The Sun.
London, England, 1850-07-23 00:00:00

mcnt that they were bound to support that excellent pub-
lic servant, who was perfortninv, his duties so efficiently
in a distant pert of the globe. Acd he holed the Go-
vernment would not give countenance to charges made
against parties et a distance, when it was so difficult to
obtain proper aad correct information on the subject.
Mr. C. LUSHINGTON wishel to ask the Under-
Secretary for the Colcnics what had been the re-
sult of the charges against the Lieutenant Governor of
Labuan?
Mr. HAWES sail as the care war still under con-
sideration ho could not communicate any decision
on it.
Mr. HUME, in reply, admitted that perbape the word
" falsehood" was too strong a term. Tho Hon. Member
for Surrey, however, had admitted all his facts. There
was no doubt on his mind but that that Po-cal 1 e d defeat
of pirates was an unwarranted sacriice of human life; it
had never appeared in the Gazette, and no Admiralty
order for the employment of our ships had ever been
produced.
Mr. AGLIONBY said he would give his vote totally
irrespective of all the letters which had been reed on
both sides. From all the documents which he had been
able to examine, he could come to no other conclusion
than that Sir J, Brooke was a most zealous, useful, and
efficient public officer—(Hear, hew)—and that, more-
over, those parties to whom frequent allusion had been
made in the course of that discussion were pirates and
robbers.—([Tear, hear.)
Mr. COBDEN thought, before they agreed to the
vote, they should get an assurance that Sir J. Brooke
was Governor of Labuan, and actually resided there.
There seemed to be some confusion of idees prevailing
in the minds of Honourable Members. They did not
seem to know the comparative geographical positions of
Sarawak and Lebuan. These places were no leas
than 300 miles distant, and there was no direct regular
communication between them. The intervening country
was inhabited by a number of unknown tribes. La-
buan was an island on the coast cf Borneo, and Sa-
rawak was a district of Borneo, about the siz s of York-
shire, but situated 300 miles from it. The former was
an English colony; the latter belonged to Sir J. Brooke;
but he could not govern his own country and Labuan at
the same time. That was an objection which he had to
the vote, that the governor was 300 miles away from his
district. A lieutenant-governor had been appointed,
but the result had been that the affairs of the island
of Labuan had been thrown into such inextricable
confusion that the Colonial-office was at present em-
ployed in doing its hest, and with remote hopes of
success, in endeavouring to unravel them. What
he wanted was, that the man for whom they voted
a salary as governor should reside on the spot cf his
authority.
Mr. HAWES said his lion. Friend Mr. Cobden bad

asked him to give an assurance that Sir James Brooke

should in futu7ie reside in Labuan. He also understood
his Lion. Friend to say that in that case he should not
object to the salary; that he thought the salary appro-
priated to Sir James Brooke would not be too much for
the purpose.—(•• No," from Mr. Cobden.) No; he cer-
tainly understood the Hon. Gentleman to say so.—
(Idea-, hear.) And he also understood him to refer to
certain instructions which were issued by E.trl Grey
when Sir James Brooke took upon 'himself the office of
Governor of Labuan. Now Sir James Brooke had, of
his own accord, rtduced his salary by 5001. a ye::r.—
(Hear, hear.) That was the first answer he had to give
to his Hen. Friend. The Hcn. Gentleman next sail that
Sir James Brooke ought to reside at Labuan, and he
referred at the sitme time to the instructions of Lord
Grey. Ho (Mr. Hawes) had those instructions
before him, and he begged to say that if was never
intended that the Governor should reside entirely at

Labuan. Oo the c'ntrarv, it was always understood
that he should have a kind of consular office in those
seas, with a view generally to promote, extend, and
prott,ct our trade in those parrs, and the instructions
never contemplated his entire residence at Labuan.
Nothing could be more clear or distinct than this, that
when Sir James Brooke was appointed to the office of
Governor of Labuan it was not expected that he
should reside there, but take upon himself far higher
and more important duties than those simply of Go-
vernor; and in proof of this he referred to the instruc-
tions. He would say, also, that it would be injurious to
the public interest if Sir James Brooke were confined
to that island. It was not the object to establish a
mere colony there. It was always considered that it
should be an outpost of our trade, which it was most
desirable to establish, especially in seas where
piracy prevailed. His Honourable Friend had referred
to Mr. Cranford; but what did Mr. Crauford say about
piracy in those seas? In the very able paper which had
been printed and circulated by Mr. Wyse, Mr. Cran-
ford said the position of Labuan would render it a most
convenient station for the suppression of piracy; that
the most desperate and active pirates in the whole
Indian Archipelago were the tribes of the Sooloo group
of islands, lying close to the north shore of Borneo
itself; that these bad of late years proved extremely
troublesome both to English and Dutch traders; that
both nations were bound by the convention of 1824 to
use their best endeavours for the suppression of piracy,
and many efforts had been made for that purpose, al-
though as yet without material effect in remedying the
evil; that from Labuan the pirates might certainly be
intercepted by armed steamers —(" What ! armed
steamers against these poor, wretched, unarmed men!")
—(Cheers)—far more conveniently and cheaply than
from any other position that could be pointed
out. (Cheers.) Such was Hr. Crauford's view
of Labuan. Mr. Cranford was the gentleman,

it should be remembered, who had recommended the
purchase of Si❑gapore as another outpost of our trade;
and did any doubt the success of the establishment of
Singapore? Having shown that Sir James Brooke had
reduced his own salary, and had only performed the du-
ties imposed upon him when he took the office of go-
vernor, in extending and protecting our trade in those
parts, he thought he had given a sufficient answer to his
Hon. Friend, and that he had no right to ask that Sir
James Brooke should reside entirely in the island of
Labuan.

Mr. COBDEN did not object to the keeping Labuan;
and nobody denied that the Sooloos were pirates. The
pirates being in the northern extremity of Borneo, La-
butte was the best possible situation from which to ope-
rate against them. That was quite clear. And if they
paid a governor 2,000/. a year to put down piracy, let
him reside at the place where he would be useful. But
when Mr. Cranford gave his evidence before the Com-
mittee he said there were no pirates in the neighbour-
hood of Sarawak, and that the Raja had been destroy-
ing neighbours, who were not pirates.
Mr. J. STUART—Nothing could be clearer than Mr.
Cobden's position. He objected to Sir James Brooke
being Governor of Labuan, and residing elsewhere. He
admitted that Labuan was the best of places for an esta-
blishment to put down pirates; but inasmuch as Sir J.
Brooke resided elsewhere, his capacity to put down
piracy was thereby considerably diminished. It was
quite plain also that the Hon. Member for the West
Riding and the Hon. Member for Montrose had made a
run a: Sir James Brooke.—(" No," from Mr. Hume.)
He was glad to hear it; but it was a pity that the an-
nouncement had not been made before. The point was
this—what was the complaint against Sir J. Brooke?
That he had been putting down pirates. Yet the Hon.
Member for the West Riding said he could not put down
pirates unless he resided at Labuan.—(Hear.)
Mr. HUME—The Hon. Gentleman had charged him
with having made a run against Sir James Brooke. But
what he had done was only to make a run against the
murdore which had been committed upon a coast where
there was no pirates. •
Mr. STUART—Oh, then, the Hon. Member accused
Sir James Brooke of committing murder, but did not
make a run against him.—(Laughter and cheers.)
Sir R. INGLIS thought that parliamentary langusge
had never been carried so far as when the Hon. Member
permitted himself to state, in reference to a person who
was honoured by the confidence of the Crown, and en-
trusted with important functions at a great distance from
England, that that person had from beginning to end
been au impostor. Yet the Hon. Member who said this
thought it enough to observe that he had made no run
against him. With reference to the charge that Sir
James Brooke would have been willing to sell Sarawak
to the Dutch or the French, it should be recollected that
he had already volunteered its sale to his own country.
The vote was agreed to, as were also
30,0001. for the support of captured negroes and libe-
rated Africans.

16,3501. for salaries and expenses of the mixed com-
mission for the suppression of the slave trade.
On the vote of 155,486/, for consular establishments
abroad being proposed,
Mr. COBDEN drew attention to the fact that the con-
sular establishments at the ports of Ningpo and Foo-
chow-Foo were useless, there being no trade carried on
by Englishmen at either of these ports. He moved that
the vote be reduced by 4,3221.
Mr. CAYLEY seconded the motion.
Lord J. MANNERS—Did the Hon. Member propose
to reduce the salary of Dr. Bowring?—(A laugh, and
" Hear, hear," from Colonel Sibthorp.)
Mr. COBDEN—What he proposed to do was to abo-
lish the two consulates altogether, because there was no
trade at either of them.

Lord J. MANNERS repeated his question.
Mr. COBDEN—Dr. Bovrring was at Hong-Kong.
Colonel SIBTHORP doubted the sincerity of the Ho-
nourable Member for the West Riding in proposing
these reductions, and complained of him as " straining
at gnats and swallowing camels?' He did not approve
of such underhand proceedings. Whenever he at-
tacked the Government he did it openly. What was
this motion of the Honourable Member but a " flash in
the pan"—what but a blank cartridge? It was no real
ball cartridge that would knock 'em over.—(Laughter.)
It was only what he termed " tickling them on the raw"
—barking, but afraid to bite.—(Laughter.) Let them
pursue a manly course—rako 'em fore and aft, and not
content themselves with firing a blank cartridge at them.
He would not, therefore, divide with the Hon. Member,
but support the Government against such mean, cunning,
and underhand proceedings.

Mr. PLO WREN hoped that the Government w
pause before they came to a vote upon this subject.
When the East India Company had a monopoly of the
Chinese trsde they endeavoured to obtain their tea from
Foo-chow-Foo. from which the teas came pure and un-
adulteratad, and were brought down to Canton in sixteen
days, whereas by the ordinary route the time occupiedi
was about 43 days. Sir H. Pottinger, knowing the ad
vantage of such a trade, made excellent arrangements
with a view of obtaining it. It was, however, a source
of much regret to us that we had no trade there now,
notwithstanding which it was most desirable to keep up
a consular establishment there.
Lord P ALMERSTON' said that if these two consular
establishments were in any other part of the world, he
would have no hesitation in having them abolished at
once. It was quite true as the Hon. Member for the
West Riding of Yorkshire observed, that hitherto our
attempts at advancing our commerce in these ports had
been unsuccessful; but considering the peculiar circum-
stances of China and the facts alluded to by the Hon.
Member opposite; considering that if these consulships