by intrigue, by falsehood, and even by violence, he had prevented or driven all persons from daring to visit or come near me whether abroad or ashore. He was taxing the poor Dyaks, harassing the Siniawans, and leagued with the Borneo pangerans to plunder and get all he possibly could. Every Dyak community was watched by his followers, and a spear raised opposite the chief's house, to intimate that no person was to trade or barter except the pangeran. The mode of plunder is thus perpetrated. Rice, clothes, gongs, and other articles are sent to a tribe at a fixed price, which the Dyaks dare not refuse, for it is at the risk of losing their children! The prices thus demanded by Macota were as follows: one gantong of rice for thirty birds'-nests. Twenty-four gantongs here is equal to a pecul of rice-a pecul of rice costs one dollar and a half, whereas thirty birds'-nests weigh one catty, and are valued at two rupees; so that the twenty-fourth part of one and a half dollars is sold for two rupees! Was it surprising that these people were poor and wretched? My astonishment was, that they continued to labour, and indeed nothing but their being a surprisingly industrious race can account for it; and they are only enabled to live at all by secreting a portion of their food. Yet war and bad government, or rather no government, have had the effect of driving more than half the Dyak tribes beyond the limits of Sarawak.

The rapacity of these Malays is as unbounded as it is short-sighted; for one would think that the slightest degree of common sense would induce some of the chiefs to allow no one to plunder except themselves. But this is so far from being the case, that when their demand has been enforced, dozens of inferior wretches extort and plunder in turn, each according to his ability; and though the Dyak is not wanting in obstinacy, he can seldom withstand these robberies; for each levy is made in the name of the rajab, or some principal pangeran; and the threat of bringing the powerful tribe of Sakarrans or Sarebus to deprive them of their heads, and wives and families, generally reduces them to obedience. Whilst on this subject, I may as well mention a fact that came later to my knowledge, when several of the Dyak chiefs, and one of particular intelligence, Si Meta by name, assured me that each family paid direct revenue from thirty to fifty pasus (tubs) of padi, besides all the other produces, which are extorted at merely nominal prices.'-Vol. i. pp. 245, &c.

Another most shameful mode of exaction and tyranny is also practised.

'It consists in lending small sums of money to the natives (that is, Sarawak people), and demanding interest at the rate of fifty per cent. per month; by this means a small sum is quickly converted into one which is quite out of the power of the poor man to pay; and he, his wife, and children, are taken to the house of the creditor to work for him, whilst the debt still accumulates, and the labour is endless. I intend to strike at this slavery in disguise, but not just yet; the suppression of robbery, the criminal department of justice, being more immediately important.'Vol. i. pp. 279, &c.

The government of the Dyaks I have already detailed; and though we might hope that in a more settled state of things they would have been more secure from foreign pillage, yet they were annually deprived of the proceeds of their labour, debarred from trade, and deprived of every motive to encourage industry. The character of their rulers for humanity alone fixed the measure of their suffering, and bad was the best; but 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, and 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 Hollandyet 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 commiseration: so true is it that visible misery will 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 sepulchres, 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 warrior, ghastly with wounds and writhing with pain, solicited our aid, we should deplore his fate with tenfold 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 a compassion is aroused! To assist is a duty; but in the performance of this duty, to be gentle and feeling 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 alleviate suffering, to ameliorate all the ills of slavery, to protect these tribes from 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!'-Vol. i. pp. 270, &c.

Mr. Brooke is anxious, in the later portions of his journal, to give as favourable an idea as possible of the Malay character; and he states his opinion, that the prejudice against them is founded more on the character of the rajahs and their dependants than on the mass. We strongly suspect, however, that whoever was rajah (of course excepting the present Rajah of Sarawak) the result would be the same.

28th. How is it to be accounted for that the Malays have so bad a character with the public, and yet that the few who have had opportunities of knowing them well speak of them as a simple and not unamiable people? With the vulgar, the idea of a Malay-and by the Malay they mean the entire Polynesian race, with the exception of the Javanese-is that of a treacherous, bloodthirsty villain; and I believe the reason to be, that from our first intercourse to the present time, it is the pangerans or rajahs of the country, with their followers, who are made the standard of Malay character. These rajahs, born in the purple, bred amid slaves and fighting-cocks, inheriting an undisputed power over their subjects, and under all circumstances, whether of riches or poverty, receiving the abject submission of those around their persons, are naturally the slaves of their passions-haughty, rapacious, vindictive, weak, and tenacious unto death of the paltry punctilio of their court. The followers of such rajahs it is needless to describe;-they are the tools of the rajah's will, and more readily disposed for evil than for good; unscrupulous, cunning, intriguing, they are prepared for any act of violence. We must next contrast these with a burly, independent trader, eager after gain, probably not overscrupulous about the means of obtaining it, ignorant of native character, and heedless of native customs and native etiquette. The result of such a

combination of ingredients causes an explosion on the slightest occasion. The European is loud, contemptuous, and abusive; the Malay cool and vindictive. The regal dignity has been insulted; the rajah has received "shame" before his court; evil counsellors are at hand to whisper the facility of revenge, and the advantages to be derived from it. The consequence too frequently follows-the captain and crew are krissed, and their vessel seized and appropriated. The repeated tragedy shocks the European mind; and the Malay has received, and continues to this day to receive, a character for treachery and bloodthirstiness. Even in these common cases an allowance must be made for the insults received, which doubtless on numerous occasions were very gross, and such flagrant violations of native customs as to merit death in native eyes; and we must bear in mind, that we never hear but one side of the tale, or only judge upon a bloody fact. It is from such samples of Malays that the general character is given by those who have only the limited means of trade for forming a judgment; but those who have known the people of the interior and lived amongst them, far removed from the influence of their rajahs, have given them a very different character. Simple in their habits, they are neither treacherous nor bloodthirsty; cheerful, polite, hospitable, gentle in their manners, they live in communities with fewer crimes and fewer punishments than most other people of the globe. They are passionately fond of their children, and indulgent even to a fault; and the ties of family relationship and good feeling continue in force for several generations. The feeling of the Malay, fostered by education, is acute, and his passions are roused if shame be put upon him; indeed, this dread of shame amounts to a disease; and the evil is, that it has taken a wrong direction, being more the dread of exposure or abuse, than shame or contrition for any offence.

'I have always found them good-tempered and obliging, wonderfully amenable to authority, and quite as sensible of benefits conferred, and as grateful, as other people of more favoured countries. Of course there is a reverse to this picture. The worst feature of the Malay character is the want of all candour or openness, and the restless spirit of cunning intrigue which animates them, from the highest to the lowest. Like other Asiatics, truth is a rare quality amongst them. They are superstitious, somewhat inclined to deceit in the ordinary concerns of life, and they have neither principle nor conscience when they have the means of oppressing an infidel, and a Dyak who is their inferior in civilization and intellect.

'If this character of the Malay be summed up, it will be anything but a bad one on the whole; it will present a striking contrast to the conduct and character of the rajahs and their followers, and I think will convince any impartial inquirer, that it is easily susceptible of improvement. One of the most fertile sources of confusion is, classing at one time all the various nations of the Archipelago under the general name of Malay, and at another restricting the same term to one people, not more ancient, not the fountain-head of the others, who issued from the centre of Sumatra, and spread themselves in a few parts of the Archipelago.'—Vol. ii. pp. 129, &c.

No small portion of our work is devoted to the subject of the pirates who infest every river, and bring terror to every quiet inhabitant of the island. These are composed chiefly of certain tribes of Dyaks, deriving their name from the river where they emerge on their pestilential errands. They differ very much in their equipments, and in the field of their exertions. Some keep close to shore, and commit depredations on the small craft

of the coast, or on the villages adjoining; others, better armed, venture out far to sea, and attack ships laden with merchandise; while some are strangely in league with the Malay authorities, who, in the tender care they exercise over those their subjects, will sometimes admit these pirates up the rivers, on the condition of sharing the spoil. As this part of the population will, however, soon meet with a serious check to their operations, if they have not done so already, from the severe lessons which have been taught some of their number, we hope that they will remain only in history; and as we are not inclined to invest their memory with any cloak of romance, as is often the case with celebrated robbers, we will content ourselves with giving an extract or two descriptive of their signal discomfiture at the hands of Captain Keppel and the gallant crew of the 'Dido.'

'June 11th.-We moved on immediately after the passing up of the bore, the dangers of which appeared to have been greatly exaggerated. The beating of gongs and discharge of cannon had been going on the whole of the previous night.

'The scenery improved in beauty every yard that we advanced; but our attention was drawn from it by the increase of yelling as we approached the scene of action. Although as yet we had only heard our enemies, our rapid advance with a strong tide must have been seen by them from the jungle on the various hills which now rose to our view.

Being in my gig, somewhat ahead of the boats, I had the advantage of observing all that occurred. The scene was the most exciting I ever experienced. We had no time for delay or consideration: the tide was sweeping us rapidly up; and had we been inclined to retreat then, we should have found it difficult. A sudden turn in the river brought us (Mr. Brooke was by my side) in front of a steep hill which rose from the bank. It had been cleared of jungle, and long grass grew in its place. As we hove in sight, several hundred savages rose up, and gave one of their war-yells: it was the first I had heard. No report from musketry or ordnance could ever make a man's heart feel so small as mine did at that horrid yell: but I had no leisure to think. I had only time for a shot at them with my double-barrel as they rushed down the steep, whilst I was carried past. I soon after heard the report of our large boat's heavy gun, which must have convinced them that we likewise were prepared.

'On the roof of a long building, on the summit of the hill, were several warriors performing a war-dance, which it would be difficult to imitate on such a stage. As these were not the forts we were in search of, we did not delay longer than to exchange a few shots in sweeping along.

'Our next obstacle was more troublesome, being a strong barrier right across the river, formed of two rows of trees placed firmly in the mud, with their tops crossed and secured together by rattans; and along the fork, formed by the crossing of the tops of these stakes, were other trees firmly secured. Rapidly approaching this barrier, I observed a small opening that might probably admit of a canoe; and gathering good way, and putting my gig's head straight at it, I squeezed through. On passing it the scene again changed, and I had before me three formidable-looking forts, which lost not a moment in opening a discharge of cannon on my unfortunate gig. Luckily their guns were properly elevated for the range of the barrier; and, with the exception of a few straggling grape-shot that splashed the water round us, the whole went over our heads.

For a

moment I found myself cut off from my companions, and drifting fast upon the enemy. The banks of the river were covered with warriors, yelling and rushing down to possess themselves of my boat and its crew. I had some difficulty in getting my long gig round, and paddling up against the stream; but while my friend Brooke steered the boat, my coxswain and myself kept up a fire, with tolerable aim, on the embrasures, to prevent, if possible, their reloading before the pinnace, our leading boat, could bring her twelve-pound carronade to bear. I was too late to prevent the pinnace falling athwart the barrier, in which position she had three men wounded. With the assistance of some of our native followers, the rattan-lashings which secured the heads of the stakes were soon cut through; and I was not sorry when I found the 'Dido's' first cutter on the same side with myself. The other boats soon followed; and while the pinnace kept up a destructive fire on the fort, Mr. D'Aeth, who was the first to land, jumped on shore, with his crew, at the foot of the hill on the top of which the nearest fort stood, and at once rushed for the summit. This mode of warfare-this dashing at once in the very face of their fort-was so novel and incomprehensible to our enemies, that they fled, panic-struck, into the jungle; and it was with the greatest difficulty that our leading men could get even a snap-shot at the rascals as they went.'-Vol. ii. pp. 48, &c.

To the left of our position, and about 200 yards up the river, large trees were being felled during the night; and by the torch-lights showing the spot, the officer of the boat, Mr. Partridge, kept up a very fair ballpractice with the pinnace's gun. Towards morning a shot fell apparently just where they were at work; and that being accompanied by what we afterwards ascertained caused more horror and consternation among the enemy than any thing else, a common signal sky-rocket, made them resign the ground entirely to us. The last shot, too, that was fired from the pinnace had killed three men.'-Vol. ii. p. 58.

A truce being at length declared, Mr. Brooke made the best use of the influence which their victory had given him.

'He fully explained that our invasion of their country, and destruction of their forts and town, was not for the purpose of pillage or gain to ourselves, but as a punishment for their repeated and aggravated acts of piracy; that they had been fully warned, for two years before, that the British nation would no longer allow the native trade between the adjacent islands and Singapore to be cut off and plundered, and the crews of the vessels cruelly put to death, as they had been.

"They were very humble and submissive; admitted that their lives were forfeited; and if we said they were to die, they were prepared, although, they explained, they were equally willing to live. They promised to refrain for ever from piracy, and offered hostages for their good behaviour. 'Mr. Brooke then explained how much more advantageous trade would be than piracy, and invited them to a further conference at Sarawak, where they might witness all the blessings resulting from the line of conduct he had advised them to follow. If, on the other hand, we heard of a single act of piracy being committed by them, their country should be again invaded and occupied; and their enemies, the whole tribe of Linga Dyaks, let loose upon them, until they were rooted out and utterly destroyed.'Vol. ii. pp. 60, &c.

The following attack on Patusen is of the same character:'We now collected our boats, and made our arrangements as well as we could, for attacking a place we had not yet seen. We had now a little more difficulty in keeping our native force back, as many of those who had