The Sun.
London, England, 1845-11-29 00:00:00

FRIDAY NIGHT S GAZETTE.
THE BORNEO PIRATES.
ADMILALTY, Nov. 27, 1845.
Dispatches have been received at this office from Rear-
Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane, C. 8., Commander-in-Chief of
her Majesty's ships and vessels on the East India station, of
which the following are copies or extracts :
Agincourt, off Pulo Luboan, Coast of
Borneo, 13th August, 1845.
Sir,—l arrived off the river Brune (Borneo Proper) on the
6th instant.

If their Lordships will be good enough to refer to a para-
graph towards the conclusion of the memorandum addressed
to me by Mr. Brooke, under date the 3d July, 1845, they
will find a statement of two natives of India having been
detained as slaves in the capital itself for two years, continu-
ing under captivity in the presence of the British men-of-
war, and from which slavery they made their escape on
board the Honourable East India Company's steam-vessel
Phlegethon on her last visit there, only a few weeks since.
Under such a glaring disregard of the understanding en-
tered into with the Sultan in respect of slavery, I felt, in
conjunction with Mr. Brooke, that it would not be right to
permit this transaction to pass without, in the first instance,
holding the Sultan responsible for it, and Paugerau Beduru-
deen having stated that Paugerau Usop was the real of-
fender, everything should be kept quiet until my arrival at
the capital ; on the following day I went with the steamers
to visit this singular capital—or what is called city—being a
miserable collection of bamboo houses, elevated upon piles,
surrounded by water, except at low tide, when under many
of them you perceive the bare mud; the poverty of the
buildings being singularly and inexplicably contrasted with
the manners, dresses, and deportment of the higher orders.
I visited the Sultan with all due ceremony, and, by pre-
vious understanding with the Raja Muda Hassien and his
brotbor Bedurudeen, the visit was entirely complimentary,
bur after my departure on the 'same evening, and following
morning, Mr. Brooke had several meetings with those per-
sons. The Sultan stated he was quite ready to punish
Paugerau Usop if I would afford my assistance in accomplish-
ing it. It appeared that Usop (I suppose from conscious
guilty concluded he was the object sought, and bad, on the
day of my visit, told the Sultan that if called on to answer
in the score of piracy, be would defend himself to the last.
In answer to my address to the Sultan, I received the ac-
companying documents (Nos. 2 and 3), one calling for as-
sistance, the other for personal protection ; a subaltern's
guard was accordingly sent to the Sultan's residence; and
it was settled, through Mr. Brooke, that the Sultan should
call on, [hop to present himself before him, unarmed, to an-
swer fer'his conduct, and if he did not do so, his residence
was to be attacked.
The Sultan's commands were accordingly conveyed to
him, -which not having been replied to within a given time,
a shot was fired over his house, to which he promptly re-
plied by a salvo from his battery, when a fire in earnest was
opened upon him, and in a few minutes sent him and all his
adherents off to the woods, and the marines landed and took
possession of his house, where, among other things, twenty
handsome brass guns, of various calibre, were found, and
one hundred and fifty half barrels of gunpowder.
The guns the Sultan requested me to keep; but reserving
two of the smallest, for the purpose of sale, to produce funds
to remunerate the two natives (now serving on board the
Pluto) for their four years' captivity, I sent the remainder to
the Sultan, with a message, through Mr. Brooke, to say, that
we never accepted any remuneration for the protection of
friends who were disposed faithfully to carry out the engage.
ments they had entered into.
I learn from Mr. Brooke, who has been in communication
with Muda Hassin and his brother since the flight of Usop
and destruction of his property, that the occurrence has
given great confidence to the well• disposed party, and that
it will equally depress Usop's adherents in the town, of
whom there were not a few; and I look for a double result
from his punishment, namely, that while it assures the legi-
timate Government of all proper support, they will equally
perceive the rod that hangs over them should they be found
wanting in their own conduct.—l have, &c.
T. COCHRANE, Rear-Admiral and Commander-in-Chief.
To the Secretary of the Admiralty, London.

Agincourt, at Sea, in lat. 8 deg. 14 min. N., lon. 116 deg.
43 min. E., Aug. 26, 1845.
Sir,—Following out the intentions referred to in my dis-
palch from Laboan (No. 142), of the 13th August, I left that
anchorage on the 15th instant, and reached the northern end
of Borneo on the 17th.
Having heard from various sources that Serif Housman
had, for the last twelvemonth, been making preparations
against a probable attack, that he had strongly fortified one
of the branches of a river in Malloodoo Bay, and was of a
character, and supported by resolute adherents not likely
to yield without a sharp struggle, I made correspond-
ing arrangements for attack, and having anchored the
Agincourt and frigates in a safe position, in the hitherto
little known tine bay of Malloodoo, I hoisted my flag on
board the Vixen steam-sloop, and, attended by the Cruizer
and Wolverine brigs, and the Honourable East India Com-
pany's steam-vessels Pluto and Nemesis, proceeded to the
head of the bay, carrying deep water until within a couple
of miles of the river's mouth, when the Vixen and brigs
were obliged to anchor, and not far within them the Pluto,
drawing only six feet, grounded on the bar.
It being hopeless to attempt to make a further progress in
these small vessels, I directed Captain Talbot, assisted by
Acting Captain Lyster, and Commanders Fanshawe and
Clifford, to take command of the gun and ether boats of the
squadron, tilled with as many marines and small arm men as
they could with propriety carry, and proceed up that branch of
the Malloodoo, stated by the pilots to be in the occupation of
Serif Housman ; and should their statements prove correct, to
ascertain, as far as possible, the strength of his position, and
amount of force, either attacking the Seriff on his refusal to
surrender, should he feel equal to the enterprise, or falling
back to some suitable position, while he communicated with
me in the event of his not considering his force sufficient to
guarantee his success.
The accompanying letter and report from Captain Talbot
will convey to their Lordships a gratifying narration of his
success, and prove the soundness of my judgment in selecting
this officer for the important duty confided to him.
Their Lordships will not fail to unite with me in deep
regret at the heavy loss we have incurred; but when the
great strength of the position is referred to, and that the
force was for one hour exposed to the steadily sustained fire
of eleven heavy guns, within little more than 200 yards of
our own position, it is rather astonishing than otherwise,
and a source of thankfulness, the casualties were not more
numerous.'
Their Lordships will not fail to notice the valorous con-
duct of Acting Captain Lyster. and those immediately under
him, upon this occasion ; who, undaunted by the fire with
which they were assailed, steadily worked at a remarkably
well-constructed boom for above an hour before he could
effect an opening, and in the success of whose exertions mainly
depended the advance of the force, who, in ignorance of any
other inannerof approaching the forts than by the river, could
not be brought forward until this object was accom-
plished ; and while I feel persuaded their Lordships will be
fully alive to such meritorious conduct, I deeply lament that
death has removed from their Lordships' power of reward
that promising young officer, Mr. Leonard Gibbard, mate of
the Wolverine, who bravely worked by Captain Lyster's
side; the wound he received on that occasion having, un-
fortunately for his country and his friends, proved fatal on
the following day.
I sent up the same evening a small detachment of gun-boats,
under Commander Giffard, to burn such prahnes and boats,
and parts of the forts or town, as might have remained
not completely :destroyed, and to render unserviceable any
iron guns, and to bring down with him any brass ord-
nance that might be there.
Two or three chiefs are known to have fallen on the pre-
sent occasion, and there is every reason to believe that Seriff
Housman, so formidable to all the neighbouring country,
and whose valour was worthy of a better cause, is among
the number slain ; at least I have certain inforthation
that he was carried off badly wounded ; but, whether
dead or living, I consider his influence to be en-
tirely annihilated, and his confederacy with various
piratical chiefs in the Archipelago broken up, for his power
as much depended upon his being the encourager of other
piratical tribes, and their supplier with goods in exchange
for slaves, as in the force naturally at his command. I may
add that, among many other articles of European workman-
ship, a bell belonging to the ship Guilbelen Ludwig, of Bre-
men, was found in the town. This vessel was supposed to
have been wrecked on the Garsi Isles about October or
November last, but nothiug has been heard of the crew.
I have, &C.

THOS. COCHRANE, Rear-Admiral,
Commander-in-Chief.
To the Secretary of the Admiralty, London.

Her Majesty's steam •yessel Vixen, Mabode() Bfty, Aug. qO.
Sir,—l have to report the proceedings of the expedition
you did me the honour to place under my command.,
Your Excellency's flag having been flying on board the
Vixen, you are aware of its progress to the anchorage at the
lead of the Maloodoo Bay; I commence, therefore, the details
from that period.
The force,consisting of five hundred and thirty seamen and
marines (the details of which I annex), conveyed in twenty-
four boats, of which nine were gun-boats, left the Vixen at
3 P.M. on the 18th inst., and, after some little difficulty in
hitting on the channel, was anchored off the mouth of the
Sonoy -boar, a little after sun-set. Here we were joined by
a boat from the Pluto, carrying the Agincourt's field-piece.
The tide serving, about eleven P.M., weighed, and, passing
the bar, anchored within it; at daylight, on the 19th, we
proceeded up the river in two divisions ; after proceeding
about two miles, I was inforthed by the Brune pilots we were
nearing the town. I therefore went ahead. with Captain
Lyater to reconnoitre. On coming to an abrupt turn in the
river, Wont three miles higher, we found ourselves suddenly
in front of the position, which consisted of two stockaded
forts, of eight and three guns each, commanding the reach.
About two hundred yards below the forts was a boom across
the river, apparently well constructed. The forts appeared to
us to stand on a tongue of land, from which we were separated
by the river, which at that point divided into two branches,
and the pilots declared such to be the case; that turn-
ing to the right we observed was still further defended by a
floating battery. There appeared, therefore, to be no means
of carrying the position but by forcing the boom.
On rejoining the force, arrangements were made for the
gun-boats to advance to the boom, to cover the party ap-
poieted to cut through it, the remainder of the force to hold
themselves to act when ordered. We had approached the
boom to within one hundred yards, when a flag of truce was
observed to be coming towards us. Conceiving the object of the
eunelmsAy.Las merely to gain time, I sent back a message, " that
,liff,_Osman came to me in half an hour, I should
This being conveyed to the fort, the flag re-
tirneenedfi6with an offer to admit me with two boats, that I
might visit the Seriff. I declined, and the flag retired : the
moment it was clear of the line of fire, the three-gun bat-
tery opened, and the cannonade became general on both sides.
'the boom was composed
of
two large-sided trees, each sup-
porting a chain cable,
equal to ten or twelve inches, firmly
bolted and secured round the trunk of a
to
trepea
pass,
but
tclwi bank
as
iim-
passible .;
a cut in the right bank allowed a canoe
passible to any of eur boats.
One hour nearly elapsed before we could in any way remove
the obstacle, during which time the fire of the
well sustained, all the guns being laid for the bootneen.ernf need
hardly mention it was briskly returned from ourseboth
from guns and small arms; and some rockets,
well
y a part which had been landed on the right bank, p ap_ thrown
eared to produce considerable effect.
As soon as the passage was open for the smaller boats
they passed through rapidly, and embarked the marines s
from
the large boats across the boom ; ultimately, the whole force
ps used through. The enemy immediately quitted their de_
fences, and fled in every direction. The marines and small-
arm men having cleared the town, the marines were formed
as a covering party, and parties of seamen were pushed up
both banks of the river, but met with no opposition; at the
same time preparations were made forspiking the guns and
destroying the stockade and town ; in a short time these were
completed, and the whole town in flames, as well as three
large proas, and several smaller ones.
Being anxious to save the tide, and conceiving that the
abject contemplated by your Excellency was accomplished,
I ordered the force to be re-embarked, and proceeded down
the river to the Vixen.
When your Excellency considers the strength of the
„elittaY'a paktlon and the obvious state of preparation in
k) which we-round9him, you will be prepared to learn that this
service has not been performed without considerable loss. I
regret very much to state it at six killed and fifteen
igotinded ; the lots on the part of the enemy was, unques- .
14-I'7"
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