The Circumstances attending the Murder in 

 1859, of the Botanist James Motley. 



By I. H. Burkill. 



In Britten and Boulger's useful Biographical Index of British 

 and Irish Botanists (London, 1893) the following is the entry re- 

 garding James Motley, its abbreviations expanded for clearness: — 



Motley, James, (fl. 1847-55). Murdered in Borneo by 

 Mohammedan settlers. Of Aberafon, Glamorganshire, and 

 afterwards of Labuan, Contributor] to Phyt. [ologist] ii. 

 (1847) and Journ.[al of] Bot.[any], 1847 and [of] Carmar- 

 then plants to Top. [ographical] Bot. [any], (551). Col- 

 lected in Malaya, 1852-55. [Published] " Contrib. [utions] 

 to [the] Natural] Hist.[ory] of Labuan" (with L. L. Dill- 

 wyn), 1855. Plants [collected by him are] at Kew. [Vide] 

 Linn.[ean Society's] Trans. [actions], xxiii, 157; E.foyal] 

 <S.[ociety's] C.[atalogue], iv, 495. [Commemorated in] 

 Barclaya Motleyi, Hook. f. 



The statement that he was murdered by Mohammedan settlers- 

 is derived from the Transactions of the Linnean Society, loc. cit., 

 where Sir Joseph Hooker in dedicating to him the jungle water- 

 lily, Barclaya Motleyi, states that the examination of it was almost 

 the last botanical work that he did. The implication that the 

 murder was done in 1855 arises from want of evidence as to the 

 date. But the events which led up to his death are recorded in the 

 Singapore Free Press for 1859 ; and as apparently there appears to 

 be only one file of the paper existing, it seems desirable to recall 

 them. The word " settlers " disappears from the story. 



James Motley was a Civil Engineer, who about 1852 went to 

 Labuan in connection with coal-mining there, and became later 

 the Superintendent of the coal-mining operations of a private com- 

 pany upon a concession in the territory of the Sultan of Banjer- 

 massin. This concession was along the Sungei Banyu Irang at 

 two or three days journey to the south of Banjermassin town. 

 There he was in 1859. In the very commencement of that year 

 sinister whispers of sedition brewing in Banjermassin reached the 

 Dutch Government in Batavia ; but so badly was the Government 

 served by their Eesident at the (Sultan's court that they were told in 

 answer to their immediate enquiries that it was nothing. It was 

 in fact a court-intrigue to replace the ruler by his brother, and, in 

 doing so, to overthrow Dutch authority by which the reigning 



Jour. Straits Branch R. A. Soc, No. 79. 



