I 9 4 TRAPPING WILD ANIMALS 



no native who worked for me ever had cause to 

 complain. 



Nor had the Sultan himself; for I often found 

 ways of helping him when the treasury was at low 

 ebb. He looked to me to bring him news of the 

 outside world and to interpret the news for him in 

 terms that were understandable. Several hours of 

 each day I spent at the palace, in discussing the 

 affairs of the country with the Sultan and his Prime 

 Minister, Mahommed Yusuf. Yusuf was a tunku 

 besar (big prince) and was formerly the Sultan of 

 Lingga. He was driven from his country by the 

 Dutch and had sought refuge with his brother, the 

 Sultan of Trengganu. There he lived as an object 

 lesson of what might happen if Europeans were 

 allowed to come into the country. 



It was inevitable that Trengganu should eventu- 

 ally be taken over by the British, but the Sultan 

 fought the idea at every turn. He could see in such 

 a possibility nothing but ruin for himself, and he 

 was determined to hold out as long as he lived. 

 In our long talks we discussed every phase of his 

 situation, and I pointed out to him that other sultans 

 had prospered under the British. He was inter- 

 ested in that fact and asked for more information. 

 Finally, it was arranged that Sir Frank Swetten- 

 ham, who was governor-general of the Straits Set- 

 tlements, should make a visit to Trengganu. That 

 was the entering wedge. A few years later, an 

 agreement was reached by which the country be- 



