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PLAY AND POLITICS. 
 
PLAY AND POLITICS, 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS OF MALAYA. 
 
 BY 
 
 AN OLD RESIDENT. 
 
 London : 
 
 WELLS GARDNER, DARTON & Co., 
 
 3, Paternoster Buildjngs, E.C. 
 

 \Oi 
 
 <^ 
 
TO 
 
 LT.-GENERAL SIR ANDREW CLARKE, R.E.C.B., G.C.M.G., 
 
 FORMERLY 
 
 GOVERNOR OF THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS, 
 
 TO WHOSE 
 
 PRESCIENT AND DECISIVE POLICY 
 
 THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES 
 
 OWE THEIR 
 
 DEVELOPMENT AND PROSPERITY, 
 
 THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 page; 
 
 INTRODUCTORY - - I 
 
 FIRST STEPS - - - 4 
 
 JOHORE - - - . . 9 
 
 PERAK - ... - - 24 
 
 PAHANG - - - - . - 28 
 
 SIAM - - - ... 38 
 
 COCHIN CHINA - - . . . ^g 
 
 SIR JAMES BROOKE, K.C.B. - - - - 56 
 
 ADMIRAL SIR HENRY KEPPEL, G.C.B. - - 64 
 
 GENERAL SIR GEO. LEGRAND JACOB, K.C.S.I., C.B. 78 
 
 CONSULATE WORK - . . 85 
 
 THE CHINESE SECRET SOCIETIES - - 91 
 
 SINGAPORE WATER- WORKS - 1 17 
 
 SAILORS' HOME - 125 
 
 OPIUM CLIPPERS 131 
 
 YACHTING - - - - 140 
 
 TIGERS - - - - - - 156 
 
 OLLA PODRIDA — DESPATCH - - - - 161 
 
 A PRACTICAL JOKER - - 165 
 
 I JOE 167 
 
 TURTLE - - - 174 
 
 CAPTAIN D. - - - 176 
 
 BONG - - - 178 
 
Jntro&uctorg. 
 
 Fate willed it that my destiny should lead me to 
 Singapore, where I first landed on September 12, 
 1 841. 
 
 Most people know, as one of our merchants 
 informed his constituents, that "Singapore is an 
 island surrounded by water," but, perhaps, a few 
 details as to its early history, position, and climate 
 may not be without interest. The best authority 
 I can quote is John Crawfurd, who succeeded Sir 
 Stamford Raffles, its founder, as Resident, in 1823, 
 and who, for its final cession, drew up the Treaty 
 which was signed and sealed in 1824. 
 
 The name of the island, correctly, " Singapura," is 
 derived from the Sanscrit singa — lion, and pura — city. 
 The ancient history is, as usual, in all that relates to 
 native records, full of obscurity, and there we may 
 leave it. 
 
 The greatest length of the island from east to west 
 is twenty-five miles, and its greatest breadth is 
 fourteen, with an area of two hundred and six miles, 
 or say seventy miles larger than the Isle of Wight. 
 
 Its approach, either from the east or west, is 
 attractive and interesting from the vicinity of various 
 
 I B 
 
2 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 islands, which in no way interfere with the naviga- 
 tion. The town is well laid out, and the streets are 
 broad and well cared for. The interior of the island 
 is undulating, and consists of numerous hills of from 
 fifty to eighty feet high, with narrow valleys between, 
 and on these the European and Chinese residents 
 have built houses, surrounding them with gardens of 
 fruit-trees and flowers. 
 
 The climate, though within eighty miles of the 
 Equator, is moist, owing to dews or to almost daily 
 showers. Furious gales are unknown, but heavy 
 squalls occasionally occur, lasting from two to three 
 hours, the worst being those termed "Sumatras," 
 which blow during the months of May, June and 
 July. There are two monsoons — the north-east 
 which prevails from November till April, and is the 
 stronger ; and the south-west, from May till October. 
 
 The mean temperature of Singapore is 84? Far- 
 The highest maximum hitherto known in the shade 
 is 94'' in April, 1878 ; and the lowest minimum 63.4" 
 on the February 10, 1885. Average wet days in 
 the year are one hundred and sixty-seven, and the 
 average rainfall ninety-two and a half inches. 
 
 The general health is good, and hot nights are the 
 exception, owing to the cool jungle breezes, and, in 
 my time, one was often pleased to draw a light 
 blanket over the body towards morning. 
 
 The annual report of the trade of the Straits 
 Settlements for 1899 has lately been published in 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 3 
 
 the Government Gazette. It shows that the value 
 of imports into the Colony, exclusive of inter-settle- 
 ment trade and coin and bullion, amounted to over 
 $246,000,000, an increase of more than fifteen and a 
 half per cent, over the figures for the previous year, 
 and when the total is converted into sterling, the 
 value is seen to be about ^24,250,000, an increase 
 of nearly eighteen and a half per cent. 
 
 The total value of exports from the Colony, 
 exclusive of inter-settlement trade and coin and 
 bullion, stood at nearly $216,000,000, an increase of 
 sixteen and three-quarters per cent, over the figures 
 of 1898. When converted into sterling, the value 
 for 1899 is about ;^2 1,250,000, an increase of about 
 nineteen and three-quarters per cent. 
 
 The Straits Settlements comprise Singapore, 
 Penang and Malacca. 
 
jFirst Steps. 
 
 I CANNOT say that Singapore, in my early days, 
 was an amusing place. True, the Europeans were 
 kind and hospitable, and many of them who had 
 known my father, who had preceded me, were good 
 enough to notice me, and none more so than the 
 Governor, Mr. Bonham, who promoted me to a seat 
 at his unofficial Sunday dinners, which were much 
 enjoyed by the guests. But the younger hands, of 
 my standing, and even older ones^ had no sports 
 except " Fives, " that I can recollect, and were a good 
 deal driven to cards in the evening. 
 
 The first few months I had plenty to do in 
 " learning the ropes," as the sailor says, and trying to 
 achieve the language (Malay) ; but, after that, I 
 began to feel a want of something out of the every- 
 day " treading in the mill." I always disliked cards ; 
 and a kind friend, soon after my arrival, gave me a 
 lesson, which lasted a lifetime. 
 
 It was after dinner ; the cloth had been removed, 
 and we were smoking, when somebody proposed 
 cards, and very soon we were ready for a game. 
 We began with " Vingt-et-un," and wound up with 
 " Loo." I knew nothing of either game, but " We 
 
 4 
 
FIRST STEPS. 5 
 
 will soon teach yon ; it is quite easy," was pressed 
 on me (cent, points — ^d.), and, by eleven o'clock, I 
 went home a loser of 7,800 points, or $78, equal to 
 £iy los. What I before disliked I now hated, and I 
 do not think I touched cards three times a year all 
 the time I remained in the Straits. 
 
 At this time, two genial spirits came to Singapore 
 — one, a merchant, who had been for some years in a 
 well-known firm at Calcutta, and the other an officer 
 in the Madras Artillery. We three thought, and voted 
 the place dull, and wondered how we could manage 
 to put a little life into it. The only game, as before 
 said, bamng cards, was Fives, and there was only 
 one court for that. No cricket, football, nor golf ; 
 no theatre, no library, no race-course. I cannot 
 remember all the details of our plot against the 
 community. The old hands were astonished at the 
 impudence of this trio who were not satisfied with 
 a state of things which had pleased them for years. 
 They called us " baroe datangs," or new-comers, in 
 contempt ; but they gradually changed their minds. 
 Before Governor Bonham went home, in 1843, we 
 had obtained from him a grant for a race-course, 
 about a mile from the town ; raised the necessary 
 funds to make and drain it, and, on February 
 27, 1843, I won the first race run over it, on 
 an Arab named " Colonel." Theatricals soon 
 followed, temporarily in Dutronquoy's Hotel ; a 
 library was started in 1844; an Assembly Room, 
 
6 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 for balls and meetings, was further inaugurated, to 
 which a theatre was attached, and a performance 
 given on March 14 of the same year. The 
 "Baroe Datangs" had, in a couple of years, changed 
 the face of society ; had made, certainly, some enemies, 
 but also many friends. They had worked hard, but 
 had succeeded ; and although some maligned them, 
 and intimated that they neglected their business for 
 amusement, the charge was so evidently unfounded, 
 that the large maj ority approved of what they had done. 
 It was during this busy period that a war occurred 
 between the Government and the community. In 
 those days, 1841-43, there were two bridges over the 
 river in Singapore Town, one built in 1822, and the 
 other in 1840. The former was a wooden construc- 
 tion, and named Singapore, the latter, brick and 
 stone, and called, after the architect, Coleman. In 
 1843, the old bridge was in a dilapidated, ramshackle 
 condition, and the Government decided to remove 
 it, and leave the public to make use of the other one, 
 some three hundred yards further on. The com- 
 munity, chiefly pedestrian in those days, objected on 
 the plea that a right of way had been established by 
 the continuance of a twenty years' thoroughfare. 
 The owners of land in the vicinity complained of 
 the damage done to their property by the withdrawal 
 of the traffic, but the Government, having property 
 to sell close to Coleman Bridge, turned a deaf ear to 
 all complaints. 
 
FIRST STEPS. 7 
 
 A public meeting was held, and a correspondence 
 ensued in which, acting as agent for some property 
 near the old bridge, I got mixed up, and, in reply to 
 a letter which ensued, the Governor quoted Junius, 
 accusing me of "making strong assertions without 
 proof, declamation without argument, and violent 
 censures without dignity or moderation." 
 
 The result was that another public meeting was 
 called, at which, in reply and in defence, I quoted 
 Pickwick, and compared His Honour's language to 
 Mr. Weller's cheese : " Strong and wholesome, a little 
 of it going a long way." A deputation was appointed 
 to wait upon the Governor, to induce him to change 
 his views. He received us very civilly, but told us 
 at once that he was determined to carry his point, 
 and when we were leaving, called me back and said : 
 " Mind, I am a determined man. I have said that 
 you shall not have the new bridge, and you shall not 
 have it, so make up your minds to that." I 
 answered : " Very well, sir, I perfectly understand 
 you. But allow me to observe, that we are equally 
 determined to have the bridge !" 
 
 I do not know how it was that the original grants 
 of land were not referred to at that time. Those of 
 the property I was interested in were in London, so 
 I could not do so. About three months after the 
 interview above mentioned, a friendly lawyer came 
 to me and told me that during a case in court that 
 day, a grant of property in the vicinity of the old 
 
8 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 Singapore bridge had passed through his hands, 
 "And there," said he, "it is plainly stated that a 
 bridge is to be maintained by Government." I 
 accompanied him to his office, and he showed me 
 the grant. 
 
 The next day I called on His Honour, theGovernor, 
 and told him of this discovery, and asked him to 
 send for the official copy of the original document. 
 He would not believe me, but he had to believe his 
 own eyes. " Good gracious ! You surely do not 
 think that I knew of this ?" he said, in great 
 agitation. " No, sir, certainly not ; and the Resident 
 must also have forgotten it. But, I suppose, now 
 the bridge will be re-built." " You may depend on 
 that." 
 
 The bridge is now called "Elgin," after a 
 Governor-General of India. 
 
Jobore, 
 
 The Sultanate of Johore was founded on the ruins 
 of the former Empire of Malacca, which fell to 
 pieces when the town of that name was taken by the 
 Portuguese, in 15 ii, and the ruin of Johore was 
 consummated when the Dutch succeeded the 
 Portuguese in 1641, 
 
 At the commencement of the last century, Sultan 
 Mahomed Shah, the last Sultan installed, the scion 
 of a long race of kings, was possessed of a grand 
 sounding title, but of very little authority. He was 
 a man of more than ordinary ability, and, by the 
 exercise of his political and commercial talents, 
 acquired a position of considerable influence. 
 
 One of his wives, a woman of noble birth, by 
 name Hamida, but more generally known as Tunko 
 Putri, having no children of her own, adopted the 
 eldest son of the Sultan (by a concubine) named 
 Houssein, who was nominated heir to the throne by 
 his father, prior to his death in 1810. There was a 
 younger brother, Abdul Rachman, by the same 
 mother. 
 
 At the time of his father's death, Tunko Houssein 
 was absent, having gone to Pahang to marry the 
 
 9 
 
lo PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 daughter of the Bandaharah of that country, and 
 the prevalence of the north-east monsoon preventing 
 communication between Lingin, where the Sultan 
 died, and Pahang, it was not till some time after 
 that Houssein could return to his own country to 
 claim his inheritance. 
 
 One peculiar custom of Malay royalty consisted, 
 in those days, in the necessity of having the new 
 Sultan installed before the deceased one could be 
 buried; and advantage was taken of the absence of 
 Tunko Houssein to put foward a claim in favour of 
 the younger brother. The chief of this intrigue 
 was Tunko Jaffar, the lang-di-per-Tuan, commonly 
 called the Yem Tuan, of Rhio, a town in the island 
 of Bentang, and the capital of the Dutch possessions 
 in those seas. 
 
 Tunko Abdul Rachman at first declined to 
 accept the proffered throne, but was at last induced* 
 by threats rather than persuasion, to accede, in 
 order that the body of his father might be buried ; 
 but being of a weak disposition, he was only a 
 puppet in the hands of Tunko Jaffar, who, conse- 
 quently, usurped all power. 
 
 When the strength of the monsoon was exhausted, 
 Tunko Houssein returned to Lingin to assert his 
 rights ; but finding his brother in full possession, and 
 supported by a strong party, headed by Jaffar, he 
 •withdrew, and settled down quietly at Pulo Peningat, 
 where his adoptive mother, Tunko Putri, resided. 
 
fOHORE. II 
 
 The latter, who had been entrusted by the dying 
 Sultan with the Regalia, refused to allow the use of 
 these articles for the installation of the nominal 
 Sultan, and Tunko Jaffar would not allow the 
 Bandaharah of Pahang and Tumongong of Johore, 
 the chief installing officers, who were adherents of 
 Houssein, to be summoned to install this prince. 
 
 It was when matters were in this awkward 
 position, that Sir Stamford Raffles appeared on the 
 scene. This eminent statesman, who had been 
 Governor-General of Java, from its conquest by the 
 English in 1811, till its restoration to the Dutch in 
 1816, and, subsequently. Governor of Bencoolen, in 
 Sumatra, had been for some time in search of a spot 
 from whence he could extend the influence of 
 England in the Eastern Archipelago and Malay 
 Peninsula, which was threatened by the Dutch. He 
 had been called to Calcutta by the Marquis of 
 Hastings, the Governor-General of India, to consult 
 with him on this matter, arriving there early in 
 October, 1818. In the following December, he 
 left the Sandheads, and on January i, 1819, within 
 a few hours of his arrival at Penang, in a despatch 
 to Colonel Bannerman, the Governor of that Island, 
 he wrote : — 
 
 "The island of Singapore, or the district of old 
 Johore, appears to me to possess peculiar and great 
 advantages for the proposed Settlement." 
 
 Having, at the request of Major Farquhar, 
 
12 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 inspected the Cariraon Islands and found them 
 unsuited to his purpose, Raffles, on January 28, 
 cast anchor off the island of St. John, at the entrance 
 of the harbour of Singapore. The next morning he 
 landed at the mouth of the river ; at once realized 
 the splendid position, and, without loss of time, 
 hoisted the British flag. 
 
 The following day he made a preliminary arrange- 
 ment with the Tumongong of Johore, whom he 
 found in possession, and dispatched a deputation to 
 Peningat, where Tunko Houssein was residing, 
 who did not require much persuasion to accept the 
 unexpected offer submitted to him. He at once 
 came to Singapore, and a definite treaty was drawn 
 up, signed and sealed by Raffles and the two Chiefs, 
 on February 6, 18 19, when the British flag was 
 formally hoisted and saluted. 
 
 In this treaty, Houssein Mahomed Shah was 
 recognized as Sultan of Johore. 
 
 Under another treaty of the date of June 3, 1823, 
 it was further stipulated that, with the exception 
 of the land appropriated to their Highnesses for 
 their respective establishments, all land within the 
 Island of Singapore, and islands immediately 
 adjacent, should be at the entire disposal of the 
 British Government. The ground handed over to 
 the Sultan was in Campong Glam to the east, and 
 that transferred to the Tumongong to the west of 
 the town. Both chiefs had numerous followers; 
 
J OH ORE. 13 
 
 but deriving little or no revenue from their jungle 
 possessions, and their pensions being inadequate to 
 meet their expenses, the Sultan borrowed where he 
 could, and, according ta a writer of that time, 
 the Tumongong was "suspected of being largely 
 concerned in the encouragement of piracy." 
 
 In 1824 Mr. John Crawfurd, as Resident of 
 Singapore, made a final treaty for the permanent 
 possession of the Island and islets to the extent of 
 ten geographical miles from the coast of the main 
 island. Article III. and Article IV. stipulated that 
 should the parties prefer to reside permanently in 
 their own states, and to remove from Singapore, 
 the Sultan or his heirs "shall receive $20,000, and the 
 Tumongong $15,000." 
 
 Having thus obtained all it wanted, the Govern- 
 ment allowed these chiefs to sink into obscurity. 
 
 Tumongong Abdul Rachman died in 1827 at 
 Singapore, and was nominally succeeded by his son, 
 Daing Ibrahim, who, however, was never officially 
 installed in his stead. Sultan Houssein Mahomed 
 Shah died at Malacca in 1835, and was succeeded by 
 his son Allie Iskander Shah, who was acknowledged 
 by the British Government as, " in every respect, the 
 successor of his late father," in a proclamation issued 
 on September 16, 1840. 
 
 In 1843 gutta-percha was discovered, and its 
 valuable qualities became duly appreciated shortly 
 afterwards. A merchant of Singapore put the 
 
14 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 Tumongong on the trail of this article, and his 
 followers were sent into the jungle in search of it. 
 Piracy disappeared, and prosperity reigned where 
 poverty had hitherto existed. 
 
 The Government, overlooking the previous irre- 
 gularities, presented His Highness, the Tumongong, 
 with a sword of honour, with great ceremony, on 
 August 26, 1846, congratulating him ^ on the 
 success which had attended his efforts in suppressing 
 piracy. Whilst this " tamashah " was proceeding at 
 Government Hill, I, and the before-mentioned 
 merchants, counted several boats stationed outside 
 the island, and manned by the Tumongong's 
 people, to seize any gutta which might be imported 
 from outside places, at arbitrary prices, probably 
 often at no price at all. 
 
 It naturally came to pass that this worthy chief 
 grew rich and prosperous. Towards the fifties, the 
 Sultan began to think that he had a certain right to 
 share in this revenue derived from the country 
 where he was supposed to rule. Accordingly, he 
 instructed his lawyer to appeal to the Government 
 on the subject ; and this having proved futile, he 
 was advised to apply to some European merchant 
 to assist him. He came to me. 
 
 I was acquainted with both the chiefs. The 
 Sultan was a man of very poor mental capacity, in 
 fact, one might say, of weak mind. I was well 
 aware, also, that the Tumongong was not a man to 
 
JOHORE. 15 
 
 forgo his advantages without a struggle, and, 
 therefore, I felt that I had to take care that I did not 
 find myself checkmated, at any rate, at the beginning. 
 The Sultan was, I had been told, in the habit of 
 issuing all sorts of orders, permissions, and such 
 like papers under his seal, or "chop," which were 
 often not employed to his advantage. My first move 
 was to obtain possession of this article, so that no 
 further use could be made of it without my sanction. 
 Having secured this, I asked an audience of His 
 Honour the Governor, and laid the matter under 
 discussion before him. He was not at all favourable 
 to my view of the subject, and asked me to send in 
 a paper mentioning the terms which were to be 
 submitted to the Tumongong. This was done, and 
 amounted to a recognition of the Sultan's position 
 by the said chief ; the division of the revenue of the 
 country between the two parties as might be 
 eventually agreed upon ; and a demand for a sum of 
 $10,000 for arrears of revenue. The Government 
 refused to entertain these claims, and strongly 
 supported the Tumongong, as did others of the 
 community ; but the discussion was kept alive, and 
 I took care to send to my friends, at home, such 
 information and documents as were necessary to 
 support the case, should it be deemed advisable to 
 lay it before the Home Authorities. 
 
 At the same time, I suggested a scheme which I 
 thought might prove a means of producing accord. 
 
i6 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 Having obtained the assent of Bandaharah Allie, of 
 Pahang, as a first important step, I proposed the 
 reconstruction of the Kingdom or Sultanate of 
 Johore, comprising the two provinces of Johore and 
 Pahang, with Sultan Allie Iskander Shah at its head, 
 and the Bandaharah and Tumongong as his 
 ministers, under the supervision of a British 
 Resident ; and, at the same time, recommended that 
 the boundary, between our territory in Malacca and 
 Johore, should be removed from the River Kessang, 
 a stream of no importance, to the Moar, a fine river, 
 ■which would enable us to extend our influence 
 among the native tribes on it,^ border, and in the far 
 interior. 
 
 The Government failed to see the advantages to 
 be derived from my plan, and the matter dropped. 
 
 In 1854, the Governor, Colonel Butterworth, C.B., 
 proceeded to Calcutta to interview the Governor- 
 General, Lord Dalhousie, on sundry matters 
 connected with the Straits. In the early part of the 
 same year I had been called away to Penang. 
 During my absence, a native " Chitty," creditor of 
 the Sultan, had been urged to press his claim. The 
 matter had been taken into court ; a decision had 
 been given against the Sultan, and a warrant held 
 over his head, in order to bring him into a proper 
 state of submission. 
 
 On my return, finding this to be the state of 
 affairs, and that he had signed an agreement which 
 
JOHORE. 17 
 
 was altogether contrary to his interests, I refused to 
 allow him the use of his seal, without which his 
 signature was not valid, telling him that I did not 
 believe the Government could permit him to be 
 arrested ; but that should a move in that direction 
 be made, I should be ready at a moment's notice to 
 appeal to the High Court of Justice for a " Habeas 
 Corpus." Thus were matters situated when the 
 Governor left for Bengal. 
 
 In the course of the interview which His Honour 
 had with Lord Dalhousie, he brought forward the 
 Johore case, and, to his astonishment, found that 
 His Lordship highly disapproved of the course 
 which had been pursued in the matter, having been 
 informed from London of what had occurred. 
 However, when it was shown that the Sultan had 
 signed the draft of the proposed agreement. His 
 Lordship withdrew his objection, and the Governor 
 returned triumphant to Singapore. 
 
 On March 10, 1855, the Treaty of Friendship 
 and Alliance between the two chiefs was signed and 
 sealed with grand ceremony. By the 2nd Article 
 the Sultan gave up to the Tumongong the whole 
 of the territory of Johore, within the Malayan 
 Peninsula, and its dependencies, with the exception 
 of the Province of Moar, on condition of 
 payment of five thousand Spanish dollars, and a 
 further sum of five hundred Spanish dollars per 
 
 mensem. 
 
 c 
 
i8 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 By the 3rd Article, the Moar territory was 
 ceded by the Tumongong to the Sultan, " his heirs 
 and successors to have and enjoy in full sovereignty 
 and property for ever." 
 
 The Sultan's seal, which had been in my possession 
 since 1852, was handed to Inche Bujal, the State 
 Secretary, an hour before the ceremony. After all 
 was over, the secretaries of the two contracting 
 parties, advanced to the table where the Treaty had 
 been "chopped" to take possession of the seals. 
 The Resident Councillor requested them to allow 
 the seals to remain where they were till the next 
 morning. On returning the following day, it was 
 found that the Tumongong's seal had fallen from 
 the table, and the haft of it had broken ; but 
 the Sultan's " chop " had been affixed to the rough 
 draft of the Treaty ! 
 
 Before the ceremony the Tumongong had declared 
 that he would not perform the usual obeisance to 
 the Sultan, which consisted in raising his hands 
 above his eye brows, but Colonel Butterworth, the 
 Governor, lifted them, unexpectedly, to the required 
 height, and all concluded peacefully. 
 
 Sultan Allie, of Johore, died at Malacca on 
 June 20, 1877. On July 4, his son, Tunko Allum, 
 wrote to the Acting Governor of the Straits 
 Settlements, to inform him of the death of his father, 
 and of his succession to the title, and the next day 
 he received the following reply : — 
 
JOHORE. 19 
 
 "I beg to acknowledge your letter of yesterdays date 
 informing me of the death of Sultan Allie, of Moar Territory. 
 As His Highness the Maharajah of Johore will take charge of 
 he territory of Moar,* until it has been decided what other 
 arrangements for the government of the country shall be 
 made, you cannot do better than place yourself under his 
 guidance. 
 
 " It must not be expected that the person who succeeds to 
 the property of the late Sultan Allie will be acknowledged 
 under the title of Sultan, which title was that which in former 
 days belonged to the Ruler of Johore, and was only continued, 
 by courtesy, to Sultan Houssein Mahomed Shah, after he had 
 sold the sovereignty of Johore to the Tumongong,t and which 
 title has now, therefore, become extinct. Nor will the 
 monthly payment made by this Government to the late Sultan 
 Allie be continued to his heir. This payment was made only 
 as a charitable allowance on account of Sultan Allie's extreme 
 poverty, and was liable, at any time, to be withdrawn at his 
 death. It, therefore, of course ceased, and it will not be 
 renewed to any member of his family." 
 
 Later on, in 1877, Sir William Cleaver Robinson, 
 K.C.M.G., became Governor of the Straits Settle- 
 ments, and I lost no time in laying Tunko Allum's 
 case before him. 
 
 In the course of conversation, having pointed out 
 the gross breach of Article III. of Treaty, 1855, 1 said, 
 
 * In rupture of 3rd Article of Treaty of 1855. 
 •j- The treaty of 1855 was made by Sultan Allie. 
 
20 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 that even had the British Government taken over 
 Moar, which it would have done had my plan, 
 before mentioned, been adopted, it would certainly 
 have given the Sultan some compensation for the 
 territory thus obtained. He agreed, and asked what 
 I considered would be a fair sum to give under the 
 circumstances. I mentioned $i,ooo a month. A 
 short time afterwards I got a note from him, in 
 which he informed me that he had been able to 
 obtain from the Tumongong a monthly payment of 
 $750 for my friend, but he feared he would not be 
 able to do better. Would I accept ? I accepted 
 with thanks and gratitude ! 
 
 Subsequently, when Sir Frederick Weld, K.C.M.G., 
 became Governor, in 1884, talking over Johore 
 matters with him, I mentioned that Sultan Allie had, 
 in 1862 or 1863, when he retired from Singapore to 
 Moar, applied to the then Governor, Colonel Cava- 
 nagh, for the $20,000 due to him under Article VI. 
 of the Treaty of 1824, and had met with a direct 
 refusal. His Excellency, very shortly afterwards, 
 built a house in the Sultan's ground in Campong 
 Glam, at Government expense, and made a present 
 of it to Tunko Allum. 
 
 These actions of Sir William Robinson and Sir 
 Frederick Weld, show that, whatever may have been 
 the result of my previous interference, I had, at any 
 rate, obtained, against strong opposition, the repay- 
 ment of the pension due to the royal family under 
 
JOHORE. 21 
 
 the 2nd Article of the Treaty of 1855 (forfeited under 
 the letter, July 5, 1877), i.e., $500 per month ; 
 secured a further pension of $750 a month for the 
 property of which they had become dispossessed, 
 and, moreover, the gift of a substantial and handsome 
 dwelling-house. 
 
 Tunko Allum died in August, 1891, leaving a son, 
 Allie ; and the two pensions, $500 and $750, are now 
 divided between him, his mother, Inche Miriam, 
 and the five children of Sultan Allie by a woman of 
 low birth. 
 
 Tunko Allum was of a quiet disposition, but by no 
 means wanting in intellect ; he deeply felt the 
 degraded position in which he was placed, and which, 
 ultimately, affected his health. His funeral was 
 largely attended by the Malays, his rival among the 
 number. 
 
 After having obtained the pension of $750 a month, 
 through the kind offices of Sir William Robinson, I 
 could not see how I could further assist the royal 
 family. I had for thirty years done my best to prop 
 it up, and I may almost say, " alone I did it,'' for the 
 members of that family were a hindrance rather than 
 an assistance, and I had no money, nor had the 
 family, to wage war with, whilst the opposite parly 
 were rich and popular, and could command not only 
 Government support, but the best legal advice. I 
 therefore thought it advisable, under the circum- 
 stances, to "bury the hatchet," and wrote to the 
 
22 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 Maharajah, Aboo Baker, a friendly letter, and sent 
 him at the same time the seal of his grandfather, 
 Abdul Rachman, which had at his death, as was the 
 usual custom, been handed back to the Sultan. I 
 received, in due course, a note from the Maharajah, 
 informing me that the contents of my letter had given 
 him much pleasure, and, continuing, " I readily 
 and sincerely reciprocate the sentiments you express, 
 trusting that, by mutually forgetting every atom of 
 the past, we shall be henceforward united in close 
 and lasting friendship. Please accept my best 
 thanks for the gift, which is an earnest of your 
 good-will and sincere intentions, and which, 
 together with your letter, I have shown to my 
 brothers, who are all pleased with the thought of 
 having you as a friend, interested in the welfare of 
 the family and of Johore. 
 
 "I may mention that your friendly visit to me 
 here, prior to the receipt of your letter, had already 
 made me feel that, sooner or later, I should have 
 you as one of my friends. Trusting that we shall 
 have many opporttmities for showing our mutual 
 regard, 
 
 " Believe me, etc., 
 
 "Aboo Baker, 
 
 " Maharajah." 
 
 We had not been, at any time, on bad terms, 
 though I have reason to believe that his father 
 resented my interference. His younger brother, 
 
JOHORE. 23 
 
 Abdul Rachman, was a friend of mine, and I always 
 thought a partisan. He died young. 
 
 The Maharajah was a very amiable, pleasant per- 
 son, of gentlemanly manners and tastes ; a keen 
 sportsman, in as far as racing was concerned, and 
 but too open-handed in his expenditure. He visited 
 England several times, and was a not infrequent 
 visitor at Marlborough House, where the Malay 
 curries, prepared by H.H.'s own cook, were duly 
 appreciated. 
 
 In 1885, he, with the acquiescence of the British 
 Government, assumed the title of Sultan of Johore. 
 He died in London on the June 4, 1895, a few 
 days after his arrival, and was buried at Johore on 
 the September 7 following, deeply regretted. 
 
 I never blamed him, nor his father, for taking 
 advantage of the opportunities afforded them, but I 
 have always thought that the Government of the 
 Straits might have held the scales with a more 
 impartial hand, and shown a higher sense of fair 
 play. 
 
peraft. 
 
 In the year 1871, the Sultan of Perak died, and 
 there was a dispute as to " succession." The legiti- 
 mate heir, Abdullah, was, by an intrigue, passed over, 
 and Rajah Bandaharah Ishmael was appointed 
 Sultan ; but, the other chief having his partisans, 
 civil war broke out in the country. About the same 
 time the Chinese had a quarrel over some tin mines, 
 and the secret societies, the Gokwans and the Seek- 
 wans, waged war against each other. Each had their 
 soldiers and fleets, and they plundered each other to 
 their heart's content. They also threatened to carry 
 their quarrels to Penang, and disturb the peace of 
 that British settlement. 
 
 Sir Harry Ord, the Governor, went home in 
 October, 1873 ; and Sir Andrew Clarke, who suc- 
 ceeded him on November 4, found that matters 
 had reached such a pitch that murders were frequent, 
 piracies rife on the high seas, all legitimate trade 
 stopped, and the peace of our settlements seriously 
 imperiled. 
 
 Rajah Moodah Abdullah had, meanwhile, come to 
 Singapore to seek assistance from our Government, 
 but being unsuccessful, he consulted me. I told him 
 that, as Sir Harry Ord's tenure of office was nearly at 
 
 24 
 
PERAK. 25 
 
 an end, he had better await the arrival of the new 
 Governor. 
 
 Sir Andrew Clarke had been desired, by Lord 
 Kimberley, to investigate the cause of the dis- 
 turbances, and to report upon the same to the 
 Colonial Office. Matters, however, were much too 
 serious for delay, and he at once instituted inquiries 
 and took precautionary measures. 
 
 On December 13, dining at Government House, 
 his Excellency, when the guests were leaving, asked 
 me to stay behind and have a talk ; and, as was 
 natural, the conversation turned upon the unfortunate 
 position of affairs in Perak. I asked him whether 
 he intended moving quickly in the matter. He said-: 
 " I am ready, at a moment's notice, if I can get the 
 key to the door." I saidj " Give me a fortnight, and 
 I will get it for you." 
 
 I immediately drew up, and had translated into 
 Malay, a letter containing the following expressions 
 and propositions, to be addressed to his Excellency, 
 Sir Andrew Clarke, C.B., K.C.M.G,, by the Sultan 
 and Rajahs of Perak. 
 
 1. Congratulating Sir Andrew on his arrival and 
 assumption of the Government, and trusting that a 
 new era of prosperity might commence for the 
 Straits Settlements. 
 
 2. Expressing an earnest desire that good relations 
 should exist between the British Government and the 
 State of Perak. 
 
26 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 3. That in consequence of unhappy differences 
 existing between the Sultan and one of his ministers, 
 which had led to much disturbance and loss of life 
 and property, the Sultan and the chiefs requested 
 the Governor to act as umpire in the matter, and to 
 cause such an examination to be made as would 
 show the true nature of the dispute, and enable His 
 Excellency to form a just decision. 
 
 4. That so soon as these disputes were settled, 
 and peace and order restored, it would be the desire 
 of the Sultan and chiefs to place the country under the 
 protection of the British flag, and for that purpose to 
 enter upon a new treaty of a friendly and liberal nature. 
 
 5. That, in this case, and to show their desire to 
 act in conformity- with the wishes of the British 
 Government, the Sultan and chiefs would request 
 His Excellency to appoint some person, of talent 
 and capacity, to reside at the Court of Perak, or at 
 any more convenient place, to assist and advise them 
 in carrying out the government of the country in 
 such a way as to develop its resources, increase its 
 revenues, secure the administration of justice, and 
 the peace and happiness of the people. 
 
 A special messenger was at once dispatched with 
 this letter for the signature of the said parties, and 
 he returned on January 9, 1874. On Sunday, the 
 nth. Sir Andrew Clarke and suite left for the scene 
 of the disturbances, having taken all necessary 
 precautions to meet emergencies. 
 
PERAK. 27 
 
 On of January 23, His Excellency returned to 
 Singapore, having been eminently successful. The 
 Rajah Moodah Abdullah had been installed Sultan 
 of Perak, and had been duly acknowledged by the 
 chiefs and people. A fresh treaty had been made 
 with the English Government, and a Resident was 
 forthwith appointed. On the other hand the 
 Chinese had agreed to keep the peace. The head 
 men had been bound in securities of $50,000 each. 
 Pirate boats were to be given up, the people disarmed, 
 and officers appointed to organize the country and 
 destroy all forts and stockades. 
 
 About the same time there were other disturbances 
 of a somewhat similar nature in the State of 
 Salangore, which Sir Andrew Clarke settled with 
 equal success. 
 
 The result of these measures is thus summed up in 
 the report of the Resident-General of the Federate 
 or Malay States for 1899, twenty-five years later : — 
 
 Revenue $13,496,400, 
 
 The value of Trade . . . $88,660,200 ; 
 
 whilst communication by road and railway was 
 being rapidly pushed forward in every direction. 
 
Bandaharah Allie, of Pahang, died in 1857, and 
 left that province to his eldest son, Ton Koris, with 
 the exception of Kuantan, which he bequeathed to 
 the younger son, Inche Wan Ahmat. The elder 
 brother objected to this division, and, in league with 
 his brother-in-law, the Maharajah of Johore, 
 endeavoured to drive his brother out of the country. 
 He was unsuccessful, and was driven away himself, 
 and died at the Sidili River; and Wan Ahmat 
 succeeded to the whole of his father's province. 
 Considerable ill feeling remained between the chiefs 
 of the two countries, and was constantly giving rise 
 to disturbances and murders. 
 
 In 1874, Sir Andrew Clarke, the Governor of the 
 Straits, having pacified Perak and Salangore and 
 Sungie Ujong, turned his attention towards Pahang; 
 and, when I arrived at Singapore from England, 
 in September of that year. His Excellency, in 
 consequence of reported disturbances there, was on 
 the point- of leaving for that province, accompanied 
 by men-of-war. Two unofficial members of the 
 Legislative Council, whom he had asked to go with 
 him, were unable to leave, but the Colonial 
 
 28 
 
PAHANG. 29 
 
 Secretary, Mr. Birch, came to me and requested me, 
 as a particular favour, to accompany the Governor, 
 and assist him, should he require it. Sir Andrew 
 left on the September 17 on board H.M.S. Charybdis, 
 accompanied by the gup-boats Avon and Hart. 
 
 Before I left, on the 19th of that month, to join 
 the expedition o£f the mouth of the Indau river, in 
 the Colonial steamer Pluto, I obtained from a 
 Chinaman, vs^ho traded largely with Pahang, a letter 
 to his agent there, stating who I was and what was 
 my position in Singapore. 
 
 On the 2ist, having received my instructions 
 from His Excellency, I left the Indau in the Pluto, 
 and, anchoring off Pahang at nine o'clock a.m., 
 proceeded up the river in the cutter, accompanied 
 by Captain Wilner of that steamer. Arriving at 
 Camping Mahoon, I despatched the Panghulu, in a 
 fast boat, to give notice of our arrival to His 
 Highness the Bandaharah, and followed, reaching 
 Pekan, the capital, at eleven o'clock. We were 
 received, on landing, by a crowd of Malays armed 
 with all sorts of weapons, and, accompanied by this 
 mob, were taken to the house of a Chinaman, and 
 told, in rather a rough manner, to stop there till 
 further orders. I drew the Chinese letter from my 
 pocket and handed it to our host, who said it was 
 for him. He read it, told me to make myself 
 comfortable, and retiring to an inner room, came 
 out shortly afterwards in a rather gorgeous dress, 
 
30 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 and left the house. In a few minutes, one of the 
 Pahang chiefs whom I had met at Singapore, the 
 Datoo Bandar, coming in, was astonished to see me, 
 and when I told him the object of my visit, he 
 turned all the armed Malays, abruptly, out of the 
 house. A quarter of an hour afterwards, the 
 Chinaman came back and announced the near 
 arrival of H. H. the Bandaharah himself, who, accom- 
 panied by a considerable retinue, gave us a most 
 gracious reception, and, holding each of us by the 
 hand, led us the whole length of the village to the 
 audience hall of his residence. It was then that I 
 learned that a messenger had arrived the previous 
 night, from Singapore, with such exaggerated accounts 
 of the purposes of the expedition, that great alarm and 
 suspicion had been roused among the Pahang chiefs, 
 thus accounting for our rather dubious reception. 
 
 After taking our seats, I informed His Highness 
 of the complaints which the Johore people had 
 made against the headmen on the Indau river, 
 pointed out that these complaints had rendered an 
 inquiry necessary, and that the English Government 
 trusted that His Highness would give every 
 assistance for that purpose. He at once assented. 
 I then mentioned the Governor's invitation to visit 
 him on board H.M.S, Charybdis. From this he 
 begged to be excused, on the plea of ill health. I 
 saw that he was evidently alarmed, and at that early 
 period of our acquaintance, I did not think it 
 
PAHANG. 31 
 
 politic to insist. To allay his nervousness, I 
 assured His Highness of the friendly feeling of the 
 Governor towards Malays in general, as had been 
 proved by the pacification of Perak and Salangore, 
 and added that if he evinced an earnest desire to 
 govern his country justly and promote peace, he 
 would find His Excellency his firm friend. I further 
 told him that if he went on board the man-of-war 
 he need be in no fear, as I would remain at Pekan 
 as hostage, so that if anything happened to him, the 
 chiefs might do as they pleased with me. 
 
 Confidence was thus gradually restored. His 
 Highness told me how glad he was that I had been 
 selected to interview him, as he knew me by 
 favourable report. He related to me the story of his 
 wrongs (which I had known long before), and I 
 assured him that the Governor would give every 
 consideration to his statement. His Highness 
 having retired for a while, the chiefs came to me 
 and we spoke on various subjects, but they were 
 evidently still under the apprehension that some 
 danger awaited them, though, in the end, I have 
 reason to believe, I left them with happier impressions 
 on their minds. 
 
 At 3.30 p.m. we left the landing-place, the 
 Bandaherah and chiefs accompanying us to the 
 boat, and on -our way down the river, met Sir 
 Andrew exploring in one of the men-of-war cutters. 
 On hearing my report. His Excellency determined 
 
32 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 to visit the chief the next* day, and notice was given 
 accordingly. 
 
 On the 22nd, the Governor, his suite, and naval 
 officers reached the capital, and were received in due 
 form. Very friendly conversation took place, and it 
 was arranged that a commission should accompany 
 me to the Indau river, to inquire into the complaints, 
 without loss of time. The Governor made an 
 excursion up the river in a steam launch, and during 
 his absence the Bandaherah and chiefs expressed 
 their gratification at the kind and pleasant manner in 
 which everything had passed. 
 
 On the 23rd, the Bandaherah and chiefs visited 
 H.M.S. Charybdis. His Highness was received by 
 a guard of honour and a salute, and Sir Andrew 
 Clarke, taking him by the hand, conducted him 
 round the vessel, and showed him everything that 
 was to be seen. On leaving, he requested me to 
 accompany him on his way back, and, during the 
 trip, expressed himself highly delighted with the 
 reception given him, and with the great kindness 
 shown him by His Excellency, remarking that " his 
 heart felt lighter than it had done for many a day," 
 
 On the 24th, at Indau, I left the Pluto at 7 a.m. in 
 the steam launch, having come from Pahang the 
 previous night with the commissioners Inche 
 Gundoot, Inche Abdul Rachman, and Panglimah 
 Prang Parkarsah ; I also asked Captain Wilner to 
 accompany me. We called at a police-station on 
 
PAHANG. 33 
 
 the Johore side of the Iridau river to obtain inform- 
 ation, and such witnesses as might be available. 
 There virere none. We then proceeded at once to 
 Tanjong Plandok, the abode of Panglimah Ketchil, 
 the chief accused, fearing, had we stopped on the 
 way, that he might get news of our arrival and bolt. 
 Fortunately, we found him at home. We forth- 
 with began the inquiry. He strongly asserted his 
 innocence, and began a long rambling story, towards 
 the end of which we heard a whistle outside. Cap- 
 tain Wilner stepped out, and was informed by the 
 gunner of the steam launch, who had been told to 
 look about and report, that he had found a 
 stockade. Now, Panglimah Ketchil had shortly 
 before assured me that he knew of no stockade in 
 the river ; that some barrels of gunpowder, which 
 were on a shelf in the room we sat in, were empty ; 
 and that a brass lilah,* some eight feet long, stand- 
 ing in the corner, was merely there for ornament. 
 This, however, I had all along doubted. I told him 
 of the discovery, and how wrong he had been in 
 trying to mislead me. I ordered him to call all his 
 people together, and, at once, dismantle the stockade, 
 throwing the woodwork into the river, and destroy- 
 ing the earthwork. On further search, two iron 
 guns, and a lilah-stand, were found concealed in the 
 jungle. The stockade having been demolished, the 
 
 * Native brass gun. 
 
34 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 two guns and the lilah, together with two kegs of 
 powder and cartridges, which were in the house, 
 were lowered into the launch. Panglimah Ketchil 
 was given in charge to Inche Abdul Rachman, as a 
 prisoner, and I then requested the two other com- 
 missioners to step on board. This they positively 
 refused to do unless I went first, saying that they 
 were answerable to the Bandaharah for my safety. 
 
 We then proceeded down the river to Lantang, 
 where we had been informed there was another 
 stockade ; but we merely found a clearing of the 
 jungle, and no traces of any foundations. Whilst at 
 this place Sir Andrew Clarke joined us, and I in- 
 formed him of the stockade we had discovered up 
 the river. " Oh," said he, "we must go up to-morrow 
 and destroy that." " It is quite unnecessary," I re- 
 plied, " as the stockade is already smashed up ; the 
 guns are in the launch, and the petty chief a 
 prisoner." Needless to say that he expressed his 
 great satisfaction at this result. 
 
 On the 25th the Pluto, with his Excellency and 
 suite, went up the river as far as Tanjong Plandok. 
 He afterwards went twenty miles further up the 
 river in the steam launch, and, during his absence, 
 the Attorney-General of Singapore and I instituted 
 an examination into the various complaints ; but 
 the evidence was so trivial, that it was thought best 
 to allow the three Pahang commissioners to talk 
 matters over with Datoo Jaffar and Inche Ibrahim, 
 
PAHANG. 35 
 
 who repesented the interests of his Highness the 
 Maharajah of Johore. They finally came to an 
 amicable understanding as to the future govern- 
 ment of the river. 
 
 On the 26th, having reached Pahang during the 
 night, Captain Wilner, the commissioners, and 
 myself left at 7 a.m., and reached Pekan at 9 
 o'clock. The Bandaherah, who was out shooting, 
 returned immediately, and gave us a very favourable 
 reception ; and at noon we sat down to a grand 
 breakfast. I suppose about seventy or eighty people 
 were there, and great etiquette was observed as to the 
 position of the different guests, above and below the 
 salt. Of course Captain Wilner and myself sat at 
 the chief table with his Highness. 
 
 After the meal was finished, I addressed the 
 assembly as to the results of the expedition. I con- 
 gratulated them on the clearness of the evidence, 
 which showed that the Bandaharah was not mixed 
 up in any of the disturbances ; but reminded them 
 that, as two men had been murdered, it was a duty 
 of His Highness, or his chiefs, to find out the 
 culprits, and, if they were Pahang men, to punish 
 them, and to make compensation to the families of 
 the deceased. At the desire of the Governor of the 
 Straits Settlements, I had brought up from Indau, 
 Jennang Login, Jennang Soodin, Panglimah Ketchil, 
 and Hogie. No case had been made out against 
 the two first ; but they acknowledged they had 
 
36 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 heard of the murders, and that they had done 
 nothing to arrest the murderers, as was their 
 bounden duty. With respect to Panglimah Ketchil, 
 there was no evidence to show that he was mixed 
 up in the murders, but he had told me a lie about 
 the stockade. I could not, therefore, consider him 
 a trustworthy person, and I strongly advised His 
 Highness not to employ him again. Hogie escaped, 
 owing to defective evidence. I thanked His High- 
 ness for sending such good and true men as the 
 commissioners with me, and also thanked them for 
 the assistance they had given me. I wound up by 
 expressing the hope that peace would reign between 
 Pahang and Johore, and that the chiefs would trust 
 in the friendship of the English Government ; and 
 especially in that of the Straits, which had the good 
 of the Malays at heart, and wished to see their 
 country prosperous and happy. 
 
 His Highness, in a few words, thanked Sir Andrew 
 Clarke, the Governor, for the friendly manner in which 
 everything had passed ; he also thanked me, and 
 hoped he would always be good friends with the 
 English Government. 
 
 After the most cordial leave-taking, we reached 
 the Pluto at 5.30 p.m., and left immediately for 
 Singapore, where we arrived at 7.30 on the evening 
 of the 27th. 
 
 I concluded my report on the affair to His Excel- 
 lency the Governor, in the following words : — 
 
PAHANG. 37 
 
 " If I may be allowed to offer an opinion on the matter in 
 question, I must say that I never heard of such serious 
 accusations, supported by such flimsy evidence. There is 
 not an iota of proof to show that the Pahang Government 
 was in any way concerned in the disturbances. The evidence 
 produced was most defective. Important witnesses were not 
 on the spot, although residing at no great distance in Johore 
 territory. The exaggeration of the statements, and the care- 
 lessness with which they were drawn up, are highly repre- 
 hensible. 
 
 " I have further to state, that I have not been able to obtain 
 any evidence as to the truth of the report of the bloodthirsty 
 nature of the Bandaharah ; on the contrary, all spoke of him 
 as a remarkably mild ruler — one man stating, that in the 
 whole of the countries ruled by Malays, there did not exist a 
 Rajah so beneficent." 
 
 I shortly afterwards received the accompanying 
 satisfactory acknowledgment from the Governor : — 
 
 "Government House, 
 
 " Singapore, 
 
 "October, 1874; 
 "Sir, 
 
 " I am desired by His Excellency the Governor, to acknow- 
 ledge the receipt of your communication of the September 
 28, describing your proceedings during the recent visit to 
 Pahang and Indau, in which you accompanied His Excel- 
 lency; and I am requested to express to you His Excellency's 
 best thanks for your able and exhaustive report of that expe- 
 dition, the success of which was much enhanced by your 
 zeal, and by the tact displayed by you in your negotiations 
 with the Malay chiefs. 
 
 " I am. Sir, your obedient Servant, 
 
 "M. C. Brackenbury, A.D.C." 
 
Siatn, 
 
 In the latter part of the fifties, the French Consul 
 at Bangkok (who also held the same post at 
 Singapore), during the absence of the King of 
 Siam and his Prime Minister on a visit to their 
 coast, prevailed upon the Minister for Foreign 
 Affairs to accept the draft of a treaty, which settled 
 between France and Siam the partition of the 
 Meinam River. 
 
 On the return of His Majesty, this draft was sub- 
 mitted CO him by his minister as a great achievement ; 
 but the King and the Prime Minister saw at once the 
 danger to Siam of any such understanding. The 
 difficulty to them, then, was how to withdraw from 
 this false position, without giving offence to the 
 Consul of His Imperial Majesty, Napoleon III. The 
 whole papers connected with the matter were for- 
 warded to Tan Kim Ching, the Siamese Consul at 
 Singapore, requesting him to obtain such guidance, 
 as might be considered advisable, from the most 
 mfluential persons there. He went at once to the 
 Governor, who, naturally, declined to interfere. He 
 tried the Chief Justice with no better success ; and, 
 I believe, applied to several others with a similar 
 result. I happened to call at his office, and, seeing 
 
 38 
 
SIAM. 39 
 
 he was disturbed in mind, asked him the cause 
 thereof ; and when he had told me, I suggested that 
 he should let me see the papers, and I would give 
 him an answer the following day. On perusal of 
 them, it struck me that the Consul had been acting 
 entirely on his own responsibility, and that a solution 
 was easy. No consul, I was aware, has power to 
 make a treaty unless he has special authority to that 
 effect. My counsel, therefore, was for the Siamese 
 to ask the French Consul for his letters patent ; if 
 he had them, to diplomatize ; if he had them not, to 
 break off negotiations on any plea they might think 
 proper. As I suspected, he had no special power, 
 and my advice was followed. 
 
 Shortly afterwards, I had an invitation to proceed 
 to Bangkok, and my reception there was in every 
 way highly flattering and satisfactory. The Prime 
 Minister placed at my disposal a house furnished in 
 European style, with servants, a boat and boatman 
 — a necessity in Bangkok, where one lives on the 
 river — and a young nobleman, who spoke a little 
 English, was attached to me as aide-de-camp. The 
 King often sent me dishes from his royal table ; and, 
 moreover, as he was proceeding to one of his palaces 
 up the river, and wished me to accompany him, he 
 placed a steamer at my disposal, the name of which 
 was The Celerate Angel. I stopped there about three 
 weeks, and had every reason to be pleased with the 
 hospitality shown me. 
 
40 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 From that time until his death, in 1868, His 
 Majesty included me among his correspondents. 
 His letters were, possibly, in rather curious English, 
 but were generally of interest, as he mostly debated 
 questions of policy or commerce, or asked for 
 information which it was a pleasure to convey to 
 him. 
 
 It may prove of interest to introduce here a few 
 remarks on the King of Siam, who ruled over that 
 country from 1851 till 1868. 
 
 Prabat Somditch Pra Paramendr Maha Mongkut 
 was a son of King Pra Poot-alotla, and was born in 
 1804. His father, after a reign of twenty years, died 
 in 1824, when the Grand Council, or Sinabaudee, 
 deeming the circumstances of the kingdom needed 
 a man of experience at the helm, elected an elder 
 half-brother, born of a low mother, to be King ; and 
 the real and legitimate heir was given a hint to retire 
 to a monastery, or run the risk of his head. He 
 adopted the former alternative, and remained in 
 retirement some twenty-seven years. This time he 
 devoted to study, and, with the assistance of the 
 missionaries, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, 
 made such progress, not only in European languages, 
 but in science and general knowledge, that when, in 
 1868, there was an eclipse of the sun in Siam, to 
 which the King had invited the astronomers of 
 various nations, and calculations were made to 
 ascertain the precisemoment of contact. His Majesty's 
 
SIAM. 41 
 
 calculation was found to be, by some minutes, the 
 most correct. 
 
 In 1851, King Prabat Somditch Pranang Kloa 
 died, and although he had endeavoured to have his 
 eldest son elected in his stead, the chief princes and 
 people called on Chowfah Mongkut to ascend the 
 throne, and on May 15 of that year the coronation 
 took place. 
 
 Previous to his accession, Siam had been an 
 almost closed country to foreign commerce. Some 
 treaties had been made with England as far back as 
 1822, but had led to no fruitful results ; but now the 
 King opened a new era, and all nations sought to 
 enter on amicable relations with Siam. Sir J. Bow- 
 ring headed the list for England ; Townsend Harris 
 for America ; De Montigny for France ; and then, 
 in rapid succession, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, 
 and the Hanseatic Free Towns, so that Siam rapidly 
 benefited by the liberal policy of His Majesty. 
 
 Improvements in the city of Bangkok and the 
 interior of the country were pushed forward, canals 
 constructed, roads made, bridges built, a custom, 
 house inaugurated, a police force organized, and the 
 general sanitary condition of the people duly watched, 
 with the result that, when His Majesty was called away 
 by death, on October i, 1868, he was -deeply 
 regretted by all his people. 
 
 His son, his present Majesty Prabat Somditch 
 Maha Chula Longkhorn, was duly crowned on 
 
42 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 November 13, 1868, when only fifteen years of age, 
 and the late Prime Minister, Chow Phya Suri- 
 wangsee, was installed Regent during his minority. 
 
 This prince had proved himself to be a remarkably 
 talented administrator. The policy introduced under 
 the former reign, mostly by him, was carried out with 
 prudent activity during his regency, and Siam 
 advanced in prosperity and importance. He died in 
 1883, and his country lost a true benefactor and a 
 wise counsellor. 
 
 His Majesty Chula Longkhorn has now reigned 
 thirty-one years, and, notwithstanding misunderstand- 
 ings'with the French, has done much to improve the 
 prosperity and happiness of his people. Canals have 
 been opened in various directions, and railways have 
 been inaugurated. The finances have been taken in 
 hand, and progress and civilization have been care- 
 fully promoted. Education has also had His 
 Majesty's care, and Siam bids fair to be one of the 
 most enlightened kingdoms in the East. 
 
 In February, 1871, I received two letters — one 
 from His Majesty the King of Siam, informing me 
 that he was about to visit Batavia and Samarang, and 
 asking me, as I was acquainted with the Dutch 
 authorities, to accompany him on his voyage ; the 
 other from His Excellency, the Governor-General of 
 Java, apprising me of the approaching visit of the 
 King of Siam to Batavia ; and as he (the Governor- 
 General) had been informed that I was on good 
 
SIAM. 43 
 
 terms with the Siamese, he expressed a desire that I 
 should proceed to Java to assist him in receiving His 
 Majesty. I placed myself at the disposal of both 
 parties.* 
 
 On March 15, the King and suite arrived at 
 Singapore, and were received with due honour. It 
 was arranged that Mr. Newman, of the British Con- 
 sulate at Bangkok, and I should precede HisMajesty 
 to Java. A Siamese frigate. The Siam Supporter, was 
 placed at our disposal, and two Siamese nobles, 
 Luang Bisset and the Commodore of the Siamese 
 navy, accompanied us, as did also the King's band, 
 as there was no room for it on board the royal yacht. 
 
 We started on the 22nd, and the next day, passing 
 through the harbour of Mintok, about 2 o'clock 
 p.m., we steamed close to a Dutch man-of-war at 
 anchor there, and, at a given signal, the band played 
 the Dutch national air. There did not seem to be a 
 soul awake on board the Dutchman ; all were 
 enjoying their siesta, and the commotion created by 
 the sudden burst of music was most amusing. The 
 deck was immediately covered with officers and men 
 in every sort of costume, uniform being the least 
 visible. Before they could make out who and what 
 we were, we had vanished round the corner. We 
 spoke another steamer off the Island of Lucipara, 
 and gave it information of His Majesty's approach. 
 
 * I should mention that I was then Consul for the Netherlands, 
 at Singapore. 
 
44 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 On the 25th, Mr, Newman and I arrived at 
 Batavia, and, on landing, found a carriage and four 
 waiting, but nobody to tell us for what or for whom 
 it was intended. So we took possession of it, and 
 drove to the office of Colonel Klein, the Com- 
 mandant of the Schuttery, or National Guard, and 
 he told us to proceed with it to the Governor- 
 General's palace. His Excellency received us very 
 kindly and graciously, and we were duly housed and 
 made comfortable. 
 
 The King arrived the next day at 2 p.m. On the 27th 
 the official landing took place. The roads were lined 
 with police and troops, and an immense crowd had 
 assembled. The only misfortune was, that the King 
 and the royal carriage headed the procession, so 
 that, when we reached the palace, we had to wait till 
 all the grandees and authorities had arrived, and the 
 King, tired, I suppose, sat down in a chair. His 
 Excellency the Governor-General came to me at 
 once, and remarked that His Majesty had sat down 
 before he had made him his speech of welcome. I 
 explained the cause, and assured His Excellency that 
 His Majesty would be ready to listen to him, so soon 
 as the procession had come to an end, and the 
 various officials had assembled. All went on, after 
 that, very smoothly and pleasantly. 
 
 There was a grand dinner in the evening, and 1 
 was informed that I was expected to translate, for the 
 general benefit, the response His Majesty would make 
 
SIAM. 45 
 
 when his health was proposed. I did not know a 
 word of Siamese, but having consulted with the 
 Siamese ministers, in attendance, I was instructed as 
 to what I might say in reply. The next misfortune 
 was, that the band in attendance played some tune 
 in honour of His Majesty, and the Governor-General 
 remarked to me, that it seemed odd to him, that His 
 Majesty did not seem to appreciate the honour 
 which was done him in playing his National Air. I 
 whispered that there was nothing to be surprised at, 
 as the tune was nothing like the Siamese "God 
 Save." It appears that somebody had discovered a 
 book in a shop, purporting to contain the national 
 airs of all nations, and the one apportioned to Siam 
 was, at any rate, egregiously wrong. The next morn- 
 ing, early, the Dutch bandmaster was sent on board 
 the King's yacht to consult with the Siamese band- 
 master, and the consequence was, that on the next 
 grand occasion. His Majesty was graciously pleased 
 to smile when he heard the sounds so well known to 
 his patriotism. 
 
 We then had four days of successive festivities — 
 balls, operas, concerts, fireworks, and a review of the 
 garrison. We visited the military school, gymna- 
 sium, arsenals, convents, zoological and horticultural 
 gardens, and museums. We were up every morning 
 at 5 o'clock, and, after " Chota-Hazree," we started 
 on our visits, coming back about ii o'clock to 
 breakfast. Then there was a general siesta, but at 
 
46 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 4 o'clock, the carriages were ready to take us in other 
 directions. I had to accompany His Majesty every- 
 where; but instead of enjoying the siesta, I was, 
 generally, taken into the town to view the shops, and 
 make bargains for some one or other of the Siamese 
 nobles. And, moreover, after we returned at night, 
 I had to give necessary directions to the Siamese 
 officers for the next day's excursions. 
 
 During the six days we were at Batavia, I do not 
 think I managed to get more than two hours' sleep 
 any one night. 
 
 On April i, we left for Samarang, arriving there 
 the next afternoon. I availed myself of the oppor- 
 tunity, to sleep about twenty-four hours right off. Mr. 
 Newman and myself were then billeted on Mr. 
 Jacobson, a gentleman who received us with most 
 unbounded hospitality. 
 
 On Monday, the 3rd, the ceremonial landing, and gala 
 dinner came off. Next day we went by rail to a place 
 called Kaboon Jati, where we met some of the native 
 princes, and some Dutch officials, and friends I had 
 known in Singapore. 
 
 On the 5th, we visited various places of interest, 
 and in the evening went to a " Nautch " at the native 
 Regent's, where there was a great display of wonder- 
 ful costumes and dancing. 
 
 On Thursday, the 6th, we left Samarang and steamed 
 away for Singapore, our host making, to Mr. New- 
 man and myself, a present of a case of champagne 
 
SIAM. 47 
 
 each, to restore our vitality. We reached our destina- 
 tion on the loth, and, my duties ended, I received 
 the thanks of His Majesty for my valuable assistance 
 during his pleasant trip. 
 
 On May 26, I was informed from Batavia of my 
 nomination as Consul-General for the Netherlands, 
 as a reward, probably, for my efficient services during 
 the memorable visit. 
 
 In the September following, I was again at 
 Bangkok, when the members of the Royal Body- 
 Guard, who had accompanied His Majesty to Java, 
 gave me a dinner at their mess, in the King's palace. 
 The Minister for Foreign Affairs took the chair, and 
 in the course of the proceedings, when proposing my 
 health, he informed me, that I was the first English- 
 man whose health had ever been proposed in a royal 
 palace in Siam, and that it was, by particular desire 
 of His Majesty, that this honour was paid me. 
 
 The next day the King sent for me, and, in a 
 public audience, invested me with the Order of an 
 Officer of the Chula Sura Bhorn (Royal Siamese 
 Throne). 
 
 I think it was at this time, on my return to Singa- 
 pore, that I left Siam on board of His Siamese Majesty's 
 ship Impregnable. We had charming weather, 
 beautiful moonlight nights, and all hands, conse- 
 quently, slept on deck. One night I woke up, and 
 was astonished at the profound silence which reigned 
 around. Not being able to make it out, and half 
 
48 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 fancying I was in a dream, I got up and walked to 
 the engine-room skylight, and, to ray utter astonish- 
 ment, found that the machinery had ceased working. 
 In fact engineers, stokers, and all were fast asleep. I 
 roused the captain, who, also, was astounded, and 
 who at once proceeded to stimulate the crew, and 
 rekindle the fires. In due time we proceeded on our 
 voyage. I asked the captain, the next day, what he 
 intended to do with the engineer, and suggested that 
 " two dozen " would probably- keep him awake for 
 some time. " What," said he, " flog the engineer ? 
 Do you know that he is a nephew of the Prime 
 Minister ! " 
 
Cocbfn Cb(na. 
 
 When on a visit to Hong Kong, in i860, at the 
 time of the expedition to Pekin by the English and 
 French, and soon after the latter had taken Saigon, 
 in Cochin China, I had a call from three French 
 Admirals — Rigault de Genouilly, who was an old 
 acquaintance ; Page, who was staying in the same 
 house as myself ; and Charner, who was Commander- 
 in-Chief of the French Squadron. They asked me 
 to visit their new conquest, and advise as to the 
 best means of developing the colony, as, from my 
 twenty years' residence in Singapore, which had 
 prospered so wonderfully under British rule, they 
 hoped I might be able to offer them some good 
 advice. I willingly agreed to do my little best, and, 
 soon afterwards, made my appearance at the town 
 of Saigon, and was hospitably received by the 
 Governor, Captain d' Aries, with whom I took up 
 my quarters. I was made a member of the " Cercle 
 Militaire," where, in the evening, before dinner, 
 everybody came to discuss the news of the day, etc. 
 At the time of my arrival at Saigon the French 
 were living, in the most primitive fashion, in native 
 huts (not having had time to build the palaces and 
 barracks they afterwards erected) and the Governor's 
 
 49 E 
 
50 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 was one of the most comfortable. A Mauritian 
 Frenchman, in the lower town, had established a 
 bath, and I followed suit. The Governor tubbed, 
 but how the others managed I never found out. 
 Soldiers were punished with " huit jours de salle de 
 police," if caught bathing, the doctors having de- 
 clared such a process destructive to health ; the 
 men slept in the huts mentioned, on the floor 
 mostly, the mattresses touching each other, and 
 doors and windows closed. The atmosphere 
 within, at early morn, may be imagined, but 
 hardly described. And, added to this, the soldiers 
 had no other clothing than the uniforms they came 
 in from France. The poor fellows died like flies. 
 Fifteen to twenty funerals a day ! The hospitals 
 were the best that could be organized under the 
 circumstances ; and the devotion of the sisters to 
 the sick was admirable, whilst the reverence of 
 these coarse fellows for them was truly touching. 
 All their gross talk and jokes were dropped on the 
 approach of a sister. I used often to " go rounds" 
 with the Governor, so that I had many oppor- 
 tunities of observation. 
 
 The natives, coming in from the country, called in 
 at our bungalow, and offered two or three fowls io 
 His Honour. At the end of the day, these were 
 always collected, and sent to the hospital. I have 
 frequently seen between twenty and thirty so made 
 over. " 
 
COCHIN CHINA. 51 
 
 There was a great demand for drinks with the 
 men ; the favourite one being " absinthe," which 
 increased the general ill-health. This thirst could 
 not astonish anybody, considering the heat, the 
 climate, the clothing, and the lodging. However, 
 with sanitary improvements, this sad state of affairs 
 quickly ameliorated. 
 
 Food and vegetables were plentiful ; the former 
 consisting chiefly of buffalo beef. Conserves, as 
 always with the French, were abundant. 
 
 I was soon put to work, and found plenty to do, 
 for everything had to be reorganized, all the 
 native rulers and officers having been killed or dis- 
 missed. These had been replaced by French 
 officers, very few of whom possessed a knowledge of 
 the language, or of the country. However, they 
 had managed, by hook or by crook, to put matters 
 in very fair order ; and, as a proof, I may mention 
 that, a few days after my arrival, I rode to a fort, 
 fifteen miles in the interior, in company with Lieut, de 
 Rodeleque, Aide-de-camp to the Governor, without 
 escort, and with only our riding-whips in our hands. 
 The great question, when I arrived, was that of 
 piracy. From all accounts, the numerous rivers 
 and streams were overrun with pirates, and very 
 stringent measures had been adopted to suppress 
 them, but with little success. 
 
 I had not been long in Saigon before the Governor 
 took me to see the Chinese town, about two miles 
 
52 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 further up the river than the capital ; and the first 
 object that struck me, was the quantity of boats, of 
 all sorts and sizes, blocking up the river and neigh- 
 bouring streams ; but with no signs of their crews. 
 It was explained to me that, in order to supervise 
 the river efficiently, no boats were allowed to leave 
 the town. 
 
 " And what," I asked, " has become of the 
 crews ? " " We do not know." "They must live," 
 I observed ; " so, not being allowed legitimate work, 
 they have been forced to become pirates." This had 
 not struck the French before ; and, soon afterwards, 
 the rule was relaxed, with benefit to both parties. 
 
 Various other subjects were discussed during 
 my visit, and I wrote sundry papers. These had 
 reference to port dues and Custom- House charges, 
 (which, I argued, should be as light as possible, so 
 as to encourage trade with surrounding countries 
 and ports) ; to the Revenue farms ; the Police of 
 the country ; the government of the people through 
 their own chiefs, as in Java ; the introduction of 
 new agricultural industries ; the encouragement of 
 immigrants from France ; the establishing of lines 
 of steamers on the numerous rivers, and of rice 
 mills in various parts of the country, etc. I believe 
 copies were sent to Paris, and many of them met 
 with the approval of the Emperor. 
 
 Shortly after (an official Governor having been 
 nominated at home). Admiral Bonnard, and his 
 
COCHIN CHINA. 53 
 
 Chef-d'Etat-major, Monsieur de la Vaisifere, came 
 out with their plan of colonization, cut and dried. 
 The Governor was described to me as "bon a Her ;"* 
 and his colleague as not much better. A Custom- 
 House, and port dues, were established ; those 
 restrictive duties on commerce, of which the French 
 are so fond, and of which the effect on trade is so 
 fatal, were strictly enforced t ; and the result of 
 this cramping policy has been, that the Colony has 
 only recently been able to pay its way, if, indeed, it 
 does so even now. 
 
 All my suggestive papers were thrown into a 
 cupboard, and it was only some years after that I 
 obtained any commendation for my disinterested 
 labour ! 
 
 It was one evening, at Singapore, when there was 
 a gala dinner at the Maharajah of Johore's. A Gov- 
 ernor of Cochin China had arrived that day, on his 
 way home ; and the French Consul brought him 
 with him to the feast ; and he was pointing out the 
 different people present to His Excellency, when 
 Admiral Desprez came across the room, and shook 
 me warmly by both hands, saying how glad he was 
 that he had met me before he left for Europe. " I 
 found all your valuable reports," he said, " the other 
 day by accident. You came to Saigon ten years 
 
 * The equivalent of "as mad as a hatter." 
 t Sixty per cent, on Manchester goods, for instance. 
 
54 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 too soon. If you had come during my Gov- 
 ernorship, I should have supported your views 
 warmly ; but now, I regret to say, it is too late." 
 We had a long talk, and we parted the best of 
 friends. 
 
 During my stay at Saigon, I made several agree- 
 able acquaintances among the officers, both of the 
 Army and Navy, meeting some of them afterwards 
 in Paris. There was one, in particular, with whom 
 I breakfasted twice a week ; and with whom I used 
 to have long discussions. He was a Post Captain, 
 and commanded a frigate, named the Du Cheyla. 
 He openly avowed that he hated the English. 
 " Individually," he used to say, " you are capital 
 fellows ; many of my best friends are English ; but, 
 as a nation, I abominate you 1 " When I asked him 
 why, he gave much the same reason the young lady 
 did to Lord Dufferin, when he put the same ques- 
 tion to her : " Oh ! you burnt Joan of Arc 1" 
 
 I remember (this in a parenthesis) the rage of a 
 French officer, who, at the time of the Chinese war 
 in i860, left Brest in a steamer for Hong Kong, by 
 the Cape route. The vessel touched at Ascension 
 for coal, and there the British flag was flying. At 
 the Cape the same ; at Mauritius, also ; at Point de 
 Galle, at Penang and Singapore ! Nothing but 
 that hated ensign. His language was certainly 
 forcible, but not complimentary. A qui lafauie f 
 
 To return to my friend of the Du Cheyla. He 
 
COCHIN CHINA. 55 
 
 had been sent up the river to suppress piracy. A 
 native Annamese came to him, and offered to show 
 the way to the lair of the brigands. Boats were 
 dispatched, but they had not returned by the time 
 the Captain had retired to rest. On his arrival, the 
 Ofificer-in-charge knocked at the Captain's door to 
 report the success of the expedition, and said that 
 thirteen culprits had been caught. As neither party 
 could understand the other's language, a Court- 
 martial, was unnecessary, so my friend merely gave 
 the order to hang them all at day-break. 
 
 In due time next morning, the Captain awoke, 
 and rang his bell for the officer of the watch to 
 report progress : " We have hung all the fourteen 
 pirates, sir." " Hung fourteen," said the Captain ; 
 " you reported thirteen only, last night ? " " Well, 
 sir, that may be so ; but seeing another Annamese 
 skulking about the deck, ;we hanged him also." 
 This was the informer, expecting his reward. 
 Perhaps he got it ! 
 
 The story was soon bruited abroad, and my friend 
 was frequently apostrophized — " Eh ! dites-donc ! 
 et le quatorzieme ? " This he very naturally 
 resented. 
 
Sij James ffiroofte, It.C.B., "Rafab of 
 Sarawaft. 
 
 I MADE the acquaintance of this noble English- 
 man in 1843, during a visit he made to Singapore. 
 
 He had been installed as Rajah of Sarawak on 
 September 24, 1841, and was gradually extend- 
 ing his authority over that province of Borneo, 
 though his progress was sadly hindered by the 
 prevalence of piracy, by the head-hunting propen- 
 sities of the Dyaks, and by slavery. 
 
 It was at this time, also, that he met Captain the 
 Honourable Henry Keppel, commanding H.M.S. 
 Dido, whose book, "The Expedition to Borneo," 
 published in 1846, first made known to his country- 
 men the romantic history of the English Rajah. 
 
 It is by no means my intention to write a history 
 of Sir James ; that has been already done by a master- 
 hand. Sir Spenser St. John, in the "Builders of 
 Great Britain" series, who had, from his long resi- 
 dence at Sarawak, greater opportunities of watching 
 the progress of the Rajah's career than I had. 
 
 During the six years which followed his accession 
 to power Brooke had done much to suppress piracy, 
 had almost eradicated head hunting, and had abolished 
 
 56 
 
SIR JAMES BROOKE, K.C.B. 57 
 
 slavery. The natives, appreciating the benefits of his 
 mildly despotic, but firm and just administration, 
 had increased in numbers ; the village of Kuchin 
 was, by this time, the capital town, with a population 
 of several thousands, and the trade of the whole 
 country had considerably augmented. 
 
 In 1847 Mr. Brooke returned to England, and 
 found himself a welcome guest. He was received 
 with acclamation. He was invited to Windsor ; 
 the Corporation of London conferred the Freedom 
 of the City on him ; Oxford made him an LL.D. ; 
 and various companies and clubs vied in paying him 
 attention. 
 
 In the following year he returned to Sarawak, on 
 board of H.M.S. Meander, commanded by his friend 
 Keppel, He had already been appointed Commis- 
 sioner and Consul-General at Brunei, and created a 
 K.C.B. He was now called upon to accept the 
 position of Governor of Labuan, With his usual 
 energy, he set to work to put matters in order. The 
 pirates, though still remembering the chastisement 
 they had received from Keppel, thought the moment 
 opportune, and organized a large expedition to ravage 
 the coast and rivers of Sarawak. 
 
 The Rajah determined to oppose them. On July 
 24, 1849, the steamer Nemesis left Sarawak with the 
 Royalist and the Ranee, and with seven men-of-war 
 boats in tow, accompanied by about a hundred 
 native prahus, manned by between three and four 
 
58 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 thousand Dyaks, to proceed to the mouth of the 
 Regang River, having received information that 
 ninety-eight Sarebas and Sakarang war-boats were 
 making for that place. On the evening of the 31st 
 the two fleets met, and the next morning seventy-five 
 of the pirate boats were lying on the sands ; eleven 
 had been sunk at sea ; twelve alone had escaped up 
 the river. It would have been easy to have destroyed 
 the fugitives ; but the Rajah, convinced that this 
 utter defeat would have due effect, stopped the 
 pursuit. 
 
 Meanwhile, mischief had been brewing at home. 
 Mr. Wise, Sir James' agent, had long been tempting 
 him with dazzling projects which were to make him 
 the " richest commoner in England," and proposed 
 to form a company to rival that in Leadenhall Street. 
 But the Rajah refused to listen to the tempter, and 
 finally an open rupture took place. The " Farquhar 
 Expedition," lately described, was the opportunity, 
 and Mr. Wise, having failed to involve Sir James in 
 his reckless speculations, turned against him, attacked 
 him in the English papers, and persuaded Mr. Joseph 
 Hume and Mr. Richard Cobden to bring the subject 
 before the House of Commons. He also induced 
 the editor of a Singapore paper to join in the fray, 
 and get up a petition to Parliament, denouncing the 
 conduct of the Rajah, to which petition fifty-two 
 signatures were obtained. The consequence was 
 that party spirit was strong in the place, and the 
 
SIR JAMES BROOKE, K.C.B. 59 
 
 Brookeites were in a sad minority till facts proved 
 them right. 
 
 Mr. Hume did not hesitate to accuse the Rajah of 
 every crime "from murder to merchandise." 
 
 Mr. Cobden declared that "Sir James Brooke 
 seized on a territory as large as Yorkshire, then 
 drove out the inhabitants, and subsequently sent for 
 our fleet and men to massacre them ; " and when 
 the Rajah exposed the falsehood of these statements 
 in indignant terms, Mr. Gladstone coolly observed, 
 that "his language respecting Mr. Hume and Mr. 
 Cobden, two men of the very highest integrity . . . 
 is, for the most part, unjustifiable." 
 
 Notwithstanding the large majorities in the House 
 of Commons, on three successive occasions, in Sir 
 James Brooke's favour, the strong voice of public 
 opinion out of doors, the approval and confidence 
 of Lord John Russell's Government, and afterwards 
 of that of Lord Derby, the persecution was carried 
 on with relentless pertinacity, until Lord Aberdeen's 
 coalition Administration consented to a commis- 
 sion of inquiry, to be held at Singapore, by Mr. 
 Charles Robert Prinsep and the Hon. Humphrey 
 Bohun Devereux. 
 
 Their instructions were to inquire into certain 
 matters respecting "the position of the Rajah in 
 Borneo," and also as to " the piratical nature of 
 certain tribes, which had been lately punished with 
 the aid of Her Majesty's naval forces." 
 
6o PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 On September ii, 1854, the Commission was 
 opened ; and Sir James Brooke entered the Court, 
 leaning on my arm, and took his seat at a table apart. 
 But the prosecution was not ready to commence, 
 and it was not till the 19th that proceedings began. 
 
 It was on this first day that a gentleman, in 
 undress uniform, came forward and volunteered his 
 evidence. He said he was in the Civil Service of the 
 Dutch Government ; his name C. F. Bondriot. He 
 had resided at Pontianak, in Borneo, for four and 
 a half years. He was acquainted with the character 
 of the people of the West Coast of Borneo, and 
 knew the tribes, called Sarebas and Sakarang Dyaks, 
 from official information. He had always known 
 them and heard of them as piratical ; killing and 
 murdering, without distinction, all along the West 
 Coast of Borneo. They were the scourge and terror 
 of the whole West Coast. He then gave several 
 instances in support of his testimony. The prosecu- 
 tion, after that, crumbled away, and became a farce. 
 Native after native came forward to give evidence 
 in the Rajah's favour. The Commission closed, on 
 November 20, triumphantly for Sir James — as his 
 friends all along had predicted it would. 
 
 Notwithstanding these adverse circumstances 
 Sarawak had progressed, and the trust of the people 
 in their ruler increased day by day. When, in 1853, 
 the Rajah was at the point of death from an attack 
 of small-pox, the anxiety of the people knew no 
 
SIR JAMES BROOKE, K.C.B. 6i 
 
 bounds. Prayers were said in the mosques ; votive 
 offerings were made by the Chinese and natives of 
 India ; whilst the Dyaks were disconsolate, and 
 ceaseless in their inquiries as to his state. 
 
 In 1857 there was a formidable outbreak of the 
 Chinese secret societies, headed by the Chinese Gold 
 Company, established at Bau, a town a few miles 
 distant, up the river, from Kuchin. At dead of 
 night some six hundred of these ruffians landed and 
 set fire to the residences of the Europeans, and 
 attacked the fort. The Rajah's house was burnt, and 
 with it his valuable library, his journals and papers. 
 He had a narrow escape of his life. Mr. Nicholets 
 was killed, Mr. and Mrs. Crookshank wounded. The 
 town was almost entirely destroyed, but the Malays, 
 though taken at a disadvantage, bravely fought the 
 invaders. 
 
 The greatest confusion prevailed for some days, 
 and the Rajah had to retreat to the Samarahan River to 
 await reinforcements. It was then that the smoke 
 of a steamer was seen, which turned out to be 
 the Sir James Brooke, belonging to the Borneo 
 Company. She was promptly boarded, and made 
 acquainted with the disastrous state of affairs at the 
 capital, on arriving off which, her guns quickly put 
 the Chinese to flight. They were pursued by the 
 avenging Malays and Dyaks. No quarter was given, 
 and of the surprise party of six hundred not one 
 hundred escaped into Dutch territory. 
 
62 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 Here again his subjects evinced their loyalty to 
 their ruler. The Malays and Dyaks showed the 
 greatest devotion, and the Sarebas and Sakarang, so 
 shortly before punished for piracy, proved how 
 thoroughly the Rajah had turned tribes of lawless 
 marauders into devoted adherents. 
 
 By this time the cares of state, the worry of the 
 persecution, the hesitation of the British Government 
 to recognize his position, had their effect on a con- 
 stitution never too strong at the best. In 1858 he 
 had a first stroke of paralysis, and, although he 
 continued to devote himself to the prosperity of his 
 adopted country, his health gradually gave way, and 
 in 1866 a second attack closed his active career. He 
 died at Burrator on June 15, 1868, from a third 
 attack, and was buried under the yew tree in the 
 churchyard, a spot he had himself selected. 
 
 I can, as an old friend, bear witness to the truth 
 of Sir Spencer St. John's summary of his character, 
 which I take the liberty to quote. " No person, who 
 has not lived in close intimacy with the Rajah, could 
 form any idea of the charm of his society. His 
 conversation was always attractive, whether he was 
 treating of political or religious questions ; and, when 
 he was in good spirits, his ordinary talk was 
 enlivened by playful humour. His affectionate 
 disposition endeared him to all. The purity of his 
 private life was such that it could not but impress 
 both natives and Europeans ; and the magnetic 
 
SIR JAMES BROOKE, K.C.B. 63 
 
 influence, as it is called, which he undoubtedly pos- 
 sessed, was but the result of a superior mind ever 
 influenced by a kindly heart. He was truly a 
 ' chevalier sans peur et sans reproche.' " 
 
H&mftal tbe ibonourablc Sfr Denri? Iteppel, 
 
 (5.C.3B. 
 
 It may savour of presumption in me to lay claim 
 to the friendship of so well-known a naval officer, 
 but he is, himself, somewhat to blame in the matter, 
 since he has so kindly mentioned me in his book, 
 "A Sailor's Life Under Four Sovereigns," and 
 brought me more prominently to " the fore " than so 
 humble an individual deserved. 
 
 I first made his acquaintance in the month of 
 March, 1843, and the immediate consequence was 
 that I busied myself with getting up a regatta amongst 
 the shipping in the harbour, men-of-war and mer- 
 chantmen, at which Captain Keppel acted as umpire. 
 The Dido's pinnace won a prize. A " tiffin " was 
 given on board the H. C. steamer Diana, Captain 
 Congleton, a very fine old salt. 
 
 Our friendship dates from that time, and is as 
 warm as ever after the many years which have 
 elapsed. Keppel was a general favourite ; he was so 
 genial and so unselfish. He was ever Anxious to 
 promote good feeling, and the band or the boats of 
 his beautiful little vessel were ever ready to lead the 
 
 64 
 
ADMIRAL SIR HENRY KEPPEL, G.C.B. 65 
 
 dance at a ball, or show the way at a picnic or a 
 sailing match. 
 
 He had long established a reputation in the Navy 
 for daring and dash, which some of his "good- 
 natured" friends named rashness; but, as he ever 
 succeeded in what he undertook, this last attribute 
 was decidedly undeserved. Rashness and failure are 
 twins ; success justifies. It may be true that he put 
 his vessels aground occasionally ; but this is not to 
 be wondered at as the best Admiralty charts, in those 
 days, were notoriously incorrect, and Keppel himself 
 avers that, the first time he visited Borneo, he 
 "actually sailed eighty miles inland, and over the 
 tops of mountains." 
 
 Sir Thomas Cochrane always declared that the 
 keel of the Dido was like an old saw, and ordered a 
 survey to be made by certain warrant officers, who 
 reported it to be " much injured ; " but her Captain 
 refused to accept the verdict given when the ship 
 was afloat, and the master having put the Dido on 
 shore in the Sarawak River within six weeks of this 
 said survey, another was taken at low water, when 
 the vessel was on her beam ends, which certified that 
 the "keel was uninjured, although some bits of 
 copper had been torn off her bottom," 
 
 It was whilst the Meander was refitting at Singa- 
 pore, in 1848, that Keppel reported to the Admiralty 
 the fitness of the New Harbour for a naval coaling 
 station ; but my Lords disdained the advice, and the 
 
 F 
 
66 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 Peninsular and Oriental Company became possessors 
 of this most suitable site. Subsequently, in 1857, he, 
 as Commodore, commanding the Raleigh, sailed that 
 vessel into this haven from the westward, a feat no 
 sailing ship had hitherto attempted. It is not, 
 therefore, surprising that, lately, the name of this 
 harbour has been changed from " New " to 
 " Keppel." 
 
 In 1867, when appointed to the Naval Command 
 in China, he gave me a passage to Hong Kong in 
 H.M.S. Salamis. 
 
 We left Singapore on April 15, and on the 
 17th were steaming up the Sarawak River with the 
 tide in our favour, at a ten-knot speed, when a native 
 boat attempted to cross the bows ; the pilot, to avoid 
 it, ported the helm, and the vessel crashed on to the 
 " Dido rocks," so well known io the Admiral. She 
 was backed off at once, and made no water ; but the 
 next morning Mr. Pusey, the first lieutenant, took 
 me below to show me the state of some of the 
 timbers, which were splintered to matches. 
 
 Although there was no apparent danger, yet it was 
 thought prudent to take precautions ; all hands were 
 told off to various stations, and I was appointed to 
 the gig, and, for the first time, found myself under 
 jiaval discipline. 
 
 On the 20th we left Sarawak, proceeding down the 
 river. When off the Quop junction, the tide, some- 
 how, took charge, and the steamer was carried 
 
ADMIRAL SIR HENRY KEPPEL, G.C.B. 67 
 
 violently against the bushes and trees on the side. 
 By the time we cleared the wreck of a portion of 
 a paddle-box, etc., I saw my first and only command 
 comfortably perched on the fork of a branch of a 
 tree, from whence it was rescued by the Rajah's men 
 some days later, and forwarded in due course to 
 China. 
 
 When the Salamis arrived at Whampoa to dock, it 
 was found that four-and-twenty of her timbers were 
 fractured ; damage done to the keel ; and the only 
 protection we had from the bottom of the ocean, was 
 the felt between the copper and the ship's side. Yet 
 we had safely navigated over a thousand miles — 
 luckily in smooth water ! 
 
 In his book, before mentioned, the Admiral refers 
 to his various adventures in the Mediterranean, the 
 Coast of Africa, Borneo, Tahiti, the Crimea, and 
 China, but all told so modestly, that the reader 
 might think that the gallant sailor was almost 
 ashamed of these performances. 
 
 I remember, whilst staying at Brussels in August, 
 1857 — it was on a Sunday- — I had just received my 
 letters and papers from London, when, after 
 luncheon, my sister and I went to the " Pare " to 
 hear the music. I had taken the Times with me, and 
 in opening it, I came across the description given by 
 Wingrove Cooke of the battle of Fatshan, the 
 grandest boat fight of the century, fought on June i 
 of that year, and there I read how Keppel seemed 
 
68 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 " thoroughly to enjoy himself." I could see him, in 
 my mind's eye, with "his small, active, springy figure, 
 his constitutionally good-humoured laugh," ready, 
 without the least ostentation, "to go into any fire that 
 gunpowder and iron could get up, and with him 
 were men quite as ready to follow." The excitement 
 of the relation, and probably the music aiding, 
 wrought my nervous system up to the highest pitch, 
 tears rolled down my cheeks, my whole body was in 
 a tremble, and it was with the greatest difficulty that 
 I restrained myself from rising up, and astonishing 
 the public with three cheers. My sister, seeing my 
 agitation, quietly took possession of the paper, and 
 walked me off to a more tranquil part of the Pare, 
 where I gradually cooled down. 
 
 Even now, some forty odd years after, when, on 
 the ist of June, I reperuse this account of the glorious 
 fight, I feel the same emotions almost as intensely as 
 ever. 
 
 It is so long since Wingrove Cooke's narrative 
 was published — and, probably, the event itself 
 almost forgotten — that I feel justified in reproducing 
 the author's " ipsissima verba," and hope I may be 
 pardoned for so doing. 
 
 Page 28 : " But now Keppel thought he had re- 
 strained himself long enough to fulfil the Admiral's 
 orders. He came up on the paddle-box of the Hong- 
 kong gunboat which bore his pennant ; and, having 
 with his quick glance noted the soundings and the 
 
ADMIRAL SIR HENRY KEPPEL, G.C.B. 69 
 
 result, stood in between the Coromandel and the 
 bank. There he was, Uke a man thoroughly enjoying 
 himself. His blue trousers tucked into the top of 
 his Russian boots, his white pith hat, his small, active, 
 springy figure, his constitutionally good-humoured, 
 devil-may-care laugh — there was a man who, without 
 the least ostentation, was ready to go into any fire 
 that gunpowder and iron could get up, and around 
 him were men who were quite ready to follow him. 
 
 "'May I pass, sir?' 
 
 " ' Yes, pass ; we are aground,' 
 
 " Immediately behind the Hongkong comes the 
 Haughty, admirably handled. She is towing the 
 boats of the Fury, Inflexible, and Cruiser, large 
 steamers which can only send their captains and 
 their crews into these shallow channels. . . . Next 
 come the Bustard and the Forester. They are waved to 
 pass where the Hongkong and the Haughty passed, 
 but they do not see, or they think they know better, 
 and they get hopelessly aground. It is a pity, for 
 the Hongkong has met with some stakes on the other 
 side of the channel, and those junks, whose painted 
 ports we have been so long looking at, and which 
 remained so steadily inactive while the range was 
 uncertain, have now opened fire, and are plumping 
 round shot into her with an uncomfortable precision. 
 I saw her struck three times while I looked at her." 
 
 After describing the attack and capture of the fort 
 off Hyacinth Island, since called Fort Seymour, our 
 author proceeds : — 
 
 Page 32 : " While some are plundering, and some 
 are thinking of breakfast, there is heavy firing in the 
 
70 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 distance. People ask, Where is Keppel ? We must 
 follow his fortunes, for all is not over yet, and there 
 is much to tell. 
 
 " WhenfCommodore Keppel passed us at dawn, 
 he steamed away up the channel to the right of 
 Hyacinth Island, until he came under the six-gun 
 battery, and within fire of the junks. Here his vessel 
 ran aground, and the Plover coming up, the Com- 
 modore transferred himself to her ; but, as she could 
 not get up, he got into his own galley, and, followed 
 by the row-boats of the Calcutta, the Bittern, and 
 the Niger, pulled straight away through the fire. 
 The big junk, that lay across the channel, was boarded 
 in her own smoke ; as usual, when the assailants 
 grew very near, the Chinamen fired a broadside and 
 also a train, and slipped into the water on the other 
 side. The boats were scarcely free of her when she 
 blew up. Right in among the thirty-five junks 
 dashed Keppel and his cheering dare-devils, receiving 
 their fire, and driving the crews away as they ap- 
 proached. Vain were the Chinamen's stinkpots, 
 their three-pronged spears, and their ingenious nets, 
 so contrived as to fall over a boat's crew and catch 
 them like herrings, while they spear them 
 through the meshes. To utilize such ingenious 
 inventions John Chinaman must wait till the boats 
 come alongside, and this he has not yet tutored his 
 nerves to accomplish. 
 
 " ' Never wait, lads,' cried the Commodore, ' leave 
 those rascals to the gunboats and the fellows behind ; 
 push on a-head ! ' 
 
 "Through this wilderness of junks they pulled, 
 driving out their crews by sheer audacity, and 
 
ADMIRAL SIR HENRY KEPPEL, G.C.B. 71 
 
 leaving little to be done by those who should come 
 after. They shot through the lines up into the 
 vacant channel. Some of his boats had been hulled 
 by the junks ; perhaps some lingered to pay a visit 
 to a deserted Chinaman, or to stop his mouth ; but 
 Keppel still pressed onward, and where he goes he 
 always gets some to follow. Where could he be 
 going — was it information, or was it intuition ? Or has 
 he resolved to attack, with his seven boats, the city 
 of Fatshan and its population of 200,000 people ? I 
 have not asked him, and he has not said, but I 
 suspect the city was his object. With four galleys 
 and three boom-boats, carrying a gun each in their 
 bows, they speed away from the conquered junks 
 and hold on for nearly four miles ; but now there 
 are junk masts in sight, and every one knows that a 
 fight is coming. A little further on, and they come 
 upon their prey, and also upon one of those strong 
 positions which the Chinese have now learnt to 
 take. 
 
 " At the part of the Fatshan branch — ^which they 
 had now reached — there is an island shaped, like a 
 leg of mutton, placed lengthway in the river. The 
 broad part is towards the British boats, and across 
 the knuckle-end twenty large junks lie moored to the 
 shore and aground. The consequence of this posi- 
 tion is that, to attack them, the British boats must 
 pass through one of two passages, both of which 
 narrow to a funnel, and upon that narrow neck of 
 water the whole fire of the twenty junks will be 
 concentrated. One of these funnel passages has 
 been staked and is impassable. The other has not 
 water to carry two boats abreast. At this perilous 
 
72 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 passage Keppel and his crew now dashed. The three 
 boom-boats took the ground in attempting to follow. 
 The base of this triangular island consists of high 
 land, which the grounded boom-boats couH not fire 
 over, so their guns were useless ; the apex, or, to use 
 my more familiar illustration, the knuckle part, was 
 low paddy-fields, which the junks' guns could 
 readily sweep across. It was a position worthy of a 
 Carthaginian — locus insidiis natus. 
 
 " No sooner did the boats appear in the narrow 
 passage than twenty 32-pounders sent twenty round 
 shot, and a hundred smaller guns sent their full 
 charges of grape and canister, at a range of five 
 hundred yards, right among them. The effect was 
 terrible. Keppel was sounding with the boat-hook 
 for water for the boom-boats, and went back amid 
 the storm to get them up. They start afresh, and 
 make another effort to get through. The Commo- 
 dore pushes on ahead. There was Captain Leckie 
 in his galley, with Major Kearney by his side. 
 There was Captain Rolland in the launch of the 
 Calcutta, and Lieutenant Seymour in the barge of 
 the same ship. The Tribune's cutter was in among 
 them. The Hongkong, who had worked herself up 
 through the mud to within five hundred yards of the 
 scene of action, had sent her gig. Perhaps there 
 were others, but, amid so much smoke and fire, even 
 those who were in it cannot agree as to minute 
 details. If the gunners of the Excellent had been 
 in those Chinese junks, and had worked those 
 32-pounder guns, they could hardly have thrown 
 the round shot straighter. Keppel's galley, not a 
 large mark, is hit three times in two minutes ; a 
 
ADMIRAL SIR HENRY KEPPEL G.C.B. 73 
 
 32-pounder shot strikes Major Kearney in the breast, 
 tearing him to pieces. He must have died without 
 a sensation. Young Barker, a midshipman of the 
 Tribune, who wore upon his finger a ring bequeathed 
 to him by his brother, who was killed at Inkermann, 
 is down, mortally wounded. The Commodore's 
 coxswain is killed, and every man of his crew is 
 wounded. But the miracle is not that the men are 
 falling, but that any escape. The God of battles is 
 there, and wonderful are the instances of His mer- 
 ciful protection ! Captain Cochrane has the sleeve 
 of his coat torn away by a shot which leaves him 
 unharmed. A round shot enters the Tribune's boat, 
 and passes along her line of keel, from stem to stern, 
 without touching a man. ' That was close, Victor,' 
 said Keppel to his flag-lieutenant, as a cannon-shot 
 passed between their heads.* Fortunately for himself, 
 ' Victor ' (Prince Victor of Hohenlohe, as thorough 
 and as unpretending a British seaman, as if his name 
 were Drake or Jervis), was leaning forwards and using 
 his handkerchief as a tourniquet, to stop the bleeding 
 of a seaman whose hand had just been shot off, 
 otherwise that ball must have taken Prince Victor's 
 head off. At this time the galley was disabled, and 
 she was drifting down under the guns of the junks. 
 
 * I remember an anecdote, current in those days, bearing on 
 this. When the Raleigh was on the point of leaving for China in 
 1856-7, Her Majesty sent for Commodore Keppel to Windsor, and 
 after dinner, taking him aside, she particularly recommended Prince 
 Victor to his care, adding, " For I love him as my own son." A 
 few days later, relating the interview to Lord Sydney, she said : 
 " Fancy my horror when Keppel assured me that wherever he 
 went, Victor should be with him — I knowing Keppel to be a, fire- 
 eater I" 
 
74 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 Even Keppel saw that it would not do. The matter 
 was, however, settled for him ; for the next shot tore 
 away the stern sheets of his galley, while he was, 
 fortunately, standing up with the tiller ropes in his 
 hand. ' Seymour, you must take me in,' and he 
 stepped from his sinking galley into the barge of the 
 Calcutta. All the other occupants of the galley were 
 also removed into the barge ; all except the mangled 
 corpse of the coxswain, and the favourite dog of the 
 Commodore, which had been accustomed to be 
 tended by that man, and would not leave his body. . . . 
 
 " Now the boats retired amid a sounding of 
 gongs, strange shouts of triumph, and a redoubled 
 fire. They retired to the Hongkong, which was 
 aground astern, but which, supported by the 
 Starling, threw shot and shell up among the junksr 
 and received from them a full equivalent for their 
 fire. 
 
 "The Commodore was waiting for reinforce- 
 ments, and for more water in the river, and, mean- 
 while, he piped to dinner. The men were getting 
 their rations, and were devouring them, when the 
 fire from the junks slackened. ' Three cheers for the 
 Blue,' cried a Raleigh boat that now came up. ' Man 
 the boats, lads ; those rascals are getting afloat.' Off 
 they go again, dinnerless, but in high spirits, and 
 under a fire so hot that the Calcutta's launch is sunk, 
 and Commander Holland has to scramble into 
 another boat. 
 
 " This time they find water enough in the narrow 
 passage, and, dashing through the shot, find the 
 enemy afloat and in movement. It has now become 
 a chase. These junks, manned by from sixty to one 
 
ADMIRAL SIR HENRY KEPPEL, G.C.B. 75 
 
 hundred rowers, go faster than our heavy boom- 
 boats can follow. But the shrapnel shell go faster 
 than even a snake junk. There are twistings in the 
 creek that are not shown in the chart, and, in follow- 
 ing these windings, pursuers and pursued often find 
 themselves side by side, with an interval of land 
 between them. They fire at each other across these 
 peninsulas, and the guns are so well served, and the 
 shells are so terrifying, that every now and then the 
 crews leap out and the junk is deserted. ' Push on, 
 push on ! ' Six miles this hot chase lasts, and there 
 are now but eight junks uncaptured ; when rounding 
 a sharp point, pursued and pursuers rush almost 
 together into the city of Fatshan. A Chinese town is 
 not. seen afar off ; the pagoda and the pawnbroker's 
 warehouses are the only high buildings. Three of 
 the junks escape, the other five are headed and are 
 abandoned. But the braves of Fatshan would think 
 it a shame that their five junks should be taken from 
 under their eyes. They turn out in martial array ; 
 they ring bells and beat gongs ; they come filing 
 down a fosse, so covered from view that only their 
 waving banners and their brandished swords and 
 shields are visible. ' We are terrible ; flee before 
 us ! ' they are supposed to sing or cry. Keppel has 
 his own way of settling these matters. He turned 
 his marines out of his boats, drew them up on the 
 margin of the suburb, and poured into the Fatshan 
 militia such a volley of Mini6 balls, that the Chinese 
 army went quickly back up its fosse again. He 
 proposed to land his howitzers and pass the night in 
 the city — a daring scheme, which might have pro- 
 duced a ransom of half a million of dollars, or utter 
 
76 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 destruction, as the fortune of war might incline. A 
 message from the Admiral, however, recalled him. 
 He had his five junks towed out before him, and as 
 he left the city, he stood up in the stern-sheets of his 
 boat and shook his fist good-humouredly, saying, 
 ' You rascals, I'll come back again to you soon ; ' 
 and those extraordinary Chinese, they, too, laughed 
 — a broad, good-humoured grin — and so they 
 parted. 
 
 " It was three o'clock when Commodore Keppel 
 returned to the flag-ship, which was now anchored 
 where the Chinese Admiral's junks had been moored 
 at the commencement of the engagement. As he 
 came down, his lost dog recognized the yellow 
 Raleigh boat, and swam off to his master."* 
 
 It was currently reported at the time (1857) ^^at 
 the Fatshan authorities were prepared to pay a 
 ransom of $6,000,000 ! At the exchange of the day 
 that would have been ^^i, 350,000. 
 
 1 now turn to the Admiral's departure from Hong- 
 kong in November, 1869, when H.M.S. Galatea's 
 barge and cutter — the former, manned by His 
 Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh and Ward- 
 room Officers, and steered by the Commodore, 
 Oliver Jones, took the Admiral, while the latter, 
 manned by the Gun-room Officers, escorted Lady 
 Keppel and children off to the P. & O. steamer 
 
 * " China : being the Times' special correspondence from China," 
 by George Wingrove Cooke, 1858. 
 
ADMIRAL SIR HENRY KEPPEL, G.C.B. 77 
 
 Salsette, en route for England, I would also 
 mention the farewell lunch offered Sir Henry by 
 his many friends at Singapore. The entertainment 
 was given in the offices of the P- & O. Company — 
 the room was handsomely adorned with flags and 
 flowers, while on the walls were the names, in large 
 letters, surrounded with laurels, of the various ships 
 he had commanded on the station during his long 
 service. The toast to the memory of his past 
 career in the East from the dSys when, in the 
 Magicienne, he was offered the hand of the daughter 
 of the Tumongong of Moar, to those when he 
 upheld the glory of the British Navy in the Dido, 
 Meander, Raleigh, and Rodney, was received amidst 
 enthusiastic cheering. " But we endorse the verdicts 
 of Yokohama and Hongkong," said the Chairman ; 
 " the Admiral never undertook what he did not 
 carry out, and a better passport to posterity, after 
 such a stirring life, no man need possess. Let us 
 drink long life and prosperity to the gallant sailor, 
 with three times three — and don't be afraid to bring 
 down the roof ! " 
 
 Thus did he retire from active service in that 
 glorious Navy he had so long adorned ; and, sur- 
 rounded by his numerous relatives and devoted 
 friends, he still enjoys the blessings of a vigorous 
 old age, and the affection and respect of all. 
 
©enetal Sir ©eorge aLegranb 5acoD, 
 1R.<X.S.5., C.3B. 
 
 George Legrand Jacob was born on April 24, 
 1805. At the age of fifteen he went to London 
 to study Oriental languages, under Dr. Gilchrist, 
 and, a year later, received a cadetship in the 
 Bombay Infantry and sailed for India. Arrived 
 in Bombay, he passed as interpreter in Hindustani 
 with unusual speed, and before long he passed also 
 in Marathi and Persian. He first served against the 
 Bheels in the Nerbudda. A year or two later he 
 was in the Kutch Field Force, and afterwards at 
 Ukulkat. After ten years of hard service, he took 
 leave for home, returning to India in 1835, having 
 in the meanwhile married, but his wife died soon 
 after. On his return he was employed in the 
 political service, and his labours were unceasing. 
 In Kattywar, with rarely more than one assistant — 
 and sometimes none — his duties combined every 
 administrative function over an area of some twenty 
 thousand miles. Wherever a difficult job was in 
 hand, and a man needed of elastic ability, he was 
 sure to be employed. It was his lot to suppress 
 insurrection ; but he was always ready to distinguish 
 
 78 
 
GENERAL SIR GEORGE LEGRAND JACOB. 79 
 
 between real lawlessness and childish turbulence, 
 as quick to stay his hand as to strike. 
 
 On one occasion, having to suppress inveterate 
 dacoity, he decreed that everj' robber caught red- 
 handed should be hanged on the first tree, and a few 
 executions put a stop to the crime, thus showing 
 that opportune severity was true mercy in the end. 
 The relations between him and the Bombay Govern- 
 ment were, as a rule, constant censure on their part, 
 and constant enforced withdrawal of that censure, 
 as they tardily discovered that he was right. At 
 times tension became so severe that he felt that he 
 could no longer endure it ; and then would come 
 some slight relaxation, just sufficient to keep him at 
 his post. 
 
 In 1846 he was sent to Sawunt-Waree, a little 
 State that had long been in chronic confusion — 
 robbing by land and pirating by sea. He found the 
 prisons full, and men picketed in the fields like 
 animals. In six years all was order. The bankrupt 
 State held up its head financially ; its currency re- 
 formed, its laws understood and enforced, and 
 British supremacy viewed as the guardian power to 
 be reverenced. 
 
 From Sawunt-Waree he was removed to Kutch as 
 Political Agent, and then to Sind ; but the con- 
 tinued hard work rendered some rest and change of 
 climate necessary. 
 
 He set out on a tour to the East, and among 
 
8o PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 other places came to Singapore, where I had the 
 pleasure of meeting him. This was in 1853. The 
 narrative of his acquaintance with Sir James Brooke 
 is here given in his own words : — 
 
 " Driven from India to rest from labour and 
 recover from fever, I found myself at Singapore — 
 a central position for travel over the Eastern world. 
 Party spirit, on the subject of Sir James Brooke, was 
 here raging. The editor of a local paper had styled 
 him a pirate, a wholesale murderer, an assassin, etc., 
 and had succeeded in raising personal ill-feeling by 
 publishing extracts from private letters that had, by 
 some means, fallen into his hands. 
 
 " I here became acquainted with Mr. , who, 
 
 seeing I was bent on travel, challenged me to 
 accompany him to Borneo, there to introduce me to 
 his friend Sir James Brooke ; a proposal that I 
 declined on finding it entailed the necessity of 
 becoming the Rajah's guest ; and not wishing to be 
 on such friendly terms with a man charged with crime. 
 
 " Mr. assured me that these charges were 
 
 without foundation, got up by persons bent on 
 injuring Sir James Brooke, and that I had only to 
 study the subject to be convinced of this. My 
 curiosity was excited, and, as the dry food of Blue 
 Books and official papers had long been my 
 pabulum, I availed myself of all the assistance 
 procurable, endeavouring to ascertain what real fire 
 there might be under so much smoke. I could, 
 however, find none — nothing, that is, affecting 
 character — and I was led to believe that there must 
 be hidden springs moving hostile hands. 
 
GENERAL SIR GEORGE LEGRAND JACOB. 8i 
 
 " Having so far satisfied myself, I accepted an 
 
 invitation from the Rajah, i-eceived through Mr. , 
 
 and we crossed the China sea together. On reaching 
 Kuchin, the capital of Sarawak, and being intro- 
 duced to Sir James, I began the conversation by 
 saying that, having studied his history as far as my 
 means permitted, I believed him to have been 
 maligned ; but feeling doubt on some points, I 
 should like, if he had no objection, to ask several 
 questions of which, while reading the papers on his 
 case, I had made note. 
 
 " Sir James replied that I could not grapple too 
 closely with him ; that few things would please him 
 more than to be searchingly questioned. 
 
 " On this I drew the paper from my pocket, and 
 went seriatim through the list. His answers on 
 every point were conclusively satisfactory, so that 
 I had then no scruple in enjoying his hospitality, 
 and cultivating his acquaintance." 
 
 Whilst this colloquy was going on, the Rajah 
 Mudah and others at the other end of the room, 
 having been informed by me of the cause, anxiously 
 watched the result. After some twenty minutes, 
 Jacob rose suddenly to his feet, clasped the Rajah's 
 hands in his own, and exclaimed : " By God ! Sir, 
 you are one of the finest fellows I ever met." 
 
 He thanked me, before them all, for my insistance 
 in bringing him to Sarawak. They were ever friends 
 to death. 
 
 From Sarawak, Jacob was sent to Australia, but 
 was safe back in Kutch in time to assist in the 
 
 G 
 
82 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 Persian Campaign, on returning from which he 
 found the great mutiny had broken out. Lord 
 Elphinstone, then Governor-General of Bombay, 
 despatched Legrand Jacob to Kholpore, the-chief 
 city in the South Mahratta country, where the 27th 
 Bombay Native Infantry was in mutiny, and had 
 closed the gates of the town against us. 
 
 At the head of a force, not too strong, Jacob 
 advanced against the enemy, arriving off the town 
 late in the evening. The next morning, at day light, 
 he assaulted it, and thirty-six of the mutineers being 
 convicted and condemned to death, the sentence 
 was carried out at once and on the spot, as a stern 
 example was needed to convince all of the folly of 
 armed opposition to Government ; the more espe- 
 cially as this was the first of its kind in Western 
 India. 
 
 Lord Elphinstone then extended his appointment 
 to that of Special Commissioner over the whole of 
 the South Mahratta country. The thanks of the 
 Governor, both in Council and privately, were warm 
 and full : " Especial thanks for the way in which 
 you upheld the honour of this army, proving, to all 
 around you what a British officer can effect by 
 gallantry and prudence in the face of the greatest 
 difficulties." 
 
 Notwithstanding such well-merited praise, he 
 found his name, and that of his officers, omitted 
 from the Parliamentary return of men engaged in 
 
GENERAL SIR GEORGE LEGRAND JACOB. 83 
 
 putting down the mutiny ; the Indian medal denied 
 them, and the crowning service of his hfe ignored. 
 Stung to the quick at this unexpected treatment, he 
 set himself to work to obtain justice, and, in the 
 end, won the medal for every soldier who had 
 served under him, or in connection with the out- 
 break in Western India ; and, to his surprise, he 
 was, in acknowledgment of his own work, ap- 
 pointed a Knight of the Star of India. 
 
 The fierce excitement of the Mutiny, following 
 on years of overwork, had completely ruined Sir 
 George's health, and he returned home in 1859, 
 after a continued absence of twenty-four years. 
 Asthma, bronchitis, and partial blindness kept him 
 confined to the house ; and, after much suffering, 
 the long-looked-for summons came, and on January 
 27, 1 881, he died, and was buried at Woking on 
 the 29th, 
 
 Legrand Jacob resembled, in many respects, his 
 first cousin John, Commandant on the North West 
 of the Bombay frontier ; both had the same force, 
 the same enormous energy, fearlessness, and con- 
 tempt for officialism, the same hatred of jobs land 
 jobbers, rapidity of stroke, and genius for con- 
 ciliating Asiatics. "You and your cousin John 
 deserve civic crowns for keeping both ends of our 
 Presidency quiet," wrote Bartle Frere to Legrand 
 Jacob, when our supremacy in India was shaking, 
 and when, though none doubted the end, men's 
 
84 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 hearts were failing them at the tremendous 
 cost. 
 
 Note. — The details of General Legrand Jacob's life, as given 
 above, are taken from a short memorandum published anony- 
 mously in 1881, a copy of which was sent to me as an "old 
 friend." 
 
Consulate imorft. 
 
 It must not be supposed that the work of Consuls 
 is entirely what may be called " office work." There 
 are occasions when they are called upon to take 
 certain responsibilities, which are often of a very 
 interesting nature. For instance, when I was 
 Swedish Consul, a vessel from Stockholm arrived, 
 which was chartered to load at Batavia within three 
 weeks. 
 
 Having landed her cargo, the crew refused to 
 do any further work, and insisted upon being dis- 
 charged. They were informed that they had shipped 
 for a voyage from home to home, and that their 
 request could not be entertained. This delay 
 threatened to oblige the captain to forgo the hand- 
 some freight from Batavia home, which was secured 
 to him by charter. It was necessary, therefore, to 
 take strong measures. I told the men that I would 
 not discharge them, as I should have, probably, to 
 send them home at a considerable public cost, for 
 they might not find employment before their money 
 was spent. They insisted upon their discharge. 
 The Superintendent of Police, who was a friend of 
 mine, agreed to assist me ; so we went down, with a 
 
 85 
 
86 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 number of policemen, to the ship, and each man 
 was asked whether he would do his duty or not ; 
 and each, as he refused, was placed in irons. I 
 then engaged a native crew to work the ship down 
 to Batavia, at the cost of the Swedish sailors, and 
 the Captain left for his destination. He informed 
 me, afterwards, that the day after they left Singa- 
 pore, the mutineers agreed to return to their work, 
 and everything went on to his satisfaction. 
 
 I reported the matter home to the Minister, and 
 also to the owners at Stockholm. I got a severe 
 reprimand, from the former, for outstepping all law, 
 with a request that I would be more careful in 
 future. From the latter I received a highly com- 
 plimentary letter, thanking me for what I had done, 
 and expressing a wish that all Consuls would as 
 efficiently protect the interests of their nationals. 
 
 On another occasion, I had been asked by the 
 Consul for Portugal, to act for him during his 
 absence. A few days afterwards a vessel, under the 
 Portuguese flag, arrived in harbour, and the Captain 
 requested that I should visit his ship, as there was a 
 mutiny on board. I proceeded there, and inquiring 
 into the matter, I found that two Malays, fine sailor- 
 looking fellows, had declared they would not work, 
 being dissatisfied not only with their food, but with 
 the way in which the work on board was carried on. 
 I told them that I should have to take them before 
 the Master Attendant and have them punished. 
 
CONSULATE WORK. 87 
 
 and ordered the mate to handcuff them wrist to 
 wrist, and, with the Captain, to make ready to come 
 on shore with me. Both the Captain and the mate 
 turned pale at this, and hesitated to carry out my 
 order. I repeated it ; and as the mate made a step 
 towards the men, they drew their knives. There 
 was nothing then for me to do, but to act ; so I 
 went up to the first man, asked him to give me his 
 knife, and he did so, I made the same request to 
 the other, who followed his companion's example. 
 I threw both knives over-board, and ordered both the 
 men to get into my boat ; they obeyed, and we 
 pulled ashore. 
 
 On examining into the case it was clear, to both 
 the Master Attendant and myself, that the complaints 
 of the men were to a certain degree justified ; so 
 they were fined, warned as to their future conduct, 
 and discharged. It so happened that the Govern- 
 ment steamer was in want, at that time, of sailors ; 
 and, shortly afterwards, going for a short trip, I 
 found, on stepping on board, these two men at the 
 side-ropes. They recognized me, and saluted, and 
 the Captain told me that they were two of the best 
 men he had on his ship. 
 
 As Dutch Consul, one morning, I received a tele- 
 gram from Batavia, informing me that a Dutch 
 prisoner had escaped from jail, and had left, on board 
 the French steamer, for Singapore ; and I was requested 
 to arrest him on his arrival, and send him back. 
 
88 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 It appears that a young Dutchman, in the Civil 
 Service, stationed in Sumatra, had an extravagant 
 wife ; and, to meet some pressing bills, he had taken 
 money from the treasury, intending to replace it as 
 soon as he possibly could. But, as usual, a surprise 
 visit took place ; the deficit was discovered, and he 
 was sent to Batavia to be tried. Whilst in gaol, a 
 friend had smuggled in the uniform of a Dutch 
 Officer ; and, dressed in this, the prisoner left and 
 went on board the French steamer, leaving the 
 following day. He was thus under the protection 
 of the French flag. 
 
 The next morning, a Siamese nobleman, who had 
 been sent to Java, on a special mission, came on 
 board to return to Bangkok, accompanied by several 
 Dutch officials and the French Consul. It having 
 become known, by that time, that the escaped 
 prisoner was there, a Dutch official asked the 
 French Consul to allow him to be arrested. This 
 was granted, but when a constable drew near to 
 take him in charge, he put his hand in the breast of 
 his uniform, as if to seize a pistol. So it was thought 
 better to leave him where he was, and telegraph to 
 me to do what might have been done there. A 
 policeman stayed on board with him. 
 
 On the arrival of the steamer at Singapore, I was 
 at the wharf with a warrant, and with authority 
 from the French Consul to carry out the arrest. I 
 was also accompanied by a constable and two 
 
CONSULATE WORK. 89 
 
 police peons. As the steamer touched the wharf, 
 the Dutch constable jumped on shore, and when I 
 made a sign to him, as if locking a door with a key, 
 he returned the compliment, as if he were firing at 
 me with a pistol. I stepped on board with my 
 escort, and, accosting the Captain, told him my 
 motive in boarding, and showed him the permit 
 from his Consul. 
 
 He said : " I am sorry that you have come upon 
 such a mission, as I am afraid there may be some 
 difficulty, for I have, this morning, returned to him 
 his loaded revolver, and he has declared that he will 
 not allow himself to be arrested." 
 
 I answered : "This puts a different complexion 
 upon the whole matter, and I shall have to carry 
 out the duty myself. Be so kind as to tell one of 
 the servants to show me his cabin." 
 
 This was done, and as I stepped to the door, I 
 saw the culprit, and the revolver, very prominent, in 
 his trousers pocket. I bowed. " Your name is so- 
 and-so, I think ? " He said : " No," and mentioned 
 the false name he had adopted. By this time I had 
 taken two or three steps forward, and was alongside 
 of him before he had put his hand on his weapon, 
 and I felt I was secure from any act on his part. I 
 then explained the reason of my unwelcome visit ; 
 my regret at having to perform such a disagreeable 
 duty, and suggested that it might be more pleasant 
 for himself if, instead of resisting, he would come 
 
90 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 quietly on shore with me as if I had been a friend, 
 and so avoid further scandal, I also mentioned 
 that I had help at hand. After a minute or two's 
 reflection he assented. I asked him to hand me his 
 revolver, which he did ; and then, having finished 
 his .toilet, and put his few things together, he took 
 my arm, and, followed by my police, carrying his 
 traps, we left the ship, to the evident disappointment 
 of some of the passengers, who expected, no doubt, 
 to hear the fire of the revolver, and behold an awful 
 tragedy ! I then took him to Her Majesty's gaol, 
 and, in due course, sent him to his destination. He 
 was, ultimately, sentenced to three years' imprison- 
 ment in the Samarang prison, where he became a 
 very expert shoemaker. 
 
Ube Cbinesc Secret Societfes. 
 
 It is well known that China is honeycombed by 
 secret societies, and that to whatever country the 
 Chinese emigrate, they carry with them the tenets 
 taught by these " Hoeys," as they are called. 
 Pickering, who was for a long time Protector of the 
 Chinese in Singapore, recognizes ten different asso- 
 ciations in Singapore, five in Penang, and three in 
 Malacca, which he estimates possess 161,300 mem- 
 bers, or about seventy per cent, of the Chinese 
 population. 
 
 The chief Hoeys in Singapore were the Teantay 
 and the Ghehok, which, as early as 1841, numbered 
 some ten thousand members. These, on initiation, 
 were, separately, sworn to observe certain rules and 
 regulations, of which some were : — 
 
 "You shall not reveal the proceedings of the 
 society to any but a brother. 
 
 " You shall not cheat or steal from a brother, or 
 seduce his wife, his daughter, or his sister. 
 
 " If you do wrong or break these laws, you shall 
 come to the society to be punished, and not go to 
 the authorities of the country. 
 
 91 
 
Q2 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 " If you commit murder or robbery against a 
 member, you shall be dismissed for ever from 
 the society, and no brother will receive you. 
 
 " If a brother commits murder or robbery, you 
 shall not inform against him, but you shall assist him 
 to escape, and prevent the officers of justice from 
 arresting him. 
 
 " If a brother is arrested and condemned, you shall 
 do all you can to assist his escape." 
 
 A number of signs, by which members might 
 recognize one another, were also communicated. 
 
 Some of these eighteen secret societies were un- 
 doubtedly harmless, mere charitable associations, 
 but these were few and unimportant. The others 
 formed an imperiiim in imperio, and were, 
 consequently, fraught with danger to the general 
 peace. 
 
 The riots in 1854, which will be hereafter alluded 
 to, were, undoubtedly, originated and maintained by 
 these societies ; and almost all the fights which sub- 
 sequently took place, in the streets of Singapore, 
 were due to the turbulent spirit which they fostered. 
 
 Between 1846 and 1885 there were probably as 
 many as twelve outbreaks, of which four were 
 serious. One, in 1854, lasted ten days, and cost the 
 lives of six hundred people and the destruction of 
 much property. Another, in 1863, lasted eight days, 
 but nobody was killed. In 1872, one lasted five 
 days, and no killed ; and in 1876 another, which 
 
THE CHINESE SECRET SOCIETIES. 93 
 
 lasted also five days, with the result that eleven 
 Chinese were shot. 
 
 The meetings of these societies were held in 
 temples on the outskirts of the town, or in the jungle 
 surrounding it. These societies were governed by 
 a council of officers selected from the various 
 Chinese tribes, of which the principal were the 
 Amoy, the Keh, the Taichoo, and the Macao. Euro- 
 peans, in their morning rides in the early forties, 
 frequently met members of these societies returning 
 from their meetings held in the jungle, and number- 
 ing many hundreds, if not thousands. 
 
 The first serious disturbance, in 1846, was occa- 
 sioned by the death of the chief of one of these 
 powerful societies. An application was made to the 
 magistrates to grant permission to bury the body in 
 a particular spot, which made it necessary for the 
 funeral procession to pass through the town. Per- 
 mission was granted, provided that the number of 
 followers did not exceed one hundred, and on the 
 condition that the procession passed through the 
 town in the direct line of road to the burial ground. 
 The heads of the Hoey acquiesced in this arrange- 
 ment, but the followers would not. They assembled, 
 in front of the temple at Rochor, to the number of 
 several thousands. The body of the deceased was 
 placed in the middle, and they declared their inten- 
 tion to pass through the town, staying in such streets 
 as they thought proper, to perform ceremonies. 
 
94 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 The police attempted to stop them, and the superin- 
 tendent, Captain Cuppage, and Mr. Dunman were 
 ill-treated by them. An express was then dispatched 
 for the troops, and these were placed at the head of 
 the principal thoroughfares, and lined the road, so 
 that the procession was prevented from passing 
 through any street, except by the direct road laid 
 down by the magistrates. 
 
 This partial yielding to the Chinese menaces 
 seemed to encourage them, and from that time they 
 began to prove troublesome, so much so that in 
 August, 1852, the Grand Jury made the following 
 presentment : — 
 
 "The jurors present the necessity of adopting 
 stringent measures to retain witnesses, in very grave 
 cases, until the trial of the prisoners, particularly 
 where Hoeys are concerned; as the jurors have 
 reason to believe that the witnesses are frequently 
 tampered with, and disposed of as the secret societies 
 may think fit and proper, consequently defeating the 
 ends of justice and encouraging crime. The jurors 
 beg to call your Lordship's attention to the oft- 
 repeated complaint against these dangerous secret 
 societies, and urge the necessity of ample authority 
 being given to the executive, in the new Police Act, 
 to put down effectually the growing power of a body 
 of men committing, daily, acts of daring, violence, 
 and injustice, treating with contempt the wholesome 
 laws of the British Settlement, and likely, if allowed 
 to remain unchecked, to seriously endanger the 
 peace and safety of the community." 
 
THE CHINESE SECRET SOCIETIES. 95 
 
 Matters remained much in the same state till May, 
 1854. When, in the autumn of 1853, the Chinese 
 rebels at Amoy, in China, were driven away by the 
 Imperial troops, numbers of them seized junks, and 
 made the best of their way to Singapore, and in such 
 crowds, that the number of immigrants that season, 
 instead of amounting to about eight to ten thousand 
 as usual, aggregated upwards of twenty thousand. 
 Most of them belonged to the secret societies, and 
 nearly all were of the three tribes, Macao, Taichoo, 
 and Amoy. They joined, in Singapore, the two great 
 Hoeys, Teantay and Ghehok, A quarrel soon arose 
 between these two, which, after smouldering for 
 some time, burst into a riot, the ostensible cause of 
 which was a quarrel about a trifle of five catties 
 (7 lbs.) of rice. Half-an-hour after its commence- 
 ment, the town was a scene of fearful confusion ; 
 the police confessed their inability to quell the riot ; 
 brickbats were flying about in all directions ; broken 
 heads were plentiful ; shops were pillaged ; and, had 
 it not been for the timely intervention of some 
 Europeans, serious consequences might have ensued. 
 This was on Thursday. 
 
 The night passed quietly, but the next morning 
 the town was again in a dreadful uproar, and fighting 
 was even severer than the day before. Europeans 
 were no longer respected ; the Governor was pelted, 
 had his hat knocked off by a brickbat, and was 
 obliged to beat a retreat. Mr. Frank, the Recorder's 
 
96 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 nephew, in attempting to rescue a Chinaman, was 
 knocked down and seriously injured, and several 
 others were roughly treated. Houses were pillaged 
 by the different parties ; the military were called out, 
 but were not allowed to take other steps than to 
 parade the streets, the Governor being averse from 
 shedding blood. 
 
 On the Saturday turbulence began again, and 
 European property was threatened. Seeing the 
 indecision of the Government, a deputation of mer- 
 chants, and others, waited upon the authorities to 
 urge them to take strong steps to put a stop to these 
 disgraceful proceedings. The Governor made light 
 of the matter ; said that he was able to quell the 
 riot with the means at his disposal, as not only 
 had he sent large numbers of convicts to assist the 
 police, but had requested captains of some ships to 
 act as constables. 
 
 The deputation objected to the employment of 
 convicts, as these had not been sent to the Settlement 
 for their previous good conduct, and might avail 
 themselves of the opportunity to plunder, and pos- 
 sibly assist the rioters. They said that if specials 
 were required, they were sure the whole community 
 would willingly offer their services. The Governor, 
 after some hesitation, accepted the offer ; and, at 
 half-past twelve, the whole European community, 
 to a man, was at the Police Office ready to be 
 sworn in. 
 
THE CHINESE SECRET SOCIETIES. 97 
 
 I was the first sworn in, and Colonel Butterworth, 
 the Governor, immediately requested me to proceed, 
 with one of the principal Chinese merchants, Kim 
 Seng, to call the headmen of the different Hoeys 
 together, and bring them to the Reading-rooms in 
 Raffles' Square. Taking half-a-dozen other special 
 constables with me, we, after a little gentle coercion, 
 collected some thirty of these rascals together, and 
 at half-past two there was a grand palaver. By three 
 o'clock a document was signed by all, binding 
 themselves to use their best endeavours to induce 
 both parties to keep the peace. I was then ordered 
 to take such number of constables as I required, and 
 accompany a Chinaman, named Moo Choon (a well- 
 known bad character), to proclaim peace through 
 the town. I thought eight men sufficient ; and, 
 with sticks in our hands and revolvers in our belts, 
 we started on our mission. Every hundred yards 
 or so the envoy shouted something in Chinese, and, 
 when we got to the end of the town, one of the 
 specials asked me if I understood, what he was 
 calling out. I said, "No, I do not." "But," he 
 answered, seeing that we were surrounded by 
 hundreds of Chinese, " suppose he was to call upon 
 these fellows to assault us." I said, " I can't help 
 that ; but you may depend that on the first hostile 
 movement, I shall shoot my friend. Moo Choon, and 
 take my chance afterwards." My friend retired, and 
 we continued our work to the end. 
 
 H 
 
98 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 On Sunday morning, all special constables col- 
 lected at the Assembly Rooms at half-past five, and 
 just before six o'clock we started in a body to parade 
 the town, headed by a busy little lawyer, who, with 
 a tall hat on his head and a roll of paper held con- 
 spiculously across his chest, constituted himself our 
 leader. 
 
 As we passed through the streets the Chinese were 
 busy at their breakfasts ; but it was easy to see that, 
 an immense number of them, had come into town 
 during the night, as the houses were crowded 
 For my part, I felt sure that serious rioting was 
 intended. On returning to the Assembly Rooms, I 
 went to two magistrates, and asked permission to 
 take a few constables with me, as scouts, to see and 
 report what was going on. I selected six specials 
 on whom I could depend, and started about 
 seven o'clock. The streets, were by that time, 
 swarming, and there was evidently a great deal of 
 excitement among the Chinese, but we did not see 
 any serious rioting, until we found out that the 
 rioters had scouts also, who, the moment they saw 
 us, gave notice, and at once all was quiet. At last, 
 about eight o'clock, having caught one of the spies, 
 we came to a street, called Lorong Teluk, where a 
 string of carts, loaded with furniture, was passing, 
 while a mob of Chmese, on the left-hand side, was 
 trying to pull the lading off them, and pelting the 
 drivers and others accompanying them with brickbats. 
 
THE CHINESE SECRET SOCIETIES. 99 
 
 We had only our sticks in our hands, but passing 
 under the lee of the carts, at a given word, we rushed, 
 under the bullocks' heads, in among the attacking 
 party. They did not long resist the unexpected 
 charge, but bolted into houses, and tried to slam the 
 doors in our faces ; we, however, were too quick for 
 them, and soon emerged, into the now quieted-street, 
 with twenty-six prisoners. At first we tied them two 
 and two, but the first couple bolted. I immediately 
 gave orders to tie the others, three and three, by 
 their tails, and then took them, easily enough, to the 
 police lock-up, close by. 
 
 This was the first skirmish of the day. 
 
 Shortly after, we met the main body of specials 
 on their way to Philip Street, where there was a 
 large Chinese temple, in which it was said that a 
 considerable body of rioters, some six hundred, were 
 ensconced. We found the temple gate shut, but, on 
 looking over the wall, we saw nobody in the court- 
 yard, and that there was only one bolt drawn across 
 the main door. I offered to go and draw the bolt if 
 thb- others would watch, and come to my help 
 should the Chinese rush out from the temple. I very 
 soon had the door open. On examination, we found 
 that the Chinese had disappeared, by a back exit, into 
 Macao Street. 
 
 At about this time the Governor rode up, and 
 having inquired what was going on, called me and 
 administered a severe reprimand, before all the other 
 
loo PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 specials, for running what he called " the risk of my 
 life," thus throwing a heavy responsibility on him 
 should anything have happened to me. About ten 
 minutes afterwards, happening to meet him alone in 
 another part of the town, he called me and told me, 
 in the words of an old song, " That he very much 
 approved of what I had done." 
 
 We had several other skirmishes till about eleven 
 o'clock, when we thought it was high time to have 
 some refreshment. Our offices being near the seat 
 of disturbance, we went to them for a brush-up, and, 
 very foolishly, left our revolvers and sticks behind 
 us when we went to breakfast, at a small hotel, close 
 by. As we were having a smoke afterwards, we 
 heard a great outcry in the street, and, running into 
 Philip Street, saw at the further end, close to the 
 temple, a large number of Chinese fighting with 
 swords, one in each hand. To go back for our arms 
 would have lost valuable time. There were several 
 people standing round. Englishmen and half-castes, 
 who, luckily, had sticks, and, as we rushed past, we 
 snatched them out of their hands, and charged into 
 the mob, hitting them over the head, face — any- 
 where ; and, before I knew where I was, I found 
 myself, with two others, tearing across the roofs of 
 houses, after Chinese who were bolting away in front 
 of us. Following them, we came down through a 
 house in another street, found our other companions 
 there, and secured about twenty prisoners. 
 
THE CHINESE SECRET SOCIETIES. loi 
 
 All the afternoon we were skirmishing about the 
 town, in various directions. At sunset, when the 
 Chinese generally retire for supper and the night, 
 our little band had captured over eighty prisoners, 
 and were pretty considerably knocked up. 
 
 Monday was a day of comparative quiet ; specials 
 were stationed at the corners of the chief streets, and 
 any appearance of disturbance was instantly put 
 down. In the country there was some severe 
 fighting ; a superintendent of police was blocked 
 in his station, and, after firing several rounds, 
 had to send for reinforcements. Sundry murders 
 were committed, by the rioters, in various parts 
 of the Island, houses burnt, and plantations 
 destroyed. 
 
 Tuesday myself and partner starting for town, we 
 were stopped by a report of a band of Chinese 
 marching along the Bukit Timat Road, with the 
 intention of forcing their way to Singapore. As, to 
 effect that purpose, they would have to pass through 
 a village a few hundred yards from our house, and 
 might set fire to both, we hastily returned, and 
 collecting our servants, gardeners, and Syces, armed 
 them as well as we could, and marched to meet the 
 rioters. We met them, after proceeding about a 
 mile, and, on seeing us, they spread into the jungle 
 on each side of the road, so as to outflank us, the 
 main body advancing to attack us in front. We 
 had, therefore, to retire, which we did, firing 
 
102 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 occasionally to check their advance and keep back 
 the most venturesome. 
 
 After retreating for about a quarter of a mile, a 
 European constable and a dozen policemen joined 
 us, and we again advanced, and drove the rioters 
 back to the fifth milestone, where they entered the 
 plantation of a Chinaman, and sent out a man to 
 demand a parley. It was then agreed that two of 
 them should go to Singapore to buy rice and see 
 their friends ; but as they had to pass through the 
 village close to our house, I was requested to escort 
 them so far. It was lucky I did so, or there would 
 have been a disturbance. As it was, we made the 
 villagers squat down, and so passed the men through, 
 though the language used to them was, probably, not 
 choice. 
 
 Wednesday, all appearing quiet in our part 
 of the island, I went into town, and, at the 
 police office, heard the report that, at a place 
 seven miles to the eastward, the Chinese had 
 barricaded the road, and had assembled in large 
 numbers. A party of troops was immediately 
 dispatched in that direction, and the Governor 
 desired my party to accompany them. We started 
 with fifty Sepoys, two officers, a magistrate, 
 myself and my six specials, and some others. 
 The Chinese had been murdering, burning, 
 and destroying in all directions, and committing 
 unheardof atrocities ; men were impaled and 
 
THE CHINESE SECRET SOCIETIES. 103 
 
 chopped to bits ; women had their breasts cut off, 
 and were tortured to death. 
 
 About six miles from town, we specials, took a 
 foot-path which enabled us to cut off some twenty 
 marauders who were returning laden with spoil. We 
 fired ; three dropped, and we pursued the others 
 through elephantg-rass as high as our chins, and, 
 probably, a few more got wounded. We then 
 rejoined the troops, and, after walking on for about 
 two miles, we came to what was called a barricade, 
 in a formidable position, and, just beyond, we sighted 
 the blackguards seated in front of a house. The 
 moment they saw us they fled, and the troops had 
 hardly time to throw in a volley. We found a large 
 quantity of food in the house, two puncheons of 
 samshu (a spirit), any quantity of pigs and fowls, and, 
 close by, a new house strongly stockaded. We burnt 
 this down, destroyed their "spiritual comforts," and 
 returned to town. 
 
 On this day — Wednesday — the Government, to 
 help pacify our part of the island, sent a lieutenant 
 and twenty-five Sepoys to our house, where the 
 latter were quartered in the billiard-room. 
 
 On Thursday morning, at half-past six, we heard that 
 the Chinese were again advancing from Bukit Timah, 
 in number about two hundred men, who, with muskets 
 and flags, were assembled at Ah Jeet's house, their 
 rendezvous on Tuesday. The troops, special 
 constables, and myself, started immediately, but the 
 
104 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 villains were too quick for us, and were off. The 
 house was surrounded, and, on entering it, we found 
 twenty men engaged preparing food for a couple of 
 hundred people at least, judging from the quantity 
 of rice and meat they were busy potting. Rum- 
 maging about, I discovered, behind some bags of 
 rice, several muskets, and, in another place, a good 
 supply of powder, bullets, slugs, and matches. In 
 the neighbourhood the enemy had burned several 
 huts, cut down nutmeg and cocoanut trees, and 
 committed other acts of violence ; and, as this house 
 had been the headquarters of the rebels, we liberated 
 the pigs and poultry and set it on fire, leaving a 
 proclamation, in Chinese, pasted up, stating that 
 further disturbances would lead to further punish- 
 ment. We then returned, with twenty-two prisoners, 
 getting home to a late breakfast. 
 
 By this time we were fairly knocked up, and, 
 luckily, so were the Chinese. They gave very little 
 further trouble, but during these disturbances, lasting 
 ten days, it was estimated that fully six hundred 
 Chinese had been killed, besides a large number 
 wounded, and three hundred houses had been burnt 
 or pillaged. 
 
 It must not be supposed, for a moment, that the 
 other special constables were idle during this time ; 
 on the contrary, they were fully employed on similar 
 excursions in other parts of the island. This is only 
 a record of the adventures of myself and party. The 
 
THE CHINESE SECRET SOCIETIES. 105 
 
 casualties, on the part of the Europeans, consisted 
 of one German, who died of sunstroke, and one 
 Eurasian, who had one of his fingers shot off. 
 
 The next serious riot was in 1863, when I was 
 called to the Police Office, as a magistrate, to assist 
 in suppressing it, I found there a number of 
 Chinese sitting down, and talking quietly among 
 themselves. I asked who they were, and was told ^ 
 that they were headmen of the Secret Societies, who 
 had been summoned, in case of necessity, to assist 
 the police. There were about twenty of them. I at 
 once suggested that they should be divided into two 
 bodies, and that they should be obliged to parade 
 the streets, four hours on and four off, from six 
 in the morning till ten at night. I was told that 
 such a measure could not be adopted ; so I wrote a 
 despatch to the Governor, Colonel Cavanagh, and 
 asked him to authorise me to carry out my plan. 
 This he immediately did ; and the next morning, at 
 six o'clock, I saw the first lot of them start on their 
 forced duty, accompanied by police, who were told 
 to keep them on the move. 
 
 They seemed to think it a joke at first, but the 
 next day they came to me and complained, not only 
 that they were tired and footsore, but that they 
 were kept away from their business. I told them 
 they had only to restore peace and quiet, and they 
 would be allowed to return to their homes ; but that, 
 in the meantime, until that was done, they would be 
 
io6 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 obliged to continue their unpleasant perambulations. 
 The third day they gave in ; but, before dismissing 
 them, I called them together, and having pointed 
 out the folly of their conduct, I addressed one man, 
 who had been particularly insolent, and warned him 
 that if I found him mixed up with any of these Hoey 
 riots in future, I should send a notice round the 
 town to inform the inhabitants, that at four o'clock 
 in the afternoon, a certain Wee-Kow (his name) 
 would receive, on the green in front of the Police 
 Office, two dozen strokes with a rattan on a certain 
 part of his bare body ; and I added, " You know I 
 always keep my word." An announcement appeared 
 in the newspapers, within forty-eight hours, to say 
 that Tan Wee-Kow had no further connection with 
 any secret society. 
 
 ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ -l/r 
 
 During these riots, when I was not on the magis- 
 trates' bench, I was generally stationed in the most 
 rowdy part of the town, at the chief market, close to 
 Philip Street and the Temple before mentioned, 
 where I had power over the disturbers of the peace 
 by closing the market, and stopping the supplies of 
 food. But I do not remember having been obliged 
 to resort to this stringent measure more than once, 
 and that for two hours only. 
 
 In the riot of 1872, the Government had recourse 
 to flogging, and triangles for that purpose were 
 erected all over the town, two being in my district ; 
 
THE CHINESE SECRET SOCIETIES. 107 
 
 but I had no occasion to use them, all was quiet 
 there. 
 
 I was once called to the Police Office, and found 
 the magistrate harassed and fatigued. Disturbances 
 had been going on for three days, and he had not 
 been able to check them. I asked him under what 
 section of the Act he had been sentencing prisoners. 
 He informed me " rioting," and he could only inflict 
 a few days' imprisonment. I looked lover the Act, 
 and found that assault could be punished with three 
 months' confinement ; but, by enforcing such a 
 sentence, I rendered myself liable to a suit at law for 
 false imprisonment, as a rioter could scarcely be 
 considered, legally, as committing an assault. To 
 avoid future complications, I sought advice from His 
 Honour the Recorder, and asked him what would be 
 the probable amount of damages. He told me : 
 " Under the circumstances, a farthing." I returned 
 to the bench and ruled, " That a rioter with a weapon 
 in his hand — stick, pole or spear^evidently intended 
 to commit an assault, and was liable to three months' 
 imprisonment. In a short time I had committed 
 about one hundred and fifty of these gentry to gaol, 
 and "peace ruled in the land':^ When this was 
 assured, the culprits were cautioned and dismissed. 
 
 I think it was during the disturbances in 1876, that 
 some twenty of these secret society headmen were 
 arrested and placed on board the Government 
 steamer, which was sent to anchor outside the 
 
io8 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 harbour. There was a strong north-east monsoon 
 blowing, and a heavy surge coming in from the 
 China sea. From the shore, we could see the vessel 
 pitching bows under, and rolling scuppers in the 
 water. The unfortunate iChinese were kept there 
 for forty-eight hours, and were then landed pale, 
 prostrate, and penitent. 
 
 In those days, there used to be a good deal of 
 flogging, but considering the sort of emigrants the 
 magistrate had to deal with (most of them sweepings 
 of the gaols and streets of Amoy, and other Chinese 
 cities), severity was absolutely necessary. Some 
 lenient magistrates would send a thief to gaol for 
 stealing a fowl. At the expiration of his sentence the 
 culprit, who had been very comfortable, wellfed, 
 and not over-worked, found starvation and other 
 evils staring him in the face ; so he stole two fowls 
 to ensure a longer pleasant captivity. Some other 
 magistrates, myself among the number, sentenced 
 the thief to receive a dozen stripes with the rattan ; 
 and, in our experience, we never knew a delinquent 
 come back for another dose. 
 
 The kind magistrate filled the prisons and fed the 
 hungry ; and, it was only some years later, after the 
 treadmill and crank had been introduced, that the 
 petty pilferer discovered that a sojourn in prison was 
 not " all skittles and beer." 
 
 It may be as well to mention here that these 
 floggings were not adtoinistered, as formerly in the 
 
THE CHINESE SECRET SOCIETIES. 109 
 
 Navy and Army, over the shoulders, but on that part 
 of the body lower down, which school-masters have 
 always considered meant, by nature, for that purpose. 
 To scarify the shoulders, which in Eastern countries 
 are rarely covered, inflicted undeserved disgrace, 
 and tended more to harden than to mollify, and 
 exposed, a repentant sinner, to galling remarks. This 
 is what any humane person would wish to avoid. 
 
 I had, however, a curious experience on one 
 occasion. When I was Chairman of the Visiting 
 Justices, a British soldier, for some serious mis- 
 demeanour, had been sent to the main prison. A 
 few days after he struck one of the warders. I was 
 sent for to investigate the case. The culprit's papers 
 were produced, and were found to be the worst 
 possible. At every station, in India or China where 
 he had been, he had been punished. Fines^ 
 imprisonments, floggings, nothing seemed to have a 
 deterrent effect. He seemed to glory in his iniquities. 
 Ordinary punishment would evidently be of no avail. 
 I determined to try a fresh " tack," as sailors say. 
 Addressing him, I said : " Your conduct, according 
 to your papers, has been disgraceful ever since you 
 joined your regiment ; no punishment seems to 
 soften you, and you have now committed the greatest 
 offence a prisoner can perpetrate. I shall no longer 
 consider you an English soldier ; you are a disgrace 
 to your cloth ; but I shall punish you as I would a 
 Chinese or a .native. You will receive two dozen 
 
no PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 strokes with the rattan to-morrow morning." He 
 tried to remonstrate ; I ordered him away, and the 
 next morning the punishment was duly carried out. 
 
 Some months afterwards I met the colonel of the 
 regiment. 
 
 " What on earth," said he, " did you do to 
 so-and-so ? — "naming the evil-doer. " Since his 
 return to the corps he is quite a reformed character; 
 quite another man. In fact, he is now one of our 
 best men." 
 
 I said, " Oh, nothing in particular. I am glad to 
 hear he has abandoned his evil ways." 
 
 "Well," retorted my friend, "at any rate you have 
 driven the devil out of him, and we can't understand 
 how you did it." 
 
 As I was not sure I had a right to punish the man 
 in the way I did, I kept my secret, on the plea that 
 " the least said the soonest mended." < 
 
 To return to the riots. On one occasion, when 
 the Chinese were not so much to blame, the out- 
 break was occasioned by the Superintendent of 
 Police endeavouring to clear the streets of itinerant 
 cooking shops. 
 
 The Chinese Coolies generally live in numbers 
 together in what are called " Congsee " houses, 
 and, as there is no cooking accommodation in 
 these, they are obliged to get their meals at outside 
 places. They generally have a breakfast early in the 
 morning, a lunch in the middle of the day, and a 
 
THE CHINESE SECRET SOCIETIES, iii 
 
 substantial repast at sunset ; and a large number of 
 their countrymen find a living by carrying about, on 
 a stick across their shoulders, a stove in a basket on 
 one end of it, and at the other end another basket, with 
 various tasty articles, consisting of fish, prawns, pork, 
 fat and vegetables. The coolies surround the cook, 
 and, sitting on their hams, produce their chop-sticks, 
 and have a bowl of rice placed in their hands, with 
 such other articles as they may wish to consume. A 
 breakfast would cost them about twopence, a lunch 
 a penny to a penny-halfpenny, and a dinner three- 
 pence. Of course, the number of these itinerant 
 cooks in certain parts of the town, where the coolies 
 most congregated, did, at certain times of the day, 
 cause obstruction ; but, as there was no great 
 traffic in those parts at any time, the public was not 
 injured or inconvenienced to any extent. How- 
 ever, the superintendent, a new broom, thought he 
 would suppress this nuisance (as he considered it), 
 and so forbade these cooks to carry on their business. 
 The Governor and the Colonial Secretary chanced 
 to be away at Malacca, at the time when this edict 
 was promulgated ; the natural consequence of it was 
 a riot among the coolies, who were thus deprived of 
 their usual food. After the disturbance had gone on 
 for some time, and no official seemed willing to 
 interfere or make inquiries, the Puisne Judge sent a 
 summons to all Magistrates to assemble at the Police 
 Office at twelve o'clock. Whilst they were in con- 
 
112 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 sultation, to their great surprise, a volley of stones 
 was thrown on the roof of the place where they were 
 assembled, followed by two other volleys. This 
 extraordinary proceeding of the mob called for some 
 inquiry, and going out into the front road, I saw a 
 European constable and a number of policemen 
 drawn up. I asked him whether he had seen the 
 rioters throwing stones. He had. I asked why he 
 did not act against them. He had no orders. I 
 volunteered to give him an order. He could receive 
 no order except from the Superintendent of Police. 
 I left him, and went to a side street which was full 
 of the said Chinese rioters, a marine constable, 
 Richards, and four peons accompanying me. We 
 walked towards the Chinamen, who threw a volley 
 of brickbats at us, when we charged and ran at them. 
 They, as usual, bolted ; but on turning into the next 
 street I found myself in the midst of them. By my 
 desire, Richards, the constable, who could talk a 
 little Chinese, called for the Towkay, and a middle- 
 aged Chinaman came, of whom I asked the cause of 
 all this disturbance. He explained it to me. I saw 
 the justice of the complaint, and I told him that if 
 he promised to keep his men quiet until I returned, 
 in about an hour, I would go and see what I could 
 do for them. He translated to the Chinese around 
 him what was proposed. They agreed to wait. I 
 returned to the Police Office, and made my statement 
 to the magistrates who were still sitting. The 
 
THE CHINESE SECRET SOCIETIES. 113 
 
 superintendent of police admitted the truthfulness 
 of it, and it was resolved to cancel the police regula- 
 tion. Some placards in Chinese were at once drawn 
 up, written out, and sent to be posted up in various 
 parts of the town. One copy I myself took to my 
 friend the Towkay, which he read to the people, and 
 they promised that no more disturbances should take 
 place. 
 
 The next morning, before six o'clock, I drove into 
 town to see whether the Chinese would keep their 
 promise or not, and to my astonishment, when I got 
 to the Police Office, I found the greater part of the 
 garrison, officers and men, assembled there. It 
 appears that some nervous Europeans had imagined 
 that the Chinese intended to attempt to pillage the 
 banks during the night, and had made such a fuss 
 about it, that the alarmed officials had sent out to the 
 barracks for armed assistance. The consequence 
 was that the soldiers were marched into the town. 
 The Colonel, who was present, was very angry 
 when I laughed, and told him that the whole thing 
 was a piece of nonsense. I asked him to come with 
 me, in my dog-cart, and I would drive him through 
 the streets, when he could see for himself that there 
 was no fear of any further disturbance. Accordingly, 
 we went through the part of the town usually 
 occupied by these cooking operations, and found 
 the streets crowded, but everything perfectly quiet 
 and orderly, the men feeding contentedly ; and many 
 
 I 
 
114 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 of them, who recognized me, giving me a happy 
 grin of satisfaction. 
 
 The riot was over, and the soldiers were marched 
 back to the barracks. 
 
 There were sundry other disturbances with which 
 I was mixed up as a magistrate, receiving afterwards 
 the thanks of the Government for the effective per- 
 formance of my duties. What I have stated will, I 
 think, be quite enough to give an idea of the troubles 
 we occasionally had to deal with, prior to the 
 suppression of the Chinese secret societies by His 
 Excellency the Governor, Sir Cecil Smith, in 1882. 
 
 It may be a matter of astonishment to some of my 
 readers, as it has often been of wonder to me, that 
 the Chinese should have allowed themselves to be 
 intimidated by a few Europeans, when they might 
 have easily driven us into the sea. This might have 
 happened had we shown the least timidity ; but they 
 had a wholesome fear of the " Fan-Qui," or " white 
 devil," which we maintained by taking the bull by 
 the horns ; and besides, after all, they had no 
 quarrel with us, and, I dare say, often wondered why 
 we could not allow them to settle their little 
 differences according to their own fashion. Be that 
 as it may, I have known a single European keep two 
 crowds from fighting by standing between them and 
 menacing them with his stick, first ofte and then the 
 other. I do not believe a Chinaman to be a coward. 
 The ever-victorious army under Gordon proved the 
 
THE CHINESE SECRET SOCIETIES. 115 
 
 contrary ; but, perhaps, they do not know their own 
 strength, and distrust each other, which would 
 account for a good deal. A Chinaman is by no 
 means weak, bodily, and, when drilled and led, makes 
 a capital soldier. He has no fear of death, but he 
 requires to be taught the use of his strength. 
 
 In support of this view I append the following 
 excerpt from The Globe, May 8th, 1900 : — 
 
 "THE WEI-HAI-WEI REGIMENT. 
 " Whoever may have instigated the attack on the Wei-hai- 
 Wei Boundary Commission, great gain unquestionably results 
 to both England and China. For the first time, the experiment 
 of raising and training a Chinese force for military service, 
 under the British Crown, has been put to sharp test with 
 complete success. Two possible risks must have occurred to 
 the commandant of the Wei-hai-Wei regiment, when the 
 camps were assailed, by, no doubt, largely superior numbers- 
 His men, scarcely inured to discipline, might either break 
 their formation, or give way to disloyalty. Happily, the 
 battalion proved both trustworthy and courageous ; standing 
 its ground as firmly as seasoned troops could have done, it 
 emerged from its baptism of fire in a highly creditable manner. 
 The fighting appears, too, to have been pretty sharp while it 
 lasted ; the regiment had five casualties, while the assailants 
 left thirty killed behind them when they fled. We have real 
 proof at last, therefore, that the raw material for excellent 
 soldiers largely exists in China, and that they only need 
 European organization, training, and leading to save the 
 tottering Empire from dissolution. The little force at Wei- 
 hai-Wei was not recruited from any particular section of the 
 population; it had to be raised locally from whatever materials 
 came to hand. It may be accepted, therefore, as fairly typical 
 
ii6 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 of what Chinese regiments might become if well armed 
 thoroughly disciplined, and commanded by ofificers in whose 
 pluck and intelligence the troops placed confidence. With 
 such an army as that at its disposal, the Pekin Government, 
 or, better still, the Viceroys of the different provinces, would 
 be in a position to proceed with the too-long-postponed work 
 of rehabilitating and consolidating the crumbling Empire of 
 which it has charge. In any case, the Wei-hai-Wei incident 
 must enlighten the popular mind in China as to the enormous 
 fighting resources which could be rendered both efficient and 
 available by re-modelling ,the whole military system on the 
 European pattern." 
 
Singapore Matet=Ximorfts. 
 
 In- 1858, a China merchant, Tan Kim Seng, 
 offered the Government of Singapore a sum of 
 $13,000, for the purpose of bringing a better 
 supply of water into the town. He stipulated that 
 the whole of this sum should be devoted to the 
 purpose specified, and that the works, when com- 
 pleted, should be taken charge of by the Government, 
 or the Municipality, and always maintained in an 
 efficient state. The Hon. Mr. Blundell, the Governor, 
 accepted this : " His offer is hereby accepted," he 
 says in a letter of January 8, 1859, "with warm 
 acknowledgments, and the assurance that the con- 
 ditions, imposed by him, shall be strictly carried out." 
 This was referred, as a matter of course, to the 
 Government of India, and in a dispatch from 
 Calcutta, from the Governor General in Council, it 
 is observed : 
 
 " It is obvious that the sanction of so expensive a work is 
 not in accordance with late orders from Her Majesty's 
 Government. Were these to be strictly followed in this case, 
 the only course open to the Government would be to repay 
 Tan Kim Seng the money which he has so generously con- 
 tributed, and to give up the work. But the Governor General 
 
 117 
 
ii8 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 in Council feels that this course would not be one creditable 
 to the Government after all that was passed, and he will explain' 
 to H. M's. Secretary of State, his reasons for permitting the 
 work to be undertaken." 
 
 The original plans for carrying out this work were 
 drawn up by Colonel Collyer, M.E., in 1862, at 
 an estimated cost of $58,000. These were put 
 aside soon after, and fresh ones made by Captain 
 Mayne, M.E., who reduced the outlay to $53,000, 
 This expense was sanctioned. 
 
 Matters dawdled on till July 20, 1865, when the 
 President of the Municipal Commissioners addressed 
 the following letter to the Colonial Secretary of the 
 Straits Settlements : 
 
 " I have the honour, by desire of my colleagues, to enclose 
 a copy of a letter, addressed by Mr. Wells, manager of the 
 Singapore Gas Company, referring to the distribution of drink- 
 ing-water, which, it is said, the Government is bringing to 
 town for public use. 
 
 " As the Commissioners are not officially aware of the inten- 
 tions of the Government, in the construction of the water- works 
 now in progress, we shall feel obliged if you will be pleased 
 to lay this letter, and its enclosure, before His Honour the 
 Governor, and solicit the favour of an expression of His 
 Honour's views and intentions on the subject." 
 
 On the 22nd of the same month the following 
 reply was received : 
 
 " Your letter. No. 1 2 1 , of the 20th inst., with enclosure, having 
 Jjeen submitted for the consideration of His Honour the 
 Governor, I have been desired to state for the information of 
 the Commissioners : 
 
SINGAPORE WATER-WORKS. 119 
 
 "First. — That, with reference to the circumstances under 
 which his predecessors accepted the liberal offer of the late 
 lamented Tan Kim Seng to contribute towards the construc- 
 tion of the works necessary to convey into the town a plentLEul 
 supply of pure water, His Honour is of opinion that it is 
 incumbent on the Government to afford the public the means 
 of obtaining water gratuitously at some central locality. 
 
 "Second. — That, with the above views, it is at present the 
 intention of the Government to continue the culvert connected 
 with the reservoir as far as the vacant space immediately in 
 front of Government Hill — now Fort Canning — where it is 
 proposed to erect a stand-pipe, water being conducted into 
 the hospitals and other Government establishments en route 
 and measures also adopted for securing a due supply for the 
 Government steamers. The stand-pipe at the foot of Govern- 
 ment Hill, as well as any others that may be erected along the 
 line of the culvert, will be open to the public. 
 
 "Third. — That, when the culvert is completed, the Govern- 
 ment will be prepared to place the works at the disposal of 
 the municipality, with the view of arrangements being made 
 for distributing the water throughout the town, either at the 
 expense of the municipal fund, or by means of a Company, 
 as may be deemed most advisable. 
 
 "Fourth. — ^That, should the municipality determine upon 
 distributing the water through the means of a Company, His 
 Honour is of opinion that, in addition to those already referred 
 to, the Company should be bound to erect stand-pipes for the 
 gratuitous issue of water to the public, in such quarters of the 
 town as may be considered most suitable ; and that the water, 
 on leaving the Company's works, should have a sufficient head 
 to admit of its being made useful in the event of fires." 
 
 The culvert, alluded to in the second and third 
 paragraphs, was built of brick, and was four miles in 
 
120 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 length, and several engineers, military and civil, 
 expressed openly their opinion that it would not 
 resist the strain put upon it ;* so that when, in July, 
 1866, it was proposed by the Government that the 
 Municipal Commissioners should take over the 
 works at the Buffalo Village, a mile from the "front 
 of Government Hill — now Fort Canning — " men- 
 tioned in the second condition in the letter of July 
 22, 1865, I, at that time a member of the munici- 
 pality, deemed it my duty to place the following 
 memorandum in the proceedings of that body : 
 
 " To accept the proposition would, in my opinion, be equiva- 
 lent to an unconditional acceptance of the water-works from 
 the Government, and would preclude the Commissioners from 
 any further action in the matter. Considering the large out- 
 lay involved in the conveyance of water to, and distribution 
 through the town, it is of the greatest importance that it 
 should be ascertained, by the most competent authorities in 
 the place, that the said water-works are equal to the strain 
 which may be put upon them. The plans are, I have no 
 doubt, efficient, and the execution of them excellent ; but 
 still, the commissioners are not justified in accepting them as 
 perfect, until they have taken measures to satisfy themselves 
 that such is absolutely the case, or the consequence to the 
 public may be far from satisfactory, and may lead to a very 
 serious outlay of the ratepayers' money. It would be far 
 better to delay the distribution of the water for a short time, 
 rather than run a risk so serious. When the works are finished 
 and ready for delivery, I venture to suggest, that a committee 
 of engineers should be appointed to survey and report upon 
 
 * The culvert did not resist the strain, but burst, and had to be 
 replaced by iron pipes. 
 
SINGAPORE WATER-WORKS. 121 
 
 them on the behalf of the Commissioners, and its decision 
 would not only exonerate the Government with the public, 
 but also exculpate the Commissioners with the ratepayers." 
 
 Captain Mayne on this resigned his seat at the 
 Municipal Commission, as he viewed my remarks 
 as a reflection upon his character as an engineer ; 
 but, on reconsideration, he resumed his seat at the 
 Board. 
 
 In a debate, in the Legislative Council, on June 
 27, 1870, His Excellency the Governor, in referring 
 to tlie water- works, observed : " I quite acknowledge 
 that the Indian Government did promise to bring 
 the water into town, and I have brought it 
 into town," that was to the Buffalo Village, 
 whilst the engagement with the said Government 
 was to bring the water to the foot of what was 
 then called "Government Hill — now Fort Canning" 
 — as already mentioned, a distance of nearly a mile. 
 
 After long discussions, a letter was received from 
 the Colonial Secretary, dated March 14, 1876, 
 informing the Municipal Commissioners that a sum 
 of ^^21,222 of the ;^.=;5,ooo, estimated to be the cost 
 of carrying the water through the town, would be 
 charged to them : 
 
 " This amount includes the whole distribution in the town, 
 commencing from the supply main from Mount Emily 
 reservoirs. It does not include the pumping main, valves, 
 or any portion of the works connected with either the high or 
 low-level reservoirs, nor does it include the cost of a high- 
 level reservoir, whence the water is always available for 
 
122 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 fires, and for which, strictly speaking, a contribution might 
 fairly be expected from municipal funds." 
 
 On March 24, 1876, the municipality paid to the 
 Government the amount of their demand, ^21,222, 
 or $101,356.90. 
 
 On July 20, 1878, the Municipal Commissioners 
 received the following letter from the Colonial Secre- 
 tary's office : 
 
 "I am directed, by His Excellency the Governor, to state, for 
 the information of the Municipal Commissioners, that at 
 present there stands, in the Colonial Treasurer's accounts, a 
 sum of $177,878.96 which appears as a liability by the 
 account (suspense account water-works), and request that you 
 will inform me what arrangements the Commissioners propose 
 to make for the adjustment of this account." 
 
 I was, at that time. President of that body. We 
 had a warm discussion on this additional claim. The 
 general opinion seemed to be, at first, that we should 
 have to pay ; but I gradually talked the Commissioners 
 round to my view of the case, which was that we 
 ought to fight, and the matter was placed in my 
 hands to carry through. The amount demanded 
 was thus stated by the Government, in a letter, dated 
 November 12, 1878. 
 
 Town Supply $119,797.18 
 
 Service Reservoirs . 
 Water Shed . 
 Town Supply in drought 
 Maintenance in district 
 
 32,717.64 
 
 20,975.54 
 
 2,052.54 
 
 2,336.06 
 
 $177,878.96 
 
SINGAPORE WATER-WORKS. 123 
 
 Towards this we had already paid ^^2 1,222, or 
 say $101,356.90. A rather sharp correspondence 
 ensued, which may be summarized by quoting a 
 paragraph of a letter from the Municipality, dated 
 April 9, 1879 : 
 
 "They regret they cannot at present make any definite pro- 
 posal for paying off a debt which is so undefined, the liabilities 
 having been raised from $101,356.90 to a fixed amount of 
 $125,541.65, with a probable further claim of $53,337.31, or an 
 additional demand on their resources of $76,522.16. Until 
 the apportionment of these claims is definitely settled, the 
 Commissioners are unable to submit any final proposal for 
 the liquidation of this debt." 
 
 Whilst this correspondence had been going on, I 
 had caused a pamphlet to be drawn up, containing 
 all the correspondence which had passed between 
 the Government and the Municipality, since Tan 
 Kim Seng had made his liberal donation in 1858, 
 with the following preface : 
 
 " The question of the proportion of the cost of the water- 
 works which will be borne by the municipality, has reached 
 a phase which renders it advisable that the ratepayers should 
 be informed as to what has passed on the subject between the 
 Government and the Commissioners, up to the present time. 
 
 "The following papers are, therefore, published in order 
 that those interested may be able to form an impartial 
 opinion on a point of considerable importance to the 
 public. — ^April 30, 1879." 
 
 On July 25, 1879, a letter from the Colonial 
 Secretary informed the Commissioners that the Secre- 
 tary of State for the Colonies, having called for 
 
124 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 further information respecting the amount to be 
 paid by the Municipality in respect to the water 
 supply, the whole question with regard to the liability 
 of the Municipal Commissioners to the Government 
 would be referred for his decision; and I was 
 requested, if I had anything further to say upon the 
 question, to forward it at once, as the whole of the 
 papers were going home by the mail. 
 
 In reply, I sent him a copy of the pamphlet, with 
 the request that he would forward it, together with the 
 other papers, for the consideration of the Secretary 
 of State. 
 
 On December 31, 1879, the Municipal Commis- 
 sioners were informed by the Colonial Secretary that 
 the Secretary of State for the Colonies had decided 
 that the sum to be paid by them for the cost of the 
 water-works would be ;^2i,222 — or $101,356.90 — 
 and no more. 
 
 At the foot of the "official" copy of the pamphlet 
 I subsequently added : 
 
 "For 'twas a famous Victory I" 
 
Sailore' Ibomc. 
 
 In the course of time, as civilization spread its wings 
 over the Settlement, it was suggested by some 
 philanthropist to establish a Sailors' Home, for the 
 benefit of that happy-go-lucky race of men who are, 
 certainly, as " absent-minded " as "Tommy Atkins.'' 
 
 A committee was formed, a superintendent 
 engaged, premises were hired and furnished ; the 
 Resident was elected President, and my humble 
 self nominated to act as secretary. 
 
 When I accepted that honourable position, I little 
 thought of the prospect before me, and of the 
 responsibilities which would fall to my share, or it is 
 more than probable that I should have declined with 
 thanks ; but, having once put my hand to the 
 plough, I did not intend to look back. 
 
 The superintendent, an ex-master in the navy, was 
 a well-intentioned man, fussy and noisy and nervous 
 withal ; rather too much of a martinet for the 
 common commercial sailor, and too ready to give 
 way before opposition ; from which unfortunate 
 combination arose frequent disagreements, which 
 required a good deal of tact and trouble to smooth 
 over. 
 
 125 
 
126 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 Then there was the virulent opposition of the 
 taverns, grog-shops, and stews, which flourished 
 under the spirit-farmer, and which help to deteriorate, 
 to a fearful extent, the health and morals of " poor 
 Jack." 
 
 The liquids which were sold in these places were, 
 most of them, of the vilest description. Brandy was 
 defiled with tobacco juice, and red chillies were 
 inserted to give the spirit pungency. I know the case 
 of the boatswain of a man-of-war, who drank only 
 one glass of one of these concoctions, and was ren- 
 dered mad-drunk, it being more than a week before he 
 was again fit for duty. On another occasion, on the 
 other hand, I was one of six in a warehouse which 
 was on fire. We could get no water, so we opened 
 a case labelled " gin," and, by way of experiment, 
 threw a bottle from it into the flames. To our 
 surprise it made a black hole, and we actually pelted 
 the fire out with this so-called " Hollands." 
 
 Most of these shops were kept by natives, such as 
 "Madras Bob" and "Jolly Chow," a Chinese ; but 
 some were run by low-class Europeans. Of course, 
 their little game was to try and persuade the police 
 and the public that the Home was a disorderly 
 place ; and so, soon after it had been opened, they 
 used to make men drunk, and then send them to 
 that establishment to make a row and create a 
 disturbance. 
 
 If the superintendent interfered, he was abused, 
 
SAILORS' HOME. 127 
 
 and that not in the choicest language. If he 
 attempted to drive them out of the " compound," 
 there was a iight ; and, when the police intervened, 
 the magistrate was assured that the sailors in the 
 Home were the aggressors. 
 
 These frequent disputes created unpleasantness. 
 The Resident felt his respectability at stake, and so 
 did other members of the committee, and it was 
 with difficulty that they could be persuaded to 
 remain on duty ; whilst the superintendent and I 
 were blamed for not putting an end to these 
 scandalous proceedings. 
 
 But I was only biding my time, and at last the 
 opportunity came. One day I met, in the street, a 
 fine-looking Scotch sailor, who told me he was 
 looking for employment, having lately been ship- 
 wrecked. He had been offered a passage home by 
 his captain, but he wished to stay a little longer in 
 the East. He was about six feet high, with a 
 magnificent chest and shoulders, and a bright 
 determined eye. I offered him the berth of boat- 
 swain to the Sailors' Home, if he could get a good 
 character from his captain. It was a capital one in 
 every respect, and he was, at once, installed in office. 
 Then a change came " o'er the spirit of the dream." 
 A few days after, a well-primed sailor came, as was 
 the custom, at eight or nine o'clock at night, to have 
 a game of "tantrums." To his astonishment, 
 Campbell, our boatswain, took him by the scruff of 
 
128 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 the neck, and, without saying another word, chucked 
 him over the wall of the compound, which was about 
 four feet and a half high. The man, possibly 
 astonished, quickly picked himself up and ran for it, 
 sobered for that night. Several attempts were after- 
 wards made, sometimes with two or three rowdies, 
 but they were always repulsed successfully, till at 
 last, furious, five of them, more or less drunk, 
 determined to pay out the Scotchman. 
 
 Now, Campbell never allowed any of the inmates 
 of the Home to interfere in his police arrangements. 
 So, on this occasion, he stepped out alone to meet 
 his adversaries. The encounter was short but severe, 
 he floored them all, one after the other, and having 
 pitched them over the wall, as was his usual custom ; 
 he summoned the police to look after them, two 
 being conveyed to hospital. 
 
 Peace then reigned in the Home, and the institu- 
 tion became a success. It must not be supposed 
 that our worthy Chairman and committee were aware 
 of these stringent measures. Campbell's vigorous 
 action was known only to the superintendent, myself, 
 and the police, and sometimes also to the Magistrate 
 on the bench. 
 
 There was only one " field-day," after that, worth 
 recording. The Home at starting did not secure the 
 support from the public which had been anticipated, 
 and it ran into debt. The probable reason was 
 the report spread of the want -of discipline there 
 
SAILORS' HOME. 129 
 
 prevailing. 'At any rate, a theatrical performance was 
 inaugurated to raise the necessary funds. This was 
 largely patronized by all, from the Governor down- 
 wards, and the Hall was crowded. The play was in 
 full swing when I heard shouting outside, and at 
 once, as was my duty, proceeded to ascertain the 
 cause, shrewdly suspecting the nature Of it. Effec- 
 tively, there were three men roaring drunk, or mad 
 with drink, in the middle of the road, in front of the 
 theatre, making no end of a row, shouting and 
 abusing everybody. Seeing a couple of European 
 constables, I requested them to put a stop to the 
 disturbance. They declined to interfere, giving as 
 an excuse that they were on duty in attendance on 
 the Governor's carriage. One of the rowdies, seeing 
 me, made the best of his way towards me, and 
 swaying himself in front, began to abuse me in the 
 vilest and most opprobrious language, defying me to 
 fight him, and putting his closed fist within an inch 
 of my nose. I remained quiet, looking him full in 
 the face ; of this he did not seem to approve, and 
 so, leaving me, he indulged in a dance and roar a 
 little further on. I then addressed the constables, 
 telling them that whatever might be the duties on 
 which they were supposed to be engaged, the public 
 peace was that, which concerned them most ; and 
 that, seeing a gentleman so grossly abused and 
 insulted as I had been, they should have, at once, 
 interfered. "The fact is," 1 added, as I turned 
 
 K 
 
I30 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 towards the theatre, " you are afraid," I had not 
 taken three steps before I heard a crack, and, looking 
 round, I saw my reprobate on the ground, and the 
 other two in the hands of the constables. They 
 were forthwith taken to the lock-up. The next day 
 they had an interview with the Magistrate, and so 
 had I, with the result that they were at peace with 
 the whole world for a week, and I heard no more of 
 them. 
 
®pfum Cttppets. 
 
 Between sixty and seventy years ago a new style of 
 vessel made its appearance in the China seas. 
 Formerly our ships, trading with this country, took 
 advantage of the fair monsoons to visit the Chinese 
 Empire, or rather that very small portion of it 
 which consisted of the Port of Whampoa, near 
 Canton ; otherwise, instead of beating up and down 
 the China Sea, they were obliged in the north-east 
 monsoon to make the tour of Borneo in order to find 
 fair winds to carry them on their way, which was 
 called the "east about route," and consumed much 
 time and patience. 
 
 In January, 1832, a vessel called the Red Rover, 
 commanded by Captain Clifton, started from Calcutta, 
 and, touching at Singapore, plunged into the un- 
 known terrors of a strong north-east monsoon, in 
 the hope of reaching Whampoa in due time. Bets 
 were heavy as to whether she would reach her desti- 
 nation or not. 
 
 One morning, about a month after her departure 
 from Singapore, the mercantile community was 
 thrown into a state of considerable excitement by 
 the appearance of a crippled vessel, flying a 
 
 131 
 
132 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 St. Andrew's white cross on a blue field — " Jardine's 
 private flag." Her main-top-gallant mast was gone ; 
 the fore top-mast, evidently a jury one, had a royal 
 set for the top-sail. The mizen mast looked all 
 askew, and, in fact, the "bonnie barkie" was a 
 wreck. Of course, the "I told you so" were 
 triumphant. " Impossible, we knew it." Their 
 opponents were as dejected as the others were 
 jubilant. 
 
 Meanwhile, Captain Clifton came on shore to break- 
 fast with his agent. The worthy skipper's face was a 
 picture of melancholy. He was limp with fatigue. 
 He threw his hat on a table, tumbled into a chair, 
 and seemed as if about to burst into tears. His host 
 and others tried to cheer the mortified mariner, who 
 refused to be comforted ; but, like many others on 
 similar occasions, he rather overdid his part. A 
 suspicion was raised in the mind of one of those 
 present, who, quietly rising from his seat, went into 
 the verandah and examined the cast-away hat, with- 
 drawing from it a Macao newspaper only a week old. 
 The "gaff was blown," as the vulgar expression is ; 
 the secret was out, and the wily captain burst into 
 a hearty laugh. 
 
 He had beat up against the monsoon in eighteen 
 days without losing a spar ; all the ravaged look of 
 his vessel was a comedy, and the " I told you so " 
 party, frightfully "sold," suddenly collapsed. 
 
 The end of the Red Rover was sad. After many 
 
OPIUM CLIPPERS. 133 
 
 adventurous but successful voyages, she disappeared 
 in the Bay of Bengal. Following this leader, numer- 
 ous other "clippers," as they were called, all devoted 
 to the opium trade, were launched in India, or 
 obtained elsewhere. In a short time there were four 
 distinct classes of them, if the term may be used, 
 according to the places where they were built — 
 Calcutta, Bombay, England, and America. Each 
 was excessively jealous of the other, and a good deal of 
 "brag" was occasionally heard as to the respective 
 merits of the different craft. But there was one 
 thing certain, and that was that the captains and 
 officers were as fine a set of sailors as ever trod a 
 quarter-deck. 
 
 They were not large vessels — four hundred tons 
 being about the size of the largest — but the way in 
 which they were masted and sparred was a "caution." 
 As an example, it may be mentioned that the main- 
 yard of the Water Witch, a craft of three hundred 
 and seventy tons, measured sixty-five feet, and 
 other spars were in proportion. They could easily 
 be distinguished from the ordinary craft, met at sea, 
 by the squareness of their rig, and the towering 
 quantity of canvas they carried. It was astonishing 
 to count the sails they spread to the wind. Sky- 
 sails and moon-sails and endless stay-sails were 
 theirs ; royal studding-sails and ringtail rovers, any- 
 thing and everything that would catch a breath of 
 air in light winds. At the same time they faced 
 
134 PI^AY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 heavy gales, braved typhoons and cyclones, and 
 boldly navigated unsurveyed seas, with charts, best 
 described by Keppel, when he wrote, in 1843, " I 
 actually sailed, by the last Admiralty chart, eighty 
 miles inland, and over the tops of mountains." 
 
 Passages had to be made ; the Rover was in front, 
 the Sylph close behind, and it would never do to be 
 beaten by them ; so it was a case of " carry on " to 
 the very last, and the consumption of spars and 
 canvas rejoiced the hearts of the ships' carpenters 
 and chandlers. The agents at the ports where these 
 clippers called — Singapore for instance — always had 
 spare masts and yards ready. Lower masts were 
 whipped out^ and replaced "at the shortest notice," 
 for delay could not be brooked. The crews of these 
 " dare-devil " craft numbered from sixty to eighty, 
 and were expected to be ready, at any moment, to 
 take in or make sail, as the wind freshened or fell 
 off , or the squall rose or abated. There was not a 
 bad-looking craft among them ; all were kept like 
 yachts, and were the pride of their Captains' hearts. 
 
 Their names became household words, for, in 
 those days, when mails, out and home, were depen- 
 dent on these "canvas-winged messengers," the 
 favourites were backed, as horses are on a race- 
 course, and the Captains even more so than 
 their ships, as is also the case with jockeys. These 
 noble sailors never seemed to sleep^ — at any rate, not 
 at night. The China Seas, during both monsoons. 
 
OPIUM CLIPPERS. 135 
 
 the Straits of Malacca at all times of the year, and 
 sometimes the Bay of Bengal, required constant 
 courting of the bashful zephyrs, and night was the 
 time to move. Bed was often unknown from Canton 
 to Calcutta, or vice versa ; but passages had to be, 
 and were, made. The captain's pay was good, and 
 chances of making money fair. Many of them 
 retired in comfortable circumstances, and some 
 few are still enjoying the quiet evenings of their 
 days ; but, alas ! the greater number have "joined the 
 majority." 
 
 It is a pity a complete list of these craft is not at 
 hand, for memory fails. to record more than a score. 
 Of the Calcutta division were the Red Rover, Sylph, 
 Water Witch, Rob Roy, Ariel, Cowasjee Family, 
 Kelpie, Antonio Pereira, and Poppy, with her saucy 
 flag, " Put that in your pipe and smoke it !" From 
 Bombay came Sir Herbert Compton, Lady Grant, and 
 others. England contributed the Anonyma, the 
 Mor, the Audax, Anna Eliza, Mischief, Lanrick, 
 Nymph, etc. ; whilst America sent out the Antelope, 
 the Eagle, Coquette, and a number of schooners, 
 whose names are now lost "in the whirl of time." 
 
 And why should the bold captains be forgotten ? 
 There was Harry Wright, who succeeded Clifton in 
 the Red Rover; handsome Reynell of the Water 
 Witch ; Young, Methven, and Alston of the Mor ; 
 White, and Crockett of the Lanrick ; Warden, and 
 McDonald of the Sylph ; Durham of the Cowasjee 
 
136 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 Family ; Vaux of the Anonyma and Audax ; Grain- 
 ger of the Anna Eliza ; Prescott of the Eagle; 
 Eldridge of the Coquette ; and last, but not least, 
 Dumaresque of the Antelope. 
 
 Of the vessels named, the Water Witch and Antelope 
 alone died of ship's "old age ;" the Ariel and Ardaseer 
 were burnt ; the Rover, Coquette, Lady Grant, Anna 
 Eliza, and Kelpie disappeared in gales or typhoons 
 in the Bay of Bengal or the China Sea. The 
 Anonyma, Audax, and Rob Roy were wrecked ; and 
 the Sylph was taken by Chinese pirates, plundered, 
 and burnt. 
 
 Connected with the opium trade is a story worth 
 recording, as it was only a harmless joke. The editor of 
 a new Singapore paper (the Straits Times) established 
 in 1846, boasted that he had the earliest information 
 of every possible event. This was not, however, 
 the opinion of his readers. One day he announced 
 that he had received certain news from a Calcutta 
 opium clipper, which had passed through the harbour 
 without anchoring, as to the result of the recent 
 opium sale ; but, as the captain of the vessel had 
 requested him to observe secrecy, he could not 
 reveal the tidings until after the arrival of the next 
 clipper. Now in those days the opium market was 
 carefully watched, and, as the movements of vessels 
 passing between Bombay or Calcutta and China 
 were pretty well known, it was thought very unlikely 
 that the vessel, which had communicated this 
 
OPIUM CLIPPERS. 137 
 
 wonderful intelligence, could have had the news of 
 the opium sale, as she must have left Calcutta before 
 the time it had taken place. Two days afterwards 
 the Antelope — Captain Dumaresque — from Bombay, 
 passed through the harbour on her way to Hong 
 Kong, having left before the news of the sale could 
 have reached the former port ; and, as a few of the 
 merchants were admiring her, one bright genius 
 proposed to "sell " the editor. The idea was highly 
 approved, and a note was drawn up purporting to be 
 written by the captain of the Antelope, with the result 
 of the opium sale, but signed Dumaresk. The prices 
 quoted were three hundred rupees over the probable 
 rate of prices ; and the misspelling of the captain's 
 name would, probably, not have misled anybody but 
 our over-active and conceited editor. A sharp sam- 
 pan boy was called, and his part explained to him . 
 He jumped into the water, gave his clothes a squeeze, 
 and ran breathless, with the missive, to the editor's 
 office. The latter opened the letter, gave five dollars 
 to the boy (who "bolted" at once), rushed to the 
 printing press, and announced to his astonished 
 readers that he had been placed, through the kind- 
 ness of Captain Dumaresque, in possession of the 
 result of, &c., &c. The sampan boy ran back to the 
 conspirators, who, adding a few more dollars to his 
 store, sent him away to Pulo Damar — his home — for 
 a fortnight. In the meantime they sent round to all 
 the offices of any who might be interested in the 
 
138 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 opium market, to inform them of the joke, so that 
 no false speculation could take place ; and when the 
 famous intelligence was issued, all were prepared to 
 laugh. 
 
 The editor, furious, by inserting the following 
 paragraph in his paper, made the jest all the more 
 appreciated ; and the writer of the original letter 
 went to see the " forged note," and to earn the fifty 
 dollars reward, if he could recognize the writing, 
 which, of course, he could not. 
 
 "THE LATE OPIUM SALE. 
 
 "In a postscript to our last issue we inserted what pur- 
 ported to be an account of the fourth Calcutta opium sale, 
 addressed to us with the signature of Captain Dumaresque, of 
 the Antelope. In our anxiety to maintain the character of our 
 journal for early intelligence, we gave insertion to the note 
 that had been received by us at an early hour. Having ex- 
 perienced kind favours at the hands of Commanders of 
 American vessels, we were led to believe that the note in 
 question was genuine. We, subsequently, showed the letter 
 to Mr. Balestier, the American Consul, who at once pronounced 
 the document to be a forgery. From this circumstance the 
 note appeared to be a hoax, apparently vwitten by some one 
 in Singapore, for the purpose not only of deceiving us, but 
 also of misleading the public. The affair, although perpe- 
 trated as a hoax, is a much more serious matter than the 
 writer, in his ignorance and effrontery, suspected ; and under 
 the old law, if proved against him, it would subject him to 
 what he deserves — the gallows. In the present state of the 
 law the author of a forgery is liable to transportation for life — 
 an amount of punishment richly deserved. 
 
OPIUM CLIPPERS. 139 
 
 " We have endeavoured to trace the note in question to the 
 source whence it germinated, without, at present, success ; 
 but we do not yet despair of discovering the scoundrel whose 
 villainy suggested the hoax. To facilitate the inquiry, we 
 hereby offer a reward of fifty dollars, payable on conviction 
 of the party. For the information of the public, as well as 
 to aid in the detection of the offender, we also notify that the 
 forged note is open to inspection at our office. 
 
 " We are led to adopt the above course, not only on account 
 of the enormity of the offence committed, but also in justice, 
 not merely to Captain Dumaresque, but to all Commanders of 
 American clippers, from whom we have invariably received 
 every kindness, and a promptitude in conveying information 
 worthy of the gentleman-like conduct and spirit of the worthy 
 Commanders of American opium clippers." 
 
 The editor soon learned all about the plot, and 
 did not attempt to raise another laugh against him- 
 self by trying to prosecute anybody ; and, what 
 probably he liked best, he saved his fifty dollars. 
 
lacbtfng. 
 
 I. 
 
 Under the circumstances of weather and locality 
 already described in the opening chapter, yachling 
 was much in vogue, before the days of mail steamers 
 and electric telegraphs, at Singapore. At one time, 
 in the thirties, there were at least a dozen yachts of 
 one kind or another, belonging to residents, Mr. 
 Bonham, the Governor, encouraged the sport ; and, 
 as his opponents were chiefly among the merchants, 
 he named his boat Jenny-Dang the Weaver. There 
 was also a Maggie Laurie and a Radical, Later on, 
 there was a Coquette, a Claymore, a Happy-go-Lucky, 
 and others. 
 
 When I arrived at Singapore, in 1 841, a gentleman 
 of the name of Joseph Wise, had started native 
 games on each New- Year's Day, a custom which has 
 been kept up to the present time. There were 
 sports on shore, and sports at sea. I generally 
 patronized the latter, and, in fact, for many years, 
 directed the proceedings. Native boats were 
 especially encouraged — Malays, Klings, Chinese, &c., 
 &c. The Singapore Malays are natural-born 
 sailors ; and the pluck with which they "carried 
 on," claimed the admiration of all nautical men. 
 
 140 
 
YACHTING. 141 
 
 Their crack boats, called sampans, were about 
 forty feet long, eight to ten feet broad, and perhaps 
 two and a half feet deep. They generally had two 
 or three short masts ; but the latteen sails hoisted 
 thereon were a "caution." They carried large crews, 
 and when the breeze was strong, these men would 
 hold on to ropes fixed to the mast-heads, and, stand- 
 ing on the sides of the boat, perform the part of 
 living ballast. 
 
 On several occasions I have seen half-a-dozen of 
 them turn over. The crew, swimming like fish, 
 immediately unshipped the masts, which were merely 
 fastened with rattans ; shook the water out of the 
 boat ; set two men to bale ; replaced the masts, 
 secured them ; hoisted sail, and were off again in a 
 few minutes' time, looking on the whole matter as a 
 huge joke. These boats were very fast, and to see 
 half a dozen of them racing in a smart breeze was 
 truly exhilarating. 
 
 There were many places round Singapore which 
 were frequented by yachtsmen. When ladies were 
 of the party, St, John's was often the rendezvous. 
 It is about six miles from the landing-pier, with a 
 beautiful sandy beach to walk upon. Sportsmen 
 went to Pulo Sikra, where they generally enjoyed 
 some very good wild pigeon shooting. The more 
 venturesome went to the Carimons, thirty miles 
 away to the West ; some to the Hosburgh Light, or 
 Point Romania, thirty-five miles to the East. 
 
142 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 Bulan Bay, on the opposite coast of Battatn, 
 fifteen miles distant, was also a favourite spot. 
 
 Round the island, about seventy miles, was pre- 
 ferred by those who could obtain the services of the 
 steamer ; but the two favourite trips were over to 
 the Dutch Settlement of Rhio, on Bintang Island, 
 about fifty miles away; and the other route by 
 Karang Hadji Straits, and back by the Straits of 
 Rhio, was also largely patronized. 
 
 I fear these excursions often included Sunday. 
 When we did go, and two or three boats had settled 
 to start, say on the latter-named route, we up-anchored 
 at about five o'clock in the afternoon, and made for 
 Pulo Sambu, nine miles distant, where we dined and 
 slept on board. 
 
 The next morning, after a bathe, and a "chota 
 hazree," or light breakfast, all sail was set, and we 
 threaded our way among beautiful islands, wooded 
 to the water's edge, and surrounded by coral shoals, 
 which required careful navigation. At the end of 
 about ten or fifteen miles we passed the Pilgrim's 
 Rock, where the Hadji, who named the Straits, is 
 said to have been wrecked, and came to an island, 
 inhabited by an unfortunate Dutch official, and when 
 he was there — which was not always luckily for him — 
 we generally asked him to breakfast. After this, we 
 sailed through a perfect archipelago of islands for 
 about twenty miles. So surrounded were we by 
 them that, at times, we could not see the way out. 
 
YACHTING. 143 
 
 and seemed to be in beautiful lakes or harbours, 
 where hundreds of ships might have safely anchored. 
 Clear of these, we entered the Straits of Rhio, and 
 made the best of our way, in a northerly direction, to 
 the Pan Reef ; and from thence, steering to the 
 north, and afterwards west, we reached Singapore. 
 The whole distance was estimated at about seventy 
 miles. 
 
 When Rhio was our object, we started early in 
 the morning, or, if at night, we waited for the moon, 
 as the navigation of the Straits required care. The 
 current was strong and the dangers many, the Pan 
 Reef being the principal one. Then came the Orion 
 Rock, Isabella Shoal, Terkoli, and the Sorie Reef. 
 The entrance to the Rhio harbour was also rather 
 difficult. However, on arrival, we always found the 
 Resident courteous and hospitable, and the Dutch 
 officers overjoyed to see anybody or anything which 
 awoke them from the dreadful monotony of their 
 existence. 
 
 Generally we dined with the Resident, and had 
 supper in our boats, where the officials and officers 
 of the garrison were made welcome and sent happy on 
 shore ; whilst we up-anchored on our return, reaching 
 our destination, if fortunate, early the next morning. 
 Calms did occasionally occur ; but I never recollect 
 having run short of provisions, either edible or liquid. 
 
 On one occasion we very nearly came to grief. I had 
 navigated the yacht clear of the chief danger — the 
 
144 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 Pan Reef — and, having given the course, I retired 
 below for a rest. There was a nice breeze blowing, 
 and every prospect of a fast and pleasant passage. 
 
 Some years before a French steamer — the Hydaspes 
 — had been wrecked at the north point of this reef, 
 and the hull had been left as a warning to mariners. 
 A venturesome friend — one of the party — thought it 
 would be a capital opportunity to examine this 
 beacon, so he quietly ordered the crew to trim sail 
 on the altered route, and this was done so cautiously 
 that I, interested in my book, did not perceive what 
 had happened. Presently I was hailed : " Come on 
 deck, we are close to the Hydaspes." "The devil 
 you are," shouted I, jumping on deck ; and sure 
 enough there was the wreck, not a hundred yards 
 away. I looked over the side of the boat and saw 
 the boulders of rock and coral seemingly touching 
 the keel of the yacht. With my heart in my throat, 
 I flew to the tiller and put it a-lee. The yacht came 
 round at once, and just scraped a coral patch, and 
 slid off into sufficient water. Another twenty yards 
 and we should have been wrecked. I do not remem- 
 ber now what I said ; and I do not think the person 
 I addressed would care to repeat it, if he had the 
 opportunity. I was obliged to have recourse to a 
 pint of champagne to steady my nerves. It was 
 truly a case of " touch-and-go." 
 
 The same day, later on, we had another adventure. 
 We had got as far as Pulo Loban, some thirty-five miles. 
 
YACHTING. 145 
 
 and were about to return eastward and steer for our 
 port, when a squall suddenly struck us, and as we 
 were about to take in the gaff top-sail, the wind 
 came down with a puff, the yacht heeled over to the 
 breeze, and the cleat, holding the boom and main- 
 sail, drew. The sailors, alarmed, let go the sheet and 
 tack, and the gaff top-sail, as sailors say, "took 
 charge of the ship." Luckily there was plenty of 
 sea room, and, the jib being eased off, the yacht flew 
 up to the wind and we were safe to repair damages, 
 which we shortly did, and reached our destination 
 without further adventure. 
 
 In 1866 I started in the Ganymede — my yacht — 
 for Malacca, about a hundred miles away, taking 
 with me, by way of precaution, a friendly skipper. 
 The boat, unfortunately, had gained the reputation, 
 I know not how, of being a "hay-stack," and of 
 being able neither to stay nor steer, although she had 
 won the regatta on the previous New Year's Day. 
 My friend at starting was rather surly, but I soon 
 found out the cause of his " doleful dumps," when 
 I asked him when we should reach our destination. 
 He replied, " In two or three days I suppose." I did 
 not think it worth while to argue the point ; and we 
 had not gone very far before he observed : " Dear 
 me, sir, this thing can go ; I had no idea she sailed 
 so well 1" The Governor, hearing I was leaving, had 
 very kindly offered to order the Government steamer 
 Rainbow to give me a tow, should my boat be 
 
 L 
 
146 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 becalmed when she passed her ; and I calculated 
 upon that, in case of need. Eventually, when we had 
 sailed about half our journey, the breeze failed us, 
 and we drifted here and there at the mercy of the 
 waves and current. The steamer was conveying 
 the Bishop of Labuan to Malacca. In due time she 
 hove in sight, and came up with us about 7.30 p.m., 
 and, passing within a biscuit throw, took not the 
 slightest notice of our unfortunate position. She 
 disappeared, and we were left to " chew the cud of 
 bitter disappointment " in not the best of tempers. 
 
 Towards 9.30 p.m., when the Rainbow must have 
 been twelve or fourteen miles ahead, and we some 
 fifty miles from our port, a light breeze sprang up, 
 which soon freshened into a steady blow off the 
 land. As I was taking my grog prior to turning in, 
 my companion said to me : " By Jove, sir, I will lick 
 that beggar into Malacca, if this lasts." I said, 
 " Mind you do," and went below. I had not been 
 asleep long before I was shot out of my bunk on to 
 the floor. " What's up now ?" roared I, rushing on 
 deck. " She's feeling the breeze, that's all," and so 
 she was. Three planks of the deck under water, 
 and the oars and the spars on the lee side were 
 floating about with a rattling noise. Mighty little 
 sleep after that. Every stitch we could set on the 
 boat was put on her. There were some heavy puffs 
 at times, but not a sheet or tack was started. We 
 held on like "grim death." At 11 p.m. we passed 
 
YACHTING. 147 
 
 Pulo Pisang ; at 2 a.m. we were beyond Batu 
 Pahat ; and by 6 o'clock were off Bukit Moar. No 
 Rainbow was in sight, and we were awfully dis- 
 gusted ; but at 8 o'clock, as we were passing 
 between the two water islands, we caught a glimpse 
 of her under the land, taking the inner passage. The 
 tide was, unfortunately, against us, and although the 
 breeze was favourable, it had slackened, and was 
 npt strong enough to enable us to make sufficient 
 way, so the steamer anchored three minutes before 
 us. The Bishop happened to be on deck as we 
 passed alongside, and gave us three cheers ; but 
 then he was a trump, was Bishop McDougall. 
 
 Looking over some old papers the other day I 
 came across the following account of one of our 
 picnics, which will show how thoroughly we enjoyed 
 ourselves on those occasions : — 
 
 " We left in the Ganymede on Saturday, the 8th inst., at 
 1 1 a.m. and stood over towards Pulo Sambu, assisted by a pleasant 
 south-westerly breeze. By half-past twelve we were abreast 
 of that island, and proceeded towards the Straits of 
 Karang Hadji,* a beautiful spot, too little visited by picnic 
 parties from Singapore. The Straits, which are from a quarter 
 to three-quarters of a mile broad, run between hundreds of 
 beautiful islands of fantastic shape, clothed with jungle trees, 
 and surrounded by mangroves. From time to time a beautiful 
 sandy beach invites the bather ; whilst the attention of the 
 
 *The Rock of the Hadji. 
 
148 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 cautious mariner is frequently called to the coral reefs which 
 lurk beneath the transparent waters. 
 
 " Barring the heat, which, after all, was considerably 
 lessened by the fine breeze and the shade thrown by the 
 main-sail, we thoroughly luxuriated in the beauties of the 
 scene ; and cigars and soda-and-brandy contributed not a 
 little to the enjoyment of the moment. Some rocky promon- 
 tory, or the flight of birds, the darting of the fish, or the 
 appearance of a distant sail, called some anecdote to mind, 
 and time passed unnoticed, as we gaily chatted or reflectively 
 smoked. At three o'clock we reached what might be called 
 a large inland lake, in which we could see three large rocks 
 connected with the shore and each other by coral reefs ; and, 
 the tide turning against us, whilst the breeze lessened, we 
 were compelled to anchor, and did this close to the mouth of 
 a river which almost bisected one of the larger islands. When 
 the sun was declining, we landed in the boat, and found the 
 place inhabited by Chinese charcoal-burners, who seemed 
 quite happy and reconciled to their fate. The chief of this 
 island lived some miles further on, at Pulo Booroo. From 
 what we saw of him we should say that he was a superior person, 
 of courtly manners, most polite and obliging — and here we 
 gathered the legend that is attached to the name given to 
 these Straits. 
 
 " In the time of Sultan Abdul Rachman bin. Sultan Mahamod, 
 of Johore — Crawfurd, 1567 — a man possessed of a vast reputa- 
 tion for sanctity came from the holy places of the far West, 
 and, having performed wonderful things in neighbouring 
 countries, determined to proceed to Java, notwithstanding 
 that he had been warned, in a vision, not to undertake the 
 voyage. He left Singapore in a small boat, and, trusting to a 
 favourable wind, wrapped himself in his meditations. From 
 these he was rudely awakened by a heavy squall, and, when 
 nearly foundering (near the spot where we were at anchor). 
 
YACHTING. 149 
 
 he threw his three boxes, laden with Korans,* overboard, and 
 these immediately changed into three rocks. Some miles 
 further on his boat was thrown on to a reef, and he scrambled 
 on shore in a sad plight, without food or raiment or a roof to 
 cover his head. At last he found a flat stone, thrown out, 
 horizontally, from the rock, beneath which he discovered a 
 plentiful supply of wild honey ; and, having partaken of this 
 savoury repast, he, like a good Mohammedan, went up to the 
 upper part of the stone to pray, and, whilst so doing, fell into 
 a trance, from which he awoke next morning, and, to his 
 surprise, found his boat afloat, and everything comfortable on 
 board. So, hoisting the mizzen sheet, he squared the sprit sail- 
 yard, proceeded on his voyage, and was never heard of more. 
 But the stone is still there, and the mark of his foot is 
 imprinted on it, whilst the bees still cluster beneath. 
 
 " Dinner was welcome when we returned on board, and 
 champagne cup, well iced, was greeted with enthusiasm, and 
 after this we slept. 
 
 " The next morning at daybreak we went on shore, some 
 to fish, others to shoot, and various members of the finny 
 tribe fell victims of the spear ; whilst the guns found some 
 employment among pigeons, parrots, and other feathered 
 denizens of the forest. A beautiful, though small, specimen 
 of the sea-serpent was seen, but he escaped, though coral 
 fish of the most vivid and varied colours were captured. We 
 got back to the Ganymede by about eight o'clock, after a 
 refreshing bath, and indulged in a ' chota hazree ; ' then 
 the 'pot't having been carefully and artistically prepared 
 
 * Mohammedan Bibles. 
 
 ■j^The pot was of the digester kind. The composition of its con- 
 tents, so far as I can recollect, consisted of a couple of ship's 
 biscuits, on them a layer of meat — beef, mutton, and game ; then 
 vegetables ; another layer of meat, and so on, until it was full. 
 
150 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 by a most able 'chef,' we got up the anchor, and at ten 
 were speeding back, threading skilfully the mazy intri- 
 cacies of the coral reefs. At noon the 'pot' was opened, 
 and we began to sing, ' for was it not a dainty dish to set 
 before a king?' After this, cigars and meditation assisted 
 digestion, till, anchoring off Fort FuUerton at 2 p.m., we 
 landed and proceeded homewards, convinced that we had 
 achieved one of the pleasantest picnics recorded on the 
 tablets of our memory." 
 
 Water was then poured in to fill the empty spaces, and the lid 
 being screwed on, it was put to simmer near the fire for at least 
 four hours. Of course it was seasoned, peppered and salted, &c., 
 according to taste. One of the party on this occasion — a captain 
 of the regiment — was an adept at this dish, which, as we were 
 generally hungry, was much enjoyed. 
 
13acbt(ng. 
 
 III. 
 
 In the year 1854, having disposed of the Maggie 
 Lauder, as being too small for our purposes, we be- 
 thought us, my partner and myself, of building a 
 larger yacht. In those days steam was still in its 
 infancy in the East, and launches were unknown. 
 We depended upon wind and sail for locomotive 
 power ; so I consulted a builder of some experience 
 as to the construction of my clipper. 
 
 In the days I speak of, the triumphs of the Yankee 
 America had created a revolution in the shapes of 
 both boats and sails ; and, like most amateurs, I had 
 read myself into such a state of smattering know- 
 ledge that I was, of course, fully competent to build 
 anything, from a cockle-boat to a seventy-four. 
 Consequently, the worthy constructor and I soon 
 came to loggerheads. He had been brought up in 
 Aberdeen, and was as Scotch as he was stubborn. 
 He wanted to build a long, narrow hull, a schooner, 
 with the two masts close together. I wanted a boat 
 with plenty of beam, and a cutter. My argument 
 was that, not being a born or educated sailor, his 
 vessel would "turn turtle" with me in the first 
 
 IS' 
 
152 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 squall ; whereas mine might lose her mast, but 
 would be safe, otherwise, for a landsman. 
 
 The discussion waxed warm. We were both 
 obstinate — I own to Highland blood myself — ^and, at 
 last, David said that he would not risk his reputation 
 by following the devices of an " ignoramus." This 
 sarcastic decision obliged me to change my tactics. 
 But I was still determined to carry my point, and it 
 was ultimately agreed that, if he would adopt my 
 views, I would give him a letter of indemnity ; and, 
 further, that if the boat was declared a failure by 
 experts, I would pay him an extra five hundred 
 dollars. I believe it was this last argument that 
 carried the day. 
 
 The dimensions stipulated for were forty-five feet 
 keel, fifteen feet beam, tapering from that to not less 
 than thirteen feet aft; the entrance and run to be 
 as fine as he liked. A model was made, which met 
 with my approval ; but David shook his head, and 
 his nautical friends jeered irreverently, and dubbed 
 the craft the " washing-tub,'' She was launched in 
 due course, and, I thought, sat the water " like a 
 duck," but prejudice was dead against me ; the 
 laugh and chaff grew louder and stronger, and the 
 worthy builder was already looking out for a safe 
 investment for the five hundred dollars, he was so sure 
 of, in prospective. 
 
 Now, about the time that the boat was ready for 
 sea, asporting skipper, having made a good freight, 
 
YACHTING. 153 
 
 proposed a regatta ; and what with his dona- 
 tion, subscriptions and entrances, a prize of 
 five hundred dollars was to be given to the first 
 boat, and two hundred and fifty dollars to the 
 second. 
 
 Great was the excitement among the yachtsmen ; 
 and the " washing-tub '' was hurried forward to be 
 ready to contend. But, when the day arrived, the fore 
 stay-sail was not ready ; her spinnaker was not 
 begun ; her trim was only guessed at ; and, in fact, 
 she was at every disadvantage. But, though pro- 
 testing, I found the general opinion so strong against 
 me that I had to give way, and asked a lieutenant 
 in the Navy to sail her. This he most kindly under- 
 took to do, and, borrowing sundry sails from 
 H. M.'s Brig, he selected some good men from 
 among the crew, and managed to get to the starting 
 point just as the gun fired. 
 
 Away went a score of yachts and boats, with the 
 breeze aft, under a cloud of canvas, foaming and 
 fussing, rolling and ducking. The "washing-tub" 
 did, apparently, nothing ; she did not seem to move ; 
 she showed no pitching nor tossing ; no spray 
 dashed from her brows ; she seemed asleep, taking 
 rather an outside course of her own. The ridicule 
 bestowed on her was tremendous. " Call that thing 
 a boat ? Why a gale of wind would not move her 1 
 Go it, soap-suds !" etc., etc. Who can depict my 
 feelings ? Who could describe the atrocious grin 
 
154 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 of pleasure which distorted honest David's broad 
 countenance ? 
 
 Suddenly there was a pause. " What !" said one ; 
 " Hallo 1" said another ; " By Jingo !" said a third. 
 I looked round, for I had turned away in utter dis- 
 gust, and what did I see ? The first boat had 
 rounded the buoy and had "close hauled" for 
 number two ; but my boat was the second, notwith- 
 standing the^ outside course she had taken, and, as 
 she came close to the wind, she shot past the leader, 
 and to windward of her, and drew rapidly ahead, 
 to the utter astonishment of the amazed nautical 
 critics. Of course I had my turn at quizzing, which 
 was still rife when the "washing-tub" passed the 
 winning-post several minutes ahead of the second 
 boat, giving endless time for tonnage. David shook 
 hands most cordially, and all congratulated me on 
 my success, even old Peaneau, the only person who 
 had shown temper ; but, then, he was the owner of 
 the favourite, and had made sure of the first prize. 
 He had jumped on his hat, and had used strong 
 language. 
 
 Of course I was more than pleased. My naval 
 friend and his sailors said they had never been in a 
 faster clipper. So we all went to lunch, where the 
 good fare and iced champagne dispersed the clouds 
 which disappointed hopes, and a good many lost 
 bets, had gathered on some deluded brows. David 
 went home happy ; he had saved his reputation ; 
 
YACHTING. 15s 
 
 had had a good lunch, and had pocketed a cheque 
 for the forfeit, which, though not due, I readily 
 and joyously paid. 
 
 However great may have been the success of the 
 " washing-tub " as a yacht, she was unfortunate as to 
 her name, and this is how it was. On the morning 
 of the launch, I received a note from the lady who 
 had promised to perform the customary ceremony, 
 to express her great regret that, through illness, she 
 could not attend. There was no time to make any 
 other arrangement, beyond asking some person 
 present to take the place of the absentee, and I 
 solicited the assistance of a Captain of Artillery — an 
 Irishman — and a very good fellow. I am afraid, 
 however, that he was not truly impressed with the 
 importance of his duties, for he was chaffing and 
 laughing at the critical moment the boat started on 
 the ways. Surprised, he rushed after her with the 
 bottle of champagne, luckily ready in his hand, 
 caught her up, smashed it on her bows, exclaiming, 
 with a strong Milesian accent, " Tare an' ages." 
 There was a hearty laugh, but the name stuck to the 
 boat instead of Frolic, as was intended. 
 
ZiQCXS, 
 
 In the early days of Singapore, tigers were unknown 
 in the island, but, towards the year 1830, they began 
 to make themselves felt. It is supposed that as the 
 Chinese penetrated into the interior, clearing the 
 jungle, and forming gambler and pepper plantations, 
 the noise they made attracted these savage brutes, 
 who swam over from the main land, not more than 
 half a mile distant ; in fact, some had been found 
 drowned in the native fishing stakes. They obtained, 
 at first, a scanty living on deer and wild pig ; but, 
 later on, a more ample supply of food was afforded 
 them by the Chinese. When I arrived at Singapore 
 it was estimated that the deaths of these poor 
 unfortunate coolies was equal to, at least, one a day. 
 In fact, the head planters, or towkays, were said care- 
 fully to conceal the mortality for fear of frightening 
 their men away. 
 
 The tigers were not particular as to their food — 
 bullocks were rather favourite victims, dogs were 
 in no way despised, and a worry in a pig-sty was by 
 no means uncommon. The Chinese dug pits to 
 catch them in, placing sharp-pointed stakes for them 
 to fall on ; but this latter plan was discouraged after 
 
 156 
 
TIGERS. 157 
 
 an unfortunate Roman Catholic Missionary, passing 
 through the jungle at dusk, fell into one of these 
 pits, and, impaling himself on a stake, died in great 
 agony. These traps were about twenty feet square, 
 twenty-four to thirty feet deep, baited with a dog or 
 goat, and closing with the weight of the tiger on a 
 spring, that threw a sufficiency of heavy trunks of 
 trees on the orifice to prevent escape. The enemy 
 was then either speared to death or secured, put in a 
 cage, and brought to town. The skin, skull, claws, 
 and whiskers were sold for curios or charms ; and 
 the flesh commanded a high price, being supposed 
 to endow the native consumer with that much- 
 needed article — courage. 
 
 The jungle, in former days, was too dense to permit 
 of hunting the tiger on foot ; but I have been told 
 that of late years this exciting sport has found 
 favour, and His Highness, the present Sultan of 
 Johore, has already slain three, stalking them with 
 dauntless nerve. 
 
 My first attempt at this exciting pastime was 
 rather a failure, as the following will show. 
 
 One morning, riding along River Valley Road at 
 the time it was being cut through the jungle, I met 
 the Superintendent of Convicts with several of his 
 men, and a Captain of the Artillery, who asked me to 
 join their party, as they were going to shoot a tiger 
 which had been tracked to a piece of jungle close by. 
 As they offered me a gun, I accepted the invitation. 
 
158 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 After a short walk the place was reached. The 
 Europeans were posted, and the convicts were 
 sent into the long grass and brushwood with gongs, 
 and crackers and other noisy instruments, but no 
 tiger was there. It was proposed to proceed to 
 another place. On the way I asked : " By the by, 
 what is your gun loaded with ?" " Don't know, ask 
 the boy," was the reply. Sam, a Kling servant, 
 being appealed to, said : " Smallee shot, s'pose 
 master want shoot smallee bird." Needless to say, 
 the gun was given up, amidst roars of laughter ; and 
 I retired, thanking my stars that no tiger had put in 
 an appearance. 
 
 The first tiger killed in Singapore, in my day, 
 was in a pit, not far from the present Botanical 
 Gardens. It was in 1843. The moment the report 
 was spread that a tiger had been caught in a pit, 
 merchants and clerks threw down their pens, seized 
 their guns, and, in every hack carriage that could 
 be secured, hurried down the Bukit Timah road to 
 the locality, some three miles from town. After 
 following a jungle path some distance, a large 
 clearing was found, and, in the centre of it, the pit, 
 in which lay the savage beast. The mouth of the 
 trap was covered with large logs of timber, between 
 which could be seen the tiger crouched in the water 
 at the bottom of the pit. 
 
 Sportsmen, then, began to try their skill on the 
 captive. An eye-witness, describing the scene, said 
 
TIGERS. 159 
 
 it was one of intense excitement, and, after each 
 shot, anxious eyes peered into the gloom to judge 
 of the effect. One gentleman, of mature years, for- 
 got to cap the nipples of his gun ; another fired 
 away his ramrod ; whilst a third, stooping down to 
 take aim, tore his trousers to such an extent that he 
 had to withdraw hastily amidst the laughter and 
 jeers of his friends. 
 
 By this time the pit was so full of smoke that 
 nothing could be seen of the tiger ; so, after a con- 
 sultation it was decided that, as the tiger ought to 
 be hors de combat, the mouth of the pit should be 
 uncovered and the obstructions removed. In about 
 five minutes the smoke cleared away, and the 
 " enemy " was seen lying at the bottom, in water 
 tinged with his gore. He did not move, and, on 
 the supposition that he was dead, a long bamboo 
 was procured, and it was determined to " stir him 
 up." No sooner, however, had the stick touched 
 him than, with a terrific roar, the tiger made a 
 tremendous spring to the mouth of the pit. A panic 
 seized the spectators, and away they went, helter 
 skelter, tumbling over the roots and trunks of trees 
 and over each other in most ludicrous confusion. 
 Half a dozen alone stood their ground, and, among 
 these, Dr. Oxley, who fired two barrels down the 
 beasf s throat as his head came nearly to a level with 
 the mouth of the pit, and the tiger fell back dead. 
 It was of the Royal Bengal kind, and full-grown. 
 
i6o PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 Its strength and muscular power may be imagined 
 when it is stated that the pit was over twenty-four 
 feet deep, and that the claws of the fore feet of the 
 tiger had come within eighteen inches of the mouth 
 of it. 
 
 I may mention that I was the person who did the 
 "stirring," and who nearly toppled over into the 
 trap, some funker behind me giving himself a start 
 by pushing me. Luckily the bamboo saved me, and 
 I did not join the tiger. 
 
 Sundry more of these feline monsters fell victims 
 to the Chinese and others ; but there was one man-^ 
 an American — who announced himself to be, by 
 profession, a tiger killer. He used to be a good deal 
 talked about, at one time, but I have lost record of 
 his exploits. The Government offered a premium 
 of fifty dollars for each tiger killed, and brought to 
 town. 
 
 I remember once when a sportsman asked the 
 Resident to allow him the use of some convicts to 
 track a badly-wounded animal, as he wished to secure 
 the prize. " Was it very badly wounded ?" asked 
 the official. " Oh, yes, it could not have gone five 
 hundred yards further." " Oh, well, it must be dead 
 by this time. Better leave it to rot in the jungle !" 
 
©Ua iPo&ri5a. 
 
 DISPATCH. 
 
 In 1845 the mails, which had been hitherto carried 
 by sailing ships, had now, owing to steam com- 
 munication having been opened between Suez and 
 China, been diverted to steamers, and the letter-bags 
 for Java were at first carried to Singapore, and then 
 by Dutch men-of-war ; but in July, 1847, ^ quarrel 
 arose between Her Majesty's postal authorities in 
 London and those of the East India Company, and 
 orders were given from home to deliver the Dutch 
 mails either at Ceylon or Hong Kong only. 
 
 At about this time I received a dispatch from 
 Amsterdam, under cover of which was a letter for 
 the Governor-General of Java, with the request to 
 forward it with all possible speed. The mail steamer, 
 as stated above, had been diverted, and there 
 remained only thirteen days before the departure of 
 the npxt mail from Batavia. No steamer was avail- 
 able. The monsoon^ at that time of year, blows 
 from the south-west, and, therefore, was against any 
 sailing vessel ; and besides, there was no vessel in 
 harbour of a clipper description that would suit my 
 purpose, or beat down through the usual passage, 
 the Banka Straits, in time to save the mail, 
 
 161 M 
 
i62 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 By great luck, the next morning, a small vessel of 
 about one hundred tons came in, with the captain of 
 which I was well acquainted. I sent for him, and 
 asked him when he could be ready to sail again. He 
 said that by working " double tides " he thought he 
 could get his cargo out, and ballast in, in four and 
 twenty hours. I told him to prepare for sea, and a^ 
 ten o'clock the next morning he made his appearance 
 at my office, and reported that everything was ready. 
 I then showed him the dispatch, and mentioned his 
 destination, and the time he had to reach it. He said 
 it was impossible. I answered, " Nothing is impos- 
 sible without a trial." So we got a big chart, and 
 studied it, to find out if we could discover a solution 
 to the riddle. After some cogitation I suggested 
 that he might get land and sea breezes over upon 
 the coast of Borneo, and that, in that case, he might, 
 with a little luck, be able to make a quick passage to 
 Batavia. 
 
 He shook his head doubtfully, but admitted the 
 idea was worth a trial, and he started. 
 
 The ordinary route would have taken him from 
 three weeks to a month. He got down in nine days 
 and a half, a record passage. The Governor- 
 General paid him a handsome sum for what he had 
 done ; and his vessel was taken up for six months 
 by the Dutch East India Company at a very 
 handsome freight, and consequently he was more 
 than pleased. I received the thanks of the 
 
OIL A PODRIDA. 163 
 
 Governor-General, and also of the Dutch Home 
 Government. 
 
 It was in 1865, that the first man-of-war steamer 
 came to Singapore to carry the European mails to 
 Java. It was His Netherland Majesty's Ship Merapi 
 — Captain Baars. On his way to shore, he called at 
 the English man-of-war in the harbour to pay a 
 complimentary visit to the captain ; and the midship- 
 men on board invited the midshipman of the Dutch 
 cutter to their mess, and entertained him hospitably. 
 We on shore were at dinner when the gallant captain 
 came to our house. Of course the occasion was 
 duly honoured, and champagne circulated freely. 
 When the before-mentioned midshipman, who had 
 dined with us, came back to announce that the boat 
 was ready to return to the Merapi, his steps were 
 certainly not so steady as they might have been. 
 The captain took up his quarters with us ; but the 
 midshipman, when he got on board, was placed 
 under arrest by the officer of the watch. 
 
 We were, of course, very sorry when we heard 
 this, and pleaded with the captain for forgiveness. 
 He demurred at first, and then observed, with a 
 smile : " Well, I think I must grant your request ; 
 for, if the truth were known, I am not quite certain 
 that the captain was not nearly as bad as the mid- 
 shipman." 
 
 When I went down to Java, in 1847, I travelled 
 on board one of these Dutch men-of-war. I was 
 
i64 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 well acquainted with all the etat-major. A portion 
 of the captain's after-cabin was told off for me, and 
 it was agreed that I should breakfast at the officers' 
 mess, and dine at the captain's. Everything was 
 done to make me as comfortable as possible. 
 
 There was one other passenger on board, who 
 joined us at Rhio, a Dutch port fifty miles from 
 Singapore. He was a great dandy, and evidently 
 thought himself a Don Juan. He slept on the port 
 side of the stern cabin, and I on the starboard. In 
 the middle of the night we were awakened by screams 
 of terror, and the captain rushed out of his cabin, 
 with a candle in his hand. Then we saw our friend 
 thrusting his fingers wildly through his hair, and 
 brushing off shoals of cockroaches, which buzzed in 
 hundreds about him, attracted by the cocoanut oil 
 with which he had anointed his head. We could 
 not assist him through roaring with laughter ; and 
 we made such a noise that the officer of the watch 
 and two quarter-masters came down to ascertain what 
 the row was about. 
 
a ipractical Softer. 
 
 There was among us, about 1845, a very popular 
 personage, and a general favourite. The Govern- 
 ment, wishing to establish a police force — ^which, by 
 the by, was very much wanted to keep the Chinese 
 in a little order — offered the berth of Superintendent 
 to him. As he was full of fun and frolic, he was 
 frequently asked to dinner, and one day, a friend 
 asked him why it was that he never gave a feed in 
 return ; this more as a joke than anything else. He 
 said : " In the first place, his house was not large 
 enough to entertain so many ; and, in the second, 
 his pay would not permit of such a serious expendi- 
 ture." There was a laugh, and the matter was no 
 more thought of. Shortly afterwards, people were 
 astonished to receive invitations to dine with our 
 friend. On the day appointed, he received them in 
 lavish style, and they sat down to a very capital 
 dinner. When the cloth was removed, one of the 
 guests proposed his health, thanking him for his 
 noble hospitality ; all hands gave three cheers, and 
 sang, "He's a jolly good fellow." He arose to 
 return thanks in suitable terms. " But," he concluded, 
 "allow me to say one word more in explanation. 
 
 165 
 
i66 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA.. 
 
 You, my dear A., if you had stayed at home 
 would, probably, have eaten a portion of the leg of 
 mutton which has graced the table, for I got it from 
 your cook. To you, my dear B,, I am indebted 
 for that succulent ham ; it looked so well hanging 
 up, that I could not pass it by. That turkey, my 
 dear C, came from your farm-yard. That pigeon- 
 pie, my dear D., I owe to your dove-cot. That 
 Gruaud la Rose, which you all seemed to enjoy so 
 much, came from E.'s cellar ; and the champagne, 
 if F. will allow me to confess the robbery, was 
 lifted from his warehouse." And so he went on to 
 admit that every guest had, somehow or other, 
 contributed to the feast. " 'Open confession,' " he 
 concluded, " ' is good for the soul,' and I hope that 
 you will excuse a poor man, if he followed the 
 example of Caleb Balderstone in the 'Bride of 
 Lammermoor.'" Of course, there was a shout of 
 laughter and a great deal of chaff, and the party did 
 not separate any the sooner. 
 
Joe. 
 
 Early in the seventies a friend of mine, on his way 
 home from Sarawak, brought over with him a pet 
 monkey ; but, at the last moment, fearing the 
 European climate would prove too severe for it, he 
 made me a present of it. It was of the kind called 
 by us a Wah-wah, from the noise it makes, in the 
 early morning, in its native jungles. The scientists 
 call it "Gibbon." The name he answered to was 
 " Joe," and he was wonderfully tame. His colour 
 was grey, with a black face, hands, and feet, and he 
 stood about two and a half feet high. He was tied 
 up, for the|first few days, but he was so evidently 
 miserable, that we soon restored him to liberty. 
 
 We were then living in a bungalow, with a 
 thatched roof, and Joe very soon found his way to 
 comfortable quarters " top side," as the Chinamen 
 say. He retired to rest at sunset ; but was always 
 up before sunrise. He was, as are all his species, 
 wonderfully active, and with his long arms, would 
 swing himself from tree to tree, clearing distances, 
 frequently, of thirty feet. He very soon got accus- 
 tomed to the ways of the house, and was always 
 ready to attend us at meal time, when he generally 
 
 167 
 
i68 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 astonished some one or other by snatching his bread 
 and jumping out of the window with it to the next 
 tree, where he would devour it with great appetite. 
 
 When I came out of my room in the morning, Joe 
 used to utter an exclamation of delight, and come 
 tumbling towards me as fast as he could, jumping 
 up and putting his arms round my neck ; expecting, 
 probably, what he generally got, a lump of sugar ! 
 
 The Colonial Secretary, who was my nearest 
 neighbour, and a great animal fancier, saw one 
 morning in his walk, Joe perched on a tree, and he 
 thought he would like to have such a lovely monkey ; 
 so he climbed the tree, coaxed Joe to come to him, 
 and went home rejoicing. The animal was missed, 
 and a short inquiry revealed to us where it had been 
 taken, and it was restored to us on explanation. 
 " But," said our friend, " you can have no idea what 
 I suffered in getting that monkey. I got in the 
 midst of a nest of red ants, and they bit me so 
 severely, creeping under my clothes and everywhere, 
 that I was very nearly dropping down from the tree 
 before I got my prize." 
 
 It may here be mentioned that these ants are about 
 an inch long, with long legs and most formidable 
 heads, armed with forceps. I frequently, brushing 
 them off, found that they left their heads behind 
 them, and were as unpleasant after their death as 
 they were before, still holding on by " the slack of 
 their jaws." 
 
JOE. 169 
 
 Many years ago a picnic party on elephants were 
 travelling in Province Wellesley, Penang ; and, 
 passing through the jungle, some of the younger 
 members, seeing some leaves neatly folded over and 
 fastened at the corners, began striking at them with 
 their hands in fun ; but they very soon found out 
 that the others were in earnest. These were small 
 cases full of these red ants, and the jokers had to 
 jump down from their elephants, and endeavour to 
 clear each other of their pestilent assailants. 
 
 But to return to Joe. My neighbour before 
 mentioned, came one morning to see me, bringing 
 with him three hairy Scotch terriers. Joe, seated on 
 the back of a sofa, eyed them for some time in 
 evident amazement ; then, stealing down quietly, he 
 seized one by the tail, and gave it a pull. The dog 
 turned round sharply and barked. Joe was on the 
 top of the couch in a moment. Presently he 
 attacked another, this time pulling his ear — same 
 game as before ; and then he went for the third, 
 when all three turned on him, and the most amusing 
 scene ensued, the dogs barking and trying to catch 
 the monkey ; the monkey jumping about in all 
 directions, and, when he could get the opportunity, 
 having a pull at some part of their hairy bodies. 
 My friend could not resist the fun of the scene, and 
 lay down on the floor, shrieking with laughter. 
 
 The Admiral on the station was staying with me 
 at the time, and declared that the only thing he had 
 
l^o PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 ever feared in his life was that monkey. " I know 
 what will happen," he said ; " that beast will steal 
 my razors one of these days, and put them in the 
 water jug." Well, he did not do that exactly ; but 
 one morning His Excellency, having selected a very 
 fine Manila mango for his special delectation, and 
 having gone to the next table to pour himself a cup 
 of tea, heard a rattle on his plate — on looking round, 
 there was Joe, seated on the branch of a tree close 
 by, with that very particular mango in his hand, 
 devouring it with evident pleasure. The Admiral 
 shook his fist at the monkey, but ineffectually. 
 
 My brother-in-law, who was staying with me for a 
 few days, left a box of pills on his dressing table. I 
 suppose this was a novelty for Joe, so he could do 
 nothing better than disappear with the box to his 
 dormitory in the roof. We did not see him for the 
 next two days, when he came down very pale and 
 decrepit. But we never missed any article of the 
 like description again. 
 
 We had a number of Javanese gardeners employed 
 about the grounds, and certain Hadji (Mohammedans 
 who had performed the pilgrimage to Mecca) used 
 to pay frequent visits to these poor men to extort 
 money from them, on some plea or other. Soon 
 after Joe's arrival, two of these men came on their 
 customary squeeze ; and whilst they were going their 
 rounds, they saw an object coming towards them 
 with a waddling walk, and trailing his hands on the 
 
JOE. 171 
 
 ground. On drawing near to one of the Hadji 
 this object held out his hand, and made a jabbering 
 noise. The two holy men evidently mistook the 
 monkey for his Satanic Majesty, for they turned and 
 ran ; and one of them dropped his turban, which Joe 
 immediately seized, and made off with it to the top 
 of a neighbouring tree. The coolies declared that 
 they were never troubled by any members of this 
 begging society afterwards. 
 
 Joe was very fond of getting hold of a pack of 
 cards, and playing with them. One day, coming 
 home from ofhce, we found the drawing-room and 
 passages covered with them, the monkey having 
 discovered the box where several packs were kept, 
 and counters also ; so we were obliged, afterwards, 
 to keep them under lock and key. 
 
 He was very fond of children, and, notwithstand- 
 ing his strange appearance, they very soon got 
 accustomed to him. On one occasion some passengers, 
 passing through on their way to Europe, came to 
 breakfast, a lady bringing with her her little son 
 about two years and a half old. He sat on his 
 mother's knee whilst she fed him, when, to her sur- 
 prise, Joe came and sat on the other knee and made 
 friends with the baby ; and then, to her still greater 
 astonishment, the two began to feed each other. 
 When our guests left, the baby's grief was parting 
 with his monkey friend. 
 
 Joe had, probably, seen my sister-in-law put on 
 
172 PLAY AND POLITICS IN MALAYA. 
 
 a shawl before she went out for her drive ; for, to 
 her great amusement, one day, when a lady friend 
 called upon her, Joe, having folded an antimacassar 
 over his shoulders, shawl fashion, came up, and, 
 having made a most polite bow, offered his hand to 
 be shaken ; a custom he carried out on similar 
 occasions to the end of his career. 
 
 From these few anecdotes it may be seen that 
 this monkey was a constant source of amusement to 
 us all. The house we were living in, having been 
 purchased for the site of the new Government 
 Palace, I had to change to another, which was built 
 of brick, with a tiled roof. Never thinking of Joe, 
 we went to office the day of flitting, and, when we 
 came home, we found that, in order to make a bed- 
 room for himself under the roof as in his former 
 dwelling, he had stripped off about forty tiles. This 
 was beyond a joke, so we had to tie him up, making 
 him as comfortable as possible ; but he could not 
 stand the restraint, and cried and sobbed so bitterly 
 that it was distressing to hear him. The captain of 
 one of H. M.'s men-of-war, then in harbour, who 
 had often seen and admired Joe, offered to take him 
 on board of his vessel, on trial, to see how he would 
 get on with the officers and men. The only person 
 who raised any objection was the first lieutenant, 
 who declared that he would be a nuisance to every- 
 body, and spoil the ship. But, in twenty-four hours 
 he had changed his mind, and Joe was the pet of 
 
JOE. 173 
 
 all. Some six weeks later I went on board to call, 
 and Joe, who was forward on the forecastle, saw me 
 step on deck. With a scream he came running and 
 tumbling towards me as fast as he could, jumping on 
 me in his old way, and folding his arms round my 
 neck, delighted to see me. They had to coax him 
 away, to allow me to return to my boat. Just as I 
 was starting, the boatswain's whistle sounded, and 
 officers and sailors were climbing the rigging. The 
 monkey, who was stationed at the mizen mast, dis- 
 dained the rigging, and, climbing up a back-stay, 
 was in the top before any of the midshipmen. That 
 was the last I saw of poor Joe, as I went to England 
 soon after. 
 
 On my return, a year afterwards, dining at Govern- 
 ment House, I met my friend the captain, and asked 
 him for news of the monkey. "Oh, don't ask me," 
 he said, " that young fellow," pointing to one of his 
 middies, "will tell you all about him." When I spoke 
 to the lad, he burst into tears, and said : " Sir, we 
 have never got over the death of poor Joe ; " and it 
 was some time before he could tell me of the sad 
 catastrophe. It appears that Joe had selected, as a 
 sleeping apartment, the lifebuoy, which was hung 
 under the stern of the vessel. The alarm was given 
 that a man had fallen overboard ; the steersman at 
 the wheel, acting in accordance with regulations, 
 pulled a trigger ; down went the lifebuoy, and Joe 
 was never seen again. 
 
XTurtle. 
 
 In 1844 a ship arrived at Singapore, which was 
 consigned to the house where I was employed. In 
 the course of conversation, the captain complained 
 bitterly that, in Australia, owing to the scarcity of 
 sailors, he had been obliged to secure the services 
 of some at a very high rate — £(> and £(i los. a 
 month — and then found they were not worth their 
 salt. Could he not get them at a more moderate 
 rate at our port ? I told him that he could easily 
 get them at half that price ; but how was he going 
 to get rid of those he had, as he might be sure that 
 they would not leave him if they could help it. 
 "Yes," he said ; "there's the rub." After some con- 
 sideration I suggested that he should try a diet of 
 turtle. This idea occurred to me because, a short 
 time before, provisions having run rather low with 
 us, our butler had made us undergo a diet of that 
 succulent fare, and a very few courses of it were 
 sufficient to tire us of it. 
 
 The captain thought the suggestion worth a trial, 
 and, accordingly, the next day he gave his crew 
 turtle soup ; the following day, turtle steak ; the next 
 day, turtle fins, and so on, till the sixth day, when 
 
 174 
 
TURTLE. 175 
 
 the men declared they would strike work, unless 
 they had other food provided for them. The captain, 
 therefore, summoned them before the magistrate as 
 mutineers, and, being asked what was the cause of 
 their misconduct, they complained that the food was 
 not fit for British stomachs. " How is this, captain ?" 
 said the beak. "Well, sir," said the captain, "beef 
 is not to be had in this country, so I thought I 
 would give them the next best thing to it, and I have 
 been giving them the freshest turtle." "What!" 
 said the magistrate, "turtle ?" "Yes." "And do you 
 mean to say that these men are dissatisfied with food 
 that would please a London Alderman ?" To the 
 men : " You must return to your work ; you have 
 not the least cause of complaint." The men were 
 obdurate, and told the magistrate that nothing would 
 make them go back to the ship to be fed on such 
 garbage. Then, said the justice, " You must either 
 go to prison, or, should the captain wish it, take 
 your discharge." The captain, naively, asked his 
 worship whether, if he discharged the men, he could 
 get others to supply their place ; and, being informed 
 that there were plenty of hands idling about the 
 place, pretended regretfully to discharge the crew 
 he was only too glad to be rid of. 
 
 I have seen this matter referred to in newspapers in 
 veiy recent days, the editors, possibly, not knowing 
 who originated the stratagem. 
 
Captain D. 
 
 In the fifties, and for some years after, it was a 
 favourite amusement of various persons to try and 
 
 "sell" their neighbours. One, Captain D , in 
 
 particular, having little else to do, his steamer being 
 under repair, made himself particularly obnoxious 
 in this matter ; but, try as we could, he always 
 managed to escape retaliation. However, one day 
 he had to submit to fate. We were dining, a dozen 
 of us together, and among us was a young officer 
 named James, belonging to the regiment in garrison. 
 After dinner, while we were smoking, the captain 
 aforesaid broke out into a violent tirade of., 
 abuse of Mr. Gladstone. There was nothing too 
 bad to be attributed to this great statesman, and he 
 went on " piling up the agony." Towards the end 
 of it James got up, and, making a bow, withdrew 
 from the room. He had told me before that he was 
 obliged to leave early, having to go rounds. It 
 struck me, however, that I had an opportunity for 
 revenge. "What," I said to , the captain, "is the 
 good of making signals to you ? I have been trying, 
 for ever so long, to draw your attention in order 
 that you might stop your abuse of Gladstone before 
 
 176 
 
CAPTAIN D. 177 
 
 his nephew." " What !" said he ; " was that the 
 G. O. M.'s nephew ?" " Well," I said, "you have put 
 your foot in it." The other guests took my cue, and 
 played the game accordingly. 
 
 A few days after the same party met at the house 
 of the person with whom the captain was living. 
 James also was there, and was again on duty. Our 
 friend the captain, the moment he saw him, went up 
 to him and made all sorts of amiable speeches, 
 which, evidently, James could not see the drift of ; 
 and his manner led the captain to conclude that he 
 was still very much hurt and offended. We took 
 care to place them at some distance from each other 
 at table, so that they should not be too much drawn 
 together. James retired in due course to fulfil his 
 military duties. " Well," said the captain, after his 
 departure, " what a nice fellow that is. I really hope 
 that he has forgiven me for my abuse of his uncle." 
 " Uncle," I said, " rubbish ! He is no more Glad- 
 stone's nephew than I am." " What !" said the 
 captain, " not Gladstone's nephew ? What ! have 
 I been sold ?" " Yes," was the universal chorus, 
 " and jolly well sold, too 1" 
 
 He jumped up, glared all round, rushed to his 
 room, slammed the door, and did not show himself 
 amongst us for forty-eight hours. He was very 
 much more cautious after that. 
 
3Bong. 
 
 Some years ago there was a Lloyd's Surveyor of 
 Shipping at Singapore, an honest, bluff old Scots- 
 man, with a strong opinion of his own, which he 
 did not like to be called in question. 
 
 On one occasion he had to survey an old French 
 ship, which the French Captain, as in duty bound, 
 was anxious to save from condemnation. He, there- 
 fore, accompanied our friend on his survey, and 
 when he saw him attentively inspecting some sus- 
 picious plank or beam where dry rot was conspicuous, 
 he would assure him, in his own language, with 
 many a scrape and bow, that it was bon, tres bon. 
 This went on for some time, the surveyor paying 
 no apparent attention to the remarks ; but at last 
 human nature could stand no more, his patience 
 was exhausted, and, turning suddenly round on the 
 astonished Frenchman, he exclaimed : "Bong be 
 
 d , it ain't bong, and you can't make it bong, 
 
 and shan't make it bong, I'll be bonged if you do, 
 so just you leave me to do my duty." The ship was 
 condemned, and sold. A Chinaman bought her ; 
 but, wishing to keep the name Henri Quatre for 
 luck, called her Henry Cater. She was lost the first 
 voyage. 
 
 178