HISTORY OF BORNEO 21 



succeeded him in the same spirit, followed the poHcy of 

 making use of the natives themselves in governing, and 

 Sarawak to-day enjoys the distinction of being a country 

 where the interests of the natives are guarded with greater 

 care than those of " the minority of superior race." Rest- 

 ing on the good-will of the natives and their uplift, the 

 government of the two white Rajas has been remarkably 

 successful. 



The Dutch, with their much larger possessions, in a 

 similar way have invoked the co-operation of the native 

 chiefs. - Their government is also largely paternal, which 

 is the form best suited to the circumstances. The 

 Malay Sultans maintain power under Dutch control 

 and receive their income from the government, which has 

 abolished many abuses. As for the pagan tribes, they are 

 treated with admirable justice. 



Well administered by Europeans as Borneo undoubt- 

 edly is,' the question may well arise as to whether the 

 natives are not becoming sufficiently civilised to render 

 purposeless expeditions to study them. To this may be 

 answered that in a country so vast, where white men are 

 comparatively few in number, the aborigines in the more 

 remote part are still very little affected by outside influ- 

 ence. The geographical features are an important factor 

 here. In the immense extent of forest vegetation which 

 covers the land from the sea to the tops of the mountains, 

 the rivers are the only highways, and in their upper 

 courses, on account of rapids and waterfalls, travel is 

 difficult and often dangerous. Although in the last 

 quarter of a century much has been accomplished by 

 ethnology, still for years to come Borneo, especially the 



