Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
from slavery; his house was no longer burnt over his head; his crops and his fruits were now
his own, to sell or consume as he pleased. And the unknown stranger who had done all this
for them, and asked for nothing in return, what could he be? How was it possible for them to
realize his motives? Was it not natural that they should refuse to believe he was a man? for
of pure benevolence combined with great power, they had had no experience among men.
They naturally concluded that he was a superior being, come down upon earth to confer
blessings on the afflicted. In many villages where he had not been seen, I was asked strange
questions about him. Was he not as old as the mountains? Could he not bring the dead to
life? And they firmly believe that he can give them good harvests, and make their fruit-trees
bear an abundant crop.
In forming a proper estimate of Sir James Brooke's government, it must ever be re-
membered that he held Saráwak solely by the goodwill of the native inhabitants. He had to
deal with two races, one of whom, the Mahometan Malays, looked upon the other race, the
Dyaks, as savages and slaves, only fit to be robbed and plundered. He has effectually protec-
ted the Dyaks, and has invariably treated them as, in his sight, equal to the Malays; and yet
he has secured the affection and goodwill of both. Notwithstanding the religious prejudices
of Mahometans, he has induced them to modify many of their worst laws and customs, and
to assimilate their criminal code to that of the civilized world. That his government still con-
tinues, after twenty-seven years—notwithstanding his frequent absences from ill-health, not-
withstanding conspiracies of Malay chiefs, and insurrections of Chinese gold-diggers, all of
which have been overcome by the support of the native population, and notwithstanding fin-
ancial, political, and domestic troubles—is due, I believe, solely to the many admirable
qualities which Sir James Brooke possessed, and especially to his having convinced the nat-
ive population, by every action of his life, that he ruled them, not for his own advantage, but
for their good.
Since these lines were written, his noble spirit has passed away. But though, by those who
knew him not, he may be sneered at as an enthusiast adventurer, or abused as a hard-hearted
despot, the universal testimony of every one who came in contact with him in his adopted
country, whether European, Malay, or Dyak, will be, that Rajah Brooke was a great, a wise,
and a good ruler—a true and faithful friend—a man to be admired for his talents, respected
for his honesty and courage, and loved for his genuine hospitality, his kindness of disposi-
tion, and his tenderness of heart.
