250 
COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
administration is somewhat similar to that of a British 
Colony, but the Government require the native chiefs to 
maintain order and further justice, and with the example 
of Sarawak before them, have instituted a Legislative 
Council, composed of the higher European officials and the 
leading native chiefs. There is no army, but the con¬ 
stabulary, composed chiefly of Sikhs, and numbering 
about 300 men, preserve order, and act when required 
as a military force. By its Charter the Company binds 
itself to forbid the possession of slaves to any stranger, 
but is not obliged forcibly to put down slavery among 
the tribes, although it agrees “ to discourage to the best 
of its power, and, as far as may he practicable, to abolish 
by degrees, any system of domestic servitude existing 
among the tribes of the coast or the interior.” 
Although British North Borneo as a colony is still in 
its earliest infancy, its growth has, so far, been fairly 
promising. The capital, Sandakan—or, as it was at first 
named, Elopura—is situated on the northern shore of the 
bay of that name, which is without doubt the finest in the 
island. This harbour is completely landlocked, and is 
clear of dangers; it has a depth of 15 and a breadth of 
5 miles, admits the largest vessels, and has 13 rivers 
running into it. The town is built about a mile from the 
entrance, and contained in 1891 a population of 6350 
persons, of whom 3200, or more than half, were Chinese, 
and 114 British. Vessels of large draught can lie along¬ 
side the pier, and supplies of all kinds are plentiful. A 
neat Government House dominates the anchorage; there 
is a club, a hotel, jail, barracks, and hospital, besides 
numerous stores, and jinrickshaws supply the place of 
cabs. Yet, little more than a decade ago, Mr. Pryer 
found the site an uninhabited jungle, and the bay the 
resort of semi-piratical Bajaus. Kudat, which was 
