The Sun.
London, England, 1850-07-13 00:00:00

BORNEO.

Mr. HUME then said he had to bring forward a sub-
ject connected with the cause of humanity and the cha-
racter of this country. He rose to move an Address to
her Majesty to appoint a Royal Commission t i inquire
into the causes which hal led, since the 3 ear 1841, to
the employment of the naval and military forces of her
Majesty and the lion. East India Company on the north-
western coast of the island of Borneo, and which re-
sulted in a heavy loss of life on the part of certain native
tribes of that island, called Ssrebie and Sakarran, re-
puted to be pirates. In a dispatch of Captain Parker,
dated the 27th of June, 1849, he detailed the proceed-
ings with her Majesty's ships of war in attacking the
natives on the went coast of Borneo, whom he desig-
nated pirates. Upwards of 1,500 natives were killed in
the action, and more than 1.000 were destroyed after
the action, without the loss f one man on the part of
the troops. It was extraordinary that her Majesty's
troops and the East India Company's forces
should be employed to carry destruction and
death to such un extent without the House being'
able to know in what character the interference
was to be considered. Ho was aware that the attack
was stated to have been against pirate; but no act of
piracy was proved against those who were massacred, as
he thought, in cold blood. What right had we to deal
thus with these natives? for that they had intermeddled
with us there was no proof. In 1843 some of her Ma-
jesty's ships had destroyed various Dyak towns, and he
wanted to know under what authority that aegressien
was perpetuated. In 1844 Sir H. Pottinger had ad-
dressed a letter to Sir T. Cochrane desiring him not to
attack alleged pirates, as there was the greatest diffi-
culty, on account of their not being acquainted with the
language, in ascertaining who were or were not pirates;
and, although that was apparently limited to the coast of
China, directions were given to her Majesty's ships in
those seas not to attack alleged pirates, unless it was
known that they had committed an act of piracy, or in-
structions were given by au admiral on the station. He
had no doubt there were some pirates, but they were
few; whilst it was very doubtful whether her Majesty's
ships had not destroyed some of the royal fleet of
China. But, notwithstanding the directions which had
been given to her Majesty's ships, on the 31st of July
last a squadron under Captain Parker, and acting under
the orders of Sir J. Brooke, did attack a fleet
of the B'rnese. and Sir C. Rowlinson, Chief Justice of
Prince Edward's Island, said that not one single person
was brought before the Court to prove that any act
of piracy had been committed by the persons who were
so attacked. Sir C. Itawlinson issued a commission to
determine whether the persona massacred were pirates,
and the commission was addressed to Sir J. Brooke, the
individual who had perpetrated the massacre. Sir J.
Brooke alleged that he acted under the orders of Sir F.
Collier, but he (Mr. Humo) had vainly endeavoured to
obtain a cony tit those orders from the Government.
He was informed that Sir F. Collier had, in a letter,
expressed disapprobation of the transaction, and re-
ferred to the persons destroyed as" alleged" pirates. It
was not his intention to deny that some of the men
killed were pirates. A party had gone eastward on a
piratical expedition; but they were not engaged in
acts of piracy against the English. They had been
plundered a few years ago by the party against whom
they sailed. It was not his intention to jus-
tify plundering expeditions under any circum-
stances; but he did not approve of the inter-
ference of British ships between native tribes. On the
return of the expedition it was attacked and destroyed
by our ships of war. (Hero the Hon. Member gave a
description of the attack upon the pirates, and the pro-
ceedings subsequently adopted by the British forces, the
details of which have already been more than once givea
to the public. He also read extracts from a work pub-
lished by a Mr. Low, in 1848, and from a journal writ-
ten by Mr. Brooke in 1840, with the view of showing
that the inhabitants of the western coast of Borneo
were a comparatively inoffensive race of people.) Of
these transactions there were other accounts than those
to which he had called the attention of the House; he
held in his hand the account of Mr. Vigors, who accom-
panied the expedition; and he described the English
farces as having been for a very considerable tune in
ambush, where they remained in position till the end
of the month, when, at seven o'clock in the evening, a
spy-boat returned with the long-wished for in-
telligence that the pirates were at length within
their power. The Nemesis immediately attacked the
enemy, which speedily fell an easy prey, grape and ca-
nister having been discharged with fearful effect; and
after all this Sir J. Brooke was called upon by the judge
to prove the commission of acts of piracy, and he did so
by his own affidavits. At present there was a gentle-
man in London prepared to contradict the statements
that had been made in extenuation of the conduct of
Sir J. Brooke, and who wrote to Lord J. Russell and to
the late Sir Robert Peel, the latter of whom,
in his reply, said he trusted that the Govern-
ment would make an immediateinquiry into
the circumstances referred to by the writer
of the letter in the paper which he had addressed to the
First Lord of the Treasury, but that he (Sir It. Peel)
should, for his own part, feel bound to suspend his judg-
ment on the proceedings of Sir James Brooke until all
the facts were fully brought under the notice of Parlia-
ment. Now, there was nothing before the House, nor in
any papers or documents accessible to him, which went to
show that the naval officer on this station had not acted
without orders. He contended that to massacre these
people was not only barbarous and inhuman, but it was
inconsistent with the law of nations and of treaties. He
thought he had said enough to show that some inquiry
was-necessary, and he hoped that the Government would
direct their attention to the subject. He held that these
so called pirates had no m .re right to be hunted as they
had been, and put to death, than he had, for though they
bad been carrying on war against other tribes in the
same islands, they had dons n 'thing to justify their
being proceeded against as pirates. The lion. Gentle-
man the Member for West Surrey (Mr. H. Drummond)
ha i alluded on a former occasion to Mr. Wise.
Mr. DRUMMOND—I did not name him.

Mr. IlliME—Mr.Wise was a political agent, and when
he saw the accounts in the new-papers on this subject he
was astonished. He wrote to Lord John Russell, but
though that letter had been asked for it had not been
produced. lie also wrote to Sir R. Peel, vt ith whom
much correspondence took place on the subject of the
settlement of the Island of Labuan, and this was the
answer of that eminent statesman:—

an :
yy vet
proof
on
fy
o f acts information,
of
piracy,
fotlwrdhlohlaeomesswuaetnerlotdd:::ehasuorz.ipsonztgiattashrlit
tedtr2uot
" Whitehall, Nov. 28, 1849.
" Sir,—l thank you for the communication with which
you have favoured me. I trust that her Majesty's Govern-
ment will feel it to be their imperative duty to in ike an
immediate and complete inquiry into those circumstances
which have induced you to address yourself to the First
Lord of the Treasury. I read with great pain the a -..
count of the transactions to which you refer, but shall
suspend a final judgment upon the proce, dings adopted
by Sir James Brooke against some of the Dyaks in Bor-
neo until fuller explanations with regard to them be
given.-1 am, Sir, your obedient servant.
(Signed) "R. PEEL.
" Henry Wise, E!q , 34, Cornhill."
He had waited in vain to obtain the dispatches under
which Captain Far quhar acted, and as fir of they had
t
he had acted without orde re. Ile held, th it without
e
, pjOrshoioh.
vna:Bedwrapr
sneo
boot
anduehkeenale
had b, en destroyed, arid that not only on board their
tlyr .0
of
flume)
ay.ii peopleh i sincems
himself
of every
yaonpdp
opportunity
piwnri att
honiedt ihh no ,ht
to
oabuniti ,
etorahfi
tgeheyh
ata lhadtrthytaihnt
egbhi
reee
°tun(
against such proceedings on the part of any representa-
tive
obffoudnnddintog
of this country. If these prahus Lad intfere,
wi:h our commerce, or attacked our vessels, hecrcould
understand that there m•ght have been some justifica-
tion fur the course Sir J. Brooke had taken, but thus to
follow up and destroy a people who were afraid of the
sound of fire-arms reflected anything but honour to this
country. The lion. Member concluded by moving his
amendment as above stated.
Mr. COBDEN seconded the motion.
Mr. PLO WDEN felt he should not discharge his pub-
lic duty if he were deterred by private considerations
from bringing before the House any information a hial
his acquaintance with the Indian seas enabled him to
furnish, and this he felt to be the more necessary when
he recollected that an honourable and gallant profession
had been spoken of with extreme and entirely unde-
served harshness, and that another distinguished indi-
vidual had been charged cith offences amounting to
murder, although his exertions had been of tte most
praiseworthy character, full of patriotic zeal for the
public service and of the noblest exertions to improve
the commerce of England. Such a man must be re-
garded as a great public benefactor. He had himselF, in
the voyages which he made, frequently visited the Indian
Archipelago, and he could of his own knowledge state
that all those coasts were infested with pirates of the
most sanguinary character. Nothing but the fear of
European power restrained them from continued
acts of the utmost enormity. Although the
vessels in which he sailed were of that great size
which rendered an attack of Bornean pirates not likely to
succeed, they nevertheless found it necessary to maintain
a constant watch during the whole of that which had,
owing to those pirates, been rendered a most intricate
and dangerous navigation. If by any accident a vessel
struck upon a coral reef, she was immediately attacked,
and such would always be the case so long as those men
were allowed to exist. As to the conduct of Sir James
Brooke, he must say that nothing could be more incon-
sistent with the character for humanity which he had
always borne than to suppose that he had sanctioned any
acts of cruelty whatever. There were several papers
before the House which showed clearly that these Dyaks
were guilty of the most enormous crueltfee and if any
further proof of this were required he might call their at-
tention to observations and statements upon this euhject
which appeared in a journel called the Frisndof Lydia,
where the writer complained of the proceedings of
the Ale )rigines Pretection Society, the members of
which had endeavoured to get up an outcry against
Sir James Brooke on account of the well-merited
chastisement which ho intl c•ed on pirates, who, if al-
lowed to continue their depredations, would soon put an
end to the peaceful pa rsii:ts of industry. The Friend of
L•dia further proceeded to say, that it was necessary
for England to teach that piratical community a lesson
which neither they nor their descendants would readily
forget. The English were the paramount naval power
in the east, and the commerce of that district looked to us
for protection. England maintained the maritime police
of those sea‘; a distinguished individual had greatly
contributed t 3 the success of that police, and now, instead
of crowning him with a wreath of honour, they were
threatening him with a prosecution. If civilization and
commerce were to be extended and promoted in the
eastern seas, the best mode of effecting these objects
would be by putting down with a strong arm the pi-
ratical tribes who infested those sea'.—(!tear, hear.)
Away, then, with the sentimentality which was enlist-
ing the mind and feelings of Englishmen against in-
dividuala who, in the discharge of a etern and painful,

but necessary duty, were endeavouring to estat,lish peace,
order, and prosperity in the Eastern Archipelago.
Mr. HENRY DRUMMOND had never seen Sir
James Brooke, and when he heard the attacks upon him
he was greatly surprised. But an Hon. Gentleman op-
posite having expressed a wish that he should look into
the subject, he had done so, with what result the House
should heir. It appeared to be denied by Hon. Mem-
bers opposite that these natives were pirates at all.
Now, all the authorities concurred in saying that the
people of all these seas were nothing but pirates, end
never had been anything but pirates. But, as Hon.
Members opposite c 'red little for the authorities on this
point, he wished to remind them that the Chambers
of Commerce at Manchester and Glasgow had never
left off teizing the Government until they had esta-
blished these two settlements.—(" Hear, hear," from
Mr. Hume.) Ho begged pard in; don't let the
Honourable Member ba rash; the impetuosity of youth
was very great.—(A laugh.) These commercial bodies
especially asked for the establishment of these settle-
ments, on the ground that they were necessary to suppress
piracy in those seas where it was now said by Hon.
Gentlemen opposite there was no piracy at all. The
Manchester Chamber of Commerce declared that the
settlement at Labuan would be a terror to the pirates,
and the Manchester Commercial Association followed in
the sane strain, representing that Labuan would be a
coma anding point for the suppression of piracy. The
Glasgow Chamber of Commerce spoke of the necessity of
occusying Labuan in order to suppress the Malay pirates.
The tilesgow East India Association declared that mea-
sures ought to be taken for the suppression of the piracy
that had so long prevailed in those seas.—(He ir, hear.)
Oh! they admitted now, did they, that piracy did exist
in these seas? The Landon and Liverpool East India
Associations made the same representations. It had been
said that Mr. Wise had seen reason to change his opi-
nion of Sir J. Brooke, but he would show that Sir J.
Brooke discarded Mr. Wise long before that, and that
this circumstance was at the bottom of the whole story.
It was necessary the House should bear in mind that
everything done by Sir J. Brooke in the suppression of
piracy was in virtue of a treaty.—(Hear.) The third
article of the treaty with the Sultan of Borneo distinctly
stated that in consideration of the cession of Labuan, the
English Government engaged to suppress piracy, the
Sultan and the chiefs affording them every facility
therein.—(Hear.) It was said that these persons were
not committing any piratical acts; but the answer to
that assertion was, that the judge before whom the case
was tried remitted the hearing because there was not
evidence enough. Witnesses were then brought who
were parties in piratical acts M the time.—(Hear,
hear.) Now, the Hon. Gentleman said that the House
ought to believe him, and not the parties who were en-
gaged in these ACES.—(Elear, hear.) He had received
f his perusal the journal of a boy who was engaged in
the expedition against these pirates, and which went to
establish the same facts. But then they were told that
it was cruel to attack these people with 9 pounders. But
if they were pirates it was right to destroy them, and
so much the better if they hart been 24 pounders. It
was Mr. Wise who was the teal author and instigator
of this Aborigines Protection Society, and who had got
up this public company that Sir James Brooke blew up.
And that was the cause of the antipathy of the Hon.
Member for Glasgow (Mr. Macgregor). He (Mr.
Wise) had teazed Sir J. Brooke from beginning to end
of their connexion in order to draw him into a commer-
cial speculation. But Sir J. Brooke continually refused,
and the real charge against him was that he cauld not be
brought into the scheme. They wished to get possession
of the whole territory that was ceded.

Mr. MACGREGOR—I rise to order.—(A laugh.)
The Hon. Member has linked my name with Sir J.
Brooke, with whom I never had the smallest con-
nexien.—(A laugh,)
The SPEAKER—The Hon. Member will have an
opportunity of replying afterwards.
Mr. DRUMMOND had before him the prospectus of
this " Esst'rn Archipelago Company," in which the
names of the directors were printel in Saxon cha-
racters ; arid here, in double Roman capitals, was the
name of John Macgregor, Esq , M.P., chairmen."—
, (Cheers and laughter.) He had before him the letters
of Mr. Wise to Sir J. Brooke, with whom he was
a partner for a time. Mr. Wise, in these letters
wrote to Sir J. (then Mr.) Brooke to say that he hoped
to obtain a baronetcy for him—(A laugh)—in acknow-
ledgment of his efforts in the cause of civilization. Mr.
Wise was indefatigable in endeavouring to tempt Mr.
Brooke to engage in commercial speculations, which Mr.
Brooke felt to be incompatible with his habits, with his
objects in settling there, and with his duty to the Go-
vernment at home.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member
proceeded to read quotations from Mr. Wise's letters, to
sstalil.sh this point. In one letter Mr. Wise said there
would be no limit to Mr. Brookes' 'gains if he could get
the fee simple of Sarawak assigned to him, but that he
perceived his reasons' for steering clear of partnership
transactions. These letters were written before July,
1844. In 1845 it appeared that Mr. Wise "commenced
proceedings fur the establishment of the Borneo Com-
p iny."—(Hear, hear.) Was he (Mr. Drummond) right
or wrong when he said that to this gentleman was to be
attributed the whole origin of that company? But he
did more. Captain Keppel, it appeared, published a
book containing an account of his operations on the coast
of Borneo, and off went this indefatigable Mr. Wise to
the publisher, got hold of the work, suppressed the first
volume altogether, and put forth some writings of his
own instead, which would go to the world as the work
of Captain Keppel.—(A laugh.) What he wanted to im-
press on the House was this—that Mr. Wise throughout
redettv, tired to hock Sir James Brooke into a partner-
ship, and that the latter steadily r►fused to be led into
any such project. The Hon. Member, reverting to the
documents before him, read extracts at considerable
length from the letters of Mr. Wise to Sir J. Brooke,
in which the advantages of a commercial alliance were
strongly insistfd on, and great stress laid on the per-
'anal attachment of the writer to the Raja. Mr. Wise
stated that " he had finished the revision and arrange-
inent of Keepers book, the publication of which he
trusted Mr. Brooke would find conducive to his in-
eres's in its altered form." He begged of Mr. Brooke
•' Not to hazard his valuable life in operations on the
coast—he held Mr. Brooke's posthumous fame dear to
him—acknowledged his disregard of money, and had
ever been animated by a wish to omit no opportunity of
sersing him." In fact, every attempt had been made to
get Sir J. Brooke to, act as the agent of this company,
and, on his refusing to do so, they had used every effort
to malign his conduct and character.—(Rear.) Mr.
Wise continued to say that if he had not stopped the
first edition of Keepers book, and the correspondence
with the Foreign-office, he doubted if Mr. Brooke would
have been in his present high position, and that the
assurance he had given that the company should receive
every support he could "lawfully" afford them had been
laid t,e'ore the. board, and was fully appreciated. He
(Mr. Drummond) thought the House had heard enough
of Mr. Wise and of his assiduity. It was not a pleasant
',feed at any time to expose misconduct, and he should
turn with pleasure to the much more grateful task of
showing to the Government and to the country the real
sentiments of the man they had employed, to prove to
them how worthy he was of their confidence—to satisfy
them what a noble public servant they had got, and to
encourage the Government to repel the slaudere which
sad been heaped upon him.—(Cheers.) (The Hon.
Member then proceeded to read extracts from the cor-
respondence of Mr. Brooke with Mr. %Vise, in which
he distinctly stated and reiterated his objections to the
establishment of any large commercial company, and
declared ho believed speculations of the kind
would be injurious to the country; that ho did not wish
to embark iu them, and that " his great desire was to be
clear from trade and from responsibility," as his habits,
tastes, education, and life, had not suited him to em-
bark in such pursuits. The operations of any large
company must interfere with the natives, and be discou-
raged "any plan which might be based for its success on
the destruction of the native population.'—(Hear.) After
the prospectus of the Eastern Archipelago Company had
been actually published, Sir J. Brooke wrote to Mr.
Wise to say he had just seen it, and that he thought it
right to remind Mr. Wise that he (Sir J. Brooke) had
told him there was no part of the country in which there
was security for life and property except in Sarawak,
and that as to the third paragrape of the prospectus,
it would give the people to understand that the
Sultan of B irneo had given the company the exclu-
sive right of working the coal mines for 150 miles,
whereas be had merely given them the right to work
the mines, and did not at all justify them in infringing
on the rights of the owners of the soil. Sir J.
Brooke concluded by expressing his belief that his re-
fusal to join the company would be found not only of
great advantage to their interests, but to his own good
name. He thought he had said enough to show that the
Government bad a most valuable servant in Sir J.
Brooke—(Hear, hear)—that they could not entrust their
business to a more faithful and honest man. But this
indefatigable Mr. Wise, understanding what a country
this was for humbug, and seeing how easy it was to
work on the feelings of the pious, said, after some re-
ference to the instability of the then Administration, and
some complaint of systematic shuilling on the part of
the Government in being handed over from one depart-
ment to another, that he was convinced their only
chance was in their own exertions, and in organizing
an agitation on the Manchester plan; that be was
considering the best means of doing so; and that, aided
by the press and Members of both Houses of Parlia-
ment, as well as by rousing the apathy of the religious
world—(Hear)—the Government would be compelled to,
bestir themselves.—(Hear, hear.) He added that he was
now "stirring up the Philanthropic Society"—(A
laugh)—and urged that no element of agitation should
be allowed to lie dormant, and that all parties and all
creeds should partake of the proposed movement. Ac-
cordingly out came a thundering prospectus from the
Peace and Aborigines Protection Societies, stating that
the Dyaks were never known as pirates till Sir J. Brooke
described them as such. Mr. James Bell, a treasurer of
the Aborigines Protection Society, had written a letter,
in which it was said the movement against Sir J. Brooke
originated solely with the Peace and Aborigines Protec-
tion Societies. That was what was called a religious
socie.y. A clever and able agent so long as he was the
fiith'ul agent of Sir James Brooke, Mr. %Vise was as
indef.aßible in the line he bad since taken. It had been
shown that he was at the bottom of the Peace and Abori-
gines Protection Societies' movements; that he had sup-
plied every particle of the information on which Hon.
Gentlemen opposite reli. d; a proof that
" Dsath has no pangs like love to hatred turned,
Nor hell a fury like a trader spurned."
—(Cheers end laughter.)

Mr. MACGREGOR rose to explain that he had only
become the Chairman of the B rneo Company after
going over the matter with Captain Keppel and others
who were mainly interested; that they had confined
their exertions to the raising of coals, and that the com-
pany's means bad always been sufficient to meet the
claims upon it.
Mr. BAILLIE COCIIRANE bore testimony t) the
high and honourable, chivalrous, and noble charact' r
of Sir James Brooke, whose only desire was to prcceed
in a philanthropic spirit, and act with justice towards

those over whom he was placed. It was somewhat ro-
markab!e, he thought, that when Sir James Brooke re—
turned to England, after an absence of nine years, he
was received with enthusiasm by thoss very Gentlemen,
some of whom he saw opposite, who now brought all
sorts of charges against him. Those lion. Gentlemen
waited until Sir James Brooke had left this country to
make those attacks against him of which previously
there bad not been a whisper. Addressing himself
more immediately to the subject under discussion, the
Hon. Gentleman contended that our treaty with the
Netherlands in 1824 made it obligatory on us to aid
in the suppression of piracy in the Eastern Archipe-
lago; and the very object in view in stationing our ships
on that coast was to suppress such piracy. So far from
Sir Thomas Cochrane and Sir W. Parker considering
that Sir James Brooke was an unfit person for the po,i-
tion he held, it wis known that when that individual
became Raja of Sarawak they contemplated recom-
mending that the whole of that country should be
placed under his con rol in lieu of the Sultan. In the
absence of Sir James Brooke, he thought it savoured
somewhat of inhumanity to attribute to him mere motives
of plunder; and it was equally unjust to impute such
motives to the British t. He trusted the members
of the Peaca Society would exhibit a sufficient sense of
justice not to repeat that charge again, and that even the
Hon. Member for the West Riling woul,l r•luder justice
to the high and noble character of the distinguished
officer whose acts had been call into question.

Colonel THOMPSON obierved that no contradiction
had yet been essayed to the simple assertion of the Ho-
nourable Member for Montrose, that the men whose
blood we had paid for were not pirates, and that every
proof had failed to show they were pirates. The pro-
ceedings which it pleased some to call piracy were in-
testine wars, carried on between various native tribes,
and there was a total lack and absence of evidence to
show these men were pirates in any sense in which an
English statesman could have a right to interfere. It
was said that Sir Christopher Rawlinson had given a de-
cision that these men were pirates. He (Colonel
Thompson) regretted that the present transition state
of the Government did not permit them to have a law
officer in the House to offer an opinion on the point—(A
laugh)—but he believed the Bishop of Calcutta quite as
much entitled to deliver such a judgment as Sir Chris-
topher Rawlinson, whose functions ought to have been
confined to the collection of evidence. No evidence had
been adduced proving these men to have been pirates. He
asked, therefore, of the House an impartial consi-
deration of the case; and from the hostile verdict of
that House he was prepared to appeal to the verdict of
the country.
Sir H. VERNEY quoted from the Singapore Free
Press, to prove the existence of piracy in this quarter
of the world, and cited the cases of two vessels laden
with sago, and on their way to Singapore, which had
been plundered. He also referred to the previous testi-
mony of Sir Stamford Raffi.-s, to establish the fact of
piracy in this particular region. This country had never
been served by a more discreet and judicious officer
than Sir James Brooke had proved himself to be; and
the statt>ments of the Honourable Member for Montrose
with respect to him, although not founded on intentional
were certainly founded in complete error. He therefore
desired that a declaration should go forth to the world
that the House of Commons were unanimous in their
approval of the conduct of Sir James Brooke throughout
the whole of these transactions.

Colonel RAWDON thought it unnecessary to add a
single word to the already complete defence which the
proceedings of Sir James Brooke had called forth.
Sir R. H. INGLIS observed that this was not a
question of cant and hypocrisy, as had teen asserted, but
a question involving the character of one of the ablest,
most gallant, .and humane men who ever exercised
authority in any foreign country in the name of the
people of England—(Rear. hear)—and be could not
refrain from expressing his strong feelings in defence of
such a man. What better evidence of the existence of
piracy in these seas could be procured than the deposi-
tions either of the witnesses to the acts of piracy or the
victims of them?—(Hear.) When it was contended that
this piracy had not been committed on British subjects,
he only wished:that Captain Aaron Smith could burst
in upon the House as he had upon the peace meeting.—
(A laugh.) He thought the conduct of Sir Janes Brooke
had reflected honour on the name of England; and he
felt it a privilege to be able to call himself the friend of
a man so distinguished.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. COBDEN observed that a great deal had been
said about the transactions of Sir James Brooke, and
about his correspondence with Mr. Wise, and about
other matters referring to the personal character of Sir
James Brooke. Now, he did not at all know that Sir
James Brooke . was responsible for the massacres men-
tioned by his Honourable Friend tho Member for Mon-
trose, for it was essential to know what were the instruc-
tions of Captain Parker. ills Honourable Friend had
moved for a copy of the instructions of Sir Francis
Collier; the House ordered the return, but the Govern-
ment had not furnished it; and he therefore wanted to
know why these men had been massacred, who mas-
sacred them, and who was to be held responsible for the
act? He very much suspected that Sir Francis Collier
would have agreed with the views entertained by his
(Mr. Cobden's) friends with regard to these transac-
tions; and he called upon the Right Hon. Gentleman
(Sir F. Baring) to be explicit on the subject. When
that Right Hon. Gentleman brought in his Bill for the
repeal of the Head Money Act, he said ho had received
a communication from Sir F. Collier, recommending al•
terations in the system. Now, he should tike to befur-
nished with that communication, in order to see what Sir
F. Collier's opinions on the subject really were,
Well, the Head Money Bill was repealed; but if these
men were r: ally pirates, he (Mr. Cobden) could not con-
ceive a time when a head-money Act was necessary.
And yet no soocer did the Government receive intelli-
gence of the massacre of some 1,000 or 1,500 Dy aks,
than ore of the first measures of the Governmt nt in the
month of February, was to repeal the Act awarding
head-money for the destruction of pirates. Now, he
asked the Government why, immediately on the reas-
sembling of Parliament, they had asked for a repeal of
this Act, if sonsethitig had not been going on on the
coast of Borneo, for which head-money was to be paid?
The Head Money Act of 1825 bad reference to piracy
in the Carribean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, and was
passed in order to incite our navy to increased efforts for
the suppression of that piracy. But the parties called
pirates on the coast of Borneo hat no sort of resem-
blance to the pirates of the Gulf of Mexico and the Car-
ribean Sea. The Hon. Member for Newport (Mr. Plow-
den) in attempting to prove piracy in the Italtan Archi-
pelago, was out of his reckoning by 500 miles as to the
place where the proceedings had actually occurred. The
Government, it was said, had a detonder in the Singapore
Free Press ; but the Dyaks, it appeared, had a f..ten,t in
the other newspaper of that place. 'Co qu.te the opinion
of Sir Stamford Raffles, given thirty-eight years ago, us
an authority in this case, was an insult to the under-
standing of the House. They had been f need to bring
in a Bill to give 25,0001. for the destruction of these
1,200 poor perioloi; fur there was nut the slightest evi
dente to show that they were pirates.—(Hear, hear.) If
they went 500 miles to the north, he would admit that
they might met with many pirates. He admitted that
the Malays, the inhabitants of Celebes, Soul to, and Ma-
cassar, and the S:raits of Malacca, were pirates, but he
denied that the persons who hat been destroyed were
ever convicted of any act such as was contemplated to be
piracy when the Act passed.—(Hear, hoar.) The Hon.
Member for Bedford, who folowed his Hon. and Gallant
Friend, had quoted the in-t ence of a boat laden with
provisions having been plundered on its way to Singa-
pore. It appeared that a boat laden with sago had been
destroyed; but whether this had been done by the Dyaks
or any other people did not appear, but the value of the
cargo was estimated at only a few shillings. It ap-
peared that the Dyaks went on an exoedition to destroy
Mateo, and they were repulsed with a loss of twelre
men. What he complained of was of our naval
forces being sent to destroy men merely for quar-
relling and going to war with their next neighbours.
—(Hoar, hear.) This country had nothing to do with
their going t) war with Matoo; we had nothing more
to do with these people at Matoo than with any savage
tribe on the coast of Africa. What would this country
have thought if some most powerful nation came and
made an attack upon us because, until lately, we had
been for some centuries at war with France.—(Hear
hear.) Such, however, was a case exactly analogous to
that before the House. Lord Stanley, in his interpre-
tation of the minute, expressly stated that people should
not be considered or treated as pirates, unless they at-
tacked ships under the British Wig. If any one could,
show that the poor Dyaks had ever attacked any Eng-
lish vessel he would .give up tha whole case.-(Hear.)
They had not only squandered away 25,0001. for the de-
struction of these men, but by their slaughter they had
succeeded in bringing diagrabe on the name of Engl end.
He might be told that he was attacking the British navy.
—Oren.) He denied there was any ground f ur such
an assertion. Indeed he believed the Bill which had passed
on the subject of pirates' heal-money had been brought
in at the instigation of a naval officer, and it
was recommended to the Admiralty by Admiral Collier
himself.—(Hear, hear.) You bad insisted .on sending
ships to attack these people with shots and shells, and a
great number of boats had been destroyed with the
people on board, and it did not appear that any of these
were armed even wi:h a musket. By such proceedings
not less than 1,500 persons had been destroyed; and he
considered and did not hasitato to call it a human balu.
(dear, hear, and cries of Oh, oh.") He did not be-
lieve such a disgraceful occurrence had happened since
the proceedings of Cortes in Mexico, where such un-
provoked massacres took place, and which could bring
but little glory on the authors of such transactions. He
did not charge the navy with these proceedings, as he
believed Admiral Collier and other naval officers would
not incur the responsibility of such acts without orders.
—(Hear, hear.) Ire was not going to discuss Governor
Brooke's transactions with Mr. Wise, for that matter
had nothing to do with the question before the House.
His Hon. Friend asked to have a Committee to inquire
into the circumstances which attended the heavy loss of
life and slaughter of parts of certain native tribes belong-
ing t i the northern parts of the island of Borneo, called
Sarebas and Sakurran, and reported to be pirates; and
her Majesty's Government met this motion by nar-
rating the quarrels which took place between Go•
vernor Brooke and Mr. Wise. The circumstances
as narrated did not reflect much credit on Go-
vernor Brooke, for Mr. Wise had been for fifteen
years his confidential friend and adviser. Under such
circumstances any attack on Mr. Wise must fell bask
on Governor Brooke. When they came to the vote for
the salary of Governor Brooke as Governor of Littman, it
would be the proper time to consider his proceedings as
the governor of that place. If there was any species of
intervention which he condemned more than another, it
was one for the destruction of pirates, because they were
at war with their neighbours.—(Hear, hear.) Some.
thing had been sail about the state of New Zt aland; but
Captain Cook, who was a great man, did not act towards
the natives of that place as Governor Brooke heel to-
wards the inhabitants of Borneo. Captain Cook found
that the people there were not only savages and can-
'libels, and described with horror the circumstance of

their carrying about with them baskets of human ulh
ready for cut age Aethough two of the crew of bistd':Pd
had been treacherously massacred by the natives, be
not let lose upoc them his 32-poundere, hut Pleee d
the island a numter of domestic animals;
been their rapid improvetreat since that time, that lat.
now promised to become a most distiliguished ee°P t
They Lad been told that Governor Brooke wee a grfier,
man because he bad destroyed these pirates, but be (7/0
Cobden) regarded such proceedings with holler' a.
thanked his Friend for notwithstandinght this qule
tion again before the 'tetras; and
insinuations of the Hon. Member for Surrey, b
sure the cs,Untry would also give him credit for bet a
actuated by the purest motives in this as well as in We
ether proceedings. and such
hbrel.,
ado,F. BARING bad argued the question so rep Jo,
telly before, and he had heard the same assertions nild
so oft n, to there being no evidence, that he 01112,ed
hardly have been induced to rise, bad he not been es
the
upon to do so by the Honourable Member. .Aas nee
flonoarable Gentlt man would hear him again, be u°,,,rere
the House would excuse him if he repeated the aes//00,
which he had given on former occasions. The meat
Gentleman had asked how was it that the Govern
had brought in a separate Bill regulating
lion ef pirates' head-money, and thet it should ao be
given to any until they had been proved to be Pilo.
that Bill had nothing whatever to do with the trae
_re
tion bJure the House, for it happened that that rtre:',gili
had been under ct nsideration some time, and tb
„,ut
which was drawn lest was to have been introduccddtuhat
for circumstances thet then occurred. It haPPe." use-
and roofco
that
a change took plaee in the Admiralty;
quence of his Honourable Friend, then secretary laoi
department, having quitted that office the Bill tea' 00
then brought in.—(Hear, hear.) There was the
for
re,
doubt that some reward should be given
tbe distritlshee
destruction of pirates. If the House gale me,
wards for services in the navy, they must be i! but
not only when there was a hard battle or figber'hieb
also something must be given in transactions
where
might apparently require the same gallantry aba„teerolls
the service was often of an arduous and ue-eapeve
nature. The Hon. Gentleman said he did net "0 be-
there was any resistance on the part of the pirate_rtio.
cause no awe was killed on our side in the transit bad
This, however, was no answer to the case Tore
" ass
The _eat
been put in defence of this proceeding•
another circumstance which induced the G°retncjisiel
at once to proceed with the Bill alluded to—tbeeat, the
which suddenly came upon them to pay 100,0001.
destruction of pirates. This appeared to be a ver•;bieb
siderable sum, and it added to the conviction are,r,
already existed that the law required revision :toiled
hear.) It was quite true that that gallant officer, A, h
bid
Collier, had held some private communications Wit that
on this subject, and in which he said he thoughC/ the
some alteration should be made in consequence,ebeed.
large amount this country had to pay a, pirates
ere.
money. The Hon. Member for Montrose moved ,bo
turn of the orders under which the officer set°
.00 to
had destroyed these pirates. He had no ohkeilirto to
their production, but he had not been able hit': site;
obtain a copy of them. They were not at the Adore to
he had therefore written to Admiral C°llied died
send them over ; that gallant officer, however,
(1:1 6044
before his letter reached him, and some delay bet ° delis
there fore, on this ground. He had also given direceell
that Captain Farquhar should be written to for 8 ;
of them, but he had left his ship when the er(il,ear re'
rived. It was quite clear that Captain Fnrcitiearahl
cheoived orders under which he acted, and there
could
Cott
no objection to produce them as soon as they
procured. eot
Mr. HUME asked whether Captain Farquhar be
complained of these orders ? beci
Sir F. BARING replied that that gallant °--eee Tee
not complained in the slightest degree:— (CheerteCiterr fa
Hon. Gentleman had also written to big' '`e•ectibit
which lie charged him with having garbled
aidebegging
paper before it was laid before the HOUSE,'
.„7tSt
him n,t to garble any more public doeumaatir r'
(Laughter,) The Hon. Gentleman Said be e ol'et
Baring) had garbled information; but he had lQol
the papers, and he could not find any
ever for such an assertion.—(Bear, hear.) ace is
asked the Hon. Member to point out the testaa.-r- bed
which he had garbled papers, but the Hon. Men:: LW.
never done so; he (Sir F. Baring) supposed
1-1
Gentleman was too wise to do so.—(Loud chsrte
Mr. HUME said there were cases of the kin
Sir F. BARING —Then why not point oat The 000.
titular instance of the kind ?—(Hear, hear.) esettla
Gentleman who spoke last complained that they eople
determine this question as to whether these %ford
were pirates or nut, without referring to Sir Sat°, bad
grouneilio bad
Raffles, and other authorities. The Hon. Prie„n3„weileo3ll°
no business to interfere. Vas the Hon• sitle,;,-t
aware that a specific treaty existed between 1-Tr'A-pr tP°
tain and the Government of the Netherlands` tl:earri
stipulations of which both nations were bow;, e r
tool
into effect ea arrangement Honress piraeYel.°3 rest'
seas.—(Hear, hear.) The Gentleman •ea Pt
very differently from him on this subject; for
nooks which he ha'l consulted, he found adotin Ons
the existence of piracy in these seas.—(lleart l'eftalte",
was surprised, also, that the Hon. Gentleman be efts'
no notice of the extracts from the report of s°°/,,,ebri fat
eommercial autherities, which the Hon.
all it);
Surrey had alluded to. lie (Sir F. Baring) uP
the representations which hal been drawn sip
Chambers Ow°oaho
ri
,us
of Commerce in different large t
parts of the empire, in which the G Cote; earl
went was called upon to protect thseetheere'i
merce of this country in those seasa-l'"ater
Surely these persons might be assumed us beiegf the
tent to know the particular circumstances attends
commerce in those seas, and as to whether any r'S 113°
run from the attacks of pirates?—(Hoar, hear.) (ford
Government have repeatedly been called upeots: '
see.;
protection, area put an dto the piracy ia eii-els
It was clear that the merchants who were me hestert
the Chambers of Commerce rat Leeds, Mane earl'
Glasgow, and other large towns, entertained IWO.°
different opinion from the Hon. Member. I° 5-- lie••
to this, there were parties who, from their 1011 P5l the
in these parts, might be supposed to be familiar V ere;
subject. The Government had received repeate-irainiee
sentations from the merchants of Singapore coreP •ay/A,
o
tF
an attack
I rt
(Hear,e phiedrauai
rdpt. e). snn
not
tnh
heietnFhtloeri
nesoeedn s,trehoacisesdsme
of
foenst
Member
Singapore.
being npgttohhrdaaertt. ear
jertipeheti tiff,/
thepp
5 mg)
in ther eoosftsisrei oong
in which they stated dept
r Singapore paper an address t.-0 or'
cants '' aepnoe,e,side or the other; but
the per
tb
ganised system of piracy existed whichstawtaes ttle)Sh.o pof
gerous to those seas, and which must at ono bead
down to insure o nfideuce. Surely, it Will: fiAl'
mittei that those gentlemen must be
what was taking place in their own neigbe.—/ te-1
hear.) Then, aga n, the Hon. Member gees it
allJ. he call, d for was inquiry. Had there net be betted
iv try ?—(Elear, hear.) What could they hate oar
than a plain and open Inquiry before an Boggs', '0; ee
arid an English lawyer?—(Hear, bear.) It :1;1'11
easy a matter to prove facts before them as ," ;0e•,.0.•
to be thought in tho Hells° of Commons.—(beeee'o tbe'i
In this case the judge
was iv.t only satisfied te--000,'
was the appearance of piracy, but that there wee 0 ae°
piracy, and that there were many piratical Prlheersblei
boats in those seas.—(Hear,
Thompson)
Ilia o°°°-- the'
and Gallant Friend (Colonel'
had ten assured that the judg)o
he b
opinion. It was true in the first inStfiAn-00 th(l
Christopher Baelinson said he was not eatisfieuisd cote
proof of piracy. If Honourable Gentlemen w°0;111°,,
had I:ritebandeed
6111,1
suit the papers they would see that Sir Christoeh'2 Pe.
linson said there was not sufficient evidence he'ese• g h;
to satisfy his mind that these parties were Pire'aii
therefore required further evidence. Further eht•ii J.;
was brought before this learned judge wile.° t;ebeere'•
Glared that ho was perfectly satisfied:—(tlee'• f fre
Thus it appeared that they had the declarations cia ibe,
Chambers of Commerce in this country, they 1,1301'0d e'
address of merchants residing in the neighbeet'-fjer
these people, and they had the decision of a e°,°l4,eorCo°lo,
Lice which had carefully inquired into the whole -Dee,
stances of the case, and were satisfied as to these,' tb„,e"
being pirates; but they were told they must esell-e
e , cb
there was not a tittle of evidence in support 0' "°
assertion.—(Cheers.)
e%Tr 0
Sir E. COLEBROOKE wished mere bolt
of
in a few words the reasons which would indeeeleeir 'ye
support the motion of his Hon. Friend the Me° Sad,'
Montrose; but in giving this vote he knew he we.' IV'
against the general opinions of the House. toter
plained of his Hon. Friend the Membererfonr97Me°
Member for Bedford (Sir Harry
tr°e:s 01(
who
withwa s
have said there were no piratesmon the west elf 43.
Mr.
Leon.we His Hon. Friend spoke on the emboli el
thatwell acquaintedpiracy
seaornanweachte,cla
nwdi with
distinctlyoLabu snr $f au
the
was not-carried on by the inhabitant; aie bit;
westernfro ,fo.
coast of Borneo. He had the extract
~,g 01,60
Lowe's work in his hand but it was unnee—edep,
h
him to detain the House by reading it, That genai Bar
also
nstated that the pirates came from the north par" fe
ee and the Sooloo Islands, and the neighbouriereee.lo,
and made attacks upon the southern and western Pao te",
that large island, and had even made attacks npo„oe.
town of Borneo itself. The question 1"- et°
real WS-9 A 0 e
the persons who had been attacked and destroYe; tboo.
really pirates. Personally be knew nothing Untried
parts ; but he had read the diaries Of sb
Mundy and Keppel, and the evidence farnipe
by Sir J. Brooke, Mr. Wise, and Mr. Lowe. 001
conclusion he had come to was that the Pe eel;
who had made these attacks were MalaYe'bothy
those who came down the rivers, not in prabos' 00 the
canoes. There were, no doubt, many persons weft:
coast who would plunder boats, and so far tbeJ dad
was in
pirates.—(Laughter.) If, however, it • te
to
attack all parties who pursued such course', tbe,inete,
extirpate the whole of the population of these is'i/tael oft
(Hear, hear.) If a British force was to be einfl°arijoe
such procesdings, the House should, at least, 05,9; th:
with their eyes open. The question was, wbet'-erOt h
were erepered to uphold and defend the settlenisdett;e
Sarawak. If this was t be done, there Woe nciribeel'e
they would have to put down many other yeeette;
Borneo. He did not regard Sarawak as a Britieuo-01
went—altar, hear)—but surely some eve elle- P-
m ide responsiele for the proceedings at that plsee'e sar
concurred also that naval officers should have so see
ettoree
Lion allowed them as to the course which the:, We
directed to pursue. He believed the best eee- 0,
could pursue was to make Governor Brooke ret-r eee til
t
Lebuan. That colony would in his (Sir E. Colebr°;ao
opinion prove of the greatest use the represel-roei
in f ,to
piracy, as it was 300 miles nearer to the north o eat
than Sarawak,
so that the pirates would be Pre
coming down the coast.
..'
The HPP e
House then divided, when there a °e
For a
the
motion—Ayes 29
•••
Noes „, •• 169

Dlak,rity against the motion...—
The House then went into Committee of Suffripe
A vote of 109,850/, to Wray the expenses
was agreed to.

Rte --"------____________
sod, to defray the
Prat th • ;prop.s- ,
resse et ston of 2,000/ bsin_
IX ;tie' el'iinee E I ea d's Island.
,1h,„,-7'-irILEY called the attention,lony
which he
hi •esliet et' a petition from Huse
that
e))nootfic
,thheadb
~n
tiketsventel a short time since.
thatNl colony, although
tia fit St. thS House of the state ofsupplies had beenn
%psi wa, well known that thethee,
ttvspir tell that the Legislature of •
from
the governor.of
111 hi.hrokn up with a reprimand milony had been
of the House
Aits,„„P his possession the statement s the pro-
' ""'l, d countsrStatetneet 0‘
14tvrs of l'ln in the
who were
;tie . land in that colony ,
h 0 wed
statement 8 '
et
tlessi.„ol Assembly, and whose adverse to the
rstilo wet the absentee propriet
v The House,
Vie; illiesiti the legislature of that col'n-
Tnaiiis up its
ors o.f land had no greet
eitidt,pe petition before it, must either
kana•vllY to disregird such statemee,t,
1 ) attend to such
intte..ye itself disinclined or unab
must
and prayer, an.
call on Govern
stt.,, r, if it would attend,
the euhket* P
lila u° Niece its st itenaent onit tinhenst4bird part, in order. kis 4 ' iloase might iu Igo fairly
this
titios,'3ll," Ott lel the first coarse, of disregarding
their elected
it
prof "t
c)all Publiely announce te t
tepre Nei no sympethies with them i‘n
~.blic poIIFY
. eoloaiee that
Ntellthlt'ives; that their expressions ° That colenial
111161is-° echo nor channel in th it llo•ise.in„iet aid re-
tritaise°,,•Peili'a might extend itself in n
Ite. i'" ea the sp it; bat that Impertaln'E a
them.—(hear.)
lly 11'14te fir them, but not to hear .
that
England chose
Illesleri°l4 they would also say to thias cpo_unetrlonie,
he'e sere ready to vote away 1 irge St"
tllte jthtle the colonies are offering,
()lichen be at the
11'0%1, ! eloense on themselves, rethesrn
and offered terms
ciLrditions, to
at), b '' alqiirts what those conditions ,
the destinies of
otirej* In short, they wcu!d hand over
lavishly poured out,
tOt I °T4B and of their resources,
eement blindly
k or thei ,
414 ti r "as fit, but for their misme as,
nunchecked
hi,h.,ll!eaervedly to the Colonial Minister,he
House took
ihtre;olteopin__.
e I°,l If, on the other hand, t
of this state-
d 111.:- of demanding some explanation
Government, it
W.0114°, colonial grievances from the
towards fellow:
%tee 111" f a just sense of its duty d a due regard.
ts etil Unrepresented in this House,
an
expenditure of their
ttose:;°*ll constituents for the
take the
less s• •;1 the colonic,. He would therefore
Government
thvilld°' the House as to whether the
as might be
tad Niece such dispatches and papers .
a ment upon
th ItirY to e to f irm ain g
0 pstiti ablee the House
for Prince
~
Nits r°,a; tied on the vote of money
in
Nes L'satad, he would propose its . postponement, cf such dis-
?Stehes7 aff?rd time for the production
the
facts were
!ieft,y
th With respect to the colony,
respon.
%lee 'se. In a word the colony demanded.
North
ka avverntn out such e.; existed in their other
been
Itjqese eei - This had hitherto. _
-esi of --.ontes. country.
a discussion of
thsy "' Mating this demand, during
act of a Legisle-
tine Yeers ast, knowing that the first
be the for-
Ititstsrnet,P°,asible to public opinion would
whose
estates
Were tri. tae estate 3 of absent proprietors, whose
on
of w
hich,
is to sieved fro Crown grants. the cond i
t have been
41
to
settlement oft i d ere alleged n? to say the
IN titi II the n 4 w
e tof ;, e grantees, He thought this,
for preventing
ittese::', a Very questionable reason
local legisla-
,S 0 Zis` Nos taking place, because, if a
ntry had no
3, ht ttiev:lt to exist in that colony, this couvith
respect
louse alterfere with any of their acts. %
as the for-
kitss invtics of such a mode of proceeding
head of the
(104...8 Or these lands, the Noble Lord at the
for the
,olstirite'llti ti few years since, when Secretary a _
Jr.
~"itere-a'hai Stated it as his opinion that such tAd-
in;tit i - would h • (r, hear.) He (Mr.ll
sy) he,. e Unjust.--raear,
origina y
',.'aitio iteved those grants to have been
nfavourable
Nhe es, and the result of them extremely u
however, be
kiss, Pros
Perity a the colony. It might,
ftitn: alter Bo ,
Y years, to insist upon.their for-
hlleeis-
111.' But it 4ti,
ls the representative
deal
htti or
.i migh. be t a .
all probability
.1 1
yw,,.,"ae colony would in a
with those titles
tthe-b;,.:14 aufarnarily, perhaps unjustly,
But
evelrPertY--he knew but little of that matter.
that the
~t0,,,,,he wanted to impress upon the House was,
t 3 retrace
vsit4teeot of this cohntry had gone too far
overn-
tilkt,A,TheY had conceded free representativehe rg
i hands
Sis 'and now it was too late to try to tiedt
done se•
l'itsy They could stop supplies, and had
silence
11014eveve deCng with the question,
andour
that,
tvettedhe of ne all (Hear, hear.) It appears.c,.. De-
ters, b. for a de,, Lord Grey, on the 27th t
her Ma-
th itst, had stated that he could not advise•habitants.
lits refuse, if it were the wish of the inhabitants.
imperative
thsraeavei hoveever, assumed a still more
turn on
the net". as it had been made ostensibly
to
its
thiNion whether or not the colony would provide
escheat
1%1111 list• The real bone of contention, the
made
thsit, ;novas kept out of sight, and the Governmenthowever,
>f sop
ttaadition a permanent civil list.
That,
the Colo-
-IL4I telllee offered—a Bill was prepared by
were ful-
viled `oll6tute for the purpose. The terms
by that
kstes and, what was more, this country was,
une_
with itfelieved, as it should be, by the colony also. ill
1100Pwit ; 41°41 administration its local expenses also.hat this
ossible uncle h circumstances, t
itt
„t eaUld do' it d r SIT
eitherto its petitioners, or to
It
til'instituents Sat Ultlyi by mere vacant silence.
Colonial
Strati, be necesse°rtnya to remodel the
combine
t',ltiti rp.'“?• It might be necessary to
Scotia
it With-44e Edward's Island with Nova
Ars e Pther colouies besides, to save these proprietors
be neces-
-41),
ogalust treatment. But whatever might
at all
leti)lll:tthe lien mode of dealing with the case,
petition.
'ilti I w°4l(-1 ti do notice of this.p
nor
age 1, 4,0_ not to talcs
itsno
functions, no.
'led orgy •,• roust not abdicate proper
repre-
/Vetsi all her Majesty's subjects not directlyl
nies.—
(440, \'ere to the Secretary of State for the C(.) o
ethlPete.'l, What h required - was, the production of the
et -4 of th e
,ey to,. e 27th of December,
vs i b• Camb 11 To say the correspondence
Of °valuta • ' Pe • .
take no sort
a 45tj
.(1,4 at d that this House roust
Colonial-office and
'se Gove al the c na laint—that the
is to
dell,,ernor iisi() wPouad thsir correspondence,
correspondence
lect"ac celon a beerin "here. The
the
b b..e
.3' g
In 1840,
eonsa genes on for 3 ears and Tars.
la vof ik. " )
of inquiry
this 1, ,senably begged for a committee _
sitnnnly
vted - “aave. In 1812 the Legislative A
-he low.
and in
ets foilu . e year for an agent in. England,
the power
hese, ana?,
as ear they were deprived of
now
eo •"g tan turent '.country. They hadti-
e ined,--, v .in this
by Pe
except 1400, 4: ' stattng their grievances e
acting most
4)4;ltlet4;_, 4 he considered that they would be
_,_.•
towards the colony if they allowed the "
of. the
,e010,,e,!. °f the lion. Member the Under-Secretary
sub-
eist.-t.sts, that correspondence was going on on the
to.
4;3 Prevent their corn taints from bein attended
ne-
etie_taid therefore movePthat the proposes vote be
ke.e,or until those papers were produced.
4 0 3ERN AL informed the nen. Member that it
nne ent
of th_°' eevapeteut for him to twee the postP-- -al
kr: vote,
itetiNAI)DERL
tt/. EIC then moved that the vote be ne-
si
the
11014: `uIAGREGOIt condemned the conduct of
su
Aliss 01 Assembly in the colony for stopping the
me!
tip 4) IN he the liouse would not agree to the
lilr°.ktAhe,„ll°a• Meeeb-r
bad
e, TA; (1'" ES said that the amount of the vote
and
the 4aced since list year to its present amount ;_aras
44 cou?..:e ground of opposition to it at present, so far
of
the ecr !ean, wa?, that the Noble Lord at the head
to
Nue °Nes had promised a responsible governmenttlfilled
his prg/lAward's Island, and that he and not
yet
fulfilled
t,htit til)laise. Ile wished to state clearly to the
part of
411 N "re was in t the slighesi intention on the
sto_ oble Friend to withhold responsible government.o
fair that colon • (LI h ) The subject was in
ita
r Iva,
°f . .-- tar, ear.
veld
b.' being settled in the only mode by which
n the
tover„° ffected, by correspondence betwee
re-
stet a°r and the Colonial-otfice. There were at p
in the
volon:ral very fierce end bitter disputes going on i a
Pris 4 wnh respect to the rights of property and
be
14
flit''fldhidualv which it was necessary should
0.
etüb,,,uk'n a
ihil-;',°,t Could be lac.eiu on a firm basis in the colony.
in Pro` `e snags oPnd upon
to those topics was
tioiless, it woPuld been" most injudicious to lay any P9r"
Of "s 't upon
each a the table of the
settlement
Of the
~eourse would only tend to prevent a
teapot ;°,l,Blite, and of
prevent that early concessioneople
Seipsii'a•v4e eovernmeat to the colony which the
P mats
'tate teh''' Ile would only add, that the last acc
%hut, 0 colony were such as to lead to the assurance
teeetle.goveruor was pre paring such arrangements n
and
the h himself and the Asseinbry, and the colonistfac.
topyl°kle Government, which would lead to a
"reit ore,
that tettivitent of the disputes. He hoped, the
the
4 be
RI)"•
the motion of
en. me,,,, e would not agree to,
lkittir '4oer,
who ad-
tiled , a few words fenrn fires AGLIONBY,
the t" khaistr ible government to
..0010,, yto give pons
' alt. lis,''
nt for the
%lone had`" NIE said that responsible governme
feet, e e been determined upon, and all had
been,
0 tt-
le4 settled e
t ' eleept the question of 100/. or
201
nists
atohh.,4
there
Attorney-General when the co o
no,
itsertietri their proceedinza
on the principle of
.11
..t
kept )3i
a Pension o begin with. As for the app t
?Lions
Ittld h-adan agent, both ad himself presented their
pentit the
exped. strongly impressed upon the Governfmthee
colo-
Nita leeeY of aecedin to the strong feeling o
this
e'a that respect.
gHe saw no reason assigned why
and he
thougZr:BP°ndence should not be produced,
100 er re.
1,4 t Os -,„"" Majesty's Government should nog
in such a
State sti'l Pressure from without, seeing mattersit
tailed: had the ,
might be
ea PoPmar assembly, or whatever
Why
did 40 ‘.-.4 VOted no
confidence in the council.
of the
Pee 1 t the Govern t meet the wishes
P e and men at once
ke.,ii concede what they wanted?
had received
eft'etn the. a; BAILLIE said that letters he
from the
ePreee- e°ll:daY had quite a different tendency
They
said
that etatiOnS made by the Government.
was
Laken are
,waa no hop of redress unless their cause
Hon.
4'riends',l) ?y that ll:use It would be for hist.
; hit. 17'5,t,?ecide whether he would divide or no
levti.ee- 4',IINCIR SMITH was of opinion that the ob-
vote
ttaelS; -e woich had been urged did not apply
tothe
go-
'see 'or the
one of responsible _
nreent question was not
settled,
respo • Irma the question of escheats was
Nible q •
n- and he
thpu h , government could not be give ,
tills t t tge Ifon. Gentleman had done well in bringing
for Ztlestion before the House. The vote was simply_
111114 Pehaiou to late lieutenant governor, and %I
n"
ad i af the ezisti _
K overnor: and whether the col() y
vvoeiarePresentativen ' gt• •
the best course
.be t ins itutions or not,
in that 5,., o vote the salaries of the responsible governors
41% :kl"c''
'tisio,, I)ERLEY did not press his motion to a di-
-Bs.lvkild tDhe vote Was agreed to.
67. 1 leXt vote pro
posed was for the sum of 11,2281.
estahii ,n' defraying the charge of the ecclesiastical
l'ekr SAlroent of the British North American
_r
cleslasiqGUT itiquired whether, when the vote
be-
te fore th. tts,'eal supplies for some of the colonies came utidestX4°ase, the Chancellor of the Exchequer would
th --e t° give the house a char statement as
thoso 8 Position of the House in relation to
tote
no tea? 1-1
~ ...e understood that some portion of the
4an A"r "P°S":l would expire at such a time fixed
1144 ee,t Of Parliament as it would die off with the
of tile parties.
~,t1 tioN si
Mr. 131;T,`"*BER--011, they never die off.
vvits • •teeellT—Well, they might be slow; but as it
14, ae..)st poatnhie that some of them might die oft' in due
it would be as well for the Rouse to understand
"MPositiQu of the gaellticiu, ti) kuctlf which were

the fon is which terminated at the deaths of the reci-
pients, and whether the Government intended to
put an sad as speedily at p risible to this absurd
system of taxing the people of this country for the
preaching of all sorts of religions ia every part of the
world. In this vote he found for the Bishop of Montreal
1,0001.; for rent of Protestant burial-ground, 20/. odd;
far the Ross in Catholic Bishop of Newfoundland, 300/.;
for foreign missionaries of the S)c'e'y of the Propa4a -
don of the Gospel in Nova Sootia, 3.2021.; for the mi-
nister of Prince E Island, 1001.; for the Roman
Catholic Bishop of Quebec, 1,0001.; various sums for
Presbyterian ministers, and various similar items. He
would not move the rejection of the vote, because there
might be circumstances connected with particular items
rendering it impossible to abrogate the aggregate
amount; but he asked the Hon. Under-Secretary to
make a clear statement to the Cammi,te.e, that should
show how long these votes were to left, and whether
there was any chance or getting rid of them.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that
when the Honourable Member had asked nim a question
the other night, he hal explained the reasons for it
being impassible to make such a general statement.
With respect to the vote before the House, the arrange-
ment that had been made some time ago was, that the
votes should be continued during the time the existing
incumbrance last d; and that when a person bolding
office died, no further demand should be made.
After a few words from Mr. HUME,
Mr. BRIGHT slid he wished the Right Hon. Gentle-
man would state when this bargain had b en made, and
by whom. The conditions of such items as the rent of
the Protestant burial-ground and others had not been
explained, and he thought that if the Government were
to institute an inquiry, they would be able to get rid of
a great deal of this expense. Nothing could be more
scandalous to us than that we should be plying this
money, or more humiliating to those who received it.
Mr. AGLIONBY said he was not going to oppose the
vote of 3,0621. to the foreign ministers of the Society for
the Propagation of the Gospel; but he should like to
know what had been done with the money, and whether
the vote was likely to cease ?
The reply of the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHE-
QUER was not audible.
Mr. BRIGHT would like to know if the Government
themselves received proper accounts of these claims, and
whether care had been taken that some of the grants
had not lapsed, and that no sons or relations of the same
name were receiving a dead man's allowance.
Atter a few words from Mr. MACGREGOR and Lord
J. MANNERS, the vote was agreed to.
The next vote proposed was 14,102/. 16s. fey the In-
dian department, Canada.
Mr. HUME objected to the vote, and said if the Com-
mittee would support him he would vote against it.
Mr. COBDEN observed that the late Mr. Charles
Buller—no person being more competent to give infor-
mation of the truth—had more than once complained of
the evil effects of this vote.
Mr. MACGREGOR trusted the Government of Ca-
nada would put an end to these presents, but as the ar-
rangements had been msde for making these presents
this year, he would not object to it.
Mr. HAWE' thought that those who objected to the
vote were not aware of the alterations that had recently
taken piece; the money was given for schools. He hoped
the House would nut object to the vote.
Mr. mucrar—Tbere must be some unsatisfactory
matters in the back-ground of which they were not
aware, and hoped the vote would not be proposed on a
future occasion.
Mr. AGLIONBY observed that although it had been
said that the sums were devoted to schools, that did not
appear on the face of the vote, for it was put down under
the head of " Presents to Indians."
Mr. HUME hoped they would receive an assurance
from the Government that the vote would not again be
brought forward.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER quite
agreed that a great deal could be sa d against this vote.
—(Hear, hear.) He was not going to conceal it, but at
the same time he did not think the House ought to ex-
pect him to give a promise that no vote for the purpose
would be taken next year. They should remember that
it was to semi-barbarous tribes those presents were
given for retiring from the hunting grounds. He pro-
mi,ed, however, to make a representation to the Go-
vernor-General of Canada on the subject.
Mr. BRIGHT asked why the people of Canada would
not take this vote upon themselves? As the people of
Canada were enjoying the hunting-grounds of the
native Indians, they should make compensation to them.
After a tew words trum Lord D. STUART, the vote
was agreed to.
Mr. BRIGHT begged to know if it was the fact that
the same person was tee Bishop of Montreal, at a salary
of 1,0001. a year, Archdeacon of Quebec at a salary of
5001. a year, and Rector of Quebec at a salary of 4001. a
year.—(lit ar. hear.)
Mr. HAWES said that formerly the Bishop of Mon-
treal had 3,0001. a year, but the present Bishop only
received 1,900/. a year, which comprehended the 1,0001.
a year, and 5001. and 4001. for the deanery and rectory.
A sum of 290/. wes voted far the charge of the Bahama
isles.
It was proposed that a sum of 18,028/. should be voted
for the ia!aries of governors and lieutenant-governors of
the West India islands.
Mr. IIUAIE proposed that the vote should be post-
poned. With the reforms now going on they should pay

their own expenses.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER thought
that this was not the time f pressing too hardly oa the
West It,dies.
Mr. BRIGHT thought it would not be difficult to
economise considerably with respect to those islands.
The islands might be so that they could have one go-
vernor for three or four
The vote was agreed to.
It was propose i that a sum of 41,1501. should be voted
to defray the charge of sal tries, allowances, and con •
tingencies for the stipendiary justices in the West Indies.
Mr. HU ME could not understand why this vote was
continued.
Mr. HAWED thought his Hon. Friend must be aware
that the vote had been annually agreed to since the
Emancipation Act. Under those valuable officers the
administration of the law was now on a satisfac-
tory footing, and the removal of those stipendiary
magistrate would be considered a loss by the colonists.
Mr. HUME said it was perfectly well known that
those magistrates were appointed on the passing of
emancipation, to see justice done between the newly
emancipated negroes and their employers; but now every
individual there was as much under the protection of
the law as if he were in England.—(Hear, hear.)
The vote was agreed to, the House resumed, and the
Chairman reported progress, and obtained leave to sit
again.
The second reading of the Crime and Outrage Act
(Ireland) Bill was postponed till Monday.
The General Board of Health (No. 2) Bill was read a
second time.
The Incorporation of Boroughs Confirmation (No. 2)
Bill was read a third time.
The Appointment to Offices, Sc,"., Bill was read a se-
cond time.
The Bills of Exchange Bill was road a second time.
The Highways (South Wales) Bill went through Com-
mittee.
The Weights and Measures Bill, as amended, was con-
sidered, and the amendments were agreed to.
The Attorneys' Certificates Bill was read a second

time.
The Court of Exch( quer (Ireland) Bill was read a
third time, and passt.d.
THE WRIT FOR CHESTER.
On the motion of Mr. II AY TER, a new writ wai
ordered to be issue .I for the city of Chester, in the room
of Sir J ,hn Jervis who had accepted the office of steward
of the Chilt •rn Hundreds.
The House adjourned at a Quarter past One o'clock