The Sun.
London, England, 1857-04-29 00:00:00

THE INSURRECTION. AT SARAWAK.

Sir James Brooke has addressed the following
letter to a warm personal friend, describing the
events of the late insurrection, and the steps taken
to suppress it :

Balidah, March 15. •

" I may now relate more circumstantially the
events of the last few weeks. Sarawak was as
!peaceful as it had ever been, and there was no
'cause to excite dissatisfaction among the Chinese
,or raise suspicion in our minds of any hos-ile de-
signs ; yet a conspiracy had been formed which
;had its ramifications in Singapore and China. A
'follower of Tien-Te, the rebel chid, had arrived
in Sarawak, and souse criminale, who hid been,
banished the country, secretly returned from Singa-
pore. I had- been unwell for some days, and on
!the night of the 18th retired early to bed. My
!servant was sleeping in a room near mine, and
Mr. Steel and Nicholets occupied a small bunga-
low close by. Between 12 an:l 1 o'clock I was
awakened by yells and shots, and, seizing my sword
and revolver, I opened a window and saw that
the house was surrounded. The noise told me
-it was by Chinese. I opened door by door in the
hope of finding means for escape, but in vain. I
told Penty (his native servant) that our deaths
were at hand, and, as the.last hope, went down to
the bathing-room, which was under repair. The
door was not fastened: I opened it gently, and
seeing the way clear ran across the lawn to the
creek on the right hand of the house, and took
the water close under the bows of tee boat which
had brought the murderers to their blOody work.
I carried my sword and pistol across with me.
Glad was I to touch ground ou the far side,
though not above 30 yards. I struggled through
the deep mud, and lay down exhausted and
panting in the road. Recovering breath I got
to the nearest house, and, launching a canoe,
pulled up to the Datoo Bandars kampong. All
was in confusion. • I was too exhausted to
do much, and Hercules himself could not
has restored courage or order to such a panic
stricken crowd. Hero Crookshank joined me bleed-
ing from a severe swordcut in the arm. Het elieved
his wife to be dead, and we both apprehended than
the massacre would be general. Finding all hope of
restoring affairs at the Benders gone, I pulled to the
kampongs aboye, and persuaded the people to se-
cure their women and valuables in prahus, and to
cross to the opposite or left bank of the river, so as to
prevent the assailants from attacking theui by land.
My house, Arthur's, and Middleton's were long
before.this inflames. We got the women and chile.
rpll acropa sire river, and Areeeee Ox eokshank, and
myself retired to the same side, to the house of
Nakodah Break. Here Crymble joined us with the
intelligence that after an hour's defense our fort or
palisade had been taken, and with it all our guns,
small arms, ammunition, Sic. lt bad beea de-
fended by Crymble, with four men and two pri-
soners ; three of the defenders were killed, one or
tesowounded, anderymble himself had beau grazed
by a spear in his side. Middleton, Steele, Rup-
pell, and Penty dropped in one after another.
The bright fires went out, and the dull morning
broke at length, but only disclosing to us the hope-
less state of our affairs. We remained quietly at
Inkodali Bryaks, doing what we could to animate
the natives, and to prepare for such a defence as
our means allowed, should we be attacked. I may
here relate the fate and misfortunes of our fellow-
sufferers. Poor Harry Nicholetts was Murdered
on the grass trying to reach my house. Crook-
shank and his wife escaped by their bath room door.
She ran first, and he protected her retreat with a
spear is his hand, but, in passing the s' able, one of
these villians rushed from the opposite side and
cut her down. Her husband jobbed his. spear ire°
the miscreant's back, but with a twist of his body
he wrenched it out, and, seizing the shaft, he
struggled to get the spear. Suddenly, however,
letting go with his right hand, in which he held-a
short sword, he cut Crookshank across the fleshy
part of the arm. Both staggered both let go the
spear, and Crookshank, weak with loss of blood,
and believing his wife dead, staggered away and
reached me. She, young and beautiful, lay for 12
hours weltering in her blood, conscious and calm in
this extremity. One fiend hacked at her head till
he cut off the long tresses which protected it ;
another tore her rings from her fingers ; a third—
for the sake of our COMMOIi nature let it ba told—
gave her water to drink. By this time the re-
mainder of the Europeans had been assured of pro-
tection ; but when the Bishop asked the leader's
permission to carry her to his house, he :was told
that she should be left to perish. At length the
boon was granted, and she was relieved and tended,
and is now, God be praised, recovering. Middle-
ton's house was attacked at the same time and in
the same manner as the others. He escaped with
difficulty. His poor little wife hid in a bakery till
the burning rafters fell about her, and, from her
concealment; saw the assailants kicking about the
head of her eldest child. The mother was paralysed;
she wished, she said, to rush out, but could not
move. The youngest child was murdered and-
thrown into the flemes,. where poor Wellington's
remains were likewise consumed, his head borne
off in triumph alone attesting his previous murder.
The day broke, as I said, and shortly after I heard
that the Chinese had assured the survivors of safety,
that they had communicated with the Bishop, and
sent for Reims' and Ruppell. I then, hopeless of
doing good, started for the Siole, a small stream
which has its outlet far below the town ; it was'a
wild walk ; we swam the stream, washed out every
track of our footsteps in the mud, and Look refuge
in a mangrove swamp as dark came on. By eight
o'clock two small boats came to carry us away, and
in an hour afterwards I was in Abang Bnyong's
prahu, manned by 40 men, with six smaller boats
in company. Our party consisted of Arthur Crook-
shank, Crymble, Middleton and Panty, and, after
the trials and fatigues of the 24 homes, we slept as
though misfortune had not overtaken us.
" On the morning fallowing I landed at Sabong,
and I wish I could explain to you the tender care, the
generous sympathy showered upon us. Here we
received information that the Chinese, after forcing
the Europeans and Datoos into oaths of feilty, had
agreed to retire up the river. It was clearly their
intention, having, as they thought, dispceed of my-
self and Arthur, to take the country into their own
hands, to be fries' Sly with the Malays and Dyaks,
to patronise the Europeans and to encourage them
to trade in order to the supply of their own wants.
There were two patties requisite to the success of
this notable proje3t. My intention was to proceed
to Sakarran, to collect as largo a force as I could,
and with it to retake the town, or to command a
base of operations in its vicinity. I awaited, how-
ever, the intelligence, and on Sundayhaving heard
of the retirement of the Chinese, I was again en.Lr-
ing the town, when down they came a second time
before we were in any manner pre' wed to 'receive
them properly. The consequence was, they ?Tithed
the town before I could even land, and I again re-
tired with all the Enropeans with the firm inten-
tion of proceeding to Sakarran. This was the only
evening I felt the depression of spirits attendant on
ill fortune, but I did not show it. There we were,
Qutcasts—women and children and helpless fugi-
tives to be provided for=-the town in flames, and
my people,without firearms and ammunition, panic
stricken, and fleeing with their families. A force
from Sakarran was our only hope, and with a base
for operations we might rally the people, re-arm
and act against the enemy. The next morning I

~j

PRIOR, AD. STAMPED 5n

was on my way to Linda, when the steamer hove in
sight. I boarded her; Skinner was most zealous
and active. He're alas the very base for our opera-
tions we wanted. We.drove the miscreants out
of the town, found the Datoo in a cluster of,
prahus, and heard 'that he had re-captured nine
campans, and one .of our prahus containing
stores of powder, some guns, itc., of which we
were in great wane. This was the first blow
struck at the Chinese. I felt assured that each
day would improve our resources and diminish
these of our enemies. Their body of men was nearly
aenihilatecl, for taking the jungle behind the town
or makintr. off by the road, as they had, no boats to
carry them away, they 'were' cut off by the
• Dyaks or starved. My next measure was to let the
laud Dyaks loose upon them, and within a circuit
of 30 miles from Siniawan, Bau, and Bula, they
were driven into their defences with great loss of
life, and all cenamunicat ion between Ban and Sinia-
wan prevented, except by means of large parties of
armed men. Night and day they were harassed by
alarms o every straggler wag cut down. In, short, it
was a guerilla warfare of the most harassing cha-.
racter, and quite shut the enemy up in their two
places of strength, Bau and Siniawan. The want
of food was sure to do the rest, and it was a mere
question of time how long they could hold out.
Simoyar and Bank•were each covered, the former
by the fort of Balidab, the latter by its- landing
place, but early in the month the Chinese again
came forth is five prahus and began ravaging the
hank of the river. I was collecting my people and
reassuring t'tem after their panic. The Datoo
Bandar, on the 9th.,_ was in .a sin* Malay pralm
on the ook-out at Liuda Tarak when this ChineSe
pirty came there. They decl'ned an engagement
on the water, but landed and threw up a'stockade,'
which they defended with four guns and manned
with ahout 250 men, armed with muskets and
rifles. The Datoo came down himself iu a small
boat, and by 1 o'clock on the 10th we got off two
more large palms, some 30 Dyak bangkongs as a
reserve other prahus 'were preparing, and some
followed the same evening, but too late. These
three prahus ranged themselves in line and dashed
at, the Chinese stockade, landed sword in hand, and
curried it without a check. The Dyaks cut the.
Chinese to pieces in the jungle, and the half-hour
before sunset cost our enemies from 100 to 120
men. 'Again the remnant was distressed in the
jungle. Our party returned.; had it ascended
the river, no man, woman, or child of our
enemies would have escaped death or cap-
ture. This defeated party consisted of their picked
men, and their two great leaders were killed
in the stockade. A panic now seized them. On
the night, of the 11th I beard that Balidah and
Simovar had been abandoned, and, hurrying up
the following morning, the intelligence greeted me
that Bank was likewise deserted, and had lieen
burned, and that the Chinese were in full retreat
towards Sambas: This took us by suiprise, but
our force got upon their trail on the 13th, and,
after three days' desultory fighting, drove them
,across the frontier with great slaughter, the enemy,
.however, making a desperate resistance in defence
of the women and children, and' the efforts of our
people not -being able to break them.. Had 24
hours' delay intervened to allow a concerted attack
we should have had them all ; but as it is 'we may
be thankful, for a mere remnant of the borly of
Chinese men bad escaped, and the capture of the
women and children was not to be desired. 'Even
now, however, this wretched mass, driven to the
further side of the Sambas river, must suffer great
loss, and may altogether perish in the wild jungle
for want of food and from exposure. Thus the
punishment has been almost as sudden and far more
'sharp than the treachery and first success of this
miscreant body. A thousand and more have been
killed in different places, their flourishing settle-
ments destroyed, and not a rooftree to cover their
dastard heads in the country, The numbers starved
in their flight by being lost in the jungle it is diffi-
cult to reckon, but it must be considerable, and out
of a population of 4,000 or 5,000 certainly not more
than 2,000 have escaped, and half this number is
composed of women and children. The punishment
has'been severe. The Chinese will play no further
treachery here, and in future we shall prevent their
being associated in companies, disayow them, and
reduce them to a daily obedience to the laws and
iti stritt surveillan Sarawak has nowinssed
t hrontio the v't'aelrtreat enongram s
through and Singapore has yet to .meet. The.
count( y is secnre ; the authority of Government
has been vindicated ; the principles on which it
is based proved to be -right by the fidelity and
ardour of its .native population. Our guns have
been recovered, with a proportion of our mus-
ketry, and Vie principal loss fa'ls on myself, on
Crookshank, and Middleton. For myself, I may
say that I' never knew the small value of worldly
goods till I lost them. I do not pretend to any
sentimental cant over my noble library, my costly
plate, or all the decorations and tokens of honour
which were once showered upon me and have been
lost even more suddenly than they were acquired.
Man's happiness consists not in such things, and he
destroys the chances of finding it if he persuades
himself that it does.

Now, a word &ore as to the causes of these
events. Wherever there is a Chinaman there is
the conceit of supremacy and the desire of domi-
nion. When associated in bodies, as in Sambas
formerly, and thence in Sarawak before my arrival,
this lust of rule grows stronger. The stringent
proceedings of the Dutch have recently thrown
many desperate characters into Sarawak, and the
miserably-feeble Government of Singapore, with its
toleration of secret societies, has strengthened the
Chinese Kungsi hero and given it advisers aware of
the state of British affairs and policy. Without
such advisers the idea of. encouraging trade while
murdering the officers of Government would never
have entered the head of any of the rude Chinese
here, and without the means of livelihood from
without and the-support of the European commu-
nity so mad a project could hardly have been
undertaken. To upset the Government by the
murder of its principal officers and heads and to
esfablish other Englishmen to carry on the trade,
was the suggestion of Chineac„of Singapore, well
acquainted wilt the isolated pesition of Strawak,
and possessed with the idea that the murder of
Sarawak officers-and the Sarawak R-ijah would be
a matter of supreme indifference to the British
nation, provided that trade was continued and cot-
tons sold: It was a high compliment to my govern-
ment that, murdering me with the intention of
obtaining power, these stupidly clever Chinese
desired as little change as possible. They forgot
the native element, and hence their destruc-
tion has come. It was a grand superstructure,
cleverly devised by men acquainted with Engiish
policy and mode of proceeding, but miserably b ised
as regards the feelings and the ferocity of the native
population. , I think I have told you that one of
Tien Te's follower—i. e. a follower of the-rebel and
flue leader in China—has since been ascertained to
have arrived in the country. It is probeble thathe
was the great Singapore mover and agent, and to
all these causes to encourage the attempt to acquire
power and plunder by means of treachery and mur-
der may be added the poverty of the Chinese,
owing to the scanty yield of gold during the last
-e.ght months. I will only add that to penetrate
their designs was impossible, and without a clue to
the designs and its advisers their attempt was net
conceivaele. Tru-, some rumours had been afloat
three months before that under guise of a religious
prcce.ision the Kungsi people were toforce the gaol
in order to liberate some prisoners belonging to
their bo ly ; but the scheme did not then embrace
my life, as I was in Singapore. Crooks- hank to
precautions, and on my return I made inquiry into
,the matter, without eliciting any tangible evidence
to warrant me in disturbing the peace of the coun-
try.i To guard against such a conspiracy is impo -
sible ;it slumbers till opportunity occure. We are
really not much hurt ; our finances will suffer, but
will recover, as even now, owing-to the speedy and
complete deetruction of the, Kungsi, confidence is
not wanting. The loss of the company is trifling.
his fortunate that you will hear of our disaster
and its retrieval at the same time ; and, for my-
self, I may say that I am in good health and spirits,
and ready to rough it with the best of them. Our
Ladies behaved with great fortitude and resignation.
Charlie Johnson, as usual, has been my right baud,
and every Government servant his declared be
will follow its foruues in evil as well as in good
fortune. I have written to retrench every super-
fluous expense, and I have app-roprix` ed. my pension
from the East India Company-to pay the pensions
I grant to others. Everything else is superfluous.
No books, no papers, no wine;, no nothing.

TIIE PRINOES OF—OUDE AT GLASGOW.—The heir-appa-
rent to the throne of Conde, and his uncle, attended by
a numerous suite of native domentics, arrived in this
city last night (Monday) at 11 o'clock, from Liverpool.
i~he illustrious vi,itors were received on the platform of
the Caledonian Railway by the Lord Provost and the
magistrates, who accompanied them to the Queen's
Flotel. They were waited upon by Lord Ardwillan,
who had the honour of an introduction to the Princes.
It is understood that they purpose attending the Judges'
'eves this morsing, after which they will visit some of
the most attractive buildings, ecc., of the city,—Nora
British Alai/. •

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PUBLIC SALE OF T i',,'Y7kM ' , '
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Yesterday afternoon, at on `'il
right of these two daily newspipAltogliker Sth
that of the St.' James's Chronicle, published thrce
days a week, were offered for sale by public auc- ,
tion, at the Auction Mart, City, byMessrs. Christie
and Manson. •
The first publication of the Morning licral
._
comenced in tlre year 1781, the Standard in 1827,
and the St. James's Chronicle was founded on the
St. James's Evening Post, a paper of considerable
circulation, so far back as the middle of last cen, '
bury. It included in its proprietary the names of
Bonnell, Thornton, the elder Colman, Garrick;
George Stevens, the Shakepere commentator, and .
Dr. Gillies, the historiographer of Scotland ; and
among its contributors were Goldsmith, Churchill, _
Murphy, Alexander Chalmerq, and Malet du Pan,
during a portion of the French revolutionary
times.

The property was put up in one lot and was
Offered for sale under the orders of the assignees of
Mr. Edward Baldwin, a bankrupt, and with the
consent of his mortgagees. The attendacce of the
putlic was both numerous and infleential, and in-
cluded several capitalists in the City, newspaper
proprietors, paper manufacturers, and printers.
The auctioneer, Mr. Christie, opened the proceed-
ings by observing that the property he had to offer
for sale was of a rather novel character. With the
exception of 19 shares in the Globe, which were sold
by his friend; the la'e Mr. George Robins, in
1846, this. was the firA occasion within his memory
on which a London newspaper had been offered for
public sale. TL e deposit to be paid. under the con-
ditions of sale, viz. 25 per cant, on the ameunt of
the purchase-money, was somewhat large, and per-
haps it naLfht be thought desirable for him to state
what was to be done with it, pending the comple-
tion of the contract. The amount would ba
inve3ted. in Exchequer-bills, and the secu-
rities themselves deposited with Messrs. Hoare,
the bankers. The purchaser of the copyrights would
have alio to piircha4e the leasehold premises and
the plant, at the valuations which he would now an-
nounce. The plant, including steam-engines, machi-
nery, printing-presses, types, and other chattels and.
effects, was valued by Messrs. Harrill and Sons
on the. 23t of April at 6,1901. 3s. Gd., and the lease-
hold valued by Mr. Charles Harding, the eminent
surveyor, at 6611., making. the total valuation of
the plant and the leaseholda 6,8211. 3s. Gd., and
that amount would have • to be added to the
price of the copyrights. The present moment was
Singularly favourable
,for Purchases of this kind.
The country was entering upon a new eta of great
political inter( st to the Conservative party. It was
true that that party was in a minority ; neverthe-
less they were powerful in numbers, powerful in
influence, powerful in wealth, and that patty was
the supporter of this property. These papers were
necessary t ) the exist mce of that great patty, and
formed part, of their political life. He had before
him the amounts paid for advertisements in the
three papers during the last five years, and the total,
was 146,0431. 55., giving an average of nearly
30,0001. a year. In 1851 the amount was 31,6901.
lls. ; in 1852, 35.730/. 18s. ; in 1853, 30,9791. 2s ;
in 1854, 26,484/. 4s. ; and in 1855, 21,758/. 10s.
He had no returns for the last year, nor could he
furnish any information for that period. The papers
came into the possession of the assignees on the
11th of February last, and since that period they
had been carrying them on at a small profit—some
thing like 7001. The assignees had determined to
put the property in at a fixed price—namely,
13,5001., and an advance of 1001. upon that amount
would effect a bona fide purchase. The cost of the
purchaser would then be, including the valuation
of the plant and leaseholds 20,451/. 3s. Gd.
Mr. Christie then formally put the copyrights up
at bidding on the part of the official assignees of
13,5001., and it was intimated that one bid of not
less than 1001. would constitute a sale. A length-
ened pause ensued.
A person asked what the bankrupt gave for the
property ?
Mr. Chrisfe said ho could not tell, but this be
could say that the Morning .Herald alone cost
29,0001.
After waiting some minutes it became evident
that no public sale would take place ; not a single
bid was offetred, and eventually the auctioneer said
he had no alternative but to withdraiv the property.