48 BRITISH BORNEO. 
Labuan® at one time boasted a Colonial Chaplain and gave its 
name to the Bishop’s See; but in 1872 or 1873, the Clunen 
was ‘disestablished’? and the few European Officials who 
formed the congregation were unable to support a Clergyman. 
There exists a pretty little wooden Church, and the same in- 
defatigable officer, whom I have described as filling most of. 
the Government appointments in the Colony, now acts as un- 
paid Chaplain, having been licensed thereto by the Bishop of 
Singapore and Sarawak, and reads the service and even 
preaches a sermon every Sunday to a congregation which 
rarely numbers half a dozen. 
CHAPTER VII. 
The mode of acquisition of British North Borneo has 
been referred to in former pages; it was by cession for 
annual money payments to the Sultans of Brunai and of 
Sulu, who had conflicting claims to be the paramount power 
in the northern portion of Borneo. The actual fact was that 
neither of them exercised any real government or authority 
over by far the greater portion, the inhabitants of the coast on 
the various rivers following any Brunai, Illanun, Bajau, or 
Sulu Chief who had sufficient force of character to bring him- 
self to the front. The pagan tribes of the interior owned alle- 
giance to neither Sultan, and were left to govern themselves, 
the Muhammadan coast people considering them fair game for 
plunder and oppression whenever opportunity occurred, and 
using all their endeavours to prevent Chinese and other 
foreign traders from reaching them, acting themselves as mid- 
dlemen, buying (bartering) at very cheap rates from the abori- 
gines and selling for the best price they could obtain to the 
foreigner. 
I believe I am right in saying that the idea of forming a Com- 
pany, something after the manner of the East India Company, 
to take over and govern North Borneo, originated in the fol- 
* The administration of this little Crown Colony has since been entrusted to 
the British North Borneo Company, their present Governor, Mr. C. V. CREAGH, 
having been gazetted Governor of Labuan. 
