Mr Wise was soon in communication with the press, but the majority saw through the discarded agent, and would have nothing to do with his pretended disclosures. He succeeded, however, in gaining the ear of Joseph Hume, who promised to bring the case before Parliament, and managed to win over to his side Mr Cobden, and, to a lesser degree, Mr Bright. I must here observe that because Mr Cobden advocated Free Trade with great ability and success, his followers appear to consider that words must not be applied to him which he was ready enough to apply to others. Many pretended to be shocked that Sir James Brooke answered these attacks with his characteristic energy; and I remember meeting one of the foremost statesmen of the present day at a dinner on my return from Borneo in 1860, who, in reply to a question of mine, said that the language which Sir James Brooke had employed when speaking of ministers had prevented them from restoring him to his position in the public service or showing their appreciation of the great good he had done. It took my breath away. After they had heaped on him every humiliation which was possible, he was to sit quiet and bear it. It was not, however, in his nature to sit quiet when calumny after calumny was propagated by his enemies. I will allow that his language was strong and occasionally injudicious, but we must remember the provocation, and that his heart was set on the safety of Sarawak. I must add that not one of those around him ever attempted to increase his indignation; on the contrary, we urged him to treat these attacks with contempt.
After having spent one hundred and sixty days in ships and boats during the first eight months of 1849, we were, indeed, glad of a little rest. The squadron now dispersed, Her Majesty’s ships sailed for Singapore; Captain Brooke, suffering from fever, went to China for a change; and Grant and I remained with the Rajah. Though quiet, we were busy, as deputation after deputation arrived from the pirate rivers to express their firm determination to give up piracy, and messengers came from the distant inland tribes to interview the Rajah, ‘for the Dyaks had heard, the whole world had heard, that the Son of Europe was the friend of the Dyak.’
We also visited several of the interior tribes, and the manifold proofs that the Rajah witnessed of the great advance made by those poor and humble subjects of his raj must have been pleasing to him.
It was during these quiet months that we gave ourselves up to the library. The Rajah was a good reader, and it was a treat to hear him read Miss Austen’s novels, which were great favourites of his. He was also very fond of religious discussions, and I think we listened to the whole of the long controversy between Huxley and Priestley, and heard all Channing’s Essays. Whatever the Rajah touched appeared to gain an additional brightness. He was always gay and full of fun, and dearly loved an argument.
Every evening the native chiefs came in to talk to the Rajah, who supplied them with cigars, and it was from these conversations that he gained that minute knowledge of the local politics of every district, which served him so admirably when he had to deal with the chiefs along the coast. The Rajah had the rare gift of never forgetting a name or a face. One evening a poor Milanau came in, and after touching the Rajah’s hand, squatted on the floor, and remained silent, as many chiefs were present. ‘I have seen that man before,’ said Sir James; and presently he turned round and addressed the native by name, and said, ‘Bujang, what is the news from Bintulu?’ This man had piloted a steamer into that river ten years previously, and the Rajah had never seen him since.
Finding he could not shake off the fever and ague contracted during our expeditions, Sir James decided to proceed to the island of Penang, one of the Straits Settlements, where he had been offered the use of Governor Butterworth’s bungalow on a hill more than two thousand feet above the sea level. Hearing, however, that his officers in Labuan were at loggerheads, he decided first to proceed to that colony and investigate the cause of these dissensions. We left Sarawak on the 11th December, reaching our destination on the 14th; and it was time indeed that the Governor should arrive. Our few days were prolonged to over ten weeks, as an inquiry had to be instituted into the conduct of the Lieutenant-Governor. Though I do not think that anything was proved against his personal honour, it was clearly established that his violent temper and quarrelsome disposition rendered him unsuited for the position, and Sir James Brooke suspended him from his functions.
While this inquiry was going on, we proceeded to Brunei to see the Sultan, and heard, whilst we were in the capital, that the Chinese traders were most anxious to remove to our colony, but I do not believe they ever really intended to do so. They had built houses for themselves in the capital, and were doing a thriving trade on a small scale; and unless they all agreed to move at the same time, none would move. The Bornean Malay traders also talked of migrating from the capital to a spot opposite the colony. The slave question would prevent their establishing themselves within its boundaries; but it is always a difficult thing for men to abandon their homes, and in this case, as the power of the Brunei Government was broken, they no longer feared oppression. So the colony remained stagnant.
We left Labuan at the end of February, and after calling in at Sarawak, proceeded to Singapore, where a budget of news awaited us. The English Government had appointed Sir James as Special Envoy to proceed to Siam and Cochin China to form treaties with those states; at the same time we heard of the renewal of virulent attacks on the Rajah’s policy by certain journals and Members of Parliament. After a pleasant stay of a fortnight, we proceeded to Penang in the hope that we should all shake off the fever and ague contracted during our exhausting expeditions.
No man loved nature more than did the Rajah, and he enjoyed his stay on this lofty hill. He could ride, or wander among the lovely flowers and plants of the Governor’s garden, or he could gaze on the beautiful scenery which unfolded itself around us. Those six weeks were indeed delightful, and we often looked back on our quiet sojourn there and its refreshing rest. We busied ourselves also in preparing for our missions to Siam and Annam, to which I had been appointed secretary.
As the ship of war which was to have taken us to Siam was soon expected, we would not wait for the mail steamer, but left Penang in a sailing vessel, and took seventeen days to reach Singapore, a distance of only four hundred miles; in our case it was the greater haste the less speed.