THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS &C. 29 



of Penang could say with truth in his address before the Eoyal 

 Asiatic Society "a long night has since settled down upon the 

 "Straits lasting some 20 years." The Straits Branch of the Eoyal 

 Asiatic Society has since done a great deal to spread knowledge in 

 this direction. A change in the right direction was due to the 

 initiative of Sir A>'drew Clarke, who still could speak of "our 

 "absolute ignorance of geographical and physical features of those 

 ''countries." 



Meanwhile it is very apparent that the English themselves 

 troubled very little, after the time of Eaffles, about "humanity 

 and civilisation," about which he was so hard upon us, and that 

 with them, too, "trade and commerce" were the only "objects in 

 view." 



"When we look at the map of the Malay Peninsula, we see 

 between Province "Wellesley (opposite Penang) and Malacca, Pe- 

 rak first, with a coast line of 80, then Selangor with a coast line of 

 120 English miles, and the little State of Sungei L^jong with Jele- 

 bu. Further inland, bordering Malacca, are the so-called Negri 

 Sembilan, now consisting of six States. Between Malacca and 

 Singapore lies Johor, with a coast line of 120 miles (English), and 

 further up the East coast is Pahang. Under Siam, to the North 

 of the Province is Kedah, with several other small States : and 

 North of Pahang are Kelantan, Tringganu and Patani. Different 

 agreements with England have given Tringganu, Kelantan and 

 Kedah certain rights to British protection. 



The state of insecurity mentioned before resulted in several 

 punitive expeditions by men-of-war, but this led to no permanent 

 improvement. In 1871, on account of piracies and other acts of 

 violence, the expedition from Langat took place, and in 1872 and 

 1873, those at other places on the Jugra Eiver in Selangor. In 

 five large districts, of which it then consisted, great discord, civil 

 war, and anarchy reigned. All of these districts considered them= 

 selves independent. The liasil was here, in general, the origin of 

 disputes. The same condition of things prevailed in Sungei UjoEg 

 which was also mixed up in these quarrels, and was, in addition 

 continually at war with Eembau. Both of these States border up- 

 on the territory of Malacca. Linggi was also in a state of inse- 

 curity; also the more inland States, particularly Jelebu, Sri Me- 

 nanti and Muar, were constantly in a state of arms against one 

 another. All of these received criminal refugees and vagabonds 

 from the Straits, and only gave them up on payment of ransom 



