180 A VISIT TO THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 



In tbe meantirac I may fitly close this chapter with 

 the words of a well-iDfonned writer in the Smcapore Free 

 Fress, ^ho ia February 1850^ six months after the 

 destruction of the Serebas fleet, bore this testimony to 

 the chanfjc Avhich it had already caused in the commercial 

 sphere ^vithin its influence 



"A few, a very few years ago, no Europeau merchant- 

 vessels ventured on the north-west coast of Borneo ; now 

 they are numerous and safe. Formerly, shipwrecked 

 crews were attacked, robbed, and enslaved ; now they are 

 protected, fed, and forwarded to a place of safety. The 

 native tmde now passes with careless indifference over the 

 very same track, between Jfalludu and Sincapore, where 

 but a little while ago it was liable to the peril of captiu-e ; 

 the crews of hun Jre<ls of prahus are no longer exposed to 

 the Joss of hfe or fclie loss of liberty ; and a degree of 

 security now reigns, so remarkably contrasted with tlie 

 insecurity of past time, that we may well be tempted 

 onward in a career recommended by policy and tested by 

 experience. The recent successful proceedings on the 

 coast of Borneo liave been followed by the submission of 

 the pirate hordes of Serebas and Sakarraii- The previous 

 relaxation of tbe system had led to renewed outbreaks of 

 piracy, to fresh depredations at sea, and to the loss of 

 many guiltless lives. 



" Wbat further evidence is needed on this subject ? " 

 the writer of the article proceeds to ask, Or, is it 

 resolvei in spite of all, to sacrifice the innocent to the 



