e 
BRITISH BORNEO. 33 
Father, did not think it worth their while to join the Church 
themselves. 
Neither Mission has attempted to convert the Muhammadan 
tribes, and indeed it would, at present, be perfectly useless to 
do so and, from the Government point of view, impolitic and 
inadvisable as well. 
CHAPTER V. 
J will now take a glance at the incident of the rebel- 
lion of the inhabitants of the Limbang, the important 
river near Brunai to which allusion has already been made, 
as from this one sample he will be able to judge of the 
ordinary state of affairs in districts near the Capital, since 
the establishment of Labuan as a Crown Colony and the con- 
clusion of the treaty and the appointment of a British Consul- 
General in Brunai, and will also be able to attempt to imagine 
the oppression prevalent before those events took place. 
The river, being a fertile and well populated one and near 
Brunai, had been from old times the common purse of the 
numerous nobles who, either by inheritance, or in virtue of 
their official positions, as I have explained, owned as their 
followers the inhabitants of the various villages situated on 
its banks, and many were the devices employed to extort the 
uttermost farthing from the unfortunate people, who were 
quite incapable of offering any resistance because the war- 
like Kyan tribe was ever ready at hand to sweep down upon 
them at the behest of their Brunai oppressors. The system 
of dagang sera (forced trade) | have already explained. 
Some of the other devices I will now enumerate. Chukez 
basoh batis, or the tax of washing feet, a contribution, varying 
in amount at the sweet will of the imposer, levied when the 
lord of the village, or his chief agent, did it the honour ofa 
visit. Chuket bongkar-sauh, or tax on weighing anchor, 
similarly levied when the lord took his departure and perhaps 
therefore, paid with more willingness. Chukezt tolongan, or 
tax of assistance, levied when the lord had need of funds for 
some special purpose or on a special occasion such as a wed- 
ding—and these are numerous amongst polygamists—a birth, 
