ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE. (Hansard, 19 May 1874)

§ LORD STANLEY OF ALDERLEY
rose to call the attention of the House to the proceedings of the Straits Government in the Malay Peninsula, and to move that an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty for Copy of the Correspondence. His Lordship (who was very imperfectly heard) was understood to say that, while disclaiming any hostility to the noble Earl the Secretary of State for the Colonies, to the late Secretary of State, or to Sir Andrew Clarke, who had done good service in the posts he had previously filled, and against whom the only reproach that could be made was, that he had not been long enough in the East to have learned to avoid the evils of precipitation, and that he had not taken sufficient time to ascertain the value of the counsel that might be offered to him, he felt it to be his duty to warn Her Majesty's Government against giving its sanction to the plans of the Straits Go- 468 vernment, by which it would not only be entering into equivocal and entangling engagements, but would be embarking in a course which must inevitably lead to the invasion and conquest of the whole of the Malay Peninsula. The Straits Government were projecting an encroachment upon two independent Malay States—Perak and Salangore. He would take first the case of Perak, a statement of which was published in The Times on the 5th of May, and The Times' Correspondent, though apparently advocating the action of the local Government, had the honesty to point out that this interference might probably drag us into another Ashantee business. There had been for some time a state of anarchy in Laroot, a district of Perak, caused by fights between different parties of Chinese miners from Penang. This anarchy had been increased by a Mantri, or Minister of the Sultan of Perak, setting up as ruler of Laroot. Captain Speedy went to that country some time ago and recruited Sepoys from India for the service of the Mantri. That recruiting was stopped by the Indian Government; but he believed Captain Speedy was still at Laroot, and he asked for information on that point. The Straits Government appeared to have taken advantage of this anarchy—for not preventing, at least, a part of which it was responsible since the Chinese disturbers of the peace came from Penang—to arbitrate between the different parties in opposition at Perak, as described in the statement published in The Times. But the object was in reality to impose upon the Sultan of Perak two British officials, to be called Resident and Assistant Resident, to be paid out of the Perak revenues, and with powers which would make them the virtual rulers of the country, since nothing was to be done without asking their advice. The Straits Government had also exacted the cession of two strips of territory, one along the frontier of Province Wellesley, not of much importance, but the other 25 miles long by five broad, near Pulo Binding, was exacted under a Treaty drawn up in. 1826, but never ratified or accepted by the East India Company, and now brought out from the oblivion in which it had remained till lately. The report in The Times showed that this had been 469 yielded under pressure only; and he asked Her Majesty's Government if this Treaty of 1826 was still valid, why that of 1819 with Achin was not equally valid and binding. He entreated Her Majesty's Government not to allow the officials to whom he had referred to be called Residents—a title which in Java was equivalent to that of Governor, and which in British India was associated with annexation—and, above all, to appoint respectable persons, responsible to the Home Government and independent of Singapore local interests and influences. An article in The Penang Gazette, of January 8th, 1874, contained the following words— We hear that it has been determined by the British Government to proclaim a Protectorate over the territories of Salangore. No well-wisher to the Straits, or man of common sense, can gainsay the wisdom of this measure as far as it goes; but it is, to say the most of it, only a half one. The time has arrived when, on the broad grounds of humanity, as the paramount power in these waters, and in discharge of a sacred duty, the British should put a stop to the atrocities which the weak rule of the Malayan Chiefs, and the consequent anarchy existing in their territories, have made so common of late. …. The only cure for this state of things lies in, either directly annexing the whole of the Peninsula from the River Kreean to Johore, or the establishment of a Protectorate over the same area. Now, a letter from Singapore, of March 26th, in The Morning Post of May 11th, reporting a speech of the Governor, Sir Andrew Clarke, to the Council, and the address or reply of the Council, stated— It is no exaggeration to say, in the language of the Governor's address, that the protraction of the war in Achin has seriously prejudiced our trade with the ports in the north of Sumatra. But beyond this dissatisfaction with the disturbance of commercial operations that has been thus caused, the feeling of the colony is decidedly with the Achinese, and against the attacking Power, and intervention on the part of the British Government to bring about a settlement of the quarrel would be hailed with the greatest satisfaction by the whole of our community. The Sultan of Achin is an ancient and faithful ally of England, for which country both he and his brave people have a strong attachment (their principal fault in the eyes of the Dutch). Yet, we are allowing this independent State to be ruined and crushed by a powerful enemy. It is not yet too late for Great Britain to step in and mediate between the belligerents. He maintained that it was odious for a nation, or its governors, or its Press, thus to blow hot and cold with the same mouth, and to advocate for ourselves 470 what we condemned on the part of the Dutch; and he implored Her Majesty's Government to consider the bad effect which any annexation in the Malay Peninsula would have in India, and elsewhere. It was with the utmost amazement that he heard the noble Earl the Secretary for the Colonies, when speaking of the Gold Coast, describe with complacency his arrangements for the government of the Straits Settlements after their transfer to the Colonial Office, as though he had found there a tabula rasa without any institutions, whereas whatever he did, judging by the results, had been the reverse of improvement. The noble Earl had neglected to renew or enforce the salutary rule of the East India Company, forbidding their officials to accept presents. The consequence was, the acceptance of presents by the Governor and other officials became so general as to be commented upon by the Singapore Press, and he would read extracts from two letters which had appeared in The Overland Straits Times— It may be well to move to have a Commission—not a jobbed one—to inquire into the practice of H. E., the Governor, of receiving presents from different persons-Native Chiefs and others—and the time and occasion when these presents wore received. … It is known that even subordinates accompanying the Government to neighbouring States take valuable presents from Native authorities, and thus are brought up to perpetuate the evil." ….. The subject of present-taking by the Governor is notorious, and that high official in no way conceals the fact. Can the public, however, believe that when a public man publicly takes presents, he will be very particular as to their nature and extent, or be very communicative as to all the good things he may receive. The bold admission that he does receive presents may be but a blind as to their importance and influence. … Are we to have another seven years of present taking?"—(Overland Straits Times, August 23, 1873.) The noble Earl (the Earl of Carnarvon) had the ill luck to appoint this Governor, who disorganized the public service, squandered the revenues of the colony on building a house for himself—and for that purpose seized the bricks which the municipality had provided for waterworks and drainage, and on their remonstrating threatened to suppress them—a Governor who had left behind him a reputation which could only be compared to that of a Roman Proconsul of the time of Cicero. It was however, only justice to remind the 471 House that the noble Earl had ceased to hold the office of Secretary of State very shortly after he had appointed this Governor, and was, consequently, not responsible for his acts. Under the auspices of the noble Earl, an Attorney General was appointed who had no knowledge of law, and who had been specially passed through Gray's Inn within one year, as he was only to practise in a colony. The noble Earl's successor the Duke of Buckingham was equally unfortunate in the Straits; for when the inhabitants of Singapore petitioned for the maintenance of the independence of the Judges, which they had till then enjoyed, he refused their petition, and his reasons were worse than the refusal itself. Under these circumstances, the purity of administration of the Straits Settlements was not such as to commend itself to the House, or to others, for extension to the Malay Peninsula. He had just met with an anecdote which was applicable to these circumstances: Shortly after the conquest of Persia by Sultan Mahmud of Gazni, a caravan was intercepted by robbers, and some of the merchants killed; the mother of one of these came to complain to Sultan Mahmud, who replied that he could not provide for so remote a portion of his dominions. The woman then boldly asked the Sultan—"Why, then, do you conquer countries which you cannot administer, and for the protection of which you will have to answer at the Day of Judgment." He now came to the case of Salangore. The Sultan of Salangore had three sons, and a daughter married to Tunku Dhya Udin, a brother of the Sultan of Keddah. The Sultan had given extensive powers to his son-in-law Tunku Dhya Udin, but about 1870 he found it necessary to revoke them. Tunku Dhya Udin obtained the support of some of the merchants of Singapore, and money advances from a lawyer, to be repaid, it was said, by a share in the revenue which Tunku Dhya Udin collected. In June, 1871, a Chinese junk sailed from Penang, some Chinese on board seized on the vessel, killed the rest of the crow and passengers, and took the junk into Salangore. Colonel Anson, who was then administering the Straits Government, sent the Pluto in search of this junk. This gave rise to the proceedings and bombardment of Salangore, related in the Papers laid before Parliament in 472 1872, from which it appeared that Colonel Anson having given the impression to the Colonial Office that the Salangore Malays were pirates, the late Secretary of State for the Colonies, in his despatch dated September 6, 1871, blamed Colonel Anson for sending the Pluto to Salangore instead of a ship of war. Colonel Anson replied on the 19th October, backing out of the allegation that Salangore was a piratical stronghold, and he wrote— Your Lordship appears to be under the impression that I sent the colonial steamer Pluto with a party of armed police to attack a stronghold of pirates known to exist at Salangore, and, under that impression, very justly blames me for having done so. There had been from time to time complaints of petty piracies along the Malay coast, but it was always supposed that they were committed by small gangs of Malays of bad character, and there was no knowledge of any organized gang of pirates. Merchants of Penang and Singapore traded with Salangore, but they appear to have had no suspicion that the fort there was occupied with any view to piratical purposes, as they made no communication to this Government concerning it. On the 26th of September, 1871, the Earl of Kimberley wrote to Acting Governor Anson— In ordinary circumstances, the proper course would have been to make formal application in the first instance to the Sultan for the outrage committed at Salangore, and not to have resorted to force unless the Sultan failed to execute the Treaty, and to make due reparation. But, as it appears from the papers before me, that the chiefs in possession of the government at Salangore were in rebellion against the Sultan's authority, and that the Sultan has expressed his satisfaction at your proceedings, I am not disposed to question the course you pursued need scarcely, however, observe that in dealing with native States, care should always be taken that all means of obtaining redress by peaceful means are exhausted before measures of coercion are employed." …. I observe that Mr. Birch, in the concluding paragraph of his letter to the Sultan, speaks of assistance to be given to the Sultan's Vakeel (Tunku Dhya Udin) in case his authority is disputed. I conclude that this referred to general countenance and support, and that no promise of material assistance was given by Mr. Birch. He would further refer to Nos. 21 and 22 of the Parliamentary Papers, from which it appeared that Vice Admiral Sir Henry Kellett gave directions that no such expeditions as that of H.M.S Rinaldo, to Salangore, should be undertaken in future without reference to him; and that these instructions were approved of by Her Majesty's Government; and 473 he would observe that similar instructions had been given by the Chief of the Naval Station after the bombardment of Tringgann, and that they appeared to have been forgotten. Tunku Dhya Udin had been supported by the Straits Government against the Sultan of the country and the opinion of the inhabitants. The Straits Government proposed to support him still further by the appointment of a British official with the title of Resident—probably to be paid out of the revenues of Salangore, as in the case of Perak—and who would virtually be the ruler of the country. Should he meet with any difficulties, British forces would be probably required for his support, and they would be committed to hostile operations in a country abounding in forests, and on a coast lined by mangrove thickets. If it were merely desired to assist the States of Salangore and Perak to maintain order and improve their Government, it would have been as easy to do so without committing this country to the possibility of war and annexation, by sending to those States a British official of some experience to act under their authority. An intermediate course between that and the one proposed by the Straits Government would even be better than the plan proposed by the Straits Government—namely, to appoint officials with the title of Consuls taken from the Consular Service and responsible to the Home Government.

THE EARL OF CARNARVON
said, the noble Lord began his remarks by stating that he had no wish whatever to censure either himself (the Earl of Carnarvon) or the noble Earl the late Secretary of State for the Colonies, or the Governor of the Straits Settlements. He quite accepted the expression of the noble Lord's wish with regard to himself; but he was bound to say that, if anything could convey censure upon all the three persons mentioned by the noble Lord, what the noble Lord had just said did so. The noble Lord was not justified by the facts in what he had said. The Act by which the administration of the affairs of the Straits Settlements was trans- 474 ferred from the India Office to the Colonial Office, was passed about seven years ago. That Act was the result of an application of the inhabitants of the Straits Settlements to be emancipated from the control of the India Office. The difficulties had arisen from the conduct of the Chinese who had settled in the Peninsula for the purpose of working the mines. Every one was aware how difficult the Chinese were to manage; and the consequence was that factions and feuds between them and the native Rajahs were constantly occurring. The Chinese carried away the wealth of the country—the Rajahs sought to raise their revenues, by levying taxes on the Chinese, who were carrying away their mineral wealth; quarrels arose, and the weaker party driven down to the sea coasts, took to piracy. The consequence was that the Natives desired to be released from the Government of the Indian Empire and placed directly under the control of the Colonial Office. At one time, an appeal was contemplated to the Chinese Government. Under such a complicated state of affairs he thought no Governor ought to be judged severely if he made some mistakes. He believed both the Government and the Administration of the Straits Settlements had been perfectly successful, and this was the first time he had heard they were dissatisfied with the authority of the Colonial Office. The noble Lord had traversed a very wide field of history, of anecdotes, and of Eastern politics, but he (the Earl of Carnarvon) was of opinion that the House did not think it was necessary for him to enter into an apology with regard to all the matters referred to by the noble Lord. The noble Lord had specially referred to two places, Salangore and Perak. Sir Andrew Clarke, the Governor of the Straits Settlements, had sought to apply a remedy by striking at the root of the evil. He had succeeded in putting an end to the impunity which had been practically accorded to the pirates of Salangore. And as to the pirates of Perak, who had been worse than those of Salangore, so far as he (the Earl of Carnarvon) had been able to judge, Sir Andrew Clarke showed remarkable energy in dealing with them. Sir Andrew Clarke seeing that the interests of trade were being ruined by the depredations of these pirates, had con- 475 certed measures with the Admiral on the station for putting an end to their proceedings, and with the aid of a naval force had suppressed their piratical pursuits by capturing and burning their boats, and capturing and punishing pirates who had been guilty of most atrocious outrages, and, lastly, by sending an expedition into the interior of Perack to extinguish the sources of piracy. Instead of punishing the captured pirates by his own power and authority he had handed them over to the Chiefs whose subjects they were. He was bound also to say that Sir Andrew Clarke, besides showing the utmost activity in pursuing and capturing the pirates, had organized an expedition of which their Lordships could not but appove—namely, to rescue from the pirates men and women who had been carried off and detained in captivity, and that he had actually recovered upwards of 50 of these unhappy persons. Not only that, he had opened communications with the hostile rulers, had conciliated them by his personal influence, and had bound over some of them under penalties amounting to $50,000 to keep the peace. Besides that, he sent a commission into the interior to adjust differences with regard to mines. Treaties were entered into under which two English officers had been appointed Residents at the native Courts. He (the Earl of Carnarvon) did not see what objection there could be to the appointment of these Residents. The noble Lord objected to the title of these "Residents" and thought they would more appropriately be entitled "Consuls." He (the Earl of Carnarvon) did not object to the former title, and thought that if the Residents confined themselves to their proper and legitimate duties they would be of the highest service both to the country and to the Rajahs. In order to avoid all misapprehension, he wished to add that the Residents had been appointed at the distinct request and entreaty of the Rajahs to whose courts they had been sent. In regard to the question whether the Home Government would approve the proceedings which had been taken, he might state that they were awaiting a further and, as he believed, final report from Sir Andrew Clarke. Till that report came to hand it would, of course, be improper to express any final opinion on the subject, 476 but he felt no hesitation in saying that, in so far as he had become acquainted with the proceedings, the conduct of Sir Andrew Clarke seemed to him to deserve approval. A real necessity for intervention had existed. The country had been in a state of terrible misrule, trade had been perilous, and even in our own territory riots had seemed imminent. Under such circumstances, it was but the common duty of an English Governor to do all that was necessary to repress lawlessness and to protect British subjects; and if Sir Andrew Clarke used his personal influence, which undoubtedly was great, in order to discourage animosities and restore peace and order in neighbouring territories—in a region which was one of the fairest under the sun, and which, under wise government, might become as happy and as prosperous as any country—it certainly could not be said, at the worst, that he very far exceeded his duty. It was too early to speak of results, but he might mention that only the other day he received a telegram which implied that trade had already revived, and that the state of the country, in regard to public order, was more satisfactory than it had been for a long time past. As to the Motion for Papers, it was impossible for Government to assent to it. When the Correspondence was complete he would have no desire to withhold it from the public.

THE EARL OF KIMBERLEY
said, he would not have troubled the House with any remarks, after the satisfactory statement which had just been made, if it had not been that the noble Lord who introduced the subject (Lord Stanley of Alderley) had included in his censures the late as well as the present administration of Colonial Affairs. He sincerely thanked the noble Earl for the defence he had made of the action of the Colonial Office. It must have been seen from the observations of the noble Earl that the administration of the Straits Settlements since the time when they were transferred from the India Office to the Colonial Office had not been quite so bad as had been represented. In regard to the matter of the Salangore pirates, there was some reason for surprise that the noble Lord had allowed three years to elapse before calling attention to it. The proceedings of the Government of the Straits Settlements were not at the 477 time challenged in Parliament, and to discuss them now was like dealing with a matter which belonged to past history. It was desirable, however, in fairness to the officers serving in the Straits Settlements, to bear in mind that these pirates had been guilty of the murder of between 30 and 40 peaceful persons who had left Penang on board a junk. He conceived it to be one of the first duties of the British Government towards civilization to take care that piracy did not resume its former condition in those seas. The information which reached the Colonial Office when he was at the head of it in regard to the proceedings of Sir Andrew Clarke was meagre, but the opinion he formed on the materials then before him was favourable to that Governor. Laroot bad for a long time been in a state of extreme disorder, and this disorder had been caused for the most part by Chinese who had left our own territory at Penang. In regard to the details of the intervention and of the Treaty engagements, he wished to reserve his judgment, as he had no information on the subject beyond what he had derived from the Press. He was inclined, however, to think it would be found that Sir Andrew Clarke, in whom he had great confidence, had exercised a wise dircretion in the proceedings he had taken.

§ LORD STANLEY OF ALDERLEY
denied having attacked the new Governor, Sir Andrew Clarke; and repeated that the Salangore Malays could not be called pirates, because part of the Chinese crew of a Chinese junk, shortly after sailing from Penang, had murdered the rest of the crew, as was clearly shown by the Parliamentary Papers.