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

_ THE SUN, LONDON,

a
Sarawak was of an enlightened, paternal,*4-ei)aelleing
character. The letter was as follows :
"I have spent four days a. Sarawak. I have come-
crated the church according to the request of the dioce-
san the Lord Bishop of London. I have inspected the
slate of the infant mission, and conferred tulle pi la the
bindefatigable and zealous chaplain and missionary, the
:ley. T. M,Dougal. I have conversed also with the gee-
'7, and have read the several works published on the
eVents which have occurred in the last few years. It is
my full persuasion that there is no mission en the face
of the earth to be coierare,4 with that of Borneo. It
bas been thrown open to Christian enterprise almost by
eluiraele. One of the darkest recesses of heathen igno-
Ples, cruelty, and desolation, where piracy, and mur-
ler, and conflagration, and head-hunting stalked abroad
"I open day, and the aboriginal inhabitants were in the
sere way of being exterminated utterly, is now, so to
e_lPetth, like the paradise of God. Deliverance has been
rwo,„_htimed—security of person and property, equal
rights, an enlightened and paternal distributive
ealtice, the arts of life, an extending commerce, are
o.e Idready established at Sarawak, and spreading along
whole western coast of Borneo. The i-
les() sea is free from marauders, and all Europe and
4tberice may pursue their peaceful occepaions from
Singapore to Labuan, 700 miles. The Christian
these
is begun, to sanctify and adorn all
I'gear) secular blessings. Two things, quite unexampled
ssour the design:—lst. Englishmen have become first
eittoe to the oppressed Dyaks by a single English gen-
','"maitn of benevolence, talent, and singular wisdom and
ll3of government, who has recdved as a token of gra-
titude from the native princes, a tract of land about
ieeventY Miles by fifty, as his own native territory. To
t.-me benefit of the inhabitants of it, this gentleman, who
'tow recognised as the Raja of Sarawak, is devoting
le-I,tiroe. his fortune, his zest, his health, his body and
is'nt". The noble Government of our honoured and be-
her Queen Victoria at home has come forward with
rt. admirals and brave captains to assist in reducing
Pirates which infested the coasts to silence and tran-
1481ttillity by deeds of almost unexampled heroism. The
hail - engagement with the pfra es, ebout a year and a
l since, when 120 war-boats, with 2,000 bandits, were
Itereepted in the very act of plundering and setting
„le to villages, sinking native vessels, and murdering
their crews, has humbled and alarmed the whole tribe,
'11:d the chiefs are sending messages to Sarawak, pro-
eine to turn themselves to honest occupations. In
ke Meantime the population of the town has increased,
th nine years, from 1.500 to 12,000 souls, and including
° Whole territory, to 30,000. Ia truth, when I stood
on the hill on which the church is erected, and viewed
healed
subjacent town, stretched on the river's bank, and
toe the mission-house and school on the college hill,
hitch commands the opposite shore, I could not but
Jeak out into thanksgiving to the God of all grace for
;is wonderful works; and during the very solemn service
ot consecration,looked with amazement at the neat
tree .
• ee Yea edifice, with its early English arches; its nave,
", feet by 22, and 35 high; its side aisles, and its hand-
-ICllOlmB communion-plate placed on the holy table, and its
~tlatian congregation P 43, of whom 11 were Dyak and
eeMese—school children seated in the aisle; and when
t4sisted in administering the blessed Supper to 19 come
talloicants, besides the clergy, my heart was almost too
th° to proceed. Will England, then, fail to support
.Work thus prosperously begun? mpossible ;it is
the to the nature of our Christian Britain to forget that
bro7as herself, 1,400 years :leo, in as low a state of
th‘rtsra as the Dyaks, infested with European pirates,
fothey are with Asiatic now. No, she is well aware
rtZhat the gospel has done for England it can do
Borneo,"
doe:hated, if the name of Raja Brooke were handed
feetom la the history of this country as that of a hene-
(lo,, it would not also be said of him that he had
'l° service to his country, but that it had not been
appreciated.kr Ye
Bre ' -BQUHART said that the friends of Sir James
144 oke should have been the first to court inquiry. For
hie/17°e Part, he should never stand in that fleuse the
shrunk V man who, when his conduct was impugned,
year'rem investigation. He was not present last
there" heti the subject was before the House, and he had,
heettiore, studied the papers on the subject which had
tittle aid before the House, and he could not find one
the atotf evidence to prove the fact of piracy and justity
thy upon the Dyaks. He had failed to discover
lepe, 'deuce to establish the piratical character atm-
goz to
,the inhabitants of Sakarran and Sarebas. The
keehano Learned Gentleman who had spoken last had
eon nee Learned
the Dyaks and the Malays; but the descrip-
Et. eagiven in those papers of the pirates of the Indian
istete "owed that the Dyaks were not pirates. The
bud ft,a had all well-built vessels, armed with artillery,
Ilsetated for open sea service and long voyages. They
tercit.3? sailed out of the eastern or western ports, ac-
Iteiltug as the eastern or western monsoon suited, and
!she:lt:id the coast pillaging as they proceeded, and
lerope:te h3' the . opposite monsoon to enjoy during the
ss ta 'B°4s season the produce of their piracy. That
of the"?. character given in those papers of the pirates
pl to t Archipelago; and it certainly did not Bp-
„ thnedialen
Dyaks,
loud t,..eieaks., who were described as having vessels
Oaks, it, continue longer than five days at sea. The
elsetteee-Liact, were not pirates, for the best of reasons,
de Dye "ad not the means of being so. But supposing
Inn the Were pirates, what proof had they that the
latteenel had attacked were guilty of piracy ? The
hete "t`°lls of the Admiralty to officers of the navy m
htsoot to attack any vessel which they had not viewed
eact of piracy, or respecting which they had not
lapd'vidence as would satisfy a court of justice in Eng-
ieetve If by their vote that night they decided that no
tl4ifY should take place into those transactions, then
eft:; had better entrust the whole administration of the
`re of this great empire to the officers of the Crown
tlO4,
ae
appear to share their responsibility while they only
I,4ed their crimes.
r. M. MILNES said it was net denied that the
were addicted to piratical pursuits, and be be-
lettl it was equally certain that the elays had in
kit instances been enabled to induce the cognats, bat
der and weaker, race of Dyaks to join them in those
shits, If he were to admit the justice of the charge
114-"ced against Raja Brooke, he should believe teat
44tl‘ysl officers on the station, and that Captain Sep-
-14;11 his attack of 1845, had been implicated in the
he a Plot. Now, it appeared to him that that
sit4toost gross improbability. Sir James Brooke had
Illte,l'hed his lame as a great civiliser in that remote
Si.'" °I the . globe, and against such a man those
,ute4p.° of atrocious cruelty ought not to be lightly be-
te% It appeared that 500 persons were all that had
teethe dled in the course of those transactions, and it
Opener appeared that the English forces might, by
hete Off the communication with a small neck of land,
kme h
4ughtered a much larger number. At the same
‘Be Should y had express his sincere gratification that
tlld „„t°tally abolished that very obnoxious, and he
ley le° say barbarous practice, of granting head-
those tv:::!' pirates. He could not help thinking that
rthieed" had so vehemently discussed that case had
Ved olea Most unwise and pernicious course. When he
thest elicit'. like his Hon. Friend the Member for the
°lite pe-ou'g of Yorkshire (Mr. Cobden) assimilating
phiNditiceedings of Englishmen to some cf the worst
iNazd 38 of other nations he became stronely
Pit the with the belief that his Hen. Friend was inflict-
ickbteg,,reatest injury on two causes in which he no
itt,tle,4;‘ the
was tiliveliest interest—the one, the character of
and the other the welfare mankind at large.
th es of •
othing which tended more to harden the
pri°public than cases like that of false and
Q1'1414 ~,t!raanity. It was much to be regretted that a
hithei3". J. Brooke, who had established for himself
, at eh at reputation for justice and humanity in the
ottld•
o.aehero., be liable to have his character ruined by the
s4e4r, "3 Publication of private correspondence.—
~ hear.) Be could not admit the policy of appoint-
°° - Pro 0
eed t P sed Commission. Was that Commission to
bsk; t‘o,°_ Borneo; to establish itself at Lebuan or Sara-
yaks was it to enter into communication with those
Cottle b z▪ le believed that such a mode of proceeding
;Ire theePa:rfehtly absurd. They had already had laid
„ with great accuracy and attention, all the
the ia‘te°sotithey -could possibly require upon
_both sides
t, a on, and he thought that they. ought then to
la qr. Ja. determination to reject the motion.
elle had d tfM.MOND—The Hon. Member for. Mhn-
ftard this e_preFated the imputation that in bringing
keola
tot
hirserworsohnthe.rwvau.sliadet.itti:gunays the tool of aoy!2°°.
etiktber might please° testimony the Hon.cat
litiatlit) but he might be°give his own favour uponh
t Persons were the ermitted to observe that some-
it.n
laugh.) There dupes of others without knowing
ttl o knew
how t were persons also in the world
o traduce others, and, for his part, he
tittotielh.,°_,otaabelieve that, trom beginning to end, this ma-
tko`", y other foundation than a personal detereni-
Zatd t 1 ruin the character of Sir J. Brooke. He be-
oeir,o_ the fraudulent way in which the Eastern
T_ltitetr.leago Company was at present roceeding neces-
,,_,t tha,"ae ruin of Sir J. Brouke, because he would not
uY go on cheating. The deprecation of
gip who,altletsioes came with a very bad grace from a
?I,!tee b ing in the employment of another, and et:l-
eered ::!Pplauding him to the skies, went to a private
°f that man, and said, "It is owing to my mercy
TP_ et,4l_ll of eonvicted."—(Cries of " Hear, fear.") But
11(a3telbe'r too the case brought forward by the Honour-
-13 it
_to r Montrose, the real difficulty of answer-
-1 it •
ns sated in this, that there was nothing
lett year. eply to which had not been replied to
vffeee,—Meer, hear.) To the Hon. Member for
I,°sre, te who last year was wandering heaven knew
deadepe.,"_o Matter appeared altogether new; but to those
,`,"oPresent at the former discussion it was evi-
t hit`U old story over again.—(Hear.) It was proved
;II: ha;
woyethe evidence of every historian and traveller
ationq, itten on or visited the part of the world in
ogre Nr..!.osat the people whom Sir J. Brooke attacked
s_r, Qtaas__'°_ • The commercial associations ot Manches-
j tiotg2w, Liverpool, and London petitioned the Go-
me,ttot, 'or protection against them.
if sic or
idiots Were. our. mer-
. ere we_ as. to ask for protection against pirates,
f °pia% of
the e one in existence?—(Hear, hear.) The
tee, attpiireeso.untry had actually entered into a treaty
Itltet° wee,'"
810 n of piracy. Did not he know whether
tat,eliesen piratesoitt or no;? Was the evi tepee of Judge
leaoh" tact thet fir point to be thrown overboard, as well
Zee valed.,d
ct) pirate% were taken in the act and ac-
ir offence? To avoid these difficulties
the: le
htt„en er for Montrose started a new dodge.
D nCle, " there are pirates there, it is true, but
all the celled D
e depoatti yaks are not so." But unfortueately
ons proved the contrary. A little learn-
eittlllalsi_a_d,a.:g.eroll2 thing even as regarded a blue-book.
%Ita intention to read much from that volume;
ftle-the 11011. Member for Stafford had argued that the
Itoe.s.sei:,"huoidizsnot be pirates because they had only smell
t quote a passage from page 88, 88
thitetgPedirati:i,L:vvt
Oeer!lttil ebmedberast"hdavaingpasemagatllinveahrieelhs
and a single square sail, Sac.]
bua
stau%setd the sort of vessels be t d pt d
tolsklari:th - piraticalp tk
practices the Hen, ea a 3*- e
%a "wed the ember wisely
tiltee,e ',ere not pirates at a(llear, and
411 addition to the letter of the BM. bop which

•-•

.•
had- ,btartee rend by the Hon. and Learned Member for
!•:Wsveaitle;The would take the liberty of quoting a pas-
• sage from aletter written by a elerg3 man
:
• I "We have now with us several influential chiefs from
the neighbouring rivers, and among them the headmen
of the Sekarran Dyelts, who have come to ask the
Re.ja to take them under his care,; and to send a Euro-
-1 peen to govern them. Their piineipal, Oran{ Kaya, is
lan especially interesting old man; he has always been
against piracy, and wished to put it down, and, now
that his people have agreed to give it up, he is quite
happy."
When this chief expressed his pleasure because his
people had agreed to give up piracy, it might fairly be
assumed that up to that moment they had been pirates.
—(Hear, hear.) This alone ought to be suincient to
establish the fact in the mind of any rational man. It
might not, however, produce that effect on the Hon.
Member for Montrose. The Hon. Member would not
easily admit that hewas satisfied, and, if the House were
not to escape an annual motion on the subject until he
made the acknowledgment, it would have to submit to
the irfEctinn for many years to come.—(Laughter.)
Hear what Captain Hastings said:—
"If I can be of the smallest service to you in giving
any assistance to resist the cruel and unjust persecution
which some evil disposed persona are waging against
you, I beg you will command the services of, my dear
Sir James Brooke, yours faithfully,
" G. F. HASTINGS."
This letter was dated February, 1851.—(:tear, hear.)
Again, hear Cap:ein Wattage:—
" I offered a reward fur all prisoners who should be
brought to me, and, in cons( quence, one Dyak was cap-
tured, and this man flee)), allowed the predatory and
piratical habits of the Sarehas people and his own share
in them for many years past."
That letter was dated the 17th of October, 1850. The
following passage was from the deposition of a native:—
"I, Mahomed Kassim, of Singapore, trader, do sin-
cerely and solemnly declare, that many years ago, at the
time when Mr. Crawford was resident at Singapore, I
went from Singapore to Sadog, on the north-west coast
of Borneo, on a trading voyage in a prahu of about fif-
teen koyans. I remained at Sadung about eight months,
and during that period went to various places on the
coast. In these expeditions the boat in which I went
was always well armed, as I was afraid of the Dyaks.
During.the time I remained at Sadong seven Malay
prahus, belonging to Bruni, Sambas, and the neighbouring
islands, were cut off by the Dyaks. The Dyaks cut off
the heads of the people found in the prahue, no matter
what nation they belonged to, and took the goods."
Bat it was useless to read these passages, for they were
but a repetition of what had been stated before. Mr.
Crawford was a great authority with the Hon. Member
for Montrose—he was a perfect Godsend to him.
Mr. HUME said, he had not named Mr. Crawford.
Mr. HENRY DRUMMOND would not let the Hon.

—.—
Member cif on that plea.—(A laugh.) Mr. Crawford
came as a witness before a Committee appointed to in-
quire into some other matter—an Ordnance survey, or
something of that Fort—and, having got him :there, " Oh,
oh !" thought the Hon. Member for Montrose, "I will get
something out of you about Borneo." Mr. Crawford was
not very well acquainted with the habits of nations in
those parts, as was evident from an anecdote related of
him. It was stated that he went once to visit the So-
vereign of Siam; and some person, by way of a joke, told
him that it was the custom for strangers to t eke off their
shoes before appearing in the presence of the King. Mr.
Crawford accordingly left his shoes at the door; but
when he quitted the audience they were gone, and he
bad to walk home barefooted through the mud.—
(Laughter.) The Honourable Member for Montrose
expected that Mr. Crawford would prove a great card
for him; but when he came to be examined he stated
that he knew nothing of the matter, exceo what he
had got out of Sir James Brooke's diary.—(Hear.)
The Hon. Member was not very nice respecting the
quraters to which he applied for information. As long
as he could get up a charge against a coloui al governor,
he did not stick at trifles.—(Laughter.) So me time ago
there appeared in the Daily News a letter • written by a
Mr. Miles, the same gentleman, he believec I, whom the
lion. Member bad that evening referred to a s the author
of a letter, without naming him. Mr. W. H. Miles, was
a gentleman who followed the occupation or a butcher,
with which he united the more honourable ; rrofession or
a boxer, and it happened that owing to a 1 ittle misfor-
tune he went abroad at the Queen's expense.--(A laugh.)
Lord Bacon said that there were two ways of making a
man wise, by books and by travel. It was Air. Miler's
fortune to profit by the latter:—
" Mores hominum multorum vidit et miles."

—(Laughter.) This gentleman went out to Borneo,
and on his return to this country he took: it into his
bead to write a letter to the Sultan; and, re uembering
that great sovereigns, when they visited other countries,
were usually treated to a review of the troops of those
countries, in order to inspire them with an I.Zigh idea of
their military prowess, and wishing to con .vey a fine
impression of England to the Sultan, he (Mr.. Miles) re-
solved—for great men were never at a loss fc it resources
—he resolved to send him a picture of the He me-guards
—(Laughter)--and here it is (said the Ho ct. Member,
holding up the letter with a vignette view of the Horse-
guards at the top of it).—(Continued laugl titer.) The
letter was as follows:

" My Dear Sultaa,—Alth in London 1 e6OO miles
awhay from you I do not forget you and i 3orneo and
when I come back to Singapore I shall cc ale and see
you I have told all my friends in London wh at nice old
Gentleman you are—(Laughter)--and are !iv mesh pleased
with the account of Borneo and the pleat eat life the
Malays lead the Queen had A little boy the other day
I should not be surprized if it is not called TI ea Sultan—
(Laughter)—l must buy some little present da London
for the Sultan Before I leeve Mrs. Miles a rid all Her
friends sends there Kind Complements to nbe Sultan
tender my respects to Pengaren Molmean ant I Pengaren
Ma ccootar and all the other Pengarens and nobles of
,B, rupniineg.
o this will find you all well believe me I )tsar Sultan
" Yours Respectfully
WlLLit:eo.3l Penlliggliareßirn MilesMaEs ll:Labnan.
" London, 24th May, 118 a
" P.S. This is the Queens Birthday I drain It your and
Her very good Helth in A bumper and wished you might
live A hundred years."
Now, upon the strength of this letter, he Beni e d that the
letter which the Hon. Member for Montrose h a d received
and published as his was written by this ma n .—(Hear,
hear.) He (Mr. Drummond) would like vete. r much, if
the Honourable Member would band over the r n .anuscript
of the letter to him or to some of his friends, and allow
the handwriting to be compared with th a t of the
letter he had just read.—(Hear, hear.) He (11 d r. Drum-
mond) believed that the letter read by the 121:( snourable
Member was cooked; for the fact was that I dr. Miles
could not spell, and therefore he could not ha 3 'e spelled
this letter, which was published in his name; e nd he did
not believe the handwriting was like this.- -I Here the
Hon. Member tossed the letter across the H( n tse to Mr.
Hume.) But he has' no doubt he could easi I get ano-
ther handwriting to resemble the one the Ht a e Gentle-
man had got.—(Hear, hear.) The whole of t his trans-
action from first to last was a very discredit a ble one.—
(Hear, hear.) There was, he knew, a mock •patriotism
which thought that it was always doing t h e public a
service by finding fault with people in office, and parti-
cularly with those in distant settlements; who ens it was
to official men in diqent settlements that the • ought to
be more than ordinarily ready to extend tht ti r protec-
tion.—(Hear. hear.) The House should rerr a ember the
many worthless adventurers who went out • from this
country to those settlements for the purpose c 4 repairing
their broken fortunes and character, and th whom
official men were necessarily thrown into itact; and
how any mark of just severity which migl i t be mea-
sured out to those characters was sure to fin z ash atnn-
dant opportunity for slander.—(Hear, bear He did
hope that the House would, with a high hand, reject this
motion, although he could not hope that that would put
an end to the matter. At the bottom and re Kit of it all
was the author to whom he had before poir bed, and so
long as be was alive (so we understood the Efon. Mem-
ber) he believed that. the slanders would live also.
Mr. MACGREGOR, on the part of the I Lechipelago
Company, of which he was chairman, denim I there was
any foundation for the charges of fraud whic' b the Hon.
Member for West Surrey had brought again: it the com-
pany; and said he believed the Government ri ould bear
him out in the denial.
Mr. DRUMMOND said he meant the man sager of the
company. The truck system, disreputable in i n dividuels,
was more so in a company, and still more so i n an
inci-
pient colony, where the most scrupulous fah la ought to
be kept with the natives. It was managed th u s—a shop
was kept. by the company's superintendent, fi a m which
the native workmen and native traders re tceived half
their pay and half their money demands, in 3 ;oods.Thus
a piece of balacher, or grey shirting, costs in Singapor
2 dollars, or 1 dollar 90c., which the native must take
in payment for 3 dollars. If the native refuse e, be could
nor work for it. The fact
way,—to estahlisa a
came
edeoauli
ntwitinthhicso theurt
beforecom pa
J. Brooke and two other
judges, date on a trial in
which he was a witness, ithe company's sup erintendent
la
(rice in ask), which
receipthanded winusasqlgure:endtitybyofthe "paddy"nativ.
plaintiff in the case.
The receipt was fairly written in English fo r above 200
dollars, and the native incidentally stated t hat half the
gs; so that
money-price had been paid in grey sbirtin
either the superintendent had cheated the c ompany or
the company had cheated the people; but, in either case,
the people were robbed.--(Hear, hear.)
Mr. B. COCHRANE said that, after tl ie speeches
which had been made, it was unnecessary for any one to
rise in defence of Sir Jaines Brooke.-e(Hear, hear.) 116
hoped, however, the House would allow him I, as he had
& to Bir
th .
3
been requested to do so, to refer to the testimony,
of his relative, Sir T. Cochrane, with regar
Brooke, in a letter addressed to the First . Lord of e
Admiralty. The language of the Hon. i Wernher for,
Montrose led to an impression that Sir T. C echrane was'
opposed to the conduct of Sir J. Brooke. I R ow, Sir T.
Cochrane stated that on two different OCCab ions Sir J;
Brooke had placed himself under his commas u 1, and that'
his first acquaintance with him was in 1845, v rl ien piracy
became daring on the west coast of Borneo, t( ► an extent
to endanger not only Britich commerce, but t h e peace of
the inhabitants. Sir T. Cochrane further sta t ed that in
the following year Sir J. Brooke rendered him important
service, and resided six weeks on board the flag-ship ;
and that he found him to be " one of the z nest mild,
considerate. single-minded men he ever me .t with."—
(Cheers.) . With regard to the attack on the Se rebus and
Sakarran tribes, Sir T. Cochrane was of opi lion that
it would hot have been resorted to if there had not
existed ari absolute necessity, and that having heard
that these tribes were disturbing the Saraws k settle-
ment, he offered to place a force at the dispo: ;al of Sir
J. Brooke to bring them to reason; but that so far from
availing himself of it, be informed him that 1 se wished
to try gentle and peaceful means.—(Hear, heat .) With
regard to the loss of life attending the attr k, Sir T.
Cochrane accounted for it partly by the utt e r careless-
Hess which Malaya, when irritated, displayed L concerning
1 their lives, often looking upon self-itamo §3

virtue, and a thing to be desired.—(Hear, hear). Such
was the testimony of one every way competent to form
an opinion. His (Mr. B. Cochrane's) cnxiety on the
present occasion was to have his name asioctatcd with
a debate and with a vote which he hoped would satisfy

the public generally that a public man had done his
duty nobly and i❑ an honourable manner.—(Hear.)
Mr. GLADSTONE said that in his judgment the
Hon. Member did honour to himself by availing himself
of the very testimony which he had quoted us to the
Character of the distinguished man accused on this oc-
casion. against whom, as appeared to him, no inconsi-
derable amount of personal animosity existed.—(Hear,
hear.) In this hostile feeling with respect to Sir J.
Brooke, be did not share. There was nothing which
had been said by his Hon. Friend who had just sat
don n, so far as his limited knowledge extended, in which
he should not be disposed cordially to concur. He re-
garded Sir J. Brooke with great respect as a man of
energy, truly British, and as being in his heart and in-
tentions—whatever errors of judgment he may, like
others, have fallen into—guided by a philanthropy truly
Christian.—(Cheers.) Ile could not vote for the motion
of the Hon. Member for Montrose on specific grounds,
which he would afterwards state. At the same time, he
must say, he could not concur in the unqualified lan-
guage which had been used in opposition to that
motion.—(Hear.) He could not vote for the mo-
tion, because it appeared to him to combine together
a great number of subjects that had no proper con-
nexion, and to assume, in too marked a manner—if not
exclusively—the character of a personal charge against
Sir James Brooke. He thought the Hon. Member for
Montrose would be the first to admit, if his motion was
of such a character, that by voting in favour of it he
would imply a presumptive acquiescence in that charge.
In respect to the general position of Sir James Brooke,
and to the combination of offices in his person, however
critical that position might be, or however expedient it
might be as a rule of administration to combine such
offices, he did not think that the House, addressing the
Crown for a commission of inquiry on the subject, which
belonged more properly to the Executive, would be alto-
gether just. With respect to the charge as to the de-
struction of a certain number of human beings, if cor-
rect in his view, there was no reason why Sir James
Brooke should be selected as either singly or mainly re-
sponsible for these proceedings. That was a point upon
which they were competent ro form an opinion, and he
wished to know who those persons were, as it would be
the duty of the House to call on them to render an ac-
count of their proceedings. He understood Sir J. Brooke
to be invested with a threefold official character:-1. As
Raja of Sarawak; (2.) as consul in the dominions of the
Sultan of Borneo; and (3.) as Governor of Labuan. But
in no one of these capacities had he any authority over
the forces of her Majesty. What he might have done,
had the action alluded to taken place in the waters
of Labuan, was a different matter; but, as it,
happened, it took place 100 miles distant. With re-
spect to that action, he understood Sir J. Brooke to
be an advising and consenting party, if not the party
primarily responsible. If the House should think that
there was a misuse of the naval power in the waters of
Borneo on the 31st July, 1849, it appeared to him that
they were not entitled to call on Sir J. Brooke—who was
not the person in command—to bear the responsibility,
but must deal with it in the ordinary form, and hold the
party in command responsible for the use or misuse of
the force entrusted to him. On that ground he could
not accede to a motion which served to indicate that Sir
James Brooke was the person on whom the responsi-
bility of that action ought to rest. But he must also
confess that with regard to the other and main point, he
could not come to the same conclusion as the Hon.
Member for Montrose—he meant the point whether the
tribes attacked were piratical or not. He was not in-
clined to say that it was a point placed beyond the pos-
sibility of doubt, but after having taken the greatest
pains in examining the evidence, it appeared to him
that the balance of testimony was in favour of the
opinion that those particular tribes were to be dis-
tinguished from the rest of the DI aks, and that they
were what might be termed piratical, though their
piracy was not of that formidable kind which led to the
attack of European vessels.—(Hear, hear.) If that, then,
were the point at issue, he was bound to say that a
piratical character attached to these tribes.—(Hear.)
Upon this point, he must say, he attached importance
to the evidence of Sir James Brooke. He had such en-

tire confidence in his humanity, honour, and integrity.
that he received his evidence, even where he had an ap-
parent interest, with the most ur qualified confidence.—
(Rear' hear.) This matter, too, ha had reason to be-
lieve had been judicially argued before Sir C. Rawlinson
in 1849. That part of the question be believed was
before him; and the evidence then was sufficiently mi-
nute to convince him that the judge had decided that
these tribes were piratical. This matter, too, had been
argued before Dr. Lusbington. The objection to the
payment of head-money bad been made by the Queen's
Advocate, on the ground that the parties were not pi-
rates; and Dr. Lusbington, he believed, had come to the
decision that the tribes were of a piratical character. But
even if there were some doubt remaining on his mind cn
this subject, he must at the same time say that no suffi-
cient ground had been made for an inquiry such as the
Hon. Member proposed.—(Hear, hear.) But then he
came to what constituted the real difficulty in this case;
and alter listening to the sarcasm and satire of the Hon.
Member for Surrey, he said that this question was not
one that W,lB to be disposed of by taunts directed against
the Honourable Member for Mentrose.—(Hear, hear.)
As to that Honourable Member it was not often his for-
tune to vote on the same side with him; but still he was
bound to express his conviction that no man brought
greater honesty of purpose, or greater determina-
tion to do justice, its every case like the present that he
undertook, than the same Hon. Member.—(Cheers.)
They had now to consider what was the real question
that was submitted to their judgment. In his opinion the
terms of the motion of the Hon. Member were liable to
objection—that it fixed upon Sir J. Brooke a responsi-
bility that did not pre-eminently belong to him; but then
it was for the House to determine, not how the blame
that attached to these transactions was to be distributed,
but of the fact that was placed before them—namely,
that there had been a great destruction of human lite,
and whether that destruction had been warranted?—
(Hear, hear.) He brought no charge of cruelty against
those who had been engaged in this enterprise. He be-
lieved no such motive influenced them; and if he
doubted that there was legality in their proceedings, he
did so admitting that they believed that they were acting
with a view to what were ultimately the interests of hu-
manity. But admitting this did not dispose of the ques-
tion.— (Hear.) When in that House they heard the
name of "pirates" mentioned, it was supposed that was
the whole question. It was not so. Their relations with
pirates were regulated by law; and if they wore, then
they were found to observe th law when dealing with
pirates as when dealing with other criminals who were
not pirates, or with persons who were not criminal.
What was the law in thus dealing with pirates? It was
chiefly needful to refer to two Acts of Parliament. The
first Act referred to head-money, and it was most vague
'in its language as to the manner of treating pirates. It
gave rewards for the capture and destruction of pirates;
.and there was, in point of fact, nothing in it to impeach
the legality of these proceedings. By the Act of 1837
circumstances, however, were changed. It declared that
in all cases an act of piracy was not a capital offence.
It enabled them to kill pirates, to capture the rest; but
by the second section of that Act it was enacted that if
a person acting as a pirate resisted his being captured,
he was liable to be put to death; that all persons en-
gaged in active resistance were liable to capital punish-
ment. But then when they came to the third section
of the same Act they would find it declared that any
man convicted of an act of piracy, not connected with
resistance, should be liable, nut to the punishment of
death, to which he would be subjected before the pass-
ing of the Act, but to be sentenced by the court to
transportation for life. Instead, then, of piracy being
a capital offence, it was one only liable to transporta-
tion. Here, then, they had to observe that they had in-
flicted the punishment of death upon 500 persons. There
were only two cases in which they could do so—in case
of active resistance, or their not submitting to capture,
and in the attempt.to capture slaying them. He put this
case to the House, to her Majesty's Government, and espe-
cially to the law officers of the Government. Did these SOO
persons thus put to death fall under one or other of these
cases? He did not quote the evidence of any men whose
handwriting was questioned. He quoted the account of
those engaged in the transaction, and who stated the parti-
culars of it as one that did them high honour. Were these
500 persona deprived of life without a legal warrant,
such as there would be in either of the cases he had sup-
posed ? (Hear.) When the action began there was
partial resistance from some of the prahus ; but that
resistance was partial, and it very soon ceased. The
resistance was followed by flight, and the flight by pur-
suit; but then it was only a nominal pursuit, for the
means of flight were ridiculous as compared with the
means of pursuit. Now, what said Captain Wallis?
That he saw 16 or 17 prahus escaping, and on their com-
ing abreast of him he fired a broadside loaded with ca-
nister shot along their whole line—he raked them along
his whole line as they were escaping, and not resisting.
—(Hear.) Now, what he asked for was a vindication of
this proceeding.—(Hear, hear.) According to this evi-
dence, a great number of lives were sacrificed when the
men were not resisting. These lives were sacrificed de-
liberately—(Hear)—but whether from humane motives
or not he did not inquire; but they were sacrificed with-
out that legal sanction which was required when they
were dealing with pirates, as it they were dealing with
any other class of criminals. This, then, was the diffi-
culty that presented itself to his mind. This it was
which justified them in addressing the Crown for an
inquiry, not as against Sir J. Brooke, but into the
whole of the proceedings. It was to the government he
looked for a vindication of these proceedings, and he
hoped it would have been made through some Member
on the part of the Government in the early part of the
evening; for it was their duty to inquire into every such
case—to ascertain the legality of the proceedings of their
officers abroad as well as at home—it was their duty to
10 so, as the only permanent security and guarantee for
the rights of every man amongst them.—(Cheers.)
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Lord PALMERSTON said—l confess I never heard
a debate in which the arguments and the facts have been
Member
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brings strong opinions to sustain any question he sub-
mits to this House, yet tile natural candour of his mind
was shown in the manner in which he proposed his mo-
tion
this evening. I could not but see that his convic-
tions, which were so strong when the subject was last
debated, have been somewhat shaken this year—(Hear,
hear)—and although he has not altogether departed from
his sentiments previously expressed, still those who heard
him—and I am sorry to say that not many of, those who
are now present did so—(Laughter)—still they must
have resharked that he did not show the same confidence
in the soundness of his conclusions which he exhibited
on a former occasion.--(Hear, hear.) The question lies,
as it has been said by the Hon. Member for Stafford
(Dir. Urquhart), almost ill a nutshell. The question