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LTTIC.O.882

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what success, so far, I have shown above. Whether now after his successes he would be equally amenable to advice, or whether he could be so consistently with his engagements to the Bandahara of Pahang, I am not able to speak positively; but I believe myself, from my acquaintance with his character, that the advice of the Government will always have the greatest weight with him, and that in the event of a change of policy being determined upon, means would be found of getting over, fairly and honourably, any difficulties arising out of Tunku Dia Udin's position and claims.

7. The foregoing paragraph, which was suggested by the close of the preceding one, will serve to point to the foremost of the questions that the Government has to decide in regard to Salangor affairs. Shall the support hitherto given to Tunku Dia Udin be continued, or not? Now, in connection with this question, I would repeat my opinion that, unless through the exercise of the influence of this country (or at any rate of some external influence), no permanent settlement of the country will ever be come to. If Tunku Dia Udin were deprived of the moral support which he has had from this Govern- nient, and the assistance of his Palang allies, and no influence were used in support of any other state of things, the country would simply fall back into the disorganised state that it was in 1870. So that unless the country is to be abandoned to anarchy (and I understand from the Secretary of State's despatch that such a policy of laisser faire is not to be the one that is to be adopted), the question to be considered is not simply whether Tunku Dia Udin is to be supported or not, but whether there is any one, or any com- bination, of the Chiefs on the other side whom it is desirable to support in preference to him. Of course if Tunku Dia Udin's intrinsic force were so weak that no influence that could be brought in support of it had any chance of being effectual, it might be thought advisable to transfer the support of the Government to some other person, even if the hope were only slight that it would be exercised to somewhat better effect. But Tunku Dia Udin's position, as I have shown, is by no means a weak one. As long as the struggle was confined to Salangore itself, he held his own, and drove Mahdi out of Kallang and if he owes his present strength in a great measure to Pahang assistance, it must not be forgotten that the attacks, from which he had to recover, came also from outside, from Perak, from Sungie Ujong, and, through Sungie Ujong, from sympathisers and filibusters in Singapore and elsewhere. On the principle, then, of helping the man who seems most likely to be able to help himself, there seem to be grounds for continuing support to Tunku Dia Udin, while, as regards capacity for Government, for developing the country, and preserving good relations between it and the Colony, there is no comparison to be made between Tunku Dia Udin and the people on the other side. It is not easy to express the wideness of the difference that there is between them, and I do not think I shall be over-stating it if I say that it is like, in some rospects, the difference between a man and a child, and in others, the difference between a civilized man and a savage.

8. Supposing it to be decided to continue to support Tunku Dia Udin, there is no doubt, I think, but that such support may be given much more effectually than has hitherto been the case, if only the matter is taken up carnestly and persistently. Hitherto the Government has only acted by fits and starts, and so long intervals have been allowed to intervene between the occasions of its showing itself to be interested in the maintenance of its policy, that whatever has been done on one occasion has become undone by the time of the next. It is not enough to visit such countries as these once, and see that affairs are apparently put into proper train; they require to be watched and kept in proper train. If Salangor affairs had been kept well in hand from the time that Mahdi escaped from Johore in July, 1872,-if the Sultan, and the Sungie Ujong people, and the Perak people, had been visited, and given to understand that Tunku Dia Udin had the support of the Government; and if the Tunku himself had been visited, and given the advice and assistance that he was so anxious to obtain, in regard to his roads, his fortifications, his finances, and other matters,-I do not hesitate to express the But the strongest opinion that his subsequent reverses would not have occurred. Government seemed in the eyes of the people to disappear from the scene, false reports as to changes in its policy got abroad, reports (equally false, no doubt) became current that Mahdi's faction had the support of the Maharaja of Johore; the Raja of Sungie Ujong was worked upon, and supporters secured in Perak; and then through Raja Asal's change of sides (a thing brought about entirely through his ignorance of the views of this Government), the combined attack was made, the forts taken, the miners dispersed, and the work thrown back to where it was before the bombardment of Salangor.

9. In the foregoing paragraph I have indicated the directions in which effectual Kupport can be given to Tunku Dia Udin, if the influence of the Government is brought

to bear firmly, and continuously.

to give him assistance—

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The Government has it in its

1. By protecting him from external interference.

power, it appears to me,

2. By encouraging the good relations between him and the Bandabara of Pahang. 3. By improving his position with regard to the Sultan and his sons.

4. By giving him advice and assistance in the administration of his Government.

10. As regards the first and second of these points, it should be borne in mind that

a key to a good deal of what has occurred in Salangor is to be found in the old feud between the Bandahara of Pahang and the Maharaja of Johore. That there is such a feud (or ill-feeling I should rather say), and that it is one of old standing and deep seated, is very well known. The Bandahara, on his side, is believed to look down, or to affect to look down, on the Maharaja as a man not of royal birth, and a usurper of the rights of Sultan Ali, while at the same time he is jealous of his power and wealth, and envious of the position that he occupies with the English Government. The Maharaja,

on the other band, cannot but feel displeasure at the Bandahara's rejection of the attempts that have been made to bring about a reconciliation between them, and he is, besides, reported to entertain grave apprehensions that if, when Sultan Ali dies, his son should (as I believe he openly declares that he will), disclaim the Treaty that gave over Johore (all but the Muar River District), to the then Tumongong, the present Maharaja's father, and should assert his rights over the whole territory, he will find a powerful supporter in the Bandahara. Now supposing a war with Johore to be a possibility in the mind of the Bandahara, his action in supporting Tunku Dia Udin in Salangor is easily intelligible. The Pahang coast is unapproachable by sea during the north-east monsoon, and during that period he would be cut off from supplies without any effort on the part of the enemy, while during the other monsoon he would be but little better off, owing to the superiority of the Maharaja by sea. road made across the Peninsula, the state of affairs would be altogether different, and to But with Salangor in friendly hands, and a good bring about such a state of affairs would seem to constitute a sufficient motive to account for the Bandabara's having taken the vigorous measures, which he has in support of the side in Salangor, that he has adopted. And, on the other hand; if, under auch circum- stances, the Maharaja has given-I do not say support-but sympathy to the other side, I do not think that it can at all be considered a matter to be wondered at. such sympathies is well known.

That he has He told Sir Harry Ord so himself, and that the hopes naturally arising out of a knowledge of the existence of such sympathies has had an effect in eliciting actual support from other quarters, I am myself most thoroughly con vinced. I shall revert, further on, to the question of the relations between Johore and Pahang, and the Muar River territory; but here I would only point out the importance, as bearing on Salangor affairs, of an understanding-a distinct and business like one at any rate, if a cordial one is past hoping for--between the Bandahara and the Maharaja. The disaffected party, if once they saw the Maharaja and the Bandahara cordially co- operating with the Government, in support of the opposite side, could not but lose heart, and abandon the struggle. If they did not, they would certainly find it brought to a very abrupt conclusion.

11. Independently of the exercise of its influence on the Maharaja of Johore, the Government appears to have the means of cutting off external assistance from Mahdi's faction, by bringing pressure to bear on the Raja of Sungie Ujong, and on the authorities in Perak, and by supporting Tunku Dia Udin, as far as possible, in the exceedingly difficult and anomalous position that he occupies in regard to the Sultan at Langat.

12. The Sungie Ujong question is involved with complications with some of the Rambow Chiefs, the particulars of which I am not well acquainted with, but I believe the position to be in the main that the Raja of Sungie Ujong has allowed his territory to be made a rendezvona, and a line of communication with the sea for the Mahdi faction, and that the tin that was carried off from Qualla Lumper reached the sea by that route. I believe that he has been supported in his policy by residents in Malacca. He has persisted in it in spite of very distinct warnings from the Government, and he has besides given cause of offence by harbouring one Abraham Velge (at least so it is confidently believed), who escaped from Singapore, forfeiting recognizances of a large amount, which he had given for his appearance to answer a serious criminal charge. Tunku Dia' Udin states that he has done everything he can to come to an understanding with this Baja of Sungie Ujong, without success; and I believe, but I am not very well acquainted with this part of the subject, that he has been rather restrained by the Government from bringing to bear on the Raja the assistance that he might command from some of the Rambow Chiefs. But whatever the exact position of affairs may be, it cannot be denied but that the

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