Rajah Brooke

by Sir Spenser St. John

3rd. It is the place where, in all probability, a direct intercourse may be held with the Dyaks of the interior.

4th. The position relative to China is advantageous.

5th. It forms the western limit of the Archipelago, and our new settlement at Port Essington bounds it to the eastward. The climate and the soil are well spoken of: a river flows into the bay, and is reported to communicate with the lake of Keeny Balloo[15] and the mountains in the interior—one of very considerable elevation. Above all, however, the natives are reported to be docile and easily taught; the servants of the Company attached to their settlement of Balambangan were decided in opinion that this bay was far preferable in every respect to the station chosen and subsequently abandoned.

Supposing these advantages to be as above stated, yet it would scarcely authorise any active steps being taken without a more accurate knowledge than we at present possess of the particular locality and of the States in its vicinity; it is to this point that I would direct attention, remarking, however, that although Malludu Bay should on inquiry be found to be unfit for the purposes of colonisation, yet the general view of our policy remains unaffected, as it would be only necessary to obtain a suitable place.

With a settlement at each extremity of the Archipelago, we could readily protect the trade of the natives, and obtain minor posts, and free-trade ports, whence the best principles of commerce and good government might be disseminated, and our interests best promoted, by the general prosperity of the countries under our sway, or in our own vicinity. It is scarcely necessary to say more on this subject, but before closing these remarks, I cannot help adverting to the colony at Port Essington.

The former settlement, which existed in the immediate neighbourhood of Port Essington, was after a trial (of a few years) abandoned as useless, and the same difficulties which checked the progress of the first will probably impede the present colony.

It was a striking feature of this settlement, that the natives, though frequenting the coasts to the northward of New Holland,[16] seldom if ever visited or offered to trade with the settlement. This has, I know, been attributed to the natives being ignorant of the existence of the place, but this reason appears to me improbable in the highest degree, and we may with more justice surmise the cause to be our utter disinclination and local inability to protect traders from the consequences attendant on a breach of Dutch regulations. This conjecture gathers confirmation from the facts that the inhabitants of the Eastern portion of the Archipelago are not addicted to maritime adventure, being supplied by the traders of the Western Islands with such articles of European or Chinese manufacture as are suited to their tastes. The Bugis vessels that frequent the north coast of New Holland chiefly carry on the trade with the Arafura group, and it is evident that going and returning from this voyage they are at the mercy of the Dutch cruisers. Is it probable, then, that the Dutch would allow an intercourse with a British settlement which it was in their power to prevent? And whilst the Bugis are the carriers, is it not in the power of the Dutch to restrict and harass, if not totally to prevent, their communication with us? The natives of the Archipelago cannot look to the British for protection, but they can and do look for Dutch vengeance, and dread it.

These considerations are not urged against advantages to be derived from the possession of Port Essington, but rather as a warning against the over-sanguine expectations of its having a trade of any considerable extent, whilst our relations with the Archipelago continue on their present eclipsed footing. The good to result from this colony must be looked for on the continent of New Holland, where it will probably extend and make the same progressive strides to importance as the sister colonies in the same country: but with reference to the Archipelago, its government will want authority to control the evil influence sufficiently to ameliorate the present system.

Not far distant to the westward of Port Essington is the large and fertile island of Timor, a portion of which there is no doubt the Government of Portugal would cede willingly for the smallest equivalent, as it has been long virtually abandoned, and is utterly useless to the mother country. The size and situation would render the possession of the Portuguese frontier of this island a desirable acquisition, and the favourable opportunity may not, if allowed to pass over, again recur.

The same, indeed, may be said of Leuconia, which, offering no real benefit to Spain, would, in the hands of the English, be a lever to rule both China and the Archipelago. Rich, fertile, and blessed with a fine climate, within a few days’ sail of Canton, and commanding the China sea, it would be an unrivalled jewel in the colonial tiara of England. When our relations with China come to be settled, and settled they must shortly be, the importance of Manila can scarcely be overrated.