36 BRITISH BORNEO. 
ber being struck by the contemptuous reply of Sir HUGH 
Low’s Chinese servant when he warned him to be on his 
guard, as there was an amoker at large, and alluded to Mr. 
C.’s narrow escape—it was to the effect that the Treasurer 
was foolish to interfere in other people’s concerns. This 
unwillingness to busy oneself in others’ affairs, which some- 
times has the appearance of callousness, is characteristic of 
Malays and Chinese. 
The readers of a book of travels are somewhat under a dis- 
advantage in forming their opinion of a country, in that inci- 
dents are focussed for them by those of the same nature 
being grouped together. Ido not wish it to be thought that 
murders and amos are at all common occurrences in Northern 
Borneo, indeed they are very few and far between, and cri- 
minal acts of all kinds are remarkably infrequent, that is, of 
course, if we regard head-hunting as an amusement sanction- 
ed by usage, especially as, in the parts under native govern- 
ment, there is a total absence of any kind of policewiane.: 
while every man carries arms, and houses with palm leaf walls 
and innocent of locks, bolts and bars, offer unusual tempta- 
tions to the burglariously inclined. My wife and I nearly 
always slept without a watchman and with the doors and 
windows unclosed, the servants’ offices being detached from 
the house, and we have never had any of our property stolen 
except by a.” boy. 
Brunai is governed by a Sultan styled lang-di-pertuan, 
“he who rules,’ and four principal Ministers "om@otre 
“Wazirs’’—the Pangeran Bandahara, the Pangeran diGadong, 
the Pangeran Pamancha and the Pangeran Temenggong. 
These Ministers are generally men of thé royal blood, and fly 
distinctive flags at their residences, that of the Bandahara 
being white, of the di Gadong, green, and of the Temeng- 
gong, red. The flags are remarkably simple and inexpen- 
sive, but quite distinctive, each consisting of a square bit 
of bunting or cloth of the requisite colour, with the excep- 
tion of the Temenggong’s, which is cut in the shape of 
a burgee. The Sultan’s flag is a plain piece of yellow bunting, © 
yellow being the Brunei royal colour, and no man, except the 
