MALCOLM. 



637 



kese, in Borneo; the Biajoos (one of the wildest 

 tribes), and the Macassars, in Celebes ; the Hara- 

 fores, on the Moluccas; the Sabanos, in Magindanao; 

 the Tagats and Pampangoes, in the Manillas ; the 

 Bisayans, in the lesser Philippines, have a remarkable 

 resemblance in their features, in their form of govern- 

 ment (a sort of feudal system), and in violence and 

 cruelty. In general they profess the Mohammedan 

 religion, are fond of navigation, war, plunder, change 

 of place, and of all daring enterprises. Besides the 

 Koran, the Malays have various local laws; each 

 state has its own, relating chiefly to commerce. The 

 maritime code of Malacca was collected as early as 

 1276, and confirmed by Mohammed Shah, sultan of 

 the country. They pay more respect to their absurd 

 laws of honour than to justice or humanity, and we 

 find force continually triumphing, among them, over 

 weakness. Their treaties and their promises of 

 friendship continue only as long as the interests which 

 prompted them seem to demand. They are always 

 armed, and are perpetually at war among themselves, 

 or engaged in plundering their neighbours. When 

 they find opportunity, they will attack European and 

 American vessels by surprise, and kill the crews, if 

 they succeed in capturing them. No free Malay is 

 seen without a dagger. The people, in general, are 

 very skilful in preparing weapons, particularly dag- 

 gers. Their constant use of opium contributes to 

 infuriate them, and, when maddened by its effects, 

 they rush out with their daggers in their hands, 

 yelling, Amok, amok, (i. e. kill, kill); whence the 

 expression, to run a muck. The Malays are active 

 only in war, where they are excited by the thirst of 

 robbery and blood. At home, they are indolent, 

 leaving all the labour to their slaves, and despising 

 agriculture. The Malay language is the language 

 of commerce on all the shores f eastern India, and 

 is very extensively used as that of literature and of 

 correspondence. See Marsden's History of Sumatra, 

 and his Dictionary and Grammar of the Malayan 

 Language, (1812, 4to); Crawford's Indian Archipel- 

 ago, &c. 



MALCOLM, SIR JOHN, a distinguished soldier and 

 diplomatist, was born near Langholm, in Dumfries- 

 shire, on the 2d of May, 1769, and entered in 1782, as 

 a cadet, the service of the East India Company. Hav- 

 ing distinguished himself at the siege of Seringapatam 

 in 1792, he was appointed by lord Cornwallis to the 

 situation of Persian interpreter to a British force 

 serving with a native prince. In 1795, on his return 

 from a short visit to his native country, on account 

 of his health, he performed some useful services in 

 general Clarke's expedition at the Cape of Good 

 Hope, for which he received the thanks of the 

 Madras government, and was appointed secretary to 

 the commander-in-chief. In 1797, he was made 

 captain; and from that time to 1799, he was engaged 

 in a variety of important services, terminating at the 

 fall of Seringapatam, where he highly distinguished 

 himself. He was then appointed joint secretary with 

 captain (afterwards Sir Thomas) Munro, to the com- 

 missioners for settling the new government of My- 

 sore. In the same year, he was selected by Lord 

 Wellesley to proceed on a diplomatic mission to 

 Persia, where he concluded two treaties of great 

 importance, one political and the other commercial ; 

 returning to Bombay in May, 1801. His services 

 were acknowledged by his being appointed private 

 secretary to the governor-general. In January, 1802, 

 he was raised to the rank of major ; and on the 

 occasion of the Persian ambassador being accident- 

 ally shot at Bombay, he was again entrusted with a 

 mission to that empire, in order to make the requisite 

 arrangements for the renewal of the embassy, which 

 he accomplished in a manner that afforded the highest 



satisfaction to the Company. In January, 1803, he 

 was nominated to the presidency of Mysore, and to 

 act without special instructions ; and in December, 

 1804, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant- 

 colonel. In the June of the following year, he was 

 appointed chief agent of the governor-general, and 

 he continued to serve in that capacity until March, 

 1806, having successfully concluded several very 

 important treaties during that period. 



Upon the arrival in India, in April, 1808, of the 

 new governor-general, lord Minto, colonel Malcolm 

 was sent by his lordship to the court of Persia on a 

 mission. He returned to Calcutta in the following 

 August, and soon afterwards proceeded to his resi- 

 dence at Mysore. Early in the year 1810, he was 

 again selected to proceed in a diplomatic capacity to 

 the court of Persia, whence he returned upon the 

 appointment of Sir Gore Ousely, as ambassador. 



In 1812, colonel Malcolm again visited his native 

 shores ; shortly after which he received the honour 

 of knighthood. He returned to India in 1816, and 

 soon became engaged in extensive political and mili 

 tary duties. After the termination of the war with 

 the Mahrattas and Pindarees, to which his services 

 had eminently contributed, he was employed by lord 

 Hastings in visiting and settling the distracted ter- 

 ritories of Mulhar Rao, which, and other services, he 

 accomplished in a most satisfactory manner, gaining 

 to British India a large accession of territory and 

 treasure. 



Sir John returned to Britain in April, 1822, with 

 the rank of major-general, and soon after he was 

 presented by those who had acted under him in the 

 war of 1818 and 1819, with a superb vase of the 

 value of 1500. During this visit to Britain, he 

 received a proud testimony of the favour of the East 

 India Company, and acknowledgment of the utility 

 of his public career, in a grant, passed unanimously 

 by a general court of proprietors, of a thousand 

 pounds per annum, in consideration of his distin- 

 guished merits and services. 



Su- John had quitted India with the determination 

 to spend the evening of his life in his native country ; 

 but the solicitations of the court of directors, and of 

 his majesty's ministers for Indian affairs, induced him 

 again to embark in the service of his country, where 

 experience had so fully qualified him to act with 

 advantage. In July, 1827, he was appointed to the 

 high and responsible situation of governor of Bombay, 

 which post he continued to fill until 1831, when he 

 finally returned to Britain, having effected, during 

 the few years of his governorship, incalculable bene- 

 fits both for this country, our Indian territories, and 

 every class of the inhabitants there. Shortly after 

 his arrival in England in 1831, he was returned to 

 parliament for the burgh of Launceston. He fre- 

 quently addressed the house at length ; and his 

 speeches were characterized by an intimate know- 

 ledge of the history and constitution of his country, 

 by a happy arrangement, and much elegance of 

 expression. His last public address was at a meet- 

 ing in the Thatched House Tavern, for the purpose 

 of forming a subscription to buy up the mansion of 

 Sir Walter Scott for his family; and on that occasion, 

 his concluding sentiment was "that when he was 

 gone, his son might be proud to say, that his father 

 had been among the contributors to that shrine of 

 genius." On the day following he was struck with 

 paralysis, the disorder which had just carried off the 

 illustrious person on whose account this address had 

 been made. His death took place in Prince's Street, 

 Hanover Square, London, on the 31st of May, 1833. 

 As an author, his principal works are A Sketch of 

 the Sikhs, a singular nation in the province of the 

 Penjamb, in India; The History of Persia, from thp 



