Labuan

“ Our position at Labuan would, it must be borne in mind, differ from the position we occupied in relation to the native princes in Singapore. In the latter case, the native princes were without means, without followers, and with a paltry and useless territory, and became our pensioners. In the case of Labuan, we shall have an acknowledged independent state in our vicinity; and for the prosperity of our settlement we must retain our ascendency by the support of the government of Muda Hassim. Let our influence be of the mildest kind ”

“ The bishop of Singapore and Sarawak is also bishop of Labuan. The European graveyard has repeatedly been the scene of outrages perpetrated, it is believed, by natives from the mainland of Borneo, the graves being rifled and the hair of the head and other parts of the corpses being carried off to furnish ornaments to weapons and ingredients in the magic philtres of the natives. Pulau Dat, a small island in the near neighbourhood of Labuan, is the site of a fine coco-nut plantation whence nuts and copra are exported in bulk. The climate is hot and very humid. ”

“ In 1848 the island of Labuan, off the northwestern coast of Borneo, was occupied by the British as a crown colony and some years later the Labuan Trading Company established a trading post at Sandakan. In an attempt to open up the country and to start plantations the company imported a considerable number of Chinese laborers, but it did not prosper and its financial affairs steadily went from bad to worse. ”

“ Labuan possesses one of the finest forests I have seen in Borneo, and is admirably situated for three objects—to suppress piracy, to influence the neighbouring countries, and to increase commerce by many means. Among the last, I may mention the numerous coal seams which are found in the island; that they have not been yet developed is no matter of surprise to those who are familiar with the early management; and that they will be hereafter of the utmost importance is the confident belief of those who are best acquainted with the island. ”

“ But no foreigners are allowed to reside at Zamboanga. Surely the permission for them to do so is worthy the attention of a government which has established and is supporting, at considerable expense, the colony of Labuan for the object not only of extending our trade and the use of the products of our manufacturing population, but also with the more generous and noble idea of civilizing the people in its neighbourhood by their influence, and of teaching them the blessings that flow from industry and peace. ”

“ The island of Labuan, for the purposes of refuge for shipwrecked vessels, of a windward post relative to China, for the suppression of piracy, and the extension of our trade, is well suited; it is no paradise, and any other island, with good climate, wood, and water, would suit as well. Its powerful recommendation is its being in the neighborhood of an unwarlike and friendly people. There is no other island on the N.W. coast, and the abandoned Balambangan, to the northward of Borneo, is the only other place which could by possibility answer. ”

“ No place could be better situated than Labuan to draw to it the trade of the Sulu archipelago and of the north-east coast of Borneo, and its doing so will depend on the amount of influence it is permitted to exercise.
It is a curious circumstance, that the natives of many of the districts to the north of Labuan assert that before civil strife and pirates drove trade from their coasts, they used to supply the Chinese and Javanese markets with a large amount of cotton. This plant is still cultivated, though to a very limited extent. ”

“ Before concluding my observations on Labuan, I may remark it possesses a very excellent harbour, of easy approach. The great success of our colony will depend, however, on its yield of coal.
The coal-fields of Borneo are as extensive as the island. It is reported in Maludu Bay; found in Gaya Island; is everywhere discoverable on the mainland opposite Labuan; has been traced in Baram, [274] in Bintulu, through the Sarawak districts to Banjermasin on the southern coast. They must some day prove of the greatest importance. ”

“ Labuan (6) , a small island, distant 6 m. from the W. coast of North Borneo, ceded to Britain in 1846, and administered by the British North Borneo Company; has rich coal-beds; its town, Victoria, is a market for Borneo and the Sulu Archipelago, and exports sago, camphor, and pearls; the population is chiefly Malay and Chinese.
Labyrinth, a name given to sundry structures composed of winding passages so intricate as to render it difficult to find the way out, and sometimes in. Of these structures the most remarkable were those of Egypt and of Crete. ”

“ This region of Borneo appears to be one of the least known parts of the Indian Archipelago, and one need not go far from the coast to come to places which are never visited by Europeans. Labuan itself and its immediate neighbourhood have much that is interesting to offer to the observer, and from thence short excursions may be made with ease and without excessive cost to the territory of the Sultan of Bruni, who is favourable to foreigners, and to the mountain Kini Balu, near the northern extremity of Borneo, which is 4,175 metres high, and visible from Labuan. ”

“ Yesterday we made an agreeable excursion to the n.e. point of Labuan; near the point it is picturesque, the cliffs are bold and cave-worn; the trees hang over the cliffs, or encroach on the intermediate sands, till they kiss the wave. Near a small cavern we discovered a seam of coal, which afforded us employment while Captain Bethune and Mr. Wise walked to obtain a view of the southern coast of the island.
“Bruni, 21st May, 1845.—After a longer time passed in Singapore than I wished, we at length started, in the Phlegethon steamer, for this city. ”

“ Mr. Horsburgh accompanied Mr. Chambers to Banting that day, to assist him in his work for the Balow Dyaks; and soon after, Mr. Gomes arrived from Lundu with a large party of men and boys; but I have already described their visit. My dear husband went off to Calcutta again in September, and was consecrated Bishop of Labuan on St. Luke's Day, October 18, 1855. Sir James Brooke added Sarawak to his diocese and title on his return; indeed, the small island of Labuan, no larger than the Isle of Wight, was only the English title to a bishopric which was then almost entirely a missionary one. ”

“ The day after the signing of the treaty we left Bruni, the steamer taking the barge in tow, and the same afternoon we joined the Samarang at our newly-acquired possession, the isle of Labuan. This island is about thirty miles in circumference, flat, and covered with thick jungle. It has no inhabitants. Its anchorage is good, being protected by the main and two smaller islands. The embouchure of a rivulet forms a small bay, which we dignified with the title of Victoria. ”

“ The pension-list is very large in the island of Labuan. There is a church, but no acting clergyman, though there are three on the pension-list, and the bishop only comes twice a year, or sometimes twice in two years, according to the requirements of the remainder of his large diocese, which comprises North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore, besides Labuan. He is expected to arrive to-morrow from Sandakan, but I fear we shall just miss him.
Malay Village, Labuan
There is an hospital, but no resident doctor—only two on the inevitable pension-list. ”

“ It was a dog-in-the-manger policy, what Labuan could not have, that it was resolved Sarawak should not have, and the interests of the people were left out of the question. It is possible enough that this was inspired by jealousy. No man likes to see his own field sterile and that of his neighbour producing luxurious crops. ”

“ The trade of our colony is small, though it is increasing, while that of Brunei is rapidly decreasing, and recent arrangements will tend to accelerate its fall. I should mention that there are many districts in the neighbourhood of Labuan in which pepper is cultivated, and this produce is slowly increasing in quantity in the market; but could the Governor of [271] Labuan have the means at his disposal to influence the neighbouring coast, the pepper cultivation would rapidly advance. ”

“ As Brunei decayed, Sarawak grew stronger. Its territory was enlarged from time to time and its prosperity has proved the benefit derived by the native inhabitants from strong and firm control.
An island rather larger than Guernsey, Labuan is the only British territory, as opposed to a Protectorate, which we shall find in this region. Rounding a headland we turn northwards into a broad and deep inlet, and come to anchor opposite a small town of white houses with red roofs and a background of low hills; this is Victoria, the capital and only town. ”

“ The occupation of Labuan and Sarawak will, I should imagine, prove hardly sufficient to effect the important change to be desired, i. e. that of the total suppression of piracy. Stations, with forts, must be established at the mouths of the principal rivers, that we may have a constant watch upon the movements of the occupants. In so doing [228] we should be only encroaching upon those who have encroached upon others: these rivers have been taken forcible possession of by the Malays and Arabs, who have driven away the proprietors of the soil, which are the Dyaks, the aborigines of the island ”

“ The principal settlements of the North Borneo Company are Labuan, Padas, Kalias and Sandakan. To Labuan I have already referred. As a centre of native trade it is likely to become important, and Victoria Harbour is often crowded with steamers anxious to secure coal. Its unhealthy stage appears to have passed away; in fact, the whole of North Borneo may be looked upon as fairly healthy, for although on the north-east coast there are many districts where fever is prevalent (an incident common to every tropical country when the jungle is first cut down) , yet this malaria disperses in time. ”

“ It was thought by some that the island would become a smaller Singapore, a port of call for shipping and a collecting centre for the whole mainland of Borneo. Labuan started with great expectations; its history has been a series of disappointments. The coal business failed from the first, while the transit trade did not develop, and the reason is not far to seek. In spite of the great natural resources of Borneo, there could be no progress in trade until piracy and head-hunting had been suppressed and some form of settled government introduced. ”

“ Occasionally there are very extensive groves of fruit-trees, but even these are choked with brushwood. Tame buffaloes are very numerous on the lower part of this river; we also saw a few cows, but until lately little attention was given to breeding them; now, however, that a steady demand has arisen in Labuan, many of the natives have been induced to collect herds.
After passing the Trusan no more Malay houses are to be seen; the inhabitants being the aborigines, the Bisayas, Muruts, and a few Kadayans; their villages occupy nearly every reach. ”

“ Hose, the present Bishop of "Singapore, Labuan and Sarawak," which is the official title of his extensive See which includes the Colony of the Straits Settlements—Penang, Province Wellesley, Malacca and Singapore—and its Dependencies, the Protected States of the Malay Peninsula, the State of Sarawak, the Crown Colony of Labuan, the Territories of the British North Borneo Company and the Congregation of English people scattered over Malaya. ”

“ Sir Edward Belcher, with the Phlegethon in company, arrived not long after the Didoʼs departure, and conveyed the Rajah Muda Hassim and his train to Borneo Proper. H.M.S. Samarang and Phlegethon visited and examined Labuan, and proceeded thence to Ambun. Ambun is a miserable village; and it at once gave the lie to the report of a European female being there in captivity, for no poor Orang Kaya could retain such a prize. The inhabitants of Ambun are Badjows, and the country people or Dyaks of the interior are called Dusuns, or villagers. ”

“ Next to Labuan lie the districts of Padas and Kalias, well filled with an agricultural population, quiet and fairly industrious. Their principal industry is the cultivation of the sago palm and pepper. Padas had been chosen as the starting point of the telegraph line, which has been carried across the country to Sandakan Bay, a distance of three hundred miles. It does not appear to work very successfully, as it is liable to constant interruption from the wires being broken by falling trees. ”

“ A post like Labuan or Balambangan would, beyond doubt, give an impetus to trade, merely from the freedom from all restrictions, and the absence of all exactions, which the natives would enjoy; and (piracy being checked) countries which now lie fallow would, from their proximity, be induced to bring their produce into market. ”

“ After leaving Muda Hassim, paid the sultan a visit.
“10th.—I have nothing to say of our departure. Budrudeen accompanied us to the Mooarra, and thence, on Friday evening, we crossed to the anchorage of Labuan.
“12th.—Labuan. An island of about fifty feet high; twenty-five miles in circumference; woody; timber good; water from wells and a few small streams, which, after a drought, are dry; natives say water never fails. Anchorage good for the climate; well protected from the N.E.; not extensive; situation of contemplated town low; climate healthy, i.e., the same as Borneo ”