C. A. Bampfylde

“ The impression of the country which I carry away with me is that of a land full of contentment and prosperity, a land in which neither the native nor the white man has pushed his views of life to the logical conclusion, but where each has been willing to yield to the other something of his extreme convictions. There has been here a tacit understanding on both sides that those qualities which alone can insure the permanence of good government in the State are to be found in the White Man and not in the Native ”

“ On August 15, 1889, the fiftieth anniversary of the landing of Sir James Brooke, in a speech the Rajah said:—
That he had had the honour, and perhaps the misfortune, to figure in the Government through the greater portion of that time. No country could traverse so long a period without great changes taking place in her for better or for worse. A half century is long enough to make or to break any nation or government, any man or people. Fortunately, we are all here to witness the fact that Sarawak has weathered the storms and escaped the breakers that were deemed likely to wreck her. ”

“ For trade has a strong influence upon all people, who have found the sweet of it, bringing with it so many conveniences of life as it does. I find the Malayans in general are implacable enemies to the Dutch; and all seems to spring from an earnest desire they have of a free trade, which is restrained by them where they have any power. But 'tis freedom only must be the means to encourage any of these remote people to trade,—especially such of them as are industrious, and whose inclinations are bent this way, as most of the Malayans are. ”

“ The Malay chiefs at once held a meeting at the Datu Bandar's house, when sturdy Abang Pata, the Datu Temanggong's son, avowed his determination to remain faithful to the Rajah and at once to wreck vengeance on his enemies. Though all were as faithful, wiser counsels prevailed, the Malays being so scattered, conveying their women and children to places of safety, that no organised attack could yet be made; but Pata impetuously dashed off with a dozen men in a small canoe, and following the Chinese, captured one of their boats, killing five of the crew. ”

“ There was something in the frank eye, in the cheery self-confidence of Brooke that captivated the timid little Rajah Muda, who was not only unable to cope with the Malays in revolt, but was afraid of his neighbours, the Dutch, lest they should make the disturbances an excuse for intervention and annexation, and he hoped in his extremity to obtain some help from the British.
"Which is the cat and which is the mouse?" he asked in reference to the rival powers. "Britain is unquestionably the mouser," replied Brooke. ”

“ The wise and essential policy of granting the natives through their chiefs a part in the administration of the Government and in its deliberations, and in the selection of these chiefs of regarding the voice of the people, has always been maintained. Sympathy between the ruled and the rulers has been the guiding feature of the Rajah's policy, and this has led to the singular smoothness with which the wheels of the Government run. It must always exist, as it has ever existed, and still exists. ”

“ But to be candid, and looking at both sides, I would as soon deal with a Chinese merchant in the East as with one who is European, and I believe the respectable class of Chinese to be equal in honesty and integrity to the white man.
The Chinese may be nearly as troublesome a people to govern as Europeans, certainly not more so; and their good qualities, in which they are not deficient, should be cherished and stimulated, while their bad ones are regulated by the discipline of the law under a just and liberal government. ”

“ All that rapacity and oppression can effect is exhausted, and the only happiness that ever falls to the lot of these unhappy tribes is getting one tyrant instead of five thousand. Indeed, it is quite useless to try to explain the miserable condition of this country, where for the last ten years there has been no government; where intrigue and plunder form the occupation of all the higher classes; where a poor man to possess beyond his clothes is a crime; where lying is a virtue, religion dead, and where cheating is so common ”

“ All those who frequent the sea-shore lead a life of constant peril from roving Dayaks and treacherous Malays, and Illanuns and Balaninis, the regular pirates. It is a life of watchfulness, hide-and-seek, and fight or flight, and in the course of each year many lose their lives or their liberty. ”

“ The Bornean forest is so varied and so different at different hours and seasons that no description can possibly convey an adequate idea of it to those who have not known it. Infinite and ever changing are its aspects, as are the treasures it hides. Its beauties are as inexhaustible as the varieties of its productions. In the forest man feels singularly free. The more one wanders in it, the greater grows the sense of profound admiration before nature in one of its grandest aspects. The more one endeavours to study it, the more one finds in it to study. ”

“ At any rate no man in his senses can expect a wilderness of barbarism to blossom like a rose in a day, or a perfect government to appear full grown at once; while it is as unjust to put the traditions of the natives and their social position out of the question and consult European notions only, as it is debasing to lower ourselves to the level of native ignorance and stolidity. ”

“ In a country like Sarawak, peopled by Easterns of so great a diversity of races, customs and ideas, an union of the people for their common weal is an impossibility. For them the best and only practical form of government is that which 424they now enjoy, a mild and benevolent despotism, under a Ruler of a superior and exotic race, standing firm and isolated amidst racial jealousies, as no native Ruler could do, and unsuspected of racial partiality; a Ruler upon whom all can depend as a common friend, and a Ruler who has devoted his life to their common welfare. ”

“ As the Rajah and Ranee passed on to the Astana the Royal salute was given by the guard of honour in a manner worthy of the best-drilled troops; but one thing was lacking,—a national anthem,—and little did any one there present dream that the accomplished lady then stepping for the first time on Sarawak soil would shortly supply that want by composing one for the country, which was to become so dear to her. ”

“ Sailing along past the delta of the Rejang, when off the pretty little village of Palo, which was hidden from their view, the pirates had observed a long canoe laden with nipah palm leaves, with a man in the stern and a woman in the bows, paddling for dear life to escape. A light canoe manned by half-a-dozen men was at once despatched in chase, and quickly overhauled the poor couple, the man crying out that he surrendered, and the woman screaming with fear. ”

“ It is pleasant to record the general reciprocity of good feeling which is such a characteristic of the Sarawak community, cordially uniting Europeans and natives in bonds of mutual consideration and esteem. The barriers of race and rank are obliterated in this mutual and cordial goodwill. Together with representatives of the people, there was at the Astana a large sprinkling of the Malay aristocracy, which has always shown itself faithful to the enlightened government of the Brookes, even at the most critical times. ”

“ The sure sign of the beginning of activity of a Society for some object it has set before it is a series of murders of those Chinese who have refused to join it, who have incurred its displeasure, or who are mistrusted. His blood is drunk, and an ear sent to the head of the Society, in token that he has been put to death. In Singapore it is now less noxious. There, every Society has to be registered and reported; and no secret society is allowed to meet that has not conformed to regulations, that deprive it of half its secrecy. ”

“ Education, so far as it involves improvement in agriculture and crafts must be brought about in the natural sequence of events, and as a simple consequence of mixing with other and superior races. Such developments will be slow, but they will be natural ones, ensuring changes only for the good of, and acceptable to, the people, and therefore beneficial, being better adapted and better in effect than radical changes foreign to their minds and character." With these words from the greatest authority upon these people, we will conclude our notice of the Sea-Dayaks. ”