Directory_and_Chronicle_1886 — Page 681

SELANGOR.

The protected native state of Selangor, containing a total area of about 3,000 square miles, lies on the western coast of the Malay Peninsula, and is bounded by the protected native states of Perak on the north, and Sungie Ujong on the south, extending inland to the mountains in the centre of the peninsula, which divide it from Pahang and Jelebu.

HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT.

Little is known of the early history of the State, but the Malay Rajahs of Selangor long bore a bad reputation among their neighbours, and were notorious for the fierceness of their internal quarrels and the audacity of their piracies. The series of struggles between various native chiefs which brought the State under the more immediate notice of the British Government at Singapore commenced in the year 1867, when Junker Dia Udin, a brother of the Sultan of Kedah, married a daughter of the Sultan of Selangor and was a pointed by him to be his viceroy. The authority o' Jun- ker Dia Udin was not recognized by Rajah Mahdi, a grandson of the late Sultan of Selangor, and a fierce contest was waged between these two chiefs from 1867 to 1873. The Sultan was powerless to put an end to the prolonged strife, in which not only Malay Rajahs but even Chinese miners took an active part, and the struggle was carried on, with varying success, until 1873, when the Bandahara of Pahang, at the instance of the Government of the Straits Settlements, sent assistance to Junker Dia Udin, by means of wh ch he was enabled to obtain a complete victory over the rebels and at least a temporary cessation of hostilities. The occurrence of an atrocious case of piracy off the Langat river in the following year led to the direct intervention of the British Government, and shortly afterwards, at the request of the Sultan, Sir Andrew Clarke, then Governor of the Straits Settlements, sent Mr. J. G. Davidson, first Resident of Selangor, and Mr. F. A. Swettenham (the present British Resident), an officer of the Straits Settlements, to assist the Sultan in the administration of the Government, since which time (1874) the peace of the State has not been disturbed, and its prosperity has steadily increased.

The Government consists of the Sultan, advised by the British Resident, who is directly responsible to the Governor of the Straits Settlements, and assisted by the State Council.

The State is divided into the following six Collectorates :--1. Kuala Lumpor, the central district where the Residency and principal Government Office are situated, and which also contains the richest tin mines that have yet been developed. 2.- Klang, the principal port, situated about 14 miles from the mouth of the Klang River. 3. Kwala Langat, an agricultural district, in which the Sultan resides. 4.-Kwala Selangor, containing the most important fisheries in the State. 5. Ulu Langat, an inland mining district on the borders of Sungie Ujong. 6.-Ulu Selangor, a district adjoining Perak, containing much valuable mining land, as yet comparatively undeveloped.

Each Collectorate is under the charge of an European Collector and Magistrate, from whom the Native Penghulus (in charge of the districts into which each Collec- torate is subdivided) receive their instructions. The law and procedure administered in the Courts are practically the same as those in the Colony of the Straits Settle- ments, and the powers of a Collector and Magistrate are almost identical with those of a Magistrate and Commissioner of the Court of Requests in the Colony. The decisions of the Magistrates are subject to revision by the Resident, and again by the Sultan in Council. The Police Force consists of a superintendent, two European inspectors, and 305 native non-commissioned officers and men, chiefly Malay.

POPULATION.

According to a census taken during the year 1884 the total population of the State amounted to 46,568 persons, distributed among the various districts as follows:- K. Lumpor—82 Europeans, 4,454 Malays, 23,827 Chinese, 330 Indians, 123 Sakeis