BRITISH BORNEO. 35 
most uncrupulous agents he could discover, imposed out- 
rageous fines for trifling offences, and would even interfere 
if he heard of any private disputes among the villagers, 
adjudicate unasked in their cases, taking care always to inflict 
a heavy fine which went, not to the party aggrieved, but into 
his own pocket. If the fines could not be paid, and this was 
often the case, owing to their being purposely fixed at such a 
high rate, the delinquent’s sago plantations—the principal 
wealth of the people in the Limbang River-—would be con- 
fiscated and became the private property of the Minister, or 
of some of the members of his household. The patience of 
the people was at length exhausted, and they remembered 
that the Brunai nobles could no longer call in the Kayans to 
enforce their exactions, that tribe having become subjects 
to Raja BROOKE. About the month of August, 1884, two 
of the Ministers messengers, or tax collectors, who 
were engaged in the usual process of squeezing the people, 
were fired on and killed by the Bisayas, the principal 
pagan tribe in the river. The Tumonggong determin- 
ed to punish this outrage in person and probably thought his 
august presence on the spot in a steam-launch, would quickly 
bring the natives to their knees and afford him a grand 
opportunity of replenishing his treasury. 
He accordingly ascended the river with a considerable force 
in September, and great must have been his surprise when he 
found that his messenger, sent in advance to call the people 
to meet him, was fired on and killed. He could scarcely 
have believed the evidence of his own ears, however, when 
shortly afterwards his royal launch and little fleet were fired 
on from the river banks. For two days was this firing kept 
up, the Brunais having great difficulty in returning it, owing 
sto the river being low and the banks steep and lined with 
large trees, behind which the natives took shelter, and, a 
few casualties having occurred on board and one of the 
Royal guns having burst, which was known as the Amiral 
Muminin, the Tumonggong deemed it expedient to retire 
and returned ignominiously to Brunai. The rebels, embolden- 
ed by the impunity they had so far enjoyed, were soon found 
to be hovering round the outskirts of the capital, and every 
