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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference:

C.O. 882

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

4 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

(Private.)

MY DEAR MR. Low,

Government House, Singapore,

June 9, 1878. WHEN I say that the recent circular with reference to the position and duties of Residents was called for by no acts of yours, I shall probably bave said all that I need in answer to your note of the 28th ultimo.

So far as I have been able to form an opinion, there is under the circumstances which prevail in Perak nothing in your dealings with the Rajah Muda inconsistent with the position which the Resident should occupy in relation to the present native ruler of that State. It does not follow, because the Resident is only the adviser, that the ruler may reject his advice when the peace and good order of the country are at stake. The advice which the Residents give is authoritative advice and may not be lightly rejected, and this is especially the case in Perak where, as you properly say, the ruler is on his trial and the Government is being built up. All the same the fiction (if such you prefer to call it) that the Residents are merely advisers must be kept up; and here is just where the adroitness and ability of the officer are so important. To have to say to the ruler, "I am only here to advise you," and at the same time to make him feel and understand that the advice you give must be taken, is a difficult and delicate task; but that the position is not an impossible one is shown by the success which has attended your efforts to bring about a better state of things in Perak, and in which efforts I need hardly say you may count on my continued support.

You refer in the early part of your note to the slave debtor question, but say nothing about it afterwards. We are writing to you again officially on the subject, which is a very interesting one.

I am sending you Mr. Inues from Langat, to act for Mr. Paul during the latter's absence on leave. Captain Douglas speaks highly of Mr. Innes, and I hope he will do good service at Durian Sabatang. I shall, perhaps, have to take Mr. Bruce from you to send to Langat in Mr. James' place, but will write about this later on.

I have, &c.

Hugh Low, Esq.,

Her Britannic Majesty's Resident.

(Signed)

No. 3.

WILLIAM C. F. ROBINSON.

Downing Street, August 31, 1878.

The RIGHT HON. SIR M. E. HICKS BEACH, BART., to GOVERNOR SIR W. C. F,

ROBINSON, K.C.M.G. (No. 149.) SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatches Nos. 170 and 171 of the 13th June last; the first reporting the arrest and deposition from the State Council of Tunku Panglima Rajah under the authority of Her Majesty's Resident at Salangore; the second having reference to a question of considerable importance, viz., the position and functions of the several Residents.

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2. I concur in the view which you took of Mr. Douglas' proceedings in this instance, and I approve of the communication which you addressed to him. But in conveying this intimation I do not intend to censure Mr. Douglas for what I consider was an error of judgment on his part.

3. I fully recognise the delicacy of the task imposed on the Residents, and am aware that much must be left to their discretion on occasions when prompt and firm action is called for.

4. The letter which was addressed to the Residents by your desire on the 17th May appears to be both necessary and judicious in its terms, and I am glad to be able to add that I feel that I can rely on your keeping a watchful eye on the proceedings of the Residents, and taking care that they do not exceed their proper functions.

5. I find that you are in communication with Mr. Low as to slavery in the Native States, and I shall be glad to receive a report from you on this important subject.

6. I wish to be fully and precisely informed what are the existing laws or customs in the several States with regard to it, and in what manner they are practically enforced, and to receive such suggestions as under the special circumstances of these States may appear to you to be judicious and practicable, with a view to secure the early alleviation of any

Nos. 1 and 2.

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specially prominent abuses, and the ultimate adoption of a social system consistent with those principles on which the general policy of this country on this subject is based.

I have, &c. (Signed) M. E. HICKS BEACH.

Sir W. Robinson.

No. 4.

GOVERNOR SIR W. C. F. ROBINSON, K.C.M.G., to the RIGHT HON. SIR MICHAEL HICKS BEACH BART. (Received Oct. 21, 1878.)

(No. 268.)

Government House, Singapore, September 10, 1878. SIR,

I HAVE now the honour to submit to you the following remarks on the financial condition and prospects of the protected Native States, Perak, Salangore, and Sungei Ujong.

This report should, strictly speaking, have accompanied the financial reports of the Residents, which I forwarded to you in March last, but as the affairs of the States were then comparatively new to me, I thought it would be more satisfactory that I should defer any observations of my own upon them for a few months, and I am not sorry that I did so, for I am now able to add some further particulars, gleaned from a comparison of the estimates for the current year with the actual receipts and expenditure of the half year ended the 30th June, which will enable a fairly accurate conclusion as to the probable financial position of the three States at the end of this year to be arrived at.

The year 1877 may, I think, be considered an average one from which to judge of the revenue and expenditure of the States, except in so far as it was found advisable in some cases to lower the export duty on tin. I am not prepared to say that even the present duties on tin can be maintained, for this depends so greatly on the value of the metal in the market, that a further decline in value may at any moment necessitate a further reduction in the duties, in order to avert the closing of the mines, but on the other hand, should the price of tin improve, a return to the former duties would probably be considered both justifiable and expedient.

PERAK.

In this State a change of Residents occurred just at the time when the estimates for 1877 would in the ordinary course have been submitted, and consequently they were framed at a disadvantage, and were not regarded as wholly to be depended on, nor as an accurate estimate of the revenue and expenditure of the year.

It will, perhaps, be sufficient to say that the probable revenue was estimated to reach $275,281, while the expenditure for the same period was put down at #287,486.

The actual revenue for the year reached #312,875, and the expenditure, exclusive of moneys paid by this Government on Perak account, amounted to $292,710. The excess of revenue over the estimate is accounted for by the fact that the receipts, in excess of expenditure, from the district of Kuran (from which nothing was estimated) amounted to $19,749, and that the actual receipts under the head of duties on account of tin largely exceeded the estimate.

The expenditure also exceeded the estimates by $5,225. A considerable saving was effected on the item establishments, but there were large and unavoidable increases under the heads, Transport, Miscellaneous, and Steam Launches, to which the excess must be attributed.

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The Resident's report on the revenue and expenditure of Perak, dated 9th February 1878, and forwarded with my Despatch No. 81 of the 28th March, went fully inte minute details of the Perak finances, and it is therefore unnecessary that I should now do more than touch upon the chief features of interest.

Perak is usually, in questions both of revenue and expenditure, divided into three districts, namely, (1) Larut, including Kuran, (2) Kwala Kangsa, and (3) Lower Perak, but for the present purpose it will serve equally well, and be less confusing, to treat the revenue and expenditure of the State as a whole.

The total revenue amounted in 1875 (during which year no regular account was kept, nor was all the revenue paid into the State Treasury) to about #270,000, in 1876 tó about $273,000, and in 1877 to #312,875, being nearly $40,000 in excess of the amount received in the previous year.

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