The Washington herald., 1911-05-14
The White Raiah
COPYRIGHT BY JAMES ELrERSON

WON 10 u tcIItoIy tue HOTinWCsI
OF Borneo, and it is a remarkable and inter
esting country, the strangcst fact about it
being that, while not under the British
crown, il is under British rule
The story Of the white rajah, who ruled so
long over people Of different race, color and
religion, reads like romance, and illustrate es
the saying that truth is stranger than fiction.
Sir James Brooke. Rajah Of Sarawak. was
an Englshman, who, in the year lSl9 when
young man, entered the East Indian army
In the first war with Burmah he commanded
body Of volunteer native cavalry and was
seriously wounded.
He returned to England. on furlough and
was shipwrecked on the voyage back to In.
dia to Join his regiment. lie was therefore
unable to reach India before his furlough eX-
pircd. and, as his appointments lapsed, he
resigned his commission
He was strongly imbued with the spirit Of
the adventures of the Elizabcthan age and in
1880, while on a voyage to China. he saw
for the first time the sunny isles Of the As
attic Archipelago. These islands. rich in nat
ural beauty, were occupied by savage tribes.
continually at war with each other and car
rying on a system OF piracy on vast scale
and with relentless ferocity. Then and there
came to his mind the design Of supprcssing
piracy and rescuing these tribes from barbar.
ism, and he determined to devote all his
power to the carrying out OF these projects.
To this end he purchased yacht manned
1t with twenty sailors, and spent three years
cruising in the Mediterranean to test the sea.
worthincss of his vessel and the seamanship
OF his crew
In October 1888. he sailed from London for
Sarawak. When he arrived there, he found
Muda Hassin, uncle of the sultan of BornCo,
engaged in with rebel tribes. Brooke
offered his assistance, which was accepted.
Order was at length restored and the sultan 8
authority established.
In return for his services. Brooke had the
title OF RaJah. and Governor OF Sarawak con.
ferred upon him. His post was no sinecurc.
He had become ruler OF country where
there no law recognized save that Of
strength. and where things were conducted on
The good old rule, the simple plan
That they should take who have the power,
And they should keep who can"
The cxchequer was empty. the mobiles were
greedy, the poor were oppressed, and the new
ruler set about reforming the government and
of head hunting was declared to be u crime
punishable with death. and he vigorously set
about the extrpauon Of piracy
His motives and work were misconstrucd
ambitious and grasping. and Of having prac.
ticcd wholesale butchery. But he kept on his
work of reform; his State progressed slowly
but surely and his people idolized him.
In 1877 he visited England, and was warm
ly received, He was made Knight Com.
mander of the Bath, Governor OF the Island
OF IAbaun, near Sarawak, and Consul Gen.
eral OF Borneo.
In 1857 he was attacked at nigh, in his
house by Chinese, who were onragcd at his
efforts to prevent opium smuggling. He cs.
capped by swimming across creek. The Chi
nese destroyed much of his property, but he
attacked them with force Of natives, defeat.
ed them in fight after fight, and finally drove
them to the jungle, where they died Of star
vation.
In lS49 he led an expedition against the
Dyaks who still carried on their pratical
practices and refused to submit to British
authority. They were utterly routed.
Before his death. which occurred in 1868.
nized by the English government.
It was strange kingdom over which he
ruled. His only safeguard was the love and
loyalty Of his subjects, and his onlv throne
the one which his kindness had established
in their brarts. He shared his little all with
them. and kept nothing for himself.
when he celebrated his eighteenth birthday
the the title Of "Ra ah NADIA" Malayan term n
Ggnifying hcr.apparent of country.
James Brooke. it was only territory of
three thousand miles in extent. with a coast
line OF sixty miles Since that time val.
liable districts and important rivers lying to
the northward have been added to it, until
it now covers an area of fifty thousand square
miles. It's western shores are bathed by the
China Sea- and the coast line measures four
hundred miles. The population of three hun
drcd thousand is composed of various curious
races and tribes
The rajahs palace is in the town of Sara.
walk 1t is built Of brick and stands close to
the waters edge. Over the entrance there is
q square castellated tower, and the principal
rooms are surrounded by broad verandas.
The grounds around the palace are full Of
roses, jaSeminc, fruit trees, ornamental
shrubs and gardcnia bushes; while branches
of rare Orchids dependent from the trees
overhead, sweep the ground with their flow
cry treasures.
In this Arcadia dwell the rajah and his
English wife, secure in the love and admira-
ton OF their people.