I went down to Sarawak by the first opportunity, and reached it in July, to find everything proceeding as if no insurrection had occurred. Though the Malay town had been burnt to the ground, yet the inhabitants had soon recovered their energy, and had rebuilt their houses, which, though not so substantial as the former ones, still looked very neat. Some things were missed in the landscape: the handsome Government House, with its magnificent library, had disappeared; and there were other gaps to be filled up, but fortunately the Chinese had had no time to destroy the church, the mission house, or the Borneo Company’s premises.
I never saw a more perfect library than that destroyed by the Chinese, perfect in everything—the best historians and essayists, all the poets, the most celebrated voyages and travels, books of reference, and a whole library of theology and law, as well as a goodly array of the best novels. Besides losing his beloved library, the Rajah was at the same time deprived of all the records of his previous life, for he had collected his journals and papers, and these shared the fate of his books. He was, as I have said, a great reader, and had latterly devoted himself to the study of international law. He remembered the salient points of a question with great accuracy, and could explain clearly every subject he studied. He had a wonderful gift of language.
I found, as I had expected, that the loss of worldly wealth had had little effect on my old chief, who was as cheerful and contented in his little, comfortless cottage as he had ever been in Government House. His health, which before the insurrection had not been strong, had wonderfully improved through his great exertions in endeavouring to restore the country to its former prosperous state, and I never saw him more full of bodily energy and mental vigour than during the two months I spent in Sarawak in 1857. Everyone took the tone of the leader. There were no useless regrets over losses, and it was amusing to hear the congratulations of the Malay chiefs,—‘Ah, Mr St John, you were born under a fortunate star to leave Sarawak just before the evil days came upon us.’ Then they would recount the personal incidents which had occurred to themselves, and tell with great amusement the shifts to which they had been put for the want of every household necessary. There was a cheerfulness and a hope in the future which promised well for the country.
I found that the deserted gardens around the town had been in part reoccupied, for already Chinese were cultivating them. In order to avoid interrupting the narrative, I have not before noticed that during the height of the insurrection, when the rebels had only been driven from the town a few days, news came that several hundred Chinese, fugitives from the Dutch territories, had crossed the frontier near the sources of the left-hand branch of the Sarawak, and were seeking the protection of the Rajah’s Government. Though harassed by incessant work, he did not neglect their appeal, but immediately despatched trustworthy men; and they were thus safely piloted through the excited Dyaks, who thought that every man that ‘wore a tail’ should now be put to death. No incident could better illustrate the great influence possessed by the Rajah over Dyaks and Malays, or his thoughtful care for the true interests of his country, during even the most trying circumstances.
When the insurrection was completely over, the Rajah sent Sherif Moksain to Sambas with communications for the Dutch authorities. As the Sherif had been at one time in charge of the Chinese in the interior he knew them well, and he said it was distressing to see the unfortunate agriculturists, who had been made to join the rebels, lamenting their expulsion from the country. They begged for permission to return, and subsequently many did, and established themselves in their old quarters.
Thus ended the second plot against the Rajah’s life and authority, the direct outcome of the loss of prestige and strength which followed the appointment of the commission sent to try him for high crimes and misdemeanours, the favourable findings of which had never been brought home to the native mind by any act of reparation made by the British Government.
CHAPTER VII
EVENTS IN THE SAGO RIVERS—THE RAJAH PROCEEDS TO ENGLAND—CORDIAL RECEPTION—FIRST PARALYTIC STROKE—BUYS BURRATOR—TROUBLES IN SARAWAK—LOYALTY OF THE POPULATION—THE RAJAH RETURNS TO BORNEO—SETTLES MUKA AFFAIRS WITH SULTAN—INSTALLS CAPTAIN BROOKE AS HEIR APPARENT—AGAIN LEAVES FOR ENGLAND—SARAWAK RECOGNISED BY ENGLAND—LIFE AT BURRATOR—SECOND AND THIRD ATTACKS OF PARALYSIS—HIS DEATH AND WILL
The insurrection over, and all his absent officers returned from England, the Rajah had more time for the rest he required; but no sooner had a little calm been restored to him, than he was strongly moved by the news of the Mutiny in India. ‘He turned clammy with agitation when he first heard of it’; and how true is the ring of the following—‘I felt then, annoyed and disgraced though I have been, that I was an Englishman, and the ties and feelings which men have wantonly outraged are planted too deep to be torn up.’
Though it is highly probable that the many changes which had taken place in the management of the army in India had conduced to the Mutiny, by separating the officers from their men, and weakening the dependence of the soldiers on their superiors in order to concentrate everything in the hands of the War Department at Calcutta or elsewhere, yet one of its causes was the great increase in the number of married officers, who were completely out of touch with the native element, and heard nothing of what was going on among the men in the regiment.