The Express.
London, England, 1851-07-11 00:00:00

iiiiiVifiti.

On the nod= el kr. Hamm. now weir wen adored
for dr bresigh Ilseeteree" lomat by the Earl of
Wpm% assoplompo of the Mee eeteneellee of bet
Wiry% leseeherd awl fer the el Amadei,
went by the Let et Amadei led • ateeptenee of
the Chiltern Hundreds.

their
111"... just
all the to or a square to deeds booms" aor C
sur
hod bees edgmreMd is it. He would admit the provides.,
mad misehlef of die pirates in those waters ; fifty yea» "gill
ke had atm* hem • to them, bat these were rasa
ttaa easseirst port 1 havingno bosomed's
with the Do% argomeat sate,
they hog. their tr massed by Admiral
had bees drapthee . Them" I V ides% .u&s phase
liable. as emadatioo, to tramapeoletios it ahem yea's;
they wets to be takes sad brought to trial. If they resited
day might be killed ; but if they made so resideose. web
mane aught not to be pursued.. Mr Jaws books lia-
amoimilled that most of them were SIMS, Ming umbst
3/Metimination ought to be made in such eases; to
isserey doom all withest distiostiou, moo, woods, sad
elibbes.eintilimeverbeleadded. this MIMI* the treaty
et NINO bad boss Yr This only pre her Kip
jostrovonolidolooforofoopturtne vowels. Thema-
duct oldie bed bees a directoislatioa of this traegy.
nobs/ It is le waft the mammary information
hem the mosalmot et lase liejoetre deveemacnt, or from
say of die stallemes emoometed with the East India de-
peetmeeits Is was obliged to have MOMS@ to the naval
AWN webg ea the coast of Borneo at that period. But
before adueeflsg to the replies received from them he
would, in order to show the unfitness of the Sekarran and
Sarebas tribal hr piratical undertakings, quote the gedeion
of Sir J. Brooke himself on the subject. He damped
them as being the most savage of the various local tribes,
and delighted in hunting and fishing. Their weapons tom•
prised the sword and spear, but fire arms they had none,
and consequently never used any. In fact such was their
dread of firs arms that the discharge of musketry put them
to flight. That was the opinion of Sir J. Brooke ; and he
thought • better witness against himself need not be
desired. The neat testimony he would adduce was
that of Captain Daniel, of the East India navy,
to whom he (Kr. Hume) applied for information in duseme.
Now Captain Daniel was on the Bornean coast in IMP sad
and his reply was " that whilst on the coast he wet
fell in with a pirate ; nor did he ever hear of moileffilism
being offered by the tribes to foreigners." Now IMO Mee
• strong proof, ea coming from • gentleman and an Wiser;
who had been in command of a vessel on the Borneo
coast for a considerable period. (Hear, hear.) In another
letter which he (Mr. Hume) received front an officer whe
commanded a ship on that coast for 16 months, the wriem
said that during that period he never saw a pirate, whisk
greatly disappointed him, as he was led to suppose that the
coast abounded with them. The writer also continued 119
say that he had been informed by merchants that small
coasting vessels, under the English flag, traded without
molestation on these waters. He (Mr. Hume) in bringlag
the matter forward did not seek in any way to aggeaSmu
the charges. His object was to vindicate she hamar af
the country, the cause of humanity, =urta
might say, the character of her Majesty's
who, by the way, so far from endeavouring to neaeftg the
evils of the case, voted lathe two last years sums of 1
as head money for the murder, he would term it, et those
inoffensive men, at least inoffensive in a piratical sense.
(Hear, hear.) By the evidence of another naval officer,
who served in • frigate at Labuan, it appeared that he never
saw a pirate there. The different tribes, he remarked,
made war upon each other, like their more civilized
brethren in other parts of the world. But so little were they
dreaded, that vessels of 4.5 tons, with crews of eight and ten
men, ran constantly between Singapore and Borneo. (Hear,
hear.) The officer himself stated that, in consequence of
ill-health, he went to Labuan in a vessel of 45 toes, with •
crew of 4 men, the only arms on board consisting of am
double-barrelled fowling piece. Now, with such proofs as
these before him, he could not help appealing to that honest
and to her Majesty's ministers in the case of these unforter
nate men, who had been so cruelly dealt with. If sige
other proof were needed, he had by him • documemt
signed by 63 merchants of the colony, substanthting the
statements he had already laid before the house. Ms NOM
was to call the attention of the house to the massmers of
these wretched 1,500 human beings, on the plea that
were pirates, though no proof whatever existed of their
being such. Sir J. Brooke, in a letter to Lord Palmontim,
declared that he did not object to inquiry ; and he (Mr.
Hume) should assert that without inquiry it was not pos-
sible to clear up the character of that gentleman. (fleer.)
A commission was sent to Sir J. Brooke—the individual
who was more implicated than any other—to take evidence.
Mr. M'Dougal and Mr. Crookshanlui, the latter of whoa
was in the pay of Sir J. Brooke, were the commissioners
appointed. There was only one European witness ez-
iunined, that witness being Sir J. Brooke himself, and he
made an affidavit in court which was entirely at variaaes
with all his former statements. Now, he would ask
whether there was anything like justice in sending a com-
mission to the very man who was the mast im-
plicated in the whole of these proceedings, to have
the evidence taken. The commissioners acted in this respect
contrary to what, as lawyers, they should have done, and
contrary to what justice required. This alone would*:
tify and demand an inquiry. (Hear.) A great deal had
been made of an address which had been presented to Mr
J. Brooke, signed, as was stated, by all the merchants la
Borneo. He had analysed the signatures to that address,
and he found that only 13 out of 27 merchants had signed,
the remaining 14 refused to do so. This address was pre-
'caeca in January last year. Another address, from the Dutch
settlement of very recent date, was sent here and presented to
Sir .1 Brooke. Why had the parties who signed this address
slept oa their oars so long? Why had they not moved in
this matter when it was first known that he had been en-
deavouring to bring these atrocities to light and hail been
doing everything in his power to obtain information. He
could not but think, therefore, that this address had been
prepared for the occasion. Sir J. Brooke, in his reply, '
made a reference to him (Mr. Ilume). But he had
been for so lung a time accustomed to these paper
bullets, that he was not afraid of them now. (Cheers.)
His object was to have an inquiry into thew matters
is which the character of the country and the cause
of humanity were involved, and in which the credit of
her Majesty's government, who adopted these proceedings,
was implicated. (Hear.) There was one remaining point
of which some notice ought to be taken. He had on former
occasions put qucatlona to the noble lord at the head of the
government, and to the noble lord the Secretary for Foreign
Affairs, respecting the position of Sir J. Brooke. He had
been told that Sir J. Brooke continued to hold her Ma-
jesty's commission as governor of Labuan, and that he had
Um in receipt of 1,5001. a year, whilst the surveyor-general
WI been doing the duty foe several months during his ab-
eam. He also inquired into the nature of his position and
the 'Meat of his authority as sovereign of Sarawak, as the
UMW States had entered into negotiations with him re-
spelling a treaty of commerce. The noble lord the Secre-
ting fee Foreign Affairs, said that a treaty of
momma might be entered into ,• but he did
test Wino that one was concluded ; that Sir J.
Week* was justified in the course he adopted ; that
Sarawak was nut British territory ; and that he could
net state in what position Sir J. Brooke stood.
Now the (Mr. Hume) maintained that it was not competent
Ike Sir J. Brooks, as a British subject, to possess indepen-
dent territory without the consent of the crown. He made
that statement on the authority of the opinion of Dr.
Lashington, is the case of the New Zealand Company. The
hon. sentlersaa here read the opinion of Dr. Lushington in
which be stated that a British subject could not posse's
territory eves ia a country not under the dominion
of the crown, without the consent of the crown.
Well, then, he (Mr. Hume) wanted to know in what po-
sition Sir J. Brooke stood ? ',Hear.) They had already
paid 20,0001. for the murder of 1,500 or 2,000 unfortunate
human beings. This of Bade should surely induce the
house to trace the authors of the act, and to order an
inquiry in all these eases. This inquiry should be
by a commission. This house had immediately and with-
out hesitation sent out a commission to Ceylon to inmate
into the handwriting of a captain in her Majesty's service.
The present question is a matter of vast importance, sad a
commission of inquiry should also be sent out. He had to
lament on the present occasion the absence of the late right
hon. baronet the member for Tamworth, because he had- in
his possession a letter from that right hon. gentleman, in
which, after reading an account of thew transactions in the
papers, he expressed his opinion that an inquiry ought to
take place. It was dated Nov. 211, 1849 :

Wbitsiaa, Tiff ISIL
MOle, —I drek you fa anamialka WM pia bow S.
um I trest lb,
ber geeernmem sea k Is le
ails Melinda imp lambi la arallas
' weer streammesse bees Weser yea to m=
es the His Lei sf me Treesury. I riot with 'rest pin as es.
ISMS of W treneseticen w wadi yea raw, but eked eseposia gust
*meat mon ttao pnassillogi aorta Sir Isms Brealie spirt
NM aas eyas &ma% wails terlualrai aft mord io
drabs gines.— ran.,, (lama) Lana Pia.
Lary Wise,. 34. Oaradh.
He (Mr. Hems) now asked for those explanations which
the late Sir R. Peel said, on the spur of the ream& ought
to be given ; end from eapreseions which hal afterwards
fallen from that right hon. gentleman he (Kr. RUM) was
satisfied that if he were present amongst them Mat il6t
he would support an inquiry into these transactions,
He
had now stated his case, and in doing so he hut pedigreed
a most painful duty. His object was to elicit the truth. He
defied all the powers of the government and of the Lore
to do away with the foul spot which al ate dissamis ma
on Sir J. Brooke without inquiry. He (Yr. Hams) assail
be glad if it were proved that he had taken an erroneous
or too strong a view of the matter. He wadi so far acquit
the government, that he believed they wee, not aware of
many of the facts which he had stated whew they adopted
the proceedings of Sir J. Brooks. Let ends MS be selected
to conduct the inquiry as these who sat en the Ceylon com-
mission. The East India Company had many able men
under them, who could made* ers inquiry. Let them
get any instructions the loverearint_ *erred to lave, pro-
vided only an opportunity ins Mae! havlng thee*
matters thoroughly sifted. (Cheers.) He would only add
that such an investigation alone could fees the government
and Sir J. Brooke from the stigma which these papers east
upon them. (Cheers.) The hon. gentleman concluded by
movint ti
C
moti
Mr. HART seconded the motion.
Oa the question being put,
Mr. HEADLAM said that he was present hat year whin
the hon. member for Montrose brought before the house a
proposition similar to that which he submitted to it on the
p-esent occasion. He had not at the time any particular
interest in the subject, nor had he the honour of being ac-
quainted with Sir J. Brooke ; he had not any more 90.•
curate acquaintance with the (motion than should be

• was -
sisession was lest by ai.laslori tr. of 169 against 29. (Hear,
bear.) Upon that socaeion matters of a private nature
will& had little to do with the subject really under dia-
Susie° were introduced into the debate by those who spoke
in defence of Sir J. Brooke, and he must sly that when
a high-minded gentleman ad aam of high character was
gravely charged in that house with no less a crime than
wholesale murder, it was not surprising if the friends of
Pk L Brooke sought to trace out the calumny to its source
.--dist they did not confine themselves to the question
blare the house, but endeavoured to prove that the sources
Item which these calumnies proceeded were foul and per-
il& (Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Headlam) was a lawyer, and
lawyers had a maxim, that a man once acquitted ought not
to be tried again for the same offence. (Hear, hear.) The,
doctrine he believed to be formed on true juWos, mis•
policy, and experience. It was wise and just, became It
rendered it necessary for those who made a charge to tem-
plet* their cum at the time it was brought forward, and
prevented them from seeking to eke it out by subsequent
matter which possibly might come to their knowledge.
(Hue) But though generally wise and true, ho would not
carry the doctrine to any absurd length, sou to exclude all
subsequent discussion in matters of grave public moment
and importance. And if the hon. member for Montrose had
brought before the house any important evidence which was
not before it on the former discussion; any new matter
that might be likely to influence the opinion of the govern-
mimt, and upset the former decision of the house, he might
have been justified in dragging Sir J. Brooke again before
the house and country. But after listening to the speech of
the honourable gentleman he did not find that he adduced
any material facts beyond these which he brought forward
on the previous occasion. (Hear, hear.) The new
documents which had been laid before the house,
so far from establishing the case against Sir J
Brooke strengthened the evidence in his favour. (Hear.)
Every new paper, fact, and deposition tended to establish
the fact that the verdict given by the house on the former
occasion was a right and true one, and showed that they
ought to reject the proposition now made by even a larger
majority. (Hear, hear.) The hon. and learned member,
after referring to the nature of the charges contained in
the motion, went on to ;say that it was divided into the
question oepolicy and the question of murder. In England
it was not usual to combine a question of policy with an in-
dictment for murder. He did not think there was any
thing incompatible in Sir J. Brooke holding the various
offices which he possessed, but supposing that it was incom-
patible, the judges of the land were not the persons by
whom that question was to be considered. The hon. gen-
tleman said that the Serena and Sakarran tribes were not
pirates, that they were harmless and inoffensive native
tribes, and perfectly innocuous from their want of civilisa-
tion, at least against any European power. Ile said that
all their wars bore the character of intertribal war,
and that they never committed piracy, but that
even if they had, the conduct pursued towards
them on the 30th of July, 1549, was not justified
by any act of piracy committed at the time, or if so that it
was marked by an unjustifiable degree of cruelty. Such
were the charges. Now in page 62 of the documents which
had been presented that morning, a description was given
of these pirates by
.different witnesses, in which it was
stated that they lay in wait to attack and plunder, and that
they massacred women and children without pity. (Hear,
hear.) Well, Borneo was a large place, end it was said
that the persons to whom this description applied were not
llyalts. But it so happened curiously enough that in
these papers which were written without any reference to
these chancre, " the llynk tribes of Sarebas " were specifi-
cally mentioned as pirates. (Cheers.) That they burned
and massacred all that came within their reach—
that they had no fire-arms, but only javelins or
spears of wood. (" Hear, hear," from Mr. Cobden.) The
hon. gentleman cheered the latter part of the description,
but he should recollect that there were four braes cannon
taken front the pinks on the night of the 31st July, and
that several of these had fin-arms. (Hear.) Now, let him
compare with this dessetltiss tint et Sir J. Brooke, as
given in his Milunisian Os piney:
pirriesses as NM et Santee mobs gamed tato than who
Wm
blow be,,y-usrell mks% sub as Mc
la. mfthe lighter Dye Iris Alb ads than
axesanningile la swift pralregoin nit rattier
rhos yes* l• snob their ; sehltra the worst
miegandif Wien Arab thsmselves
at 1.11214,11/1111 Iffif
_MAY NON • WM= ler piracy-a
Irinineinsgm omen 111 la MB Militants; mg although mew
sindlyaning testask ova followers. they mesa frequently seek
great by NAY. sobress Is hod, mum, and gespowacr, to ad who
will agree SUS agarbitsat rate to repay them in slaves.
This description was still further borne out by the descrip-
tion given in page 83 of the documents which had been dis-
tributed that morning. In another part of the same dom.
liaenighs it
weisaswidnt out during the east mmemet; In the month of
flesslion n only
on as the east moaasea begins to be felt awl the sea Is
sift es pinta, quit their retreats, sad betake themselves to plans
lane they boor to meet with soma OW Chia vaael. so soon as a
Vomit Yis sight they start la gamed. saremod them with their
some weft and bwad. if the merchantman contrivee to escape the
pirates be can se issue his rune without fear; in the contrary ease
the vessel is delivered up to piing% and the crew are either murdered
or made primero such is the undue* of the pirates during the
whale of the an manatee. _

Some hon. gentlemen thought it strange that all vessels
sailing near Borneo had not been attacked ; but what he
had just cited accounted for it. (Hear, hear.) In the year
1824 a treaty was entered into with the Netherlands for the
express purpose of suppressing the Demean pirates. At a
later period Sir James Smoke, instructed by the Foreign
office, used his power and influence for the same purpose,
in consequence of complaints having been made by the
mercantile community of this country; and for having
adopted the best mode of suppression he was stigmatised
in that house as a murderer. (Hear, hear.) The difficulty
of establishing the caw of the rajah really consisted in the
magnitude and number of the proofs; only those who had
gone through the papers knew how complete it was.
The honourable member then read a letter which had been
written by a naval officer at present in the coast-guard, and
formerly serving on board the Ariadne ship of war in the
Indian Seas, in which the writer bore his personal testimony
to the existence of pirates on the coast of Borneo, and stated
that on one occasion he himself narrowly escaped with his
life from them, and that at another time an attack upon the
Ariadne by three prahus filled with men was prevented only
by Snag a 24-pound shot across their bows. The writer
added that he thought an instance like that, where a vessel
of war had been attacked by these " daring robbers," was
sufficient to convince even Mr. Cobden himselt of the
piratical character of the tribes. (Laughter and hear.) In
the year 1844, Captain Keppell was engaged in similar
operations against the Dyaks of Sarebas, and his conduct
was then acknowledged and approved by the company
at Singapore, the commander-in-chief on the station,
and the Lords of the Admiralty. Captain Keppell said that
on that occasion the pirates were the first to fire, and that
in less than a quarter of an hour they were driven from
their guns. Captain Keppell then proceeded to say that no
less than 66 guns of various sizes were taken, as well as a
vast quantity of ammunition ; that a ton and a half of gun-
powder fell into the hands of our people, and that besides
this IN piratical boats were destroyed. After having
puniabied the two principal tribes of the pirates, Captain
lian*nest determined on attacking the tribes who fur-
nisW HIM lire-arms, who mustered 10,000 warriors and
amid put Ile sea with a hundred prahus; and he stated in
hie superblbet the interests of British commerce wouldlibe
reedy obreaced by the continuance of measures for the
amoyesmites of piracy in these saes. All he meant by that
Wm. that after making these essesples some slight super-
'Mks might be exercised, is as Is prevent the renewed
growth of these piratical eiwimiresitim, said their return to
limit farmer practices; and illeht &ippon and Sir James
Beesiut seamed both Is esseedi Os opimism that very little
Mae we* be seism y Ise Oat purpose. But this plan
wee we siseerd. sad dm remit ores OM the tribes, forget-
** wise find taus piece, alpha moseted to their old
Weelleeli and in ceeemptence 1 I lIIIIINt example of them
was winked to be foie in MA With regard to this
quails ef “ piracy," he osolbeesi that he was a little
Burpolemi at liaise Met imettime which had been pro-
pounded by the hon. riswidek for Montrose. The hon.
mambo! OBSIIIIMI to tab* that in respect to pirates who
resew* about the sem murdering men and women, and
I destroying all the vessels that tame within their reach, no
amp lies ill be taken except to capture them and bring them
W trial ender the 3rd and 4th Victoria—(hear and a laugh)
--that when the pirates were returning from a marauding
expedition to the river from which they bad sailed forth, a
steamer and one or two boats were then to catch them. 1
That instead of preventing their issue from the river in the
first place, the forces were to wait until they had seen the
met of piracy committed, and afterwards proceed to capture
mod try them according to law. He (Mr. Headlam) could
sot agree that that was the best mode of suppressing piracy.
lie dui not think that such a course had ever been adopted
by any nation in the history of the world, and he did not
beim that that was the intention of the treaties between
shis msammy and the Netherlands, and Sir James Brooke
sea this Wfte of Borneo. A question might arise as to
WWI Oluratsded piracy, and Sir James very properly stated
utintlincee higechoippeosirei•sorcoonapenslttiotiLted(Hwan.
against
ass s clear to him that the plunder or seizure of
48sizreesd
)84tTthhooef
era zictbutrsdouotferercf"earep
pirates were stated by Sir James Brooke to consist in the
fact that they no longer ventured to take the sea in force,
and that the loss of life and injury to commerce had greatly
diminished. These good effects, he said, continued for two
years; but in 1846 he was convinced that the former habits
of the people were too strongly planted in them to be era-
dicated by peaceful means, and that the impression pro-
duced upon them had gradually worn off. In that year
their depredations at sea became more frequent, though not
of a formidable character, and after his departure for Eng-
land, in 1847, the pirates threw 'off all reserve, and ha-
rassed the trade as much as before. In consequence, Sir
James made representations to the commander-in-chief in
the Indian Seas, who, after satisfying himself of the facts,
ordered Commander Parker to make a similar attack to that
which had been made with so much success in 1844. There
instructions of Rear-Admiral Collier had been produced,
and they comp:etely justified Commander Parker in the
course he had pursued—(hear, hear)—and not a word was
contained in them which showed that the admiral enter-
tained the slightest doubt of the propriety of making such an
attack. It was said that European vessels had not been
assailed in the Malayan Archipelago. But let the house ob-
serve the mode in which the trade was carried on in those
seas. Vessels were sent from this country to Singapore,
and from thews their merchandise was conveyed in small

4 coast of Borneo, and it was against those
tbe acts of piracy were committed. And if
atop '
to this transit of European Roods from
• CIIMi of Sarno, surely it was practically the
injury to commerce and to particular tribes
as if Yarope.n vessels themselves had been
in point of fact, European vessels bad been
N he admitted the number was not very
r.) With regard to the allegation of cruelty
brought against Sir James Brooke, the
quoted a passage from the letter of Common-
_ , to the effect that when a consultation took place
4i board one of her Majesty's ships on the Bornean coast,
with the view of making arrangements for "cutting of"
about 3,000 of the pirates who had escaped in the action
of the previous day, Sir James Brooke decidedly rejected
the proposal, as ono which was calculated to °cession " un-
necessary effusion of blood." He held in his hand •
letter written by the Bishop of Calcutta, in consequence of
• visit to Sarawak, which was full of sanguine anticipations
with regard to the future. It was dated the 24th of Janu-
sty, 18.51, and was addreeeed to the honorary secretary of
the Borneo Church Mission.

Totbe am C. D. Megaton ji.on. Semetary is the Boohoo Church
Society.
841116MInde Wet Maamer, on way from Sarawak to Sin-
gapore. Jan. 24, 1112 I .
Orr r=t—labslS WPM Mr does at Sarawak. I have eon.
seeradlod the to Ow nowt of the diocesan, the Lord
Moped kola I hale tits state ofthe infant
and wolhasod tally with est and maim cesplais anal
milikagrib KM P. ilbodowagal I haws osavessod am with the
gentry, sod have read thalami who rdlibibld r this mats
which bars warred in Ms hod tow yessm.
arts is toy MI gessamilow Uri limo is wo Wise es the lace of the
to be compost with disc of Wirria&
11. It hes sees throws to Mbar laimprim Moog by mi-
racle. Onset Ent datfilrraame al heathen iparsollb 0144117, end
desolation, where pale y. col maim tosstegration. and head-
hunting Magi Amend day. so Amiens were in the
aunt may ef Wog orenslewM utterly, is goer, so to speak, like the
paradise tif OW. Dellesnows hes be prodeimed—recuraty of per.▪
ead .00nel eighth as watigidegial and paternal distribn.
Dm the oils oak so extending esisidooros are already ema-
il lanarek, sad spread Ing aim the whole western coast of
Berra The Mho sea Is free ikon isorenderv, and all Europe and
Amino osay pumas their peopetelostegoilsos from Singapore to La-
bus..lllo talks
der
That Chriatima taisaboo is begun to assail, end crown all
7b6.9 issalaar bbelsilign. Two things quite unetampied favour the
deelp--let Englishmen ham beacons first knows to the oppressed
Drees by • angle Euglieh gentleman of benevolence, Went, rad An-
gular Madam and tact for governnaent who Me received m a token
of gy
ro from the native princes, a tract of land Bout 70 miles by
20, as Ms oars territory. To the ',meat of the inhabitant& of It, this
gitielebis man, who ie now mortised as the Rajah of tiorawsk, is Moots
time, his fortune, hie seal, his health, his body and rout. The
no govarninest of our lb moused sad beloved Queen Victoria at
home, Ms come forward with her &Matruh, and brave captains, to
essiat In reducing the plosive which •naketed the ovate, to alines and
tnuaquillit, by deed. a &Moat unezempod heroion. Par James
armee hasy been made Governorof lobusn. The last engagement
with the pirates about a yea and a half ante, when 130 war boats,
with 1,0,10 banditti were intercepted in the very act of plundering
end eettigg fire to villages wising native wools, end murdering their
crews, has humbled and alarmed the whole tribe, and the chiefs ere
sending Maliellgerl to Sarawak promising to turn themselves to ho.
met occupations In the meantime, the population of the town has
increseed in nine years from 1,260 to 11,M10 mule, and, including the
whole territory, to 36,000.
2. The peace thus eetabliehed, like that of the Boman empire at the
inaunation of our Lord, prepares for the gospel. render. the diffusion
of It peactcable, and mile Imperatively on the Christian church at
boas to soma with eagerness the session to which nothing parallel
has perhaps ever occurred.
6. The second peculiarly favourable circumstance 1. that the oil.
lions of poor Drake have no religion of their owe, marcely a no-
two of • Deity, no Igabomedan *hammy, no Ilindne menu, no priest.
hood, Do written book, no PEII4II/1, no beads; and are led by • strong
Maim of gratitude fora deliviraime tram a worm than Egyptian b ald-
ose, to place unboteded coandence is the truth and disonimmetineve
of the rajah, ad to solicit instructito in his religion, and to follow the
• habits of the "white people."
7. In truth, when I stood on the hill on which the church la created
• end viewed the stabit town, and watched on the river honks and
• beheld the make bwse and school °lathe College llill which crowned
the opposite shore, I mulct not but break into thank/riving to the Cod
' of All Lime fur his wonderful weeks.
• b. And during the solemn servos of coneecration I Ink. d with
• antemotent as the neat wooden ediSoc, with it. early Englialt arches,
ito nave 70 feet by 22, 111111 2.2 feet high, its side aisles, its Imrolsome
• communion plate, placed on the holy table, and its Chelan., comae- I
. Imam, tat tot whom 11 were Dale ant Chinese school children,
j seated In the Wale), land when I Masted in whainistering the Mooed
supper to 19 communicants, bevidis the clergy, my heart wee &Meet
• t • full to premed.
9. Wall England then fell to support the work thus prooperanaly
• begun 4 Impusable ! It is not in the manner. of our Christian bet.
lain to forget what she washen& 1,400 years ago, in as low a state
j of Wham mas the Drake, and Infested with Eurolitan pirate,, se
j they with Asiatics. No ; she is well aware that what the taiopel has
done tor England, it can do for Memo, to hr.
(signed) D. Caul:rm.
I Even should the vote of the house at the present
, time be adverse to Sir James Brooke—even should

his conduct in regard to these transactions be condemned
by public opinion, which he (Mr. Headier's) did not believe
would be the case, in the history of the country he would
rank amongst those benefactors of his race whose great
public services his own cotemporaries were unable to appre-
ciate. Ho trusted, however, that by its decision on the
present occasion the House of Commons would du full
justice to a public servant who had been must uujustly and
unfairly attacked. (Hear.
U )
Mr. RQUHART had failed in discovering any evidence
of the piratical character of the Dyak tribes, which Mr.
Ileadlam had endeavoured to make out by confounding
Dyaks with Malays. His impression of the case was, that
the inhabitants of Sakarran and Sarebas were pirates be-
cause Sir J. Brooke was established at Sarawak. If these
tribes were not pirates—and there was not an iota of evi-
dence that they were—there was an end of the case ; if they
were pirates, the proceedings against them had not con.
formed to the law of nations and the rules of the service,
and the government itself had passed at censure upon them
by abolishing head-money.
Mr. MILNES observed that the Malays and Dyaks were
ethnologically the same ; the Dyaks were a race of Malays
of milder character, whose habits were corrupted by
the more ferocious settlers on the coast. The putting
down these predatory communities at once was real
humanity, and he thought those who brought forward
this ease so frequently, from a spirit of false and spurious
philanthropy, inflicted an injury upon the character of the
country. Ile thought the house would do well to reject
this motion.
Mr. IL DRUMMOND, giving Mr. Hume full credit for
the sincerity of his motives, did not scruple to trace these
attacks upon Sir James Brooke to a determination to ruin
his character. The difficulty of replying to the speech of
Mr. Hume was that it contained nothing which had not
been replied to lest year. Mr. Drummond characterised
the whole transaction as a very discreditable one, and ex-
pressed his hope that the house would reject the motion.
After a few words from Mr. lii'GßEoua, . .

Mr. B. COCHUANE read extracts from a letter of Ad-
miral Sir Thomas Cochrane, testifying to the existence of
piracy on the coasts of Borneo, and to the high principles
that had inspired the administration of Sir James Brooke,
whom he (Mr. Cochrane) looked upon as one of the most
mild, considerate, and single-minded men he had crer met
with in all his life. (Cheers.)

Mr. GLADSTONE said he looked upon Sir Jame
Brooke as a man of an energy truly British ; and he be-
lieved that, as far as his intentions went (whether he was
liable to error in judgment or not he would not say), he
was • man of a philanthropy truly Christian. (Cheers.)
He (Mr. Gladstone) could not vote for the motion before
them, because its character was that of a personal charge
against Sir James Brooke. 'There was no doubt that the
hon. gentleman (Mr. Hume) would be the first to admit
that such was the case, and to argue that a vote
of the house favourable to the motion would
imply a presumable acquiescence in tb at charge. Ile (Mr.
Gladstone) did not think, however, that there was any
reason whatever why there should be an inquiry; for this
was a matter that properly came under the discretion of the
executive. (Hear, hear.) With respect to the destruction
of so many human beings alleged to be pirates, on the par-
ticular occasion in question, there was no reason in the
world why Sir James Brooke should be selected as
if he was singly or mainly responsible for the pro-
ceeding. This was a matter on which they were
able to form a judgment, and he challenged
the hon. member for Montrose to show that he was the
party who ought to be called upon to give an account of
the matter. Sir James Brooke was Rajah of Sarawak,
consul under the Sultana Borneo, and Governor of Labuan
—but in none of these capacities had he any authority over
the officers of her Majesty's ships. (Hear, hear.) He
therefore was not, either primarily or properly, responsible
in the face of the house. If the house thought there had
been a questionable use of naval power on the
part of this country on the 31st of July, 1845,
in the waters of Borneo, they were not entitled in Justice or
fairness to call in Sir James Brooke, but they must deal
with it as an ordinary question of naval service. (Hear,
hear.) Upon this ground, then, he should have been most
unwilling to accede to the terms of the motion; but he
must confess that he did not regard this as a question
whether these: tribes were piratical or not. It certainly
appeared to him that an examination of the testimony
was in favour of the opinion that these particular tribes
were distinguished from the rat of the Dyaks of Borneo,
not simply as being addicted to barbarous warfare, but as
guilty of specific acts which had the peculiar character of
piracy. It was true that it might not be of that formidable
kind which attacked European ships, or other vessels of
great force, but it had this essential feature of piracy, that
they made no distinction between friend and foe. This was
• case in which he would attach great weight to the testi-
mony of Sir James himself. He knew the delicacy of his
position ; but such was his entire confidence in Sir James's
integrity, that he would receive his evidence on a matter of
fact with the most unqualified and unswerving belief.
(Hear, hear.) But, after all, this matter had been fairly
raised in a judicial manner. It was tried before Sir
Christopher Hawlinsoa in 1849, and it was quite plain, from
• perusal of the depositions, that the question was clearly
before him, and he had decided that these tribes were
piratical. Nor could he (Mr. Gladstone) but attach
great weight to the judgment of an English court which
went, at least, to the extent that the neighbouring,
tribes were piratical. The question had arisen fore Sir
Stephen Lushington, on an objection to pay head-money,
on the ground that the parties were not pirates. Dr.
Lushington gave his decision (this was in 1844) that these
tribes were of that character. But while he (Mr. Glad-
stone) did not think that there was sufficient ground for a
motion of inquiry, he did not think that he could get rid
of the question by simpobjecting to the terms of the hon.
member's motion. The fact placed before the house
was, that a great destruction of human life
had taken place ; and they were challenged
to decide whether clot destruction was justifiable. Ho
would bring no chargrof cruelty against any one. He did
not believe that any motive of cruelty had • place in Sir
James's breast, for he no doubt thought that the sacrifice
would advance the ultimate interests of humanity. Now
when they heard the name of pirate they were too apt to
leap to the conclusion that the whole question was at an
end. He submitted, however, that that was an error.
Their relations even with pirates were regulated by law
and he submitted that they were bound, even when they

were dealing with criminals of that description, that the
should do so according to law. (Cheer..) Now there wor
only two acts which bore upon piracy. Thu first was an
act fur the distribution of head money, and that was, per-
haps, the best known. By that act for any pirate taken
alive or dead, in or immediately after an action, the sum
of 201. was paid, and 51. for the capture of a pirate under
other circumstances. Ito (lid not think that that act
would raise the question of legality at all; but in 1837 this
house thought fit to pees an act in which the crime of piracy
WY no longer left simply capital; and he regretted that
none of the hon. gentlemen that had followed the hon.
member for Montrose hail adverted to this subject, for it
was one of great importance. In the act of 1837 there were
only two clauses to which it was necessary to refer. In the lad
section any person guilty, to state it in general terms, of being
actively engaged in piracy, or who should attempt to flee,
so that death might ensue in the pursuit, should be put to
death. By the 3rd section persons not taken iu the act of
piracy, or in Right, were no longer to be put to death. but
were made liable to be transported for the term of their
natural lives. (Hear, hear.) But in this case they had
inflicted the punishment of death upon 500 persons, and he
put the question to the house, to her Majesty's government,
and particularly to the law officers of the crown, whether all
these 500 persons fell into ons of the classes he had named
as guilty of a capital offence? (Cheers.) This quetion
had risen very fairly, and he did not quote the evidence of
hostile witnesses, but of the parties themselves who were
engaged in the transaction, and who looked upon it as one
that would do them great honour. Tried by that just cri-
terion, it appeared that a large number of these five
hundred persons were put to death without there
being for it any legal warrant, as there certainly
would have been had their eases been what he had sup.
posed. According to the evidence, a great number of
these lives were sacrificed, not in the act of re-
sistance, or under the necessities and exigencies of
pursuit, but they were sacrificed whether with
humane motives or not was quite another ma-
to., without that legal sanction which was as necessary
in the slaughter of pirates, as in dealing with any other
class of persons whatever. This would make it his duty to
vote, not for a motion proposing a hostile inquiry into the
whole conduct of Sir James Brooke, and thereby marking
him as the main author and the party principally respon- •
Bible, but, in the absence of any defence or explanation,.
for an address, praying for inquiry, without distinction of
parties, into the proceeding. connected with that attack.
and the loss of life which had ensued. (Hear, hear.) He
hoped that what he had stated might be erroneous ; but he
looked to the government, who had doubtless considered the
matter more minutely, forproceeding. vindication of the
Viscount PALMEItS'rON confessed he had never heard
a debate in which the argument and the proof seemed mom
completely on one side than that to which they were now
listening. (Cheers.) Though the hon. member for Mont-
rose hail often strong opinions on the question, he brought
forward, the natural candour of his mind had shown itself
in the manner in which he hail brought on this subject; for
it was evident throughout the whole of his argument that
his convictions, strong last year, were now somewhat
shaken. (Hear, hear.) And, though be did not altogether
depart from the conclusion so deeply impressed upon his
mind, those who heard him (and there were not many pro.
sent now who did) must have felt that ho did not altogether
show that confidence in the soundness of his conclusions
which he had exhibited on former occasions. (Hear, hear.)
The question lay almost in a nutshell. It was simply this:
Were the persons who were attacked by the noubined
forces of her Majesty and the dyaks of Sir James Brooke
irates, or were they not ? The right hon. gentleman
Mr. Gladstone) had remarked un no member of
t e government rising till that late period. The
Under Secretary for the Colonies (Mr. Hawes)
had risen when the hon. member for Montrose eat down,
but had given way to others who had been more fortunate
In attracting the Speaker's eye. (Hear.) lie would first
address himself to the argument that these parties, admit.
ting them to be pirates, had not been legally dealt with ea
pirates. It was said that the change in the law iu 1837, by
which capital punishment for persons convicted by law of
piracy in this country was abolished, and transportation sub-
, stituted, ought to have prevented the elestruetion of pirates
in that engagement. That argument did not apply. If
these persona had been taken prisoners, and either without
trial or by sentence upon trial, had been executed, he
should have admitted the argument of the right hon. gentle.
man. With the law as altered a court of justice could no
longer apply the penalty of death to a person convicted of
piracy ; and if a court should apply that penalty, or if with-
out the sentence of a court persons having got possession of
pirates, should execute them, the observations of the right
hon. gentleman would apply. But to try and deal with
these person, under the law, they must have been
taken—(hear, hear) ; and it was the peculiar character
of these Malays that they did not surrender in
action, they could not be taken, they preferred being killed
to being captured; and it was in the pursuit of un enemy
that this destruction of lift took place. Take the analogous
ease of an ordinary enemy in common war : it would not
be lawful either to transport a prisoner of war or to put
hint to death • but until an enemy surrendered 'and asked
for quarter, hostilities were continued, and if they came up
with him, they tired their broadside, whether round shot or
grape, until, by an art of his owe, he indicated that he
surrendered, placed himself in their power, and claimed
that forbearance to which the laws of war, as well as the
laws of the land, entitled him. (Hear, hear.) Conse-
quently he could not perceive that the argument, founded.
upon the change of the law in 1837, haul any relation to the
matter they were considering. (Hear.) The broader
question was—where these parties pirates, or were they
not? In the debates on this question in former years,
there had been much broader assertion than now. It was
said that there might indeed be, in these eastern scat,
tribes engaged in that operation which was almost
represented as an amiable proceeding—intertribal war;
i but that as to piracy, in any sense in which that expression
could denote attacks on merchantmen, rind especially on
i square-rigged vessels, no such thing could be said properly
to exist among them. Ile had laid on the table of the
house proof upon proof that piracy, in the sense of attack-
ing square-rigged European vessels, in the sense of mur-
dering their crews. and eluralering eventhine found in
them, prevailed, ;tad for years had prevailed, over the
I whole extent of those seas. (Hear, hear.) The very extra-
ordinary document laid on the table that morning was an,
uninterrupted history of the operations of the Netherlands
government against the most extensive system of piracy in.
the whole range of those seas. A despatch from our consul
in Manilla gave an account of the operations conducted the
' other day by the Spanish governor against the pirates of
Soolu ; and the consul drew a contrast between the se-
countsit was his duty to send in former years and the state
of things at present. lie said that it had been his duty, in
the five years he had been there, to record instances of mer-
chantmen attacked, of shipwrecked crews being carried
off into slavery, of American, British, and other square-
rigged vessels having disappeared and never been heard of,
presumed to have been carried off by pirates ; but in conse-
I quence of the recent operations of the British ships of war on
the northern coast of Bornmandof the Dutch and Spaniards,
trade was becoming secure, and the operations of the ,
pirates, at all events for the moment, had been considerably
checked. No one who bad read the papers on the Wale
would deny that piracy to an enormous extent had pre-
vailed all through the seas round Borneo. The other
question, and a principal one, was, were these Dyaks of
Sarebas exempt from the guilt attaching to other tribes
and nations in that quarter? They had two proofs of their
guilt. First, the depositions of these masters of native
vessels who were examined by Col. Butterworth, and who
both declared that the Dyaks of Sarebas were known to
be habitual pirates, and that they themselves, though not
actually attacked, knew these Dyaks to be habitual pirates.
Then, the person who made the report to the Dutch go-
vernment years ago stated distinctly the fact that these
Dyaks of Sarebas were notorious pirates, that they carried
on their piratical operations in the very same kind of little
boat or vessel which the hon. member for Montrose con-
tended was a proof that they could not commit piracy, and
further stated that the weapons of that particular tribe were
swords, javelins, and spears ; in short, he described
precisely the very kind of expedition which the ho-
nourable member for Montrose contended was a proof
that they could not he guilty of piracy. (hear, hear.)
Here then they had first of all proof that piracy prevailed
amongst these people; and in order that it might be Im-
possible for any man to say that this tribe of Dyaks was
alone and singly exempt from the charge of piracy, they
had the proof of masters who had been examined at Singa-
pore, and also of the reporters of the Dutch government,
all proving that they were guilty. (Hear.) Really then
the whole question fell to the ground. (tt Hear, hear,"
and cheers.) There was really nothing to inquire into, un-
less it were an inquiry which he did not wish to pursue
namely, as to what could have been the source whence all
these various and persevering and malignant pereceutions--
(loud cheers.)—those malignant and persevering persecu-
tions of an honoured man. (Cheers.) lie was convinced
there would bo an overwhelming majority found to nega-
tive the motion of his hon. friend the member for Montrose.
(Cheers.) By an doing they would proclaim to the world
that Sir James Brooke retired from this investigation
with untarnished character and with unblemished
honour—(loud cheers)—and he was persuaded that
he would continue to enjoy the estimation of his
countrymen—(hear, hear)—as a man who haul, by braving
difficulties and facing dangers in a distant climate, and in
previously unknown lands, done much to promote the
commercial interests of this country, and to infuse the light
of civilization into regions which had been before in the
darkness of barbarism. (Loud and continued cheering.)
Mr. COBDEN explained that the responsibility for the
Dyak massacre was only fixed upon Sir J. Brooke, because
that officer had himself always assumed it. The hon. mem-
ber briefly recapitulated some of the negative evidence
adduced by Mr. Hume, including the letters of five naval
officers, who concurred in ;ignoring the charge of Dyak
piracy. Commenting upon the anomalous position of Sir .T
Brooke as governor, consul, and trader, he claimed a right
to suspect the motives that induced him (Sir James) to em-
ploy British and East India ships in a war against his own
next neighbours. They had asked for proofs of the alleged
piracy of the Dyaks, and had obtained abundance of recla-
mation, but not a tittle of proof. The Dyaks were not
Malays, and the asserted piracies were little more than
inter-tribal disputes, yet the governor of Sarawak had pur-
sued them for years, and slaughtered them by thousands.
Sir F. THESIGER declared that the proofs demanded
by Mr. Cobden existed abundantly. Besides a mass of in-
dividual testimony, the question was subjected to judicial
investigation in actions for "head money," when it had
been decided that the Dyaks were pirates, beyond the pos-
sibility of doubt or dental. Metering to the arguments of
Mr. Gladstone, he contended that by the law of England
and all other civilised countries, pirates were always con-
sidered as the enemies of the human race.
Col. THOMPSON, after closely scrutinising the evidence,
believed no more in the existence of Dyak pirates than in
that of Cappadocian dragons.
Mr. FORSTER. bad found a different belief current at

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