The Sun.
London, England, 1852-06-14 00:00:00

SUPPLY,

The House then went into Committee of Supply.
On the vote of 20,0001. for defraying the expenses of
Mr. HUME complained of the large =min!' of the
vote; and expressed a hope that the Government would
by next year reconsider it, with the view of econo-
mising the expenses of the colony.
Sir J. PAKINGTON was very much struck by the
high amount of the vote on the estimates for Hong-
Kong, but promised that in the recess he would direct
his attention to the subject in order to see where reduc-
tions could be made. A great diminution had, however,
lately taken place in the expenses of
the colony, for in
1845 the amount was 49,0001,, while in the present
year it was only 12,0001 e and he very much hoped to
be able to effect further reductions.
Lord D. STUART was glad to hear what had fallen
from the Right Hon. Baronet. Tho Noble Lord took
occasion while on this vote to call the attention of the
Government to the case of Mr. Alexander Johnstone,
the registrar at Hong Kong, who, he said, was very in-
adequately remunerated, considering his long services
and the duties he had to discharge.
Sir G. STAUNTON confirmed the accuracy of some
of the particulars given by the Noble Lord respecting
that officer.
Mr. SCOTT expressed satisfaction at the promised
reduction of the vote, and was certain it would please
the colonists.
The vote was then agreed to.
On the vote of 4,0004 towards defraying the expenses
of Labuan,
Mr. WILSON PATTEN called the attention
of the Government to the dispute which had
arisen between Sir James Brooke, the Governor
of Labuan, and the Eastern Archipelago
Company, and urged the Government to interfere for
the purpose of its settlement. The governor obtained a
grant to work the coal mines of the colony, and after-
wards transferred it to the Eastern Archipelago Com-
pany, who obtained a charter from the Government.
In the meantime Sir James Brooke obtained
additional grants from the Sultan of Borneo, and
ho immediately changed his course of tactics. He
threw every obstacle in the way of the company, and
completely changed his views of the original grant. The
company:had therefore come to the conclusion that he
wished to shirk his agreement. Sir James Brooke
brought certain accusations against the com-
pany, but upon inquiry these accusations were
proved to be entirely unfounded.—(Hear, hear.)
one of the charges Sir James Brooke had brought for-
ward against the company, was that they had obtained
their charter by fraud. The Colonial-office investigated
the accusation, and declared the charge not
substantiated. ;Sir James Brooke's next step
was to persuade one member of the company to
file a bill in Chancery to the intent that he had been
persnaded by false representations to join the com-
pany. This case was tried by Vice-Chancellor
Turner, and his judgment was to the effect that
if the company had been guilty of fraud, if
was the duty of the Colonial-office, and not
of Sir James Brooke, to cause inquiry to be
made on the subject. He himself was of the same
opinion, and hs would now only state on behalf of the
company, that they had asked him to press upon the
Government that it was from them that an iuqniry
should proceed; he would also impress on the Govern-
ment to take care that this case should be Fettled before
Sir James Brooke should return to the colony.
Sir JOHN PAKINGTON was willing to admit the
importance of the question, but he was of opinion that a
discussion on that question now would not be beneficial,
inasmuch as at the present moment the whole question
was pending the decision of a court of law. He was
free to acknowledge that it was injurious to the colony
to have this company and the governor at open war with
each other.

Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT was of opinion that it
was not generally known that Sir James Brooke was
engaged in mercantile pursuits, and therefore might be
under the influence of counter interests. If Sir James
Brooke's conduct gave ground for suspicion, it ought to
be the duty of the Government to inquire closely into
that conduct.