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

THE

had been read by the Hon. and LeranedMember for
Newcastle, he would tike the liberty of quoting a pas-
sage from a letter written by a clergyman:—
" We have now with us several influential chiefs from
the neighb wring rivers, and among them the headmen
of the Sakarran Dyaks, who have come to ask the
Raja to take them under his care, and to send a Euro-
pean to govern them. Their principal, Orang Kaye, is
an 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 sufficient 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 he was satisfied, and, if the House were
not to escape an annual motion on the subject until he
made the ackuowledgment, it would have to euhmit to
the it ffction for many years to come.—(Laughter.)
Hear what Captain Hastings said:—
"If I can he of the smallest service to you in giving
any aesistance to resist the cruel and unjust persecution
which some evil disposed persons are waging against
you, I beg yeti will command the services of, my dear
' Sir James Brooke, yours faithfully,
" G. F. HASTINGS."
This letter was dated February, 1851.—(11eur, hear.)
Again, hear Captain Wallage:—
" I offered a reward for all prisoners who should be
brought to me, and, in consequence, one Dyak was cap-
tured, and this man freely allowed the predatory and
piratical habits of the Sarebas people and his own share
In them fur 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 Sadcg, on the north-west coast,
of Borneo, on a trading voyage in a prahu of about fif-
teen koyans. I remained at Sadong 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
prah us, belonging to Bruni,Sambas, and the neighbouring
islands, were cut off by the Dyaks. The Dy:.ks cut off
the heads of the people found in the prahus, no matter
what nation they belonged to, and took the goods."
Bat it was useless to read these passages, for they were
but a repe►ition 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 off on that plea.—(A laugh.) Mr. Crawford
came s.s a witness before a Committee appointed to in-
quire into some other matter—au Ordnance survey, or
something of that sort—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 take 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
had 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, except 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 colonial governor,
he did not stick at trifles.—(Laughter.) Some time ago
there appeared in the Daily .News a letter written by a
Mr. Miles, the same gentleman, he believed, whom the
Hon. Member had that evening referred to as the author
of a letter, without naming him. Mr. W. H. Miles, was
a gentleman who followed the occupation of a butcher.
with which he united the more honourable profession of
a boxer, and it happened that owing to a little 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 Mr. Miles's
fortune to profit by the latter:—
" Mores bominum multorum vidit et urbes."
—(Laughter.) This gentleman went out to Borneo,
and on his return to this country he took it into his
head to write a letter to the Sultan; and, remembering
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 high idea of
their military prowess, and wishing to convey a fine
impression of England to the Sultan, be (Mr. Miles) re-
solved—for great men were never at a loss for resources
—he resolved to send him a picture of the Horse-guards
—(Laughter)—and here it is (said the Hon. Member,
holding up the letter with a vignette view of the Horse-
guards at the top of it) —(Continued laughter.) The
letter was as follows:

"My Dear Sultan,—Alth in London 1,600 miles
awhay from you I do not forget you and Borneo and
when I come back to Singapore I shall come and see
you I have teed all my friends in London what nice old
Gentleman you are—(Laughter)—and are mush pleased
with the account of Borneo and the plusent life the
Malaya lead the Queen bad A little boy the other day
I should not be surprized it it is not called The Sultan—
(Laughter)—l must buy some little present in London
for the Sultan Before I leeve Mrs. Miles and all Her
frien Is sends there Kind Complements to the Sultan
tenderL my respects to Pengaren Molmean and Pengaren
leta •cootar and all the other Pengarens and nobles of
Btrupniinei ' O this will find you all well believe me Dear Sultan
" Yours Respectfully
" WILLIAM nENRY MILES,
"late Pengaren Miles Labuan.
" London, 24th May,
P.S. This is the Queens Birthday I drank your and
Her very cocci Helth in A bumper and wished you might
live A hundred years."
Now, upon the strength of this letter, ho denied that the
lett( r which the Hon. Member for Montrose had received
and published as his was written by this man.—(Hear,
hear.) He (Mr. Drummond) would like very much, it
the Honourable Member would hand over the manuscript
of the letter to him or to some of his friends, and allow
the handwriting to be compared with that of the
letter he had just read.—(Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Drum-
mond) believed that the letter read by the Honourable
Member was cooked; for the fact was that Mr. Miles
could not spell, and therefore be could not bafe spelled
this letter, which was published in his name; and he did
not believe the handwriting was like this.—(Here the
Hon. Member tossed the letter across the House to Mr.
Hume.) But he had no doubt he could easily get ano-
ther handwriting to resemble the one the Hon. Gentle.
man had got.—(Hear, hear.) The whole of this trans-
action from first to last was a very discreditable one.—
(Hear, hear.) There was, he knew, a mock patriotism
which thought that it was always doing the public a
service by finding fault with people in office, and parti-
cularly with those in distant settlements; whereas it was
to official men in dktent settlements that they ought to
be more than ordinarily ready to extend their protec-
tion.—(Hear, hear) The House should remember the
many worthless
adventurers who went out from tbie
country to those settlements fI. the purpose of repairing
their broken fortunes and character, and with whom
official men were necessarily thrown into contact; and
how any mark of just severity which might be mea-
sured out to those characters was sure to furnish abun-
duet opportunity for slander.—(flear, hear.) He did
hope the: the House would, with a high hand, reject this
motion, although be could not hope that that would put
an end to the meter. At the bottom and root of it all
was the author to whom he had before pointed, and so
long as he was alive (so we understood the Hon. Mem-
ber) be bs bowel that the slanders would live also.
Mr. MACGREGOR, on the part of the Archipelago
Company, of which he was chairman, denied there was
any foundation for the charges of fraud which the lion.
Member for West Surrey had brought against the com-
pany; and said ho believed the Government would bear
him out in the denial.
Mr. DRU NI MON D said ho meant the manager of the
company. The truck system, disreputable in individusls,
was more so in a company, and still more so in an inci-
pient colony, where the inert scrupulous faith ought to
be kept with the natives. It was managed thus—a shop
was le pt by the company's superintendent, from which
the native workmen and Lathe traders received half
their
or pay_ baland ball their money demands, in goods. Thus
a piece atiher, or grey shirting, costs in Singapore
2 dollars, or 1 dollar 90e., which the native must take
to payment for 3 dollars. If the native refuses, be could
not de.l with the company nor work for it. The fact
came out in court, before Sir J. Brooke and two other
judge s, in this
the company's superintendent
handed in a quantity of
"
written in "paddy" (rice in husk), which
whichad
he was way,—to establish a date on a trial in a
witness,
receipt was signed by the native plaintiff in the case.
in English for above 200
Themdaey..errse,p(arinipdete aeasa b
native
paid in grey shirtings; so that
stated that half the
either the superietendent bad chewed the company or
the company bad cheated the people; but, in either case,
the people were robbed..--(Hear, hear.)
Mr. B. COCHRANE said that, after the speeches
which had been made, it was unnecessary fir any one to
rke in defence of Sir James Brooke.—(Hear, bear.) He
hoped, however, the House would allow him, as ho had
been requested to do so, to re!er to the testimony
of his relative, Sir T. Cochrane, with regard to Sir J.
Brooke, in a letter addressed to the First Lord of the
Admiralty. The language of the Hon. Member for
Montrose led to an impression that Sir T. C( chrane was
opposed to the conduct of Sir J. Brooke. Now, Sir T.
Cochrane stated that on two different occasions Sir J.
Brooke had placed himself under his command, and that
his first acquaintance with him was in 1845,
when piracy
became daring on the west coast of Borneo, to an extent
to endanger not only Britich commerce, but the peace of
the inhabitants. Sir T. Cochrane further stated 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 most mild,
considerate. single-minded men he ever met with."—
(Cheers.) With regard to the attack on the Sarebas and
Sakarran tribes, Sir T. Cochrane was of opinion that
it would not have heal resorted to if there had not
exia'ed an absolute necessity, and that having beard
that these tribes were disturbing the Sarawak settle-
ment, he a ffered to place a force at the disposal of Sir
J. Brooke to bring them to reason; but that so far from
availing himself of it, he informed him that he wished
to try gentle and peaceful means.—(Hear, hear.) With
regard to the loss of life attending the attack, Sir T.
Cochrane accounted for it partly by the utter careless-
ness which Malaya, when irritated, displayed concerning
their liven, often looking upon self-immolation as