| In 1870 | the revenue amounted to | And the expenditure to |
|---|---|---|
| $122,842 | $126,161 | |
| 1880 | 229,718 | 203,583 |
| 1890 | 413,113 | 362,779 |
| 1900 | 915,966 | 901,172 |
| 1907 | 1,441,195 | 1,359,274 |
On January 1st, 1908, the Government balances amounted to a little over $800,000, and the only liability was for notes in circulation, amounting to $190,796.
In 1875, fifty-six years after its foundation, the revenue of Singapore was but $967,235, and that of Penang, then established for eighty-nine years, $453,029.[[354]] In 1900, the Raj of Sarawak had been in existence for fifty-eight years. Since 1875, the effect of the development of the rich tin deposits of the Malayan States of the Peninsula has been to so enormously enhance the commercial prosperity of the Straits Settlements that the present revenues of the "sister colonies" have quite surpassed anything that Sarawak may perhaps hope to acquire in a corresponding number of years.
The trade is mainly in the hands of the Chinese merchants, mostly country born, who are successfully carrying on thriving businesses of which the foundations were laid by their fathers in the early days of the raj. These merchants are of a highly respectable class, and they take the interest of intelligent men in the welfare of the country, which they have come to regard as their own. They rarely visit China—some not at all. They are consulted by the Government in all matters in which their interests are concerned.
The only European Firm is the Borneo Company Limited, and the career of this Company has for over fifty years been so closely linked with that of the State, and so much to the advantage of the latter, that it fully merits more than a passing notice in these pages, without which this history would not be complete.
For a considerable period Mr. J. C. Templer, the late Rajah's old friend, laboured very hard to meet the ignorant and cruel criticism which had been cast on the Rajah's great work, and, in order that the development of Sarawak might have financial support, he interested friends in the city in the matter, chiefly Mr. Robert Henderson of Messrs. R. and J. Henderson.
After considerable negotiation, the Borneo Company Limited was registered in May, 1856. The attention of the Company was turned primarily to supporting the Rajah, and to developing the resources of the country. The first Directors were Messrs. Robert Henderson (Chairman), J. C. Templer, J. D. Nicol, John Smith, Francis Richardson and John Harvey (Managing Director).
Most unfortunately, immediately after the formation of the Company troubles arose which nearly overwhelmed the State. The Chinese insurrection the next year, and the later political intrigues obscured for a time the prosperity of Sarawak, and left the prospects of the Company very black indeed, but it struggled on bravely; and it cannot be doubted that its formation before the insurrection was a matter of great value in the history of the country.
The Company, as soon as they received news of the insurrection, instructed their Manager in Singapore to supply the Rajah with all the arms, ammunition, and stores he might require, and it was their steamer, named after himself, that arrived at such an opportune moment, and enabled him to drive the rebels out of Kuching, and to cut short their work of ruin far sooner than he could otherwise have done; and it was the Company which not only subsequently advanced the Rajah the means he so sorely needed to carry on the government, but headed a subscription list started in England to relieve the Government of pressing wants, with a donation of £1000. Long before this the Rajah's private fortune had been exhausted.
Some appear to have formed the opinion that the Company were subsequently inconsiderate in pressing for payment of the loan, but more consideration should have been given to the position of the Directors as being a fiduciary one to the shareholders, who had invested their money in a commercial enterprise, and at that time by no means a prosperous one.