67
No. 62.
susceptible of improvement or to require on your part special care and supervision, I am anxious not to impede or hamper your action in proceeding with the formation of this force.
3. Apart from the question of cost, to which I shall refer later, the point to which the greatest importance attaches is that of the organisation of two separate bodies of police, the one recruited from Sikh and Pathom sources, forming the Resident's guard, and the other composed solely of Malays, being charged with duties of a more distinctly civil nature. This question, which is raised for the first time in the despatch under conside- ration, seems to me to be one on which much might be said, and which can only be decided by considering whether the duties which it is proposed to entrust to these forces are of an essentially distinct character, and such as to render, it necessary to sacrifice the important advantages of simplicity of organisation and uniformity of recruiting.
There can, of course, be no question as to the military character to be given to the Residents guard, but I am not equally sure that that force might not also discharge many of the duties which it is proposed to entrust to the Malay police, and this appears the more feasible, inasmuch as both forces are to be under the same officers. I am, indeed, not altogether indisposed to think that the main object in view being to secure the per- sonal safety of the Residents, and in connexion with that object to ensure the peace of the country, the policy of Her Majesty's Government may not be sufficiently carried out by occupying the residency stations with strong detachments of the guard. Situated as these stations are in the centre of the mining districts, and at the points commanding the only lines of communication through the country, their security would be to some I quite admit that the extent a guarantee for the tranquillity of the entire district. supervision of the collection of revenue, to which I referred in my despatch of the 1st June as falling within the province of the Resident, may render necessary the employ- ment of a certain number of Malay officials; but between this and the enrolment of 500 Malay police for duties, such as boatmen, residency coolies, &c., which involve no special training, there appears to me to exist a considerable difference. On the whole, therefore, I would invite you to consider whether by somewhat increasing the Sikh guard the formation of the Malay police may not be dispensed with, and the duties which it was proposed to allot to a portion of them entrusted to a small number of Malay civil officials specially charged with the collection of revenue and the prevention of smuggling.
Some such arrangement as this commends itself all the more strongly to me, because I am not disposed wholly to relieve the native authorities of the duty which properly devolves upon them of themselves providing, possibly at first only to a limited extent, for the civil police duties of the country.
4. Passing next to the important question of cost, I observe that the sum of $86,220, at which the total annual expense is estimated, does not include any provision for pensions, bonus on re-engagement, or free passage, which charges will begin to make themselves felt at the expiration of certain fixed periods, and should not be lost sight of in estimating the cost of the force. I should have been glad also to be furnished with your views as to the probability of the revenue of Perak being able to bear the charge which will be made upon it, and which, as you observe, will undoubtedly be a very heavy one. From the financial therefore as well as from the administrative point of view some modification of the scheme in the direction already indicated would appear desirable.
5. Your proposals for the arming and clothing of the force appear to me to have been carefully considered, and the only point upon which any alteration suggests itself to me is whether it would not be better to arm the entire force with short Sniders, rather than to issue to a portion of it a less handy and effective weapon.
6. The remarks which I have made need not, so far at least as the Residency guards are concerned, interpose any delay in the organisation of the force, which has I hope already made some progress; nor do I desire to raise objections to any measures to which, after full consideration, your local knowledge and experience induce you to attach real importance. But it is clearly desirable that in the organisation of this force no expenditure beyond what is necessary should be incurred, and that we should not relieve the Native States of their administrative responsibilities more than can be avoided.
With these objects in view it is probably well that a full consideration should be given to cach part of the question before a final decision is taken.
I have, &c.
Governor Sir W. F. D. Jervois,
&c.
&c. &c.
(Signed)
CARNARVON.
The EARL OF CARNARVON to GOVERNOR SIR W. F. D. JERVOIS, K.C.M.G., C.B. (No. 30.)
SIB,
Downing Street, February 15, 1877. I HAVE to acquaint you, that in accordance with the request contained in your telegram of the 20th December, the Crown Agents have been directed to complete the number of Snider rifles required for the police force for the Malay States up to 500.
I have, &c. (Signed) CARNARVON,
Sir W. F. D. Jervois,
&c.
&c.
No. 63.
The EARL OF CARNARVON to GOVERNOR SIR W. F. D. JERVOIS, K.C.M.G., C.B.
(No. 31.)
Downing Street, February 15, 1877.
SIB,
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 370, of the 18th of October,t and to convey to you my approval of the selection you have already made, and the further steps you are taking to provide officers for the new police force now being raised for service in l'erak.
Governor Sir W. F. D. Jervois,
&c. &c. &c.
No. 64.
I have, &c.
(Signed)
CARNARVON.
The EARL OF CARNARVON to GOVERNOR SIR W. F. D. JERVOIS,
K.C.M.G., C.B. (No. 35.)
Downing Street, February 16, 1877.
SIR,
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 430, of the 14th December last, submitting for my consideration the full details of the inquiry held by the Commission appointed to investigate the alleged complicity of Sultan Abdullah,' and of the chiefs who were his advisers, in the murder of Mr. Birch and the subsequent outrages which occurred in Perak in the autumn of 1875.
2. I have noted and I approve the various measures you adopted in order to render this inquiry as complete as was possible considering the peculiar conditions in which it had to be undertaken, and to insure that the Executive Council should have all available information and assistance to enable it to arrive at a just appreciation of the facts of the case; and having carefully reviewed the enclosures to your despatch, I see no reason to dissent from the recommendation made by the Council in their minute of the 9th of December last, that the ex-Sultan Abdullah and his three principal advisers should be removed from the vicinity of Perak, where their presence would doubtless constitute a permanent source of danger to the future welfare of the State.
3. From the telegrams which have passed between us, and from my Despatch No. 2 of the 4th of January,§ you will have learnt that I am in communication with the Governor of Mauritius on the proposal to remove these four persons to the Seychelles, and I sball have the honour of addressing you further on the subject as soon as I have received replies from Sir Arthur Phayre.
4. I have no doubt that the Executive Council has made a judicious recommendation regarding ex-Sultan Ismail, the Datu Narra, Syed Mahmood, and the Panghina Prang Samaon, and you are at liberty to arrange for their residence in the territory of the Maharajah of Johore upon the conditions mentioned in your despatch.
It is a
5. also concur in the view of the Executive Council that the Orang Kaya Mat Arshad Rajah Mahkota, and Rajah Driss should be allowed to return to Perak. subject of regret to me that Rajah Driss with these other two chiefs have been proved to
§ No. 40.
• No. 28.
† No. 5.
↑ No. 46.
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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
TILLICO. 882
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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