PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
PELLICO.
882
3
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
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138
supplied to enable the officer engaged in this duty to make the necessary inquiries as to the business on which the boats or vessels intercepted may be engaged, and to whom they belong.
Senior Naval Officer,
Straits of Malacca.
Enclosure 5. in No. 100.
I have, &c.
(Signed)
W. F. D. JEVOJA.
Colonial Secretary's Office, November 17, 1875.
Sin,
I am directed by the Governor to inform you that he has been pleased to appoint Major McNair to be Senior Commissioner with the forces now about to undertake military operations in Perak. Mr. Wm. Maxwell will act under him as Deputy Commissioner.
You will continue to art as Commissioner with Mr. Swettenbam under you as Deputy Commissioner, It is proposed that Major McNair shall be attached to the force which will probably operate from Laroot in the direction of Qualla Kangsa, and that you should be attached to the force which will operate from Durian Sabatang. Your duties, therefore, will be for the most part independent of each other; but in the event of combined action being necessary you will consider Major McNair as the senior officer.
I transmit, for your information and guidance, a copy of instructions with which Major McNair has this day been furnished.
I have, &c. (Signed) C. J. IRVING.
To Major Dunlop, R.A.
SIR,
Enclosure 6. in No. 100. (1 Sub-Enclosure.)
Colonial Secretary's Office, Singapore, November 17, 1875.
I AM directed by the Governor to inform you that he has been pleased to appoint you to be Senior Commissioner with the forces now about to undertake military operations in Perak. Mr. William Max- well will act under you as Deputy Commissioner.
Major Dunlop, R.A., holds the appointment of Second Commissioner with Mr. Swettenham under him as Deputy Commissioner.
The Governor proposes that Major Dunlop with Mr. Swettenham shall be attached to the force which will probably operate from Durian Sabatang, while you and Mr. Maxwell will accompany the force which will probably operate from Laroot on Qualia Kangsa. Your duties and those of Major Dunlop will therefore in all probability be for the most part independent of each other; but in the event of combined action being necessary Major Dunlop has been instructed to consider you as the senior officer. 1 enclose a paper of instructions which have been laid down by his Excellency for your guidance in the performance of the duties entrusted to you.
A copy of these instructions has been transmitted to Major Dunlop,
&zo.
The Hon. Major J. F. A. MeNair, R.A.,
$zc,
&c.
Sub-Enclosure in Enclosure 6.
(Signed)
I have, &c.
C. J. IRVING, Colonial Secretary.
INSTRUCTIONS to Major McNair, R.A., Civil Commissioner, with the Force about to undertake Military Operations in the State of Perak.
Major McNair will proceed in H.M.S. "Ringdove" to-morrow to the Perak River, and place himself in communication with Major Dunlop, R.A., Commissioner, with the force now at the Residency at Bandar Bahru.
Upon ascertaining the actual position of affairs in the Perak River and the adjacent districts, Major McNair, after consultation with Major Dunlop, will, unless cogent reasons to the contrary should appear, address ceremonious, but at the same time imperative, invitations to Sultan Abdullah, the Datu Laxamana, and the Datu Shahbandar, and any other Chiefs who may be within the territories occupied by our forces, and ostensibly on terms of friendship with the British Government, to come on board a man-of-war, where they should be received with all proper respect and courtesy.
Unless cogent reasons to the contrary should appear, the 'Datu' Laxamina and the Datu Shahbandar should be required to remain on board the man-of-war for the present.
No opposition should be offered to the departure of Sultan Abdullah, whose wishes should be con- sulted as to the place where his residence should for the present be established.
Major McNair will consult with Major Dunlop and Mr. Swettenham as to the advisability of addressing communications to Rajab Yusof and any other of the Chiefs residing beyond the districts occupied by our forces who may be believed to be well affected to our Government, and giving them the opportunity of giving proof of their good intentions by coming in and placing themselves at the disposal of the British Government.
Major McNair will further consult with Major Dunlop in regard to a plan of operations to be re- commended for the consideration of the General Commanding the Forces. A communication in this respect has already been addressed by the Governor to Major Dunlop, which will be duly taken into consideration, but Major McNair will not neglect to state, for the consideration of the General in command, the nature of any alternative or auheidiary projects which, after consultation with Major Dunlop, he may think advisable to recommend for the consideration of the General in command.
With reference to all these matters it should be borne in mind that so far as at present known the fores that will be available for operations in Perak will consist of 1,500 European infantry and one battery
139
of artillery with mountain guns, who are expected from Bengal about Monday or Tuesday next, in $addition to the force now in Perak, consisting of 210 infantry, 44 artillery, and 300 infantry, who will
leave Singapore for Perak to-morrow.
"
The naval force at present consists of H.M. ships "Thistle" and "Fly" now in Perak River, the Ringdove," which proceeds thither to-morrow, the "Philomel," which is on her way from Calcutta, the "Egeria" expected immediately in Singapore from Hong Kong, and the "Modeste," now on ber way from Hong Kong vil Manila and Labuan
After having acted in the manner above indicated Major McNair will leave Perak and proceed to Penang, and from there telegraph information of the facts which he may have learnt and the con- clusions which he may have arrived at since his departure from Singapore.
He will then place himself in communication with the Lieutenant-Governor of Penang, and, with the permission of the General in command, with the Senior Commissariat Officer, and make inquiries as to the preparations that may be making for the reception of the troops from India who are expected to arrive about Monday or Tuesday next and he will assist the commissariat officers so far as may lie within his power by his advice and co-operation.
At Penang Major McNair will place himself in communication with Mr. William Maxwell, who will act as Deputy Commissioner under him.
In company with Mr. William Maxwell Major McNair will go on to Laroot, and there consult with Captain Speedy and gather from him whatever information he may be able to afford respecting that district, and in the conterminous districts of Perak proper.
Unless cogent reasons to the contrary should appear the Datu Mantri and the Datu Tumonggong should be detained in a similar manner to that indicated above in regard to the Laxamana and the Shahbandar.
Major McNair will then (on the supposition that the General in command will decide on an advance by a portion of the troops on their arrival from India by way of Laroot vid Gunong Pondok to Qualla Kangas) address himself to the consideration of how such an advance may best be prepared for; and he will, after consultation with Captain Speedy, make the necessary arrangements for the engage- ment of coolies, the construction of roads, cover for troops, &c., de, kë.
It is probable that the General in command may bereafter decide on advancing another portion of the troops on Blanja from the mouth of the Bruas River.
In that event, or in the event of the General in command determining on any other line or linen of operation in preference to or subsidiary to the Laroot-Kangsa line and the Bruas-Blanja line, Major McNair will similarly consider the arrangements by which such operations may most advan- tageously be conducted, and, with the concurrence of the General in command, will assist the officers concerned in them by his advice and co-operation.
November 24, 1875.
SIL,
Enclosure 7. in No. 100.
Government House, Singapore, November IN course of the personal interviews that have passed between us during the last two days, you
18 1875. have, I believe, been put in possession of sufficiently full information in regard to the recent events in Perak and the present position of our forces in that country, as also in regard to the views which I have arrived at as to the course to be pursued there, both at the present conjunction of affairs and hereafter, when the reinforcements expected from India shall have arrived; but it is proper that, before you leave for the scene of action, I should furnish you in writing, for future reference, with a succinct recapitulation of the various matters in question.
2. In order to give a clear view of the military position and prospects it is necessary that I should give a brief sketch of the political aspect of the affair.
5. In January 1874 a treaty was entered into at a conference held on board the colonial steamer "Pluto," at Puls Pangkore, between the British Government, as represented by Sir A. Clarke on the one side, and the present Sultan Abdullah and a majority of the principal Chiefs of the country on the other, by which Abdullah was recognised as Sultan, and by which he was bound to receive a British Resident at his court and govern the country in accordance with the Resident's advice.
4 This treaty was subsequently confirmed by Her Majesty's Government, who decided to hold Sultan Abdullah and the other Chiefs to the engagements entered into on their side.
5. Among the Chiefs who did not sign the Pangkore treaty was the Chief who is now known as the Ex-Sultan Inmail This man had been constituted Sultan in 1871 by certain of the Chiefs, principally it is believed at the instigation of the Mantri (who was governing the wealthier mining district of Laroot) to the exclusion of Abdullah, who was next in succession. By the treaty of Pankore, Ismail lost his position as Sultan, and was given the title of Ex-Sultan, with a promise of certain emoluments. 6. It does not appear that Ismail has ever acquiesced in his altered position, and he has always avoided on one ground or another handing over to Abdullah the insignia of the kingdom, to which the Malays attach an almost religious importance.
7. If the Pankore treaty had gone no further than the recognition of Abdullah, it is probable that it would have represented the real views at any rate of the majority of those who signed it; but the introduction of the residential system appears to have been highly distasteful to some of the Chiefs in question, and this, combined with the defects of character displayed by Abdullah since his accession, would seem to have disposed them to transfer their allegiance to Ismail. This seems noticeable in the case of a Chief named the Maharajah Lela, who, though he did not sign the treaty, was one of those whose memorial to the Government in 1872 frst brought the question of the disputed succession to notice. It is this Chief and another named the Datu Sagor (who signed both the treaty and memorial) who are under the strongest suspicion of having instigated the murder of the British Resident, Mr. Birch.
8. After the residential system had been introduced, which was not till 10 months after the treaty was sigued, it was found, after a year's trial, that it was impossible to work it to any effect in con- S 2
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Reference
C.O.
882
3
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO