The Sun.
London, England, 1855-12-14 00:00:00

RAJAH BROOKE.

The following letter may be considered as the
result of the investigation held at Singapore into
the conduct of Rajah Brooke in his proceedings
against the native tribes of the Indian Archi-
pelago :

"Foreign-office, August 6.
"Sir,—Her Majesty's Government have had under
their consideration the reports made by the Commis.
sioners appointed by the Government of India to inquire
into certain matters connected with the position of Sir
James Brooke' her Majesty's Consul-General and Com-
missioner in Borneo, which were transmitted to this
office in Mr. Seymour's letter of April 10 ; and I have
to request the Court of Directors may be moved to in-
struct the Governor-General of India to acquaint the
Commissioners that her Majesty's Government approve
their proceedings, and to convey to them the thanks of
her Majesty's Government for the manner in which they
hav"e conducted this inquiry.
Her Majesty's Government learn with much Bathe.
faction from these reports that, as there can be no doubt
of the piratical habits of the Serebas and Sakarran
tribes, the charge which has been made against Sir
James Brooke, of having wantonly and without cause
attacked these tribes, has fallen completely to the ground.
They also learn with satisfaction that the Commissioners
were of opinion that Sir James Brooke had not traded
in the produce of the territory under his control in any
manner incompatible with his duty as Consul-General
and Commissioner.
"Her Majesty's Government consider that the Corn.
misioners acted rightly in declining to go into the
charge brought by Mr. Woods and Mr. Napier against
Sir James Brooke ; and, with respect to the charge
brought against Sir James Brooke by the Eastern Archi-
pelago Company, in their endeavours to procure a re-
duction of the dollar a-ton duty levied upon British ves-
sels by the Sultan of Borneo, as Sir James Brooke him.
self informed the Commissioners that he had given ad-
vice to the Sultan not to accede to de wishes of the com-
pany without a full settlement of the matters remaining
unsettled between the Sultan and the company, her
Majesty's Government concur in the opinion expressed
by Mr. Devereux, that the fact alleged being thus
acknowledged there did not appear to be prima facie
any matter to inquire into ; and under all the circum-
stances of the case they are not disposed to question the
decision come to by the Commissioners.
" Her Majesty's Government agree with Mr. Dave.
reux that, without an exact knowledge of the terms
which have been finally agreed upon between the Sultan
of Borneo and Sir James Brooke, the actual position of
Sir James Brooke at Sarawak cannot be determined.
" The inquiry, which has ended in the complete ex-
culpation of Sir James Brooke from the charges made
against him, has, at the same time, brought to light
abundant evidence of the beneficial results of his ad.
ministration in the affairs of Sarawak, which are ex-
hibited by the establishment of confidence and the
increase of trade, and are such as to deserve the appro.
bation of her Majesty's Government.
"As it may be presumed that the fact of the long
pending inquiry which has taken place can hardly have
failed to produce among native communities an impres-
sion unfavourable to Sir James Brooke, it is desirable
that, in order to remove such impression, all fit means
should be taken to cause the result of the inquiry to be
fully and extensively known.—l have the honour to
be, &c., "CLARENDON.
"The Right Hon. A. Vernon Smith, &o."

THE GUARDS' MEMORIAL.--" Fair Play," writing to
a contemporary, says :—" With reference to the asser-
tion in Colonel Wood's letter, published in to-day's
Times, that the Memorial of the Guards has been lying
for some time on the tables of most of the club-houses in
London, I beg to state that I have made inquiries at all
the military clubs (except the Guards) in London, and
find that none of them have received a copy of the me-
morial in question."
The King of Sardinia has sent to Messrs. Staples,
of the Albion, through the Marquis D'Azeglio, a letter
expressing his Majesty's satisfaction of the arrange-
ments connected with their department on the occasion
of his Majesty's visit to the city of London, on the
6th instant, accompanied by a valuable gold watch and
chain, which the King presents to them as a memorial
of that event. The committee of the Corporation for
e3nducting the entertainment have passed a urranimon
vote of thanks to Messrs. Staples, for the very ea, Wee-
tory manner in which they furnished the entertainment
at Guildhall on the 6th inst., and expressing the entire
approval of the Corporation for their services,
SAVAGE BRUTALITY.-At the petty sessions held at
Lutterworth yesterday, the Rev. Edward Eliphirst pre-
siding, Thomas White, a butcher, of Lutterworth, was
charged, at the instance of the Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, with having wan-
tonly ill-treated and tortured a ram. From the
evidence of several witnesses it appeared that, on
the 6th instant, the defendant, having purchase
the animal in question, brought it home in a cart and
deposited it in a hovel adjoining his slaughter-house.
Ho then fetched a large butcher's knife used in the ordi-
nary process of killing, and, having first firmly secured
the rain's head, he inserted the knife beneath each of
the animal's eyes as Ist as the bone would allow. The
blood spirted out from both wounds, and defendant then
stabbed the knife into the creature's nostrils in three dis-
tinct places, producing jagged wounds of a frightful cha•
racter, from which the blood sowed freely. Some by
standers having remonstrated with the defendant he
burst out into a loud laugh, and adding some coarse ob-
servation left the animal in the state described.
Shortly afterwards the ram was observed by Mr. For,
a solicitor, of Lutterworth, with its head against a wall,
in an almost torpid state, licking into its mouth the
blood which poured down its cheeks and nostrils. Mr
Fox called the attention of a police-constable to the suf
feting condition of the animal, and the officer at once
proceeded in search of the defendant, who was found at
a'public-house drinking with a number of his companions.
On being desired to kill the ram at once by the constable,
defendant refused to do so, remarking that he should do
it when he liked and how he liked, and asking derisively
whether he Gould "not do as he liked with his own ? '
The officer appealed to his superintendent, who, upon
the circumstances becoming known to hint at once ap-
prehended the defendant on the charge of cruelly ill-using
the ram, which was at length killed, after suffering ex-
treme agony for more than three hours. Thee(' facts
having been proved, Mr. Nash, solicitor for the defence,
admitted them, but relied on showing that the barbarous
practice complained of was commonly adopted by butchers
in Leicestershire and the adjoining counties in order to
make the carcases of animals dress better. For this
purpose lie called three butchers, who in some measure
corroborated his statement ; but all admitted that,
although they might have bled the animal before killing
it, they should not have mangled it in the manner de-
fendant had done with five wounds. The magistrates
ordered the defendant to pay a penalty of 31., together
with 31. 2s. 6d. costs, or suffer one month's imprisons
moot in the liouso of Correction,

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