116 BRITISH NORTH BORNEO. [chap. v. 



this part of Borneo, rich in natural prockicts and furnished with 

 magnificent harbours, should come under British rule none — except 

 such as are of the " perish India " school — will deny. But whether 

 such a 'territory is best administered by a private Company is 

 altogether another question. Were England to take it over she 

 would have a most excellent bargain, and I do not imagine the 

 shareholders would contemplate the possibility of such a proceeding 

 with any great alarm. The country, as I have already said, 

 abounds in birds' nests, gutta, camphor, rattans, pearl-shells, coal, 

 and a hundred other articles of export that a bountiful Nature 

 has provided ready to hand. Worked under the wise Dutch 

 system with native agriculturists, the land would doubtless also 

 produce sugar, coffee, and other tropical vegetable products with 

 advantage. But that it will ever prove a suitable field for white 

 planters is very improbable. Close at hand, Sarawak offers easy 

 communication with Singapore ; it is three days nearer England, 

 and its climate is at least as good as that of North Borneo. In 

 point of civilisation, it is nearly forty years in advance of the latter 

 territory. It offers nearly double the extent of land to choose 

 from, with a soil that is quite as good, and, in the opinion of some 

 judges, better. Land, labour, and living are alike cheaper. The 

 Kajali of Sarawak is willing to make free grants of land under 

 certain conditions, and, if a planter has definitely resolved on 

 choosing this part of the world as a field for his labours, it is 

 difficult to see what possible reason he could have for preferring 

 British North Borneo to Sarawak. 



