PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
거리이
سلسلسالسا
co.
882
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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH--NOT TO
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l'age 39 of Parliamentary
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l'age 85 of
l'apers
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(C.) That though the alternative policy of governing by a British Officer in the name of the Sultan, assisted by a Council, is still capable of being worked, in your opinion complete annexation is the best course to adopt.
5. I will proceed at once to state in general terms the reasons for which it is impossible for Her Majesty's Government to assent to your explanations of past transactions, alluding incidentally to various arguments and expressions used by you which require more special notice. The future policy to be pursued I shall reserve for separate treatment
hereafter.
6. In commenting upon your present description of the state of affairs in Perak, and the position which it was intended the Resident should there occupy, it will be necessary to revert at some length to the information supplied by your predecessor and yourself during the period now under review.
7. My predecessor, Lord Kimberley, in his Despatch of the 20th of September 1873, had given Sir Andrew Clarke, who was then proceeding to assume the government of the colony, special instructions as to the policy to be observed towards the native states; and in desiring him to consider the advisability of appointing British officers to reside in any of those states, he expressly added that such appointments could only be made with the full consent of the native government.
8. Sir A. Clarke, in his Despatch of 26th January 1874, giving an account of his pro- Parliamentary ceedings at the Dindings, and the conclusion of the Pangkore engagement, enclosed a letter which had been addressed to him by Sultan Abdullah requesting him, in the name of himself and his great men, to send "a man of sufficient abilities to live in Perak, and show us a good system of government for our dominions," and be stated that he had found Abdullah, who was the rightful heir to the throne, a man of considerable Parliamentary intelligence, and possessing perfect confidence that he would be able to maintain his position if he were once placed in Perak as its legitimate ruler; that all the chiefs except the Mantri of Laroot (who had previously set up a claim to be independent, which, however, he was then induced to abandon) and his party, were prepared at once to receive him as their sovereign, and that it was these considerations that led him to propose the fourteen articles of the engagement which after a full discussion were finally accepted and ratified.
Page 71 of
Papers
Page 73 (par. 27).
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Of Ismail (who had been informally declared Sultan and possessed the regalia) he said little more than that he was a very aged man, and he observed that though he was not present himself, the chiefs who were present had sufficient authority to act as they did Page 73 (par in the full recognition of Abdullah as Sultan. He deferred entering fully into the policy which he proposed should be pursued as regards the duties of the Residents, but in a separate Despatch of the same date explaining the very critical position of affairs in Laroot, Parliamentary which had induced him to go beyond his instructions and at once place a British officer in that district, he spoke of Captain Speedy as possessing the confidence of the chiefs of the Malay Government, and said that he would assist that government in destroying stockades, disarming the Chinese factions, and restoring peace.
l'age 85 of
l'apers.
l'age 108 et seq. of Parliamentary Papers.
9. In his subsequent Despatch of the 24th of February Sir A. Clarke forwarded additional information as to the past history and present state of Perak, and explained more fully his views with reference to the question of the appointment of Residents. In that despatch he stated that he had been unofficially informed that Ismail had expressed his adherence to the engagement of the other Chiefs, and, with special reference to Lord Kimberley's stipulation as to the consent of the native government being a necessary Page 109 (par. condition of the appointment of Residents, he had no hesitation in saying that "the proposal met with the fullest concurrence from the native chiefs;" a statement which, I may here remark, it is obviously impossible to reconcile with the conviction you now entertain (par. 78) that the recent outbreak was "caused by dislike on the part of the Chiefs to our intervention in any shape in the affairs of the State of Perak.”
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Par. 17.
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The views which your predecessor then entertained as to the nature of the position to be assumed by the Residents, may be gathered from the following extracts from the same Despatch: This proposal of appointing British officers to reside in the Malay "States is not a new one; it was first proposed to appoint them for the purpose of assisting the legitimate rulers of the country, with a view to teaching them the great "and yet simple principles of good government, of showing them the most feasible or "practical methods of opening up their countries," &c. &c.
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"The Malays, like every other rude Eastern nation, require to be treated much more like children and to be taught, and this especially in the matters of improvement," &c.
"Such teaching can only be effected by an officer living on the spot, whose time should be devoted to carefully studying the wants and capabilities of each State, the character
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of the Sultan and his Chiefs, and to making himself personally acquainted with every portion of the country, and thus fitting himself for the post of counsellor when the time for opening up the country arrives."
"This watching the collection of the revenue and controlling its expenditure will Par. 45. form no insignificant part of a Resident's duties, and as far as bringing about a good system of Government is concerned, will be about the most important portion of
them."
"To check squeezing, and to induce the Sultan to select proper men for the collection, Same par. will be the Resident's special care."
All this clearly indicates that the true functions of the Resident were to be those of an influential adviser, and not, as you now suppose, a direct administrator of the district.
10. In another Despatch of the same date Sir A. Clarke forwarded Minutes by members Page 213 of of his Executive Council, on the general subject of the policy to be pursued towards the native States, which are material as showing the objects which they contemplated would be obtained by the appointment of Residents.
Major McNair gave as his opinion "that a closer influence must be brought to bear "on the Native States. That he was in favour of a Resident Officer being nominated "to dwell in their country, as it was by daily intercourse that the European could acquire and maintain their confidence.” Many of the Malay Chiefs," he continues,
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have represented to me that what they want is an officer who would reside near them "to give them confidence and support, who would teach them to collect and spend their
revenue, to administer a better form of justice, and to maintain order."
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Mr. Willans, an old and experienced officer of the local Government, wrote "From a long experience of the natives, I am satisfied they are amenable to reason, and will follow the advice of any European they respect, and I believe if Residents were appointed they would be readily received, and if properly chosen be looked up to, and exert a great and beneficial influence; they would argue with the Chiefs in a pleasant "not domineering way, and point out to them the advantages of the European
system," &c. &c.
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Mr. Braddell wrote "Such is the influence of the British Government in the neigh, bouring Malay States that the mere fact of the residence in any State of a represen- "tative of the Great Government would of itself give stability to the rule of its Chiefs "and establish order in the country." "Their duties would at first be not merely to advise the Chiefs, but to show them practically what they have to do in the way of ruling the country." "It only requires that the wishes of Government should be made known to the native rulers to secure implicit obedience." The end can I believe be gained
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by Government without involving itself in responsibilities." Mr. Birch recorded his entire assent in Mr. Braddell's views, Mr. C. J. Irving, who alone of Sir A. Clarke's Council dissented from the proposed policy of appointing permanent Residents, after describing the Malays generally, added, Given such a people, and put down among them an European officer whose sole duty it would be to be giving good advice, &c. ;" and, further, "If the policy of Her Majesty's Government were to keep pushing our influence in those countries, and becoming virtually the governing power, the appointment of permanent Residents would probably be a step in the right direction. But this I understand from the Secretary of State's Despatch is not the course that is designed."
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11. The above extracts are amply sufficient to show that the essence of the scheme of appointing Residents as originally proposed was that the native Chiefs were willing and desirous to receive British officers who would advise and assist them in the Government of the country. It was no doubt expected that such an officer would exercise very great influence in the country, but, seeing that the Chiefs are continually spoken of as quite ready to carry out whatever measures of reform or improvement were pointed out to them, and seeing that the appointment of Officers in Perak for this purpose had originated in a voluntary compact and had not been accepted under 'com. pulsion, the position which a Resident was to occupy would be very different from that of a Controller, still less would it be equivalent to that of an administrator of a government as you now describe them to have been.
12. The nature of the advice to be given by an officer in such a position would obviously be determined by considerations of a practical and local nature, such as the extent of the authority of the recognized ruler, the position of the petty Chiefs, and the characteristic habits of the people, and therefore it appears to me beside the point to argue, as you apparently do in the fifth, sixth, and seventh paragraphs of your Despatch under reply that because the Government was weak it was therefore impossible for the Resident to confine his attention to giving advice.
Parliamentary Papera.
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