The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-07-24
Up-to-dote Robinson


king" George is dead. and his eides:
son. Sydney, reiens IN his stead. The
George in question is not, OF course. the
constitutional rovereign OF the mighty
British empire. who is in excellent health.
but The autocrat OF the Cocos Islands
This ruler. whose demise has just taken
place at Ventnor. in the Isle Of Wight, Is
not descepded. like his illustrious English
nome sake from long line of ancestors,
going back TO William the Conqueror, ac-
cOriIng to sore. 5rd TO the Biblical King
David. according TO others. but is tho
Rreat-grandson Of a reformed pirate At
lesst, that is what he was described as
by rs contemporaries.
Then, too. the monarch OF the cocos
archipelago rejoiced in the possession Of
patronymic, namely, that Of Ross
whereas King George Of England can
no. Toast OF anything OF the kind. hot
withstandIng all assertions 20 the ,on-
trary.
The Cocos archipelago consists of
group Of about twenty islands, situated
sor.c $50 miles to the southwest of the
Dutch Indies, and their history furnishes
one OF those romanees which are occa-
sionally to be found in those official e
ports known as Blue Books periodic
ally presented 10 Parliament by various
great government departments In Lon
don.
The Cocos and Keeling islands we're
first discovered. at the beginning OF the
nineteenth century. by William Keeling
general for the East India adventur-
ers." who died at Csrisbrooke, in the
Isle OF Wight, and lies buried in Carts
brooke church. No one seem 10 have
touched there until years later. when
the islands were visited BY Clunies Ross.
The latter. native Of Wiesdale, in the
Shetlands, had got into some scrape while
serving before the mast on an English
man-of-war, had either deserted or had
been narooned and at the time when he
turned up at the Keeling or Cocos archi-
pelago had been for nearly ten years
leading the life OF a privateer, according
TO some; OF pirate according 10 others.
Either through necessity or through
choice, he and his followers decided 70
settle down on the islands. But he was
not allowed to enjoy his new-found pos
sessions in peace. Before long an Eng
lish adventuTer Of the name Of Alexander
Hare, having been turned out OF the Eng
lish government service-in which he held
Office under Lord Mimic. English governor
Of the Island OF Java-srrived upon the
scene with a force OF Malay slaves.
A bitter struggle ensued between Ross
and Hare, and finally. when half OF the
latter's followers had been killed and
the other half had deserted, he managed
TO make hts escape back TO the Dutch
Indies. whence he drifted TO the Straits
Settlements. dying at Singapore in the
utmost. restitution. This was not the
only hght that Ross vas Obliged 10 make
for the possession OF the islands: for.
quitting his dominions on one occasion,
in order TO make a business trip TO
Batavia. he found on his return that his
principal lieutenant. a sailor OF the name
OF Davis. whom he had left in charge as
regent had intrigued with the native
chiefs and was determined to prevent his
landing A sanguinary conflict culminat-
ed 10 the defeat and death OF Davis and
in the firm establishment OF Ross in su-
pTeTne power
From that time on Clunies Ross who
| seems TO have been a man Of much abll-
| ity and OF a far greater degree of prin-
/ ciple than might have been imagined
/ from his sntecedents. ruled the archipe
| lago on model lines He established a
| prosperous trade with the neighboring
/ ports in Java and Sumatra. and Charles
| Darwin. who visited the islands in 1885,
on board the British cruiser Beagle
| during his famous voyage round the
world, wrote III glowing terms OF the
island government as ideal
! 1t is a matter for establishment that dur
| ing this time the Dutch government did
not proclaim. If not It's sovereignty. at
any rate its suzerainty. over the islands
since Clunies Ross. evidently with the
object OF escaping embarrassing at
tentIons on the part OF the English au-
/ thorities. connected with his previous
career as a sailor in the English navy