76 i Lieut.-General The Hon. Sir Andrew Clarice [May 27, 



the needs of civilisation, Lave been provided ; nor lias culture, in the 

 formation of museums and libraries, been wholly neglected. 



The sanitary boards have done good work. 



The cardinal feature of interest in the story is the means by 

 which all piracy and land fighting, whether by Chinese or Malays, 

 was absolutely stamped out ; by which taxation was almost abolished, 

 slavery suppressed, justice done, roads and railways constructed, 

 prisons and hospitals built and maintained, and above all, the chiefs 

 reconciled to the new life, and the recognition of equality of all races 

 and classes before the law. It has been done by the residents laying 

 down and insisting on the constant recognition of the principle that 

 the interests of the people they were set to govern should be the first 

 consideration of Government officers. By learning their languages, 

 their prejudices, their character, and by showing them that con- 

 sideration which alone can secure sympathy and a good understand- 

 ing between Government and people, their respect, and, to some 

 extent, their afiection has been won. The natural tendencies of our 

 race are not exactly inclined to these lines, and what has been done, 

 and the present feeling as to how the natives should be treated, is 

 due to the personal influence of a succession of Residents who gained 

 their knowledge by their own intelligence and experience ; for there 

 were no authorities to consult, the administrative experiment in the 

 Malay peninsula standing alone, and having no parallel in British 

 administration of alien races. 



The Residents were told they were to collect and administer the 

 revenues of the State to which they were accredited. They were 

 also told their advice was to be asked and acted upon in all questions 

 except those of Mahomedan law and Malay custom. At the same 

 time they were warned that they were only " advisers," and that if 

 they went beyond that they would be held responsible for any trouble 

 which should arise from their action, in what must have been cynic- 

 ally described as " a delicate and difficult position ; " but the very 

 elasticity and wide discretion of this policy was the foundation of its 

 marvellous success. It would certainly not be easy to conceive a 

 more impossible position. Entire control of all revenue ; to be con- 

 sulted about everything, and the advice tendered must be followed. 

 That clearly implies the responsibility for the whole Government 

 of the country. But then the individual who held this position 

 was to remember that he was only an adviser, not a ruler; he had no 

 means to enforce his directions, and he was warned that he would be 

 held personally responsible for any trouble that might arise from that 

 impossible position. The men to whom the work was entrusted at 

 once took the entire control and the responsibility with it, and trusted 

 to their own determination and tact to keep the peace, lead the chiefs 

 without driving them, but drive where necessary, and secure the sym- 

 pathy and goodwill of the people. 



Now that the position of control is recognised, there is force to 

 back it, and the anomaly is at an end, but out of the difficulties of 



