently for thirty
boys who had passed the fourth standard." Before the
business man criticises commercial education, he should
see that his side of the matter is in order.
Industrial Education
" In 1879 five Malay apprentices were attached to
the Jawi Peranakan Printing Press for the purpose of
learning printing and book-binding. In 1881 a Malay
Printing Press was established by His Highness the
Maharaja of Johore in the Malay College at Telok
Blanga, and in the revised code of 1879 the subject of
surveying was included in the list of extra subjects for
which special passes are given." Thus the report for
1882 sums up previous efforts to encourage industrial
education. In this year scholarships were instituted
for boys who wished to become engineers, surveyors, or
engine-drivers. They were worth $180 per annum, and
were tenable for four years. The holders were required
to apprentice themselves to the Tanjong Pagar Dock
Company, or some other engineering firm, to learn prac-
474 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
tical engineering. Apprentices were also attached to the
EngUsh Printing Office. For the first five years only five
were awarded, but in 1 892 seventeen held scholarships.
In 1 90 1 evening classes were arranged for the holders,
but either because the need for them ceased to exist, or
more probably because the Government failed to adver-
tise the fact of their existence, they soon died out in
Singapore. A survey school had been sanctioned, and
the Commission of 1902 recommended that it be trans-
ferred to the Raffles Institution, and there its history
ends. In 1899 a scheme for training engineering and
surveying apprentices at the Roorkee Engineering
College in India was drawn up, with the hearty support
of the Colonial Engineer. Two candidates were selected,
and all arrangements made, and then the Government
cancelled the whole scheme on the grounds of expense.
The history of the Medical School does not come within
the scope of this paper, but it is worth recording that
before the opening of the Medical School in 1905 boys
were occasionally sent to Madras to qualify as assistant
surgeons.
Training of Teachers
A constant problem in local education has always been
the training of local teachers. For a long time each
school has made its own arrangements. In 1901 we
read : " The head-mistress of the Raffles Girls' School has
been very successful in training female local teachers,
and it was suggested that if the school were taken
over by the Government, a training school for girls
should be started there. This was done, and the school
has more than justified its past reputation. In its other
ventures the Government has been less fortunate. In
1903 " an attempt was made during the year to start a
training class for teachers," but it met with no success.
A scheme for training pupil teachers was then introduced.
This failed also, and in 1906 a Normal Class for local
teachers was substituted. It is difficult to praise either
the way in which the class is run or the results. In
A GOVERNMENT DUTY 475
1916, out of 230 junior teachers in Singapore, 137 were
qualified at this Normal Class that is held out of school
hours, sixty were attending the class, and thirty-three
had no qualifications whatsoever. There are rumours,
however, that the Government are contemplating a
proper Training College.
The Reformatory
To provide juvenile vagrants " with the possibility
of earning an honest living on their discharge," a
Reformatory was opened in February 1901 at Bukit
Timah. With this work must be associated the name
of Mr. J. B. Elcum, who for many years was closely
connected with the Education Department. He felt
that " many of these boys have hitherto had no chance
whatever of escaping a life of crime," and tried to make
the place a reformatory and not a prison for juvenile
offenders. Two and a half hours a day were devoted to
school work and five to work at some trade. At the
end of 1905 the present buildings were opened. In
1906 the boys were put to work on their own vegetable
gardens outside the wall, and in 1910 they planted two
and a half acres of land with rubber, the sale of which
helps towards the upkeep of the establishment. The
value of this Reformatory is proved by the fact that Mr.
Prior, the Superintendent, constantly hears from his
old pupils, who have grateful recollections of the good
training that they received.
Such, then, is the history of education in Singapore for
the past hundred years. Some indication of its future
course may be gathered from the references to a College
that are current at this time. Mr. Hullett suggested
this in 1888 ; it was hinted at by the Inspector of Schools
in 1 890. It remains for the Government to decide even
at the eleventh hour upon a policy. The time for
disconnected efforts is past ; efficiency demands unity
of control. The function of a government is to govern
and to lead the way. If, as Raffles wrote, " education
affords the only means of effecting any considerable
476 EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE
amelioration of expanding the powers of the human
mind," it is now high time for the Government to take
control of the destinies of the children committed to its
care. Others have done the pioneer work, and while
gratefully acknowledging their labours, the Government
should take over the burden that it is more fitted to
bear. So, and not otherwise, will Singapore become,
as Raffles wished, the centre not only of commerce and
its luxuries, but of refinement and the liberal arts.
Mr. R. W. Hullett
As a trainer of scholarship winners, Mr. Hullett, the
former Principal of Raffles Institution, was no less
successful than he was in shaping the destiny of the
many Straits boys who passed through the school.
Richmond William Hullett, M.A., of Trinity College,
Cambridge, took up the appointment of Principal of
Raffles Institution in June 1871, when the school was
not under Government. He seems to have entered
keenly into the life of Singapore, for in the late 'Seventies
he owned a griffin, and was found on the committees of
several bodies then having charge of the educational
work of Singapore. From August 1874 to April 1876 he
acted as Inspector of Schools, in addition to his duties
at Raffles. From April 1903 to September 1906, the
concluding te^m of his thirty years' work, though
nominally Principal of Raffles, he discharged the duties
of Director of Public Instruction, S.S. He was devoted
to his work, and sought recreation in botany and garden-
ing, wielding the changkol (native hoe) for exercise, and
for many years served on the Committee of the Botanical
Gardens. Thirty years' strenuous service is unique in
the history of education in the Colony, and his influence
can hardly be over-estimated, for he inspired masters
and pupils alike with high traditions of " the School."
A Hullett Scholarship, established by his old pupils,
perpetuates his memory in the Institution, and when he
died, in England, in November 1914, no one mourned
his death more than his old pupils.
CHAPTER X
THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATIONS AND RECORDS
By Dr. Gilbert E. Brooke
" Yes, the old lost stars wheel back, dear lass,
That blaze in the velvet blue.
They're all old friends on the old trail, our own trail, the out-trail.
They're God's own guides on the Long Trail — the trail that is always
new."
To the general public the records of atmospherical and
astronomical observations are usually voted a weariness
to the flesh. Meteorology, as far as most people are
concerned, consists in tapping an aneroid barometer to
see if the weather is going to improve, or gazing at a
jejune thermometer with languid interest after a breath-
less night.
It is not intended in this chapter to weary the reader
with endless columns of figures, but rather to put before
him a short sketch of the progress made during the
century, and a brief record of local work in meteorological
and allied subjects. For the benefit of the searcher
after detail, however, three short tables are appended.
Soon after the occupation of Singapore the need was
felt for a survey of the coast and island. This was
carried out by Captain Franklin, of the Quartermaster-
General's Department, being completed in 1822, and the
chart was used by Mr. Crawfurd when he went round
the island, with Mr. Forrester and Lieutenant Jackson,
to take formal possession after the Treaty of the 2nd
August 1824. In this chart Blakan Mati was called by
its early name, " Pulo Panjang " ; and P. Brani, " Pulo
Ayer Brani." The signal flagstaff of the station was
477
478 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
on the little island, Pulo Tambakul, or Goa Island (which
is now known as Peak Island), and was moved thence to
St. John's Island in February 1823. The charted
soundings were not very accurate, and but little was
known about local tides ; so much so, that in 1833 orders
came from Bombay to carry out tidal observations.
They were begun in the following year, but the establish-
ment allowed was very insufficient.
I n 1 840 Second-Lieutenant Charles Morgan Elliot , of the
Madras Engineers, a younger brother of Sir Henry Myers
Elliot, Foreign Secretary to the Government of India,
was sent to Singapore to establish a " magnetic observa-
tory." He reported his arrival on the 12th September,
and by the end of the month had selected a suitable site
one and a half miles from town, " beyond the company's
grazing ground . ' ' The Observatory had wooden walls and
an attap roof, but the floor and pedestals were of granite.
It was built in a bend of the river just to the left of the
approach to Kallang Bridge, and his house was on the
opposite side of the road.
When the place was in order, the local Government
abolished the old tide-reading establishment, and trans-
ferred the duty to Lieutenant Elliot, who started a
proper tide-gauge in January 1841, and began regular
observations of rainfall and temperature at the same
time. The four and a half years during which this
capable young officer was stationed in Singapore were
full of busy incidents. Not six months had elapsed
before his health began to give way, and he went on a
two months' trip to Batavia. Unfortunately he had
forgotten that the Company stood in loco parentis to the
various residents in its dominions, and he was in disgrace
when he returned for having gone without leave !
The following year saw him in temporary charge of
convicts, and also in charge of public buildings as
Inspecting Engineer. He also went for a month to Rajah
Brooke, in Sarawak, to make magnetic observations.
After leaving Singapore, he spent some time continuing
his observations in different parts of the Archipelago,
SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATIONS 479
and went to England, where he published his results in
the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, of
which Society he was made a Fellow. He later returned
to the East, where he died in 1852.
Thus ended the first series of scientific observations,
after which there was a long gap, until the efforts of Mr.
Vaughan in 1862. Mr. Jonas Daniel Vaughan was
originally a midshipman in the E.I. Co.'s steam frigate
Tenasserim, and attracted the attention of Colonel
Butterworth in 1842. In consequence, he was trans-
ferred to the Straits station, where he did some pirate
hunting in the Phlegethon and Nemesis. This versatile
officer was then appointed Superintendent of Police at
Penang, from which place he was transferred to Singa-
pore as Master Attendant in 1856. From 1 861 to 1869 he
was Police Magistrate and Assistant Resident Councillor,
and then went on furlough to England, where he was
called to the Bar from the Middle Temple, and acted
for a short time as a Puisne Judge in Singapore. Not
only was he a good musician and amateur actor, but he
found time for a considerable amount of literary work
and papers on local subjects.
The local rainfall and temperature observations which
he made between 1862 and 1866 have been continued
to the present day, first by Mr. Arthur Knight, and then
(with wind, humidity, etc.) by the Medical Department
since 1869. These records have been taken by the
Assistant Surgeons, a valuable work. One of them,
Mr. Leicester, went to Calcutta in November 1881 to
learn the work of a meteorological observer, and returned
in January 1882. No note has been taken of other
meteorological phenomena, such as earthquakes, etc.
Fortunately Singapore lies well outside the active
volcanic belt. Earthquakes — of which there have been
examples in 1873, 1874, 1892, 1896, and 1907 — seldom
amount to mcJre than a distinctly perceptible tremor.
Of thunderstorms Singapore has not been without its
fair share, and the damage done by lightning has been
considerable, though in recent years the frequency and
48o THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
severity of the storms seem to have distinctly diminished.
In August 184s the steeple of the first St. Andrew's
Church was. struck by lightning, and one of the tablets
near the altar was splintered. It was again struck in
April 1849, when the punkah and walls were badly
damaged, but fortunately the church was empty at the
time. In March 1850 the Fort Canning flagstaff was
splintered ; and in May of the following year the Mount
Faber staff suffered the same fate ! Twenty-five years
later the stone beacon at Sultan Shoal was destroyed ;
and, coming to more recent times, the spire of the present
St. Andrew's Cathedral was struck in 1891.
Hydrographic surveys have been made occasionally
since the early one of 1822, previously mentioned. The
last survey of the century was carried out in 1909 by
H.M. Surveying Sloop Waterwitch (at one time a yacht
belonging to Mrs. Langtry). The Commission included
Lieutenant and Commander H. P. Douglas (afterwards of
the Hydrographic Department of the Admiralty), assisted
by Lieutenants J. S. Harris, J. S. Schafer, F. E. B. Hasel-
foot, and C. H. Knowles. Lieutenant Schafer (eldest son
of the great physiologist. Professor Schafer), who after-
wards left the Navy for rubber-estate work in the Feder-
ated Malay States, rejoined the Service at the out-
break of the Great War, and his valuable life was
cut short by the explosion of a mine in the North
Sea. The Waterwitch finished her naval career by being
accidentally rammed by the Governor's yacht when
lying at anchor in Singapore Roads. She was afterwards
raised, repaired, and sold.
This chapter would not be complete without reference
to solar or sidereal observations and time-ball work.
The first move that seems to have been made in this
direction was by a Captain William C. Leisk, the Surveyor
of Shipping to the Insurance Offices, who wrote to the
Government in July 1847 suggesting that a time-ball
should be fixed on the Fort Canning staff for the use of
shipping. Two years later the desired permission was
obtained, and Captain Leisk had a ball dropped from
THE OBSERVATORY 481
the yard-arm between the hours of nine and ten a.m.
daily (weather permitting), notice of the time being
given on the previous day. How long this time-ball
continued in operation it is impossible to say ; but Ellis,
the Master Attendant, in his annual reports of 1883 and
1 884, pointed out that an observatory and time-ball were
badly needed, and that he had recommended them for the
previous ten years. He had an astronomical timepiece in
his office, regulated by solar observations, and the noon-
gun at Fort Canning got the time twice a week.
The result of the Master Attendant having thus started
the ball rolling was that Mr. W. H . M. Christie, the Astron-
omer Royal, made suggestions in 1889 on the require-
ments of the new Observatory, which was finally built
on the old Fort Fullerton site at the mouth of the river —
lat. 1° 17' 14" N. ; long. 103° 51' 16" E. A 3 -inch reversing
transit telescope, by Troughton and Simms, was duly
installed ; and two chronometers — a sidereal and a mean
solar — by V. Kullberg, were ready about 1893.
The time-ball, at first intended for Blakan Mati, was
erected at Pulo Brani, and was working until 1905.
Then began the present phase of the history of the Ob-
servatory. Mr. R. S. Fry, who was in charge of the
Observatory for so many years, reported in September
1903 that the accuracy of the standard clocks was being
impaired by vibration from theneighbouring reclamation,
and he suggested that the Observatory should be moved
to Mount Faber and the time-ball also taken there
from Pulo Brani. The suggestion was acted upon, and
the Observatory was built on Mount Faber, in lat.
1° 16' 8" N., long. 103° 49' 24" E.
On the 25th April 1905 the instruments were moved
from Fort Fullerton to their new home, and after a
month's testing and adjusting, came into use on the
ist June 1905.
Standard time of the 105° E. meridian (i.e. seven hours
ahead of Greenwich mean time) was adopted in the
Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States on that
date, and is still in use.
1—32
482 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
Bibliography
Anecdotal History of Singapore, C. B. Buckley, 1902.
Notices of the Indian Archipelago, J. H. Moor, Singapore, 1837.
Early Colonial Records, vols. 374, 379, 381, 383, 386, 397, 402,
477, 541, and 518.
Singapore Directories (various early).
Marine Department Annual Reports, 1883, 1884, and 1885.
Medical Department Annual Reports and Meteorological Returns.
Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, No. 7
(June 1881) ; No. 12 (December 1883).
Journal Indian Archipelago, vol. 11, 848.
Notes on the Meteorological Tables
The observations between 1820 and 1825 were made
in an attap shed on the present Fort Canning Hill,
chiefly by Lieutenant-Colonel Farquhar. Those from
1 841 to 1 845 were made by Lieutenant Elliot in his obser-
vatory near Kallang Bridge.
A continued series of observations began on the ist
January 1 869, under the new Colonial Office regime, and
are complete to the present day. The observations from
1869 to 1873 inclusive were made at the old Convict Gaol
Hospital, which was on the now vacant ground adjoining
theS.V.L headquarters, and opposite the Museum, where
the bridge to Bencoolen Street is situated. From 1874
onwards the observations have been made at Kandang
Kerbau. Many unofficial observers have rendered help
in the past, as, for instance, the late Mr. Arthur Knight,
who kept a continuous record of the rainfall for many
years.
In analysing these tables, several features are very
prominent. December and January are consistently the
wettest months of the year ; the only other month
approaching them is November. February and March
are the two driest months.
The wettest year that Singapore has had was in 191 3,
when the total rainfall reached 13 5*92 inches. The
driest year was 1877, when only 58' 3 7 inches were
recorded. The lowest recorded temperature seems to be
62° F., taken on the grass on the 27th July 1882.
Actual
Reading
Inches
Year
99-5
LJ-jl
1835
731
•<
1
1841
U6-0
■
■^
::=*
»
1842
920
r
-'
1843
88-7
*
1844
99-51
>
1862
86-62
r
1S63
86-92
>
1864
78-06
«
1865
90-52
V
1866
90-01
-^
L
1867
75-55
<
1868
90-65
^
»^
_^
1869
123-24
>•
1870
109-45
^
.—
-^
1871
75-3
"C
1872
85-6
\
1873
87-05
Is
1874
93-96
>
1875
89-91
wt
1876
68-37
•
1877
103-16
**
—
•k
1878
118-66
:•
1879
102-59
»-
1880
92-29
^
•9
'
1881
79-92
-J
1882
66-74
K
A
JK
a6
-7
B
ru
pt
01
0
¥
tn
ik
Iti
a
1883
82-51
u
1884
71-01
<
1885
90-53
-1
^
-,
^
1886
123-69
'
■•
1887
63-21
••
=;
1888
84 63
*!
1 ,
_^
1889
120-U
^
1890
89-35
1
<
,
1891
103-42
■»
^
1892
119-01
.^
::»«
1893
81-49
9^
-—
1894
97-91
^
•
1895
72-67
1896
103-11
~
J
1897
10119
i
1898
103-36
^
\
1899
91-38
tr-
1900
84-02
^
1901
77-52
•^
1902
102-47
~-
^
1903
104-57
^ri
1904
82-69
^
-
—
1905
126-19
Mrf
»
1906
86-04
r~
'
1907
85-44
^
1908
109-79
■"
'^
I
1909
112-65
:^
1910
88-10
•e
m
19U
102-43
'^
»■
—
1912
135-92
»4
1913
85-84
*r
■
1914
90-93
>
^.
1915
94-17
s
•w^
1916
2919 -75mi.
..
■^
b>
1
1917
2490- 5 mm
'^
'
n 1918 1
3556
3429
3302
3175
3048
2921
2794 S
2667 i
2540E
24133
2286S
2159
2032
1905
1778
1651
1524
1397
Annual Rainfall at Singapore
483
S.W. Monsoon
rl
- 1
*!.£. Mousoon
1
I"
May
June
July
Augrnst
September
November
December
January
February
1821
1835
■^
1841
■
1842
1
1843
■
p
1844
1869
1870
.
1871
>
1872
i
1873
>
1874
>
187S
5
1876
°
1877
)
1878
1
I
1879
)
1880
■
1881
^
1882
f
1883
j>
*
1884
»
1885
1886
>
1887
»
1888
>
I
1889
>
>
1890
>
1
1891
>
»
1892
>
<
1893
1894
^
»
1895
3
1896
1897
)
1898
^
1899
1900
»
1901
)
1902
1903
>
1904
>
1905
J
1906
J
1907
1908
1
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
p
1916
f
i
1917
1918
Monthly Rainfall Distribution in Singapore
Driest Month = o. Wettest Month = • .
484
Mean Annual Mean
Minimum Mean Maximum
^o
^
1820
1821
1822
s
1823
\
1824
^
1825
1
1
1841
>
1842
*:
1843
\
1844
J>
1845
r
<
1S69 1
f
f
1870
\
I
1871
1
\
V
1872
1
>
1
1873
f
i
/
1874 1
<
'
1875
K
S
1876
\
I
>
1877
>
i
1878
1
<l
1879
f
s
1880
i
4
\,
1881
4
*
1882
/
f
1883
i
\
1884
*
]
1885
*
y
1886
\
4
<;
1887
K,
•
7
1888
b
y
•"
(
1889
«''
<
1890
>
1891
1
1892
<
1
1893
1
1894
V
1896
s
\
18%
^
I
1897
<
)
'
1898
I
•(
• \
1899
>
>
)
1900
1^
f
{
1901
*
\l
1902
I
1903
«
s
1904 1
k
-*
1905
>
,'
1906
1
p
1907
J
«
/
1908
>
^
1909
'
<
1
k
1910
i,
Jk
>
1911
\
<
1912
\
^
i
1913
Jx
1
<
1914
J
-s
i
^
1915
^
\
^
1916
t
<
\
1917
<
'i
\
1918
a
Shade Temperature at Singapore
485
486 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
The monsoons are an interesting subject. Theweather-
year may be considered as beginning in October, which
is a month of featureless rainfall and transitional winds
from all quarters, which show a slight preponderance of
southerly elementfromthe expiringSouth-West Monsoon.
The North-East Monsoon then begins in November, and
continues from the north-east for five months to the end
of March. This is the dominant monsoon of Singapore,
and is characterised at its commencement by producing
the three wettest months in the year, and closes with the
two driest months. The type is also dominant, for
any element other than north-east is almost entirely
absent during the whole five months.
At the close of this monsoon another transitional
month is found — April — during which the winds are
variable and distributed. Both the transitional months
of April and October are frequently characterised by the
explosive gales known as " Sumatras," and by thunder-
storms. -
The five months from May to September inclusive will
be seen to constitute what is called the South-West Mon-
soon ; but, although the northerly element is practically
absent, the wind has a south-easterly prevalence which
often approaches that from the south-west, especially
in May. The South-West Monsoon is on the whole a dry
one, but the rainfall, though moderate, is fairly evenly
distributed.
The features of the temperature charts show the un-
varying nature of the conditions in Singapore, even over
a period of many years. They do not, however, bring
out the monotonous lack of seasonal variation which has
such a prejudicial eifect on the health of European
residents as years go by.
JOHN CRAWFURD 487
MEDICAL WORK AND INSTITUTIONS
By Dr. Gilbert E. Brooke
" The ports ye shall not enter.
The roads ye shall not tread,
Go, make them with your living
And mark them with your dead."
Looking back across the gulf of years to the early days
of the nineteenth century, we can but shudder at the
prodigal waste of life amongst the pioneers of Empire —
a waste which the later discoveries of science have given
us the means to combat, thereby robbing the unknown
of many of the terrors which previously haunted it.
The taleof medical effort inSingapore, and the story of its
medical institutions, form an important page in the
history of that place. There was, moreover, in its
early days, an indirect connection with medicine in the
persons of Nathaniel Wallich, John Crawfurd, and
Jose d'Almeida.
Wallich had been in the Medical Service of the Danish
Settlement at Serampore, and his botanical career and
visits to Singapore have been dealt with elsewhere in this
book.
John Crawfurd, famous both as an administrator and
as an author, had belonged to the Bengal Medical
Service, and had passed three years in Penang as a
Civil Surgeon before doing diplomatic work in Java under
Raffles. He followed Farquhar as Resident at Singapore
from 1 823 to 1 826, when he was succeeded by Mr. Prince.
Besides several diplomatic missions, he was our Ambas-
sador to Burma in 1827 ; and was the first President
of the Straits Settlements Association when formed in
London in 1868, just before his death. His daughter,
Eleanor Julia Charteris, who was married in 1864 to
the late Sir George Dalhousie Ramsay, C.B., died as
recently as 191 8.
Jos^ d'Almeida had been a surgeon on a Portuguese
man-of-war. He resigned about 1824, and after making
several voyages between Macao and Calcutta in a
488 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
Portuguese barque called the Andromeda, he settled in
Singapore in 1825 as a medical practitioner, and opened
a dispensary on the site of the present godown of Guthrie
and Co. His later connection with commerce was of
quite an adventitious origin. A Spanish and a Portu-
guese vessel being detained in harbour by the monsoon,
it became necessary for them to sell their cargoes. The
successful efforts of d 'Almeida in this direction deter-
mined him to start in business and abandon medicine.
For the commencement of the medical history of
Singapore, however, it is necessary to begin at Penang,
When Raffles left Penang on the 19th January 1819,
with his cruisers and transports, the head of the Medical
Department of that place was Superintending Surgeon
G. Alexander. There were three or four other surgeons
on the establishment ; but the one chosen to accompany
Sir Stamford in charge of the troops on his eventful
mission was Sub-Assistant Surgeon Thomas Prendergast,
who had been a medical officer in the General Hospital
there. This young officer was in sole medical charge at
Singapore until the arrival of Dr. Montgomerie in May.
It is of interest also to note that Louisa Bellamy, wife
of Charles Bellamy, who was one of the junior assistant
surgeons at Penang, also accompanied Sir Stamford
' Raffles to Singapore, and was present on the memorable
occasion of the hoisting of the flag on the 6th February.
Mrs. Bellamy was the great-granddaughter of William
Gordon, Sixth Viscount Kenmure and Baron Lochinvar,
who had been attainted and beheaded on Tower Hill on
the 24th February 1716 for his share in the Jacobite
rising of the previous year. But her uncle, John Gordon,
was restored as Seventh Viscount by Act of Parliament
in 1 824 ; and her brother, Adam, a naval officer, was
eventually the eighth and last Viscount.
During the first few years of its existence housing
problems in Singapore were endowed with an importance
which was not to reappear so acutely until nearly a
century had gone by. In those days the cantonments
were situated near the site of the present Short Street,
MILITARY HOSPITALS 489
and the exercising ground (or " cantonment plain ")
was roughly bounded by what we now know as Prinsep
Street, Albert Street, Queen Street, and Bras Basah
Road — the intersections of Waterloo Street, Bencoolen
Street, and Middle Road not being then in existence.
Their hospital was situated very near the house in Selegie
Road now occupied by Dr. Weerekoon, and known as
the "Central Pharmacy." This was the only General
Hospital in Singapore until February 1827, when it fell
down, and was temporarily repaired. Cantonments
were then moved to the neighbourhood of Outram Road,
and the European sick were treated from 1833 to 1845
in a gallery of the Pauper Hospital. The further history
of military hospitals need only be briefly reviewed. By
1867 there was a hospital for European artillery at
Fort Canning, as well as the establishment at Sepoy
Lines ; and by 1 870 there was also a hospital for a British
regiment at Tanglin. The list of assistant surgeons and
surgeons attached to these hospitals is a long one. Per-
haps the most noted officer was the P.M.O. in 1872 —
Staff-Surgeon Herbert Taylor Reade, V.C., of the 6ist
Regiment. He won his V.C. at the Siege of Delhi on
the 14th September 1857. A large party of rebels had
advanced from the direction of the bank and occupied
the roofs of several houses, from which they attacked
Reade while he was attending to many wounded in the
street. With a party of only ten, of whom two were
killed and six wounded, Reade dislodged the mutineers,
killing many of them. Two days later he was the first
to storm the breach in the magazine, and, with the help
of his sergeant, he spiked one of the enemy's guns.
The general trend of medical and scientific work in
Singapore throughout the century is not especially
remarkable for constructive ability or statesmanlike
policy. It must be remembered, however, that the
handicaps were many, comprising not only popular
apathy or official indifference, but also a progress in
scientific knowledge which was but of slow and gradual
growth.
490 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
Vaccination against smallpox had been introduced
only in 1798, and its adoption was by no means general
at the time that Singapore was founded. The bacterial
origin of infectious diseases was not even known until the
early 'Seventies. The organism of cholera was uncertain
until isolated by Koch in Egypt in 1883. The microbe
of plague was found only in 1 894 by Kitasato during the
Hongkong plague epidemic. The role of the flea in the
dissemination of plague came much later still ; and that
of the anopheles mosquito in the production of malaria
was demonstrated by Ross only in 1 897-9. Preconceived
ideas were therefore the only guide for many years,
strange as they now seem to us of a later day.
The medical staif of the Straits Settlements in its
early days was, of course, drawnfrom the Military Service
of the East India Company. The uniform was that of
the regiment to which they were attached or had been
attached when seconded for civil duties. The pay and
allowances were fair, but the pensions they drew were
of the most meagre description. Assistant surgeons
after twenty years' service were entitled to only 53. a
day ; or 2s. 6d. a day if they were retired for ill-
health after ten or more years. Surgeons received los.
and superintending surgeons i6s. 4|d. a day after
twenty years' service, including one furlough of three
years.
After the incorporation of the Straits Settlements in
1826, Superintending Surgeon G. Alexander, M.D., was
in charge of the whole department, but continued to live
at Penang. Assistant Surgeon B. C. Henderson was in
charge of the General and Pauper Hospital at Singa-
pore, as well as being Residency Surgeon ; but he went to
China on sick leave in 1 827, and was relieved by Assistant
Surgeon Caswall. Assistant Surgeon A. Warrand was
in medical charge of the Madras troops and of the local
military staff after the departure of Montgomerie with
the Bengal troops in 1827.
Dr. Alexander seems to have been a keen and resource-
ful officer, but was not at all a favourite with his official
REGISTER OF BURIALS 491
superiors. The idea of a leper asylum at Pulo Jerejak
originated with him, as also the first suggestion of
quarantine boarding of ships to stop the entry of small-
pox, which was so frequent in the early days. The
Government generally ignored his suggestions, which
made him somewhat querulous. But the climax came
when he had to go to China on sick leave, leaving
Assistant Surgeon W. E. E. Conwell, M.D., in charge.
Dr. Conwell was an energetic man, with the ear of the
Government, but had the fatal habit of rearranging
a house during an ephemeral occupation. The sub-
sequent protests of Dr. Alexander led to the latter's
retirement, but fortunately not to theformer's preferment.
The Singapore of earlydays had a reputation in India as
a health resort, and manya sick civil servant came south,
and sometimes reached the end of his journey there, as
the tombstones at Fort Canning testify. The cemetery
on the slopes of Fort Canning was opened in 1823 ; and
was consecrated by Bishop Wilson of Calcutta, on the
6th October 1834. In this peaceful acre, with its
decaying tombs, many a pioneer is sleeping his last
sleep. Amongst them are William Scott, the Master
Attendant, who was a son of James Scott (an early
settler of Penang, and uncle of the great novelist).
Sir Jose d 'Almeida is buried there ; also George Doum-
gold Coleman, who was so long associated with the public
life and works of the Settlement. There is the grave of
the Hon. Charles Robert Lindsay, second son of the
sixth Earl of Balcarres, who died on the 4th July 1835.
He was a Collector of Customs at Agra. Also of Leopold
James Henry Grey, of the East India Company's Service,
a son of a Bishop of Hereford and grandson of the first
Earl Grey. A register and plan of the inscriptions and
tombs was made in 191 2 by Mr. H. A. Stallwood,
Architectural Assistant to the P.W.D., and appears
in No. 61 of the Journal of the Straits Branch of the
Royal Asiatic Society. The register of Anglican burials
begins on the 24th February 1820 in the first of the
eleven volumes kept by St. Andrew's Cathedral.
492 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
The progress in the development of the Settlement
was quite unparalleled. On the nth June 1819 Raffles
had written home : "My new Colony thrives most
rapidly ; we have not been established four months,
and it has received an accession of population exceeding
S,ooo, principally Chinese, and their number is daily
increasing."
This influx of population, however, was to become a
source not only of strength but of weakness. In the
train of the immigrants came infectious diseases, such
as smallpox, leprosy, etc., and hordes of decrepits.
Although Dr. Alexander had suggested the boarding of
ships, no quarantine action of any importance was
undertaken for more than half a century.
• St. John's Island was used for some years from about
1823 as a station for the " report boat " of the Marine
Department, but not as a quarantine station. An
amusing incident occurred in 1828, when three Malay
pirate boats stole the Master Attendant's boat one night.
The station lascars ineffectually pursued them in a
smaller boat, but " their muskets were so defective
that they could not get them to go off."
By the 'Forties the immigration was amounting to
about 10,000 annually, some of which was by square-
rigged vessels, but the majority by junks, during the
monsoon season, January to the end of April. These
people used Singapore as a jumping-off ground. If the
voyage was protracted, the junks frequently ran out of
water and provisions, and hundreds died. Oxley
mentions, in his annual report for 1850, that sixty-seven
had recently landed in a dying state, and he suggested
that the Nakodahs who brought sick and destitute
persons should be fined. This resulted in the passing
of the India Act No. 41 of 1850.
This subject introduces the history of the various
pauper hospitals, which have loomed largely down the
vistas of the past. The inception of the first poorhouse
was due to a " presentment " of the Grand Jury in
February 1829, who objected to meeting " the miserable
HOSPITAL FOR PAUPERS 493
and disgusting objects " to be seen all over the town.
To the establishment of such an infirmary the Govern-
ment agreed, allocating the pork-tax to meet the upkeep
expenses.
In order the better to understand the vicissitudes of
the Institution, it is necessary to have a bird's-eye view
of the five phases through which it has passed. The
first (1830-33) was an attap building on the site of the
present S.V.I, headquarters in Bras Basah Road.
The Asylum was subsequently built on this site about
1 84 1. The next stage was a brick building on the site
adjacent to the previous one, at the corner now near the
Museum. It was in use from 1833 to 185 1, and admitted
convict patients as well as town paupers ; and even
European patients from 1833 to 1845. Its accommodation
was extended by the erection of a shed at the foot of
Pearl's Hill, which received theoverflowfrom 1845 to 1849.
The third phase lasted from 1849 to 1858, and consisted
of the hospital erected by Tan Tock Seng on the slopes of
Pearl's Hill. This site was expropriated in 1858, and
the patients were detained in temporary buildings on
Balestier Plain until 1 860, when the new Tan Tock Seng
Hospital at the corner of Balestier Road was finished,
and occupied until 1909. The site and buildings were
then given to the Cantonese for their Kwong Wai Siu
Hospital, and Tan Tock Seng entered its new and present
home in Moulmein Road.
The first attap building seems to have tieen a dis-
graceful affair. The Singapore Chronicle of 1831
remarks that the occupants number sixty, that many of
them are lepers, and that the upkeep cost only one-
third of the $820 per mensem which the Pork Farm
produced. The following year the Grand Jury made
another " presentment " calhng attention to the dis-
graceful building, in consequence of which the Governor-
General sanctioned the erection of a building on
Coleman's plans for $11,402. This block, situated at
the corner of " Hospital Street " (i.e. Stamford Road),
served for eighteen years the double purpose of convict
494 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
and pauper hospital. On the 20th September 1837
the pork-tax was abohshed, and in consequence of the
removal of the only source of revenue, it was decided to
admit acute cases only. But there were already 1 54
patients, and the Government had to give 3,575 rupees
per annum towards the upkeep.
Contemporary evidence gives us glimpses of what the
place must have been like. The floors were of mud ;
the patients had plank bunks, the condition of which can
be better imagined than described, for the cooking-pots
were kept on the beds when not in use. The place was
probably full of flies ; and a row of mephitic latrines
occupied one end of the ward, above which was a plank
gallery, used for several years as a European seamen's
hospital. The dirt must have been appalling, for the
cleaning was left to the sick inmates and lepers.
But life had, perhaps, some compensation for the
inmates after all, for they had some tea at 7 a.m. and
fish-curry and rice at 2 p.m. ; and were allowed clean
clothes every Sunday and Thursday !
The gradual closing of the poorhouse brought its
own result. The town was gradually filled with loath-
some vagrants, so much so that Resident Councillor
Church urged on the Indian Government the necessity
of readmitting chronic cases, and pointed out that the
abolition of the Pork Farm had not resulted in lowering
the market price of pork, but had actually raised it by
eight doits per catty. India, however, was adamant,
and the Governor-General expressed the opinion that it
was not an official duty to look after decrepits who
could enter the Settlement without let or hindrance, but
rather that of the public to whom their presence might
be offensive. His contention was not without justifica-
tion, for the local authorities had persistently ignored
the control of immigration either from its public health
or economic aspects.
The momentary deadlock was solved, however, by the
generosity of a philanthropic Chinaman, and Tan Tock
Seng Hospital seemed about to begin a career of useful-
o
s
•A
P
O
«
P
01
c
<
P-t
TAN TOCK SENG HOSPITAL 495
ness. Mr. Tan Tock Seng was a native of Malacca who
had hved nearly all his life in Singapore, first as a
vegetable seller and later as a shop-keeper and merchant,
and was the first Chinese J. P. Wealth came to him,
and he nobly used the gifts which life had lent. On the
25th July 1844 the foundation-stone of the new Pauper
Hospital was laid at Pearl's Hill, in the presence of Mr.
Thomas Church, the Resident Councillor, the building
(and the adjacent European Seamen's Hospital) having
been designed by the Government Surveyor, Mr. J. T.
Thomson. But Mr. Tan Tock Seng, who had spent
seven thousand dollars on it, was not to get rid of his
child so quickly. Months, and then years, went by.
The hospital was completed by the end of 1846 ; was
a haunt of bats ; decayed ; was repaired — but still the
wind swept through its empty wards.
The next year Assistant Surgeon Traill, who had been
appointed to Singapore in 1844 on the departure of
Dr. Montgomerie, urged the removal to " Tan Tock
Seng " of the remaining inmates of the old Pauper
Hospital, but the monthly outlay was considered too
serious. The Grand Jury urged the re-establishment of
the Pork Farm, and the merchants petitioned the
Governor-General to the same eifect. But fate inter-
vened, and the old pauper shed at the foot of Pearl's Hill
became so unsafe that the 1 30 occupants were perforce
moved into the new building in October 1849. It was
then found that no water had been provided, and when
the next morning broke, many of the inmates were found
washing their sores in the puddles outside.
After the Indian Mutiny it was thought necessary
to expropriate the Pearl's Hill site. This was done
without reference to the Committee of Management,
who thought they had been treated with the " utmost
want of courtesy," and that the Balestier site was un-
healthy. The patients, however, were transferred, in
February 1859, to some temporary wooden building;
and finally into the new three-ward hospital at the
comer of Balestier and Serangoon Roads, in May 1869.
496 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
For nearly fifty years the hospital remained in that site.
The annual admissions mounted up from less than a
thousand to over five thousand ; and, although Tan
Beng Swee (the grandson of the founder) built three
wards in 1879, the hospital again outgrew its accom-
modation, and a further change to its present home in
Moulmein Road became necessary. Most of the bene-
factors have been Chinese ; but a notable exception was
an Arab merchant, Syed Ali bin Mohamed, who gave
an area of five acres off Queen Street in 1857. Mr. Ong
Kim Wee, of Malacca, provided a ward for the bhnd in
1911.
The tablet which marks the hospital to-day bears the
following legend :
" Tan Tock Seng's Hospital
For the Sick Poor of all Nations
Incorporated by Ordinance VII of 1880, and
supported by government with the aid of
Voluntary Contributions.
" The original Hospital was built in 1844 by Mr. Tan
Tock Seng, at his own charges, and was afterwards
enlarged at the expense of his son, Mr. Tan Kim Ching.
" It was removed to a new site, in Seranggong Road,
by the Government of India in i860, and additional
wards were added in 1879 by Mr. Tan Beng Swee, and
at subsequent dates by the Straits Settlements Govern-
ment.
" The present building, erected at a cost of $481,210
(including the cost of site), principally from Government
funds, with the aid of a donation of $50,000 by Mr. Loke
Yew and a bequest made by Mr. Wee Boon Teck, was
completed in 1909, Sir John Anderson, K.C.M.G., being
Governor of the Straits Settlements."
The subject of lepers, as already stated, was early
connected with that of paupers, and both classes were
at first herded together. It was not until 1848 that
temporary sheds were put up on the cross-road between
Seranggong and Gallong (i.e. Lavender Street). How
THE GENERAL HOSPITAL 497
long they were there is not now known ; but in 1857
they were in a building in Penang Lane, where the
Seventh-Day Adventist Chapel now stands. Another
move was made before 1874, when they were housed
three miles from town on Serangoon Road, in a place
which had formerly been an extra gaol for brick-making
prisoners. The daily average number of occupants was
then about twenty-three, but many would not accept
treatment, and preferred to abscond and beg.
The General Hospital, as well as the Pauper Hospital,
has had many vicissitudes.
The following is a brief resume of its seven phases :
From 1 823 to 1 829 itwas situated in Selegie Road as a com-
bined Military and General Hospital. From 1833 to 1845
it was housed in a gallery of the Pauper Convict Hospital.
In 184s a special Seamen's Hospital was opened at
Pearl's Hill, which was kept in use until the site was
expropriated by the Military Authorities in 1858. From
the latter date to i860 temporary quarters were pro-
vided near Armenian Street ; and then for the next
thirteen years a new hospital at Kandang Kerbau was
in use. In 1873, owing to an outbreak of cholera in the
adjacent Asylum, the patients were moved to the old
Military Hospital at Sepoy Lines, until the present
building was completed and occupied in 1882.
After the unsavoury occupation of a portion of the
Pauper Hospital, the Governor-General sanctioned the
erection of a separate Seamen's Hospital on the
understanding that the Treasury would duplicate public
subscriptions. The building erected at Pearl's Hill
was first occupied (by eleven patients) on the ist
November 1845. The swamps at the foot of the hill
were probably bad, for a dozen mosquito-nets were
urgently procured. The references to this period are
few and far between. The probability is that the num-
ber of patients did not increase rapidly ; for a note occurs,
two years later, that one Chinese sweeper and the
purchase of twelve Bibles had been sanctioned.
It was about this time that Dr. Oxley asked for a
1—33
498 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
mortuary to be built. It was erected close to the New
Bridge Road end of the path leading past the Pearl's
Hill Hospitals, and was completed on the 21st October
1851 ; but the lead table-top was unfortunately stolen
after a week 1
At the expropriation of the Pearl's Hill area in 1858
a house near the site of the present Y.M.C.A. was rented
for $33 a month, as a temporary Seamen's Hospital and
Medical Stores, until the new General Hospital at Kan-
dang Kerbau should be completed. Dr. Rose reported,
on the 9th January 1 860, that the building was completed,
and the move was made at the end of that month.
This new building had European and native and
police wards ; and in the neighbourhood were the
Medical Stores, Government Dispensary, the Senior
Surgeon's Office, as well as the new Lunatic Asylum.
The hospital was not, however, very satisfactory. The
neighbouring racecourse was swampy and unhealthy,
and the dirty cattle-sheds of the P.W.D. abutted on the
property. Cholera broke out in the Asylum, and the
patients were hurriedly transferred, on the 22nd July
1873, from the General Hospital to the old Sepoy Lines
Hospital, which had been occupied by police N.C.O.'s
since the removal of the Indian Native Regiment.
After several years a new General Hospital was built
close by, and was opened for use on the ist August 1882.
This is the building at present in occupation, though
various additions have been made from time to time.
A new European female block and operation room
were completed in 1907, and electric light and fans were
installed in 191 3.
The life of the institution has been placid on the whole ;
but a proposal to introduce nursing sisters from the
Convent led to a storm of protest from many of the leading
inhabitants in March 1885. Dr. Rowell was P.C.M.O.
at that time, and Dr. Simon was Resident Surgeon.
The protest proved unsuccessful, and some Convent
Sisters began their work on the ist August in the same
year. This arrangement continued until the 14th May
LUNATIC ASYLUM 499
1900, when some Sisters arrived from England, and
the Convent ceased to be responsible for the nursing
arrangements. Mention should be made of the devoted
attention paid for years by Miss Sophia Cooke to the
native wards of the General Hospital ; her life and work
are dealt with elsewhere in this volume.
Among the other medical institutions of Singapore
few, perhaps, call for historical remark except the Asylum
and the Medical School. A lunatic asylum did not
exist in the early days of the Colony. Those who had
the misfortune to lose their reason were put in the convict
gaol with the prisoners. This regime continued until
November 1840, when one lunatic murdered another — •
perhaps he was not so mad as he was painted I There
were, at that time, nine of them in the gaol ; and, being
Chinese, they could not be sent to Calcutta. Governor
Bonham, therefore, supported Dr. Montgomerie in recom-
mending that an asylum should be built. A vote of
$1,325 was passed, and the building was erected on the
site occupied by the first Pauper Shed, where the S.V.I,
headquarters now are. The number of patients was
seldom more than thirty or forty, and no occupation
was given them except basket-work, which Dr. Oxley
started in 1844.
This first Asylum, added to in March 1851, was in use
from 1 841 until i860, when it was pulled down, and the
patients transferred to a new building adjacent to the
newly erected General Hospital at Kampong Krabau.
Part of the high wall of the first Asylum, and the postern-
gate on the road, are still to be seen in the S.V.I, com-
pound in Bras Basah Road.
With the removal of this old Asylum nothing was left
at that end of the large convict domain except the
Convict (ex-Pauper) Hospital. The latter continued its
existence until the 2nd May 1873, when the Singapore
convict establishment was finally broken up, and the
200 remaining convicts sent to the Andamans, Ceylon,
and Madras.
In 1873 cholera broke out at the Kandang Kerbau
500 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
Asylum, which permanently frightened away the General
Hospital next door. The " floors had sunk, and the roofs
were leaky," and the building was condemned at that
time ; but nothing was done until 1883, when work was
begun on the Sepoy Lines site, now in occupation.
The latter building was first used on the 12th August
1887, and the occupants unfortunately brought cholera
with them from the old site, a disease which has broken
out at intervals ever since. For the first year at Sepoy
Lines Dr. Tripp was the Medical Officer in charge ; but
in 1888 Dr. W. Gilmore Ellis was appointed Medical
Superintendent by the Secretary of State, and held
the post for about twenty years.
In addition to the work of these useful public in-
stitutions, valuable service was rendered to the Settle-
ment by private practitioners from an early period.
The first seems to have been Dr. Alexander Martin, who
came to Singapore in the 'Twenties, and died on the 7th
January 1 83 1 . His brother. Dr. M. J . Martin, continued
his practice alone until 1840, when his nephew. Dr.
Robert Little, arrived from home to join him. In 1846
the firm was augmented by another practitioner.
Dr. Henry Allen Allen ; and their dispensary in the
Square, called the Singapore Dispensary, seems to have
been started at about that time, the first and only
previous dispensary being that of a chemist, S. C. Wood-
ford, of Kampong Glam and Commercial Square. Dr.
Martin left them on retirement about 1852, and Dr. J. H.
Robertson joined them about 1858. Another early
surgeon was Dr. Charles Juhus Curties. He was an
original member of Zetland Lodge in 1 845 . He succeeded
Dr. Little as Coroner, and died on the 5th June i860,
being buried in Fort Canning Cemetery. These veterans,
who saw so much of early Singapore life, will long be
remembered by tradition.
Dr. Allen was an original member of Zetland Lodge
in 1848, and for some years was a tower of strength
to the Savage Club, especially as a tragedian. He
died about the year 1869.
1. 500]
DR. ROBERT I,ITTI,E.
DR. ROBERT LITTLE 501
Dr. Robert Little, M.D., F.R.C.S. (Edin.), was the son
of an Edinburgh lawyer, and grandson of the minister
at Applegarth, in Scotland. His two younger brothers,
John Martin Little and Matthew Little, were resident
in Singapore for many years, and were founders of
Messrs. Little, Cursetjee and Co., now John Little and Co.
Dr. Little lived at the Singapore Dispensary for a few
years, but afterwards bought some property in River
Valley Road, and occupied Bonnygrass House for
over thirty-five years, which must be a record for con-
tinuous European domicile. His first wife was a
daughter of Mrs. Whittle, who kept a school in North
Bridge Road in 1837. Dr. Little was a man of courtly
manners and personal charm. He had a striking
personality, and was very neat, and had few idiosyn-
crasies, unless the habit of always wearing gloves out-of-
doors can be included in that category. The extent of
his interests and activities can be judged by the following
notes extracted at random from various sources. In
1 844 we find him as a moving spirit in the establishment
of a library. Four years later he became Singapore's
first Coroner. In January 1851 he opened a private
hospital for seamen, charging them only fifty cents a
day. A little later he was assisting to collect a Presby-
terian congregation ; and in another couple of years
(ist January 1858) he was gazetted as Surgeon to the
Singapore Volunteer Rifles. When the Colony was
transferred to the Colonial Office in 1867, he was one of
the first Unofficial Members of Council. He finally
retired about 1882, and settled at Blackheath, where he
died on the nth June 1888.
Dr. John Hutchinson Robertson was born in Edin-
burgh on the 2 1 St May 1829, and was the eldest son
of John Robertson, a well-known Edinburgh merchant.
He was the founder of Edinburgh University Cricket XI,
and was its first captain. For some time he practised
in Edinburgh, but finding the winters too trying, he
went to Singapore in 1857-8, taking with him his
bride, Mary Anne, the eldest daughter of Thomas
502 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
Murray, LL.D., the author of many books and a well-
known Gallovidian. Into the life of Singapore he
entered with zest. For many years he was a J. P.
and a Municipal Commissioner. In the early 'Sixties
he tried hard to start golf in Singapore, and was also
most useful in musical matters, as he was an accom-
plished musician, who had previously played first violin
in the Edinburgh Amateur Orchestral Society for some
years. Of his eight children, seven were born in Singa-
pore, and of those, three are still in Malaya : Thomas
Murray Robertson, the present Coroner ; Farleigh
Robertson, the manager of Jelebu Estate ; and John
Argyll Robertson, the manager of the Chartered Bank
at Kuala Lumpur. Dr. Robertson was a familiar figure,
and always wore a frock-coat and top-hat. For many
years he used to drive an American buggy with a pair
of somewhat attenuated horses, which were trained to
wait outside a house by themselves. There is a story
that some wag hung the following notice on them
while their master was visiting his patient : " Paddy
wanted, enquire within " ! The buggy was given up in
later years in favour of a two-seater tricycle, on the
back seat of which his Chinese boy would be perched,
holding up an umbrella over him. Dr. Robertson was
much loved by the populace, and was a good surgeon.
About the year 1 879 he parted company with Dr. Little,
and started "The Dispensary," afterwards carried on
by Dr. Galloway from 1885. The latter in turn left
The Dispensary, and started the British Dispen-
sary in 1897. Dr. Robertson left Singapore in 1886,
and subsequently died in Edinburgh. Meanwhile, the
original Singapore Dispensary was made over by
Dr. Little to Dr. T. S. Kerr, and continued its
existence until 191 8, when an amalgamation with
Maynard and Co. was effected. The latter dispensary
was originally started by Dr. John Scott, M.D., Queen's
University, Ireland, F.R.C.S.,in 1 861, under the name of
the " Straits Dispensary," with Dr. Rose and Dr. Krausse
as partners. Dr. Rowell succeeded Dr. Scott in 1867,
DR. JOHN HUTCHINSON RODERTSON
I. 502]
SMALLPOX EPIDEMICS 503
and was joined by Dr. Bentley in 1877; and later by
Dr. Tripp, who formed a company of the concern
in 1 884, under the name of Maynard and Company. Many
of the medical men above mentioned subsequently joined
the Government Service, Drs. Rose and Rowell both
becoming heads of the department.
Dr. Arthur James McDonald Bentley was educated
at Rugby and then at Edinburgh, becoming M.B.,
CM., and M.R.C.S. (Eng.) in 1871. He was attached as
Surgeon to s.s. Diana on an Arctic exploring expedition
in 1869, subsequently practising in the Dutch Indies
from 1872 to 1876. While in private practice in Singa-
pore he acted on several occasions as Colonial Surgeon,
and was definitely appointed to that post in 1880, in
the place of Dr. Simon, who became Resident Surgeon.
Later practitioners are too recent to be reviewed here ;
but a brief biography of heads of the Medical Depart-
ment is given as an appendix, and a portrait is included
of Dr. Galloway, at one time a Member of Council, who
has done so much for Singapore during the last few
decades.
Smallpox epidemics were not infrequent in the
early days of Singapore. Each epidemic has usually
lasted for a couple of years. Thus 1849-50 and 1859-60
were both bad epidemics. In 1899 there were 300 cases,
followed by 220 in 1900; 159 and 109 cases in 1902
and 1903 respectively; 414 and 241 in 19 10 and 191 1.
Vaccination was practised from the beginning of the
occupation. The supplies obtained from Bengal were
generally inactive, but were tried until the 'Forties,
when Batavia lymph was adopted, and proved more
successful for twenty or thirty years. Dr. Oxiey in
1850 experimented with some samples from the Royal
Jennerian Institute in London, but naturally the
results were negative after so long a voyage. Not
until 1892 did Singapore attempt to supply her own
needs. In that year Dr. Simon started its manufacture
with some calves from Mr. Crane's "Clearwater [^sicl
Dairy Farm " ; and Mr. Leicester, the Apothecary of
504 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
the Government Medical Stores, was put in charge.
During the following year, however, the supply of
calves ran short ; and, as the local ones pjroved too
expensive. Dr. Kerr, the acting P.C.M.O., abandoned
the scheme, and obtained his suppHes from Saigon.
The close connection of the Settlement with India
on the one side and China on the other has naturally
been responsible for the periodical introduction of
cholera. The first record of an epidemic was in 184 1-2,
subsequent visitations being in the years 1851, 1862,
1873-4, 1895-6, 1900-3, 191 1. The worst year was
1902, when 842 cases were reported and 759 died.
Soon after the 1841 epidemic attention began to be
drawn to the necessity for better sanitary conditions.
A pioneer in this direction was the Rev. Horatio Moule,
one of whose sons, George Evans Moule [Senior Optime
in 1850 (Corpus College)], was afterwards Bishop of Mid-
China in 1880 ; and another, Handley Carr Glyn
[Second Classic 1 864 (T.C.C.)] , Bishop of Durham in 1 90 1 .
He succeeded the Residency Chaplain, Mr. White, com-
mencing duty on the i8th May 1845. His efforts on
behalf of sanitation resulted in his invention of the first
practical earth-closet, a device which appears in text-
books of hygiene even to this day. The results were
not published, however, until 1863, when his paper was
read before a meeting of the Society of Arts on the
1 3th May, which subsequently appeared in their Journal.
Mr. Moule's name appears occasionally in the old records
until he left Singapore in 1851. Apparently he was not
quite to the liking of the Presbyterian inhabitants who
attended his ministrations, for they had a meeting in
November 1 846, at which they told him that they were
not wishing to reflect on him in any way, but would
much rather have a padre of their own. The next year
finds him writing to the P.W.D. to put up punkahs in
the church, for, as he quaintly put it, " the ladies have
to punkah themselves even during the time they are
on their knees " 1 Two years later we find him writing
a complaint to Government about the firing of salutes
'■50*,
DR. DAVID JAMES GAI,I,0\VAY.
CHOLERA MIXTURES 505
on Sundays, " so wanton a desecration of the Lord's
Day." Mr. Moule had several hvings in England, and
died in 1886 at the age of eighty-one.
The cholera epidemic of 1 85 1 lasted only from January
to May, but was rather serious, because many cases were
hidden, and those which were found would not go into
hospital. A stock mixture was kept ready at all the
country police stations, consisting of : tincture of
calumba 6 oz., compound tincture of cardamons 2 oz.,
aromatic spirits of ammonia 2 oz., compound tincture
of camphor 3 oz., tincture of capsicum i oz. Two
drachms of this mixture were to be taken in half a glass
of peppermint water every quarter of an hour — a good
working prescription even after a lapse of seventy
years ! At the same time the Government published
a cure for the disease, in four languages. The body had
to be briskly " champooed." Then a wineglassful of
neat brandy and black pepper had to be taken ; and
this was followed by a hot decoction made by boiling
a quarter of a pound of pounded ginger in half a pint of
water for ten minutes, straining, and adding one table-
spoonful of salt. The epidemic resulted in the projection
of waterworks for the town, so that the unfortunate
victims did not die in vain.
The next visitation (1862) was chiefly remarkable for
the great number of Chinese processions and the vast
amount of cracker firing which was indulged in.
The epidemic of 1873 lasted from July to September,
with 857 cases and 357 deaths, and was probably intro-
duced from Bangkok by the s.s. Chow Phya on the
2nd July, although, as so frequently has happened, cases
began in the Asylum almost immediately.
It was probably this epidemic which prompted the
Acting Master Attendant, Henry Ellis, to write to
Government on the 15th November 1873, suggesting a
lazaretto at St. John's Island. Mr. Ellis had served in
the Indian Navy from 1851 to 1863, when that service
was abolished. He was then Master Attendant at
Penang from 1867 to 1873, when he was transferred to
5o6 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
Singapore, and during his service it was made a S.S.
billet in 1882. His scheme included a steam cutter, a
floating police station, a hospital on St. John's, and a
quarantine burial-ground on Peak Island. These excel-
lent suggestions bore fruit, and a lazaretto was com-
pleted in November of the following year ( 1 874). Not a
whit too soon, for the s.s. Milton brought 1,300 Chinese
coolies that month with a bad cholera infection on
board. St. John's has remained the quarantine station
ever since ; but the Master Attendant's suggestion as to
the boarding of ships was dropped, and he had to bring
it up again in 1881. This roused the P.C.M.O., Dr.
Rowell, who said that perfectly effective measures to
exclude epidemic disease from Singapore by means of
quarantine were naturally impossible ; but he admitted
that the danger of disease entry might be reduced by the
intelligent inspection of ships and the isolation of
sources of infection. Consequently an apothecary for
boarding ships was sanctioned in 1883. He was also to
look after St. John's (which had then a staff of one
dresser and four coolies), as well as control any infectious
disease ashore ! A launch was purchased for him in
1884, and a Quarantine Ordinance was passed in 1886
(No. XIX of 1886); but the apothecary, Mr. S. A.
Reardon, was not appointed until 1894 or 1895, and Dr.
Rowell did both town and port health work himself.
.The treatment of cholera in 1877 consisted of the
frequent exhibition of dilute sulphuric acid in half-
drachm doses, and the inhalation, for an hour or two
at a time, of the fumes from burning sulphur and nitre.
The human frame is indeed long suffering ! Cholera
cases in the early days were treated in the wards of the
General or Pauper Hospitals. Then for many years
they were removed to the Government Infectious Diseases
Camp in Balestier Road. Finally the Municipahty
erected a commodious hospital for infectious diseases
in Moulmein Road, which was opened in July 191 3.
Returning again from the survey of cholera to the
doings of earlier years, we find a note in the records of
i
1-506]
K;VNDA>;G KURBAU lIOSriXAI, and surroundings in i8;8.
REGISTRATION ORDINANCES 507
1854 that Dr. Oxley brought eight bottles of Malacca
" hot-spring water " to be sent to Calcutta for analysis.
Many years later, in 1908 to be exact, a hot spring was
discovered in the swampy jungle beyond Seletar, twelve
miles along the Chan Chu Kang Road. It was found
to be water of an alkaline siliceous type, with a trace
of lithia and iron, and the chief constituents were
reported, on analysis by Dr. Thresh, of London, to con-
sist of sodium chloride 47*59 grains to the gallon,
siHca 773, calcium carbonate 4*06, and potassium
sulphate 375. The temperature at the outflow is
65° C. (149° F.) ; and the water is now largely bottled
for consumption.
In 1865 the cemetery in Bukit Timah Road was
opened, and the old Fort Canning one was closed. The
Municipality had bought the ground from Syed Abdullah
and C. R. Prinsep for $10,000, and a new grant had
been issued on the 22nd January 1864. The site was
consecrated by Bishop McDougal, of Sarawak, on the
15th November, but the first burial did not take place
until the 2nd April 1865, and is recorded as being that
of " John Findlay," single, aged 23, died of " locked-
jaw." The Registrar was at first the chief clerk in the
Treasury, but the registers were afterwards kept by
the Municipality, who have six volumes in their posses-
sion.
Following on the transfer of the Colony to the care
of the Colonial Office on the ist April 1867, a Births
and Deaths Registration Ordinance was passed
(XVIII of 1868), and registration began in May 1869.
The register books are kept in the P.C.M.O.'s office,
the births beginning from the 7th May and the deaths
from the ist May of that year.
During the next year the Contagious Diseases
Ordinance (XXIII of 1870) was added to the statute
book. It is well to recall the course of British action
in these matters. After the passing of the C.D.A. in
1864, which applied only to certain garrison districts,
select committees were appointed in 1868 and 1869 to
5o8 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
enquire into the working of the Act, and they " recom-
mended the cautious extension of the system of the
Act." The Royal Commission of 1870, subject to
certain modifications, were generally in favour of the
system of the Act ; and the House of Commons Com-
mittee of 1879 passed a majority report against their
repeal.
In Singapore a Committee, consisting of Mr. W. H.
Read ; the P.C.M.O., Dr. Randell ; the Postmaster-
General, Mr. Trotter ; the Protector of Chinese, Mr.
Pickering ; and Surgeon-Major O'Halloran, was ap-
pointed on the 2nd November 1876 to enquire into
the working of the Ordinance after six years' experience.
They sent in their report in February of the following
year, and their document concludes : " That the Ordi-
nance has been productive of good appears to be un-
doubted ; but it still requires many alterations to make
it effective, and its ultimate success must depend mainly
upon the discreet manner in which its provisions are
enforced."
The annual medical report for 1877 says : " There
can be no doubt that the introduction of the Ordinance
has been of much benefit to the women themselves."
That for 1883 remarks: " It is a matter of much
satisfaction to be thus assured that the introduction of
the Act into the Settlements has resulted in a steady
reduction of the diseases which it is intended to combat,
as shewn by the above facts and by the returns from the
several hospitals, both Mihtary and Civil." In 1887
Dr. Tripp reports : " The results are exceedingly
satisfactory, and show how much benefit the public has
derived from the provisions of the C.D.O., especially
when considered in relation with the records of the civil
and mihtary hospitals in the Colony." But the Ordi-
nance was repealed ontheistj anuary 1888. Thereafter
disease rapidly increased. The percentage of infections
amongst those examined had been reduced to about
fourteen in 1878, and steadily gone down to under
four during 1885 and the subsequent years. The vol-
HEALTH OFFICERS 509
untary examinations of the year following the repeal
of the Ordinance disclosed a percentage of 14" 5 infected
in Singapore and nineteen in Penang ! Conditions
became so bad that, in April 1890, Tan Tock Seng's
Hospital had to close its doors except to the very worst
cases of disease resulting from the repeal of the Ordi-
nance. The most recent legislation is the Protection of
Women and Girls Ordinance (XIII of 1896), which came
into operation in November of that year, but that
Ordinance deals with other aspects.
The annual report for 1873 by Dr. Randell, the
P.C.M.O., was apparently the first medical report to be
printed, and appeared nearly two years late 1 The
P.C.M.O. at that time, and for years afterwards, was
Health Officer, in addition to his administrative work.
Singapore Municipality was divided into two sanitary
districts — City and Kampong Glam, and there
were two Indian Inspectors of Nuisances. It was not
until the 13th May 1891 that the Municipal Com-
missioners proposed to appoint a Health Officer of their
own. The first to hold the appointment was Dr. Charles
Eardley Dumbleton, who had been Deputy Health Officer
to the parish of St. James's, Westminster. He left for
Singapore on the 15th December 1891 ; but owing to
ill-health, Dr. Gilmore Ellis had to do most of his work,
and Dr. Dumbleton resigned in August 1893, and died in
Australia soon afterwards. Dr. Middleton was appointed
in January 1 894, and the progressive improvements in
the sanitary conditions of the city are due to his incep-
tion. A Deputy Health Officer was sanctioned in 1897,
and Dr. J. A. R. Glennie took up the post on the
8th November. In the early part of the present century
the mortality rate continued very high, so much so that,
at the end of 1905, the Legislative Council asked for a
Commission to report on the great mortality and the
sanitary conditions causing it. In consequence of this.
Professor W. J. R. Simpson, Professor of Hygiene at
King's College, London, and formerly for many years
Municipal Health Officer at Calcutta, was selected to
510 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
enquire into local conditions. He arrived on the 12th
May 1906, and left in the middle of August. His
exhaustive report contained very valuable and useful
suggestions.
The subject of Infantile Mortality is one which has
largely exercised the Government in recent years. This
annual rate is a very delicate index to the health of a
community. The figure for Singapore had reached
345' S by the year 191 1, but dechned yearly until 191 7,
when it again touched the three-hundreds. In the latter
year the rate by nationalities was :■ European, 93' 2 ;
Chinese, 294; Malay, 4^,2' 6 ; and Indian, 2o6"s. For
purposes of comparison it may be mentioned that the
infantile mortality rate for England and Wales was 106
in the year 19 10.
The local situation was met by the appointment of a
Municipal Nurse in October 19 10, to secure information
regarding the conditions of the early life of infants and
to advise the mothers. Miss Blundell took up the
appointment. A system of instructing and licensing
midwives was also inaugurated. Two were so licensed
in 1 9 1 1 , after passing an examination, and seven in 1 9 1 2 .
During the latter year, Miss Blundell was joined by Miss
McNeary, and they paid 8,855 visits and saw 3,449
infants, while the midwives attended 140 cases.
The Midwives Ordinance came into force in the
Municipality on the ist July 191 7, and Dr. Violet Burne
gave six months' valuable help, paying 1,233 visits to
supplement the work of Nurse Samson and Mrs. Black.
Seventy-nine untrained midwives (50 per cent. Malay
and 39 per cent. Chinese) were brought to light, and
twenty-seven of them were put on class D of the
register.
In view of the exceptional infantile mo;'tality rate
amongst the Malay races, the remarks of Mrs. Burne on
various Malay puerperal customs are of great interest.
The average Malay baby is at birth only about five or
six pounds in weight. It is washed in tepid water, often
containing a large nail and a nut (Buah Kras), which is
CURIOUS MALAY CUSTOMS 5"
supposed to make the infant strong, and to prevent con-
vulsions and scabies. A sireh leaf, heated at the fire,
is applied to the abdomen, chest, and thighs, and is
supposed to prevent the entrance of " angin " — as
chopped onions are placed on the forehead of a Javanese
baby. The arms are then bound to the side by a strip
of sarong (Kain-lampin), and a larger piece (Kain-
bedong) is then wrapped round it from shoulders to feet
like a mummy. This custom is continued for two or three
months, and its origin has not been satisfactorily ex-
plained; butthe childseemscertainlytosleepcomfortably.
At first the baby is put on the floor with a small pillow
under its head, but afterwards it is housed in a slung cot.
The number 44 seems to be in some way connected
with Malay customs. The infant is occasionally placed
on a pile of forty-four sarongs, one of which is removed
daily ; when the pile has vanished, the child may be
taken out, has its head shaved, and may eat rice. The
Javanese often give bananas and milk on the day of
birth, while the Malays are fond of a mixture of gula
lebah (honey) and Minyah sapi (suet) ; but they do
not feed the infants at regular intervals, only when
they cry.
With regard to the general vital statistics of the
Settlement the birth-rate in recent years has fluctuated
between twenty-one and twenty-three per mille ; and
the death-rate from thirty-eight to fifty-one, with an
average of about forty-four per mille.
For many years of the Colony's existence the four
chief causes of mortality have been : phthisis, malaria,
dysentery, and beriberi.
Beriberi has been responsible for thousands of deaths.
Its incidence, as disclosed by the admissions to hospital,
has shown a remarkable periodicity, with maxima about
every four years. This fact points more towards a bac-
terial origin than to a " deficiency of vitamines " — which
is the most recently accepted etiological theory. The
latter theory is also controverted by the behaviour of the
disease in Singapore Gaol. It first broke out in that
k
512 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
institution in 1875, and occurred annually until 1884,
when it died out. From 1885 to 1897 (twelve years) no
cases occurred. A further epidemic of 124 cases began
in 1 90 1, and forty-nine of them were remoyed to St.
John's in November and discharged cured within two
months. The next year it was still prevalent in the
gaol, and thirty-four cases were sent to temporary
buildings on Lazarus Island in March. But malaria
became very prevalent amongst them in July and August,
and a life-prisoner escaped, so that the remaining thirty-
three were sent back to gaol on the 25th September.
There is no doubt, however, that the ordinary polished
white rice has some connection (probably bacterial) with
the disease, for the substitution of under-milled parboiled
rice in the dietary, in November 1904, resulted in a
prompt reduction of incidence and mortality.
About the year 1887 the first Government Analyst
seems to have been appointed, a Mr. G. H. Stephenson,
who had been Manager of the Straits Dispensary. His
office was the building at the corner of Hill Street,
adjacent to the Masonic Hall, which had previously been
the office of the Registrar-General. He resigned in
September 1889, and Wilham Norman Bott, Ph.D.
(Heidelberg), F.C.S., the new Government Science
Master at Raffles Institution, replaced him. Mr. George
H. B. Matthews — if memory is correct, a son of the
County Analyst of Gloucester — succeeded Dr. Bott in
1898, but left within a year. Mr. P. J. Burgess, M.A.,
F.I.C., was the next holder of the office,from 1900 to 1906,
when Dr. Frankland Dent, M.Sc, Ph.D., F.I.C. (who
had been appointed Assistant Government Analyst
the previous year), succeeded him ; and the Analyst's
Laboratory was shortly afterwards moved to new and
more commodious quarters near the Medical School at
Sepoy Lines.
In 1889 an outbreak of rabies occurred, and three
cases of hydrophobia were reported. The previous
history of the Settlement mentions remarkably little
hydrophobia. Two fatal cases had occurred in February
MEDICAL ASSOCIATION 513
1847, foui" months and two months respectively after
the patients had been bitten.
In 1 890 rabies began to spread, and got worse again in
1 89 1. Three cases of hydrophobia died in the former
year and four in the latter. The island was divided up
into town and country districts, and a campaign of dog
destruction was carried out by Mr. G. P. Owen and Mr.
D. H. Wade. A " Pasteur " Institute was opened in
Saigon that year, but no outbreak of any note has
occurred since.
On the I ith March 1890 a meeting of Medical Practi-
tioners, attended by Drs. Galloway, Mugliston, Leask,
and von Tunzelmann, founded the Association known as
the Straits Medical Association. The other original
members were Dr. Gilmore Ellis, Dr. Tripp, Dr. Simon,
Dr. Murray Robertson, Dr. Jansz, and Dr. Koehn. Five
journals were published up to 1894, and in December
of that year the Association became affiliated to the
British Medical Association, of which it was thenceforth
known as the Straits Branch.
From February to April of the year 1890 Singapore
was visited by an epidemic of influenza. It did not
return until 191 8, when two short visitations (during the
world-wide pandemic) raised the death-rate from
pneumonia, but did not at any time give cause for alarm.
In 1 894, plague, which had been extending southwards,
reached Hongkong for the first time. The commence-
ment of effective quarantine in the Straits Settlements
may be said to date from then. From June to
September immigration was prohibited entirely. For-
tunately plague never spread in Singapore to any extent ;
and, though a few cases have been reported nearly
every year since that time, yet the annual total has not
exceeded the low range of five to thirty-five cases. The
entry of the disease into India in 1896, however, must
have been effected by rat-infested cargo from Hongkong.
The plague deaths in India from 1896 to the end of 1904
alone totalled over three millions ; and we can but
have a haunting thought that, had every ship been
1—34
514 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
fumigated properly when passing through Singapore, this
waste of Hfe might perhaps have been obviated. Singa-
pore, although it escaped any serious visitation, lost the
services of two valuable officers in 1908, Dr. Raikes, the
Resident Medical Officer at the Quarantine Station, and
Assistant Surgeon Wray, who both died of plague
contracted in the course of their duty.
In 1905 much-needed legislation was passed, to wit :
the Medical Registration Ordinance and the Poisons
Ordinance. The same year saw also the foundation of a
Medical School.
The Medical School is an institution of comparatively
recent growth. The initiation was due to the late Dr.
Simon, who recommended (in 1889) that a Medical
School should be established, owing to the difficulty
experienced in obtaining apothecaries (i.e. assistant
surgeons) for Government Service. The idea began to
mature in the following year, when, as a beginning, it
was decided that the first two years of the curriculum
should be passed in Singapore and the final two or three
years in Madras. A few aspirants appeared, but not
one could pass the preliminary examination, and only two
students passed in 1891 ! So the idea had to be aban-
doned, and the Straits Government sent their students
to Madras.
Thirteen years later a petition was addressed to
Governor Sir John Anderson by the leading Chinese and
other non-European communities of Singapore, headed
by the Honourable Tan Jiak Kim, praying that a
Medical School might be established. The proposition
was favourably viewed. The public subscribed over
$80,000 ; the Government gave the building and site
of the Female Lunatic Asylum, which had been moved to
PasirPanjang ; and Ordinance XV of 1905 incorporated
the Council of the School.
The first session began on the 3rd July 1905, twenty-
three students having been enrolled. The first Principal
of the school was Dr. Gerald Dudley Freer, ex-Colonial
Surgeon Resident of Penang. The formal opening took
MEDICAL SCHOOL 515
place on the 28th September by Sir John Anderson.
The subsequent history of the school has been one of
steady progress under the guiding hand of the late
Dr. R. D. Keith, and, recently, that of Dr. McAlister.
By the generosity of Mr. Tan Teck Guan a new building,
comprisingreading-room, museum, office, etc., was opened
in 191 1. In 1 91 2 the standard of the Preliminary
Examination became that of the Senior Cambridge
Certificate ; and during the same year the Committee
of the King Edward VII Memorial Fund handed over
to the Council of the school the sum of $124,855 to
found a King Edward professorship. The fund was
allocated to a Chair of Physiology, of which the first and
present occupant is Dr. James Argyll Campbell, M.D.,
D.Sc. Up to that time the School had been called
"The Straits and Federated Malay States Government
Medical School," but the title was changed in 191 3, by
Ordinance, to that of " King Edward VII Medical
School, Singapore." A commodious hostel was erected
at Government expense in 1916 for the use of F.M.S.
students.
When the Centenary of Singapore closed, 261 students
had been on the matriculation books, and ninety-five
had obtained the licence to practise after completing
their course. Since 191 6 the L.M.S. of the school has
been recognised by the General Medical Council of Great
Britain as a qualification entitling the holder to be
admitted to the Colonial List of the Medical Register.
In 1907 a new cemetery was opened on the 15th
December by the Municipality at Bidadari, as the one
at Bukit Timah Road was being closed. The remains
of the respected resident, Mr. George Mildmay Dare,
were the first to occupy this peaceful spot, in which
5,936 burials had taken place only ten years later.
In 191 1 the subject of malaria came very much to the
fore. For the week ending the loth June deaths from
malaria alone amounted to 127. An Anti-Malarial
Committee was therefore appointed, and $10,000 was
voted for preliminary work on the campaign. Dr.
5i6 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
Finlayson was seconded for two years' special duty, and
a certain amount of work has been proceeding ever since
in carrying out surveys of breeding grounds and the
works necessary to reclaim them. With regard to
malaria, more, perhaps, than to any disease, modern
research has revolutionised medicine. As we look back
to-day to our predecessors groping in the dark, it is
often hard to restrain a smile at the quaint conceptions
they indulged in. A paper written by a Government
medical officer about the year 1840 said that malaria,
in his opinion, was undoubtedly due to rottingpineapples,
and that this theory was borne out by the unhealthiness
of the Signal Station staff at Blakan Mati, which was in
those days covered with pineapples. The well-known
Dr. Little, however, wrote a long paper to Logan's Journal
in 1848 disproving this, and proving, as he thought con-
clusively, that the disease was due to the effluvia given
off by decomposing coral at low tide, especially the type
known as Batavia, Jungle, or Remittent fever (Diman
KapiMu), which had a mortality of 33 per cent.
This ends the brief review of Singapore's medical
struggles. What the future may hold, who can tell ?
In British hands, with the accumulated experience of
centuries, and the lamp of science burning more brightly
than ever before, there would seem but few clouds across
the dim dawn of the coming day —
" Behind whose twilight wait unseen
A perfect earth, perfected man.
To finish all that we began.
To be what we would fain have been."
Bibliography.
Singapore Chronicle, March 1831.
Free Press, September 1837.
Asiatic Journal, q.s.
Council Proceedings, 1874, 1875, 1877, 1880.
Annual Medical Reports, q.s.
Journal of the Straits Medical Association.
Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 61 of 1912,
64 of 1913.
HEADS OF MEDICAL DEPARTMENT 517
Journal oj the Indian Archipelago.
Anecdotal History of Singapore, C. B. Buckley, 1902.
Early Colonial Records, vols. 57, 108, 119, 145, 185, 190, 208, 209,
271, 281, 294, 245, 272, 285, 215, 219, 354, 340, 343, 348, 319,
321, 361, 383, 396, 306, 309, 310, 334, 351, 352, 362, 370, 404,
416, 401, 402, 434, 445, 449, 473, 480, 433, 447, 411, 464, 474,
475. 477. 465. 487. 492, 453. 485. 533. 517. 510, 512. 501, 521.
525. 541. 539. 551. 552, 503, 512, 547, 513, 510, 592, 679, 684.
614, 649, 696, 627, 709, 732, 760, 704, 710, 737, 810, 947, 936,
946.
Heads of Medical Department
1. Prendergast, Sub-Asst. Surg. Thomas: Assistant in General
Hospital, Penang, April 1817 ; Acting Surg.-in-charge Singapore
and troops.
2. Montgomerie, Asst. Surg. William : 19th Jan. 1819-May 1819 ;
returned to Madras on V.P.A. 7th Dec. 1822 (see below) ;
Acting Surg.-in-charge Singapore, May 1819-March 1826.
3. Alexander, G., M.D. : Ex-Superintending Surg., Penang ;
became Superintending Surg., S.S., on the incorporation of
the Settlements in March 1826 ; left for good in Oct. 1828.
4. Conwell, Asst. Surg. W. E. E., M.D. : Acting Superintending
Surg., S.S., from Feb. to Sept. 1828.
5. Montgomerie, Asst. Surg. William (see above) : sent from Bengal
to Penang in 1829, with the title of Senior Surgeon, S.S. ;
made Singapore his headquarters, 24th Dec. 1834 ; 1837^
2oth Sept., Sheriff of the three Settlements ; retired I7tb
Jan. 1844 to England ; died at Barrackpore, 21st March 1856.
6. Oxley, Asst. Surg. Thomas, B.A. : 1825, 15th April, on Penang
Establishment ; 1830, 13th Feb., Asst. Surg, to Residency ;
1830, Oct., transferred to Singapore vice Dr. Sim, deceased;
1838, transferred to Malacca (under protest, as all his savings
had been sunk in spice plants) ; 1841, 12th Oct., returned to
Singapore; 1842, Sept., Sheriff for the three Settlements;
1844, 17th Jan., Senior Surg., S.S. ; 1847, 31st Jan., promoted
to rank of Surgeon ; 1857, 23rd Feb., retired to England ;
1886, March, died.
7. Rose, Asst. Surg. Joseph : Surg.-Major Bengal Service ; 1857,
Feb., Senior Surg., S.S.
8. Randell, Henry Lloyd : Stafi Surg. Imperial Medical Establish-
ment ; 1867, Acting Col. Asst. Surg. ; 1869, Col. Surg. ; 1871,
Senior Surg., S.S., vice Rose ; 1873, title changed to Principal
Civil Medical Officer ; 1877, died.
9. Anderson, Andrew Fergusson, M.D., J. P. : 1869, Asst. Col.
Surg. ; 1874, July-Sept., Acting P.C.M.O. ; 1880, 14th Dec,
retired on account of ill-health.
5i8 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
10. Rowell, Thomas Irvine, M.C., J.P. : 1868, May, Acting Col.
Surg. ; 1877. 1st July, P.C.M.O. and P.H.O. ; 1878, Nov.,
member of Sir William Robinson's Mission to Siam to invest
the King with G.C.M.G. ; 1881, Dec, Reg.-Gen. of Births and
Deaths ; 1888, ist Jan., President Municipality ; 1889, April,
health broke down ; 1890, Oct., retired.
11. Simon, Maximilian Frank, M.D. (St. Andrews), M.R.C.S.,
L.R.C.P. : 1848, 30th Jan., bom ; ed. St. Thomas's ; 1870,
Asst. Surg. International Field Hospital at Bingen on the
Rhine ; 1871, 2nd March, Gov. Medical Officer, Jamaica ;
1875, Aug., Asst. Col. Surg., Malacca ; 1879, ist April, Col.
Surg., Singapore ; 1880, 14th Dec, Col. Surg. Resdt. ; i8gi,
ist Jan., P.C.M.O. ; 1900, gth June, farewell dinner on retire-
ment ; 1902, 17th July, died in London.
12. Mugliston, Thomas Crighton, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P. ; 1854, 28th
Feb., born; 1876-8, Surg. R.N. ; 1887, Municipal Commissioner,
Singapore ; 1888, i6th July, Col. Surg., Singapore ; 1890,
Feb.-Aug., Acting P.C.M.O. for Dr. Simon ; 1901, April-
Dec, Acting P.C.M.O. for Dr. Kerr ; 1901, ist March, Col.
Surg., Penang ; 1908, 5th Jan., retired on pension.
13. Kerr, Thomas Sharp. M.B., CM. (Edin.), B.Sc (Public Health) :
1857, 27thApril, born; 1881, June-Oct., Acting Col. Surg. General
Hospital ; 1883, 19th Dec, appointed Col. Surg. Resdt., Penang ;
1891, ist Jan., Col. Surg. Resdt., Singapore ; 1893, 1st Jan.,
Col. Surg., Penang ; 1900, P.C.M.O., S.S. ; 1901, April-Dec,
sick-leave ; 1902, Aug., invalided home ; 1902, Dec, retired
on pension.
14. Leask, John, M.B., CM. (Edin.) : 1856, nth July, born ; 1882-3,
Dist. Surg., Natal ; 1890, 8th Feb., Acting Surg. Resdt.,
Singapore; 1891, ist Jan., Col. Surg., Malacca; 1893, 21st
Feb., Col. Surg. Resdt., Penang ; 1897, ist Jan., Col. Surg.
Resdt., Singapore ; Aug. 1902-July 1903, Acting P.C.M.O. ;
retired on pension.
15. McDowell, Donald Keith, C.M.G. (1901), L.R.C.S., L.R.C.P.
(Edin.), L.F.P.S. (Glasgow) : 1867, i6th Sept., born ; 1894, 2nd
Jan., Medical Of&cer, Leeward Islands ; 1895, 2nd Nov., Asst.
Col. Surg., Gold Coast ; 1895, Ashanti Expedition ; 1896-7,
Lagos Expeditionary Force ; 1898, Chief Medical Officer,
Gold Coast ; 1900, 31st March, P.M.O., Northern Nigeria ;
1900, P.M.O. Ashanti Field Force ; 1903, ist July, P.C.M.O.,
S.S. ; 1905, 1st Sept., Insp. General Hospitals, F.M.S., in addition ;
1910, retired on pension.
16. Ellis, Wilham Gilmore, M.D. (Brux.), M.R.C.S., L.S.A. : i860,
15th June, born; ed. Bart.'s; R.M.O. and Sc Master,
Wellington College ; Ship's Surg. E. Extens. Telegraph Co. ;
Medical Officer Middlesex Couaty Asylum, Banstead ; 1888,
LIBRARY AND MUSEUM 519
6th June, Medical Superintendent Lunatic Asylum, Singapore ;
1910, ist Jan., P.C.M.O., S.S. ; 1910, 30th June, Official
Member Leg. Council, S.S. ; 1917, 8th Oct., died General
Hospital, Singapore, and buried with military honours.
17. Croucher, Francis B., M.B., CM. : 1866, 30th Nov., bom ;
1893, 15th Oct., House Surg., Singapore ; 1897, ist Jan., Col.
Surg., Malacca ; 1908, 23rd Sept., Senior Medical Officer,
Penang ; Feb. 1911-Feb. 1912, Acting P.C.M.O., S.S. ; 1911,
28th March, Senior Medical Officer General Hospital, Singapore ;
1914, 1st Jan., title changed to Chief Medical Officer, Singapore ;
Oct. 1917-July 1918, Acting P.C.M.O.
18. Lucy, Sidney Herbert Reginald, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P. : 1868,
1st July, born ; 1894, 7th Sept., Dist. Surg., Perak ; 1897,
i6th Aug., Dist. Surg., Selangor ; 1903, ist Jan., State Surg.,
Pahang ; 1905, ist June, Col. Surg. Resdt., Penang ; 1908,
ist Jan., Senior Medical Officer, Penang ; 1910, ist April,
Senior Medical Officer, Perak; 1911, ist Jan., Senior Health
Officer (Federal) ; 1918, 20th July, P.C.M.O., S.S.
RAFFLES LIBRARY AND MUSEUM, SINGAPORE
By Dr. R. Hanitsch, Ph.D., formerly Director
The history of a library and museum in Singapore
readily falls into three periods, commencing respectively
as follows :
(i) From its foundation, in 1823, as an integral part
of the Singapore Institution (later called the
Raffles Institution) ;
(2) From the establishment, in 1844, of the Singa-
pore Library, a proprietary concern, supported
by a number of shareholders, in connection with
which in 1849 a museum was formed ;
(3) From the taking over by Government, in 1874,
both of Library and Museum, henceforth called
the Raffles Library and Museum.
1823-44
The conception of a library and museum for Singapore
dates back to the ist April 1823, when, under the presi-
520 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
dency of Sir Stamford Raffles, a meeting of the principal
inhabitants of the town was held at the Residency House,
to consider the establishment of a Malay College in
Singapore, and to transfer to this city the Anglo-Chinese
College in Malacca, then in charge of the distinguished
Chinese scholar and missionary, the Rev. Dr. R.
Morrison, the two schools to be united under the general
designation of the Singapore Institution.
Raffles opened the meeting (see article " Singapore
Institution" in the appendix to his Memoir), and sub-
mitted, in the form of a lengthy minute (reprinted in the
appendix to the fourth annual report, 1837-8, of the
Singapore Institution Free School), his ideas as to the
functions of a Malayan College in Singapore. Dr.
Morrison, in supporting Raffles, said, in the course of a
short speech : " This (viz. the expediency to found
such a College) being assented to, it must further be
observed that there are means of diffusing knowledge
which will apply equally to Chinese and Malay students ;
such as a European Library, an extensive Museum,
scientific lectures delivered in English."
Apparently no time was lost in bringing these ideas
to fulfilment. For in the list of officers, appointed on the
same date. Dr. Morrison appears as first Librarian of
the General Library, and Dr. Collie both as Professor
of Chinese and Librarian (see page 76 in the appendix
to Raffles 's Memoir), whilst we find as one of the
objects of the Institution " to collect the scattered
literature and traditions of the country, with whatever
may illustrate their laws and customs, and to publish
and to circulate in a correct form the most important of
these " (ibid, page 79). Soon after, on the 15th April
1823, " Mr. (T.) Maxwell, as Secretary to the Institution,
is requested to take charge of the Library and Museum
of the Institution until suitable buildings may be erected,
and to act as Librarian during the absence of Dr. Mor-
rison " (ibid, page 84). At the same meeting the
Secretary submitted an account of the subscriptions up
to date, " showing a balance of $17,495 in favour of the
EARLY DAYS 521
Institution and Colleges, besides a monthly subscription
of $300 for the Schools, and of $2 5 per annum on account
of the Library " (ibid, page 83). The new Librarian was,
no doubt, expected to make up in enthusiasm what he
lacked in funds.
We find the next reference to a library and museum
in the annual reports of the Singapore Free School, of
which the third report (1836-7) is the earliest accessible
to me. On page 8 there is a short list of books presented
to the Singapore School, with the remark : " The few
books which form the School Library are in constant
circulation among the boys and their friends." On
page 9 we read that " funds will be required to furnish a
library and museum, in which books given to the institu-
tion and all such specimens of the natural history of
these regions as can be collected shall be kept."
In the fourth annual report ( 1 837-8), page 1 3, of what
is now called the Singapore Institution Free School we
read : " The number of volumes already in the library
is 392. The principle upon which the library is founded
is as follows : Free admission is given to everyone. All
subscribers and donors to the Institution, and the
teachers and scholars therein, are entitled to remove
books from the Library for perusal, and any other party
may acquire the same right on a monthly payment to
the Librarian of 25 cents. The formation of a Museum
in connection with the Library is an object still contem-
plated by your Committee, and though a commencement
has not yet been made, your Committee confidently
hope this will not continue to be the case much
longer."
On page 23 of the same report there is a sort of
prospectus : "Singapore Institution Library and Museum
— formed and maintained by donations of books, money,
specimens of natural and artificial produce, etc. etc.
The Library already consists of 370 volumes, many of
which are highly interesting, and gladly perused by
the youths in the school. Donations thankfully re-
ceived."
k
522 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
And finally, on pages 59-71, there is a " Catalogue of
Books in the Singapore Institution Library," with the
statement that " The following is the form of label
inserted in the books :
" SINGAPORE INSTITUTION LIBRARY AND
MUSEUM
" Formed and maintained by donations of books,
money, specimens of natural productions and objects
of art, etc. etc.
"ADMISSION FREE
" Subscribers and donors to the Institution, and the
teachers and scholars therein, are entitled to remove
books from the Library for perusal, and any other party
may acquire the same right on a monthly payment to
the Librarian of 25 cents.
" Days allowed for perusal, and a fine to be
levied of cents for each day kept beyond that
period. If lost or injured, the value of the volume or set
to which it belongs is to be paid."
With the issue of this catalogue and book label we
may consider the library as safely launched. However,
the chief value of this fourth annual report lies in the fact
that it contains a reprint of Raffles 's " Minute on the
Establishment of a Malayan College at Singapore," of
the ist April 1823, as copies of the original pamphlet
containing it were scarce even at that early date ( 1 838).
The reprint consists of eighteen closely printed pages,
followed by eight pages giving the " suggestions " made
by Dr. Morrison, and Rev. Mr. Hutchings, H.C. Chaplain,
Penang, in reply to Raffles's minute."
The fifth annual report (1838-9) states that 297
volumes had been lent out during the year, " chiefly to
scholars " ; and it gives a list of the monthly subscribers,
thirty-three in all, which it will be interesting to re-
produce, as it contains so many names familiar even
to-day.
SUBSCRIBERS TO LIBRARY
523
Sp. Dols. Sp
Dols.
Messrs. Almeida & Sons . ' 2 Mr. McMicking .
2
Mr. Bonham
2 „ M. J. Martin
2
„ Boustead
5 „ G. Martin .
2
„ Brennand
2 „ Napier
2
„ Church
3 Messrs. Rappa & Co.
I
,, Coleman
4 Mr. Rodyk
I
,, Connolly
2 „ T. Scott
2
„ Crane
2 „ W. Scott
2
., Caldwell
I „ W. Spottlswoode .
2
„ Carnie
2 „ Schwabe
2
,, Fraser .
2 „ Shaw .
2
„ Guthrie
2 „ A. Stronach
I
„ Hay
t „ T. Stronach
t
„ Hewetson
I „ Whitehead .
a
„ Johnston
3 „ Zechareah .
2
,. Leffler .
I „ W. McDonald
2
Dr. Montgomerie
^ Sp. DoUars
65
In the balance sheet we find" Ramsammy, Librarian,"
with a yearly salary of $48. There is a considerable
list of books presented, and the report closes with a
catalogue of books, seventeen pages, in which fiction is
conspicuous by its absence. The Museum is not
mentioned in this report.
The sixth annual report (1839-40) shows a slight drop
in the number of subscribers, viz. thirty, against thirty-
three.
The seventh annual report (i 840-1) acknowledges
"a small addition to the School Library, almost entirely
through the continued patronage of the Committee of
Public Instruction at Calcutta," but regrets that " the
Library is not so much frequented as it deserves to be,
though it is open to all persons of respectable character,
free of any charge."
The eighth annual report (1842-3) states that the
" large rooms in the main building are now exclusively
appropriated to the general purposes of the Institution,
the one being used as a committee-room, the other as
a library." Further donations of books are acknow-
ledged from the Committee of Public Instruction,
Calcutta, and the usual catalogue of books is appended.
The reports for the years 1843-4 and 1844-5 are
issued in one volume. They contain the significant
statement that " the western wing of the Institution
524 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
has been allowed for the use of the Singapore Library,
and the books belonging to the Institution Library have
been lent to the Managing Committee of that body, for
as long a period as they may require the accommodation,
during the time the Singapore Library is kept on the
premises." Thus ends the first period in the history of
the Library.
1 844-74
So far the Library had distinctly been a school library,
though it was open to any one on payment of a small fee
(twenty-five cents a month) ; but whether the Museum
existed only in name, and whether and what specimens
it contained, cannot be gathered from the school reports.
The second period of the history of the Library (and
later on of the Museum as well) dates from the 13th
August 1 844, when, at the offices of Mr. Thomas O. Crane,
a meeting was held to consider the proposal of the estab-
lishment of a public library in Singapore, to be called
the Singapore Library. Mr. W. Napier was called to
the chair, and the following resolutions were passed :
" That a Public Library be formed, to be called
' the Singapore Library,' of which the subscribers
to the proposal for its establishment be Proprietors ;
" That besides the Secretary, the following be a
Committee for the management of the Library : W.
Napier, L. Fraser, R. McEwen, A. Logan, C. A.
Dyce, and H. C. Caldwell ;
" That the Committee apply to the Trustees of
the Singapore Institution for the use of a room in
that building ;
" That Mr. J. C. Smith, Head-master, be requested
to act as Secretary and Librarian ;
" That Mr. W. H. Read be requested to act as
Treasurer ;
" That the Hon. Colonel W. J. Butterworth, C.B.,
Governor of the Straits Settlements, be requested
to accept the office of President, and the Hon.
T. Church, Resident Councillor, that of Vice-
President ;
LIBRARY RULES 525
" That these resolutions be pubhshed in the
Singapore Free Press, and that until the expiry of
one month from such pubUcation shareholders shall
be admitted at an entrance money of thirty dollars,
and that thereafter the entrance money be forty
dollars."
Of the lengthy rules which were passed at the same
meeting we quote only the following :
" For the purpose of at once forming a fund to pur-
chase a stock of standard books and to meet other
preliminary expenses a contribution of thirty Sp.
dollars shall be paid by every Shareholder on his admis-
sion, and each shareholder, while he resides in Singa-
pore, shall also contribute monthly a sum of $2.50 to
the funds of the Library to meet the current outlay.
All persons who may hereafter desire to become pro-
prietors shall be balloted for at a General Meeting of
Shareholders, and, on admission, shall pay such entrance
money as shall be annually fixed at the General Meeting
of Proprietors. The Library shall be considered a per-
manent public institution, and shall only be dissolved
on the resolution to that effect of three-fourths of the
whole of the Proprietors. With a view to allow officers
of the Regiment and other residents not inclined to
become Proprietors to participate in the benefit of this
Institution, an additional class of subscribers shall be
formed, who shall be admitted in the following manner,
and shall be designated Class II. They shall write
their names in a book to be kept by the Librarian for
that purpose ; the Librarian shall immediately prepare
a circular notifying the application to the Committee.
Strangers or merely temporary residents shall be allowed
to subscribe in the same mode as subscribers of Class II,
but with this distinction, that their application shall
also be signed by a resident subscriber, who shall
guarantee the due return of all books, etc., received
by them from the Library. Such subscribers shall
constitute Class III. Subscribers of Classes II and III
shall pay a monthly subscription of $2.50."
The book in which intending subscribers of Classes II
and III signed their names is still in existence. It
526 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
comprises the years 1845-52, and also contains the
signatures of the visitors to the Library for that period.
The " Proposal for the Estabhshment of the PubUc
Library to be called the ' Singapore Library,' " which
had apparently been circulated previous to the first
meeting, and which contains an appeal for the gift of
books and money, has the following interesting para-
graph about the foundation of the Library in Penang :
" It was thus that, many years ago, in Prince of
Wales's Island, the public spirit and intelligence of the
inconsiderable body of gentlemen who then constituted
its society put that comparatively small Settlement in
possession of a library containing most of the standard
works of English, and many of foreign ' literature,' and
not unworthy of the older and more important Presi-
dencies. Even before a single volume had been ordered
from Europe, the different members of the Community,
by each giving largely from his own private collection
of books, had placed the Library on a respectable
footing."
The following are the names of the original share-
holders, thirty-four in number, a list of whom is given
both in the Minute Book and in the Singapore Free
Press of the 15th August 1844. To the names I have
added their trade or profession, and their business or
private address, taken from the Straits Times Almanack,
Calendar, and Directory for 1846. The addresses are
very interesting, showing that Kampong Glam was at
the time a favourite residential district I
Lieut.-Col. W. J. Butterworth, C.B., Governor of the
S.S., Government House.
Hon'ble Thomas Church, Resident Councillor, Esplanade.
Captain D. H. Stevenson.
WilUam Napier, Notary Public and Law Agent.
William Renshaw George, Proprietor Free Press, Deputy
Sheriff, Kampong Glam.
H. C. Caldwell, Senior Sworn Clerk, Court of Judicature,
Victoria Street.
ORIGINAL SHAREHOLDERS 527
Lewis Fraser, Partner, Maclaine, Fraser& Co., Kampong
Glam.
John P. Gumming, Partner, Maclaine, Fraser & Co.
Gilbert A. Bain, Partner, Maclaine, Fraser & Co., Kam-
pong Glam.
James Guthrie, Partner, Guthrie & Co.
Thomas R. Kerr, Assistant, Guthrie & Co., High Street.
R. P. Saul.
John Purvis, Partner, John Purvis & Co., Sheriff,
Kampong Glam.
Thomas Dunman, Deputy Superintendent of Police,
North Bridge Road.
Abraham Logan, Notary Public and Editor Free Press,
Hermitage.
J. R. Logan, Notary Public and Law Agent, Hermitage.
Michie Forbes Davidson, Partner, Shaw, Whitehead & Co.
J. C. Drysdale, Partner, A. L. Johnston & Co.
Frommurze Sorabjee, Parsee Merchant, Commercial
Square.
Charles A. Dyce, Assistant, Martin, Dyce & Co.
Thomas Owen Crane, Merchant and Agent, Tanjong
Cattong.
Robert Little, Surgeon, Martin & Little, Commercial
Square.
John Myrtle, Partner, George Armstrong <& Co.
M. J. Martin, Surgeon, Martin & Little.
William Henry Read, Partner, A. L. Johnston & Co.,
Kampong Glam.
Robert McEwen, Partner, W. R. Paterson & Co.,
Kampong Glam.
William Blundell, Partner, Middletons, Blundell & Co.,
Orchard Road.
Alfred Middleton, Partner, Middletons, Blundell & Co.
C. H. Harrison, Middletons, Blundell & Co., Orchard
Road.
Joaquim d'Almeida, Partner, d'Almeida, Sons & Co.,
Kampong Glam.
Gilbert McMicking, Assistant, Syme & Co., Kampong
Glam.
528 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
E. J. Gilman, Partner, Hamilton, Gray & Co.
John Colson Smith, Head-master, Institution.
Samuel Congalton, Commanding H.C. steamer Hooghly.
At a meeting a few days later (on the i6th August
1844), Messrs. Smith, Elder and Co. were appointed
London agents of the Library. The sum of £200 was
sent to them for the purchase of books, with a standing
order for the regular monthly despatch of new publica-
tions up to £10. Similarly Mr. J. P. Simmonds was
appointed Newspaper Agent, and the sum of ;£20 was
advanced to him. At the same meeting a letter was
read from the Trustees of the Singapore Institution
allowing the north-east wing of the building for the
use of the Library. Many donations of books were
recorded, especially from the Honourable T. Church,
Mr. H. C. Caldwell, Mr. F. Sorabjee, Captain S. Congal-
ton (the famous pirate hunter, whose portrait, a fine oil
painting, even at the present day adorns the Museum),
Mr. A. Logan, Mr. W. H. Read, Mr. L. Eraser, and others.
At the meeting of the 29th November a letter was
read from Mr. J. C. Smith, Head-master of the Singapore
Institution, declining any pecuniary allowance for his
duties as Secretary to the Library, but asking to be
allowed to employ a librarian to assist him. Conse-
quently the sum of $12 a month was voted for a librarian
and $5 a month for a peon.
The Library was declared open on Wednesday, the
22nd January 1845, ^^d on the 2Sth day of the same
month the first annual general meeting was held, the
following members being present : W. Napier (in the
chair), A. Logan, J. R. Logan, H. C. Caldwell, G.
McMicking, R. Little, L. Eraser, W. H. Read, M. E. David-
son, J. Myrtle, R. P. Saul, and J. C. Smith. The
Treasurer's account showed receipts of $1,182.50 and
disbursements of $1,167.
Amongst the by-laws the following are of interest :
" (i) The Library shall be open every day in the
week for the use of subscribers from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m..
DONATION OF BUSTS 529
Sundays excepted, and the Librarian shall be in atten-
dance from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the purpose of issuing
and receiving books. (3) Subscribers shall only be
allowed to have in their possession at one time one
work and one periodical. (6) On the arrival of new
books and periodicals immediate notice thereof shall
be given to the subscribers, and the books shall remain
in the Library for inspection four days, after which
they shall be given out to subscribers in the order of
application. (7) No books shall be given out by the
Librarian without a receipt or written order for the
same from the subscriber who applies for them."
At the annual general meeting, on the 31st January
1 846, it was decided to reduce the monthly subscription
of shareholders to $2, the others to remain at present
rates. It was announced that " The stock of books
ordered from England last year has been received, and
those, with the monthly additions from the London
booksellers, have served to place the Library on a very
respectable footing. Six hundred and seventeen
volumes, exclusive of periodicals, have been received
during the year." " The Committee also take this
opportunity to thank Dr. Little for his donation of the
busts of Her Gracious Majesty, Prince Albert, Shake-
speare, Scott, Byron, etc., which have enabled them to
make a very desirable improvement in the appearance
of the Library.'
" The bust of Sir Stamford Raffles, by Chantrey, has
also been removed to the Library, and an appropriate
pedestal erected to it by order of the Hon'ble Colonel
Butterworth, C.B."
The annual report also gratefully acknowledges their
indebtedness to the Trustees of the Singapore Institu-
tion. " We are still allowed the use of the present airy
and spacious Library Room gratis . . . with the advan-
tage of possessing a noble suite of apartments com-
manding a delightful view of the harbour, which has
• The busts of Homer, Shakcfpeare, and Byron, which are now in the
lower room of the new Library building, are probably the identical ones.
I— 35
530 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
been the admiration of the numerous strangers who have
visited it."
Nothing of importance happened during the year
1846. The Librarian's pay was increased from $12 to
$15 a month, and it was decided to keep the Library
open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. only, instead of to 9 p.m.,
as hitherto.
The Minute Book, under the ist July 1847, contains
a copy of the following interesting circular addressed
by the Secretary to the Shareholders :
" Singapore Library, Library Room,
" ist July 1847.
" Under instructions from the Committee of Manage-
ment, the Secretary begs to propose, in addition to a
formal vote of thanks, that the Proprietors shall mark
their sense of the handsome and valuable donation
of 115 volumes received from James Brooke, Esq.,
of Sarawak, by electing him a Shareholder ; thus making
him entitled to the privileges of a Subscriber of the First
Class ; and as his expected speedy departure to England
will not admit of a Special General Meeting being con-
vened for this purpose, the Proprietors are requested to
express their votes upon this subject opposite their
respective names.
" {Signed) J. C. Smith, Secretary."
James Brooke was then in Singapore, on his way to
England, and the books which were received from him
on the 28th June, and of which a complete list is given,
include works by Ainsworth, Jane Austen, Bullen,
Cooper, De Stael, Edgeworth, Victor Hugo, Marryat,
Schiller, Shelley, Trollope, and others. The following is
the text of the letter of thanks addressed to him by the
Secretary :
" Singapore Library, Library Room,
"ist July 1847.
" To James Brooke, Esq.,
" Sir,
" I have the honour to inform you that the
Managing Committee of Singapore Library desire to
tender you their best thanks for the very handsome
GIFT FROM RAJAH BROOKE 531
and valuable donation of Books you have been pleased
to forward to the Library, and I am further instructed
to acquaint you that by the unanimous vote of the
shareholders you have been elected a Proprietor, and
thereby made entitled to the privileges of a subscriber
of the first class.
" In conclusion, I beg to offer you the most cordial
wishes of the Committee for your future health and
happiness ; and their earnest hope that, after the enjoy-
ment of a pleasurable visit to your native land, you will
speedily return to that field of philanthropic usefulness
and distinction which has rendered your name known
and honoured in every part of the civilised world.
" I have the honour, etc.,
" John C. Smith, Secretary."
This generous gift was also referred to in the Secre-
tary's Report which he laid before the Proprietors at
their annual meeting of the 28th January 1848. Many
of these books are even now ( 1 9 1 8) in the Raffles Library,
and are in fair condition. The tales and novels by
Maria Edgeworth still bear on the front cover Brooke's
crest, a badger, with the legend " James Brooke, Sara-
wak, Borneo," and on the inside a printed label, " Pre-
sented to the Singapore Library by James Brooke, Esq.,
of Sarawak, Borneo " (see S. 473-9 and S. 483-7).
Brooke arrived in Singapore after his return from
England on the 20th May 1848, stayed for more than
three months, and whilst he was still here the news
arrived that Her Majesty had been pleased to confer
upon him the Order of the Bath (K.C.B.). The in-
stallation took place in Singapore (see Spenser St. John's
Life of Sir James Brooke, p. 137).
The committee meeting of Tuesday, the 29th January
1849, proved to be momentous in the history of the
Institution :
" Read a letter from His Honour the Governor dated
the 26th instant forwarding two ancient coins from
His Highness Sir Maharajah the Tamoongong of Johore,
which it is resolved shall be accepted and placed in the
Library Room, with the best thanks of the Committee
532 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
to His Highness for the gift, and to His Honour for his
kindness and trouble in procuring them and forwarding
them to the Committee for this purpose."
The Governor's letter runs as follows :
" It has been suggested by J. R. Logan, Esq., to
whose exertions we are indebted for the present most
promising Library, that the accompanying coins would
be appropriately placed in the Reading Room of that
Institution, as the nucleus of a Museum, tending to the
elucidation of Malayan History, which it is hoped may
eventually be formed in this station.
" Under these circumstances, and with the above
view, I beg to present the coins in the name of His
Highness Sir Maharajah the Tamoongong of Johore,
who purchased them from the convicts employed in
constructing the road to ' Teluk Blanga,' or New
Harbour, in the vicinity of which they were discovered
about eight or nine years since.
" J. R. Logan, Esq., to whom these coins have been
submitted, observes that they are not the coins of
Johore, but probably Achinese, of whose invasion I
found many traces and traditions up the Johore River —
that the ' Inscriptions are as here noted.'
" Sultan Sri Tuhan
Sikandar Nardubah
Mahbud bin Ali
Sri Sultan Tuhan
Sha Alam Nardubah
Mirsab bin Ali.
" The letters being in some places rudely and care-
lessly formed, differing even in the words which are
evidently the same in both coins, leaving some doubt
whether ' Nardubah may not be bindubah or Nardulah,
and that similar coins have been found at Pahang, and
Johore, as also at Rhio.'
" It will afford me much pleasure to acquaint His
Highness the Tamoongong with your acceptance of the
coins, for deposit in the Singapore Library Room.
<(
I have, etc.,
W. J. BuTTERwoRTH, Govemor.
MUSEUM ESTABLISHED 533
This letter having been read, the following resolution
was passed : " On the proposition of Mr. Caldwell, it
is resolved that the establishment of the Museum, in
connection with the Library for the elucidation of
Malayan History, etc., shall be recommended to the
Proprietors at their approaching annual meeting."
Thus it is very evident that the gift of these two gold
coins provided the direct stimulus to the proposal for the
establishment of a museum. Unfortunately those coins
are no more to be found now, and there is no record what
became of them.
The annual general meeting was held two days after,
on the 3 1 St January 1 849, when the following resolutions
were passed :
" Proposed by Mr. H. C. Caldwell, seconded by Mr. L.
Fraser, and resolved unanimously, that a Museum with a
view principally to the collection of objects to illustrate
the General History and Archaeology of Singapore and
the Eastern Archipelago be established in connection
with the Singapore Library ; that it be called the
' Singapore Museum,' and that it be deposited in the
rooms of the Library.
" Proposed by Mr. M. F. Davidson, seconded by Mr.
G. McMicking, and resolved unanimously, that Messrs.
J. R. Logan, H. C. Caldwell, A. Logan, T. Oxley, H. Man,
and W. Traill be constituted a Committee for the purpose
of framing rules to regulate the Museum, and to pro-
cure contributions of objects for the Museum. That
the Secretary and the Treasurer of the Library be
requested to act as Secretary and Curator and Treasurer
of the Museum, and that they be ex-officio members of
the Committee.
" Proposed by Mr. L. Fraser, seconded by Mr. M. F.
Davidson, and resolved unanimously, that a paper be
circulated amongst the Community generally, setting
forth the establishment of the Museum, and requesting
the aid of donations of money for the purpose of procuring
suitable cabinets or other depositories for the collections. "
Two months later, on Saturday, the 30th March 1 849,
there was a special general meeting of the proprietors
534 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
at the office of Messrs. A. L. Johnston and Co., of which
we quote the minutes in full :
" Present : Messrs. H. C. Caldwell, R. Bain, R. Little,
G. G. Nicol, M. F. Davidson, A. Logan, J. H. Campbell,
L. Fraser, and J. C. Smith.
"(I) On the proposition of Mr. Fraser, Mr. Caldwell
was unanimously called to the Chair.
" (II) The following General Rules for the Museum were
severally proposed and unanimously agreed to :
" ( I ) That a Museum be established in connection
with the Singapore Library, with a view principally
to the collection of objects to illustrate the General
History and Archaeology of Singapore and the
Eastern Archipelago, that it be called the ' Singa-
pore Museum,' and that it be deposited in the
rooms of the Library.
" (2) That the proceedings of the Museum shall be
managed by a Committee of six persons, exclusive
of a Secretary and Curator, and a Treasurer, who
shall, ex-officio, be also members of the Committee.
" (3) That the Committee and office-bearers be
elected annually at the general meeting of the pro-
prietors of the Library, and that members of the
Committee shall not necessarily be proprietors of the
Library, but the majority of such Committee must
be proprietors.
" (4) That the Committee shall have power to fill
up any vacancy occurring in their body before the
time of annual election.
" (S) That the proprietors of the Library shall have
power at any general meeting to revise and alter
the Rules of the Museum as framed by the Committee.
" (6) That no article belonging to the Museum
shall be allowed to be taken out of it for inspection
by any person.
" (7) That the Museum shall be and is hereby
declared indissoluble, and shall not be removed
from the Settlement.
" (III) The following rules for the regulation of the
Museum, made and passed by the Committee on the
3rd day of March 1 849, were also unanimously agreed to :
" (i) That the Committee shall meet once a month
MUSEUM RULES 535
for the transaction of the general business of the
Museum, but the Secretary may convene inter-
mediate meetings should occasion require ; and
that a meeting of three shall be competent to
form a quorum.
" (2) That the Committee shall elect a Chairman.
" (3) That the articles in the Museum shall be
under the charge of the Secretary and Curator,
who shall keep the keys of the cabinets or other
depositories of rare coins or other articles of value.
" (4) That a record shall be kept by the Secretary
and Curator of all articles presented to the Museum,
by whom and when presented ; and that a descrip-
tive catalogue be made up from the record annually,
or as often as the Committee may deem necessary,
for general information and reference.
" (s) That the establishment of the Museum and
its object be made public, and that contributions be
solicited of the undermentioned articles : i . Coins ;
2. Manuscripts ; 3. Inscriptions on stone or metal ;
4. Implements, Cloth or other articles of Nature,
Art, or Manufacture ; 5. Figures of Deities used in
Worship ; 6. Instruments of War or other Weapons ;
7. Instruments of Music ; 8. Vessels employed in
Religious Ceremonies ; 9. Ores of Metals ; 10.
Minerals of every description ; 11. Fossils ; and
any other object which may be considered suitable
for the purposes of Museum.
" (6) That the names of all persons contributing
any article of the above nature to the Museum be
published in such a way as the Committee may
hereafter determine.
" (IV) There being no further business, the thanks of
the meeting were given to Mr. Caldwell for his conduct
of the Chair.
" H. C. Caldwell, Chairman,
" J. C. Smith, Secretary."
It is pleasing to find the following reference to the
newly established Museum in the minutes of the pro-
ceedings of the next annual meeting of the proprietors,
of the 28th February 1 850 : "As no doubt the Committee
536 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
of that branch (i.e. the Museum) will in due time publish
a report of their proceedings, it may suffice here to say-
that their laudable exertions have been attended with
very satisfactory success, and that the Museum is now
a most valuable addition to the Library, and doubtless
so esteemed by its visitors, who are thus further attracted
to it by a medium so interesting." Unfortunately there
are only few clues to what sort of collections the Museum
contained at that time. The first interesting record is
a letter, of the 17th September 1852, by the Secretary,
Mr. J. C. Smith, addressed to the Honourable Islay
Ferrier, at the time Resident Councillor, Malacca :
" Sir, I have the honour to wait upon you with the best
thanks of the Chairman and Members of the Managing
Committee of the Singapore Museum for your very
interesting contribution of four ancient Mohammedan
Tombstones recently dug out of the Old Fort Wall at
Malacca, presented by you through W. Napier, Esq.,
and which from the utility to illustrate the early history
of that ancient and classical city constitute an important
and very valuable addition to this Museum."
There is a number (about sixteen) of Malayan tomb-
stones even now in the Museum. None of them bear
any labels, and none have yet been satisfactorily
deciphered, but they were always understood to have
been brought across from Johore about the year 1875.
Two years after, on the 9th November 1854, Dr.
Oxley, as Chairman of the Managing Committee of the
Museum, addresses the following letter :
" To The Honourable Colonel W. J. Butterworth, C.B.,
Governor of Prince of Wales Island, Singapore, and
Malacca.
" Honourable Sir,
" I have the honour to inform you that at an
adjourned meeting of the Managing Committee of the
Singapore Museum held this day, a list of articles lately
received into the Museum was laid before them by the
Secretary and Curator, and it was unanimously resolved
that the best thanks of the meeting be tendered for the
GOVERNOR BUTTERWORTH 537
valuable contribution of Native Arms, illustrations of
Natural History, and other suitable articles which
Your Honour has been pleased to present to the Museum
in furtherance of its objects, and I am requested to add
that should there be any particular history attached to
any of them it would very much enhance their value in
the estimation of the Committee should Your Honour
be pleased to favour them therewith for record in the
archives of the Museum.
" I have the honour, etc.,
" T. OxLEY, Chairman.
" Singapore, the gth November 1854."
None of these specimens can now be traced in the
Museum.
On the very next day (loth November 1854) Dr.
Oxley again writes to Governor Butterworth, acknow-
ledging his letter of the 6th October :
" Honourable Sir,
" I have the honour to report for your infor-
mation that the communication dated the 6th October
with which I was honoured, on the subject of extending
the operations of this Museum to the interchange of
local produce, etc., with the Madras Committee, together
with the copy of Surgeon Balfour's letter of date the
1 6th August, were laid before the meeting of the
Members of the Managing Committee of this Museum
held yesterday, and after giving the important suggestions
therein offered due and mature consideration, it was
found that this Committee has no funds at its disposal
which it could devote to the very desirable object of
procuring specimens of the marketable produce of these
seas to interchange with the Madras Museum ; but the
Chairman and Members of the Committee beg to assure
Your Honour that they are fully alive to all the advan-
tages likely to accrue from the adoption of the proposal
which has thus been made to them, and they will gladly
evince their readiness and anxiety to co-operate in the
promotion of these objects of high and manifest utility
by seeing that any funds the Local Government may
place at their disposal under Your Honour's direction
be carefully applied so as to improve the Museum as
538 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
an interesting resort for the exhibition of articles most
suitable to illustrate the General History and Archaeology
of these Straits, and of the Eastern Archipelago, and
if possible, to carry out Your Honour's valuable sug-
gestion to render it the means of advancing the commer-
cial interests of the Settlement."
Unfortunately there is in the Minute Book no copy of
Governor Butterworth's letter of the 6th October 1854,
nor do we know what sort of reply he sent to the
Committee to their strong hint for funds for the Museum.
Soon after, in January 1855, Governor Butterworth
presented a portrait of Sir James Brooke to the library.
But, unfortunately again, we do not know what has
become of it.
The election of subscribers took place by circulars,
which were faithfully copied out in the Minute Book.
The following may serve as a specimen :
" SINGAPORE LIBRARY COMMITTEE CIRCULAR
" John Little and Matthew Little, Esquires
" Having been proposed by H. C. Caldwell, Esquire, as
subscribers of Class II the votes of the Committee are
requested agreeably to Rule 14, Library Rooms, ist
September 1845.
"J. C. Smith, Secretary.
" W. Napier, Esquire . . Admit W. N.
H. C. Caldwell, Esquire . Admit H. C. C.
C. A. Dyce, Esquire
L. Eraser, Esquire
A. Logan, Esquire
R. McEwen, Esquire
W. H. Read, Esquire
Admit C. A. D.
Admit L. F.
Admit A. L.
Admit R. McE.
Admit W. H. R.
In most cases this procedure seems to have been a
mere matter of form. Yet there were exceptions.
When Dr. Thomas Oxley, Senior Surgeon S.S., applied
in December 1845 to become subscriber of Class II, all
members, with two exceptions (viz. Mr. Napier and Mr.
McEwen), expressed their opinion that he should be a
EXORBITANT POSTAGE 539
proprietor, and ought not to be admitted as a second-
class subscriber. However, he renewed his appHcation
soon after, and was admitted to Class II (February 1 846).
When, in November 1852, the "Honourable E. A.
Blundell, Esquire, Ofhciating Governor of the Straits
Settlements," applied to be allowed to become a monthly
subscriber of Class II, Dr. R. Little wrote : " Make an
Honorary Member, and send him the List for Donation";
and Mr. W. H. Read : "Let him buy a share, and I will sell
mine." However, the majority agreed to his election.
Postage was, as it is, of course, well-known, very much
higher in those far-off days than at present. In 1847
the Secretary wrote to the following effect to Mr. James
Hume, Star Press, Calcutta :
" I have particularly to desire that no parcel or paper
of any kind may be despatched for this Library by the
P. & O. S. N. Co.'s steamers, as the charges for postage by
these vessels are so enormous that they amount to a
complete prohibition. . . . We have lately had a
good instance here of this exorbitancy, when a pamphlet
published in Madras at four annas was charged two
rupees postage to this place."
However, the P. & O. S. N. Co. was not always so black
as it was painted. In 1851 the Librarian wrote to Mr.
John Sparkes, Superintendent of the Company's Agency
in Singapore, asking that the freight on the monthly
parcels of books from their London booksellers might be
remitted, a privilege enjoyed by the Calcutta Public
Library. " The Library (with which is connected a
Museum illustrative of the General History and Archae-
ology of the Indian Archipelago, etc.) is open to strangers ;
and the officers and passengers of the Peninsular and
Oriental Company may therefore at all times freely
resort there during the stay of the steamers at Singapore,
without any charge." Though for a long time no reply
was received, still repeated requests and personal
representation by Mr. John Harvey when in London
had at last the desired effect, and in August 1853 the
Secretary was able to inform the shareholders that the
540 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
P. and O. Co. had agreed to forward the monthly parcels
of books " on the same footing as parcels of books for
the use of public institutions, and only charge the Library
the actual cost of transit through Egypt." This gener-
ous arrangement continued until the year 1876.
The Secretary, Mr. J. C. Smith, had, when the Library
was opened in 1844, declined to accept any pecuniary
allowance for his work. But we find that in 1853, when
he submitted to the Committee a copy of the new
catalogue, his services received some slight reward, the
Committee agreeingto request the Secretary " to purchase
for himself a copying press with the necessary apparatus
to make it complete, as a suitable present from the Com-
mittee to mark their sense of the trouble and pains he
has taken to accomplish this desirable object." Further,
when Mr. Smith, some time in 1853, had also taken up
the post of Treasurer, we find in April 1 854 Mr. Caldwell,
the Chairman, in a circular to the Committee pointing out
that Mr. Smith is still carrying on the duties of Treasurer
in addition to those of Secretary, and proposing that Mr.
Smith be allowed to charge a commission of 5 per cent.
on the subscriptions he collected. This was agreed to.
As we are now emerging from the sorrows of a world
war, we can all the better understand how political
events in years past threw their shadow over a small
library in the Far East. On the 2nd February 1855,
in a letter to Messrs. Mann Nephews, the Secretary wrote :
" The present war being so protracted, the interest
in its results so absorbing, and the arrangements for
the mails so unsatisfactory, I am further instructed to
request that you will be good enough to forward via
Marseilles all the numbers of the Evening Mail," etc. etc.
And on the 2nd July 1858, when ordering books from
Madras, the Secretary closes with the words :
" We do not desire to have all these works and publi-
cations sent out at once, but you could do us great
service in sending out three or four every month, and
we hope you will continue to do so as other similar
FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES 541
publications appear, until peace and tranquillity have
been restored to this suffering country."
It is curious to note how unsatisfactory in the supply
of books the Library's agents in London seem to have
been in those early years ; whilst at the present day, even
now in the fifth year of a world war, there is hardly ever
any cause for complaint.
In October 1 862 the Library was discovered to be in
financial difficulties, and Dr. Scott wrote to Mudie's :
" The Treasurer of the Library and I were very greatly
and mostdisagreeablysurprisedtolearnthatthelateSecre-
tary (Mr. J. C. Smith) had an account against the Library
amounting to nearly £70 ! This came like a thunder-
clap on the Committee, who, with us, imagined the Library
free from debt. It was this belief alone that induced
me to extend my order of books, periodicals, and papers
to £12 monthly, whereas we find that the subscription
will barely cover ;£io worth monthly. I beg your
particular attention to this, after receipt of which your
monthly bill must not exceed ;£io till further orders."
We now come to an unfortunate gap in the history
of the Library and Museum. There is no minute book
in existence for the years 1866 to 1872, and it is only
from the end of 1 873, when the first suggestion was made
to establish a museum under Government control, that
we possess again printed and written records. This,
unluckily, coincides with a gap in the Singapore news-
papers. The Singapore Free Press had come to an end
in 1864, and was re-established only in 1884, whilst of
the Straits Times the years 1863 to 1870 are missing
from the library files, and are apparently not to be found
anywhere else either. Only from the various Singapore
Directories can we gather that the Library was being
carried on in its usual way. For the members of the
Committee are regularly given there from year to year.
From these directories we can also gather that the
Museum, if it had not been abolished altogether, was
certainly neglected. In 1864, for the last time, Mr. A.
Logan figures as Chairman, and Dr. Scott as Treasurer,
54* THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
Secretary, and Curator. After that date, until the year
1875 inclusive, the Directories omit all mention of a
Museum.
1874 TO THE Present Day
The suggestion of the establishment of a Library and
Museum in Singapore under Government control arose
in the following manner :
Amongst the papers laid before the Legislative Council,
on the 13th May 1873, by command of H.E. Sir Harry
Ord, Governor, was a despatch from the Secretary of
State relative to a permanent exhibition of Colonial
products in connection with the Exhibition Building at
South Kensington, this to include not only commercial
products, but objects of interest of whatever kind,
illustrating the ethnology, antiquities, natural history,
and physical character of the country.
At a later meeting of the Council, held on the 4th
June 1873, the subject was again brought forward, Mr.
Scott stating that he had been present at a recent
meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, and that the
majority had thought it desirable that Government
should support the project of a Colonial Exhibition.
The Colonial Secretary then proposed that a vote be
placed at the disposal of Government, viz. £404 9s. 6d. for
the construction and ;£2i 3s. id. for the maintenance.
This was passed.
Nothing further seems to have been done in the matter
till the arrival of the new Governor, H.E. Sir Andrew
Clarke, in November 1873, when the following letter was
addressed to the Colonial Secretary by Dr. Randell :
"Office of P.C.M.O.,
"Singapore, ith December 1873.
" The Hon'ble the Colonial Secretary, S.S.
"Sir, I have the honour to submit, for the favourable
consideration of H.E. the Governor, the desirability
that I think exists of taking such steps as may be neces-
sary for endeavouring to establish in Singapore a
Museum for the collection of objects of Natural History.
Abounding as this Peninsula and surrounding islands of
A NEW STEP 543
the Archipelago are in material for the purpose from the
animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, I am of
opinion that a collection might in time be easily procured
which would not only be of immense value and interest
to the scientific world, but would also afford a great
interest to the residents of the Straits, and be a work
in which the Government might fairly anticipate every
encouragement and assistance from our own Community
and those around us.
" I have, etc.,
"H. L. Randell, P.CM.O."
H.E. the Governor replied :
" I am glad to find someone moving in this matter,
as I have now under consideration what steps we should
take to give effect to the resolution of Council, deciding
to take part on behalf of these Settlements in the pro-
posed Permanent Exhibition of Colonial Products in
London, and the same organisation would, I think, do
for both objects. Can we combine with the Museum a
Public Library ? "
The Governor now caused the following letter to be
addressed to the Honourable Dr. R. Little :
" Colonial Secretary's Office,
"Singapore, ist April, 1874.
" Sir, I am directed by the Governor to transmit to you
the enclosed printed correspondence, relative to a
Permanent Exhibition in London of Colonial Products,
and to the establishment of a PubUc Library and Museum
in Singapore. His Excellency requests that you will
have the goodness to preside as Chairman of a Committee
to inquire into these subjects, consisting of the following
members — with power to add to their number.
" The Hon'ble R. Little, M.D. Dr. Randell
,, W. R. Scott Dr. Anderson
,, Major McNair Mr. Fisher (Telegraph
„ Ho Ah Kay Manager)
(Whampoa) Captain Lloyd (Brigade
Major).
" I have, etc.,
" E. H. Watts, Act. Assist. Col. Secretary."
544 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
The following names were subsequently added :
Mr. F. C. Bishop, Mr. J. G. Brinkmann, Mr. H.
Buchanan, Captain Caldbeck, Mr. J. Cameron, Mr. R.
Campbell, Mr. W. T. Carrington, C.E., Mr. Tan Kim
Ching, Rev. W. Dale, Mr. J. Fisher, The Venerable
Archdeacon Hose, Mr. R. W. Hullett, B.A., Mr. R,
Jamie, Mr. W. Krohn, Captain Satterthwaite, R.E.,
The Honourable T. Shelford, The Honourable H. W.
Wood, and His Honour Mr. Justice Woods.
The preliminary meeting of the Committee was held
at the Raffles Institute, on the 24th April 1874, the
following being present : The Honourable Dr. Little
(Chairman), Honourable Whampoa, Honourable McNair,
Honourable W. R. Scott, Mr. J. Fisher, and Mr. R.
W. Hullett. Their first business was to request His
Excellency to appoint someone to act as Permanent
Secretary, and to take charge of the Library and Museum:
" The Committee felt that their enquiries into the
formation and establishment of a Museum would be
much facilitated by such an appointment. They had
before them the testimonials of Mr. James Collins, from
His Grace the Duke of Argyll, Secretary of State for
India ; Dr. Hooker, C.B., Director, Royal Gardens,
Kew ; Professor Oliver ; J. G. Baker, Esq., F.L.S., and
Mr. Jackson, of Kew ; Dr. Redwood, Professor of
Chemistry to the Pharmaceutical Society of Great
Britain ; W. Carruthers, Esquire, F.R.S., Keeper of the
Herbarium, British Museum ; Dr. Masters, F.R.S. ;
T. T. Bennett, Esq., F.R.S., former Keeper of the
Herbarium, British Museum ; and from Professor Cobbold,
M.D., F.R.S. ; and also diplomas from four scientific
societies, copies of a report on Caoutchouc to the
Government of India, and articles and reviews published
in various scientific journals, etc. . . . His salary might
for the present be paid at $150 a month."
His Excellency approved of this, and Mr. Collins
entered on his duties on the 8th May 1874, as Economic
Botanist, Librarian, and Secretary to the Committee.
The question of the Library came up for discussion
TRANSFER TO GOVERNMENT 545
at the Committee meeting of the 13th May. Dr. Little,
after a few remarks as to the past history and present
position of the Singapore Library, said that he beheved
that if the Government were to pay the proprietors of
that Library the sum of $500 or thereabouts, stated to be
the debt of the Library, and to make each of the pro-
prietors a life subscriber, without payment, the proprie-
tors in that case would transfer their library of about
3,000 volumes, and all their rights over the same, to the
Government, and that such a library would form a
valuable nucleus in the formation of the Library with
which they were entrusted.
This motion was carried, and a copy of the resolution
was forwarded to Mr. A. S. Gumming, the Honorary
Secretary of the Singapore Library. The final amount
settled upon was $560.71, the following names being
appended to the agreement :
Miss Little Mr. E. Los^
Mr. A. M. Aitken Honourable H. W. Wood
Mr. C. Baumgarten Honourable T. Shelford
Mr. R. Campbell Mr. A. Duif
Mr. J. d'Almeida Mr. A. S. Gumming.
The Library was formally taken possession of on the
I St July 1 874, and the work of cataloguing and repairing
the books was at once entered upon, over 1,000 books
having to be rebound or otherwise repaired.
The Library was then still located in the lower rooms
of the Town Hall, where it had been since September
1862 ; but the Municipal Commissioners now gave up
to the Committee three of their best rooms on the upper
floor, an exchange which for the preservation of the books,
the convenience of readers, and the amount of light was
found admirable (see annual report for 1874). There
it remained until December 1876, when it was moved back
to Raffles Institution.
The Committee meetings seem up till then to have
been always held at the Raffles Institution. This was
now found inconvenient, and so in June 1874 the Secre-
1-36
546 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
tary was authorised to select and engage a room in the
Square as an office and place of meeting, and to furnish
it. Judging by the number of meetings, the Committee
was remarkably energetic in the first few months of its
existence : they met weekl3nn June and fortnightly during
July and August. After that they sank back into more
respectable leisure and monthly meetings.
The Library was opened to the public on the 14th Sep-
tember 1874 (not 4th September, as stated in the annual
report for that year), and the following advertisement
appeared in the Singapore Times for several days
previously :
" Raffles Library and Museum
" His Excellency Sir Andrew Clarke, to give effect to
the resolution of the Legislative Council of the 28th
March 1874, has appointed this Committee to establish
a Library and Museum in Singapore.
" The Library will be opened on the 14th September,
and will consist of a Reference Library, and Circulating
or Lending Library, and a Reading Room where books
and periodicals may be consulted.
" In the Reference Library will be collected valuable
works relating to the Straits Settlements and surround-
ing countries, as well as standard works on Botany,
Zoology, Mineralogy, Geography, and the Arts' and
Sciences generally.
" In order that every possible advantage may be placed
within the reach of readers in the Settlement, the
Reference Library and Reading Room will be free to all
persons on an introduction from a member of Committee,
or on obtaining the Librarian's permission.
" The Circulating Library can only be used by sub-
scribers, but that every one may have an opportunity
of availing himself of it, the Second Class subscription
will be S 1 1 per quarter, entitling the subscriber to borrow
one complete work of one or more volumes, and one
periodical at a time.
" The Committee will be happy to receive donations of
valuable books or manuscripts for the benefit of the
public.
NAMES OF COMMITTEE 547
" That every one may fully enjoy the advantages the
Library offers, the Committee have, with the sanction
of His Excellency the Governor, framed the following
Rules, and they trust the subscribers and public will
heartily co-operate in carrying them out."
The minute book has the following florid peroration
in addition : "In conclusion, the Committee earnestly
hope that the reading pubhc of all classes will not neglect
to avail themselves of this opportunity of storing their
minds with the treasures of knowledge to be found in the
Library, and so advancing the education of the mind far
beyond what tuition can effect, while a more profitable
or amusing employment could not be found for their
leisure hours than the perusal of the travels and voyages
of learned and enterprising men, the histories of Nations,
the biographies of illustrious individuals, and the care-
fully selected novels which will be found in the Library."
The advertisement then gives the names of the mem-
bers of the Committee :
Honourable R. Little, M.D., Chairman.
Anderson, Dr. L Hose, Rev. G. F., M.A.
Bishop, Mr. F. C. Hullett, Mr. R. W., B.A.
Brinkmann, Mr. J. G. Jamie, Mr. R.
Buchanan, Mr. H. Krohn, Mr. W.
Caldbeck, Capt. Lloyd, Captain, R.E.
Cameron, Mr. J. McNair, The Hon. Major
Campbell, Mr. R. Randell, Dr.
Carrington, W. T., C.E. Satterthwaite, Capt.,R.E.
Ching, Mr. Tan Kim Scott, The Hon. W. R.
Cumming, Mr. A. S. Shelford, The Hon. T.
Dale, Rev. W. Whampoa, The Hon. H. A. K.
Fisher, Mr. H. T. Wood, Mr. H. W.
Fisher, Mr. J. Woods, Mr. R. C, F.L.S.
It is not necessary to give the Rules in full,
except to mention that the rate of subscription seemed
very high. A Class I subscription, entithng to two
complete works and one periodical at a time, with the
exclusive use of all new books for the first three months.
548 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
was $20 per annum ; a Class II subscription, for one
complete work and one periodical, $6 per annum.
The Committee seems to have been most lavish in the
supply of periodicals : not less than fifty different
newspapers and magazines were taken in, and many of
these in triplicate {Blackwood's, Macmillan's, Fraser's,
Cornhill, Temple Bar, Athenceum, Punch, Edinburgh
Review) and in duplicate [Quarterly Review, Fortnightly,
Art Journal, Once a Week, All the Year Round, and
Chambers's). The list also included one French paper
{Revue des Deux Mondes) and two German ones
{Unsere Zeit and Die Kolnische Zeitung).
The whole of the books and periodicals were supplied
by Messrs. Edmonston and Douglas, Library Agents,
Edinburgh.
Though the number of subscribers during this year
was only small— there were nine Life Members, thirty-
one Class I and sixty-two Class II subscribers —
the new Secretary had probably his hands full in taking
over the old Singapore Library ; and so we are not
surprised to read in the first annual report, signed by
Dr. R. Little, as Chairman of the Committee, that " both
because of the amount of Library work and the want of
proper accommodation the formation of the Museum and
Permanent Exhibition has received scant attention."
The Library was apparently the millstone around the
neck of the Secretary, which it has remained ever since.
However, a small beginning was made : a collection of
woods was presented by Mr. J. Meldrum (later Date
Meldrum, of Johore), a collection of stone adzes, arrows,
etc., from New Guinea, was purchased for the sum of
$70 from the sailors of H.M.S. Basilisk, and some ethno-
logical specimens from Borneo were acquired.
The name " Raffles Library and Museum " was agreed
upon at the Committee meeting of the i6th July 1874.
At a previous meeting (i8th June) Captain Lloyd had
proposed that the Library be called the " Singapore
Library," instead of " Singapore Public Library," as
proposed by the Sub-Committee. The Honourable Dr.
CHANGE OF NAME 549
Little then proposed and Captain Caldbeck seconded
the following amendment : " That the Library be called
the ' Raffles Library.' " Captain Lloyd's motion being
withdrawn, the Honourable W. R. Scott proposed that
the Library and Museum should be considered together,
and that the name be " The Singapore Library and
Museum." This being put to the meeting, the voting
was as follows : for the amendment (Singapore Library
and Museum) 8 ; against (and for Raffles Library) 5. At
a later meeting (that of 1 6th July) the Chairman, the Hon.
Dr. R. Little, stated that he had forwarded a copy of the
Rules as passed by the Committee to H.E. the Governor
for his approval. He had received a reply from His
Excellency (which had been sent round to each member),
to the following effect : " I should wish to see the Com-
mittee and suggest that the title should not be ' Singa-
pore,' but rather the ' Straits ' Library. I should have
preferred it having been called the ' Raffles Library.'
Otherwise I approve of the Rules." It was then proposed
by the Rev. W. Dale, and seconded by the Honourable
Major McNair, " That the Library and Museum be called
' Raffles Library and Museum.' " The following amend-
ment was proposed by the Hon. T. Shelford, and seconded
by Mr. R. Campbell : " That the Library and Museum be
called the 'Straits Settlements Library and Museum.' "
On being put to the vote : for the amendment, 3 ;
against, 7. The name of " Raffles Library and Museum "
was therefore carried.
The minutes from May 1876 onwards show that the
appointment of Mr. Collins was an unqualified failure.
We read under ist May 1876 :
" The minutes of the last meeting could not be read,
as they had not been copied into the Minute Book. A
note was read from Mr. Collins excusing his absence
from the meeting on account of sickness."
Sth January 1877 : " The Librarian, Mr. Collins, did
not appear, and after waiting three-quarters of an hour,
and a messenger having meantime been sent to his room,
he sent an apology for his absence, urging that he was
550 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
sick. The Committee can find nothing in the circum-
stances to explain Mr. ColUns's want of courtesy in not
informing them earUer of his inabiUty to attend the
meeting, and instruct the Chairman (Hon. W. Adamson)
to call upon him for an explanation."
i$th January 1877: " Mr. Collins's letter of explana-
tion to the Chairman for his absence at last meeting
was read, and it was stated that the Chairman had
agreed to pass this matter over on Mr. Collins giving
an undertaking that for the future his management
should be in every respect satisfactory."
However, things did not improve. Under the 20th
March 1877 we find the following entry : " The meeting
was called for the purpose of considering the ' Report for
the Library and Museum for 1876/ and the Report,
having been already in the hands of the Committee, was
taken as read. The Chairman (i.e. the Hon. W.
Adamson) complained that the Librarian had not
attended to instructions in correcting the Report for
the previous meeting."
This unsatisfactory state of affairs apparently ended
with the dismissal of Mr. Collins. In the minutes of the
Committee meeting of the 6th August 1877, Dr. N. B.
Dennys, Assistant Protector of Chinese, appears as
Acting Secretary. In November of the same year the
permanent appointment of Secretary and Curator was
offered to him, at a salary of $150, this to cover any
expenses for travelling. Dr. Dennys does not seem to
have accepted that offer, for he continued to sign himself
" Acting Secretary." The estimates for 1878 were :
Curator, $1,800; Clerk, $480; Osteologist, $840;
Taxidermist, $720 ; Apprentices, $240 ; Servants, $420 ;
whilst the revenue consisted of the Government grant
($5,600) and subscriptions ($896). The Osteologist
was a Mr. Kunstler, who stayed here only a short time,
whilst the Taxidermist was Mr. L. A. Fernandis, who
faithfully continued in the service of the Museum until
1903, when he retired with a small gratuity ($500).
Dr. Dennys 's record stood in pleasing contrast to that
1
THE LOGAN COLLECTION 551
of his predecessor, and in the minutes of the 8th January
1878 the Committee expressed its appreciation of the
efforts of the Acting Secretary to get the Library and
Museum into good order. In September of that year
the Hon. C. J. Irving, Chairman of the Committee,
stated that the philological library of the late Mr. J. R.
Logan, of Penang, Editor of the Journal of the Eastern
Archipelago, was for sale at $520, and at the October
meeting it was decided to write in to Government saying
that the Committee was most anxious to have the books,
but that they regretted that they had no funds at their
disposal from which they could contribute towards the
purchase. Government seems to have agreed to this ;
the receipt of the books was announced in January 1880,
and in July of the same year a catalogue of the collection
was printed off, at a cost of $198 for 600 copies. The
catalogue, numbering forty-five pages, is very well done,
and was no doubt Dr. Dennys's work. The Logan
Collection forms still one of the most valuable sections
of the Raffles Library, and is housed in two large book-
cases.
The lack of space seems to have been chronic in those
early yeais and for many years after. In April 1879
the Acting Secretary was authorised to solicit subscrip-
tions from the community for a new Library and Museum
building, but httle progress was reported at the next
meeting. The proposal of a new building was again
discussed in August and October of the following year
(i88o).
Dr. Dennys went on four months' leave in November
1 88 1, and Mr. Arthur Knight was appointed to act for
him at $50 a month. Mr. Knight had then already been
many years in Singapore (he arrived here in January
i860). He repeatedly acted again, and until his death,
28th November 1916, always retained a deep interest
both in the Library and Museum and in the Straits
Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, which both in its
place of meeting and in its work is closely associated with
the Library and Museum.
552 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
In May 1882 a valuable collection of Malay weapons
was purchased from Mr. (now Sir) F. A. Swettenham at
$500. They are apparently the krises and spears in the
Museum which bear the label " Perak collection." In
June 1882, on Dr. Dennys's application, it was agreed
that the duties of Librarian and Curator should be
separated, and that each of those officers should receive
a remuneration of $50 a month ; that Mr. A. Y. Gahagan
should act as Librarian, and Dr. Dennys retain the charge
of the Museum, this arrangement to be a temporary one
pending the erection of a new Museum. At the same
meeting the Curator was requested to prepare a catalogue
of the Museum. However, the catalogue was not
published until 1 884. It was prepared chiefly or entirely
by Mr. A. Knight, printed by the Singapore and Straits
Printing Office and numbered 198 pages. But the collec-
tions were at the time not yet in a fit condition to be
satisfactorily catalogued.
In 1883 Dr. T. I. Rowell, P.C.M.O., started to prepare
a collection of stuffed fish. He was engaged on this
work for about three years. The result was a valuable
collection of 200 or 300 specimens, with their Malay
names and scientific names. But they were little
attractive, as no attempt was made to paint them. The
collection is now superseded by a collection of fish
painted in their natural colours, the work of the Assis-
tant Curator, Mr. Valentine Knight.
In the same year (1883) the Honourable W. H. Read
presented to the Library a copy of the Boro-Boedoer,
by Wilsen and Brumund (2 vols, text and 4 vols,
plates). The following is the entry in the Minute Book
referring to the gift : " The attention of the Comrjiittee
was drawn to a valuable collection of plates of the
Boro-Boedoer sculptures, with letterpress descriptions,
presented by the Honourable W. H. Read. It was
directed that they should be acknowledged with thanks,
and be properly bound." It may be that the Acting
Secretary, Mr. Arthur Knight, did not put the Com-
mittee's acknowledgment for this gift in a sufficiently
W. H. READ'S SARCASM 553
grateful and appreciative form. For there is in the
Library an undated letter from Mr. Read addressed to
Mr. Gahagan :
" My dear Gahagan,
" I think you are the Acting Secretary of the
Museum, and last year I sent the Committee a book of
infinite value and rare, on the ruins of the Hindoo temple
of Boro-bodor in Java. I got the same thanks as if I
had given a stuffed cat. Notwithstanding this discour-
agement, as I fancy the value of this gift was and, may-
be, is still unknown and unappreciated, I now send you
a letter of John Crawfurd's, also possibly an unknown
quantity, but which should be appreciated, as he
succeeded the ' immortal Raffles ' in the Governmentship
of Singapore."
The shades of W. H. R. may rest in peace ! The
letter in question, dated the 14th July 1828, and ad-
dressed to A. L. Johnston, is, with others, duly pre-
served in the despatch-box in the safe of the Museum.
Dr. Dennys acted for the last time as Secretary at the
Committee meeting of May 1882. The last annual
report signed by him was that for 1880, whilst that for
1 88 1 was by Mr. Arthur Knight, those for 1882 and
1 883 by Mr. Gahagan. In the reports for 1 884 and 1 885
the Library part is signed by Mr. Gahagan, and the
Museum part by Mr. Knight. Dr. Dennys, however,
did not entirely sever his connection with the Museum.
He became a member of the Committee, and was
present at many meetings until February 1886.
At the meeting of November 1884 attention was
" drawn to the fact that the bust of Sir Stamford
Raffles, at present in the Museum, was lent, not given,
by the Trustees of the School to the Library, and the
Acting Secretary (i.e. Mr. Gahagan) is desired to make a
special note of this." This, of course, refers to the
celebrated bust by Chantrey.
Mr. Phillips, the present Principal of the Raffles
Institution, wrote tome, under the i ith September 1918,
that " Chantrey 's bust of Raffles is at present in the
554 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
Town Hall. It was in Raffles Institution for quite sixty
years, but Mr. Hullett handed it over to the Munici-
pality when he left Singapore in October 1906."
The finances of the Library and Museum were at that
time in a most flourishing condition. In August 1885
it was decided to increase the fixed deposit of $9,000
by another $3,000, and in the following February a
further $1,000 was added.
In March 1886 the appointment of a suitable Curator
and Librarian was discussed. Two months after Messrs.
Bicknell, Copley, Evatt, and Trotter applied for the post
of Acting Secretary, and Mr. Copley was appointed. He
remained in charge until August only, when he was
succeeded for a few months by Mr. W. T. Wrench. In
July of the same year it was decided to appeal to the
authorities of the British Museum for help in the selection
of a suitable man : " We require a Curator and Librarian
for the Raffles Library and Museum, who will also be
the Secretary to the Committee of Management. He
will have to supervise the moving of the present books
and collections to the new Museum, where he will re-
arrange them — and as the Museum will have to be formed
anew, he must be a good all-round man. He will have
quarters for an unmarried man in the new Museum.
They will be simply furnished with plain, needful fur-
niture. The pay to be $300 a month on an agreement
for five years. His passage will be paid out, and also
back at the end of the five years." In January 1887
an application from Dr. R. von Lendenfeld for the post
of Curator was considered ; the agreement was on the
point of being signed, when it was cancelled for some
reason which does not appear from the minutes.
In May of the same year (1887) an application from
Mr. William Davidson for the vacant post was considered :
" The Committee think Mr. Davidson's testimonials
very good, but they are desirous to avoid again falling
into the mistake of haste." Mr. Davidson was finally
appointed, and was for the first time present at the Com-
mittee meeting of the 23rd December 1887. Davidson
NEW HABITATION 555
came from India ; he was an ornithologist of some note,
had worked with A. O. Hume, and was said to have been
more responsible for Stray Feathers than Hume himself.
The new Library and Museum building at the foot
of Fort Canning Hill and the junction of Stamford Road
and Orchard Road had in the meantime been completed.
The building was formally opened by H.E. the Governor,
Sir FrederickAloysius Weld, G.C.M.G., on Wednesday, the
1 2th October 1887, at 5 p.m., and on the 7th November,
at 6.45 a.m., the Committee formally inspected it.
The building was soon found to be too small. So in
May 1889 enquiries were made whether " Fort Canning
House " could be made available for the Curator, who
so far had had his quarters in the Museum. This, appar-
ently, refers to the only house which stood then in Back
Road (later on called Fort Canning Road). However,
nothing came of the proposal until the autumn of the year
1 898, when the writer, as Curator, was allowed to occupy
the house. He lived there until 19 10, when he was given
a house at the other end of Fort Canning Road (No. 3).
The old Fort Canning House has since been converted
into quarters for the Y.W.C.A.
In order to enlarge at least the Reading Room of the
new Library a verandah was built in 1891.
At the meeting of the 2nd August 1 889 a letter from Mr.
Buckley to Mr. W.' Nanson (member of the Committee)
was read re the photographs for the Library of the statue
of Sir Stamford Raffles. Resolved " that Mr. Nanson
be asked to write to Mr. Buckley and ascertain the cost
of two permanent photographs by the carbon or auto-
type process, one of the complete statue (reduced), the
other of the natural size of the inscription, and also to
ascertain the cost of a replica of the statue of such a size
as to fit nicely into one of the niches in the hall." In
October following "upon a list of the prices forwarded by
Mr. Buckley decided to order a large-size carbon photo
of the statue of Sir Stamford Raffles, on pedestal in one
with surroundings, at a cost of £6 6s., and oak frame
£2 2s." This is the photograph which used to hang in
556 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
the old reading room, and which since has been trans-
ferred to the new building.
Buckley, in his Anecdotal History of Singapore, vol. i,
page 15, says : " In 1889 the compiler of this book had
a photograph taken by the photographer to the Queen,
with the consent of the Dean, of the Monument (of
Raffles), and gave it to the Raffles Library, where it
is placed." Whether this is an error on his part cannot
be elucidated from the minute books and the account
books still in existence.
Mr. Davidson remained in charge until the 2 sth January
1 893,whenhe died under tragic circumstances. His annual
report for the previous year (1892) was dated only eleven
days before his death, and is ominously meagre, covering
barely two pages. He records a great drop, both in the
number of subscribers to the Library and of the visitors
to the Museum : " The great falling-off in the number of
visitors to the building — a decrease of 14,147 — I do not
know how to satisfactorily explain. Nothing very large
or especially striking has been obtained." After a short
interval, during which Mr. O. V. Thomas acted, Mr.
Davidson was succeeded by Dr. G. D. Haviland, who took
charge on the 5th April 1893, and in November of the
same year Mr. T. S. Quin was appointed to assist in the
Library. Unfortunately, Dr. Haviland stayed only
until the end of the year. He accomplished much
excellent work during the few months he was here, and
his annual report (for 1893) is full and of unusual interest.
Mr. Quin acted as Secretary until March 1 895, when Mr.
John Graham was appointed in the same capacity. The
present writer arrived on the 30th June, and took over
on the following day, the ist July 1895, as Curator and
Librarian under the Committee. From January 1899
the post was placed on the permanent establishment,
under Government, and in 1908 the title of" Curator and
Librarian " was changed to " Director."
Three factors have contributed to the growth and
development of the Library and Museum during the
last twenty-four years, so that now the Institution is
ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS 557
certainly appreciated by the public : firstly, the work
has been under one control for a considerable period ;
secondly, Government has always adequately and
willingly supported it, especially by providing suitable
accommodation for the ever-growing collections ; thirdly
— and the two first factors would have availed nothing
without this last one — the Director has been fortunate in
the cheerful co-operation of an efficient and faithful staff.
It is especially my pleasant duty to acknowledge the
work of Mr. Valentine Knight, who joined in 1902 as
Chief Taxidermist, and who in 1 9 1 2 was raised to the post
of Assistant Curator. To him much of the artistic work in
the Museum is due, especially in the excellent collections
of birds, fishes and models of fruit. He is ably assisted
by the Taxidermist, Mr. P. M. de Fontaine, who joined
in 1 897, and who during these many years, both in indoor
and outdoor work, has been of invaluable service. He
accompanied me on most of my expeditions, to Mount
Ophir, to Kedah Peak, to various other places in the
Straits and F.M.S., to Kina Balu, to Sarawak and
Christmas Island. In the Library I had for some years
(December 1895 to April 1906) the good fortune of having
at my right hand a brilliant young Chinaman, Mr. Kong
Tian Cheng, who during those years acquired the most
astounding knowledge of the contents of the Library.
He worked incessantly both in and out of office
hours. To him the chief work of compiling the " 1900 "
Catalogue is due, whilst the Catalogue of Literature
relating to China (1901) was entirely his own work.
He died in Peking, in January 191 4, his death being
deeply regretted not only by his compatriots, but also
by the numerous Europeans in Singapore who knew
him. The present first clerk (since 1910) is Mr. Chua
Hong Kay, whose faithful work I also gladly acknow-
ledge.
Building
It has been mentioned already that the Library and
Museum building, opened in the Jubilee Year 1887, soon
proved too small. By giving the Curator outside quarters
558 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
in 1 898 a few more rooms became available for ex-
hibition purposes, and in 1904 a large extension was
commenced, behind and parallel to the old block, with
an H connection, which fully doubled the former space.
This new building was completed in 1906, at a cost of
about $80,000. The upper rooms were utilized as an
animal gallery ; the ground floor for workshop, store-
rooms, and the Asiatic Society's quarters. The new
gallery was opened to the public on Chinese New Year's
Day, the 13th February 1907, and within a few minutes
of the throwing open of the doors both the new
and the old galleries were filled by dense masses of
delighted holiday-makers. Even this large extension
sufficed only for a short time. So it was decided to add
to the block completed in 1906 a wing, towards Tanglin,
this new building to contain the Library only. After
some delay, chiefly caused by the War, this building was
opened in August 1916. Its cost was about $75,000.
More space will soon be required, and this can be pro-
vided only by an additional building on the vacant piece
of ground adjoining the Museum compound (Crown Lot
No. 118, containing 35,860 square feet), which it was
decided in 1909 to retain for the Library and Museum.
Government Grant
From 1887, the year in which the present Museum
building was opened, until 1889 the Government grant
was $10,000 per annum ; from 1890 to 1898 it was
$9,000; in 1899 the grant was reduced to $4,255, as
from now the salary of the Curator was paid by Govern-
ment; it was raised to $4,755 in i90i,to $7,400 in 1902,
to $10,000 in 1904, and lastly to $12,000 in 191 3.
Another increase will become necessary when the pro-
posed separation of the Library from the Museum takes
place.
Books
The library now contains close on 39,000 volumes.
The greater part are in the Lending Library, while the
LIBRARY CATALOGUES 559
rest constitute the Reference Library. This latter com-
prises ( I ) most zoological works of a systematic character,
such as are required for museum work ; (2) specially
valuable works of a general character; (3) the " Logan
collection," already mentioned; (4) the"Rost collection."
This latter collection was received in the year 1897.
It formed originally a portion of the private library of
the late Dr. Reinhold Rost, Librarian to the India Office,
and was acquired from his executors by the Government
at a cost of £170 12s. 8d., the Raffles Library afterwards
contributing one-third of the cost of purchase. It com-
prises 970 volumes, chiefly on the philology, geography,
and ethnology of the Malay Archipelago. The books
are housed in a special case, surmounted by a bust of
Dr. Rost, the work and the gift of his son, Mr. A. E.
L. Rost. There is a special catalogue to this collection,
compiled on lines similar to that of the Logan collection.
Catalogues
The contents of the library are comprised in the
following catalogues :
Catalogue I, published in 1905, comprising all books
in the Library up to and including the year 1900. It
numbers 636 pages, and 600 copies were printed, at a
cost of $1,693.
Catalogue II was published in 191 1, and comprises the
additions for the years 1901-10. It contains 363
pages, and 300 copies were printed, at a cost of $711.
A supplement for the years 1911-15. Further,
there are the " Monthly Lists," giving all additions to
the Library received from month to month. These lists
have been regularly issued ever since 1898. Finally,
there were the special catalogues for the Logan and
Rost collections, and one for the " Literature relating to
China." All these different catalogues are fused in a
" Shp " Catalogue, which is kept up-to-date from month
to month, as the lists of additions are published. Thanks
are due to the Singapore dailies for kindly publishing
the monthly lists free of charge.
56o THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
Subscribers
In 187s, the year after the Library had been taken
over by Government, there were nine life members
(the last surviving " Proprietors " of the " Singapore
Library"), fifty first-class and 131 second-class sub-
scribers. In 1904 a third class was instituted. At
present first-class subscribers are entitled to four books
at a time, for a yearly payment of $12 ; second-class to
two books, for $8 ; and third-class to one book, for $4.
The last life member was the Honourable Thomas
Shelford, C.M.G., who died in 1899.
There has been a steady rise in the number of sub-
scribers, especially so within the last few years. At the
beginning of the War there was a marked drop, but after
that a rapid and unprecedented increase, perhaps best
accounted for by the opening of the new Library building
in 1 91 6, which the public find very much more attractive
than the old place, with its cramped accommodation.
The cosmopolitan character of the subscribers has
repeatedly been remarked upon in the annual reports.
The report for 191 2 enumerates the following national-
ities : British (308), French ($), Dutch (4), Russian (2),
American (2), German (i), Danish (i), Itahan (i),
Eurasian (13), Chinese (23), Malay (6), Armenian (3),
Singalese (3), Japanese (3), Jewish (3), Tamil (3), Arab
(i), Bengalese (i), Bombay (i), Javanese (i).
The subscriptions amount now to roughly $3,500
per annum.
Museum : Zoological Collection
This section constitutes the main part of the Museum.
There is an Illustrated Guide, published in 1908, which
explains its chief features, and is at the same time meant
to serve as a popular introduction to the study of the
Malayan fauna.
The oldest specimen in the Museum, as far as the
records go back, is the larger of the two rhinoceros
skeletons. We read in the Singapore Daily Times of the
GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM 561
13th May 187s that " Sir AndrewXlarke has presented
the Zoological Department of the Gardens with a fine
female two-horned rhinoceros. The animal is a magnifi-
cent specimen, and is besides in calf. She is a native of the
Peninsula, and was a present to Sir Andrew Clarke
from the Datu Klana of Sunghei Ujong." However, in
February 1 877 the Gardens Committee had become tired
of the animal, and " it was agreed that the Rhinoceros
should be got rid of, and the matter be left in Mr.
Krohn's hands." Mr. Krohn was member of the
Gardens Committee, and in charge of the animals. So in
August following the animal was handed over to the
Museum. The other skeleton, from British North
Borneo, was presented by Mr. Rowe in 1901. The
stuffed rhinoceros from Perak, a female, was presented
in 1902 by Mr. R. von Pustau, Acting Consul for Austria.
The stuffed seladang, a cow, was the gift, in 1889, of
Mr. (later Sir) J. P. Rodger, Resident of Pahang, whilst
the skeleton, that of a young bull, was given in the same
year by Captain H. C. Syers and Mr. W. C. Michell.
Both specimens were obtained in Pahang. In addition,
there is a fine series of seladang horns, given at various
times by Mr. A. D. Machado, Mr. H. Bertrand Roberts,
and Dato Hole of Johore.
The elephant skeleton is that of a specimen (male)
shot by H.H. the Sultan of Johore near Senai in Novem-
ber 1909. The work of preparing it was done on the
spot, a full account of which was given in the Singapore
Free Press of the 22nd November of that year. Other
gifts of His Highness are the tiger, exhibited in the hall
of the Museum, and the large black panther.
There are shown several examples of the deer (the
Malay Sambar or Rusa). One of them was shot by
Mr. Ridley near Changi in 1891, and the Museum is
indebted to him for many other specimens, especially
at the time when there was a small zoological department
attached to the Gardens.
Only last year (191 7) a gap in the collection was
filled by the gift of two serows : the one from Annam,
1—37
562 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
presented by two French gentlemen, M. L. Chochod
and M. G. Saint-Poulof ; and the other from Sumatra,
presented by Mr. P. Jansen, T. Pzn, and Mr. C. J. Brooks.
The skeleton of the Indian whale, measuring 42 feet
in length, is that of a specimen stranded near Malacca
in 1 892. The Honourable D. F. A. Hervey, then Resident
Councillor of Malacca, caused the skeleton to be prepared
and to be conveyed to Singapore, but owing to lack
of space it could not be mounted and exhibited till 1907-
The most generous of donors in recent years was Dr.
W. L. Abbott. There are many animals in the Museum
from his expeditions to Sumatra, Borneo, and neighbour-
ing islands, the group of proboscis monkeys being the
most striking of his gifts.
Of birds, more than 1,300 specimens are exhibited,
representing about 680 different species. The great
majority are, of course, Malayan, but there are a few
game birds from the Himalayas, some parrots from the
Eastern Archipelago, and a fine set of Birds of Paradise
from New Guinea and neighbouring islands. Of local
birds, perhaps the most showy are an Argus pheasant,
from the Bindings, presented by Mr. R. J. Wilkinson
in 1902, and one from Indragiri, Sumatra, presented by
Mr. J. E. Romenij in 1905-
Of reptiles, there is a specimen of the rare leathery
turtle, from Siglap, Singapore, presented by the Honour-
able A. M. Skinner in 1 883, and a huge crocodile, measur-
ing 15^ feet, from Serangoon, shot and presented by
Mr. G. P. Owen in 1887.
Much progress has been made in recent years in the
collection of fishes, stuff'ed and painted in their natural
colours, and the Museum is indebted to Mr. C. H.
Clarke and Mr, W. Perreau, Inspectors of Markets,
for the greater part of the material.
The exhibited butterflies and moths fill two long rows
of cases. The majority are Malayan; but there are
several cases of butterflies from Lower Burma, the
Philippines, and Celebes, given by Mr. H. Wilfred
Walker in 1904 and 1905, and one case, from Celebes,
BOTANY AND GEOLOGY 563
given by Dr. Martin in 1907. Most other insects are
in cabinets, but are always accessible to persons inter-
ested in entomology.
The marine fauna of the neighbourhood is intensely
interesting, but there have never been sufficient time
and facilities for its study. However, the Museum
contains fair collections of molluscs, crustaceans, worms,
echinoderms, zoophytes, corals and sponges. Some
mother-of-pearl shells, obtained near Singapore in three
fathoms of water, were presented by Mr. W. F. C.
Asimont in 1906. Scientifically the most interesting gifts
were the numerous specimens (sea lilies, polyzoa, corals,
and sponges) from telegraph cables, presented, about
twenty years ago, by Mr. (now Captain) W. Maclear
Ladds. Much welcome help in enlarging and working
out the marine collections was given in 1 899 by the late
Mr. F. P. Bedford and Mr. W. F. Lanchester, both of
Cambridge, who spent several months here studying the
marine fauna. The neighbouring seas are specially rich
in corals, and there are cases showing collections from
Blakang Mati, from Gaya, British North Borneo (1899),
and from Christmas Island (1904).
BOTANICAL COLLECTION
No attempt has yet been made to have a complete
botanical collection in the Museum. However, there are
samples of wood, fibres, and essential oils, and especially
a series of models of local fruit and vegetables, prepared
by the Assistant Curator, Mr. V. Knight, and the Taxider-
mist, Mr. P. M. de Fontaine. These models have always
been attractive, and are of much interest to visitors.
They are casts, in paraffin wax, or more satisfactorily in
plaster of Paris, of the actual fruits, painted in their
natural colours, and are, at least to timid passengers who
have not yet explored the possibilities of an Eastern fruit
market, in some respects preferable to the real article.
THE GEOLOGICAL SECTION
There is, besides a general collection of typical rocks
and minerals, a fair collection of specimens from the
564 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
Peninsula, chiefly, of course, tin ore. There is a huge
block of cassiterite, weighing half a ton, presented in
1894 by the Chinese of Kuala Lumpur to Sir Charles
Mitchell, Governor of the Straits Settlements, and sub-
sequently handed over by him to the Museum. Of
much interest is a collection of minerals from Kelantan,
presented in 1904 by Mr. R. W. Duff and Dr. Gimlette.
The Peninsula is not rich in fossils ; but there is some
myophoria sandstone, from the Pahang Trunk Road,
near Kuala Lipis, given by Mr. H. F. Bellamy in 1897.
Of local interest are certain fossils, chiefly bivalves,
probably Middle Jurassic, discovered in 1904 by Mr.
J. B. Scrivenor, F.M.S. Geologist, in the silty clay of
Mount Guthrie, near Tanjong Pagar. They were de-
scribed by Mr. R. Bullen Newton, of the British Museum,
in the Geological Magazine for 1906. A special case is
devoted to Christmas Island with its phosphates.
ETHNOLOGICAL COLLECTION
This collection is housed in the upper floor of the old
building. It comprises weapons, dresses, ornaments,
domestic implements of the Peninsular Malays, of Sakeis,
of the various native races of Borneo, Sumatra, Java,
Celebes, Timor Laut, and New Guinea. There are also
models of boats, more than 360 krises, swords, tumbok
lada, etc., and many spears. The dresses include
exquisite silk sarongs, shot with gold, especially from
Padang, Sumatra. The collections are rich in silver and
brass ware. There are numbers of silver pillow-ends,
sirih sets, bowls and plates, belt buckles (" pinding "),
and such like, all of which were acquired within the last
twenty years. Many have been within the last few years
purchased, directly or indirectly, from native rulers in
the neighbouring Dutch islands, who thus endeavoured to
supplement their shrinking incomes. The brass-ware
includes pots and pans, trays, sirih sets, wonderfully
ornamented, old bronze cannon (" lelah ") and gongs,
those from Brunei being especially valuable. There are
also mats and baskets, some of them of beautiful and
ETHNOLOGICAL COLLECTION 565
intricate patterns. The following deserve special
mention : Sakei implements, presented by Mr. A. D.
Machado in 1900, by Mr. Meadows Frost in 1904, and
by Mr. S. M. Schwabe in 1904 and 1906 ; a case
illustrating the manufacture of Malacca baskets, pre-
sented by Mrs. Bland ; a collection of Battak (Sumatra)
specimens, acquired in 191 1 through Miss Abel's kind
help, from Mr. Pohlig, of the Rhenish Mission ; many
Dyak specimens acquired through, or presented by,
Dr. Charles Hose, Archdeacon Sharp, and the late Mr.
R. Shelford, of the Sarawak Museum ; a case of Nias
specimens from Mr. C. Boden Kloss ; a large and
valuable collection from Timor Laut, purchased in 1906
from Mr. A. Grossmann ; a large case of specimens
from New Guinea and neighbouring islands, presented
by Captain H. McGill in 1903. Some years ago a set of
Javanese shadow-play figures (" Wayang kulit "),
together with an orchestra (" gamelan "), were pur-
chased. To illustrate the working of this theatre, or
puppet show, six life-size human figures were added,
suitably dressed, their heads and limbs being modelled in
plaster of Paris. There are also a full-sized figure of a
Sea-Dyak woman working a loom, to illustrate the
manufacture of sarongs ; a group, Malay woman and
boy, making Malacca baskets ; and one, mother and
child, showing the custom of head compressing amongst
Malanau people (Sarawak). These figures were pre-
pared by the Museum modeller, Lee Kim Swee.
NUMISMATIC COLLECTION
There is in the Museum a representative collection
of coins of the British East India Company, Dutch East
India, the Straits, British North Borneo, Sarawak, Siam,
and the Philippines, with a few from India, China, and
Japan. Some of these, especially those of the British
East India Company, were in 1898 acquired from Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Leslie Ellis. In 1909 Mr. J. P. Moquette,
of Weltevreden, Java, gave, with lavish generosity, a
large series of Dutch East India Company coins. The
566 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
most valuable section, however, are the old Portuguese
tin coins which some years ago were dredged in the
Malacca River, and were handed over to the Museum by-
Mr. (now Sir) W. Egerton (in 1900) and Mr. R. N. Bland
(in 1 904), the then Resident Councillors of Malacca. The
coins, the earhest of which date back to the time of
Albuquerque ( 1 5 1 1 ), are the oldest records of the history
of the Straits in the Museum. They were figured and
described in the Journal of the Straits Branch of the
Royal Asiatic Society, Nos. 39 and 44.
VISITORS
A museum is of Uttle use without its visitors, and the
Raffles Museum can certainly not complain of the lack of
interest, at least on the part of the natives. If on
ordinary days those coming here can be counted by
the hundred, they number thousands on holidays, and
the well-behaved crowds, in their gay festive garments,
are then always a pleasure to behold. Especially on
Chinese New Year the place is full to overflowing. On
the last occasion, the nth and 12th February 191 8, the
number of visitors was 10,907 and 8,847 on the two days
respectively, and in other years the numbers were simi-
larly high.
Of scientific and otherwise distinguished visitors a
record has been kept since 1896.
Bibliography
The printed annual reports of the Singapore Free School, of which
the third one, of 1836, appears to be the earliest still in existence.
Minutes of Proceedings oj the Singapore Library, 1844-55.
Letters, Singapore Library and Museum, 1854-65.
Minutes and Letters, Raffles Library and Museum, 1874-8.
Minutes, Raffles Library and Museum, 1874-90 ; 1891-1910 ; and
1910-18.
Printed annual reports of 1874-1918.
Memoir of Sir Stamford Raffles, by his Widow, 1830.
Buckley's Anecdotal History of Singapore.
Files of Singapore Free Press from 1835 and of the Straits Times
from 1845.
The various Directories from 1846.
I
i
1
1
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■
^M. '''°^"
1
DR. R. HA
NITSCH, PH.D.
I. 5501
ARCHAEOLOGY AND HERALDRY 567
Dr. R. HANITSCH
Dr. R. Hanitsch was born in i860. He went to
England in October 1886, and was appointed Demon-
strator of Zoology at University College, Liverpool,
in 1887. He came to Singapore as Curator and Libra-
rian of Raffles Library and Museum in 1895, the title
being changed to Director in 1908, and held the post
till the middle of 191 9, when he retired and went to
England, there to rejoin his family, his two sons having
served in the English army and at the various fronts
since the outbreak of the war. Dr. Hanitsch 's work for
the Museum is that of a lifetime. A true scientist in his
accuracy, he is a lover of music and a classical scholar.
In the quarter of a century he was at the Museum there
was steady development, the building alone having been
trebled in size. He succeeded in that important part of
a Curator's work, keeping the Institution in touch with
other museums and scientific men, and no visitor to
the Museum failed to secure his attention, advice, and
knowledge on the most varied of subjects.
ARCH^OLOGICAL AND HERALDIC NOTES
By Dr. Gilbert E. Brooke
The early colonial records extend from about the year
1800 to the Colonial Office regime in 1867, and consist
of nearly 1,000 bound volumes of correspondence,
returns, gazettes, etc., which are at present filed in the
room which was formerly the P.C.M.O.'s office on the
ground floor at the rear of the block of Government
Offices. These records were recently collected, cata-
logued, and shelved, and have proved of great use
in disclosing and correcting material which has been used
in this History. Often, when the writer has been working
late in the evening amongst the dusty tomes, with the
silence of the great deserted building above and around,
and the cool night breeze bringing confused sounds of
568 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
life from the river, the ghosts of the past have emerged
with a verisimihtude almost uncanny.
Full of the thoughts and even the actual handwriting
of the men who made history, these pages form a living
link with a past which has long faded from human
memory, and a striking memorial to the labours of those
who " built better than they knew."
Much of the paper in the earlier volumes has yellowed
with age — a condition probably due to the indifferent
manufacture of the paper. The maker's name is water-
marked on nearly all the sheets, the earliest being that
of Edmeads and Pine, dated 1798, which is in good
preservation. That of J. Budgen (1803-5) is also in
excellent condition. Other early papers were by W.
Thomas (181 5), which was always poor, and
J. Rump (1818), which was consistently good.
Smelgrove and Son, of 1820, seem to have
been never good ; but J. Whatman, Balston
and Co. were, generally speaking, masters in
the art of paper production, and they were
also the first amongst the local records to use the badge
of the East India Company as an additional watermark.
This badge was used by the Company on their bills of
lading and other situations where a coat of arms was
unsuitable.
The " United Company of Merchants of England
trading to the East Indies " was incorporated by Queen
Elizabeth in 1600 ; and on the 4th February in that
year the following armorial achievement was granted by
William Camden, Clarenceux King-of-Arms : azure,
three ships of three masts, rigged, and under full sail, the
sails, pennants, and ensigns argent, each charged with a
cross gules. On a chief of the second a pale quarterly
azure and gules between two roses gules seeded or, having
in the first and fourth quarters a fleur-de-lis, and in the
second and third a lion passant guardant all of the second.
Crest : on a wreath of the colours a sphere without a
frame bounded by the zodiac in bend or between two
split pennons flotant argent, each charged in chief with
RAFFLES'S COAT-OF-ARMS 569
a cross gules. Over the sphere the words " Deusindicat."
Supporters : two sea-Hons or, tails proper. Motto : " Deo
ducente nil nocet."
Nearly a century later a new East India Company was
established by Act of Parliament, and united with the
old Company, when a new grant of arms by St. George,
Garter, was recorded in 1698 as follows : Argent
a cross gules, in the dexter chief quarter an escutcheon
of the quartered arms of France and England, the shield
ornamented and imperially crowned or. Crest : on a
wreath of the colours a lion rampant guardant or,
supporting between the forepaws an imperial crown
proper. Supporters : two lions rampant guardant
or, each supporting a banner erect argent charged with
a cross gules. Motto : " Auspicio regis et Senatus
angliae."
It was this later coat that was in official use during the
early days of the Settlement for the various seals and
chops ; and it heads each number of the printed Govern-
ment Gazette (E.C.R., vol. 730), which was issued for the
first time on Friday, the ist January 1858. In the follow-
ing year it was replaced by the Royal Arms, for India
passed to the control of the Crown in November 1858,
chiefly as a result of the Indian Mutiny.
Singapore is remarkably deficient in heraldic decora-
tion. Woolner's statue of Raffles, moved to the Town
Hall site just before the Centenary, bears on the
plinth a bronze shield of Raffles's arms impaling those of
his wife. As there depicted, the crest is : out of an Eastern
crown or, a griffin's head purpure gorged gemel or ; and
the coat : or, on an eagle displayed double-headed gules
an Eastern crown of the first. A chief vert charged with
two oval medallions in pale argent, one bearing Arabic
characters and the other a dagger in fesse proper blade
wavy point to dexter. The whole impahng : per
chevron argent and sable, a chevron ermine between
three talbots heads erased proper. Whether this was
a correct grant has not been ascertained, but Papworth's
Armorials ( 1 874) gives Sir Stamford the same coat, except
570 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
for a field erminois instead of or ; and also quotes a coat,
which substitutes a cross-crosslet fitchy or, for the two
medalUons, as being that of the Rev. Thomas Raffles of
Liverpool (i 788-1 863). Burke's Landed Gentry gives
the reverend gentleman's coat as being that of the whole
family. Another public shield is one which appears in
colour, above the approaches to the bridge built by
P. and W. Maclellan in 1868, and known as Cavenagh
Bridge. It is : azure, a lion passant or between three
crescents argent ; impaling : sable a chevron between
three covered cups argent. The crest is a wheatsheaf
within a crescent or ; and the motto : " Pax et Copia."
Papworth gives these coats as being those of Cavanagh
and Warcup respectively.
The Church monuments are also much lacking in
heraldic interest ; but there is a fine brass in St. Andrew's
Cathedral, to the memory of Lieutenant-Colonel Sir
Charles Bullen Hugh Mitchell, R.M.L.I., who died on
the 7th December 1899, during his governorship of the
Straits Settlements. The blazon 1%: sable, a chevron gules
between three mascles or ; the crest being : a sprig of
wheat proper; and the motto : " Sapiens qui assiduus."
The coat is not quoted in Papworth, but it much resem-
bles one which is assigned to the family of Mitchael of
Alderstoun, Scotland.
Mention of the Church recalls that the See of Singapore,
being a corporate body, must needs possess an official
seal. The one now in use is an armorial one : " Argent
a saltire gules " — an appropriation which Fox-Davies,
in his Book of Public Arms, pronounces to be " of no
authority." The better course would be either to obtain
a grant, or else to adopt a non-heraldic device for the
seal. The coat above mentioned belongs to the family
of Fitzgerald, and the conventional coat of St. Andrew
(azure a saltire argent) is already assigned to the
Bishopric of St. Andrew's, though it appears on a shield
outside the gate of St. Andrew's Mission School in
Singapore.
It is not many years since the emblems of the Colony
COLONIAL BADGE 571
were themselves legalised. The first public seal of the
Colony after its transfer to the Colonial Office was
issued by the Secretary of State (the Duke of Bucking-
ham and Chandos) on the 13th November 1867. It
consisted of the Royal Arms with three smaller shields :
one of a tower and lion passant guardant, for Singapore ;
a betel-nut tree for Penang ; and a sprig of oil-tree
Kruing proper for Malacca. These arms were entirely
unofficial as far as any heraldic authority was concerned.
The Secretary of State therefore suggested in 1905, and
again in 1909, that the Colony should apply for a grant.
In consequence, an achievement was assigned by a Royal
Warrant dated the 25th March 191 1 ; and the blazon
is as follows : quarterly, the first quarter gules issuant
from the base a tower proper on the battlements thereof
a lion passant guardant or; the second quarter argent
on a mount an areca-nut palm tree proper ; the third
quarter also argent, a sprig of the oil-tree Kruing proper ;
the fourth quarter azure in base on waves of the sea in
front of a representation of the sun rising behind a
mountain, a sailing-yacht in full sail to the sinister all
proper ; and for the crest : on a wreath of the colours a
demi-lion rampant guardant supporting in the paws a
staff proper there on plying to the sinister a banner azure
charged with three imperial crowns. This coat practi-
cally follows the local suggestion, except that the
hideous realism of the " Labuan " quarter has been
substituted for the reduplication of the dignified and
symbolic first quarter. This new coat has not, up to
the present, been made use of for the decoration of any
public building, public seal, coin, postage stamp, or
other recognised purpose.
There is, however, a badge which has for years been
officially used in the Straits Settlements, and must have
received the sanction of the Admiralty at some time or
another : on a lozenge fesswise gules, a pall reversed
argent surmounted by three imperial crowns one and
two or. The British Blue Ensign, when charged in the
fly with this badge, forms the official " Colonial ensign "
572 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
used by all Government vessels afloat ; and it seems a
pity that official recognition was not accorded to it by
the Heralds' College at the time when the arms were
granted in 191 1. In his Book of Public Arms, Fox-
Davies refers to it as a " curious coat of arms formerly
in general use for the Colony," but no record of its use
as a coat of arms can be traced locally.
While on the subject of flags, it may be noted that,
in the great port of Singapore, with shipping arrivals
which total twenty or more ships daily, there are two
national flags which are frequently to be seen, although
but rarely met with outside her waters. These are the
flags of Sarawak and Siam.
The former is a yellow flag embellished with a parti-
coloured cross of black and red, known in heraldic
parlance as : " or, a cross per pale sable and gules."
It is an adaptation of the Brooke arms, and was granted
to his country by Sir James Brooke, K.C.B., first Rajah
of Sarawak, on the 21st September 1848. The grant
was duly reported, on the 14th March 1849, to Lord
Palmerston, and the approval of the British Government
was conveyed to Sir James on the 20th of the following
June.
The mercantile flag of Siam has for years consisted of
a red ground bearing a white elephant in the centre.
Owing to the increasing trade of Siam and the difficulties
of distinguishing the flag at any distance, it was deter-
mined to alter it, and a law was passed on the 2 1 st Novem-
ber 1916, which changed the national ensign to a red
field with two white horizontal stripes. This came into
force on the ist January 191 7. Later in that year Siam
joined the Great Powers and declared war on Germany.
To celebrate the occasion it was thought fitting to add
another colour to the youthful flag of the nation. By
a law dated the 28th September 191 7 this was given
effect to, and the central portion between the horizontal
white lines was changed to blue. The flag as now in
use might therefore be blazoned : " Gules, a fesse azure
accosted by two bars argent." This did not appear in
THE SINGAPORE MONOLITH 573
the Straits Settlements Gazette, and thus silently and
unheralded a new national mercantile flag came into
being.
So far, the heraldic and not the archaeological notes
have been touched on. As a matter of fact, evidences of
Singapore's existence, prior to the advent of Sir Stamford
Raffles, are of the most meagre description. There are
only two antiquities : a tomb found in the jungle of
Fort Canning Hill in 18 19 and a fragmentary monolith
which once stood at the mouth of the Singapore River.
Singapore was visited by Mr. Crawfurd on the 21st
January 1822, when en route to Siam. His diary for
the 4th February contains the following remarks : " On
the stony point which forms the western side of the
entrance of the salt creek, on which the modern town
of Singapore is building, there was discovered, two years
ago, a tolerably hard block of sandstone, with an inscrip-
tion upon it. This I examined early this morning.
The stone, in shape, is a rude mass, and formed of the
one-half of a great nodule broken into two nearly equal
parts by artificial means ; for the two portions now face
each other, separated at the base by a distance of not
more than two feet and a half, and reclining opposite
to each other at an angle of about forty degrees. It is
upon the inner surface of the stone that the inscription
is engraved. The workmanship is far ruder than any-
thing of the kind that I have seen in Java or India ; and
the writing, perhaps from time, in some degree, but more
from the natural decomposition of the rock, so much
obliterated as to be quite illegible as a composition.
Here and there, however, a few letters seem distinct
enough. The character is rather round than square.
It is probably the Pali, or religious character used by
the followers of Buddha, and of which abundant ex-
amples are to be found in Java and Sumatra ; while no
monuments exist in these countries in their respective
vernacular alphabets."
The following is the story of its discovery, taken from
the Hikayai Abdullah :
574 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
" At the end of the point there was another rock
found among the brushwood ; it was smooth, of square
form, covered with a chiselled inscription which no one
could read, as it had been worn away by water for how
many thousands of years who can tell ? As soon as it
was discovered people of all races crowded round it.
The Hindoos said it was Hindoo writing, the Chinese
that it was Chinese. I went, among others, with Mr.
Raffles and the Rev. Mr. Thompson. I thought from
the appearance of the raised part of the letters that it
was Arabic, but I could not read it, as the stone had been
subject to the rising and falling tides for such a long time.
Many clever people came, bringing flour and lard, which
they put in the hollows and then lifted out in the hope of
getting the shape of the letters. Some again brought a
black fluid, which they poured over the stone, but without
success. Ingenuity was exhausted in trying to decipher
the inscription. The stone remained there till lately.
Mr. Raffles said the inscription was Hindoo, because the
Hindoo race was the earliest that came to the Archipelago,
first to Java and then to Bali and Siam, the inhabitants
of which places are all descended from the Hindoos. But
not a soul in Singapore could say what the inscription
was. During the time Mr. Bonham was Governor of the
three Settlements this stone was broken up by the
Engineer. This is very much to be regretted, and was
in my opinion highly improper ; perhaps the gentleman
did it from ignorance or stupidity, and now, from his
conduct, we can never know the nature of this ancient
writing."
The tenth Anna! of the Sijara Malayu contains
a mythological account of the origin of these stones, and,
in addition to these early references, there are several
later ones.
Dr. Montgomerie said that the rock was brought to
light by some Bengal sailors employed by Captain
Flint, R.N., the first Master Attendant. There is a
paper also, by Mr. James Prinsep, a Calcutta antiquarian,
published in 1837, which states that Dr. Wilham Bland,
of H.M.S. Wolf, had at last made a facsimile of all that
remained in any way perceptible on the rocky fragment.
AN ACT OF VANDALISM 575
It was a rock, said Dr. Bland, of coarse red sandstone,
about ten feet high, two to five feet thick, and nine or ten
feet in length. The surface was an irregular square, with
a space of about thirty-two square feet, with a raised edge
all round. There had been about fifty lines of inscrip-
tion, the greater part illegible. He says he made
frequent pilgrimages to the rock, -and describes how he
made as accurate a copy as possible of the marks on
the stone.
During the governorship of Mr. Bonhani (1837-43) the
stone was blasted, notwithstanding the protests of
Colonel Low, the Engineer. The latter crossed the river
from his office after the explosion, and selected such
fragments as had letters on them, and these were
chiselled into the shape of slabs. One piece was pre-
sented to Governor Bonham, and three pieces are said
to have been presented by Colonel Low to the Asiatic
Society in Bengal, where it was conjectured that the
inscription was a record of some Javanese triumph at
a period anterior to the conversion of the Malays to
Mohammedanism.
The Bengal Government asked Governor Butterworth
(1843-55) to send any legible fragments. The only
piece was that which had been given to Mr. Bonham,
and Colonel Butterworth replied to Bengal : " The only
remaining portion of the stone you mention, except
what Colonel Low may have, I have found lying in the
verandah of the Treasury at Singapore, where it was used
as a seat by the Sepoy guard and persons waiting to
transact business. I lost no time in sending it to my
house ; but alas, not before the inscription was nearly
erased. Such as the fragment was then, however, it is
now, for I have preserved the stone with much care, and
shall have pleasure in sending it for your museum, having
failed to establish one, as I hoped to have done, in
Singapore."
The stone fragment was forwarded to J. W. Laidley,
Esq., the Secretary of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta,
by the barque Rob Roy, with a covering letter from Mr.
576 THE SCIENCE OF SINGAPORE
Church, the Resident Councillor of Singapore, dated the
1 8th February 1848.
Mr. Laidley is said to have written a paper about it, as
well as about the three other pieces sent by Colonel Low.
Various papers on the subject of this stone were
afterwards collected by Sir William Maxwell, and
published in 1886 in the first volume of Miscellaneous
Papers in Trubner's Oriental Series, which was issued in
two volumes by the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic
Society (Buckley).
During 191 8 the Committee of Management of the
Raffles Museum and Library moved in the matter of the
return of the one or more fragments to Singapore as
being a more fitting home for them ; and the Calcutta
Museum has kindly agreed to send such as there are to
Singapore, on an extended loan.
The tomb on Fort Canning Hill is supposed to be
connected with a remote line of Singapore Rajahs, who
are dealt with elsewhere in this volume, and may there-
fore be dismissed with a brief extract from the diary of
Mr. Crawfurd during his first visit to Singapore in 1822 :
" The only remains of antiquity at Singapore, besides
the stone . . . are contained on the hill before alluded to.
After being cleared by us of the extensive forest which
covered it, it is now clothed with a fine grassy sward, and
forms the principal beauty of the new Settlement. The
greater part of the west and northern side of the hill is
covered with the remains of the foundations of buildings,
some composed of baked brick of good quality. Among
these ruins, the most distinguished are those seated on
a square terrace, of about forty feet to a side, near the
summit of the hill. On the edge of this terrace we find
fourteen large blocks of sandstone ; which, from the
hole in each, had probably been the pedestals of as many
wooden posts which supported the building. . . .
Another terrace, on the north declivity of the hill,
nearly of the same size, is said to have been the burying-
place of Iskandar Shah, King of Singapore. This is
the prince whom tradition describes as having been
driven from his throne by the Javanese, in the year
AN ANCIENT TOMB 577
1252 of the Christian era, and who died at Malacca, not
converted to the Mohammedan religion, in 1274 ; so
that the story is probably apocryphal. Over the sup-
posed tomb of Iskandar a rude structure has been raised,
since the formation of the new Settlement, to which
Mohammedans, Hindoos, and Chinese equally resort
to do homage. It is remarkable that many of the fruit
trees cultivated by the ancient inhabitants of Singapore
are still existing, on the eastern side of the hill, after a
supposed lapse of near six hundred years. Here we
find the durian, the rambutan, the duku, the shaddock,
and other fruit trees of great size ; and all so degenerated,
except the two first, that the fruit is scarcely to be
recognised.
" Among the ruins are found various descriptions of
pottery, some of which is Chinese and some native.
Fragments of this are in great abundance. In the same
situation have been found Chinese brass coins of the
tenth and eleventh centuries. The earliest is of the
Emperor Ching-chung, of the dynasty of Sung-chao,
who died in the year 967 ; another is of the reign of
Jin-chung, of the same dynasty, who died in 1067 ;
and a third, of that of Shin-chung, his successor,
who died in 1085. The discovery of these coins aifords
some confirmation of the relations which fix the esta-
blishment of the Malays at Singapore in the twelfth
century. It should be remarked, in reference to this sub-
ject, that the coins of China were in circulation among all
the nations of the Indian Islands before they adopted
the Mohammedan religion, or had any intercourse with
Europeans."
The Museum and Library Committee have recently
brought the subject to the notice of the Government
with a view to the removal of the sordid surroundings of
the tomb, the erection of a mausoleum and cloister, and
the beautifying of the approaches to this interesting
though mysterious relic of the distant past.
1-38
CHAPTER XI
THE PORT OF SINGAPORE
By Walter Makepeace
Early Days
The early records of Singapore deal, naturally, very
largely with ships, their building and repair, and their
provisioning. Boat Quay was the first home of ship-
wrights— near where the Marine Police Station now
stands — and there were three shipwrights established
there in 1847, by which time Teluk Ayer had begun to
be used; for we find " J. Clunis, Teluk Ayer," Clunis's
name frequently recurring in the later years ; he was
also the first pilot. D. Lyon had an establishment at
Kampong Glam in 1858, and one at Tanjong Rhoo in
i860, by which time William Cloughton's Dock at
New Harbour was at work.
Cloughton was an old East Indian skipper, and he
signs for himself and per pro. for Burleigh. It is said
that Cloughton was trading to Singapore in a barque, and
wishing to repair and dock his vessel, selected the piece
of ground referred to in the lease of 1855. The large
sums of money referred to later returned with golden
wings to the promoters.
Some part of the history of the New Harbour venture is
shown by a deed of partnership dated the 24th December
1 86 1, by which William Paterson, William Cloughton,
on the one part, and William Wemyss Ker, Henry Mel-
ville Simons, Joseph Burleigh (of Calcutta), William
Mactaggart, Joaquim d'Almeida, Jos^ d'Almeida and
Syed Abdullah bin Omar al Junied, agreed to form a
company to take over the concern upon which the three
57a
NEW HARBOUR DOCK 579
first- named had " laid out large sums of money in the
purchase and construction of a Patent Slip and Dock at
the New Harbour." The original deed is recited to
have been dated the 2 nd April 1855, between them and the
Datu Temenggong Daing Ibrahim Sri Maharajah of
Singapore for a ninety-nine years' lease. A seven years'
partnership was concluded, 130 equal shares: H. M.
Simons, 32 ; W. Paterson, 29 ; W. Cloughton, 16 ; Joseph
Burleigh, 13 ; W.W. Ker, 10; Syed Abdullah, 20 ; W.Mac-
taggart,4; the d'Almeidas, three each ; Capital 130,000
Spanish dollars ; Paterson, Simons and Co. to be General
Managers, Agents, and Treasurers, and William Cloughton
Manager. The deed contains the equivalent of the
Articles of Association.
Ship-chandlers and victuallers and provisioners pre-
ceded the builders, Whampoa (to H.M. Navy) and five
others appearing in 1 840. Twenty years later they were
eleven strong, well known among them in the town history
being G. J. Dare and Co. and von Hartwig and Co. — all
close in Flint Street and Battery Road. Most of them
did sail-making too, but there were also professionals
who did nothing else than attend to the wings of the
then prevailing craft.
As late as 1871 Buyers and Robb were building ships
at Teluk Ayer, launching in that year the Bintang, a
forty-ton steamer, the engines of which were built by
Riley Hargreaves and the christening ceremony carried
out by Mrs. Riley. Ships almost without number have
been built and launched since that time, including the
Sea Mew, Government steamer, by Riley Hargreaves in
1903, concerning which Sir Frank Swettenham endorsed
the policy : "it must be borne in mind that work for the
Straits should be given in the Straits, if costs and work-
manship are equal," in the words " keep yer ain sea guts
for yer ain sea maw."
Among the other worthies who helped to build up the
port of Singapore were Mark Moss, John Baxter,
E. M. Smith, John Blair, and Charles Wishart.
In the olden days, like Pilot Burrows and E. M. Smith,
58o
THE PORT OF SINGAPORE
many men coming here as shipmasters settled down to
business. Wise men, seeing the possibiUties of the place,
came ashore and anchored for life. One typical case
is that of Mark Moss, who came out as master of his own
vessel in 1838 and lived here, with an occasional trip
home, till he died in 1872. When he was in the Black
Duke, in 1 840, they were attacked by pirates, and Moss
jumped overboard and clung to the rudder, and, in spite
of losing an ear and sustaining sundry cuts, kept his
hold till Captain Keppel appeared in the Dido, just in
time to save him. Captain I. Moss, his son, is still in
Singapore. Of the same date are the sea experiences of
Captain Ross, whose son, J. Dill Ross, has recounted
them, and many other reminiscences of the 'Seventies
to 'Nineties, in his entertaining book Sixty Years' Travel
and Adventure in the Far East (Hutchinson, 191 1). -
John Baxter appears in the 1 867 Directory as a Marine
Surveyor (there is also a James Baxter, who may have
been the Inner Guard, bearing the inscription plate at
the Masonic laying of the foundation-stone of Raffles
Light, 1854). John Baxter and John Lawrence Kirby
started business as marine surveyors for Lloyd's in i860,
and John Baxter died here in 1892, leaving money to
the Presbyterian Church to build the Manse in Cavenagh
Road. He was a well-known character, and is referred
to in W. H. Read's book Play and Politics. A straight-
forward Scotsman, with a thorough knowledge of his
business, nothing would persuade him to sanction even
the deviation of an eighth of an inch from what he con-
sidered the strict line of duty. By trade a shipwright,
having built ships in Siam for Tan Kim Cheng, and as a
partner in Tivendale and Co., " Jock " was the best judge
of a wooden sailing vessel in the East. He knew the
history of every vessel that traded to the Straits, knew
her strong and weak points, and made a point of in-
specting every new ship that came. (In this, his partner
and successor, Mr. Charles Fittock, was equally facile).
On one occasion an iron steamer had to dock at Singapore
to replace plates damaged by her having recently been
CAPTAIN JOHN BLAIR.
I. 580]
MANAGERS OF TANJONG PAGAR 581
ashore, and the captain called Baxter's attention to some
little straining top-side. Jock replied that that could
not be taken into account, as the damage had been done
when the steamer first came out with a cargo of rails and
met with bad weather. A very faithful servant of Lloyd's.
E. M. Smith was Official Assignee in 1867, also a
director of the Singapore Ice Works, and proprietor of the
Singapore Daily Times (John Cameron, Editor). The
combination did not prevent him becoming Manager of
Tanjong Pagar Dock Co., for he was an able man, and did
much to develop the resources of that concern. He and
Cloughton, of New Harbour, had great tussles. E. M.
Smith started life as a master mariner, commanding ships
sailing out of Singapore from 1850 to 1861, settling
ashore in the latter year. He left the Dock Company
in 1 88 1 and retired to England, having lost one fortune
by the failure of John Cameron and Co., which caused
him to join the Dock. He came out from England in
1886 to look after some investments, and died in St.
Thomas's Walk in that year, aged sixty-four.
John Blair, " as honest good a Scotsman as ever left
the land of cakes " (contemporary history), came from
Alloa, and was a master mariner by profession. He
succeeded E. M. Smith as Manager of Tanjong Pagar,
and under his able management — like most of the pioneer
dock people, he believed in seeing to everything himself — -
the Company prospered. He is accorded a high place
among the builders of Singapore, and his death at home,
shortly after his retirement at a comparatively early age,
was a matter of sincere regret to all, and some who
thought of him as somewhat of a martinet will read
with satisfaction, from the authority quoted above :
" Any tale I could tell of him would merely be some act
of kindness done in a quiet unpretending way, which he
would have been the last to wish made public." He is
buried at Cupar- Fife, where Mrs. Blair still lives. Mr.
F. Younger Blair, a partner of Boustead and Co., and
Mrs. Drummond, wife of Mr. D. Drummond, of the
same firm, are children of Captain John Blair.
58a THE PORT OF SINGAPORE
Charles Wishart
Charles Wishart was born the 7th May 1835, and died,
at the age of seventy, on the 26th November 1905. He
came East at the early age of twenty, and spent some
time in Borneo. About i860 Cloughton picked him as
a good man for his New Harbour Docks, and Cloughton
always chose his men with care and made them work
hard. By 1867 he had become Superintending Ship-
wright, and Robert Allan (later of Riley Hargreaves) was
an engineer under him. He then lived on Teluk Blanga
Road, but on becoming Manager a few years later, he
went to live at Kingston House, overlooking the old
dock, on a hill about where the Power Station now
stands. That house has many pleasant recollections for
Singapore of the 'Seventies and 'Eighties, for Mr. and Mrs.
Wishart 's family of boys and girls was a great attraction.
The late Mrs. Joyce, Mrs. Dashwood Saunders, Mrs.
Kenneth Stevens, and Mrs. Cleaver (now of Penang) are
all " Wishart " girls, who took an active part in music,
acting, and sport in Singapore. Charles Wishart was a
great character, and used to be down at the dock super-
intending the work early and late, attended by a man
with a big umbrella, who in time got used to his master's
energetic language. His whole interest was in his work,
and tradition has it that he and Captain Darke, the
pilot, never went across the river to the Tanglin end of
the town oftener than once in ten years.
Sir Harry Keppel
The Honourable Sir Henry Keppel first came to
Singapore on the sth September 1834 ; he was last here
at the beginning of 1903. It was the Naning (Malacca)
Expedition that first brought him to Malaya as a
Lieutenant in the Magicienne, twenty-four guns, which
anchored off Malacca on the 6th June 1831, and Keppel
was sent in charge of a small force to blockade the
mouth of the Linggi river. He narrowly escaped being
a second Rajah Brooke, from the offer of the Naning
CHARLES WISHART.
I. 582]
I
SIR HARRY KEPPEL 583
Raj ah as told in his book A Sailor's Life under Four
Sovereigns. Keppel went on to Batavia, Mr. Bonham
going on the Magicienne to the same place. Keppel's
great work against the pirates of Borneo was done during
the cruise of the Dido, which passed through Singapore
for China in May 1842, and then returned at the end of
the year, again going to China and returning in February
1844. It was during this commission of the beautiful
Dido that Captain Keppel made so many friends, and
it was in her that, as a small midshipman. Sir Charles
Johnson Brooke, the late Rajah of Sarawak, went to
his future kingdom. Keppel was Umpire and W. H.
Read Secretary of a Regatta held in 1 843, an account of
which is given in the latter's book. In that year the
officers of the Dido played a cricket match against
Singapore, six years after Sunday cricket on the Espla-
nade had been objected to.
Keppel's Narrative of the Expedition to Borneo of
H.M.S. "Dido" for the suppression of piracy; with
extracts front the' Journal of James Brooke, Esquire,
of Sarawak, was published in 1846, and long extracts
were given from it in the Singapore Free Press of the
time. Keppel returned to Singapore in 1848 in the
forty-four-gun frigate the Meander, and was supporter
for Rajah Brooke when he was invested with the
K.C.B. on the 22nd August. A few months before that
he explored the New Harbour, and found the Meander
Shoal with the ship's keel ; the Meander was the first ship
to be repaired in Keppel Harbour, as it was re-named in
the Admiral's honour on the 19th April 1900, when he
was the guest of Sir Alexander Swettenham at Govern-
ment House. Keppel was thus the father of the huge
works and wharves which now line the shores of the
narrow strait, and if his advice had been followed, the
Admiralty Dock and Wharf would not have been on
Pulo Brani. In 1849 the Captain was entertained at a
dinner by his friends the merchants, in the Masonic Hall,
of which the W. M. and Brethren allowed the use as a
mark of personal respect and public esteem being paid
584 THE PORT OF SINGAPORE
to a distinguished member of their order. Mr. J. Purvis
was in the chair, and the toast of Keppel was received
with deafening applause and " nine times nine " — such
sturdy fellows at the board were the early Singaporeans.
The hope expressed that he would return as Commander-
in-Chief of the China Station was actually realised on the
31st March 1867. Keppel, with the same navigating
officer, brought H.M.S. Raleigh through New Harbour
on the 19th March 1857, flying his broad pennant as
Commodore, and showing full faith in the accuracy of
his previous survey. At home, in 1 866, Keppel worked
with Sir James Brooke in the interests of the Transfer,
and there was some talk of his succeeding Sir Orfeur
Cavenagh. He was present at the inauguration of the new
Government in the Town Hall on Monday, the ist April
1867, concerning which Buckley writes, after describing
the haughty entrance of Sir Harry Ord, the first Governor :
" Then another salute was heard, and a very short man,
in an Admiral's uniform, his breast covered with medals
(there was not room to put them all -on), came up the
verandah on the side facing the Esplanade, and, as he
walked into the room through the last side-door, taking
off his hat with a bow to the company, with his smiling
face, bright eyes, and long eyelashes, everyone stood up
delighted to see him." The " httle Admiral " charmed
the hearts of all, from Queen Victoria to the lowest of her
subjects who knew him.
The gallant Admiral came back to Singapore in 1903,
and was at Mr. Buckley's Children's Play in January,
being delighted and delighting all by his charm. He
went to stay in Johore, and, sad to relate, had his
medals and orders stolen by a servant of the late Dato
Meldrum ; but his luck was still in, and he recovered
all his property.
William Cloughton
" A place of honour should certainly be given to
William Cloughton, master mariner, commonly known
as Captain Cloughton, as the builder of the first dry
SIR HARRY KEPPEI, DURING HIS I,AST VISIT TO SINGAPORE.
1-584]
THE FIRST DRY DOCK 585
dock at Singapore, and about whom more funny stories
were told by old Singaporeans than perhaps any
other early worker. He was born and brought up at
Hull, and first saw the light of day in the year 181 1.
He seems to have been brought up very strictly as a
member of the Church of England, his parents being
well-to-do. In Singapore he gave as his excuse for not
going to Church the old one of having been there so
much in his youth that his attendance would still show
a better average than most men. At the same time
he had a great respect for the Church, and paid regularly
for a seat in St. Andrew's, of the whereabouts of which
he had no notion, but said when asked that he was sure
it was in a good position, as a friend, Mr. Paterson, had
chosen it for him. About the age of fourteen Cloughton
decided to free himself from the restraints of home life,
and ran away to sea. He did not return for over fifty
years, when he revisited Hull to see if he could find any
trace of his parents. On his arrival at the town he
found the clock in the church which he had known as a
boy at Kingston stopped at a certain hour. He made
a note of the time in his pocket-book, and went to a shop
to ask why it had stopped. The man could not say ; it
had never stopped before. Near by he passed another
church which he had known, and noticed that that clock
had stopped also. Later he found the Family Bible,
and from it learned that both his parents were dead,
his father dying at the hour indicated by one clock, and
his mother at the time when the other clock had stopped.
Whatever may have been the result of this coincidence,
he was believed never in his life to inaugurate any new
business or sign anything of importance on a Friday."
The above is taken from a MS., in Mr. C. B. Buckley's
handwriting, among a bundle of other sketches of Old
Singaporeans written by Mr. W. G. Gulland, of Paterson,
Simons and Co., which Mr. Buckley had apparently
intended to publish under the title of Some Singapore
Worthies : Tales of Old Times, written by Old Singaporeans
some years ago and now cotnmitted to pritit for the first
time." The date is " Singapore 191-," ten years after
the publication of the Anecdotal History. They never
586 THE PORT OF SINGAPORE
were printed, but the MS. has furnished many curious
and interesting yarns about old Singapore. Mr. Gulland
continues the story of Cloughton, and runs on to the
New Harbour interestingly :
" Already broken down in health, he did not live long
after his home-going, and died in March 1874, in a
nursing home at Sydenham, and lies at rest in Norwood
Cemetery. When Cloughton first became known to
Singapore he was trading between Calcutta and China
in the opium brigs belonging to Apcar & Co., the well-
known Armenian house. For a time he sailed as chief
officer, with Captain Durham, of Calcutta fame, and
afterwards with his own command. I have heard him
say that the last ship he commanded was a retired man-
of-war, and carried a crew of a hundred natives, all told.
Stately vessels were these old country ships, and many a
valuable cargo they carried between India and China.
Going backwards and forwards, he saw that a dry dock
was wanted at Singapore, and decided, with the aid of
his friends and his own savings, to construct one, for
which purpose he settled in Singapore about the year
1854, choosing his site in New Harbour, just opposite
Pulo Hantu. He would never allow the wisdom of his
choice to be discussed : all argument on the subject was
silenced by the statement that as he had the first pick,
he was not such a fool as not to select the best position.
In 1862, as I first knew him, Cloughton was a short,
thick-set man of about fifty, with a heavy, clean-shaven
face. Of a morning he used to walk about in a light and
airy costume, which, as far as could be seen, consisted of
a pair of white calico pyjamas and an ordinary shirt, the
ends of which, instead of being tucked in, hung down
outside ; a pith hat and stout stick completed the get-
up, in which he would sometimes stroll for miles. He
seemed to take little or nothing before his breakfast, at
about eleven, except sundry cups of tea, which were
brought to him as he walked about in the dock premises ;
the man held the saucer and Cloughton merely lifted the
cup to his lips. One morning, without saying a word, as
he put down the cup he gave the man a slap on the ear,
which was taken quite quietly, and on being asked why
he struck the man, he said that the tea was stone cold,
CAPTAIN CLOUGHTON 587
and that the man would quite understand the reason
why. After breakfast he would have a nap, and between
three and four start for town, dressed, if the day was wet,
in a suit of navy blue cloth, but if fine he would have on
the shiniest of Calcutta-made patent leather shoes, the
whitest of duck trousers, no waistcoat, but a spotless
white cotton shirt, with turned-down collar and black
silk bow, the straight-cut coat belonging to the naval
blue suit, the buttons on which, by the way, were of
gold decorated not with an anchor, which would have
looked like aping the Royal Navy, but with the rose of
old England embossed thereon, while a black silk hat
covered his head.
" On fine days he journeyed to town, a distance of
some three miles, in an old-fashioned sort of a victoria
with a great high leather front, on the top of which the
driver was perched in a small seat, fortunately for him
a long way out of reach, as Cloughton sat in the body of
the chariot, or he might have had many a cuff on the
side of the head when the steering was not to his master's
liking. The other syce stood behind on the usual
foot-board that eastern carriages are fitted with,
holding in his hand a horse-fly brush. The motive
power for some considerable time was supplied by two
red and white piebalds ; altogether, when seen it was
a turn-out to be remembered. A tale is told of how one
night Cloughton dined out, and went to sleep on the way
back. As none of the native servants dare waken him,
the chariot was drawn up at the front door of his house,
the piebalds taken out, and the Dock Director left to
slumber on peacefully till morning, guarded by the dock
policemen. When day dawned he alighted, donned
his usual costume, and started the day as if nothing out
of the common had happened. As a rule Cloughton
would not dine out ; he used to say : ' What is the use ?
Far better chance your cook and staff at home ; it is
just as good.' Usually he would of an evening be the
last to leave town, staying on at McAlister's as long as
he could get anyone to talk to, only returning to the
dock in time for dinner, at which the chances were he
would be joined by some of the captains whose ships
were being repaired. After dinner the entertainment
consisted of Manila cigars, with brandies and sodas,
588 THE PORT OF SINGAPORE
and might last for hours if the conversation flowed
freely.
" If any of the visitors were musical, so much the
better ; the Director's grand piano was called into
requisition, and the evening would be all the more jovial.
Cloughton had a black factotum known by the name of
Babo, who had sailed with him as serang (boatswain),
and through whom his orders were conveyed to the
various native workmen employed at the dock. Impor-
tant as Babo was at home, it was at auction sales that he
appeared to most advantage. The auctioneers always
welcomed his arrival with delight, for they knew he would
have a marked catalogue, no limits, and dare not go home
without having secured what he had orders to buy.
Tivendale had been a shipwright with a yard at Sandy
Point. This, when he died, was put up at auction, and
Cloughton conceived the idea of buying it with a view
to lessening competition. On the day of the sale
Cloughton arrived, as usual somewhat late, accompanied
by Babo, and looking round the room he saw a lot of
jobbing shipwrights who were bidding very cautiously ;
so Cloughton, addressing them, said : ' Gentlemen, when
the late Mr. Tivendale was alive, you were counted his
friends, I his enemy ; but now that he is dead we will see
who is his friend ; Babo, you black rascal, bid.' The
auctioneer knew he was safe, and Babo's bidding soon
put a very different appearance on the sale. Cloughton
tried to work the yard, but in the long run had to shut
it up, merely putting in a couple of watchmen, who used
to attend at the town office once a month to draw their
pay.
" One day, on arriving, Cloughton saw these men
waiting. He said not a word, but after depositing the
black silk hat, turned round, walked quietly back and
kicked them down stairs. On being asked the reason
thereof, he said : 'The place not paying a cent and the
fellows have the face to come and demand pay.' One
afternoon a black cloud of smoke was seen going up from
Sandy Point, and later on the news reached town that
the New Harbour Dock Company's property there was
on fire. On Cloughton 's arrival he was advised to go
out into the front verandah of the office and see what
was going on. He returned immediately, merely remark-
CLOUGHTON'S ECCENTRICITIES 589
ing ' I always expected the place would play me
that trick.'
" Cloughton could see no beauty in the benefits of
competition, and viewed with no favour the formation of
the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company in opposition to his
own. Most of the Singapore merchants were interested
in the new undertaking, among others the B. C. Ltd.,
from which company a gentleman, rather deliberate
in manner and stilted in utterance, one afternoon
appeared at the New Harbour town office to see
Cloughton about the bill of some ship that happened to
be consigned to the B. C. Ltd. He opened the conversa-
tion in a somewhat pompous style by stating that the
charges were perfectly preposterous. Cloughton, in his
usual quick way, immediately replied : ' You think so, do
you ? Just wait till that hole of yours is opened and
I will take good care there is no reason for any such
complaint,' and off he walked. Left to himself, he would
have been as good as his word, for on the morning of the
day the said dock was to be opened with a great flourish
of trumpets, some wonderment was caused by the sight
of Cloughton's chariot, at an early hour, proceeding
towards Tanglin. The explanation was, however, that
Cloughton was merely on his way to Broadfields to
propose that in the Straits Times of that afternoon
should appear a notice that from that day forward the
New Harbour Company would dock vessels free of
charge.
" Very exact himself, Cloughton had a great objection
to anyone not being equally truthful. He would say :
' If your servant is a thief you can lock up your goods,
but a liar you can do nothing with.' There was much
to be admired in the character of Cloughton ; he had
all the good qualities of the old sea salt, and without
some of the bad he could not have been the perfect
type he was of the class who won for Britannia the rule
of the waves. There was nothing mean about the man :
his warm heart, love of truth, desire for honesty ever
shone through all the bad language, love of harsh
discipline and eccentricities of manner, proclaiming
the natural goodness of one who must ever take a high
place among the builders up of Singapore.
" Just beyond the scene of Cloughton's labour stands.
590 THE PORT OF SINGAPORE
at the western entrance to New Harbour, a small hill
called Bukit Chermin (glass hill), on the top of which,
years before the docks existed, William Wemyss Ker
built himself a house, from the back verandah of which
you look down upon the sea, lying some eighty feet below,
like a sheet of glass. If you want to see the view aright,
then go visit it, like fair Melrose, by pale moonlight,
when the picture presented, lit up by the silver rays of
a tropical moon, might be fairy-land. To the left is
Blakang Mati, with a solitary palm, like a weird sentinel,
standing up here and there to break the sky-line, while
Pulo Hantu rises between that and the northern shore
of New Harbour. To the right the view, is more
extended, and an occasional flash of sheet lightning
reveals merely the distant horizon where sea and sky
meet. In those days no sound disturbed the quiet
beauty of the prospect, unless it were the clock of the
night-jar or the chant of Malay oarsmen as they drove
their swift sampans through the entrance in passing to
or from Teluk Blanga.
" Captain the Honourable Harry Keppel may be
said to have been the first to make use of the New
Harbour, as late in the 'Forties he anchored H.M.S.
Meander in the placid water, while staying with W. W.
Ker at Bukit Chermin, where the second Mrs. Ker lived
for nine years without going home. What would the
Singapore ladies of to-day think of such a sojourn ?
We can hardly say, spent entirely in contemplating
the beauties of New Harbour, for the Kers used to
entertain right royally, and no doubt, what with a
young family to look after and a house full of visitors,
the good lady's time must have been fully occupied.
A kindly, hospitable pair were the late Mr. and Mrs. Ker,
with many friends and no enemies.
" About that time the Guthries built and occupied
St. James ; but fashion decided in favour of Tanglin, and
with the exception of the Tumunggong of Johore's many
establishments at Teluk Blanga (for the use of himself,
his sisters, his cousins, and his aunts), there were no other
houses of importance in that district. H.H. the
Tumunggong and Mr. Ker used to ride out together of
a morning, discussing both business and pleasure. It
was to Mr. Ker that the Tumunggong entrusted the first
►4
BLACKSMITH AND PILOT 591
gutta-percha shipped to Europe ; but neither of them
had any idea of what a great part this gum was to play
in the future, for without it ocean telegraphy as known
to us would not have been possible. Mr. Ker, like
many other people, had to dine at houses where the
wine was a headache next day. This he very much
objected to ; but fortunately the custom of each guest
taking his own servant opened a way of escape in going
to entertainments where the wine was not above
suspicion. His boy had instructions to take enough
champagne for the Bukit Chermin party, so that they
were able, unknown to their host, to enjoy themselves
to the full without fear of the morrow. Mr. Ker used
to say : ' If people cannot or will not afford good wine,
they should be content to give what is at least whole-
some ; good beer is much better than bad champagne.'
Mr. Ker had a friend, a fellow Singapore merchant, who
in his later years was most generous, and gave away
large sums to charities. Whenever old Ker saw his
friend's name in any fresh lists of subscriptions he used
to remark : ' Poor old , paying more fire insurance.' "
Pilots
Before the use of the " New Harbour," pilots must
have been needed for the anchorage, and date, no doubt,
back to the earliest days. Jacob Clunis, in 1847, com-
bined the occupations of " blacksmith at Teluk Ayer "
and "pilot. New Harbour " ; he was the P. and O. pilot in
i860. In 1869 an attempt was made to enforce com-
pulsory pilotage, but this was defeated by the action of
the Straits Settlements Association of London. The
pilot service has naturally been recruited from the
Mercantile Marine, and the best type of seamen, seeing
the possibilities of the place, have left the sea and settled
down ashore as pilots.
William Burrows commanded many vessels in the
Eastern trade, seldom going west of the Cape of Good
Hope, and in 1 860 left the schooner Shanghai to become
a pilot, building a house on Button Island. He had been
captain of Cloughton's vessel the Ascendant, and Clough-
ton would have none but smart men on his ships. That
592 THE PORT OFt SINGAPORE
Burrows the pilot should caricature Cloughton, his former
owner, was nothing but in accordance with the healthy-
feuds between the old sea-dogs of the 'Sixties — masterful
men they were, but knew how to respect a good seaman.
Archibald Skinner was an early Messageries Maritimes
pilot, but the best known was his successor, A. C. Bing,
a courtly gentleman of the old school, who spoke excellent
French and made money; he died in 1898. William
Marshall was P. and O. pilot in 1 868, and shipping business
had then reached a point of considerable importance, since
J. L. Kirby was in business as an " average adjuster,"
and W. C. Leisk (1857) as a chronometer maker. It
is curious that tide-tables were not published till 1885,
but the old pilots probably kept their knowledge to
themselves. In 1868, when the Pilots Ordinance was
passed, there were four pilots licensed for New Harbour.
By 1878 there were nine, W. Burrows still the senior,
the list including M. H. John, J. C. Davies, A. H. Tilly,
H. Crockford, down to the youngest, F. M. Darke. In
1880 the Pilot Club consisted of W. Burrows, A. H.
Tilly, and eight other pilots. Later the Singapore Pilots'
Association was formed, with its own office at Tanjong
Pagar, and a representative on the Pilot Board. Mr. A.
Snow, who retired early in 1919, was the doyen of the
Association.
END OF VOL. I
PrinUd by HaiM, Watson & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury, Entland.
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