CO882-(3-4) — Page 20

---

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

C.O.

Reference:-

882

3

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

12

20 I have previously stated that the necessity for a British Resident adopting a course a coerrol was considerably enhanced in Perak by the division of parties in that State, 5x the fact that the Treaty of Pangkore itself contained the elements of control, mach that the Sultan was bound thereby to act upon the Resident's advice in

1

concerning the general administration of the country and the collection of nae, and, indeed, in all matters, except such as referred to Malay religion and

Foth

4t

-

A proclamation had been issued, in consequence of your Lordship's Despatch of the 1th September, holding inviolable the engagements which the Sultan and Chiefs had at Pangkore. However, notwithstanding these engagements, to which Sultan Abdullah had solemnly agreed, and for the keeping of which he was held responsible by Her Majesty's Government, I found as I reported in Despatch No. 291 of 16th October that he was thwarting the Resident, and that, in consequence, the conduct of public business was rendered well nigh impossible.

In fact, the relations between Abdullah and the Resident were marked by disunion and discord. The situation was rendered still more difficult by the position which was assumed by Ex-Sultan Ismail in the matter.

27. Under the Pangkore Treaty Ismail was dethroned and Abdullah was recognised as Sultan.

A Resident was attached to the court" of Abdullab, and an Assistant Ismail, who was not present at Pangkore, did not Resident was appointed for Laroot. assent to the arrangement, and not unnaturally so. Rightly or wrongly, he had been elected Sultan by a certain number of Chiefs, and, in virtue of such election, held the regalia of the country in his possession. He was acknowledged as Sultan throughout the greater part of the country, extending from Passir Sala, on the Perak River, upwards.

28. Although Abdullah, therefore, the nominal ruler of the lower portion of the river, was the rightful heir to the throne according to the principles of Perak succession, and although we recognised him as such at Pangkore, it by no means followed that the deposed Ismail would acquiesce in the terms of an engagement which would deprive him of the important power which he possessed in the Upper Country, especially as that ∙ngagement was entered into by his rival, Abdullah, and by Chiefs, many of whom had In my opinion it seems unreasonable to previously installed him (Ismail) as Sultan. suppose that Ismail would have surrendered his power under such an engagement, in which he had not even been consulted, yet I am given to understand that the idea was entertained at Pangkore.

Your Lordship will observe from letter to Ismail, page 157 of Blue Book, that it was assumed that he would at once peaceably surrender the regalia. It appears also from paragraph 111 of Enclosure 7, Despatch No. 43, dated 24th February 1874,† that the new Sultan was to send to Ismail for the regalia, and that the Governor promised to attend the ceremony of coronation, and thus certify to the people of Perak and the surrounding States that the kingdom of Perak was finally and peaceably settled under Sultan Abdullah.

29. To my mind it admits of no argument that such an engagement could scarcely have failed to have exasperated Ismail. It appears to me that, with the obstinacy and dogged determination which recent events have proved he possesses, added to his sense of wounded dignity, he would have at once decided not to yield the important position He must have which he held in the upper country as long as he could avoid doing so. regarded Abdullah, as well as those Chief's who supported him, with very bitter feelings. He must also have looked upon the Resident—the agent of the British Government who had supplanted him in favour of his rival, Abdullah--with peculiar animosity (especially when that Resident was governing the whole country in Abdullah's name), and must have been anxious for an opportunity to gratify his wounded pride.

30. But, even supposing that Ismail had no personal feeling in the matter, the position It would be as well to review the of the Resident in Perak was a most peculiar one. situation under the most favourable circumstances, and presume that Abdullah was as amenable to the counsels of the Resident as is Tunku Kudin in Salangore and Datu Klana in Sungie Ujong.

31. Even in that case, the residential system, as carried on in those States, and as described in paragraph 24, could not have succeeded in Perak, as it did in Salangore and Sungie Ujong, because Abdullah did not fill in Perak a similar position to that of the two rulers to whom I have referred, and who are regarded, each in their respective States, as a central authority, in whose name the Resident can carry on the administration of The country.

* No 48 of Confidential Paper, “ Eastern, No. 17."

↑ No. 52 of Command Paper [C. 1,111] of July, 1874.

13

32. When Mr. Birch, who was appointed Resident with Abdullah, some 10 months after the Pangkore engagement had been entered upon, arrived in Perak, he found that Ismail, during this interval, had had time to strengthen his position, and that there were practically two Sultans in Perak, each supported by a particular division of the country, as stated in paragraph 27, and that great jealousy existed between the people of the Ulu (up country), and those of the Hilir (down country), Ismail, whose party outnumbered that of Abdullah, had never acknowledged Abdullah as Sultan, nor the engagement as a treaty by which he was bound, or even in which he was concerned. retained possession of the regalia, and, by so doing, secured the allegiance of a great He also still many subjects, who regarded such possesssion as symbolic of sovereignty, and without which, in the eyes of the Malays, complete regal power could not be assumed.

33. Besides this dual head, Mr. Birch also found that, from the weakness of the ruling powers, the minor Chiefs were more powerful in this state, than in any other part of the peninsula, and that, although owning nominal allegiance to one or other of the two Sultans, they were practically independent in their several districts, that they oppressed the ryots (many of whom were slave-debtors) residing therein, and that they levied black mail and illegal taxes on all who happened to pass through their particular district.

34. Thus, my Lord, you will observe that, instead of having one central authority in Perak, in whose name and through whose amenability all orders could be given and requisite reforms effected, two Sultans, each antagonistic to the other, divided this central authority between them, the Sultan, as recognised by us under the Pangkore Treaty, being the weaker of the two and powerless to act. Besides this dual head, a number of semi-independent Chiefs, over whom neither Sultan possessed any practical control, and who had thus to be dealt with directly, completed a division of authority which rendered the conduct of public business nearly impossible. I would here beg to remark that your Lordship, in your Despatch of the 25th May last, to which you call my attention in paragraph 11 of the Despatch under acknowledgment, appears to infer that there was a central authority in Perak, whereas, as I have just demonstrated, there was really no such authority through whom our influence could be exerted, either in respect to the abolition of debt slavery, which forms the subject of the despatch in question, or indeed, to any other matter.

*

35. Such was the condition of affairs in which Mr. Birch found the State of Perak, in November 1874, when he arrived to carry out a system which, as stated in paragraph 12, committed us to the control of the country.

One of the first duties of Mr. Birch was to impress upon the Sultan and Chiefs that the treaty would be carried out in its entirety, and that those who violated it would be held responsible for so doing.

I find that injunctions on this point were issued to Mr. Birch on appointment in the following terms :-—

C

You will explain clearly to all with whom you come into contact in Perak, that the terms of the engagement have been approved by Her Majesty's Government in England, and will be strictly enforced.

"On this subject a number of copies of a proclamation, recently issued here in English and Malay, giving the effect of a Despatch from the Secretary of State for the Colonies, are sent to you for distribution where you think they will be useful, and you will clearly explain the meaning and effect of the language used by Lord Carnarvon in that Despatch. so that there may be no misunderstanding on this subject."

36. I bave hitherto presumed that Abdullah was perfectly amenable to the counsels of the Resident, so that, under the virtual control exercised by the latter, the district over which Abdullah held sway was progressing favourably. In that case there still remained for the Resident three important duties to perform :-

(1.) To induce Ismail to agree to the terms of the Pangkore engagement, and to surrender the regalia to Abdullah, who had been elected in his stead. those Chiefs who had not already signed the engagement to do so, in order that the Also to induce whole state of Perak might come under the dominion of Abdullah, and be brought to the same condition, and by the same means, as that portion of the country which was already held by him.

(2.) To put an end to unlawful exactions, and to hinder freebooters, leviers of black- mail, and Chiefs pretending authority, from indulging in their extortions, so that all the revenue could be paid into the general treasury of the State (see paragraph 14).

• No. 24 of Cominand Paper [C. 1,320], August 1875.

B 3