PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference -
TICO.
882
3
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
(
FO
18
Had this course been carried out it would have conferred upon the Resident or mmissioner (the change of name was really not a matter of much consequence) powers an it to those exercised with such good effect by Mr. Davidson and Captain Murray Saengore and Sungie jong paragraph 31), modified, however, by his first having to salt with the leading men in the country on any important subject, and by his having taim the assent of the Governor in any action proposed to be taken in opposition to the feelings of the Council. Thus, my Lord, the powers secured to the Resident or Commissioner by the course which I adopted were less authoritative than those exercised
the Residents in Salangore and Sungie Ujong
With regard to the opinion expressed by your Lordship in paragraph 14 of Despatch No. 218, that this course was an entire reversal of existing policy, I do not think, now that your Lordship has been made acquainted with the relations which exist between our Residents and the Malay rulers in Malay States, that your Lordship will continue of this opinion, but will recognise that the step was taken by me with a view to making the policy, as approved of by Her Majesty's Government, workable in Perak. Finding that British intervention had committed us to the policy inaugurated in 1874, and to take an active interest in the Native States, and looking at the strict injunctions of Her Majesty's Government, that the Sultan and Chiefs of Perak were to be held bound by their engagements, I certainly thought that I should earn the thanks of Her Majesty's Government by removing the dead lock which existed in Perak, especially when I was able to do so by a comparatively slight modification of the system which had met with their approval.
62. Your Lordship refers, in paragraph 12 of the Despatch under reply, to your Despatch of 15th July last as defining the extent of the policy as approved of by Her Majesty's Government. When I regarded the circumstances attending our intervention, the introduction of a system which necessitated the power of control, the irretrievable step that was taken by the introduction of that system, the binding nature of the Pang- kore engagement, and the precise and definite injunctions issued in consequence thereof, I could not suppose that the course which had been adopted from the very commence- ment (several months before the date of that Despatch) could be reversed by the apparent withdrawal which the Despatch in question might be construed to convey. It would have been dangerous to have shown symptoms of vacillation, which would have been taken for weakness, and especially in those States where the system was being success- fully conducted. Moreover, as I have just mentioned and previously demonstrated, the course which had been adopted had been one of necessity, and had not the Residents directed the government of the States to which they had been appointed, their position would have become untenable, and their presence with the Native Rulers neither advan- tageous nor consistent with the respect with which the Malays regard the officers of the British Government (see Despatch No. 298, dated 21st October, in reply to your Lordship's Despatch under discussion).
The same remarks refer to your Lordship's Despatch of the 27th July last, alluded to in paragraph 13 of the Despatch under reply.
63. Instead of altering the working of the system which I found necessarily in force, and which had met with comparative success in Salangore and Sungie Ujong, I rather considered it to be an imperative duty to endeavour to remove the dual conflicting element in Perak and to bring the system in that State to a similar successful issue. This was the more necessary as, by the folly of Abdullah, the obstinacy and intractability f Ismail, the jealousies of parties, and the consequent inability of the Resident to improve the condition of the country or people, Perak was fast becoming a source of In September, therefore, as fully stated in my Despatch No. anxiety even to its Chiefs. 291, I put the case before the Rajahs and Chiefs of Perak, with the result that Rajah Muda Yusuf, the heir apparent to the Sultanship, and one of Ismail's principal supporters, together with Rajah Dris, of blood royal, and next in order for the Bandaharaship, stated, in writing, their conviction that unless the British Government would further assist them Perak affairs could never be put on a satisfactory footing. After instancing some of the obstacles to a settled state of affairs, such as the fact of there being two Sultans, the improper levying of taxes and fines, and the total absence of justice, they begged me. as Her Majesty's representative, to take over the country.
64. Abdullah, to whom I spoke fully on the subject (paragraph 24, Despatch No. 291), thinking, no doubt, how best to consult his own interests, and having seen the document above referred to, sent me a similar one, coupled with a request that he might remain Sultan, and in a separate letter he expressed contrition for the past and promised amend- tment for the future. Abdullah also handed to Mr. Birch two notifications for publica-
* No 35 of Command Paper 20 1320], of August 1875.
↑ No. 37 of same Paper.
19
ton, giving the Resident power to act in his name, without obtaining & separate chop or seal for each separate document which the Resident, in the interests of the country and in the ordinary course of business, might have to execute. Thus, one great conflicting element, which was experienced in carrying out the residential system in Perak, was overcome by this voluntary act of Abdullah, who conferred powers on the Resident or commissioner very similar to those possessed by the residents in Salangpore and Sungie t'jong, who have never had any difficulty in obtaining the chops and seals of the rulers, and in their names respectively, have thus been able to administer the government of
those States.
65. The second conflicting element was met by the establishment of the Malay Council. The nucleus of this council was formed by the action of Sultan Abdullah, Rajah Muda Yusuf, and Rajah Dris, and it remained but to invite, and I did invite, Ex-Sultan Ismail and the Rajah Bandahara to complete the council of the "Waris- Nugri," or princes of the blood royal, who would be consulted by the Residents or other British officers on all important state affairs.
66. By adopting this course, I considered that the difficulties which had brought about in Perak a collapse of the residential system would be met, and that with but a comparatively small step in advance, as explained in paragraph 60.
Sultan Abdullah's offer to confer more power on the Resident was accepted, and the fact that the Sultan and Chiefs had, for certain reasons, given certain powers to the British officers in Perak was set forth in the proclamation issued by me. It may be that, in stating my action in the matter, I considered it less in connexion with the resi dential system as a whole, and as practised where successful, than as an important change for the State of Perak, and that by laying therefore, under weight on its intro- duction, I inadvertently gave your Lordship a wrong impression on the subject.
67. In paragraph 17 your Lordship infers that the course which I adopted, of governing the country in the name of the Sultan was not practically likely to succeed. Your Lordship will, however, observe, as I have explained, that this course is virtually that which exists in those states where the residential system has been more or less successful. Hence, there is no logical reason why it should not have met with a similar success in Perak. The establishment of a Malay Council, to assist the Resident in important State affairs, was calculated to remove the jealousies which existed, and to give the members an interest in the Government which they had never before enjoyed. The example set by the Brookes in Sarawak and the course adopted by the Maharajah of Johore, in both of which States the ruler is assisted by a council, showed it to be a perfectly feasible scheme.
68. In the same paragraph your Lordship infers also that this course does not differ from annexation. I beg to refer your Lordship to paragraph 61 of this Despatch, where I explain that this course is not a reversal of the policy approved by Her Majesty's Government; when governing in the name of the Sultan, the revenues of the country are paid into an independent Treasury and applied entirely to public purposes in the State. Again, this course may be either temporary or permanent; permanent, if, upon turther experience, we found that it was desirable to maintain it, in order to preserve peace and good government; temporary, if, in the course of events, we found any Chief, like the Maharajah of Johore, who had the necessary strength of character, and who could and would undertake the government of the state, when it would be easy to hand over the government to him. The difference between the plan I proposed and that of the Pangkore Treaty was this: the one provided for a Commissioner to act in the name of the Sultan, the other for a Resident whose advice must be taken and acted upon by the Sultan. If the course adopted by me amounted to annexation, I submit that the Pangkore Treaty practically amounted to annexation too.
69. When I wrote my Despatch No. 291 I considered that if your Lordship disap- proved of the step taken by me, that we could revert to the old order of things, strongly as I condemned it, as inapplicable to the circumstances of Perak, Your Lordship calls my attention to this point in paragraph 17 of No. 218. I am still of opinion that 'had the recent disturbances in Perak not broken out we could, if desired, bave receded to the old position. I do not think that we could possibly do so now, I could not foresee the murder of Mr. Birch, nor the events which have followed since in rapid succession.
To abandon the present position would now be construed as weakness, and would have the worst possible effect on the Malay Peninsula, and, as I submit, for the reasons mentioned in my Despatch of the 3rd December last, prejudicial to our interests in the East.
I will presently allude further to this point.
70. Your Lordship expresses a very strong opinion that I had no authority for acting as I did, and that I had no ground for supposing that Her Majesty's Government would approve of the course which I adopted.
C 2