Opinions of Sir James Bbooke. 103 



able. From the time Sir James obtained possession of the 

 country, all this was stopi^ed. Equal justice was awarded 

 to Malay, Chinaman, and Dyak. The remorseless pirates 

 from the rivers farther east were punished, and finally shut 

 up within their own territories, and the Dyak, for the first 

 time, could sleep in jDeace. His wife and children were now 

 safe from slavery ; his house was no longer burned over his 

 head; his crops and his fruits were now his own, to sell or 

 consume as he jileased. And the unknown stranger who had 

 done all this for them, and asked for nothing in return, what 

 could he be ? How was it jiossible for them to realize his 

 motives ? Was it not natural that they should refuse to be- 

 lieve he was a man ? for of pure benevolence combined with 

 great power, they had had no experience among men. They 

 naturally concluded that he was a superior being, come down 

 u^ion earth to confer blessings on the afilicted. In many 

 villages where he had not been seen I was asked strange 

 questions about him. Was he not as old as the mountains V 

 Could he not bring the dead to life ? And they firmly be- 

 lieve that he can give them good harvests, and make their 

 fruit-trees bear an abundant crop. 



In forming a proper estimate of Sir James Brooke's govern- 

 ment, it must ever be remembered that he held Sarawak 

 solely by the good-will of the native inhabitants. He had to 

 deal with two races, one of whom, the Mohammedan Malays, 

 looked upon the other race, the Dyaks, as savages and slaves, 

 only fit to be robbed and plundered. He has efiectually pro- 

 tected the Dyaks, and lias invariably treated them as, in his 

 sight, equal to the Malays, and yet he has secured the afiec- 

 tion and good- will of both. Notwithstanding the religious 

 prejudices of Mohammedans, he has induced them to modify 

 many of their worst laws and customs, and to assimilate 

 their criminal code to that of the civilized world. That his 

 government still continues, after twenty-seven years — not- 

 withstanding his frequent absences from ill-health, notwith- 

 standing conspiracies of Malay chiefs, and insurrections of 

 Chinese gold-diggers, all of which have been overcome by 

 the support of the native population, and notwithstanding 

 financial, political, and domestic troubles — is due, I believe, 

 solely to the many admirable qualities which Sir James 



