ASIA + DS 646 3 M43 1885a BEITISH NOKTH BOENEO. BY SIR WALTER H. MEDHURST. BEING A PAPER BEAD BEFORE THE FELLOWS OF MAT 12, 1885. UNWIN BEOTHEES, TEINTEHS, 71a, LUDGATE HILL, E.G. 18S5. CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY ITHACA, N Y 14855^ John M. Echols Collection on Southeast Asia KROCH LIBRARY CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 1924 078 409 640 BEITISH NOETH BOENEO. Although only little more than three years have passed since the political and business worlds of London were startled by the announcement that a Eoyal Charter had been granted to certain gentlemen, constituting them "one body politic and corporate by the name of the British North Borneo Company," and clothing them with powers, privileges, and responsibilities far beyond the common, yet the subject has already so entirely sHpped out of public notice that no one, save, perhaps, those immediately interested, seems at this moment to know what has been the result of the unusual measui-e thus dehberately adopted, or what success has attended the efforts of the enterprising gentlemen who thus took -upon themselves the arduous task of building up a new state in the JIastem Seas. It is only due to these bold emulators of the deeds -of navigators and " merchant adventurers " of the olden time, to let the world know how far they have deserved the confidence placed in them by our legislators ; and the information may serve to keep Tip interest in a scheme which has for its object the reclamation of a vast and fertile tract of country from a state of primeval savagery, and its utilisation as a source of commercial wealth and progress for the benefit of the world m general. My hearers must not be disappointed if they find themselves confronted, in the remarks that follow, by dull details and dry statistics in the place of those glowing descriptions, by travellers and others, which have hitherto served, however unintentionally, to throw around our ideal of Borneo a glamom' of poetry and romance rather than to reduce it to the common-sense conception of a place to be turned, as far as circumstances will allow, to practical and useful purposes. The geographical position of the Island of Borneo is, or ought to he, too well known to need special illustration here. Its shape, as 1)5 .3 CK^ 4 British North Borneo. an entirety, resembles that of a Burgundy pear, the stalk end pointing northwards, towards China, and the base lying south- wards upon the equatorial islands of the Eastern Archipelago. Supposing the stalk end of this huge pear to be cut off to the extent of about one-eighth of the whole length of the fruit, the morsel so detached would, roughly speaking, represent the portion of terri- tory which has been ceded to the British North Borneo Company. They consequently possess a sea coast in three directions — namely, on the stalk or north end, and on the eastern and western shoulders. Inland their boundary consists of a not as yet clearly defined line, stretching from "W.N.W. to E.S.E. On the west coast of Borneo, next below the southernmost limit of the Company's western boun- dary, lies, first, Brunei, a quasi-independent State, governed by a Sultan; and next beyond that, the Eajahdom of Sarawak. On the eastern side their limit extends southward to native territory likewise, although claimed as a protectorate — or, it would be more correct to say, dependency — by the Dutch. This entire line of sea- coast thus ovraed by the Company is said to comprise 600 miles, and it is indented at various points by bays and harbours, some of them scarcely to be equalled elsewhere as safe and commodious refugee for shipping. The total area of the country within the bounds above described is computed roughly at 24,000 square miles, and it is intersected in different directions by more or less notable streams, of which the Kinabatangan, Labuk, and Segama, debouching eastward, and the Papar and Elimanis, debouching westward, are the most important. The principal stations thus far opened by the Company are Silam and Sandakan on the east coast, Kudat on the northern point, and Gaya, Papar, and Kimanis on the western coast. There are also several sub-stations, which it is only necessary for the purpose of this sketch to allude to thus generally, so as to save any clogging of the memory or tiring of the attention by an array of uncouth names, not apprehensible beyond the limits of local information. The executive required for the management of these stations, and the administration of the territory generally, is headed by a Gover- nor, Mr. W. EL Treacher, who is an ofl&cer in the Colonial Service, and a gentleman of matured experience in Eastern regions, and who has lately been selected provisionally to fill the post of Acting-Governor of Labnan, with which is associated the ofiice of Consul- General for Bnmoi, Borneo, and Sarawak, by appointment from the Foreign Office, au arrangement naturally of great value to the British North Borneo Coinpacy, as au evidence to the native The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924078409640 British North Borneo. 5 mind of governmental confidence in tlieir enterprise, and as asso- ciating their system officially with that of the Imperial administra- tion. Immediately responsible to the Goyemor are the several departments, consisting of the treasury and customs, the land and public works offices, and the residential, judicial, medical, harbour, police, agricultural, and exploration staffs. In order to convey some idea of the importance and completeness of the organisation thus set up, it will suffice to state that the salaries and expenses incident thereto for the past year (1884), including a police force of about 180 men and maintenance of steam launches and other general expenses, amounted to £30,000. As regards the administration of justice, Eesidents' Courts, with Magistracies of the second and third class, and possessing civil and criminal jurisdiction, have been thought sufficient for present requirements, and have been established in each district and sub- district upon a system chiefly adapted from the Indian Codes, and in some instances from Colonial ordinances. Eight of appeal exists from the lower to the higher courts, and from the Resident's or Session Court to the Governor, whose Court corresponds generally with the Indian High Court ; and to it capital sentences are referred for confirmation. Matters affecting Mohamedan law and custom are dealt with by the aid of a salaried Imaum or Mohamedan priest, who acts as assessor whenever needed. This administration, it is assumed, applies to white men. and natives alike, although some of the former are supposed to retain extra-territorial privileges, secured to their respective countries under treaties entered into with the Sultans, previously to the concession to the Company. The first station mentioned in the above list, Silam, was opened mainly as a depot for experimental gardening, under the superin- tendence of an experienced employe of the Company. About thirty acres were cleared, roaded, and drained, and then planted with Liberian coffee, tea, cocoa, and various other products, such as cinnamon, Indian. and Java coffee, nutmegs, cloves, citronella grass, sugar, pepper, vanilla, and cotton. The Liberian coffee appears to have done exceptionally well, and blossomed within the year after being planted out. The tea failed, as was anticipated, through having been planted so few feet above sea-level, and at a wrong time of year ; but fresh plants, afterwards put in, did better, and it is probable that tea may hereafter turn out a product well worth attention in certain parts of the country. Cinchona was tried, but proved a complete failure, also owing, it was thought, to the 6 British North Borneo. garden being situated at so low a level. Cocoa flourished both under shade and in the open, as did also Coffea Arabica, The latter does not seem to require in North Borneo the high elevation which it claims elsewhere ; but this feature has yet to be established by further experiments. The sugar-cane had already been extensively introduced by the natives, and was found to grow so readily and to such perfection, that great hopes were at one time entertained of its becoming the staple product of the Colony in the future, and large acreages were taken up chiefly with this view by an Australian syndicate, and a company formed in China, as well as by indivi- duals. Very soon, however, experienced planters from Deli, on the Sumatran coast, came over to prospect, and their strongly pro- nounced opinions in favour of the peculiar adaptability of the climate and soil of North Borneo for the cultivation of tobaccOj together with the sudden depreciation of cane-grown sugar in "Western markets, at once drew attention to the importance of the former as a far more reliable and profitable crop. Late experiences have since proved that a quality of leaf for wrapping purposes can be grown in North Borneo fuUy equal in weight and texture to that which has proved so remunerative to Sumatran planters, notwith- standing the numerous imports and disabihties under which they operate upon Dutch territory. Specimens have already been sent to Holland and England in limited quantities, and submitted to the inspection of experts, who report them worth, if more effectively cured, from 3s. 6d. to 4s. per pound on the home market. The largest return so far (January, 1885) has amounted to about four tons, and it formed the main part of a crop gathered on the banks of the Suan Lambar river, not far' from the settlement of Sandakan. Planting takes place in April or May, and the gathering of the leaf maybe looked for in about seventy days afterwards, so that at most but three months need elapse between the sowing and the har- vesting of the tobacco. Pepper formed fully a century ago a staple product of Borneo, and a considerable junk trade was carried on between Brunei and China in that article. The vines are now re- ported to be laden with fruit in the Company's experimental garden, and there is every promise that pepper will again take an important place in the exports of the northern part of Borneo. The soil of North Borneo, whilst so well adapted for tobacco and pepper culti- vation in particular, is pronounced, by those who have given the question careful attention, as being most favourable for cultivation in general A Dutch gentleman, charged with an experiment on the Dumongong river, reports to the Governor, Mr. Treacher, aa British North Borneo. 7 follows : ' ' The soil is very fertile ; seeds germinate altogether. Tobacco grows quickly ; promises strong trees ready for cuttings in two months after planting out ; and gives expectation of lots of second growth besides." This verdict is confirmed by Mr. Beece, one of the gentlemen who made an exploratory visit to North Borneo in connection with the Australian syndicate above referred to. According to the Australasian of December 29, 1888, this gentleman is reported to have stated : — " I have never seen products grow so fast anywhere. I saw coffee plants in full bearing in fourteen months, although in other places two years generally elapse before. the berries can be used. Sugar- cane can be got ready for the mill within ten months. The climate is a grand one, the temperature being pretty even all the year round. The average annual rainfall is about 120 inches. The timber is some of the finest I have seen. I measured some of the trees, which were from 8 ft. to 10 ft. in diameter, and 120 ft. in height before a branch appeared." Sandatan, the next station on the list, is reported by G-ovemor Treacher to be the principal centre of trade. Its enterprising Eesi- dent, Mr. "W. B. Pryer, a man to whom, it should be observed, the bantling, North Borneo, owes much energetic and careful nursing since its birth, has christened his station " Elopura," meaning, it is said, "Beautiful City." It seldom succeeds, however, to foist new and aesthetic names upon outlandish places ; for the aborigines stick with persistent obstinacy to the appellation they know best, and the common sense of such foreigners as seek intercourse vrith them supports the fancy. Sandakan will therefore in all proba- bility remain " Sandakan " to the end of the chapter, as Hong Kong has continued to be " Hong Kong " from its annexation up to this day, in spite of its other royal and more euphonious designation. The position of Sandakan is a grand one. Locally, it nestles just inside the entrance of a most picturesque as well as commodious bay, into which some seventeen rivers are said to discharge them- selves ; and geographically, it lies in a position, relatively to the route of steamers running between Austraha and China, which must give it a commanding commercial influence, whenever North Borneo becomes sufBciently developed to take a place amongst the producing districts of the world. The site of the settlenient com- prises a frontage of about 5,000 feet, with water deep enough to admit of large class vessels being laid alongside its future wharves, now represented by one well-built wooden pier, 450 ft. in length, and onabling vessels drawing 20 ft. of water to go alongside. 8 British North Borneo. Tlie population consists of between three and four thousand natives and Chinese, who inhabit frail and much too inflammable huts, constructed of palm leaves and planking, which lie scattered on the water-side, most of them raised on piles, between high and low water marks. Their appearance en masse is somewhat mean, and belies their powers of accommodation, so that until one actually penetrates the water-side quarter, the size or importance of the place is scarcely to be appreciated. The Government are, however, taking measures for the encouragement of buildings of a more sub- stantial character, and upon plans laid out with a view to sanitary and municipal requirements. Township lots were the subject of smart competition at the early land sales, and the most eligible xealised as much as $112 to $115 the plot of 33 ft. by 66 ft. But these sales, although lately resumed, had to be stopped for a while, until a proper contour survey could be made, so as to obviate the confusion incident to. the demise of lauds without a previous defini- tion of the portions necessary for public and municipal purposes. At the back of the settlement there is an unlimited amount of land available for. suburban and country dwellings, and for plantation farms, and doubtless branch settlements will in time be formed at various points on the shores of the bay. Drinking water is happily plentiful, and most excellent in quality. As an indication of the appearance of Sandakan, to the eyes of a stranger, it may be stated that an Australian gentleman, who came there in connection with the Australian syndicate before referred to, expressed his unbounded surprise at finding not a mere rough commencement, such as he had frequently seen in Australia, but a flourishing settlement, which in public institutions and commercial enterprise was on a level with Cooktown, Queensland, although founded more than ten years before. It is only fair to observe that there is a reverse side of the picture, pourtrayed by a correspondent of the China Mail, Hong Kong, and which makes Sandakan out to rival Dickens's " Eden " in the weary stagnation and hopelessness of its condition. But the description is an exaggerated one, and bears evident signs of a deliberate intention to detract, when there are really no grounds for making the attempt. The trade statistics of Sandakan are worth noting. The comparative figures for the past three years are as follows : — Imports. Exports. 1881 $160,658 1882 269,597 188a -128,919 1881 $145,443 1882 133,665 1883 159,127 This Irade seems to be almost entirely in thejiands of the Chinese, British North Borneo. 9 ■who traffic directly witli the natives. The most successful are stated to be those who come from the Straits Settlements, and who conse- quently have gained not only familiarity with the Malay language, but experience in dealing with jungle produce. The goods imported consist of (taking them in the order of their comparative importance) treasure, provisions, rice and flour, cloth, spirits, opium, hardware, brassware, tobacco, sugar, oil, cattle, crockery, and sundries. The exports comprise birdsnests, rattans, gutta, damar, trepang, pearl- shells, shark's fins, camphor, and sundries. A decrease in the exports for the half-year ending June, 1883, is ascribed by Governor Treacher to the falling off in gutta-percha, attributable partly to the exhaus- tion of the trees by the destructive mode of collection practised by the natives, and partly to a diminution in the number of collectors, who, being mostly immigrants from Sarawak and the Sulu Islands, were for some time prevented from plying their trade. The ex- haustion of the trees seems to be by no means a necessity of the case, for, as Governor Treacher points out, the value of jungle exports from the neighbouring territory of Sarawak is well main- tained, although collectors there have been at work for thirty or forty years, and the population of Sarawak is dense, as compared with that of North Borneo ; whilst its river communication is even more free. It has been proposed in some quarters to introduce a system of tapping the trees, instead of ringing them j but it has been found impossible to enforce any such rule, and Sir Hugh Low, of Perak celebrity, who is a reliable authority, states that tapping, although universal in the case of South American trees, would not pay where Bomean trees are concerned. Since this sketch was drawn up I have had an opportunity of seeing the returns of im- ports and exports for 1884. These indicate a slight decrease in the former (§877,885), which is attributed to over-trading during the previous year. But the exports show a notable increase (§184,173), and it is a significant fact that amongst the articles now exported there appear several entirely new items, such as bricks, indiarubber, seed pearls, sago, timber, and tobacco. As regards the" population of Sandiikan, Governor Treacher, relying, it appears, upon the common-sense principle that the proof of the pudding is in the eating, furnishes some statistics which go to show that it must have increased rapidly during the first half-year of 1883, as compared with the corresponding six Dionths of the previous year. The value of imported food and luxuries during the two periods imder review he estimates to have been as follows : — 10 British North Borneo. 1882. 198?. Rice and flour $24,554 $30,568 Sugar 1,994 3,680 Salt 174 757 Spirits 2,946 8,405 Tobacco 4,232 5,512 Opium 2,983 6,248 or, say, a total increase of 18,000 dollars-worth of food and luxuries in favour of the latter period of six months. Sandakan is of course from its position the principal shipping port and terminus of the few steam lines that carry on the trade. These consist of five, namely, one between Hong Kong and Sanda- kan, calling at Eudat ; three independent and competing steamers between Singapore and Sandakan, calling at Kudat, Gaya, and Labuan; and a coasting line. All, save the three independent steamers, have been, and are, subsidised by the Government, the one between Hong Zong and Sandakan almost entirely so, and it is feared that unless Chinese immigration (of which more presently) can be maintained at a considerable figure, and private freights can be secured to a more remunerative extent, an independent Hong Kong line may have to be given up altogether, although up to the latest dates it was still being kept up. Strenuous efforts have been made to induce the companies now running lines batween Hong Kong and Austraha to order their steam vessels to call in, either on their way north or south, or both. But the lack of freights, and difficulties as regards the extra sea-risk, where there are no returns to render it worth acceptance, have combined so far to render the project difficult of accomplishment, save under the condition of a heavy subsidy. Two large steamers, however, have by last accounts called in, namely, the Timor and Wusung, "and have carried samples of timber and other products to the Melbourne market, leading to the formation of two companies for the development of the trade. Sandakan, besides its felicitous position as an outlet for Bornean products, is most favourably situated as regards the Sulu and Philippine Island groups, which are much more thickly populated than Borneo, and whence a growing barter trade has already com- menced to be attracted. The (juiet and substantial protection to be secured within the Company's territory, presents, moreover, a great temptation to well-to-do traders in the neighbouring islands to seek a refuge from the exactions and insecurity to which they are liable whilst under native domination. Kudtit, another important station, is situated upon the shore of a small but deep and safe harbour, forming one of the indentations British North Borneo. 11 on the west side of Marudu Bay, the great arm of the sea, which penetrates the north point of Borneo, Until lately it has been the ■seat of government and the headquarters of the Company, now removed to Sandakan, a distinction which it owecT to its central position, relatively to the other parts of the coast. This circum- stance, in fact, has constituted its whole importance as a station, for the- trade is as yet too insignificant to claim special comparative returns, the value of the exports (of imports there seem to be none) for the half-year ended 30th of June, 1883, being estimated at but §26,000. The soil in the neighbourhood has been favourably reported upon by European and Chinese planters, and the country around abounds in several sorts of good and large timber, which only need to be knovra to take a prominent place in Chinese and other markets. Its near vicinity, moreover, to the tracts of fertile country watered by the Bengkoko and Bongan rivers, to Banguey Island, opposite to the mouth of Marudu Bay. and to the Palawan and other islands, ought to secure for it at no distant date a leading position as a shipping port and general depot for plantation business. It is within this Eesidency, on the banks of the Bengkoko Eiver, that two Chinese have taken up 1,000 acres for planting purposes, the largest venture yet made by that people. A German company has taken up 10,000 acres on Banguey Island for tobacco cultivation, and they are so satisfied with the excellence of the soil and prospects, that they have claimed the option of selecting 10,000 more acres, and have offered to buy out other holders at largely advanced prices. A favourable feature in regard to this company is that it has been promoted by Germans who have had previous • experience of tobacco-planting in Sumatra, and there is every reason to believe that should the venture be attended with success, a larger amount of capital will be embarked in the enterprise. The population of Kudat is but Hmited as yet, the whole being estimated at 1,250, of whom more than one-half are Chinese. Gaya, the next' station on the list, although only opened in September, 1882, has already shown indications of material pro- gress and success. It is situated on an island of that name lying off the west coast, and it possesses an unrivalled harbour and commodious wharf, but the room eligible for town purposes seems to be limited, the lay of the land being at such a steep gradient. Chinese from Singapore have taken a fancy to the place, and have established! 12 British North Borneo. there laxge sago factories, paying as much as $1,150 per acre for building lots. This should have the effect, it is anticipated, of drawing trade and population from the mainland around the bay. The population has already reached 1,000, of whom 360 are Chinese, and the importance of the place is daily increasing. Papar and Kimanis are stations further down the west coast beyond Gaya, where the population is more numerous than in any other part of the territory, owing to the soil being good, and the country better adapted for the cultivation of products, such as the natives are partial to, namely, rice, sugar, sago, pepper, and other low country produce. But no special effort has yet been made by the Company to develop this neighbourhood, from the fact that the rivers, from which the two stations take their names, are blocked by bars, and consequently unapproachable for weeks during the north-east monsoon, even for rowing boats. It is on this face of the coast, however, that considerable Chinese colonies used to be located in ancient times, and the partially-recovered lands which they left in every direction, and which can now be easily re-cleared, are likely to prove attractive to settlers of the same race again for plant- ing rice, pepper, and gambler. The Company have lately acquired a further valuable cession of territory from the Sultan of Brunei, extending their boundary from Kimanis, on the west coast, to Sipitong, a small stream rismg in Mount Mkapoke, and which empties itself into Brunei Bay. This acquisition adds about sixty miles of coast-line and 4,000 square miles to the Company's terri- tory, and includes the Kalias and Padas rivers, the latter of which is a fine stream, navigable for over 100 miles. Minerals are reported to abound in this district, and a considerable quantity of sago is exported from the rivers. It is more thickly populated than most parts of Borneo, but the people are peaceably disposed, and are stated to have welcomed the Company's government as a pro- tection against Brunei oppression. The inhabitants of the Limbang district, a little further to the southward, are said to be clamouring to be placed under the Company's rule. The above-described stations constitute the main points at which the Company have estabhshed themselves, and they form the out- posts, as it were, from which the influences of civilisation and development are being brought to bear upon the extensive and yet partially-explored interior. Journeys have been made from time to time in various directions by the Company's agents with a view to ascertaining the commercial, agricultural, mineralogical, and other resources of the couutry inland. But the sparseness of the British North Borneo. 13 population, the difi&culty of procuring suppHes, the absence of any means of communication beyond occasional and devious mountain paths, or streams beset with snags and rapids, and the risk to Europeans from exposure to sun and rain in tropical forests, have combined to render such attempts at all times laborious, and to a certain extent hazardous. The Company can only, and in fact do, trust to private enterprise to second the strenuous efforts which they are making towards preparing the country for colonisation. They also rely upon Chinese immigration as a powerful factor in producing the results they look for. Although private enterprise does not appear to have effected much as yet, judging from the Governor's report under the head of land sales, still it is gratifying to observe that over 260,000 acres had been taken up to tie end of 1883, in the East Coast Residency, and 1,000 acres in the West Coast Eesidency. Of the first-named quantity, 100,000 acres were appHed for by the AustraHan Borneo Company, and there is every reason to believe that other companies will follow suit in the same direction, as soon as the promising results of the efforts of that association become generally known. Chinese immigration does not appear to have altogether fulfilled expectations, or taken the precise course anticipated for it by the Company. When they deputed the lecturer to proceed to Borneo and China in January, 1882, for the purpose of organising a suit- able system of Chinese immigration, the measures taken to acquaint the inhabitants of the southern provinces of China with the pro- jects of the Company bore immediate fruits. The steamer, which was put on between Hong Kong and Sandakan, once in three weeks originally, but afterwards at longer intervals, was crowded for several trips, and entire families, comprising in some cases grand- parents and children of both sexes, were to be found amongst the emigrants. Some persons of the petty trader and shopkeeper class ventured upon their own resources, but the mass consisted of labourers and farmers, who went under advance from the Com- pany, supplemented in some cases by grants of land, out of the produce of which they were to repay their loans in the course of time. In every case the terms granted were of the most liberal character, and the prospects held out very encouraging to an active, hungry people like the Chinese. The rush, however, as is BO often the case, proved to be too overwhelming. The labour market in so small a sphere became overstocked, simultaneously with the suspension of private building operations, and reduction in Government works, and the very natural consequence was 14 British North Borneo. a reaction. The traders and petty shopkeepers, moreover, found themselres at an immense disadvantage as compared to those Chinese from the Straits: Settlements, who had preoccupied the field, and who, being already familiar with the language, and versed in the business of the natives, could easily outstrip and undersell their later arrived countrymen. As for the agricultural immigrants, the very sight of the tangled and impracticable jungle, which spread before them in ceaseless continuity on all sides, filled them with such dismay, that most of them uttenly declined to squat on the land provided for them, choosing rather to take to the roads and wharves as day coolies, than face a fearsome forest, haunted, as they took for granted, by ghouls, devils, . and tigers. Like the Israelites of old, they one and all pined for the leeks and onions of Egypt, and a return current commenced, which by the end of 1883 had carried hundreds back to their native shores. Meanwhile, nevertheless, a flow of Chinese from the Straits had been quietly but steadily pouring in, unassisted by Government protection or. subsidy. Two leading Chinese firms of Singapore had put on steamers of their own, and created a monopoly for themselves as against their northern countrymen, of the import and export trade of the territory, and these steamers have continued to compete successfully with the Government subsidised hnes. As already noted, with reference to Gaya, the Singapore Chinese have shown every inclination to start sago, gambler, and pepper plantations, as well as sago factories. To a Chinaman competition is meat and drink, no matter who the antagonist happens to be, whether countryman or foreigner. Governor Treacher states that these Straits Chinese, who hail mostly in the first instance from the province of Fokien, have the trade of the territory mainly in their hands. " As one of their number remarked to me," he goes on to say, " Singapore has proved a school to them, in which they learn the language of the country, the customs and pecuharities of the Malays, and the luiture of the products, and, above all, become acclimatised to a Malayan climate. This education is lacking in the case of Canton and Swatow Chinese, who come by the way of Hong Kong, and they are, consequently unable to compete with their brethren from the Straits. The same intelligent Chinaman is of opinion that our immigration olfice is in the wrong place, and that it should be transferred to Singapore. He thinks that an offer of free passages to Borneo, say for twelve months, would have the effect of bringing into the country hundreds of Chinese of all British NoTth Borneo. 15 classes, the poorer ones of whom, akeady accustomed to jungle life in the Straits, would find the means of living in various ways, as collectors of jungle-produce, charcoal-burners, gambier and pepper planters, gardeners, plauk sawyers, &o. From Hong Kong we certainly are not at present receiving this class of men, who would prove such a valuable and revenue-paying addition to the population." Mr. Treacher is quite right in his suggestion, and a still stronger incentive to respectable Chinese settlers would be an offer of plots of land free for a certain term of years, in self-selected localities, subject to subsequent assessment of value whenever the productive, ness of the soil had been sufficiently established. Funds might even be placed at disposal in individual cases under certain circum- stances, and for reliable security, but simply to enable the bor- rowers the more easily to venture for . themselves ; not to settle them at Government risk, or on Government account. Apiropos of this idea, it is encouraging to observe it reported in the North Borneo Herald of the 31st December, 1883, that the Government . are offering liberal terms to gambier and pepper planters from the Straits Settlements, where suitable land is becoming difficult to acquire. The terms are described to be as follows : 99 years' tenure, without premium ; for the first three years no rent, after three years a rent of 10 cents an acre, or in lieu thereof an export royalty of 10 cents per pecul on gambier, and 20 cents per pecul on pepper. Acreage to be calculated on the basis of two-thirds uncleared land in addition to the amount cleared at the end of the first three years, e.ff., if after three years, say, 33 acres have been cleared, then, if required, a lease for 100 acres would be granted. The check above described in emigration of Chinese from China proper, need not necessarily be regarded as permanent. As Governor Treacher observes : " The true cause of the diminution in the stream of Hong Kong immigrants is to be found in the absence, at present, of employers of labour. To seek for other causes is futile. So soon as the demand for labour arises, so soon will a strong stream of immigrants again set in." And in this connection it is worth while quoting the opinion of Mr. Helms, ■■•' for a long series of years a resident in the very regions under consideration. Speaking of Sarawak, he says : " When the natives had fairly realised the advantages of trade, a great change for the better took place in their habits, stimulated by the Chinese, • "Pioneering in the Far East," p. 247. 16 British North Borneo. who promptly followed up every success of the Government in subduing hostile tribes by settling amongst them, and turning the minds of the natives to labour and gain. The astuteness and capacity of the Chinese for adapting themselves to any circum- stances was shown here, as elsewhere, to a very remarkable extent. Small as was their number, they were yet found in every available settlement, often without knowing the language, and at the risk of their lives, which, however, to the Chinaman was a secondary consideration, gain being his first, in the competition for which the simple Dyak was entirely unfit to cope with him. But whatever the faults of the Chinese, they are unrivalled as pioneers in tropical countries, and are in trade valuable as mediums between the white man and the savage." Furthermore, Mr. Helms says t : " The increasing power of the Mongolian race over other parts of the globe than those now occupied by them is not perhaps a pleasant prospect. But a survey of the condition of the Far East will, I think, lead to the conviction that the march of events is fast bringing these vast and now neglected possessions within the reach of reclamation and development, and that the Mongolian race will take a leading part in this movement there can be Httle doubt. The Chinaman surpasses every other race in the qualities required for contending with nature in savage and undeveloped countries, and so we see him gradually supplant them in the Indo-Chinese peninsula, from their ovm borders to the southernmost point of Malacca, in the hundreds of Islands in the Eastern Archipelago, in AustraHa and the Pacific, in California and Peru. At present he is the labourer only. But we have seen that in Borneo and elsewhere there have in the past been Chinese dominations. The Chinese will follow the Japanese, slowly but surely, in profiting by the teaching of European civilisation whether for peace or war." The introduction of Chinese labour into Borneo is by no means universally advocated by those who interest themselves in the new territory. There .are many who prefer the Indian cooHe, and con- sider the latter better suited to the peculiar wants of the locality, at any rate dming the earlier stages of settling and planting. They regard the Indian, moreover, as a creature far more amenable to -discipline and management than the more sturdy and independent Chinese. The question is of too complex a nature to bear being dealt with fully here, but the Company are very wisely placing every facility iu the way of encouraging the introduction of t "Pioneering in the Fur East," p. -JS^. British North Borneo. 17 labourers from India and Ceylon, and a labour protection ordinance has lately been passed upon the lines of an enactment already in force in the Straits Settlements, which should relieve the Indian Government from any anxiety as regards the management and treatment of all coolies who may venture to seek employment in British North Borneo. As regards the revenue and expenditure, which under normal circumstances must always be regarded as a test of the progress or otherwise of a territory, the relations of the one to the other have not yet attained to that condition of adjustment which is calculated to afford entirely satisfactory results. The land sales for the six months ended June 30, 1883, are returned by Mr. Treacher at §11,163 for town lots and $68,125 for agricultural lands ; but a considerable proportion of the latter must be considered in suspense, as applications appear to be included, and the purchase money in some cases is still outstanding. As extraneous and wholly adventitious circumstances, such for instance as the riots of Canton, since followed by the Franco- Chinese war, and a general monetary uneasiness throughout the whole coast of China, are reported to have checked speculation in land, it is reasonable to infer that an increase in the demand may arise hereafter, when matters become more settled, more especially in the event of the results of cultivation by European investors proving favourable. Amongst the sources of revenue, opium is at present the most pro- ductive ; and next to it, in any notable measure, come royalties on export, sale of birdsnests, profit on coinage, &c,, and lastly, fines and fees. As regards opium, it must be understood that the drug- is merely imported, not grown in the country, as some would-be philanthropists mistakenly assume. The right to import and pre- pare the drug for consumption, and to retail it when so prepared, is farmed out to respectable Chinese for a monthly consideration,, and this brings in an annually growing revenue as the population increases. This riglit for 1884 is reputed to have been sold for $30,000, an enormous advance upon the figure which it reached in 1883. The great- find for birdsnests is at some mammoth caves called Gormanton, situated in the vicinity of the Kinabatangan River, and these same caves having been a resort for vast flights of bats for untold generations in times past, there is to be found in their recesses a deposit of guano, the extent or depth of which has not yet been fathomed, but the latter must be exceptional, as a twenty foot pole has failed to reach the bottom in those parts tested. The value of this guano is estimated from small samples 18 British North Borneo. at from £5 to £10 per ton, and the value of the nests, taken out of the entire series of the caverns, is reckoned at fally ^25,000 annually. Most interesting accounts of these remarkable caves, their valuable contents, the eccentric habits of their winged occupants, and the marvellous manner in which the natives collect the nests at the risk of their lives, are to be found in the Field, of May 3 and December" 20, 1894, whence the following remarks have been epitomised. The explorer, Mr. H. Pryer, brother to the Kesident at Sandakan, came suddenly in the thick forest upon a sheer cliff of limestone 900 feet in height, and in which the caves are situated. The entrance to the great cavern is rather over 100 feet wide by 250 feet high, and the roof, slopes upward 110 feet more, forming a magnificent natural cathedral some 360 feet in height. The interior is well lighted by two large apertures on the right and left, and the walls are rugged, and beautifully tinted with various shades of colours. Circling high above the heads of the explorers were, myriads of bats and swifts, the nests of the latter being attached to the sides and roof in incredible (juantities, and in seemingly inacces- sible spots, but the nest-gatherers had nevertheless planted every- where the Hght stages and ladders of cane and bamboo with which they pursue their hazardous occupation. The nests appear to be made by the birds from a soft fungoid growth that encrusts the limestone in aU damp situations. It grows about an icch thick, dark brown on the outside and white on the inside, and it is from the latter portion that the best quality nests are formed. The bird takes the material in its beak, and draws it in a filament backwards and forwards, like a caterpillar weaving its cocoon. The most wonderful sight is to watch the bats leave the caves and the swifts return to roost. About 5 p.m. a rushing sound is heard, when innumerable columns of bats may be seen wheeling round in regular order, and circling into the air in a corkscrew flight, until they reach the mouth of the cave, and fly off to their several destinations. Shortly after the birds begin to arrive in the same untold quantities, and with similar regularity of motion. At day- light the process is reversed, the swifts going out, and the bats coming home, the latter occupying fully two hours, literally " rain- ing " into the chasm. The birds keep up an intermittent twittering, which, owing to the vast number assembled, sounds like surf breaking upon a rocky shore. The explorers were witness to the process of nest-gathering. The ladders are hung across the most British North Borneo. 19 horrible gulfs, and two men take their station upon each, one carrying a light pronged spear about 15 feet in length, with a lighted candle fastened just below tbe prongs. With this the nests are transfixed, and a sUght push easily detaches them from the rock, when the second man receives the nests from the prongs and puts them into his pouch. The supply of guano deposited by the bats and the birds is enormous beyond calculation, and the out- turn of nests is, with care and Attention to the habits of the birds, capable of large development. Still richer caves have been dis- covered in the neighbourhood of Darvel Bay, near Silam Station. Royalties are at present confined to jungle produce, such as rattans, gutta, damar, and such like. Minerals, precious stones, and coals are still to be regarded, so to speak, as yet in posse. Gold, however, has lately been discovered in the alluvial soil of the Segama Eiver, samples of which have proved on analysis to be worth 72s. per ounce. As gold is also reported to exist in the Elinabatangan Eiver, it may be found in alluvial deposit extending over a wide area, and should the metal prove to prevail in sufficient quantity to afford profitable employment to Chinese and others, a considerable impetus will no doubt be given to the development of the country. Indications of coal have also been met with in several localities ; but the finds have not been of a nature to induce the Government to go to the expense of working, and possibly they are awaiting the result of an experiment which is being made by a private firm at a place called Moara, in the neighbouring sultanate of Brunei, before they commit themselves to any decided venture. The existence of a pearl oyster of the same variety as that fished up with such good results in the Sulu Sea, close to Sandakan, and off Thursday Island, on the Austrahan coast, has been conclusively proved ; but, for some unexplained reason, the opportunity has not yet been taken advantage of. The Company appears to have achieved wonderful success in subjugating the country to their dominion, considering the wild, and, in some cases, bloodthirsty, character of the tribes with whom they have come into contact ; and, to their credit be it said, this conquest has been effected, less by the display of force or the use of arms, than by the persistent exercise of a humane and conciUa- tory policy in all their dealings with the natives. Instances occur here and there of petty datus, or chiefs, who fret under the newly- imposed yoke, and decline to admit that their allegiance to the demising sultans implies of necessity submission to the Company to whom the territory has been demised. But quite as many cases 20 British North Borneo. may be quoted, on the other hand, of outlying chiefs who have volunteered to place themselves under a domination, which to thena and their people implies in their conviction the assertion of permanent law and order. Collisions, followed by fatal conse- quences, have unhappily taken place on two occasions ; the result, however, in both cases, was the ready payment by the trib* concerned of the fine imposed by the Governor, and the registry of fresh oaths of allegiance sworn to upon the Eoran. There can be no doubt that the natives of all tribes have now begun to appreciate fully the advantages attending a life of peace and security at home, combined with a lucrative trade abroad, as compared with the fitful and hazardous existence they once led as pirates and head- hunters, with the war-cry of tribal dispute perpetually ringing in their ears. As another and satisfactory evidence of the hold upon the confidence of their own people, as well as the neighbouring tribes, which the Company have succeeded in securing, it may be; instanced that they have introduced a one cent, copper coinage, which has become a monetary medium both in North Borneo and beyond its limits. They have, moreover, established a papes currency of §1, $o, and $25 notes, which pass current even as far- as Sarawak, Singapore, and Hong Kong ; and they have set liiip their own postage-stamps, and opened a money-order communica<- tion with Great Britain and foreign countries. The climate is favourably reported on by medical men who have had opportunities for forming a deliberate judgment on the subject* It is, of course, tropical, and precautions have to be taken against undue exposure. But the temperature is never found to be disagreeably hot, the thermometer generally averaging 70° to 72° in the mornings and evenings, and 82° to 85° soon after noon, which is usually the most sultry period of the day. It occasionally is known to rise to 93° or 94°, but even then the heat is not felt to be oppressive. During the nights a covering of flannel or some woollen material is generally found acceptable. The north-east monsoon is the rainy period of the year, but a day hardly ever passes during the drier months without a refreshing shower. The uniformly warm temperature and the abundance of moisture com- bined, have the efl'ect of covering the country with a perpetual verdure, which must be seen to be fully appreciated. The plentiful supply of large timber has already been alluded to, and ornamental woods of various sorts are daily being discovered, which are likely to prove serviceable for making furniture and other household purposes. Palm trees of many varieties, of which the nipa and British North Borneo. 21 sago are the most valuable, grow luxuriantly everywhere, and camphor, gutta-percha, a resin called " damar," vegetable tallow, and oils of various sorts are to be had merely for the trouble of collecting. The flowers of North Borneo are pronounced by competent authorities to be as numerous, dehcate, and beautiful, as the forests are grand and imposing. Time would fail to enumerate the many valuable and rare specimens which have been discovered and described by naturalists. But the most prominent in profusion and beauty are, perhaps, the orchidaceal and the various varieties of nepenthes and rhododendrons. Ferns and mosses of rare kinds and lovely texture likewise clothe the trunks of forest trees, and . luxuriate in damp, shady spots. The animal kingdom is not extensively represented in North Borneo. A sort of panther and a diminutive bear may be said to constitute its only beasts of prey. The elephant is plentiful in certain parts, likewise the rhinoceros, and wild cattle abound in remoter forests. Deer of several varieties are also to be met with. Wild pigs and monkeys swarm, and the famous "orang outang" makes Borneo his sole home. Crocodiles are plentiful in all rivers and bays, and are both bold and voracious, so much so that they will even attack canoes, if perchance they find anyone asleep on board. Eeptiles and insects, some of the latter of beautiful forms, abound all over the country. Much more of interest might be added, but limit of time demands brevity. Enough has been advanced to establish the fact that North Borneo possesses many valuable resources, which only need capital, enterprise, and judicious working to be developed success- fully. From a political point of view, the importance of there being a young and independent Colony like North Borneo under the British flag, located midway becween China and Australia, cannot be too highly estimated. France is daily seeking to extend her influence in the Indo-Chinese peninsula, and before very long, unless Great Britain should wake up to the emergency, the Fxench flag will be found flying along the entire coast from Bangkok to the western frontier of China, and possibly including even Burmah within the shadow of its folds. Germany, too, has of late determined that she will not be left behind in the race for dominion, and has accordingly annexed entire islands, studded with good harbours, and possessing many useful resources. Under these circumstances Great Britain may be considered 22 British North Borneo. fortunate in having thus placed at her disposal a territory con- veniently located in the very centre of the China Sea, and furnished with several most commodious harbours, "w^hence she can watch at her leisure over her commercial interests in those far-off regions. Discussion. Mr. Alfred Dent : Anticipating I might be called upon to make some remarks upon the interesting paper, I made a few notes of the later statistics and advices given in the annual reports and accounts for 1884, which were received a few days ago, but I notice- Sir Walter has been able to allude to them, though his paper deals chiefly with figures and events of preceding years. I would first say that the progress in North Borneo has not been so rapid as was anticipated when we obtained the charter at the end of 1881, but still we can certainly point to steady progress since the Company took possession in July, 1882. I find that the fiscal revenue for 1884 as compared with 1883 shows an increase of 60 per cent., land sales a decrease of 39 per cent., leaving a total increase of 28 per cent., which, considering the state of trade and universal depression, must, I think, be thought not wholly unsatisfactory. Sir Walter has alluded to several new imports and exports. We hope in 1885 to show an export of gold. Last autumn we sent one of our best oflScers to explore for gold in the Segama and Kinaba- tangan rivers, and his report showed gold to exist in alluvial deposit in the 30 or 40 places experimented upon. He could not continue his explorations, owing to the wet season having just set in, but has recently gone back, and we hope soon to hear it confirmed that there are workable deposits of gold in the country. That the Governor and officials of North Borneo believe in it is evidenced by their having taken the trouble to publish regulations and proclaim certain districts as gold fields. Tobacco we look forward to as likely to prove an important enterprise in the country. This, as the paper says, is advancing but slowly, for, owing to many difficulties which occur in a new country, the 1884 crop did mt come up to expectations. Considerable preparations have, however, been made for planting during the coming season. In February last one company had 830 coolies working on their plantation, and another company 100 coolies. From all accounts, this tobacco is likely to prove equal to the finest Sumatra. It is used for covering purposes. In sugar little has been done as yet, but large tracts of country have been taken by AustraHans, Chinese, and others. There seems to be a fair prospect that the depression in this trade will soon pass British North Borneo. 23 away, for prices have recently advanced 30 per cent. There is some reason to believe that the German Government are getting tired of the system of bounties, for I believe it is a fact that the sugar manufacturers and growers of beetroot in Germany owe the Government something like ten millions sterling, and the autho- rities are begiiming to wonder whether they will ever see their money again. As regards timber, our export for 1884 amounted to $10,000. Part went to Australia and part to China. There is a great variety of timber in Borneo, some of the hardest woods in the world being found there. The BilUan, or iron wood, is plentiful, and valuable for railway sleepers, wharves, &c. ; and some other woods are suited for furniture, shipbuilding, and other purposes. One of the Chinese merchants has 200 men cutting timber for the China market, and the Australians are cutting timber freely for the Melbourne market. The report upon the experimental garden at Silam states that Liberian coffee, now rising to its third year, is very fine, and yielding freely. The younger plantations at Sanda- • kan promise well. The growth of pepper is all that could be desired. CcJcoa, Manila hemp, and gambia are, amongst other articles, easily produced in the territory. One of the main questions remaining for consideration is that of labour. Everywhere the- question seems to be how, and where, to get labour. Many restrictions are, we know, put upon the importing of Chinese into ■ America and Australia, but those who have lived as long as I have amongst the Chinese will testify to their value if they are treated • properly. One advantage with this labour is that you can make- contracts, and payment by results, by which means you can get the maximum amount of labour at the minimum of expense. Borneo is but a few days' steam from China and Singapore, where, for a moderate wage, an unlimited amount of this labour can be obtained. Anyone who has studied the map will, I think, recognise that, commercially and strategically, North Borneo occupies a position of • great importance. Lying on the high road between China and ■ Australia, we must in time get a large population there. The climate > I can speak well of. ' I have lived there many months at diflferent- times of the year. The Government of the country is based, as - Sir Walter has told us, on the Indian penal code, and the admin-> istration seems to meet the wishes of the natives and the Chinese, i and the other settlers. A force of 180 police has hitherto been • sufficient to keep order with comparative ease. As to the charter,' some friends of the enterprise seem to believe that the enormooff.' powers WG hold were given by Her Majesty the Queen. It is not boi 24 British North Borneo. at all. All our powers were derived entirely from the Sultans of Brunei and Sulu, and what the British Government did was simply to incorporate us by Koyal charter, thus recognising our powers, which recognition is to us, of course, of vital importance. I hope I have said enough to interest you in our scheme, and to show that North Borneo has a considerable future before it. Lieut.-General E. W. Lowkt, C.B. : I think very good service will have been rendered to-night to this young, but large and pro- mising dependency of the Empire by the valuable paper just given us by Sir Walter Medhurst. It reminds us of what, amidst the clash of interests — I might almost have said of arms — in Central Asia, in Northern and Southern Africa, and in Canada, we are too apt to forget, that we have possessions and duties claiming un- ceasing attention, and vigilant oversight everywhere. It tells us that, large as was the territory originally ceded to us in North Borneo, it has since been voluntarily added to, and that it .is not improbable it may be still more so yet. I think it a matter of happy augury that it should be so, for it shows that we are so using our power as to benefit not alone ourselves, but the natives, and those from China and India who gather under our flag and pro- tection. The paper speaks of the large, though as yet somewhat latent, resources of British North Borneo, and of the great capa- cities of its excellent harbours. May we use both promptly and diligently, and our commerce be stimulated by the lines of steamers between China and Australia finding it to their own interests, as well as to those of North Borneo, to call going and returning. I trust our ships of war, too, may be more frequently seen on its waters and in its harbours. Nothing tends more to encourage loyalty and enhance a feeling of security than frequent visits by the Navy of England ; and such are more than ever valued and valu- able in the earlier settlement of newly-acquired territory. They show England values even the youngest of her Colonies, as the value her, and assure all other nations we are not unmindful of our obligations, wherever situated. We are indebted to Sir Walter Medhurst for a paper which very forcibly reminds us at this critical time of the importance of such a possession, half-way between China and Australia, and near such a centre of interest and vantage ground on many accounts as Singapore. As a coaling station, and one for the repair and partial refitment of our ships of war, the period may not be far distant when a well-protected and well-pro- visioned depot in one of the harbours of North Borneo may be invaluable to our world-wide Empire. British North Borneo. 25 Mr. P. A. Mybuegh, Q.C. : As a director of the British North Borneo Company I feel we are very much indebted to Sir "Walter Medhurst for his able and accurate paper. We are also greatly indebted to him for able and zealous services, and especially for the efforts he made to introduce Chinese emigrants into the Colony, when our enterprise was first launched. These efiforts, as Sir "Walter has pointed out, would have been perfectly successful if, as we all anticipated, the planting industry had at once become a success, but you know what a terrible fall there was in the price of all tropical products. The result was that the great industry on which we so much relied — sugar planting— came to nought, and the enterprising Chinamen, who would willingly have remained in our territory, for they were perfectly satisfied with the climate and other surroundings, were unable to obtain regular employment on planta- tions, and of other work there was little. They returned to China, but without disparaging the country where they had laboured. Mr. Dent has referred to a matter concerning which, as will be remem- bered, questions were put in the House of Commons. It is a matter which, no doubt, affects the status of the Company, and is inter- esting to those who are thinking of settling in our territory. As Mr. Dent said, the present Company obtained their powers from the Sultans of Brunei and Sulu. The Queen is in no sense the Sovereign of North Borneo, but the G-ovemment, by giving us a charter and recognising all the powers which the two Sultans have conferred upon us, have placed us, for aU practical purposes, in the position of a Colony. Of course, we know how chary Lord Derby and the officials are of going beyond what the occasion requires. "We cannot expect the authorities at the present moment to assume either a sovereignty or a protectorate ; but, having regard to the state of things existing in the neighbouring territory of Brunei, and to the facts published in the local Chinese and Straits Settlements papers, I think I may say that at the present moment efforts are being made by the traders there to induce our Government to assume a protectorate over Brunei, and with a protectorate over Brunei our relations with the Home Government must necessarily become closer. The present Governor of British North Borneo is also Consul- General of Sarawak and Borneo and Acting-Consul of Labuan, and in this threefold capacity he has done much faithful and zealous service, not only to our Company, but also to trade and British interests generally in those parts. Coming events cast their shadows before them, and I think there can be no doubt that before long our position will be materially altered. I should not be ii6 British North Borneo.. Burprised if the Company should end in being incorporated by the Empire, and North Borneo becoming a permanent and prosperous part of it. Sir ErcHAED Temple : Though I have never resided in Borneo^ and therefore am quite unable to oflfer such interesting details as , those -v^hich have been oflfered by preceding speakers, I feel bound to add, at the chairman's request, a few words to the interesting, discussion that has taken place. I feel sure we shall all be thank- ful to Sir Walter Medhurst for. the interesting paper with which he has favoured us. I hope that that paper will influence public opinion in this country, and that this influential gathering will- afford some encouragement and sympathetic support to the North- Borneo Company in the arduous career they have so successfully begun. Sir Walter began by saying that he would give only a few dry facts and statistics, and that he should not attempt to emulate the glowing descriptions of travellers and others who have described the country. But, ladies and gentlemen, we have perceived that Sir Walter, being a man of poetic temperament, and romantic mind and eloquent tongue, has found it impossible to resist the tempta- tion to enter upon glowing description. Certainly he has fulfilled his promise of instructing us with facts and figures, but surely he also has given us some glowing descriptions of that interesting region. He has told us of the islands, and the coves, and the bays, and the forests, and the caves, and myriads of bats whirling in the air. He has told us of the adventurous birds-nesters, who carry on their profession at the imminent risk of life and limb. He has told us of the trees and the flowers, and of the butterflies even, and he has not neglected the reptiles and the beasts of the forest. But to turn to strictly practical points. I have to indicate to you from an Imperial point of view, that we must not suppose we have a very extensive possession as yet in North Borneo, for although the extent of coast is long, yet the breadth of the territory is slight. In fact, the territory is not as broad as it is long. That you will under- stand must necessarily be the case from the configuration of the island. As Sir Walter has pointed out, our present possession is as it were at the extremity of a Burgundy pear, the stalk end pointing towards China. The average breadth cannot exceed 40 miles, and if you multiply that by the length — 600 miles — you have an area of 24,000 square miles. It would be interesting if we could come, before we part, to some clear knowledge as to whether these 24,000 square miles do or do not comprise the possible area of British extension in North Borneo. You see 24,000 square miles may be British North Borneo. 27 •ft great deal to those who are endeavouring to begin a colonial career, but they do not make up a very large area in the British • Empire, and we should be interested iu knowing whether that is the possible limit of the acquisition. I apprehend that is not so, because we have heard something of two local Sultans. His Majesty of Brunei may come under a British protectorate, but the other perhaps cannot, because if we were to endeavour to protect him the Spaniards or the Dutch might object. It would be interesting if Sir Walter could furnish us with a distinct statement on the point. However, you perceive that the territory, if small, is extremely rich and resourceful, and occupies an important poHtical situation. As an old administrator acquainted with India, though not with Borneo I desire to endorse most emphatically the eloquent expressions of the preceding speaker. General Lowry. I am sure every Anglo- Indian will heartily concur in what he said regarding the import- ■ ance of these harbours, so centrally situated, being visited by our men-of-war. For what were harbours made by nature ? Of course for British ships of war ! But apart from the poHtical situation of this territory, it is well that as practical men we should consider whether this is a really habitable climate for Europeans. I do not j5nd that Sir Walter has explicitly stated this climatic consideration in his paper, but having had the advantage of sitting next to him at dinner I have ascertained — ^he will correct me if I am wrong — that there are some hill sides which would afford a climate habit- able by Europeans. That is a matter of extreme importance when you come to colonisation. We who know the East are aware that men can stand a great deal in a tropical climate while they are well, but when they are sick it is of the utmost importance that there should be sanitai-ia to which they may be removed. It is equally important that if they are to live long in the country they should have their famihes with them, and in that case it is essential for their welfarejand comfort, and even for their safety, that there should be sanitaria to which the wives and children may be sent. I believe there are such possible sanitaria in North Borneo. Sir Walter will teU us whether there is not a hill, or more than one, from 12,000 to 18,000 feet high, on the sides of the flanks of which sanitaria might be founded. Another question is that of labour. As you have heard, there are two kinds, Chinese and Indian. As regards the Chinese, I heartily endorse all that has been said regardmg their excellent quahties as labourers. We have not had many of them in India, but those we have had have conclusively shown their superiority over the Indians. I happen to have recently returned. 28 British North Borneo. to this country from California, which at one time was threatened with Chinese immigration, amounting to an inundation. The Americans took alarm, and actually excluded Chinese labour from their States, or, if it is not excluded from all the States, it is only a question of time. It has been excluded from every State in the Union to which the Chinese are immediately likely to immigrate. There are Australian authorities in this room, and they will tell us whether it is not most likely that sooner or later the same objection will not be felt by the Australians also. The Chaiejian : It is now. There is £30 a head duty. Sir EicHAED Temple : It is remarkable, then, that the Americans and the Australians also should have concurred on this point, and the concurrence of these two proves that there must be some reason at the bottom of it. I mention this as showing that if Chinese immigration is stopped in the United States and in Australia, that is all the greater reason why it should flow into such countries as North Borneo. We may from a Borneo point of view congratulate ourselves on that exclusion taking place in other regions. The United States and Australia will do perfectly well without them, but Borneo may properly welcome the Chinese, and the fact that, the tide has been stopped in the direction mentioned furnishes a probability that further Chinese immigration, properly encouraged, will be successful in Borneo. As regards Indian immigration, that is possible, but although India is a country which can send forth if she chooses tens of thousands of emigrants — her population in- oreasing at the rate of a million and a haK a year — you must recollect that she is drawn upon by many other places. Indian emigrants are asked for in the West Indies, Natal, Mauritius, and elsewhere, and indeed they may help to found new Indies in tropical and sub-tropical dominions of Her Majesty. Therefore, we must not expect too much from the Indians, although Borneo ha a climate exactly suited to them. Still, it is not likely the Indian will be so successful as the Chinese, for, man for man, the Chinaman is at least 50 per cent, superior to the Indiaman. It is, therefore, of the greatest importance that this immigration should te encou- raged. Sir Walter has pointed out how that may be done. I venture to point out another way. He says liow many immigrants are terrified and repelled by the spectacle of an apparently impene- trable jungle. Let this veil of impenetrability be broken by road- cutting through the forest. It is remarkable by how small a fore order is preserved in this country of Borneo. Some 180 or 200 policemen, partly drawn from native tribes, seem to be all the men British North Borneo. 29 necessaxy to answer for order. This is exactly the way in which empires have sprung from small beginnings. This little force of 200 men may be the nucleus of a North Borneo army. This is exactly the way in which the East India Company began its career, and you know with what magnificent proportions that career ad- vanced, and how it culminated in establishing one of the greatest empires ever seen upon earth. No such grand opportunity may offer itself in North Borneo, but still in its way it may become the founder of a valuable acquisition. Not only will there be North Borneo, with some 24,000— or it may be some more thousands — of square miles, but it may be federated with the dominions of the neighbouring Sultans, and perhaps ultimately with Sarawak itself. Before we leave this room, let us assure Sir Walter Medhurst, and all here interested in North Borneo, of the hearty sympathy of the British public, and that we view their proceedings with the most friendly interest. We rejoice in the Boyal Charter which has been graciously given. We trust the Company will maintain the most friendly relations with the Sultans from whom they derive their powers. We trust they may be the means of affording protection to the natives of North Borneo, and also of attracting other popu- lations which shall increase and replenish this fertile part of the island, and that these populations will become loyal to the British Empire, and that this island may afford a field for employment of British capital, and open a market for the manufactures of these industrial realms. Admiral E. C. Matne, C.B. : One of the most important points on which I may remark has been raised by Sir Kichard Temple when he asked whether the present territory is capable of extension. The map before you shows our present limits. But we have already extended a good deal, and I see no reason why we should not look forward to the day when, if not we, then our children, will extend our dominions far beyond the limits of the map. It is well known to those who have studied the subject that the Dutch, who occupy the whole of the south of the island, have done Httle or nothing towards settling or colonising it in any way, and when we wanted the boundary between us acknowledged, in accordance with the treaties between Great Britain and Holland, we have been put off from day to day, and no boundary has yet been settled. I am not altogether sure, however, that it is not as well that it is so. A boundary might tie us within limits in which we might not care to be tied by and by. At the present moment we have enough on our hands ; our object now is to develop what we have. Sir E. 30 British North Borneo. Temple says there is no way of opeuing up a country like road-cutting. I am sure the Court of Directors agree with that ; but there is no way of making roads without money, and opening up this country by means of roads is a question of money. Probably the new timber trade will afford the readiest means of penetrating the forests. It has been found that they have no timber in Australia equal to the timber of Borneo for many purposes. Two or three shiploads have gone there, and we hear them favourably reported on, while more vessels are loadmg. If they want timber in Australia the country will be cleared to a con- siderable extent, though not in a short time, for we have plenty of timber to supply the Australian and any other market for a long while to come. I entirely agree with, and, as a naval oflficer, em- phasise, the remarks of Sir Eichai-d Temple and of General Lowry as to the importance of North Borneo as a coaling station and as a depot for our men-of-war. There is no doubt, as we have been told, that the harbours of the world are made for British men-of- war. I remember Mr. Xavier Raymond, in his work on ships of war, speaks ironically of our song " Eule, Britannia," which he says represents the Almighty as happy in having created the world, because that furnished Him the occasion of giving Great Britain the absolute command of the seas. As Enghshmen, we may accept that as a plausible explanation of an actual fact. Certainly, any- one who has examined the situation of Borneo — flying, as that island does, between Australia, Hong Kong, and India — will feel that it is of the utmost importance that the place should be pro- tected and fostered by the British Government. I am bound to say that we have, so far, received as much assistance as we could reasonably expect from the Government, We cannot expect the Colonial Secretary and the officials to go beyond what is necessary at the time, and we do not look to them to get up in the House of Commons and furnish stones for their enemies to throw at them. Mr. W. DE MiJLLEB : Whenever I come to the meetings of the Institute as a visitor— for I am not a Fellow— I am always struck with the vast amount of interesting matter brought before us; and what we have heard to-night is by no means an exception to the rule. To anybody who knows the stagnation and the want of enterprise that reign supreme in the west and south and east of Borneo, it must be a matter of congratulation that the dawn of British enterprise has appeared on the north coast. And when I say the north coast, I do not mean only North Borneo, but Sarawak, which, to all intents a'nd purposes, is a British Colony. I believe the Rajah of Sarawak British North Borneo. 31 once intended to extend his rule right along the coast up to this northern territory, and although I can only speak in the highest terms of Rajah Brooke and his government in connection with the native races, I think, for the future prosperity of the country, it is just as well that there should be two independent and friendly governments in North Borneo. I wish to touch on two points — the Chinese question and the question of mineral wealth I was rather surprised to hear from the paper that there is some difference of opinion as to which labour ought to be employed, Chinese or Indian. How there should be the slightest difference of opinion I cannot understand. I have had hundreds of coolies working under me, and under my direct supervision, as well as Chinese and Malays, and it is my opinion that the Chinese stand pre-eminent among them. The others do not come anywhere near them, either as labourers, or miners, or artisans. It is true the Chinaman is full of superstitions, but when he finds he has a master who. is just, and who knows how to manage him without bullying him, yet firmly, he is a very good fellow. Show him where his interest lies, and he will work better than any other man in a tropical climate hke Borneo. He is not only a source of wealth, but a political power, because wherever the Chinaman goes in these parts of Borneo he has to stand alone ; the others do not like him, and therefore, if there should ever be a revolt, the Government may always reckon on having either one or the other nationahty on their side. With regard to the mineral wealth of the country, in Sarawak we find gold and silver, mercury, antimony, zinc, lead and other metals ; and although I am not folly acquainted with the geology of North Borneo, I see no reason why these metals should not be found there also. If they are, I hope they will be found in larger quantities than they have been found in Sarawak, where they only occur generally in pockets or in surface deposits. I think a good deal might be done by sending out efficient men to prospect the country. This is a work which requires men of strong con- stitution — men who are ready to rough it a good deal. I have. gone through this kind of work. You have to travel in native boats ; to live in them ; to camp out in the jungle ; and if you have not a strong constitution you cannot stand it. I must express my concern about what I hear regarding the crocodiles. They do not behave well in Sarawak, but their being so ferocious in North Borneo seems to point to a difference in the taste of the native flesh ! Mr, Beaumont : To my mind, one of the most interesting points 82 British North Borneo. of the subject is that we are contemplating the germ of a great future. I have never been at a meeting of the Institute which has had so much interest from this point of view, for we are present to-night, if not at the birth, at any rate watching the very early infancy, of what I will not call a nation, but of what shall be a people, and is now a country which has the elements of a per- manent and important future — important not only as regards the country itself, but as regards the interests of the British Empire. Whatever may be its formal constitution, it is as part of that Empire that it will grow and extend, and, therefore, as it does so it cannot fail to do good. When you come to consider the situation of this island, and how it is adapted to form part of the link of that wonderful girdle which we have stretched round the globe, I think you will agree that, in considering its prospects, we are consider- ing a matter of real importance to the British Empire. I was exceedingly glad to hear so many references to the Chinese. I have had the pleasure of kiiowing the Chinese in various places — in their own country, and I have had the honour of dealing with them in a peculiarly interesting way, having had to administer justice to them in our great Colony of British Guiana ; and, though, indeed, nothing could be more disadvantageous to them than their position in that Colony, so that I saw them at their worst, I saw how valuable and estimable they were even then. I saw them alongside Indian coolies, who were in various respects more favourably situated, and whom also I learned to appreciate and respect ; but there could be no doubt as to the superiority of the Chinese as regards industry, ingenuity, capacity, and power. I will go further, and say that the Chinese are just as much more manageable than the coolies as they are more capable and intel- ligent. No doubt you must manage them with some sort of consideration and sympathy as well as power of control ; but they can be efficiently managed, to the great benefit of themselves and of those with whom they co-operate. It is, I consider, one of the surprises and disgraces of our time that in that great country — the United States of Anierica — they should be excluded, and I am very sorry the same injustice is attempted to be done in some of the Australian Colonies. The injustice is hardly lees surprising than the unwisdom which excludes the most available and valuable labour where labour is the most valuable commodity. But it has been brought about by the trades' union spirit obtaining the control of legislative power. And though other experiences are sometimes put forward to account for this strange jealousy, it arises simply British North Borneo. 33 from this, that those who thus control the pubHc pohcy don't Uke the competition of persons having the capacity and the industry of the Chinese, and who are wilUng to give their labour for such a comparatively small wage as not at all to accord with the ideas of the trades' unionists, however beneficial their industry may be to the commimity and themselves. It is, indeed, a very fortunate thing for the North Borneo Company that their territory is situated so near the Chinese Empire, whose resources in the way of surplus industrial population and commercial enterprise are almost illimit- able. Not the least interesting thing about the Chinese is that they are the only nation in the world, except ourselves and some smaller sections of Europeans, who emigrate on their own responsibility. I have no doubt that with adequate care and pains a system of free immigration from China to the West Indies might have been established, which would be an immense gain to those Colonies, and to the immigrants a far more advantageous opening than the existing system of indentured immigration. But, to say nothing of the emigration from China to California and AustraHa, you cannot have a more interesting instance than the Straits Settlements, which have been mainly developed by the Chinese by their own spontaneous action, so that these settlements are so growing and increasing year by year as to form even an important part of this great Empire. It has been with some regret that I have heard no reference made either in Sir Walter Medhurst's interesting paper or in this discussion to mission work in North Borneo. This, indeed, is not the place to speak of that work in its primary and higher aspects, though I would not be thought, in referring to it for the present purpose, to disregard or overlook that higher point of view. But of this there can be no doubt, that wherever the missionary has gone he has proved the pioneer of commerce, good order, and of civihsation, and I hope it may be found by and by that the missionaiy enterprise in North Borneo (I hope there is nothing in the nature of the system there to discourage it) may be advantageously employed in helping forward the great work of civilisation. If those lines of Tennyson — " And 80 the whole round world is every way Bound by gold chains about the feet of God," are ever to be realised, it will be by this Christian, peace-loving, peace-making, commercial Empire extending itself from strength to strength, as it has in a measure clone from pole to pole, by steadily following out the great role which it has undertaken of re- plenishing the earth, and certainly not by yielding to the false and. 34 British North Borneo. craven tactics which would lead it to renounce its proper career of duty and honour. I look upon North Borneo as a not insignificant link in this chain, and I hope British enterprise there will go on and prosper. The Chairman (His Grace the Duke of Manchester) : I think I may first be allowed to congratulate the Fellows and friends of the Eoyal Colonial Institute on the great progress the Colonial idea has made during the year of my absence. The question of the Federa- tion of the Empire has made immense strides — thanks, in a great measure, I believe, to the exertions of Mr. LabiUiere. Statesmen of both parties, and of great distinction, now willingly and readily and seriously discuss this question. They admit its necessity, and are only in doubt as to the best means of carrying out the idea in detail. But another great step in the direction of Federation was taken by the Government of New South "Wales when I happened to be in Sydney, and that was their plucky and patriotic action in offering a corps of Australians — I was going to say native-born Australians, but they are not all so — who, with the sympathy and warm assistance of their fellow-colonists, have willingly gone out to stand side by side with the troops of Great Britain in the interests of the Empire. Perhaps it is as well that people at home should know at what pecuniary cost an Australian soldier is sent before the enemy as compared with the soldier of this country. An Australian soldier receives 5s. a day, and, if he is married, his wife and family receive 2s. 6d. a day. If we could strain our pockets to afford that sum, we should have as fine men as the Australians are admitted generally to be, and as many of them as we want. On the subject of soldiering matters, I am almost ashamed, sometimes, at the very small and ill-grown youths who are wearing Her Majesty's uniform. I do not mean to say they disgrace the uniform, but that they are not fit for the hard work of campaigning ; and if we could do as the Government of New South Wales — that is, give sufiEcient wages — I have no doubt we should get good men as well as they. As regards the paper, I am sure, as has already been said by General Lowry and Sir R. Temple, that we must naturally all of us feel sympathy with this last nest, this last home, which Britons have made in foreign countries. Considering its geographical position, this island will be important for military purposes, and will, I trust, also be important and useful to the plucky adventurers who have attempted to work it. Its resources, evidently, are very great. I am sure the directors need not be disappointed at the failure of tea and cinchona, because, as I gather, these attempts British North Borneo. 35 were made near the sea, and I believe it is generally admitted that tea requires a considerable altitude, and cinchona one still higher. I do not suppose it is liltely you could have succeeded on these low levels. With regard to Chinese and coolie labour, I have seen a good deal of Chinese labour, and I endorse all that has been said about the merits of the Chinese. They are very enduring. Although they are not large men, they are wonderfully strong for their size. They are amenable generally to disciphne, though there has been some trouble with them lately near Port Darwin, in the Northern Territory of South Australia, but as a rule they are useful servants and labourers. They know how to drive a bargain as well as any Englishman — I might say as well as any Scotchman — and, therefore, although they are cheaper labour than EngHshmen, I cannot say they are the cheapest. They are good latom-ers. For light work, however, such as stripping the sugar-canes, or where you merely require a constitution that can stand the strength of the sun, I should imagine the coolie is more profitable. But for hard work, and endurance, and ingenuity I should undoubtedly say the Chinese are to be preferred. The prejudice against them is most mistaken. I think justice ought to be done to the Colony of South Australia. In the Northern Territory no restriction is put upon the introduction of Chinese, and there is no duty upon them ; •and South Australia also has the merit of having an agreement with the Government of British India for the employment of coohes. I may, perhaps, mention that in the Northern Territory of South Australia I saw a worthy and wealthy man — he is the owner of gold mines worth £40,000 or more — who has been thirty years in Australia. He went home two or three years ago, and married a Chinese wife, but she decHned to go and settle there. He came and ■told me that he intended to go back to Cliina and fetch his wife, because he did not understand why a man should be in one country and his wife in another. Perhaps his judgment was right in that respect. I think we owe our thanks to Sir Walter Medhurst for his interesting paper, and we are most grateful to him for having enlightened us so much on the progress of Borneo and the future before it. Sir Walteh Medhurst : Two questions were put to me by Sir Eichard Temple. First, with regard to a possible extension in the direction of the territory of either of the two Sultans. The terri- tory now held was ceded to the North Borneo Company by the Sultans of Sulu and Brunei. Sulu is a group of islands on the east side of North Borneo, a,nd on the West Brunei. It. is quite 36 British North Borneo. possible an extension of territory may hereafter occur in the latter direction ; but as regards Sulu it is not likely, as the Spaniards have got a foothold in Sulu, and would make objections to our advance in that quarter. Sir Eichard Temple inquired also as to the existence of localities Tvhich might be used as sanitaria. There is a high range of hiUs, culminating in a peak called Kin a BalUj.which is some 13,000 ft. high, and on its slopes are numerous spots where sanitaria might be conveniently placed when the country is more developed, and the roads opened up. Another speaker hoped something would be done by the missionaries. Nothing has been done as yet, that I am aware of, by the Protestant missionaries — in fact, there has scarcely been any opportunity since the opening of the country, but I think I am right in stating that a very enterprising society in London, situated at Mill Hill, Hendon, has already sent out agents, and one — by name Father Jackson, who accompanied our troops in the Afghan War under General Eoberts — has been very active, and gone through great hardships, in trying to conciliate the natives and introduce the Christian reli- gion in its Romanist form. He has already started schools and chapels. The Company are Catholic, and Hberal in their treatment of all creeds, and they have ah-eady made Father Jackson grants of land, in the same way as they do to the natives, the Chinese for their temple, and the Mahomedans for their mosques, and I have no doubt the Protestant missionaries, when they come forward, will have equal, if not additional advantages. It only remains for me to thank you for the patience with which jou have listened to me this evening. I hope the paper I read and the interesting discussion which followed have proved to you that Borneo has a very great future before it, and also that the Company deserve credit for the way in which they have dealt with the concession made to them, and shown themselves well worthy of the confidence placed in them by the Government, I think I have also shown that England has most important interests and responsibilities in the territory, and I trust that the discussion will lead to the question being more prominently brought into notice, and that these interests and obligations will not hereafter be neglected.