§ 32. Sir J. Graham Kerrasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the proximity of the independent protected State of Sarawak to British possessions in the East and its strategic importance, he will inform the House regarding the recent deposition of the Rajah muda, and the resignation, some months earlier, of five senior members of the Civil Service, including the chief secretary, the financial secretary, the chief justice and the principal medical officer?
Mr. M. MacDonaldThe relations of His Majesty's Government with the State of Sarawak are governed by the Agreement of 1888, under which Sarawak was recognised to be an independent sovereign State, in the internal affairs of which His Majesty's Government had no authority to interfere, except for the limited purposes mentioned in the Agreement. In these circumstances I think it would be improper for me to make any comments on the facts referred to in my hon. Friend's Question.