112 BRITISH BORNEO. 
for further expenditure on public works, in the shape of 
roads, for at present, in the interior, there exist only rough 
native tracks, made use of by the natives when there does not 
happen to be a river handy for the transport of themselves 
and their goods. Though well watered enough, British North 
Borneo possesses no rivers navigable for European vessels of 
any size, except perhaps the Sibuku River, the possession of 
which is at the present moment a subject of dispute with the 
the Dutch. This is due to the natural configuration of the 
country. Borneo, towards the North, becoming comparatively 
narrow and of roughly triangular shape, with the apex to the 
North. The only other river of any size and navigable for 
vessels drawing about nine feet over the bar, is the Kinaba- 
tangan, which, like the Sibuku, is on the East side, the coast 
range of mountains, of which Kinabalu forms a part, being at 
no great distance from the West coast and so preventing the 
occurrence of any large rivers on that side. From data al- 
ready to hand, it is calculated that the proceeds of Land Sales 
for 1887 and 1888 will equal the total revenue from all other 
sources, and a portion of this will doubtless be set aside for 
road making and other requisite public works. 
The question may be asked what has the Company done 
for North Borneo? 
A brief reply to this question would include the following 
points. The Company has paved the way to the ultimate 
extinction of the practice of slavery; it has dealt the final 
blow to the piracy and kidnapping which still lingered on its 
coasts; it has substituted one strong and just Government 
for numerous weak, cruel and unjust ones; it has opened 
Courts of Justice which know no distinction between races 
and creeds, between rich and poor, between master and 
slave ; it is rapidly adjusting ancient blood feuds between the 
tribes and putting a stop to the old custom of head-hunting ; 
it has broken down the barrier erected by the coast Malays 
to prevent the aborigines having access to the outer world 
and is thus enabling trade and its accompanying civilisation 
to reach the interior races; and it is attracting European and 
Chinese capital to the country and opening a market for Brit- 
ish traders. 
