610 AN ACCOUNT OF THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF 
his fears being worked upon, perhaps by the interested people about 
him, and the threats of the Siamese court, he threw himself back to 
the protection and rule of the latter. He had indeed voluntarily ac¬ 
cepted liis government from Siam originally. In this year the Achi- 
nese profered their alliance and friendship to the British and offerred 
to discard the French. The British therefore had they not fixed on 
Penang would have had no difficulty in obtaining a settlement on 
either coast of the Straits. During this year also, the Malays drove 
the Dutch from Rhio in Sumatra, only thirteen persons escaping 
to Malacca. This event broke the spell which their conquests in 
the Archipelago had cast around them. The name of Fort 
Cornwallis was in this year (1787) bestowed on the Pinang fort. 
The government offered to pay 42 dollars to the Malays of Pinang 
for every orlong of land which they should clear and render fit for 
cultivation (about three times what it is in these latter days) and 
that those who would not cultivate one orlong of land each (1J acre) 
should pay a duty. 
6th February 1788.—Soon after this time the Siamese called 
upon the Rajah of Keddah to afford a contingent of troops, and 
supplies according to ancient usage, to assist them in attacking the 
Burmese in Pegu. The Rajah prepared a force of 5,000 men and 
150 armed boats, and then modestly asked the English chief at 
Pinang, Captain Light, to give him 2,000 muskets and 500 blun¬ 
derbusses, a request which, on the noninterference policy, was not 
complied with. 
The Malayan states at this period were all more or less banded 
to expel the Dutch from the eastern islands and they all courted the 
English alliance. But unfortunately British statesmen at the helm 
in England had not yet learned to appreciate the evils which would 
be felt by trade generally, should all or a majority of the Malay 
states be permitted to fall under the rule of any individual European 
nation, or of such at least as did not profess freedom or reciprocity of 
trade. The then Rajah of Keddah turned round from his friends 
the Siamese and proposed to Captain Light that the British should 
attack the Siamese province of Ligor while that people were on a 
distant expedition, which treacherous proposal was of course scouted 
and reprobated. Nearly at the same moment the Emperor addres¬ 
sed a very flowery and adulatory letter to the English chief. 
Deer. 1789.—Captain Light in his reply to queries proposed to 
him by the Supreme Government, sagaciously remarked that 
should the cultivation of sugar become too expensive in the West 
Indies the Malay coast would yield sugar equal in quality, 
quantity and cheapness with that of Batavia, while the means for 
effecting this would be attended with little difficulty. He rated 
the general imports about this period (14th Jany. 1790,) at 600,000 
dollars per annum. The Rajah of Keddah insisted that Captain 
Light had several years before and previous to the cession promised 
to assist him if distressed in his expected troubles with both the 
