CO882-(1-2) — Page 367

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

TTIIN C.O. 882

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ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE | BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

cessary that such pi-

first attacked or in-

tion.

Opinion of Dr.

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pirates, it is not ne- objects and in its acts, yet till it had positively insulted vessels under the protection rates should have of the British flag, the representatives of British power had no right to interfere for sulted the flag of its repression? A position more untenable, or displaying a grosser ignorance of that particular” na-

great international law, could not possibly be taken. Piracy is an offence against that universal code by which the relations of all the communities of the earth are regu- lated; in violating the rights of any one community, it offends against all, and all When this objection was hazarded by the alike are charged with its chastisement. Queen's advocate in answer to the claim of Captain Keppel and the crew of the Dido, for bounties, in respect of execution done on pirates of these identical tribes Lushington in the of the Sarebas and Sakarran in 1843, Dr. Lushington said,-“It is utterly impos- case ofthe Serhassan, sible that I can give any weight to such a suggestion. It matters not that they may have possibly entertained no inclination to bring themselves into conflict with the British power; it is sufficient in my view of the question, to clothe their conduct with a piratical character, if they were armed and prepared to commence a piratical attack on any other person."—(Case of the Serbassan, 2 Robinson's Admiralty Report, 384, 4th Feb. 1845). Besides, this objection, futile as it is on all grounds of law, does not even appear tenable in this case; in point of fact, the Sarebas and Sakarran marauders with a war yell of defiance returned the fire opened upon them from Sir James Brooke's boat.

2, Rob. Adm. Rep. 354, 4th Feb. 1845.

Resumé of the evi- dence on this point.

III. - Bir James Brooke's conduct in

On the whole it is submitted, that the evidence on this point is quite as conclusive as on the former: that it is established beyond all possibility of reasonable doubt, that the expedition of the Sarebas and Sakarran tribes, terminated by the affair of the 31st July, 1849, was in the strictest sense of the term piratical: that Sir James Brooke, before the attack commenced, had the amplest evidence of that fact, short of actual demonstration; and that in planning and executing the attack, he was in the strict execution of that duty imposed by the law of nations upon all who exercise at sea the delegated power of any community whatsoever, of doing their utmost to suppress and exterminate all piratical marauders who, by the practice of plunder and depredation on the high seas, in a spirit of universal hostility, have placed themselves beyond the pale of the laws of war, and forfeited all claim to the rights of ordinary belligerents.

3rd. If from the defence of Sir James Brooke's conduct in this affair, on the the affair of 3 lat July, principles of the law of nations, we proceed to consider it with reference, either to ance with true policy, its general policy, or its accordance with the whole spirit of his mission and the

1849, was in accord-

and with the general

objects of his mission true purport of his instructions, it will appear in every respect deserving of

approbation.

That an horde of piratical marauders, like the tribes of the Sarebas and Sakarran, who live beyond the sound of Exeter Hall, have no peace congresses, and would perhaps hardly appreciate even the unadorned eloquence of the present advocate for their free trade in piracy;—that upon men in this benighted state no lessons can produce such an effect as the lessons of salutary terror is hardly to be disputed. Attempt to reason a barbarian out of his barbarism, or to platform ■ community of pirates out of their piracy, and you preach to the winds and the waves, which will soon overwhelm you in their wrath. But let your message be heard in the thunder of a sudden judgment; show the power and the determined will to put down wholesale massacre by swift extermination; preach through the cannon's throat the stern edict which always finds a response in the wild justice of the rudest heart, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blocd be shed;” and, "As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless

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among women:"-above all do this with the unswerving promptitude of a Fate swiftly and surely dogging the steps of every band of pirates and manslayers; persevere in this, and you will ere long, at the expense of an insignificant amount of bloodshed, restore peace to the seas, commerce to the marts, and happiness to the homes of the Eastern Archipelago:-a region which, if once freed from this cleaving curse of piracy, might be the abode of communities flourishing in wealth, power, and civilization, destined, perhaps, at some future time to embrace the religion and the language of that adventurous man, the Raleigh of the nineteenth century, who is now to answer for having commenced, in earnest, by an act of just and well- timed rigour, this great career of amelioration and improvement.

All the observations of practical men on the spot bear out this view of the case. In Mr. Earl's letter already cited, he says, (speaking with an expe- rience of 16 years in the Eastern Seas,) “I feel convinced that the blow you have struck against the disturbers of the peace on the coast of Borneo will do more towards the general pacification of the tribes of the Indian Archipelago than any event which has occurred since the earliest period of our intercourse with this part of the world. Borneo, or rather the north-western portion of Borneo, on account of the protection afforded, by its rivers, which lead far into the interior, was latterly the only country of the Archipelago in which piratical tribes could

pursue their courses with any confidence. That confidence is now destroyed, and if the course of events is allowed to proceed without disturbance on the part of misguided, though perhaps well-intentioned individuals at home, the tribes of the Archipelago will settle down to what should be their legitimate occupation, that of peaceful cultivators of those valuable products which the Archipelago can furnish in, almost unlimited abundance."

The following picture taken from the Singapore Free Press of February 22, 1850, of the actual results which have already followed from the bold and decisive measure of July 31, 1849, show what might be expected from a resolute adherence to the same wise policy:

Opinions of Mr. European visitor to of Borneo) on sure of the 31st July, 1849.

Earl (the oldest

corat the Western

the policy of the mea.

snareree Press for Feb. 1860, of the actual, state of trade

Statement of the

former, and of the

in the Bornean sous, and the great im- provementin security

1849.

"A few, a very few years ago, no European merchant vessels ventured on the since the 31st July, north-west coast of Borneo, now they are numerous and safe. Formerly ship- wrecked' crews were attacked, robbed, and enslaved; now they are protected, fed, and forwarded to a place of safety. The native trade now passes with careless confidence over the very same track between Malludu and Singapore, where but a little while ago it was liable to the peril of capture; the crews of hundreds of prabus are no longer exposed to the loss of life or the loss of liberty; and a degree of security now reigns so remarkably contrasted with the insecurity of past time, that we may well be tempted onward in a career recommended by policy and tested by experience. The recent successful proceedings on the coast of Borneo have been followed by the submission of the pirate hordes of Sarehas and Sakarran; the previous relaxation of the system had led to renewed outbreaks of piracy, to fresh depredations at sea, and to the loss of many guiltless lives.

"What further evidence is needed on this subject ?" the writer of the article proceeds to ask (and with his words this part of the case may most fitly be con cluded), 44 For is it resolved, in spite of all, to sacrifice the innocent to the guilty, the trader to the pirate, the cultivator to the marauder, the peaceful to the turbulent, the oppressed to the oppressor? We are confident that the foolish, because ignorant,

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Paper marked A, in the list of documents.

+ Paper marked G, in the list of documents.