FROM the end of the year 1874 till the following May, when
Sir Andrew Clarke was translated to a post on the Council of the Viceroy of
India, there is nothing particular to chronicle but the reports from the
Residents, especially from Perak and the Nine States, showed that there was a
feeling of unrest, and that those whose profits and influence were threatened
were not taking kindly to the new order of things.
Mr. Birch showed extraordinary energy in travelling about Perak,
making the acquaintance of all the chiefs, and personally inquiring into the
numberless complaints of the poor and oppressed. The peculiar circumstances of
this State must be borne in mind. The quarrels of the Chinese had been stopped
; they were again at work, the mines were doing well, order had succeeded
chaos, and Larut was on the high road to a prosperity exceeding anything ever
known before. But the Mantri was secretly dissatisfied, his plans had
miscarried; he could no longer collect and expend the revenues as he pleased,
and instead of holding an almost independent position, he found himself in his
proper place, with Abdullah, the recognized Sultan, but ill-disposed towards him.
Then
Page 194
SIR WILLIAM JERVOIS Page 195
Abdullah, who had gained so mach, was far from content. He
was weak, inordinately vain, and hopelessly extravagant The up-country people
still declined to acknowledge him, and declared that Ismail, who had the
regalia and refused to give it up, was their Sultan. Raja Yusuf, of course,
sulked in his own lonely village, posing as the rightful claimant and
threatening to invite the assistance of Siam, of Johore, of any one he could
think of, to support a cause which he knew was hopeless so long as he was its
sole advocate. The Assistant Resident in Larut had a moderate force of Indians
and Malays, and having only one man to deal with, the Mantri, he experienced no
difficulty in collecting the revenue and seeing that it was properly expended.
In the Perak Valley and the districts south of it the circumstances were widely
different Not only did the three Sultans essay to tax every one within their
reach and every passer-by, but all the small chiefs did the same, and every sprig
of nobility felt and said that this squeezing of the raiat and the Chinese was the only way in which a gentleman could
condescend to make a living. As " the collection and control of all
revenues and the general administration of the country" were, by the
Pangkor engagement, to be regulated under the advice of the British Residents,
it followed that Mr. Birch's determined efforts to carry out these provisions
brought him into frequent and unpleasant conflict with all the influential
people in the country. In the course of his wanderings Mr. Birch met with
numerous cases of great oppression ; poor people fined and even murdered for
supposed offences, traders squeezed and robbed, and men, women, and children
subjected to the infamous practice of debt -slavery. This custom, common to all
Malay countries, consisted in the forcible detention of persons said to be
indebted. Very often there was no real debt ; the creditors invented one, or
inflicted a fine for an offence never committed, and then compelled the reputed
debtor,
Page 196 BRITISH MALAYA
with his wife and family, to enter his service and treated
them all as chattels. Of course the supposed debt was not paid, because,
according to the creditor, it always kept increasing. Very often the original
circumstances surrounding the claim were lost in the obscurity of past
generations ; the debt slaves were pesaka,
an inheritance, like any other property. I will not harrow the reader by tales
of the infamies committed under the cloak of this system ; they can be imagined
if it is understood that the creditor did what he liked with his debt slaves,
and when they found life intolerable and ran away, if caught they were killed
and no one objected, because every one of any position had debt slaves of their
own. It is necessary to mention this custom, because its abolition created more
trouble than any other question with which the Residents had to deal. It should
also be added that if a free man or woman married a debt slave the free also
entered into bondage, and the children of the marriage with them. Moreover, it
was very common for a creditor to sell his debt slaves when he was tired of
them or wanted money, and the bonds people not infrequently suffered by the
transfer.
This practice of debt-slavery was particularly rife in Perak,
and as Mr. Birch determinedly set his face against it and helped several of the
most oppressed to get out of the country, his action did not increase his
popularity with the chiefs. Sultan Abdullah and the Lower Perak chiefs were
amongst the worst offenders in this respect, and having gained the end for
which they invited British assistance, they began to consider how they could
get rid of the British Adviser, who interfered with their most cherished
privileges, the collection of taxes, the power to fine and kill, and the
institution of debt-slavery.
Raja Ismail and his adherents did not like the Resident,
because they regarded him as a man brought in by their enemies, the Lower Perak
chiefs, and also because he
SIR WILLIAM JERVOIS Page 197
tried, unavailingly, to persuade Ismail to give up the regalia
to AbdulIah.
Raja Yusuf was dissatisfied because nothing was done for him
; and the chiefs of every grade made common cause against a Resident who
scoured the country, inquired into and pushed home their evil deeds, and
endeavoured to put a stop to them. Therefore, some began to conspire to compass
his death or removal, and others looked idly on, conscious of what was brewing,
but not anxious to take a hand if they could avoid it. Only the poor and
oppressed recognized and were grateful for all the many kindnesses they
received from the Resident ; for when he was not busy finding out all about the
country and its resources, or writing instructions and suggestions for its
development and administration, he was tending the sick, or giving generous
help to those most in need of it. Unfortunately, he did not speak Malay, or
understand the customs and prejudices of the people, and to this cause more
than any other his death must be attributed.
In Selangor matters went well enough. The State had a very
small Malay population, and they were tired of fighting. The Viceroy was
established in authority with a British Resident to help him. The rebellious
action of the Sultan's sons was paralyzed by the presence of a British officer
in their own village; Raja Mahmud had renounced the profession of a freelance ;
Raja Mahdi had also given himself up, and was dying of consumption in Singapore
; while the Sultan was all for peace and freedom to give his undivided attention
to his garden. So the Chinese flocked into Selangor, and the development of
mining promised shortly to put the State finances in a satisfactory condition.
Sungei Ujong made progress slowly; but the neighbours, the
people of the eight other little States, who in their inland fastnesses had
seen practically nothing of this new turn of affairs and heard news of the
outer world but
Page 198 BRITISH MALAYA
seldom, were far from content. So, when the Resident of
Sungei Ujong pushed his travels beyond his borders, he was greeted by die same
old tales of oppression, of squabbles for position and power, and he was
warned, not always politely to mind his own business and not come where he was
not invited. That was well enough, and though, from motives of humanity he
might have wished to interfere. he would not have been allowed to do so if his
neighbours had not made a raid into Sungei Ujong.
That, however, came later. Up to the time of Sir Andrew
Clarke's departure from the Straits there was no disturbance of the peace, but
rumours of impending trouble reached him. and at the very moment when he and
his successor. Sir W. F. D. Jervois, were together in Singapore messengers came
from Sultan Abdullah full of complaints of the Resident and his interference
with those very affairs to deal with which Abdullah had asked for his
assistance.
Major-General Sir William Jervois was another officer of the
Royal Engineers, the third in succession as Governor of the Straits
Settlements, and he arrived at a moment when the affairs of the Malay States
were to absorb all his attention.
It should be remarked in passing that the assistance
rendered by Sir Andrew Clarke had cost a good deal of money, and it was
fortunate that Governor Ord had left the colony with a large balance, for it
was exhausted by his successors in carrying out the new policy towards the
Malay States. I should, however, at once state that every farthing of this
expenditure, and of future military expeditions, was eventually repaid by the
Malay States on whose behalf it was incurred.
Sir William Jervois arrived in the end of May, 1875, and for
the next four months devoted himself to the study of the Malay problem, as it
was then developing. He received constant reports from the Residents, and those
SIR WILLIAM JERVOIS Page 199
which came from Perak showed that affairs were becoming so
strained that action of some kind would soon be a necessity. The Governor
therefore decided to see what could be done by a personal interview with the
chiefs. He went to Larut, crossed over to the Perak River at Kuala Kangsar (the
residence of the present Sultan of Perak), and made a progress down the Perak
River, having interviews with Raja Yusuf and ex-Sultan Ismail, and continued
his journey to Sultan Abdullah's village, where he joined his yacht and
returned to Singapore.
In 1874-5 I had made several visits to Perak to help Mr.
Birch, and I was one of the party of about a dozen European officers who
accompanied Sir William Jervois on this expedition, Mr. Birch and Mr. Davidson
were also there, and it was explained to the Governor that the position of the
Resident, as set out in the Pangkor Engagement, was untenable. Either the
Resident, being alone and unsupported, must turn a deaf ear to all complaints,
regard the terms of the Pangkor Engagement as a dead letter, and content
himself with the impossible role of offering advice to those who paid no heed
to it, or he must hold Sultan Abdullah and his adherents to the faithful
discharge of those obligations which they had willingly undertaken, which the
Secretary of State had approved, and the Proclamation of November, 1874, had
warned them must be observed. It was evident that the Resident, if he met with
direct refusal, or indirect obstruction which amounted to the same thing, could
not threaten unless he had the means to enforce his words. Even if Abdullah and
his party had shown any desire to be amenable, there would still have been
serious trouble with Ismail and the up-country chiefs.
As the British Government had recognized Abdullah, clearly
the first thing to do was to bring him to reason, and with this object Sir
William Jervois and his party, attended by a guard of bluejackets, had a long
interview
Page 200 BRITISH MALAYA
with Abdullah and his chiefs at a place called Pasir
Panjang, on the Perak River a few miles above Bandar Bharu, the small island
which Mr. Birch had chosen for his station. That interview resulted in no
satisfactory conclusion, but it was ascertained afterwards that Abdullah,
realizing that his attitude towards the Resident had earned him the serious
displeasure of the Governor, had arranged with a foreign Malay to amok the Governor's party at a given
signal should an attempt be made to arrest and remove him. No such attempt was
made, but Sir William Jervois decided to meet the difficulties of the situation
by a new arrangement appointing British officers, as Queen's Commissioners
instead of Residents, to carry on the administration of the country in the name
of the Sultan. It was also arranged to have the necessary documents prepared
and, when they were ready, to invite Abdullah to sign them, and if he refused
to tell him that Raja Yusuf would, if he had the opportunity, be glad to accept
the Governor's advice and give effect to it. It had been ascertained that both
Raja Yusuf and Raja Idris (Abdullah's cousin and a man of exceptional ability)
were agreed that the existing state of affairs could not continue, and they
were ready to abide by the Governor's decision.
I remained in Perak for a fortnight after the departure of
the Governor and his party to help the Resident to explain the new proposals to
the Sultan and endeavour to secure his acceptance of them. The result of
several long interviews with Abdullah — interviews wherein he showed himself
most impracticable — was to decide him to sign the documents accepting and
announcing the new policy, and with these I left at once for Singapore.
Before I left, Mr. Birch had been told by some of those whom
he had befriended that there was a plot to kill him, but to this he paid no
attention as the story was not new.
SIR WILLIAM JERVOIS Page 201
After a very short stay in Singapore, I returned to Perak
with the proclamations necessary to give effect to the new arrangement and
handed them over to Mr. Birch at Bandar Bharu. I found him suffering from a
sprained ankle and only able to walk with the help of crutches. Lieutenant
Abbott, R.N., and four bluejackets were with him, and, on the night of my
arrival, the native sergeant-major of Mr. Birch's Indian guard (about eighty
Pathans, Sikhs, and Punjabis) behaved so badly that he had to be confined in
the guard-room, while his men were in a state bordering on mutiny. It was then
arranged that I should go up river to a village called Kota Lama, above Kuala
Kangsar, a village with the worst repute in Perak, and distribute the
proclamations in the Upper Country, returning about the 3rd November to meet
Mr. Birch at Pasir Salak, the village of the Maharaja Lela, five miles above
Bandar Bharu. Mr. Birch, meanwhile, was to go down river and distribute the
proclamations amongst Abdullah's adherents, where no trouble was expected, and
we were to join forces at Pasir Salak because die Maharaja Lela was believed to
have declared that he would not take instructions from the Resident, and it was
known that he had built himself a new house and had recently been protecting it
by a strong earthwork and palisade. Therefore if there was to be trouble it
would probably be there. What was only disclosed long afterwards was that, as
soon as he had consented to the new arrangement, Abdullah summoned his chiefs
(including the Maharaja Lela and the Dato' Sagor, who lived at Kampong Gajah on
the opposite bank of the river to Pasir Salak) and told them that he had handed
over the government of the country to Mr. Birch. The Maharaja Lela, however,
said that he would not accept any orders from the Resident, and if Mr. Birch
came to his Kampong he would kill him. Asked whether he really intended to keep
his word, he replied that he certainly meant it. The Dato' Sagor also
Page 202 BRITISH MALAYA
said that he was of one mind with the Maharaja Lela. The
meeting then broke up and the members returned to their own villages. Later,
when the proclamations arrived, the Sultan again sent for the chiefs, showed
them the papers, and asked what they thought of them. The Laksamana said,
" Down here, in the lower part of the river, we must accept them."
But the Maharaja Lela said, " In my Kampong, I will not allow any white
man to post these proclamations. If they insist, there will certainly be a
fight.'' To this the Sultan and the other chiefs said, ''Very well." The
Maharaja Lela immediately left and, having loaded his boats with rice, returned
up river to his own Kampong.
I left Bandar Bharu at noon, on 28 October, with two boats,
my companions being Raja Mahmud of Selangor and two of his men whom I had
brought with me from Singapore, a Manila boatman of tried courage, and a
Chinese servant. As I went up stream Mr. Birch was starting to go down, and
when last I saw him he was lecturing the Sikh sergeant-major, who had been
released after his night in the guard-room. On my way up river I called at
Blanja, ex-Sultan Ismail's village, but failed to see him. I left a number of
proclamations there, after explaining them, and went on to Raja Yusuf, who
assured me that no good could ever be done until there had been a fight. The
further I went the more threatening became the talk, and every one was full of
gossip of the dreadful things that were going to take place. This, however, was
rather the custom of the country, and we did not pay too much attention to it.
By great exertions we reached Kuala Kangsar on the night of 31 October, and on
I November I posted the proclamations in that village. On the 2nd I crossed the
river, interviewed the Raja Bendahara, read the proclamation to him, and gave
him copies which I asked him to post The next day I distributed the
proclamation in a number of inland villages,
SIR WILLIAM JERVOIS Page 203
and in the afternoon went to Kota Lama, where I had a
somewhat stormy interview with some of the truculent spirits of that very
independent village ; but we managed to part civilly. On 4 November, my work
being done, I started down river at 8.30 a.m. intending to spend the night at
Blanja. We reached that place about 4 p.m. and found there a very large
collection of boats and men. As we were dragging our boats through the shallow
water towards the shore, one of Ismail's most trusted scoundrels waded out to
tell us that Mr. Birch had been killed by the Maharaja Lela's people, at Pasir
Salak, on 2 November; that Bandar Bharu had also been taken and the Indian
guard killed or dispersed ; and that the river had been staked right across, at
Pasir Salak, to catch my boats as we returned. When I asked how they knew all
this, the messenger said the Maharaja Lela had sent a letter to ex-Sultan
Ismail to tell him what he had done, and, to prove the truth of his story, he
had dispatched it by Mr. Birch's own boat, which had returned down stream only
about two hours earlier. The messenger then invited us to land, as there was
nothing to gain by an impossible attempt to pass through the lower country,
which was now in arms and on the watch for us.
We made an excuse to get rid of him, and Raja Mahmud at once
said that to land would be suicide. We could not stay where we were, we had no
inclination to turn back, and there was small inducement to do so. As the Perak
boatmen did not wish to take the risks, I decided to leave them behind, and
continue our journey down stream in one boat. When the messenger returned to
usher us ashore, we were just pushing the boat out into the stream, and though
he tried to dissuade us and told us we were going to perdition, his words
helped to convince us that we had made the right choice. He was still standing
in the river, above his knees in water, when we were slipping down at a great
rate on a strong current.
Page 204 BRITISH MALAYA
All the Residency boats were painted white, and we had one
of them, so there could be no pretence at concealment, and for that reason we
did not trouble to remove the British ensign which was flying at the stern. For
crew we had three foreign Malays and Raja Mahmud's two followers; for coxswain,
the Manila man; Mahmud, myself and the Chinese servant were the passengers. The
men had already done nearly eight hours' work on one meal, there were about
sixty miles of difficult river between us and the zone of greatest danger, and
no time to stop for cooking. We calculated that, if we paddled strenuously all
night, we should reach the barrier about 9 a.m., for no house boat had ever
made the journey in anything like twelve hours. Just as night was falling we
passed Mr. Birch's "Dragon" boat, on a sandpit by a large village, and
that removed from our minds all doubt as to his fate. By a series of fortuitous
circumstances, and to our own immense surprise, we reached the Maharaja Lela's
village at I a.m. and passed it safely, for there was no barrier. As usual with
Malays, they had meant to build it, but they did not expect us so soon, and
probably thought that, if we came at all, they would have due warning. Both
banks were lined with large watch fires and groups of armed men, and though we
ran into the bank exactly under one of these groups and were duly challenged,
we got off again without being recognized.
The Eastern very rarely expresses astonishment, but here was
an exception, for to all of us it was not the unexpected, but the impossible
which had happened. We crept past Bandar Bharu, Mr. Birch's station, in the belief
that it was in the hands of the enemy, but that statement was also incorrect,
and made our journey ten miles longer than it need have been.
Afterwards we learned that ex-Sultan Ismail sent from Blanja
two boat-loads of braves to follow us and do on the river what they had no
doubt hoped to have the oppor-
SIR WILLIAM JERVOIS 205
tunity of accomplishing on shore, when the plan miscarried
by reason of our sudden disappearance down stream. The pursuers must have
lagged by the way, for we saw nothing of them.
At daylight the next morning we returned up river to Bandar
Bharu, and there and afterwards heard the details of Mr. Birch's assassination.
He had done his work in the low country more quickly than he
expected, and reached Pasir Salak at midnight on I November with three boats
containing the Resident, Lieutenant Abbott, R.N., a guard of twelve Sikhs, an
orderly, a Malay interpreter, and a number of boatmen. In all the party
numbered about forty men, and they had plenty of arms and ammunition. They
anchored in midstream for the night, and at daylight hauled to the bank, when
Mr. Abbott crossed to the other side of the river to shoot snipe, and Mr. Birch
sent a message to the Maharaja Lela to say that he would be glad to see him,
either at the boats or in his own house. To the interpreter who carried the
message the chief said, " I have nothing to do with Mr. Birch."
Some days earlier, the Maharaja Lela had summoned all his
people and told them that Mr. Birch would shortly come to Pasir Salak, and if
he attempted to post any notices there the orders of the Sultan and the
down-river chiefs were that he should be killed. The people replied that if
those were the orders they would carry them out, and the Maharaja Lela then
handed his sword to a man called Pandak Indut, his father-in-law, and told the
people to take Pandak Indut's directions as though they were his own. Directly
Mr. Birch arrived messengers were sent out to collect the people, and, before
the sun was hot, there were already about seventy armed men on the bank above
Mr. Birch's boats. The Dato' Sagor had come over from the other side (in the
boat which had taken Mr. Abbott across) and he had seen and spoken to Mr.
Birch,
Page 206 BRITISH MALAYA
and was now with the Maharaja Lela. By Mr. Birch's orders
the interpreter posted a proclamation on the shop of a Chinese goldsmith, close
to the bank, and this paper was torn down by Pandak Indut and taken to the
Maharaja Lela, the occurrence being at the same time reported to Mr. Birch. The
crowd on the bank were showing distinct signs of restiveness ; but the boatmen
began to make fires to cook rice, and Mr. Birch went to take his bath in a
floating bath-house by the river bank, his Sikh orderly standing at the door
with a loaded revolver. The interpreter was putting up another copy of the
proclamation when Pandak Indut tore it down, and as the interpreter
remonstrated, Pandak Indut thrust a spear into him and cried out, ''Amok ! amok
!" The crowd instantly rushed for the bath-house, and attacked the
boatmen, and any of the Resident's party within reach. Spears were thrust
through the bath-house, and Mr. Birch sank into the river, coming to the
surface just below the bath-house, when he was immediately slashed on the head
with a sword and was not seen again. Mr. Birch's Sikh orderly had jumped into
the river when the first rush was made at the bath-house, and he swam to a
boat, taking great care to save the revolver, which he had not fired, from
getting wet ! The interpreter struggled to the river, and was helped into a
boat by two of Mr. Birch's Malays, but he died very shortly afterwards. A Sikh
and a Malay boatman were also killed and several of the others were wounded ;
but the rest with great difficulty got away. Mr. Abbott, on the other bank, was
warned of what had occurred, and managed to get a dug-out and escape, running
the fire from both banks.
Then the Maharaja Lela came out and asked who were those who
had actually had a hand in the killing. Pandak Indut and the others at once
claimed credit for the deed, and the chief ordered that only those who had
struck blows should share in the spoils. Then he said.
SIR WILLIAM JERVOIS Page 207
"Go and tell the Laksamana I have killed Mr.
Birch." The message was duly delivered, and the Laksamana said, "
Very well, I will inform the Sultan." The same evening the Maharaja Lela
sent Mr. Birch's boat to Blanja, with the letter to ex-Sultan Ismail describing
what he had done, Ismail was much too clever to keep the boat, so he sent it
back again. All the arms and other property were removed to the Maharaja Lela's
house, and orders were given to build stockades, to stake the river, and to amok the Resident's station at Bandar Bharu.
The party sent on this last errand returned without accomplishing their object
; for when they got near the place it began to (rain, and the people in the
house where they took shelter told them that they would get a warm reception at
Bandar Bharu, and it would be quite a different thing to murdering the
Resident.
By the help of a friendly Malay, a foreigner, Mr. Birch's
body was recovered and buried at Bandar Bharu, on 6 November.1
I arrived at Bandar Bharu on 5 November, and there was
plenty to do, attending to the wounded, strengthening the place, and heartening
the rather demoralized garrison of Indians. The position was also difficult, in
that it was impossible to tell which, if any, of the Lower Perak chiefs were
friends. The Sultan sent a message with offers of assistance, but we thought it
best to send a polite refusal. On the 6th, Captain Innes, R.E., arrived from
Pinang with two officers and sixty men of the 1/10th Regiment, and the
Honourable H. Plunket with twenty Pinang police. We already had Lieutenant
Abbott and his four bluejackets, and about fifty so-called Sikhs, besides Raja
Mahmud and a Sumatran, named Nakodah Orlong, with about fifteen followers, who
volunteered their services. With this force we started at 4.30 am. the next
morning to attack Pasir Salak, but, for various reasons, principally
1 This and
other incidents are described in greater detail in Malay Sketches.
Page 208 BRITISH MALAYA
because no gun was taken, the attack failed. The Pinang
police, in spite of Mr. Plunket’s strenuous efforts, retired as soon as we came
in touch with the enemy, and the Sikhs a little later, and, in trying to take a
strong stockade Captain Innes and Nakodah Orlong were killed ; both the 1/10th
officers were severely wounded and there were a number of other casualties. A
week later, with re-enforcements and a naval brigade, the whole position was
successfully carried without loss on our side. The villages of the Maharaja
Lela and the Dato' Sagor were burned, and I had the satisfaction of recovering
from the Maharaja Lela's house my dispatch-box, which had formed part of the
plunder of Mr. Birch's Dragon boat .
The assassination of the Resident of Perak, and rumours of
trouble in Selangor and the Nine States, gave such a serious turn to affairs
that assistance was requested, both from Hong Kong and India. In the course of
the next few weeks the following troops, under Major-General the Honourable F.
Colborne, C.B, (from Hong Kong), and Brigadier-General John Ross (from India),
were collected at the scene of disturbance : 300 officers and men of H.M.'s 80th
Regiment, 200 officers and men of H.M.'s 1/10th Regiment, a battery and a half
of Royal Artillery, H.M.'s 3rd Regiment (the Buffs), about 600 strong, the 1st
Goorkhas, 450 strong, and one company of Bengal sappers, numbering 80 men.
These troops were greatly assisted by a Naval Brigade drawn
from H.M.'s ships Modeste, Thistle,
Philomel, Ringdove, and Fly.
Major-General Colborne and the troops from China made their
head-quarters at Bandar Bharu, while the Indian contingent, under
Brigadier-General Ross, were stationed at Kuala Kangsar.
After the capture of Pasir Salak and Kampong Gajah, the
Maharaja Lela, the Dato' Sagor, and their people retired up river to Blanja,
joined ex-Sultan Ismail, and the
SIR WILLIAM JERVOIS 209
main body then established themselves at a small town called
Pengkalen Pigu, on the Kinta River, fifteen miles inland from the left bank of
the Perak River.
Major-General Colbome then organized an expedition to follow
and dislodge the fugitives. The main difficulty was transport, for, as there
were no roads, the whole force had to be sent up river by boats. Blanja was
reached on 13 December, and after a very trying march of three days through the
jungle, taking several stockades on the way, and suffering some loss, Pengkalen
Pigu was occupied on 17 December. The Malays abandoned the place after a slight
resistance, and retreated north until they eventually crossed the frontier and
got into Kedah territory.
Brigadier-General Ross's foree was to have co-operated in
this movement, but, owing to the transport difficulty, they failed to appear
till long after the end was accomplished. Meanwhile they had several affairs of
their own at the village of Kota Lama, where our troops met with some loss, but
eventually put down all opposition.
A certain number of the troops remained quartered in strategic
positions in Perak for about eighteen months, after which they were withdrawn
and their places taken by a force of armed police. In the early part of that
period ex-SuItan Ismail and his followers were so persistently hunted by
various parties of irregulars that at last they gave themselves up to the
Sultan of Kedah, who handed them over to the Lieutenant-Governor of Pinang on 20
March, 1876. Thus the Perak regalia, to which Ismail had clung so tenaciously,
found its way into the Singapore treasury, and was stored there for several
years, until it was transferred to the keeping of the present Sultan of Perak.
The ex-Sultan, Ismail, was allowed to reside in Johore, where he died in 1889.
Whilst these events, so briefly described, were taking place
in Perak, affairs had come to a crisis in the Nine States.
Page 210 BRITISH MALAYA
Near the end of November, 1875, a survey party, despatched
from Sungei Ujong across the border into Terachi, was stopped, and when the
escort came up they were fired upon. The party retired, but the Malays
collected a considerable force, invaded Sungei Ujong territory, and established
themselves in some mines at a place called Paroe, not many miles from the
Residency. There were then stationed in Sungei Ujong a few men of the 1/10th
Regiment, and these being reinforced and supported by some police and a native
contingent of about eighty men, attacked the Malay defences, suffered
considerable loss, and failed to force them until the arrival of a gun, which
soon settled matters. The Malays were driven out, and retired to a very strong
position in a narrow defile in the range of hills dividing Sungei Ujong from
Terachi. Before attacking this place --- Bukit Putus by name --- considerable
reinforcements of Royal Artillery, Goorkhas, and Naval Brigade were dispatched
to Sungei Ujong, and the defile was eventually carried on 20 December by the
courageous action of Captain Channer, of the Goorkhas, who had gone forward
scouting with a few men, and, seeing his opportunity, rushed a stockade which
commanded the rest of the position. Captain Channer was awarded the Victoria
Cross for this gallant action. The Malays, driven over the border without
further loss to us, were completely demoralized, and gave no further trouble.
When the military operations in Perak were concluded, I was
called to Singapore to be Secretary for Malay Affairs. Mr. J. G. Davidson, of
Selangor, succeeded Mr. Birch as Resident of Perak, and Captain Blomfield
Douglas was appointed Resident of Selangor.
Commissioners had been appointed to inquire into all the
circumstances which led up to the assassination of Mr. Birch, and the evidence
they collected was of such a character as to prove the complicity of Sultan
Abdullah the Mantri, the Dato' Laksamana, and the Dato' Shaban-
SIR WILLIAM JERVOIS Page 211
dar. These persons were therefore removed to Singapore, and
after a long residence there, during which the case was gone into most
thoroughly, they were severally deported to the Seychelles.
The Maharaja Lela, Pandak Indut, and others, wearied by
months of wandering in the jungles of Upper Perak, came south in July, 1876,
and gave themselves up to emissaries from the Maharaja of Johore on the sole
condition that they should receive a fair trial. They were conveyed to Johore,
from thence to Singapore, and finally to Larut, where they and the Dato' Sagor,
who had already been secured, were charged with the murder of the Resident, his
interpreter, and two of his people. The accused were tried in December, 1875, before
Raja Yusuf and Raja Husein, with Mr. Davidson and Mr. W. E. Maxwell as British
assessors. Colonel Dunlop and I prosecuted for the Government, and the
prisoners were defended by an able member of the Singapore Bar, Mr. J. D.
Vaughan. After a trial which lasted seven days all the accused were found
guilty. The Maharaja Lela, the Dato' Sagor, and Pandak Indut were executed, but
in the case of all the others the sentence was commuted to imprisonment for
life. One man had already been tried and executed, another had died in the
jungle, and, so far as is known, every one directly or indirectly concerned in
the crime was brought to justice. The village of Pasir Salak was destroyed and
not allowed to be reoccupied.
These measures were then very necessary if they sound severe
now ; but Malays did not question the justice of them, and considering the
circumstances they cannot really be regarded as harsh. Neither the Maharaja
Lela, the Dato' Sagor, nor any of their people had any grievance against the
Resident. He represented ideas of right and wrong with which they had no
sympathy and a foreign Power beyond their ken, against whose interference in
Malay affairs they instinctively rebelled. Therefore they
212 BRITISH MALAYA
determined to kill him, believing that that would be the end
of the matter. All warnings that the British Government would carry its policy
through they treated with contempt, for they disbelieved them ; and never
having seen white men in the State before, Malays laughed at the idea of white
troops ever penetrating its jungle fastnesses. To get rid of the one or two who
knew the country seemed to them all that was wanted, and then they would be
left alone, as they had been since the beginning of time. They took on
themselves a responsibility which they paid for with their lives, and when
their own Rajas passed sentence they told the Maharaja Lela and his fellows
that they were guilty not only of murder, but of treason ; for while Sultan
Abdullah and many responsible chiefs, including the Dato' Sagor, had asked for
British help and a British officer, the accused had taken upon themselves to
assassinate their country's invited guest.
Of the complicity of Sultan Abdullah and the rest, there was
proof enough and to spare. They had guilty knowledge of and acquiesced in the
intended murder ; banishment and loss of position were not too heavy a penalty
for conniving at a crime which it was their bounden duty to prevent. During
banishment they were accompanied by their families and granted allowances for
their support. After a number of years in the Seychelles, and when peace and
order had been firmly established throughout the western States, Abdullah and
the others were permitted to return to Singapore. The Mantri, the Laksamana,
and the Shabandar died years ago, but Abdullah is still in Singapore, where he
receives a generous allowance from the Perak Government, and is free to do as
he pleases.
After the flight of ex-Sultan Ismail, the removal of Sultan
Abdullah, and the disclosure of all the circumstances surrounding the death of
Mr. Birch, the British Government recognized Raja Yusuf as Regent, and later
SIR WILLIAM JERVOIS Page 213
as Sultan of Perak. Though his hereditary claim was, as has
already been stated, better than that of Abdullah, he would probably never have
become Sultan without the support of the British Government.
Mr. Davidson, the new Resident of Perak, and Captain Speedy,
the Assistant Resident, resigned their posts in 1876-7, and were succeeded by
Mr. Low, afterwards Sir Hugh Low, G.C.M.G,, and Mr. W. E. Maxwell, afterwards
Sir William Maxwell, K.C.M.G.
Sir William Jervois left the Straits in the spring of 1877
to report on the defences of Australia, and remained there, being appointed
Governor of South Australia.
Sir William's action in Perak was not approved by the
Secretary of State for the Colonies, and a long and somewhat bitter
correspondence ensued between them. The Governor's main contention was that the
situation was impossible, and he took a step in advance of the policy adopted
by Sir Andrew Clarke, feeling satisfied that it would meet with the same
approval. The Secretary of State's reply was that no new policy of such
importance ought to have been initiated without first consulting him, at least
by telegram, that a longer trial should have been given to the system so lately
introduced, and that there were no grounds to lead the Governor to assume that
his new departure would be sanctioned.
Even now it is a little difficult to judge fairly between
these two views, though it is not easy to acquit Sir William Jervois of
precipitancy, or at any rate of neglecting to use the cable. His excuse was
that the need for action was urgent, and he could not have explained the
situation within the compass of any reasonable telegram.
Setting aside all personal feelings, and these counted for
something at the time, it is very certain that no " system " had ever
been conceived. There was an idea and that was all. The idea was that a British
officer, or two, should be sent into a country where white men were
Page 214 BRITISH MALAYA
unknown ; where everything that could be wrong was wrong;
where almost every man was a law to himself; where there was hardly any trade,
no development of any kind, no roads, no police, or other means of maintaining order
; and where two or three individuals claimed to be supreme. It was apparently
supposed that, under these circumstances, the single white man would reduce
everything to order by the exercise of tactful advice. The greatness of the
implied compliment did not reduce the difficulties of a task which was only
possible when the native ruler was prepared to accept the advice offered him,
and had authority to enforce his own commands. In Perak this was not the case ;
in fact, it could not be so while there were several claimants to the throne ;
but when, in addition to that patent fact, the Resident had to deal with a
Sultan and chiefs who declined to accept almost any advice, the position was
quite hopeless.
Sir William Jervois's policy met with disaster at its very
inception, and that was enough to discredit it. But, if no attempt had been
made on the life of the Resident, it is difficult to see how any progress could
have been made, until the Queen's Commissioners were supported by a force
strong enough to give effect to their orders.
In Selangor the trouble only ceased when all the Viceroy's
enemies had been removed, after years of fighting. In Sungei Ujong the Dato'
Klana was helpless till his rival had been driven out of the State, and
practically interned at Singapore. The conditions in Perak were infinitely more
difficult, in proportion as the State was three or four times as large, with
eight or ten times as many Malay inhabitants, and twenty or thirty times as
many Rajas and chiefs with all sorts of real and fancied vested interests.
Raja Yusuf, unpopular as he was, knew his country and his
people probably better than any one, and he was right when he said that no real
good could ever be done till
SIR WILLIAM JERVOIS Page 215
those who most wanted it had been taught a lesson.
Intimately associated with all the details from the beginning, I am convinced
that twenty years of advice--- could it ever have continued so long --- would
not have accomplished, for peace and order and good government, what was done
in six months by force of arms. Mr. Birch did not die in vain ; his death freed
the country from an abominable thraldom, and was indirectly the means of
bringing independence, justice, and comfort to tens of thousands of sorely
oppressed people.
In Perak at any rate things had reached an impasse ; Sir
William Jervois tried to relieve the situation, and his action had the desired
result ; though the means by which it was attained were as far from those he
had devised as the end was better than any which his proposal could have
secured. Therefore his name deserves to be remembered in connexion with this
curious experiment in administration.
Even then, however, after the removal of the most dangerous
elements of discord, the most active opponents of reform, there was no "
system " to guide the Residents in their difficult task.
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