164 EAMBLES OF A NATUEALIST. [Ch, XI. 



in the China sea, a basis of operations for the suppression of 

 piracy, a centre of development for British commerce with 

 Borneo, and a great and almost boundless source of fuel for 

 the supply of ships trading in the East. 



These great ends, which appeared to be promised by the 

 colonisation of Labuan, have not perhaps all been accom- 

 plished ; nor has the settlement flourished to that extent 

 which this enumeration of its advantages would appear to 

 have warranted. Trade has not increased with Borneo at 

 the rate which sanguine persons hoped ; and the coal re- 

 sources are perhaps scarcely of that quality which it was at 

 one time hoped they would prove to be ; while the climate 

 of the island is insalubrious, and ill-suited to Europeans. 

 The proof that the island is not attractive either to com- 

 merce or to adventurers is to be found in the fact that there 

 are no European residents, except the Government officers 

 and those directly employed in the working of the coal 

 mines, and these with one accord would be glad to leave it. 

 And if report indeed speaks truly, the advantages of the 

 colony are so little preponderant, that it is a question in the 

 minds of those in authority whether or no the colonial esta- 

 blishment should be abandoned. 



But however these questions may agitate the minds of 

 legislators, of one thing T became satisfied, viz., that, for a 

 short residence, the island of Labuan was a place of extreme 

 interest to the naturalist ; and as I had the opportunity of 

 spending some weeks here ashore I shall devote some space 

 to an account of its leading natural-history features as they 

 presented themselves under my observation. Although very 

 low and flat, as a rule, the island is by no means devoid of 

 diversity, owing to the prevalence of jungle and the proximity 

 of most points to the sea ; and indeed there are pleasant 



