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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

AN ADDRESS,
WITH A
PROPOSAL FOR THE FOUNDATION
OF A
CHURCH, MISSION-HOUSE, AND SCHOOL,
AT SAEAWAK,
ON THE NORTH-WEST COAST OF BORNEO,

IINBER THE

PROTECTION OF JAMES BROOKE, ESQ.

FOUNDER OP THE SETTLEMENT OP SARAWAK.

THE REV. C. D. BRERETON, iVI.A.
RECTOR OP LITTLE MASSINGHAM, NORFOLK.

LONDON:
CHAPMAN AND HALL, 186 STRAND.
184(5.

LONDON:
raiNTED EV LEVEY, EOBSON, AND FKANKLTN,
Greal New street. Feller lane.

ISrobtsional Oommitter.
The lord FRANCIS EGERTON, M.P.
The Venerable ARCHDEACON HARRISON.
The Rev. J. RYLE WOOD.
Captain F. BEAUFORT, R.N. F.R.S.
Captain the Honourable HENRY KEPPEL, R.N.
Captain C. R. D. BETHUNE, R.N. C.B.
JOHN MAC GREGOR, Esq.
J. E. D. BETHUNE, Esq.

JSanftrvs.
Messrs. COUTTS, Strand.
„ DRUMMONDS, Charing Gross.
„ HOARE, Fleet Street.
„ GLYN, Lombard Street.
MASTERMAN, Nicholas Lane.

The Rev. C. D. BRERETON, M.A.,
United University Club, Suffolk Street, Pall Mall.

AN ADDRESS.

It is the design of this Address to draw the public
attention to the island of Borneo, chiefly in reference
to its importance in a religious point of view. Some
of the most interesting particulars which have ever
transpired respecting this island and its inhabitants
are to be found in a recent publication, " The Ex
pedition to Borneo, by Captain the Hon. Henry
Keppel, R.N." These valuable volumes, besides the
professional narratives of battle - scenes, connected
with Captain Keppel's duty, which he discharged so
honourably and effectively in the suppression of pi
racy, contain also portions of the private journal of
Mr. Brooke, from his first settlement in Borneo, in
whose feelings and wishes respecting that country
this gallant and accomplished author zealously parti
cipates. But, as it is not the design of this Address
to advert to the political, commercial, and profes
sional subjects more prominently detailed in that
publication, it may be useful, for the information of
general readers, to state a few particulars respecting

Borneo, befoi»e we proceed to shew its importance
in a religious view, which we propose to do, from
the correspondence of Mr. Brooke on this subject.
The island of Borneo, which is one of the largest
as well as fairest countries ofthe world, has been, and
still is, very imperfectly known. This is the more re
markable, because it lies in one of the great naviga
ble pathways of the Asiatic Archipelago to China and
Japan, and is surrounded by some of the most valu
able and productive colonies in the world. The
geographical outline and principal settlements on the
coast, have, indeed, been delineated on our maps; but
from the barbarous character of the inhabitants, all
intercourse has been cut off with those who might
take an interest in geographical discovery, or cosmo-
graphical science, as well as with others who might
seek to ameliorate the political and moral condition
of its inhabitants. Till Mr. Brooke's settlement, and
the Government missions of Sir Edward Belcher
and Captain Bethune, there were no correct charts
of the ports, harbours, and rivers which abound in
Borneo. These extensive regions have hitherto been
possessed by hordes of cruel and desperate piratical
adventurers, who, by rapine, treachery, piracy, and
murder, excluding all legitimate commerce, and de
stroying liberty and all inducements to industry, have
reduced the island to desolation and misery.
From these and other adverse causes, this
country, excellent in climate, abounding in navigable

rivers, and bountiful in productions, has yet been very
imperfectly and unsatisfactorily explored, while its in
terior parts have never been visited by any intelligent
traveller and observer. We know that it abounds in
valuable vegetable and mineral productions — that it
is a new world full of interest and treasures, con
taining probably millions of inhabitants, and capable
of supplying all the necessaries and enjoyments of
existence. We know that the native Dyaks are phy
sically superior to their marauding conquerors, ca
pable of toil, and disposed to agricultural labour,
comparatively innocent, and even virtuous in their
domestic lives, social feelings and habits ; but the
whole land groans under tyranny, extortion, and the
grossest darkness, the chains of which it has hitherto
been considered impracticable to loose or break off.
Few Europeans, therefore, except the Dutch, and
they in a very imperfect manner, have attempted dis
covery, while civilisation and conversion have been
totally neglected. Endeavours of this kind have
been viewed or represented as hopeless ; but the
degree of resistance or difficulty which was to be
overcome, by prudence or exertion, by courage or
humanity, was never ascertained till this remarkable
adventure of our own countryman determined it.
Sent forth by no court or government, — the mes
senger of no prince, church, or embassy, — equipped
by no chartered company or public funds, — associated
at the outset with no equals or superiors as comrades

in his enterprise, — spontaneously of his own will, and
disinterestedly at his own cost and charge, relying on
the integrity of his purpose and the overruhng Pro
vidence in which he trusted, Mr. Brooke has effected,
as respects this remarkable island, what no discoverer
however inquisitive, no military adventurer however
chivalrous, and no philanthropist however ardent,
had accomplished or attempted before him.
Single-handed and alone, he conceived and accom
plished his design. He formed his settlement in the
very heart of tyranny and wretchedness. He has ac
quired territory, and established government. With
a knowledge of the language, and the peculiar suavity
of his manners, combined with dignity and firmness
in action, he has obtained, considering the character
of the people, an ascendancy over their feelings and
over their passions, which has excited the admira
tion of all who have witnessed it. What he has
achieved, sometimes alone by his personal gallantry,
and sometimes in concert with our bravest com
manders, in the suppression of piracy, and in the
protection of our own countrymen and all others who
navigate those piratical coasts, has been generously
recorded by the gallant ofiicer whose volumes have
been already noticed.
What he has effected for the amelioration of all
classes of the inhabitants, by his energetic philan
thropy in the rescue of captives, the abohtion of
slavery and other crimes, has been the subject of

9
general and deserved eulogy. The following is one
of the numerous testimonies of the periodical and
diurnal press, which represent the opinions of his
countrymen : " Whatever humanity and civihsation
may gain in the extermination of odious crimes upon
the shores of Borneo, whatever advantages Eng
land may obtain from British settlements in the
island, and from a peaceful trade carried on around
it, to Mr. Brooke, and to that gentleman alone, will
belong the glory and the honour of such acquisitions.
Inspired by his vigorous nature, but more by the dic
tates of a true benevolence, unaided and unprotected,
save by his own active spirit and the blessing of Pro
vidence, he undertook a mission on behalf of mankind,
with perils before him which the stoutest could not
but feel, and achieved a success which the most san
guine hardly could have anticipated."^
It would be impossible in an attempt to draw the
attention of the public to Borneo, to pass unnoticed
the virtuous manner in which Mr. Brooke ventured
onthe hazards of accident and climate in an almost
unknown land, or the dauntless generosity with which
he exposed himselfto the passions of rapacious bar
barians, in his noble attempts to rescue the helpless,
and to introduce araong tyrants and slaves the laws
of justice and of freedom. It would be an injustice to
omit to mention the ardent benevolence with which
he penetrated these inhospitable regions, and with for-
' Blackwood's Magazine, March 1846,

10
tune and talents that might have led to distinction in
the most civihsed nations, at the sacrifice of his ease,
and the hazard ofhis hfe, settled among "savage clans
and roving barbarians," patiently acquiring knowledge,
power, and confidence, that he might be the instru
ment in the hand of the Providence which protected
him of communicating to the most wretched of his
fellow-creatures the advantages of industry and com
merce with all the blessings of freedom. But it would
be a still greater injustice not to add to all his other
motives, the highest and the noblest purpose of con
veying to those benighted people " the fulness of
the blessing of the gospel of Christ." It may have
been the ambitious desire of many, but it certainly
has been the happy destiny of few, to combine in
their own character and personal history these attri
butes and deeds of a genuine benefactor of mankind.
His ultimate purpose, however, of introducing to
the benighted inhabitants of Borneo the blessings of
Christianity, as they are enjoyed in his native land,
has not hitherto obtained that notice which it de
serves, partly from the modesty of his own charac
ter, and partly from the prominence which has natur
ally been given to the efforts which have been made
for the suppression of piracy, the extinction of slavery,
and other preliminary acts of humanity. The conse^-
quence has been that, though Mr. Brooke has been
labouring seven years in Borneo, no evangelist has
gone forth, and no Christian institution has been

11
formed. His earnest desires and purpose have not
received that sympathy and co-operation which they
have deserved ; but which, there is reason to hope,
they are now about to receive from the nobles, the
church, and the people of his country. There is
now encouragement to hope that this " proposal for
the foundation of a Church, Mission-house, and
School, at Sarawak, for the Europeans and natives
of Borneo," will receive the heartfelt sanction and
support of the most exalted individuals in church and
state. A subscription, beginning with the highest,
and extending through all ranks, may raise a fund
for the foundation of a Borneon mission in connexion
with the Church of England, which may be for the
glory of God and for the conversion of the inhabit
ants of these benighted regions (as well as of the
adjacent countries), for whom this Christian gentle
man has made such earnest appeals to his country
men, and among whom he has done so much honour
to the British name, and spread such favourable
impressions ofthe Christian religion.
The influence of intelligent and virtuous enter
prise, in advancing the civilisation and promoting the
welfare of mankind, may account for the gratitude
and honour to which those who have explored re
mote and unknown regions have generally been en
titled. Their personal adventures and their narra
tives, conveying the knowledge of the cliraates and
productions of the globe, and of the manners of the

12
people who inhabit it, have extended the limits oi
science and coraraerce in more advanced nations, and
at the sarae time been instrumental in elevating in
the scale of being and of happiness the most de
graded. But this influence may be traced, not only in
the civilisation, but in the conversion and salvation
of the world. This reraark is here made, because
sorae may suppose that, in exciting an admiration of
adventure, there is a disparagement of pure religious
purpose. This is, however, an erroneous supposition ;
for it is manifest that the propagation of the gospel
araong the ignorant nations of the earth has ever, in
the wisdom of God, been associated with this noblest
spirit in man. The establishment of the Christian
religion was founded upon it. The command of the
Saviour of all men to " preach the gospel to every
creature" necessarily presupposes the spirit of un
daunted enterprise, " Go ye into all the world." The
voyages> travels, shipwrecks, adventures, and perils
of St. Paul are familiar to every child and every
peasant, and never fail to excite admiration of the
apostle and interest in the Christian religion. The
other apostles, in separate enterprises, penetrated the
Temotest regions of the known world ; and certainly,
taking the Christian Scriptures and primitive history
as our raodel and authority, it would be difficult to se--
parate the propagation ofthe gospel among barbarous
and unconverted nations, from the noblest spirit of

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13
adventure. This spirit may be dissociated from reli
gion and humanity ; but then it has generally failed
of permanent success, as in the case of Sir Walter
Raleigh and others. It may be perverted when asso
ciated with religion, a^ in the case of the romantic
and superstitious crusaders. It may be abused, as
in the case of many of the Spanish adventurous con
querors, who nevertheless, in most cases, displayed
uncommon zeal, and succeeded in establishing the
Christian religion among barbarous nations. But we
speak of intelligent and virtuous and Christian enter
prise, which, as it has proved most favourable to
the interests of humanity, it may be hoped is also
destined to prove, in the good providence of God, to
the propagation of the gospel in Borneo.
This enterprise happily attracting, as it has done,
the sanction of the British Government,^ has sealed
the doom of piracy and slavery throughout the Ma
layan Archipelago, and, connected with the Church
of England, will have paved the way, under the
blessing of God, for the conversion of these un
happy and hitherto hopeless people unto Christ.
The Church of England has of late years expressed,
both by word and deed, the most fervent sympathy
for the children of her family scattered too often in
heathen lands like sheep without a shepherd, as well
as for those other sheep, not yet of her fold,
' Mr. Brooke has been appointed Agent for the British Govern
ment in Borneo.

14
with whom they are mingled on the mountains of
idolatry, but whom, year after year, she is bringing
with them to share in the privileges of the flock of
Christ. In the recent foundation at Canterbury of
a Missionary College for the Church of England,
she has again openly avowed "the obligation under
which she is laid by the condition of our countrymen in
foreign settlements, and by the opportunities which,
under divine Providence^ the wide extent of the British
dominion and colonisation chords for making known
to heathen nations the gospel of Christ." Correspond
ing with this avowal on the part of the Church, it
may be hoped that the nation will recognise its obli
gation to make efforts for the foundation of churches
for her children, and missionary-estabhshments for
her missionaries to the heathen in all remote British
settlements. The settlement of Sarawak, the first British set
tlement on the vast island of Borneo, from the pecu
liarities of its history, its position, its already prepared
population in the midst of unconverted and unex
plored heathenism, and especially from the character
and motives of its founder, seems to stand forth to
view as worthy of one of these Christian and national
efforts. Trade and commerce, and naval stations
along the whole line of coasts, will probably pre
pare the way for similar Christian and missionary
establishments. This foundation of a church and
mission-house and school at Sarawak may be the

15
cradle of the Church in Borneo and the more eastern
portion of the Malayan Archipelago, and for the in
gathering of the countless myriads of souls within
it and around it.
Some extracts from Mr. Brooke's correspondence
will shew what welcome and protection a church for
the Europeans who may settle in Borneo, and a
mission-house and school for the natives, may be
expected to receive from the founder of this settle
ment. The benevolent and Christian desires which
are expressed in these extracts were recorded chiefly
in 1841, when the gallantry of his conduct and the
attractions of his personal adventures had not ex
cited that general admiration, or won the golden
opinions, which have been more recently expressed
by those who have witnessed or heard of his exploits.
These fervent aspirations for the happiness and in
struction of the people were recorded almost from
the raoment that he pitched his tent in Borneo, and
when he was yet struggling alone and unaided in his
perilous attempt to obtain a moral mastery over bar
barians, among whom all law was either unknown or
disregarded. They manifest the goodness of his heart
and the benevolence of his zeal, and claim the Chris
tian sympathy and confidence of his countrymen as
much as his heroic virtue has obtained their praise.
They shew that popularity and gain were not the main
objects of his enterprise ; but that he will consider his
design unexecuted, and his expectations unsatisfied, so

16
long as this unhappy people, whom he regards with
the generosity of a protector and the " heart's desire"
ofa Christian, shall reraain unredeemed from spiritual
wretchedness, and unblessed with the means of grace
here, and the hope of glory hereafter.
The brief extracts, which are annexed in an Appen
dix, have been raade for the use of general readers,
who raay not have had access to other sources of in
formation, as well as to fix the attention of all on the
importance of a Christian as well as an English in
fluence in Borneo. For it is worthy of remark, that
all the interest which has recently been so largely
expressed respecting the settlement of Sarawak, and
the enterprise of Mr. Brooke, has halted exactly at
the point where the considerations of religion begin,
though, by the course of*events, the indications of
Providence, the character of the natives, and the
known disposition of their friend and protector, an
opportunity such as never occurred before stands
prominently before us, for the introduction of Chris
tianity, in some settled form, among these benighted
heathens. The extraordinary position of Mr. Brooke,
the result not of fortuitous circumstances, but of
vigorous design and personal humanity, has attracted
the admiration of his countrymen in an unusual but
not undeserved degree. The time seems, therefore,
to have arrived for the manifestation of sympathy
and confidence in some generous effort, to aid him
in his earnest endeavours to introduce "the benefits

17
of knowledge and the blessings of religion" into this
remarkable settleraent; and thus to consecrate the
national gratification which has been felt in his noble
enterprise to the furtherance of the highest interests
of mankind. He has borne all the brunt, and he
ought not to bear all the burden. He forraed the
plans and led in the van of the expeditions which
have contributed to the suppression of piracy on
those coasts ; and can he be left the victim of the
reactions of the revenge and cruelty of those who
would the more maliciously seek his destruction ?
Force must continue to be used to suppress and
overawe the pirates ; but however force may pre
vent the ability, it will not remove the disposition
to piracy. The civihsation and conversion of the
people is the only effectifal remedy. It is the only
lasting security for the life of this gentleman — a life
too reraarkable in the age in which he lives to be
lost or sacrificed. A Christian population around
him, which, with God's blessing, might soon arise^^
would be a barrier and a safeguard against all at
tempts of treachery or violence, more effectual than
fleets or armies. There will be no want of Christian
clergymen in the Church of England to enter upon
this service ; and happy will they be who shall be
associated with a Christian gentleman with so much
influence and so ready a disposition to use it in this
work of charity and mercy.
Seven years, however, have rolled on, and no re-

18
sponse has yet been made to his earnest entreaty
for the heathen around him—" Come over and help
them." No clergyman, no missionary, no teacher,
secular or religious, has gone forth at his call.
Though the people are prepared, from the absence
of prejudice, to receive the Gospel, the Gospel has
not been offered for their reception. It appears by
his Journal, and it is known from other sources, that,
from the first Sabbath that he rested in Borneo, for
his own benefit and for the edification of his com
panions, he has read the service of the Church. In
discharging these duties, he has put a conscientious
constraint upon his ingenuous feelings ;^ and upon a
natural conviction that the public offices of religion
should be performed by those who are set apart for
that purpose. In practice "he has shewn his respect
for religion ; his sense of its value to aU, and of the
right of all to possess it ; and he has expressed his
conviction of the necessity of its introduction for the
happiness of the increasing multitudes around him.
Hitherto there has been no temple for God's
honour, no outward symbols of His worship. In this
respect there has been, and still is, a perfect and a
painful solitude in this desolate island. Though
" monarch of all he surveys," he cannot create the
Church. That must transplant itself from the Chris-

' " Performed divine service jnyself ! manfully overcoming that
horror which I have to the sound of my own voice before an "audi
ence." — Mr. Brooke's Journal in Capt. Keppel's Borneo, p. 18.

19
tian to the heathen soil. Till the piety of his coun
trymen shall send him and his heathen people the
blessings of Christianity, however successful in his
worldly enterprise, he must remain a Christian exile
in a hopeless land ; and in that spiritual solitude, this
must be his Christian laraent :
" Religion ! what treasure untold
Resides in that heavenly word ;
More precious than silver or gold.
Or all that the earth can aiford.
But the sound of the church-going bell
These valleys and rocks never heard ;
Ne'er sighed at the sound of a knell,
Or smiled when a Sabbath appeared."
The Church will send to this desolate land, to its
unhappy tribes, and to the apostle of humanity
among them, the " treasure untold," " the sound of
the church-going bell," and the " smile when a Sab-
hath appears."
This proposal for the foundation of a Church,
Mission-house, and School at Sarawak is now made
to Mr. Brooke's countrymen. The appeal to their
sympathy and piety will not fail. The position
of this Christian gentleman is and has been more
hazardous than most of his adrairers are or can be
aware of. It would, indeed, be a species of apathy
hitherto not found in "the British character, if such
eulogies as are passed in all quarters, publicly and
privately, on his virtues, were unaccompanied with
some substantial testimonies of syrapathy for him in

20

the perils and privations of his lot. No testimony
would be more grateful to his feelings, more condu
cive to his security, or raore co-operative with his
designs for the welfare of his adopted people, than
the Christian establishment proposed.

In order to carry out this proposal for the foun
dation of a Church, Mission-House, and School at
Sarawak, on the north-west coast of Borneo, under
the protection of Jaraes Brooke, Esq., founder of
the settlement of Sarawak, a Provisional Committee
has' been formed. The Most Reverend the Arch
bishop of Canterbury has signified his approbation
of this proposal, and his desire to sanction this
Christian institution in Borneo. His Grace has ac
corapanied this communication with a benefaction
of one hundred pounds. The Right Reverend the
Lord Bishop of London has also accompanied the
expression of his approval and sanction of this
intended institution with a benefaction of one hun
dred pounds. His Grace the Archbishop of Canter
bury and the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of
London have consented to 'allow the Church, Mis,sion-
House, and School, at Sarawak, to be placed under
their authority and direction. All the appointments
and regulations for discipline and jurisdiction which
may be requisite for the government of this institution

21
of the Church of England in Borneo will be placed
under the same ecclesiastical authorities.
All who feel an anxiety to support the object
proposed are requested to transmit their names, and
the amount of their donations, to the Rev. C. D.
Brereton, M.A. Hon. Secretary, " Borneo Church,
Mission-House, and School Institution," United Uni
versity Club, Suffolk Street, Pall Mall. The sub
scriptions can be paid to the several bankers who
have kindly consented to receive the same.
C. D. BRERETON, M.A. Hon. Skc.
N.B. A list of subscribers and benefactors, and of
those who sanction this proposal, will speedily be
published.

APPENDIX.

The following extracts from Mr. Brooke's corre
spondence from Borneo, and from his private journal,
as published by Captain Keppel, exhibit some interest
ing details respecting the country, and his views in
settling there. The first observation will manifest
his ultimate and highest object : — " Amidst the nu
merous plans for the propagation of Christianity,
or the amelioration of an interesting but most un
happy aboriginal race, my present undertaking may
merit attention." " My objects are to call into exist
ence the resources of one of the richest and most
extensive islands of the globe — to relieve an indus
trious people from oppression — and to check, and,
if possible, to suppress piracy and the slave-trade,
which are openly carried on, within a short distance
of three European settlements, on a scale and system
revolting to humanity. These objects are by no
means so difficult to accomplish as may at first sight
appear ; and whilst I devote myself to this task, I
cannot but hope it will excite the interest which it
appears to me to deserve."

23
"Jan. 1st, 1842.-^The past year is in the bosom
of eternity, into which bourne we are all hurrying.
Here we have no merry-makirig, no reunion of fa
niilies, no bright fires or merry games, to mark- the
advent of 1842 ; but we have genial weather, and
are not pinched by cold or frost. This is a year
which to me must be eventful ; for at its close I shall
be able to judge whether I can maintain myself
against all the circumstances and difficulties which
beset me, or whether I must retreat, broken in for
tune, to some retirement in my native land. I look
with calmness on the alternative ; and God knows
no selfish motives weigh on me ; and if I fail, my
chief regret will be for the natives of this unhappy
country. Let the year roll on, let the months pass ;
and whatever they bring — whether it be life or death,
fortune or poverty — I am prepared ; and in the deep
solitude of my present existence, I can safely say that
I believe I could bear misfortune better than pro
sperity. In this, probably, I am not Singukr ; for
there is something in prosperity which, if it does not
make us worse, makes us m<ire foolish and more
worldly ; which decks passing time with wreaths of
gay flowers, and gilds the things of this life with
tinsel hopes and wishes, to the exclusion ofthe pure
gold of reflection for the life to come. What are
all these gewgaws, these artificial flowers, these mo
mentary joys, these pleasures of the sense, before
the war of time? — Nothing! And yet, if exertion

24
can benefit our race, or even our own country ; it
the sum of human misery can be alleviated ; if these
suffering people can be raised in the scale of civilisa
tion and happiness, — it is a cause in which I could
suffer, it is a cause in which I have suffered and do
¦suffer: hemmed in, beset, anxious, perplexed, and
the good intent marred by false agents, surrounded
Tay weakness, treachery, falsehood, and folly, is suffer
ing enough ; and to feel myself on the threshold of
success, and only withheld by the want of adequate
means, increases this suffering. Hail, however, 1842 \
Come good, come ill, still hail ! and many as are the
light hearts which have already greeted thee, mine
will be more ready to bow to the decrees of Provi
dence which thy twelve months will develop."

MR. BROOKE'S DESCRIPTION OF SARAWAK AND ITS
TERRITORY.
" Sarawak extends from Tanjong Datu to the
entrance of the Samarahan river, a distance along
the coast of about sixty miles in an e.s.e. direction,
with an average breadth of fifty miles. It is bounded
to the westward by the Sambas territory, to the
southward by a range of mountains which separate
it from the Pontianak rivers, and to the eastward
by the Borneo territory of Sadong. Within this
space there are several rivers and islands, which it
is needless here to describe at length, as the account

^AM^AWAK

27 J7 ^ I*

. * ' * , Jfarundimi

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Loadon, Publislied Ty CJiavman <!t HaH, 186, Sirand, 1Q*S.

25
of the river of Sarawak will answer ahke for the rest.
There are two navigable entrances to this river, and
numerous smaller branches for boats, both to the
westward and eastward. The two principal entrances
combine at about twelve miles from the sea, and the
river flows for twenty miles into the interior, in a
southerly and westerly direction, when it again forms
two branches — one running to the right, the other
to the left hand, as far as the mountain-range. Be
sides these faciUties for water-communication, there
«xist three other branches from the easternmost en
trance, called Marotabas, one of which joins the Sa
marahan river, and the two others flow from different
points of the mountain-range already mentioned."
THE CLIMATE.
" The climate may be pronounced healthy and
cool, though for the six months from September
to March a great quantity of rain falls. During my
three visits to this place, and since residing here, we
have been free frora sickness ; and during the entire
period not one of three deaths could be attributed to
the effects of climate.
THE SOIL AND PRODUCTIONS.
" The soil and productions of this country are of
the richest description ; and it is not too much to
say, that within the same given space there are not

26
to be found the same mineral ahd vegetable riches in
any land in the world. The vegetable productions
which are produced, or capable of being produced, are
rice, canes, sago, rattans, and forest-timber for ship
building, nutmegs, coffee, pepper, or any of the more
valuable vegetable productions of the tropics. The
mineral productions are diamonds, gold, tin, iron,
antimony, and probably lead or copper." But Mr.
Brooke adds, "It must be remembered, in read
ing this hst, that the country is as yet unexplored by
a scientific person, and that the inquiries of a geolo
gist and a mineralogist would throw further light on
the minerals ofthe mountains, and the spots where
they are to be found in the greatest plenty."
THE DYAK INHABITANTS.
" From the productions I turn tp the inhabitants ;
and I feel sure that in describing their sufferings and
miseries I shall command the interest and sympathy
of every person of humanity, and that the clairas of
the virtuous and most unhappy Dyaks will meet with
the same attention as those of the African. And
these claims have this advantage, that much good
may be done without the vast expenditure of lives
and money which the exertions on the African coast
yearly cost; and that the people would readily ap
preciate the good that was conferred upon them, and
rapidly rise in the scale of civilisation."

27
" The inhabitants may be divided into three dif
ferent classes, viz. the Malays, the Chinese, and the
Dyaks. Of the two former little need be said, as they
are so well known. The Dyaks, by far the most
interesting portion of the inhabitants, are confined
almost entirely to the mountainous country, where
they have fastnesses to which they fly on the slightest
alarm. These people are mild, industrious, and so
scrupulously honest, that a single case of theft has
not come under niy observation, even when sur
rounded by objects easily appropriated and tempting
from their novelty. In their domestic lives they are
amiable, and addicted to none of the glaring vices of
a wild state : they marry but one wife, and their
women are always quoted among the Malays as re
markable for chastity, nor are they degraded as in
many other coraraunities."
" The Hill Dyaks, such as I haye briefly de
scribed them, are a most interesting race, and present
more facilities for the amelioration of their condition
than any other people. In general, however, they
are sunk in misery, and too frequently exposed to
famine ; but when only moderately oppressed, I have
seen tribes who brought to mind the simplicity, if
not the happiness, of primitive society. The number
of these people in the country of Sarawak may ge
nerally be stated at 10,000 ;* but, with the shghtest
protection, numbers who have retired beyond the
* Rapidly increasing, by recent accounts.

28
reach of their cruel oppressors would return to their
former habitations. Their freedom from all prejudtcej
and their scanty knowledge of religion, would render
their conversion to Christianity an easy task, provided
they are rescued from their present sufferings and de
graded state ; but until this be done, it will be in vam
to preach a faith to them, the first precepts of which
are daily violated in their own persons.
" Never, indeed, were people more oppressed, or
more wretched ; and although to those far removed
from witnessing their sufferings and their patience,
the enthusiasm I feel and cannot help expressing
may appear exaggerated, yet probably were they
themselves to change situations with me, they would
perhaps speak, if not feel, more warmly than I do."
After describing the extortions, exactions, and
cruel oppressions to which this interesting and in
nocent race are exposed, Mr. Brooke describes the
extent to which " their wives and children are seized
and sold for slaves."
" This practice is carried on to an extent revolt
ing to Christianity. A few facts which have fallen
under my own observation will speak for themselves.
Of twenty Dyak tribes under this government more
than half have been robbed of their wives and chil
dren in part; and one tribe is without women or
children amongst them, upwards of two hundred
having been led away into slavery at Sakarran and
Sadong. The chief of this tribe, when he met me

29
a short time since, described their former and their
present condition with great truth and force, and
concluded his appeal in the following words : ' For
more than a year we have asked the Pangerans to
restore our wives and children ; they have promised
and deceived us. If you will get our families — if you
will give us our wives and children back — we will be
faithful in prosperity and adversity, we will work for
you, and all that we have or can get shall be yours.' "
Mr. Brooke negotiated the release of these un
happy victims, and is abolishing slavery in his
government. " The Dyaks seem to have little or no idea of a
God. They offer prayers to Biedum, the great Dyak
chief of former days. Priests and ceremonies they
have none ; the thickest mist of darkness is over
them ; but how much easier is it to dispel darkness
with light, than to overcome the false blaze with the
rays of truth !"
" That these Dyaks are in a low condition there
is no doubt, but comparatively theirs is an innocent
state, and I consider them capable of being easily
raised in the scale of society. The absence of all
prejudice regarding diet, the simplicity of their cha
racters, the purity of their morals, and their present
ignorance of all forms of worship and all idea of
future responsibility, render them open to conviction
of truth and rehgious impression."
" The Dyaks attend to the warning of birds of

30
various sorts, some birds being in more repute than
others. On starting for a hunting excursion we met
one ofthem on the hill-side, who said, 'You wiU be
fortunate : I heard the bird behind you.' Here, if a
bird is before you, it is a sign that enemies are there
too, and they turn back : if behind, they proceed in
good spirits. They have a prejudice against the
flesh of deer, which the raen may not eat, but which
is allowed to women and children. The reason given
for this is, that if the warriors eat the flesh of deer,
they become as faint-hearted as that animal. These
may be called their superstitions, but religion they
have none ; and though they know a name for God,
and entertain some faint notion of a future state, yet
it is only in the abstract, for practically the belief
seems to be a dead letter. At their marriage they
kill fowls, as I have narrated ; but this is a ceremony,
not a sacrifice. They have no priests nor idols, say
no prayers, offer no offerings to propitiate the Deity ;
and it is little likely therefore that human sacrifice
should exist among them. In this respect they are
different from any known people who have arrived
at the same state of civilisation. The New Zea-
landers, the inhabitants of the South Seas, &c. &c.,
for instance, all bow to their idols, towards which
the same feelings of reverence and devotion, of awe
and fear, obtain as with more civilised beings in re
gard to the invisible Deity; but here are the mere
words, barren and without practice."

31
" It seems to be a maxim amongst all classes of
Malays, that force alone can keep the Dyaks in
proper subjection; which is so far true, that force
alone, in the hopelessness of resistance, could induce
a wild people to part with the food on which they
depend for subsistence. At a distance I have heard
of and pitied the sufferings of the negroes and the
races of New HoUand — yet it was the cold feeling
dictated by reason and humanity ; but now, having
witnessed the miseries of a race superior to either,
the feeling glows with the fervour of personal com
miseration : so true is it that visible misery wUl raise
us to exertion, which the picture, however powerfully
delineated, can never produce. The thousands daily
knelled out of the world, who lie in gorgeous se
pulchres, or rot unburied on the surface of the earth,
excite no emotion compared to that conjured up by
the meanest dead at our feet. We read of tens of
thousands killed and wounded in battle, and the
glory of their deeds, or the sense of their defeat,
attracts our sympathy ; but if a single mangled war
rior, ghastly with wounds and writhing with pain,
sohcited our aid, we should deplore his fate with ten
fold emotion, and curse the strife which led to such
a result. Among the thousands starving for want of
food we trouble not ourselves to seek one; but if the
object is presented before our eyes, how certain &
compassion is aroused! To assist is a duty; but in
ihe performance of this duty, to be gentle and feeling

32
is godlike ; and probably, between individuals, there
is no greater distinction than in this tender sympathy
towards distress. Poor, poor Dyaks! exposed to
starvation, slavery, death ! you may well raise the
warmest feelings of compassion — enthusiasm, awakes
at witnessing your sufferings ! To save men from
death has its merit; but to aUeviate suffering, to
amehorate all the ills of slavery, to protect these
tribes frora pillage and yearly scarcity, is far nobler ;
and if, in the endeavour to do so, one poor life is
sacrificed, how little is it in the vast amount of
human existence !"
We will quote two passages from Captain Keppel :
" The latest accounts received from Sarawak re
present the increasing prosperity of that interesting
settlement ; and with reference to the gradual ad
vance ofthe Dyaks, Mr. Brooke observes: — 'The
peaceful and gentle aborigines — how can 1 speak
too favourably of their improved condition ? These
people, who, a few years since, suffered every ex
treme of misery from war, slavery, and starvation,
are now comfortably lodged, and comparatively rich.
A stranger might now pass from village to viUage,
and he would receive their hospitality, and see their
padi stored in their houses. He would hear them
proclaim their happiness, and praise the white man
as their friend and protector.'
" When we read Mr. Brooke's description of the
aboriginal Dyak, and observe what he has himself

33
done in one locality, within the space of four or five
short years, what may we not expect to be accom
plished by the zeal of Christian missions, judiciously
directed to reclaim such a people frora utter bar
barism, and induce them to become true members of
a faith which teaches forbearance and charity between
raan and man, and inculcates, with the love and hope
of heaven, an abhorrence of despotism and blood,
and a disposition to live in good will and peace with
aU our fellow-creatures ? There are here no preju
dices of caste, as in India, to impede the missionaries'
progress. Mr. Brooke has pointed out what may be
effected in this way ; and we have only to say amen
to his prayer, with an earnest aspiration that it may
be speedUy fulfilled." *
MR. BROOKE'S APPEAL TO HIS COUNTRY.
Mr. Brooke concludes his account of these na
tive inhabitants thus :
" Such is the sad condition of the Dyak tribes ;
such the sufferings of an innocent and industrious
race, which are scarcely to be matched in the annals
of nations, and unequaUed even on the coast of
Guinea ; for there the lot of slavery falls only on a
portion of the community, whUst here it is the wan
ton butchery and the wholesale slavery of entire
communities. I need make no further comment of
my own, save that I have endeavoured to render

34
this statement as plain and matter-of-fact as possible,
and have sought, instead of exaggerating, to soften
the features of a most horrible picture. After re
siding araongst this people, and becoming intimately
acquainted with their characters and many virtues,
— after witnessing their sufferings and patience, and
very firmly convinced of the facUities vrith which
they might be improved, — ^after struggling to protect
them, and after acquiring their slowly bestowed
confidence, it cannot be a matter of surprise that
I appeal in their behalf to that generosity which, I
am led to think, aids the distressed and commise
rates the sufferings of our fellow-creatures. If a
case of misery ever called for help, it is here ; and
the act of humanity which redeems the Dyak race
from their condition of unparalleled wretchedness,
will open a path for rehgion and for commerce
which may in future repay the charity which ought
to seek no remuneration.
"The protection of the Dyak race in Sarawak
would quickly follow the residence of Europeans,
and indeed already their condition has been im
proved in some measure; and in future the residence
of missionaries amongst them would give them confi
dence to resist the unjust demands which they are now
forded to comply with. In the present day I kno'^
no field for the missionary which promises such a
harvest as the Di/ak tribes"
" Finally," he concludes, " if I appeal, it is not

35
in my own name, but in the name of the oppressed
and enslaved Dyaks. I appeal to those whose views
of policy lead to the extension of commerce, to the
religious body in England who may here find a field
for missionary labour too long untried. If the Bri
tish public be indifferent to the sufferings of this
unhappy race, now for the first time made known
to them, — if, when the means of ameliorating this
inhuman state of things, and alleviating the miseries
of an innocent and much-abused people, are pointed
out, they turn a deaf ear to the appeal, they are
not what I believe them to be, and what they pro
fess themselves."

THE END,

LONDON :
PnlNTRO BV I.BVB7i ROBSON, ANO rHANKtVK,
Great New street , Fetter Lane.

In Two Vols. Svo, cloth, price 32*., illustrated with Eleven Views in tinted
lithography, and Six Maps,
THE EXPEDITION TO BORNEO OF H.M.S. DIDO
FOR
THE SUPPRESSION OF PIRACY,
With Extracts from the Joumal of JAMES BROOKE, Esq. of Sarawak
(now Agent for the British Govemment in Bomeo).
By CAPTAIN THE HON. HENRY KEPPEL, R.N.
Second EdUion iri ttie Press,
London : Chapman and Hall, i 86 Strand.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

3 9002 08954 1875