1835.] in the interior of the Malayan Peninsula. 247 



In 1830, in consequence of his countenancing the licentious pro- 

 ceedings of his follower, Raja KREjAN.and the intrigues of his wife; 

 and above all from the ambitious machinations of Raja Ali, he was 

 compelled to quit Sriininanti, but shortly afterwards, having gained 

 over to his cause three out of the four elective Panghulus, viz. those 

 of Johole, Sriminanti, and Sungie-ujong, as also the chief of Jom- 

 pole, besieged Raja Ali, in his mud fort of Bander in Rambowe. 



Raja Ali held out resolutely against the formidable confederacy; 

 till at length, through the pacific mediation of the Panghulu of Nan- 

 ing, after having lost one of their principal leaders, who was killed by 

 a cannon shot from one of the old iron guns on the fort, they with- 

 drew their vassals, and retired to their respective states. 



Raja Ali, his son-in law, Syrd Saban, and Raja Radin, of Sri- 

 minanti, shortly after this seized on an opportunity afforded them by 

 the absence of the Eang depertdan Besdr at Sungie-ujong, of sur- 

 prising Sriminanti, and repossessing themselves of the guns which 

 Raja Labu had formerly taken from Radin, under the pretext of 

 their forming part of his regalia (Kalesdran.) 



When tidings of this reached Raja Labu, he marched, supported 

 by the Panghulu of Sungie-ujong, Klana Kawal, against Rambowe ; 

 but in consequence, it is said, of some horrid cruelties perpetrated 

 upon a female by some of their followers, they were deserted nearly to 

 a man. 



Raja Labu did not advance further than Naning : whence, after 

 a short stay, he went down to Malacca, and finally, in 1832, recrossed 

 the Straits to Sumatra. His adherent, Raja Krejan, fled to Pahang, 

 and thence to Muar, and finally, to Johole, where he is now engaged 

 in fruitless intrigues. 



He assisted the ex-Panghdlu of Naning during his rebellion against 

 Government. 



Such is the origin and decline of the Menangkabowe dynasty in the 

 interior of the peninsula. 



Raja Ali was elected as the Eang depertdan Besdr over the four 

 6tates, and his son-in-law, Shkrif Sybd Saaban, as Eang depertdan 

 Muda of Rambowe at Bander, on the 13th September, 1832. 



The question of succession still remains unsettled : among the elec- 

 tive Panghdlus, great discordance of opinion prevails, arming principally 

 from the premature and impolitic revival of old but contested rights 

 appertaining to their titles by Raja Ali and Syed Saaban. This has 

 led to rebellion, and the strangulation of the tin trade in Sungie- 

 ujong ; and to bloodshed and disturbances on the banks of the Lingie 

 river, unadjusted at the present moment. 



