The Sun.
London, England, 1847-10-30 00:00:00

COURT OF COMMON COUNCIL.
MR. BROOKE, THE RAJA OF SARAWAK.
Yesterday a Court was held for the dispatch of
business.
The following announcement on the paper of busi-
ness attracted a number of ladies, who not only
crowded the galleries, but sat amongst the members :
—" It is intended at this Court to present the freedlom
of this City to his Excellency James Brooke, Raja of
Sarawak, agreeably to the resolution of the 21st dtay
of October instant."
The Aldermen attended in their scarlet gowns, and
the Common Councilmen in their mazarine gowns.
Mr. Brooke was introduced by Sir Peter Laurie,
the mover, and Mr. Richard Taylor, the seconder of
the motion conferring upon him the freedom of the
City, and was received with very marked appls.use.
The CHAMBERLAIN then roso, and read the 'follow-
ing minutes :—" That the freedom of this City, in a
gold box of the value of 50 guineas, be presfmted to
his Excellency James Brooke, Raja of Sarawak, in
testimony of the admiration of this Court, of 'the cou-
rage, zeal, ability, discretion, and disinterestedness
displayed by him during his adventurous voyage to
the island of Borneo, and his residence there, and in
the peaceful establishment by him of order and good
government at Sarawak, in that island, thereby pro-
moting civilisation, and increasing the safety of the
commerce of the world."
" Amendment—' To substitute a piece of plate in
lieu of a gold box.'—Negatived.
" Original motion resolved unanimously." .
Mr. Brooke having been sworn in as a citizen of
London with the usual forms,
The CHAMBERLAIN addressed him in the following
manner :—Sir, the time has now arrived when I am
to address to your Excellency a few works expressive
of the deep sense entertained by this Corporation of
the honour you have conferred upon them by your
acceptance of the freedom of this city, and the conse-
quent insertion of your distinguished name upon our
municipal roll. Under any circumstances, Sir, it
will be readily believed that I should hail with
feelings of no ordinary pleasure the privilege
which I now enjoy ; that pleasure is not a
little 'enhanced by the fact that the interesting
transaction of this day, originating as it has done
in the admiration elicited by the contemplation of
your high character and truly patriotic conduct, may
be viewed also as the renewal of a union which, in
bygone days, existed between the family of which
you are a member and this ancient and loyal city;
for be it known to all present, and to all who may
become acquainted with the proceedings of this day,
that in the person of your Excellency are to be
found united the friend and benefactor of our species,
and the lineal representative of one who, in the reign
of the second Charles, sustained the high and im-
portant office of Lord Mayor of this our beloved
City. I trust that your Excellency and the Court,
of which I have now the honour to be the organ,
will bear with me while I respectfully crave indul-
gence for the crude and imperfect manner in which
I may discharge the duties of this day—duties
which, while they are the source of unfeigned and
unalloyed pleasure to myself, have, nevertheless,
presented difficulties of no small amount, in pre-
paration for their performance—difficulties of which
the existence would not, at first sight, be sus-
pected, but some of which will be most obvious to
the penetrating mind of your Excellency. Sir, it is
no easy thing, under any circumstances, to speak in
the presence of an individual of his acts, which admit
only of the language of unqualified praise, and which
might savour of adulation, were it not known to all
that no expressions could adequately represent the
respect entertained for him by the speaker, and by
those whose mouthpiece he must be considered. Added
to this, I have felt the difficulties arising from a very
short period for preparation, and from the necessity
imposed upon me of suppressing all mention of many
circumstances upon which my inclination would have
led me to dilate. Sir, it has been no uncommon thing
for this Corporation to offer their grateful acknow-
ledgments, and to tender, in the freedom of this city,
the utmost expression of their gratitude within their
power to bestow, to:illustrious men who, in the battle-
field or on the mighty waters, have sustained the
honour of the British arms, and avenged their coun-
try's wrongs. Eminent statesmen, too, and able
diplomatists, have entitled themselves to, and have
had awarded to them, similar acknowledgments and
honours; but the circumstances under which we
are now assembled are, I believe—at all events,
they are in modern times—as unique in their
nature, as by the blessing of a gracious God
upon the labours of your Excellency, I trust they
will be beneficial in their effects. But a few short
years have rolled away since your Excellency, with
a view, if I mistake not, solely to the pursuits of
science, was induced to visit the islands of the Asiatic
archipelago.; Such, Sir, were your intentions, and
they were honourable to you as an English gentle-
man who had leisure and other means at his command ;
but He in whom our breath is, and whose are all our
ways, and who deigns, in effecting His gracious
purposes, to avail himself of human instrumentality,
had ordained you to the accomplishment of a higher,
and, I will add, a holier work—a work of which the
fruits may be expected to issue in a temporal, and, I
would fain hope, the eternal welfare of many of our
race. The attempt to describe in an address like this
the beauties and capabilities of Borneo, the island
whither you had resorted, would be utterly abortive.
You have witnessed, and those only who have done
so can appreciate the grandeur of her mountains, the
beauties of her woods, her valleys and her rivers, her
soil and her productions. Your Excellency, too, has
witnessed, and has felt the contrast to all these pre-
sented by the degraded state of an uncivilized
population—many of them, however, of kindly
dispositions, which, if duly cultivated, might render
them happy in themselves, and the means of pro-
moting happiness in others ; but they were destitute
of all knowledge of the God who created them, and of
the Saviour who gave his life for the redemption of
our race. There the soil and climate presented that
which was greatly to be desired ; while of Borneo it
must be said, as to everything connected with religi-
ous truth, " Darkness covered the earth, and gross
darkness the people." Such was the state of things
when your Excellency, unaided and almost alone, and
at your own individual cost, set yourself to apply a
remedy to these monstrous evils. You felt to quote
your own words, that " Christianity might easily be
introduced amongst them; that then civilization would
advance, commerce be greatly extended, and that vast
island laid open as a field for the enterprise and know-
ledge of enlightened beings." But, Sir, I must be
brief; and I therefore hasten to observe that her
Majesty's Government have listened to the re-
presentations which you felt it your duty to make
to them, and that in the person of your Excel-
lency we have now the honour to see within these
walls the Raja of Sarawak, the accredited repre•
sentative in Borneo of our most Gracious Sovereign,
and the Governor of Labuan, a British settlement
and an island between Singapore and Hong-Kong,
commanding the capital of Borneo. We rend in the
volume of inspiration that "the path of the just is as
the shining light, which shineth more and more unto
s
the perfect day ;" and in my conscience I believe that
what has been hitherto achieved is but the dawn of
blessings yet in store for the people of your adoption.
It would have- afforded me much gratification if, with
the freedom of this city, and the memorial which I
now tender to your acceptance, I could have presen-
ted your Excellency, as is usual upon occasions like
the present, an emblazoned copy of the resolution 1
have read. The period which has elapsed since the
passing of such resolution has been too short to al-
low of the completion of that work of art, but it shall,
on the earliest possible day, be forwarded to your
Excellency. And now, Sir, permit me most respect-
fully to tender to your Excellency, as to a brother
freeman, the right hand of fellowship, and to express
an earnest hope that Borneo, under the fostering care
of her Majesty's Government and the watchful su-
perintendence of your Excellency, may be abun-
dantly prospered, that the Scriptures may there be
freely circulated, and the truths of the everlasting
Gospel faithfully dispensed ; that it may please a gra-
cious God long to spare your valuable life, and that,
ere you shall be gathered to your fathers, it may be
manifested that, both as it regards the temporal and
spiritual good of the great family of man, your Ex-
cellency has not "laboured in vain, nor spent your
strength for naught."
The Chamberlain's speech was much applauded
throughout.
Mr. BROOKE—My Lord Mayor, Mr. Chamberlain,
and gentlemen, I am so sensible of the very high
honour which I now receive at your hands, that I find
great difficulty in adequately expressing my feelings
of pride, gratification, and surprise. Every English-
man fairly estimates the privilege of citizenship in a
free country, but to become the citizen of this the
greatest capital of the globe, is a source of just sad
rational pride. This honour you have conferred upon
me.—(Cheers.) With reference to my ancestor, to
whom allusion has been made, lam proud here to
renew the links which have been so long broken. I
gloryit, proceeding
pinroctheeedianpg mpfrroebation of, and such a testimony
?
a body 9 so capable of forming a
Just opinion.--(Cheers.) I am suprised, for I had no
expectation of this honour, but I will not now say that
it is not deserved, for my fellow-citizens say that it is.
—(Cheers.) I lialltiltvtlees to say
conscious about myself. lam
and intention to. act am conscious that it is
and
tnhgoo tsdoYibtlitt
repugnant to my feelings,
would u d
be
ee
repugnant to the feelings of
surrounded, if after what has been y. whom I.sim
should sing my own
boast of my own
achievements.—(Cheers.) As for the future I t
praises and eady said I
that piracy will soon be so crushed that a finial' brioist
will be able to proceed from one end to the other sotf
the islands in perfect safety.—(Cheers.) I trust that
the poorer classes will reap the benefit of their in-
dustry; that the island of Borneo and the neighbour-
ing islands will be completely open to British com-
merce; and that, by gentle means, the blessings of