T h e Naning War, 1831-32.

S l ~ a r t fro111 the pereii~lial la~lcl problen~, the Sani11.g Wai: was the only event of iinportance i n the history of ;\lulac.cil, clnriilg the period 18.24 to 1SG7. The episocle was an egregiocs blunder. Hasty actioii basecl 011 insufficient and incorrect iilfornlatioli lei1 to two i1iilitsl.y esl)eclitioiis whose el1)loits borclerecl on Ihe farcical. The result mas that after nine months' cal~l>ajgn t~re lve hun.c!red I'nclian troops overca~lie a l e v hunderecl badly-armed nilalars, a i d oBtained for the Company ,an a i l ~ ~ ~ i a l revenue of perhaps $11001 a t ;I cost of ;E10~0,00~0. IYhile th'c, ilislogal intrigues of Du tc l~ nierchants a t J5alacca were partly responsible for the war, a n .tllmost eqnnl sliare of the blanie must be borne by Fullerton, the Governor of the Straitc Settleaients, aucl Lewis, the Buperintenclent .of Lailcls a t 3Ialacca.

K a l ~ i n g was a sn~n l l iillallcl state of about 200 square a~iles, bet~veen lie~libau nncl Xalacca Territory, and only about teu niiles fro111 the ton.11 of Malt~cca. By the census of IS29 the populatio~l u7as estiil1atecl a t 4SS5 Yalays, of rnho~ll some 12-00, weie me11 able to bear arms. (I) Cranlfur~l described it as " a poor unprofitslble ~)crssession, for the n iod part covered with jungle." (' j It proclu~ecl rice, t i n aild such typicn! Straits proclucts as rattans, p:uiibier and .fruit. The annual revenue was about $3,090.(')

This little state nras one of the 3rd to be fomldecl by the .?reat illfins of Iilalnys from Meiiangkabau i n Sumatra iu the sisteeiitli -ancl se~en teen th centuries, ancl was one of the ear;iest .members of the loose collfederacy ~vhich later becanle knomi! as

i the Xegri Sein1)ilan. Like i t s neighbours, it acltno~vl~edgecl the snzeraiilty of the Sultan of J o l ~ o r e . ( ~ ) During the eighteenth century ;\;a.iiing becaille vir tnaJ.1~ indel)e~iden.t of J'ohore, liht the other principalities i n Negri Sembilan; and j.11 1.75.7 the 'Snltmi of Johore ceiled his n o a ~ i ~ m l rights of suzerainty t o the

Over n century earlier however Naniilg Ilad becoille to some extent n L)utch depenclency. E-Io~v con~plete the subjection was is still ui1certaii1, owing to the ravages of time ~ ~ t d mhite ants j11 the 1.Iutch records at Blalacca. The eviclence vhich is available ho~vever seeills to prove that i t was more n o ~ ~ i i n a l than real. In

(1) S. S. R., Vol. I69 : 9ug. 8, 1829. ( 2 ) Crawfurd, Desel.iptix-e Dietio~iary, " 290. ( 3 ) .Moor "Notices of the India ~lrchipeligo," article by Lieutellal~t

~ & s l , o l d , 246.54. ( 4 ) U"il~kil~so~~, "Malay Pnpel.S: Motes on Segri Sembilan," 12.

. - . (5) .J. R. A. S. S.. B., LXVI, 7.5. Miiller.

1'92.31 Royn.1 8-aiic Society.

l iG iS a Dutch force in\-adec! S a i l i n g a11d oibtai,iled a treat!- I)!- n.1iic.I~ the M a l a p bound themselres t o paj; a yearly t r ibu te of one tent11 of their procluce. T h e chiefs n-ere to collie annual ly to bralt~cca to do hoillage, a n d were t o accept Dutch advice i n carrving on t h e government. Despite this treat). hovel-er, t h e D u t c h of Malficca seem t o have l i ~ e c l i n n o small dreacl of t h e " trai torous anrl - nierciless M~enilngknl~on.s."(~) I11 t h e eighteenth century the chief tainsl~ips bece111e l i e r c d i t ~ r y i n t h e falllily of Abclul Said, t h e ruler ageillst whom the n-ar of 1831-32 urns fought ; b u t enc.11 c11ie.f before h i s accessioll ~ v a s coilfiriilecl 1,. the Dntcll. (')

I11 spite of the Dutcli r igh ts their s u z e r n i n t ~ n-as al)pnreutl~- l ~ l u c h illore l lo~l l inai ill l~ rac t ice t h a n i n theory. 'i'!ie J la iays

( bitterly resented the l i~cess i ty 0.f jjaying a tent11 of their c o p s as tributr, alid the D u t c h found themselves unable t o c ~ l l c c i by peaceful nieans i1iol.e t h a n n small fractioll of tile ful l a1110~111t. They d id riot a t t empt t o enforce their legal r igh ts by conclue~ing Kaning , llectluse they saw t h a t no revenue n-hich conlil 1,ossibly b.e obtaineil fro111 such a small a n d poor s ta te ~1-0u1d repa)- the cost of a war. About l7G5 t h e 1)ntch comm~lte;l. t h e tenth i o n 1-lonllnai yearly trillute, of 4Oil) galltangs or q11al.t illeaslires of 11a6~1~-, a110~t: one thonsanclth of t h e total crolts. ($) Brarlilell, ,z St ra i t s official who lnacle a careful s tudy of tlie Dutch records a t B'lnlacca, belie.\-ecl t h a t they rarely interfered mith t h e internal gorerilnleilt of ?Caning, nrhich ~ v a s erclusirelg nlanageil, eve11 t o nlatters of life and cletitl~,. by i t s Malay cl~iefs. 111 suj.>]~ort of his contention Braclclell p o i ~ ~ t e c l ou t t h e significant fac t t h a t 11~11ile t h e n h o l e of JIalac-a Ter r i to ry was grnntecl o u t t o the Proprietors, none of Nazlillg Tras tllus. treated. ( 3 ) Tl'ilki11~011 agrees wit11 Braddell's opillioll of the Dotch positioll i n Knnil!p.('O) I11 sliort, n ~ h i l e t h e Dntcll descr.,beil Nailiilg a s p a r t of X ~ l a c c n Territory, i n practice they seen1 t o Iiaue colltellted themsehes n ~ i t h n nominal suzerainty. .4i the st:me t ime the legal r ights g i ~ e n t o t h e Dutch bj- the treaty of 164:3 t o co~l t ro l the acl~llinistration allil receive t h e f u l l t eu th continned to, esist on p a p e r T h e lnistake macle by Gorernor F u l l e ~ t o l l anti, his. (-"o~uncil was t h a t they failed t o realize t h a t these r ights had beconle.

\ obsolete froill l o ~ i g disuse, so tha t tlie Malays liad forgotten t h a t they h a d ever existed.

D u r i n g the l r s t E r i t i s l ~ occul~at ion of Nalacca, fro111 179.3 t~ 1818, K8aniug was r e g ~ r i l e i l as p a r t of the conquered t e l ~ i t o r g but litt le a t tent ion v a s pa id t o i t excelrt t l lat i n 1S:Ol a t reaty was. lllacle wi th Abdul Sairl, the nen- Penghuln or chief of x ,aning, by Colonel Taylor, t h e Bri t ish Xesident a t Malacca. B y this eugnge-

(6) Begbie, "Malay Peninsula," 51-39. Ke\rbold, ' 'Str:~itj. o f Malncca, " I, 198-222.

(7) Ibid., I, 235-36. Begbie, "Millay Peninsula," 60-G2. (8 ) S. S. a n d P.. Vol. 363. xol-. 2 5 . 1831. No. 69-70. J .R . '4. S. 8. B.,. - ,

SIII~ $8. W. E. askel el^. (9) J. I. A,, 53. I, 198-200. T. B~adde l l . (10) n ' i l k i ~ ~ s o l ~ , ">inlay Papers: Kotes 011 Kegri Sembilan," 26-2i.

J~.ur.nal ilIcilnyccrr B,t.nncl~ [Vol. I, P a r t 11,.

illeilt K A I I ~ I I ~ prolllise(1 that i t wo~ilcl be faithful ancl obeilient, mould conilnit 110 act of hostility against the C'o111pany, ancl n-oulrl trade only with i\<alncca. Article I:[I clistinctl!- affirmecl the light, of the British to receive n tenth of all procluce, ~ l t l l~ l l lgh on account of the poverty of the people i t was co~llillntecl to a yearly payn~ent of 400 gantangs of paddy, (the same tribute 11-11ich the Dutch had receivecl). This n-as to be paid tls a token of ~ubmlssion ~1.11en the Penghulu or one of his chiefs cailie to Jlalficca to yaj- his allllual holllage.(ll) It n-as d s o declared that ~v!ie~iever the post. of I'enghulu becanle ~ a c a n t , the British coulcl either confirnl the 39alay candidate or apl~oiiit sonle other person i n s t e ~ ~ d . This trvnty was k t e r regarclecl Isy C;ol-ernor Fullerton i s a clear proof t l i i~ t

i Xaning was an integral part of j\alacca; but 3r~cll lel l took an o~pbs i t e vie~v. H e contenclecl that i t shon-ecl tha t "Nauing u-as treated rather as a protected state than as par t 0.C Maiacca, as the European governments jn these countries do not nlal;e treaties \\-it11 their own subjects."(12) The J?enghulu " continued to csercise esclusil-e jurisdictioll in Saning, ere11 to the po-o.er of life ~ i l t i

cleat11 RS l~efore, till :1S,0'7." -rllen Farqnhar: the British Rs iden t a t i\falacce, depri~ecl hill1 of the pon-er of passing the cleat11 sentcllce. Apart froill this no clla~ige TI-as ~iiacle. (I") , There a1:pears to br n o evidence to sho~v that the Pellghulu or his chiefs callle to dl'niacca during this period to pay their yeilrly homage.

Matters relllaiilerl i n this coliditioil until lS27, n-hen G o ~ e ~ . n o r Fullert.011 begal his investigiltions into the land clnestions of Malacca Territory. Ir is attention was iintnrnlly nttracted t o Naning, nncl since little n-as knon-11 about i t he ordered Len-is, the Su~er in tendent of Lands a t Malacca, to lllake inclni?~es iu to i ts status, ancl the for111 of land-tenure prevtlililig there. (I4) Len-is was the 11-ell-intentione evil genius of the Sail ing Y a r . A n esa~lliilatioil of the Straits records froill 18-28 to 1831 shon-s that he was one o-F the ~varnlest advocates of the full exercise of every British legal r ight in Xaning. ITe x i s also stirred to inclignatio~~ by the tyrauily which tlie Penghuln practised upon his s u b j ~ e t s ~ a ~ l d urgecl British intervention to protect them. I-Ie completely misjudged tlie llalays' attitude for he believed that there ~ o n l r l be no resistance, and that they ~vonld n-elcome lil~eration froill their tyrant. As a matter of fact, this n-as the very last thing they wanted, ancl they fought harcl to prevent it. Lewis iudortunatel!- had n e a t inflnence with the Governor. and his advice overbora the opinFoiis of the ~ l ~ e ~ u b e r s of the ~ e n i ~ l ; ~ Council, who opposecl the rigorous ellforcelnellt of tlie C'onlpnny's legal riphta. (I5) The -

(11) Aitehison, "Treaties," I, 395-96. (12) J. I. A., New Series: I, 199: Braddell. (13) Ibiil.. 199. (14) S. s.R.., Vol. 1 7 5 July 5, 1327. Fullertou's Minute. S.S.R.,

Vol. 116: Feb. 28, March 7 n~ii l Mal.ch 13. 1827. (15) For ~ e \ \ . i s ' character aiid i~lfluellce r. especinlly his despatches

in S. S. R., 169; passim, niid B. Pol., Rnl~ge 126. 1-01. 4: Oct. 23, 1329, NO. 2-5.

19251 Roynl Asiatic Society.

1)ersonality of C40~~cl.110:. F u l i e r t o ~ l r-eellls also t o h t ~ v e 1na.zl1 i i j f l ~ ~ i i c ~ i n shaping tile course of the llegotiation w i t h Nailing. F~l l l e r ton n-as a illail of 1-igor011~ 'and i l e t e r n l i ~ e d character, who l~re ie r red a n aggressive t o i~ pnssive 1)olic)- %-Ileaever ~)ossible. H e was also soillethiilg of a legalist: once he hai l ascertainecl t h a t t h e D11t~h had 1)ossessed certilin theoreticnl rights, he rcgarclecl it a s srdficieilt renson f o r the ~C'oi i~l~any t o exercise t l i e l?~ ; ancl lie ~vaset l asiclt: RS irrelevant the fact t h a t they had ]lot been enforced o r a11 indefinite l~er iod . Another I:i~ttor whic11 colitributed largely to the Council's lilistaliell ~ ~ o l i c y Kils insufficient iufolnlation. I~zxris began h i s investigations i l~t ,o the s tatus of Xtlning i n 1827, but his filial report m-as no t snl)mittecl un t i l March 11, l~?Ir?!). ("') ;3'lean\rIlile t h e C'ouiicil liad t o decide Ion i t s policy 1y means of thc yartiill- ~ e l ~ o r t s ~ ~ ~ l l i c l i he submit ted frolil ti~llme t o time. C1;7llort11lint~ly his

(, inforlllatioll jvns no t only i ~ l c o i l ~ j ~ l e t e , 1)~lt was nlso misleacling. 1'11 1831, after t h e 71 a r hail l ~ r o k e n out, Ihbetsoa, Pullerton's successor, Ilail the Dutch records reesa.li~inecl. I3e then fouilcl t h ~ t J1ev.i~ a l ~ d Ful ler ton had 1)een iilistakel~ i n c o n t e n ~ l i ~ l g .that I2'al:ing I\-as a n integral p a r t of Malncca Territory, a n d was fully urtder Bri t ish sovereigllt:-. Fullerton's ol)l!onents on t h e 1)'ens~lg Council 11-ere s h o v n t o have been correct \\-fie11 they o1)posed t11. i:o~-er.11or's policy. (") I f the facts discovered i n IS31 httd co~lle t o l ight three Teilrs ei~rlier, the S a i ~ i i l g T a r n-onlcl ne\.er have occurreil.

;lLclul X i l i d , t l ~ e Penghulu of Ksiiing, nras not the ru,lil tu s u b ~ l l i t t o t h e c u r t i ~ i l ~ n e n t of his ponrers. H e elljoyed tlie reputatioil .of being a lllali of ullusual sanctity, both alllollg his o~vil people a n d tlie SIalag-s of the neighbonring states. Arrogalnt a n d ambitions, he esploit,ecl the venei.ation of the 3Ialays, a n d aped the titles ailcl l ~ r ~ c t i c e s of JIananr Shah, t h e g rea t fifteelltli ceatnry Sul tan ullder ~ r h o n l the Empire of 34alacca li~a8cl reached the height of i ts g!~~ry.<'8) Fur thennore Abclul ,Said was deceived -to I;ls o1v11 nil-

tloilig b j designing coun.sellors, seine of 1vho111 11-ere Dutch ~ ~ ~ e r c h a n t s of 3 J i l l a c ~ ~ . They el~couragetl h im to refuse. the cleillailds of t h e C.'onll)any, l ~ e r s u a d i ~ ~ g hill1 t h a t Fullerton's orders were the jrresl~onsible actious of A s ~ h o r d i l i ~ t e official, whose superiors would I I ~ T ~ ~ allow hi111 to go t o n-ar. T h e y n~islied t o b r ing on a war, be- c:wilse of tlie great proiit which t l ~ e y n-oulcl mal<e by selling stores t o the trooj>s. (I9)

The, first iln1,ortaut rliscussion of t h e s tatus of Naning took place a t a iileeting of t h e Penang Council on J a n u a r y 30, 182s. L e u i s sub~llittctl ,a report on the Dntcli archives so far as he hat[ e z a m i w i l them. T h e irreconcili~ble clivisjoil of opinion ss t o t h e ~ 'osi t ion of Sailing, , . i \-l~ich colltinuecl th rougl~out the n e s t t3ree jears, manilested itself a t this first nleeting. Garling, the Resident

(16) S. S. I?., 169:. >,lnuell 11, 1s". ( 1 7 ) B. S. a ~ i d P., 363: NOT. 2 5 , 1531, Xo. 69-70, (18) Eeghie, ' ' Jlalay Pei~il~sula,'" 61-62, 150, 157. (19) S. S. R. , ' IF9: J u l y IS, 1829. J. I. 9., N. S., I, 216, ~.J3raclciell.

Jo~ir.ncll lIn7nyu:iz BI-niz c l ~ '[Yol. I, , P a r t . 11,

C!ounc?illor o f Malacca, argued tliat the eridknce, incomplete tllougli i t 11-as, " ra ther fayours tlie inclepenrlence of Sailing." H e coul;t see n o ground 011 wllicli t l ~ e Coillpaly conlcl claim tlie sovereignty. c1eiliallc.l. t h e teutli, o r estenil the jurisdiction of t h e Recorder's Court t o Naning. Fullert.oi1 was colirrincecl thilC Naning n-as as completely uncler Bri t ish so~:ereigxt!- as Jfsalacca Terr i tory. F a r fro111 being n t r ibutary ruler, tlie P e ~ i g h u l n was, l i lx the other Penghulus of 3falaccn Territory, a pet ty reyenue and 1)olice oficer Eor his olrrn district. T h e Gorer1lor believed t h a t the C'oi~-~pan]l l l ~ c l ful l r ight t o le-i7!. the tenth, ancl, t o esteiiil to Xaning t h e jurisdictioll of ' the Xecorcler's Court. F o r the tinle 11eii1g l i o ~ r e ~ e r he ilecidecl t o le t iiiatters remaiu as they were, 'and to r e f r i ~ i a f ~ o m attenlpts to le.\-y tlie t ~ i i t l l or assert the Court's jnrisdiction.('")

F o r sel-era1 months this policy n-as aclhered to; but i n J u l y 1Sj?S Le~vis, t h e Super.i~itenilent of Lands a t Jlalacca, urged t h a t f o r financial reasons Nailillg shoulcl no longer be eselllpt. fro111 t h e te.nt11. T h e ten th lerircl on t h e crops of BI+ilacca. Terr i tory n.ap co'llecteil when the &[days brougllt their procluce t o the to~~711 of Jtnlacca f o r sale. T h e crops of Kaning came to t h e sanle marlieti and it was l ~ a r i l t,o ilistinguish betryeen thenl. 111 consequence, much J!lalacc.a ~roclisce \ITIS limliellr to esca.pe t h e tn5-. Furtllerillore lie cstinlateil the Kauing tenth to be .i\rortll a b o r t $4500 a year, n nlelcolvc ailclitioll to the reyegue. Ii,e tlierefore adviseil t h a t snlall p .e~~sions be givc11 t o the Peiig!iulus a1111 niillor chiefs of .Xaniug, t o i i l~luce t h c ~ n t o aet 8,s the C'ompxnj's local re-i-enue-o.fficers.(?') T h i s despatcll persuadecl Pullertoll t o alter h i s S a n i n g policy, o v i n g t o Lenis' representations tha t Kaliing could be brouglit ulider t h e same system of acli~lillistrntioli 21s Malaccn Terr i tory by anlicable arrallgemeilts ~ v i t h tlie Penghnlu. ('3 T h e Got-ernor therefore directecl tha t Lewis should levy the tent.11 on X a n i n ~ ) alld tha t small .pensions s l~oulr l be give11 t o t h e l'enghulu alid SLI~LIS (the four assistant-chiek). I11 retun1 they n e r e t o perfornl the duties of the other penghulus i n iValacca Territory, viz., t o collect the t ec th and main ta in order i11 their o ~ v n districts. ( ? 3 )

L t n i s n-as sent to Xaning to cnrrg ou t t h e dcsirecl arrange- ments. T h e l'enghulu and the otlier chiefs .\rere ansious t h a t their jurisdiction shoulcl 11ot lie interfered with, ancl n e r e stroligly op110sed to the tenth. Lewis 11eld o u t n o h o p s of their prayers being grantecl. H e clisco~erecl tha,t the raayats were grou~lcl clo~vii by nil incredible degree of ty ranny ancl op!)ression, a n d fe l t '' persuaded t h a t the inhabi tants will quietly acquiesce i n t h e order." (?') 011

(20) S. S. R., 165 : Jan . 30, 1525. S. .S. R., 130 : Aug. 24, 1829. (21) S. S. R., Vol. 165: Ju ly 24, 1525.

. . ( 22 ) S.S. R.., Vol. 130: Aug. 24, 1829. Ibid., 184: Latters to the Directors of April 18 a11d May 2, 1529. B. Pol., Range 12G, Vol. 4 : Oct. 23, 1529, Nos. 2-8.

(23) S. ,S.R., Vol. 1%: A i ~ g . 14, 1.525. Ibid., 168: Bug. 25,. 1598. (24) Ibid., 169: J m l u n ~ p , 1520. Il)id., 168: Oct. 10, 1828. Le\vis7

Report.

19251 Roynk dsicrfic Society.

Tovenlber 13, lSdS the S t ra i t s Gorerllllient approl-ed Leu~is' com- ~ n u n i c a t i o n s t o t h e Penghnlu. ('j)

T~ev-is l~inlself ~ r a s too ~ l l u c h occupied wit11 the 31alacca lrullcl- set t lement t o re tu rn t o S a n i n g , bu t he s e r t liis agents to collect the tenth. They ]net with such o]>l)osition t h a t they askecl t h a t s e ~ ~ o g s m i g h t be sent for their protection. ' There was a di.crision of opinion in t h e P e ~ i a i l g (louncil on the a d v i s a b i l i t ~ of sei ldi~lg troops, some ,of the mem1)ers heing as 1:efore f a r fro111 conrinced t h a t the Coinpally 11ail ally r igh t to l e ~ y the tenth. It o.as decidecl tha t the IJarIcl Del)artment should t r y t o persuacle t h e people t o pay, bu t should n o t use troop:: to compel them. If the l\l'ala)-s rcfused to do so, the mat te r n-a:: t o be lef t i n abeyance u n t i l t h e arrival of Ful ler ton .at 3lalacca in a. fen. weeks' time.('c) Braddel l collsiclered t h a t ." this delaf a1111 llesit,e.tioa hat1 a bad effect, as i t i~lfla~llecl the mind ( .of the I'engbulu, a n d laid t h e iooi~clation f o r the resistance ah ie l i l ras aftern.i~rd.: es1)eriencecl." (?')

Short ly lrel'ore this time, i n Decealber 1828, a n event occurred ~r-hie11 lllacle the Go\-ernor and Lewis still nlore deterillillecl t o br ing S a n i n g under t h s complete control of llalizcca. A murder mias ~coniniitted ill S n l ~ i n g , ailcl t h e Peughulu vindicated t h e ends of justice by fining the l'amilg of tlie ~ i c t i m . ("1 T h e Penang Council regardecl his action as illegal, since a t sar ious times the Dlltch hzd i:~rhiilil&ii t h e Pengliulus of S a n i n g t o try r a ~ e s of mu.rd,r, a n d i n I S W l i n r q ~ : l i ~ r , the Resident of Malacca, hacl repeated the pro- ltibjtion.!"') K O action n7as taken lionrever, I~ecause i t ~ ~ r o u l d pro- l ~ a b l y haye led t o f l ~ r t h e r in jury t o the fanlily of the lllnrclered man, since t h e Company 11ad no officials i n N a n i n g ; bu t the Penghnlu n-as inforrueil t h a t i n fu ture sucli cases mus t be t r ied a t 1\Ialaeca.(")

On F e l ~ r o n r ~ 2, 1520, ailother ineeting of the Council nras held t o decicle what policy sl~oulcl be ailoptecl In view of the refusal to,, pay the tenth a n d the I'engll~ulu's usurpation of judicial func- tions.(:!') Tllu o~il\: result was to reaffirm t h e sharp cleavage of .ol)inion ~ ~ ~ h j c h had a l r ~ a d y s1ion:n itself, a n d t o make it evident t h a t 110 one knew the exact relati011 in ~ r h i c h N a n i n g stood t o Malacea. Rot11 Garling ~ n c l ,~nilerson, nlembers of Council n ~ i t h nluch gr'eater

( rr],erience of 3lnlayn t h a n the Ool-ernol; were inclined t o believe tllnt the rucorils might not tell the n.hole story. They fel t t h a t a,s i n n l m y i\lala.yan d a t e s , t h e chief might 1)ossess certain customar;y or uliclerstood I)o\\ers n-hich had never been enshrined in a lugal.

(2.5) Ibic?.. iGS: Xov. 10. 18%. (26j 1bid.; 169: Jan. 6, kcl). 11, and Narc11 1.1, 1329. ( 2 i ) J. I. .I. S. S., I, 201. T. Braddell.

' (28) S. S. R., Pol. 168: Dee. 11, 18%. (29) Xen.Lolt1, "Straits of :l\lnlaccn," Vol. I, 213-14, 217-19, 225.

S. S.R., 168: Dee. 11, IS%. S. S. R., 1%: Dec. 30. 1828. (30) Il~itl., 168: Dec. "ti, 13". B. Pol. Range l ? G , Vol, 4 : Oct 23,

1S29, Xos. 2-5. (31) S.S.R., IT: Feb. 2, 1829. Il~id., 169: Fell. 11, 1S29. bid.,

1S4: Letters t o Directors of April I S a ~ l d 31ay 2, 1329.

,Jozil.ncil Jiuliiya~a Bra I I C ~ L [TToI. I, P a r t 11,

~~7ocument, but n;hic.h were lone the less genuine. They doulited whether the Company l l~cl tlle right to l e ~ y the tenth, or to extend t h e jurisclictjon of the Straits Court over i\laaing. Even if the chiefs' ponrers were usurped, i t ~ ~ o u l d appear that they had been .enjoyed for about a century without interference f r o m either the .L)utch or British l ~ e ~ ~ o n i l " n. trifling or nlerely nominal tribute." .Allowance should therefore be ~llacle for the .chiefs' recalcitrance, -and for tlieir objections to a policy '( nrhich n~oulcl a,t once deprive then1 of all the authority hitherto ]~ossessecl by them, and level them ~crith the coll~l~loll st.ipellcliary officers of police. . . . . . in the Xalacca District."

Fullertoll refused to coilsider anything except the actual ~ i loc~mien t~ry e\-iilence u-hich Levis hacl collected. From this he ~concluiled that X ~ n i n g .irlas an iiltegrnl part of 3 1 a l l a Territory, eutirely subject to the Company's sorereipty, and the Penghulu .a. glorified ~ i l l i a g e headman. T17haterer additional powers he mlg l~ t he exzrcilsing were clue not to "the supposed existellee of certain hereditary feudal rights," but to usurpa.tion. The Governor pro- posed to take ,an-a.y these " usnrpecl ') powers, ancl retain the Peng-' Iiulu anil his four Snkus in office as revenue collectors and constables i n their o v n districts. Pensions might perhaps be given them by wajr of coinpens~tiol~; but if they proved disobedient, or uilrvilling to s e n e ullcler the nev. conclitions, they mould be clismissed, and ,others ap.pointec1. Tllis policy was not to be e~lforcecl immediately; b u t tlle raayats r e r e to be illformed that the Penghulu no longer po.ssessed jurisdiction orer t4iem, land e~icouragecl to appeal to t,he ('ourts. I t could theu be settled whether it was the Cornpan7 or the Penghuln 1~110 posse,ssed the rights of jurisclictioll and of levying the tenth.

I11 3iarch IS29 Lewis submitted the final report on his in- yestigations of the 1)utch arclii~es, and another meeti l~g of the Council was helcl. The report convinced Fullerton tha.t his previous conr,ictions were correct, and that his colleagues were in the wrong. H e decided ho\reuer to leave the esisting'state 01 afFairs unalterecl until the death of ABdul Said, and to refer the question of the tenth to the Directors.(") A despatch nras sent cletailiilg the difference of ol~inion n-hidl existed in tlle 'Council, ancl asking the Di-rectors to clecicle v7hether Xaning was an integral part of Ma.lacca, and there- fore subject to the tenth ancl to the jnrisdiction of the Court. In the llieailtiine the collection of the tenth was s ~ ~ s l ~ e n c l e c l . ( ~ ~ )

Dur i i~g Fullerton's visit to ;\I~alacca lie summoned Abclul Saicl t o meet him, but the Penghnlu refused to come. The Governor was now forced to return to Peaang to meet the Governor-General of Inclia, the Pengh~i ln still reillail~iiig re~alc i t rant . (~ ' ) I n May -4bilul Said ailca~~cecl a step further in his opposition to the Govern-

(32) Il,jd., 169: >larch 11, 1829. ( 3 3 ) Ibid., 184: Letters to t h e Directors of April 18 a1113 May 2, 1529. (34) Ibid., 169: March 11 and 20. and May 18, 1529.

19251 Royci.1 dsicitic Society.

ment,and began covertly to impede the process of taliing the census, ancl to other attempt.^ of the Land IJepartment to illterrene in t h e internal administration oP Kaning. (") By the Go~ernor's orders- Church, the Deputy-1i.esidcnt of Malacpa, nas sent to Naning in July 1829, with a guard of sepojrs. i!. body of troops vas a1;u held in reailiness. H e was instmcted to tell the Pcnghul~z that clisobediellce n-ould enta.il liis cleposition, ancl to inskt t l ~ t the census be taken. Abclul Said n-as to be reassured if possible tha t the Company hacl no desire to interfere ~ v i t h his persolla1 liherty ; l.)ut he.\ras to be tolcl that S a ~ l i n g nTaa a n integral part of Mt~lacca, subject to the same regulations. For the time being the collection of the tenth was deferred, but no guarantee n-as given that this policy woulcl be continued. C'llurcll nas also illstructed llot to. agitlate the yexed cluest.ion of the Court's juriscliction, and the con- sequent continuance or other\\-ise of the chiefs' hitherto sove1"eig-n authority. He vas to. iilforlli the Penghuln t.llat the Coillpany woulcl not interfere needlessly i n Nailing, but tha t if it were com- pellecl to do so he nlust obey.(")

Churcli's illissioil was on the ~vllole satisfactory. He reporter1 that there aras rea,son to believe that the Penghulu's insul~orclination hacl been chi'efll; caused by iallla4ritants of Mslacca, vho took every opportunity of delucling hill1 n-it11 exaggerated stories of the in- teiltiolls of Goven~meut, unrtil he became terrified, fearing tllat h i s liberty nras in dancer. Church belieTed that he hacl succeecled i a allaying Abclul S a d fears. The Penghulu 7n.s also clissatisfied because he feared tliat the Recorder's Court i~lteliclecl to destroy his

. authority by taking anray his judicial pon-ers. Should this be at- tempted, Ch~zrch anticipatecl resistlance, since the JIalays' velleration for him was so great that they n-oulcl rise to n man. 'I'.empor:viiy however, good relations vrere reestablishecl, the Go~ernment's orders were obeyed, and the census taken. So conlplete n-as the change that Church Tvas able to t ~ a c e l througll Xaning and collect .much information, \ ~ h i c h he sublllitted ~ ~ ~ i t h his report. ("1 Fullerton was unable to rel-isit Nslncca until October 19, 1529; and by that time the efforts of the Pengliulu's e ~ i l acl~isers had succeeclecl i n undoing the good restdb of Church's illission. Abdul Said refused to come to Malacca, ancl meet the GOT-er~or, thereby putting himself i n open opposition to the Ct'ompany. H e also ,sent einbassies to the adjacent states, ancl preparecl for n-ar. Fullertoll col1,ected an ex- peditionary force to inrrade Naning; 91nt a t the last illolnent he colltermancled i t since the diese~iiellt lnenlbers of the Council refused to agree ~ ~ - i t h him. They wele still u~lcollvinced that t h e Penghnlu was so ent.irely snbjeot to the Coilipany or that his con- duct warwiliecl an in~lasion, ancl they recomnlended negotiations..

(35) Ibid., 129: May 18, 1529. (36) Tbid., 169: June '72 a11d 25, 1829. Ibid., 129 : J u n e 8 a n d J u l y

7, 1529. ( 3 7 ) . E. Pol. Range 196, Vol. 4 : Oet.. 23, 1329. 8. S. R., Vol. 169:

J u l y 11 and J n l ~ 18, 1889. Ibid., 130: August IS, 1829.

Jolirnnl Jlalnycrn Brn.nch [Vol. I, Par t 11,

'The Governor laic1 the matter before the Supreme Government, expecting a reply u~i th in tlvo months. The Indian Government Ilo\~-euer referred i t to the Diredolie, so tha t alnlost two years .elapsecl before an answer nras recei~led. ( 3s )

The change of policy nlacle war inevitable. The clestillation .of t.he force had been XI-ell bnowa, and 1~11e.11 the !attack was counter- inmldecl ,\l)dul Said interpretecl i t as a sign of 11-eakness. Bracldell commented as follon-s.

" The English power hacl not been directly exercised i n these secns for tlges. It had been ta.kea on trust, as reflected :I!rom Illdin aud very recently from Bnrmah; and now on the first appearance of opposition +lie authorities hesitated. That this Ilesitation arose fro111 any cause but fear, was not con- sidered for an instant as 11-ossible, ancl in consequence,. . . . . . the Peng11uln. . . . . .became SO elevated. . . . . . tl~aat he threw off the ,air of tpserve and respectful aasistaiice ~vhich he had l~i ther to n-ern."("")

It mas not loiig bef0r.e Abdul Said signalisecl his new attitude by ol)enly flouting the Company. I n October 1930 he seized the f ru i t of certain trees claimed by Inche Snrjn, a 3Ialay Proprietor i n 36alncca Territory n.110 llail rece11;tly transferred his holding to the *Gorernment under Fullerton's lt~nd-redemption scheme of 1525. Inclie Suriil's holding lay outside the boundaries of Naning, a n d there were doc1une11ts to show that Surin's ancestors hacl held it froiii at lend its early 2s 1723. Bbdul Said l~o~vever claiiliecl the particular trees -and t-lle g~ouiicl on mhicl~ tliey ~ tood , and when the Straits Governnient orcler.ecl hill1 to withclraor he refused to obey. Had the C'ourt been sitting a t the time, thi,s open and contenlptuous defiance n-onlcl have a t once precipitatecl a crisis, since when juclge- -lakilt had heen gicen, the adnlillistratio~l lllust have protectecl the .officers of the court sent. to evict the Yenghulu's followers. As it 1la.pl)eneil 11011-ever the Recor,der bail left for England, and no successor hail yet arril-ecl. Xoreorer the Directors' reply to Fuller- ton's des j~atc l~ of IS29 had not been received, and the Penang Presiilency had recently 11een abolisl~ecl. Ibbetson, klle new- ,Covenlor coulcl not uildertalce so heavy a responsibility as the ,ejection 11-onlcl i n ~ o l ~ e witllout orders fro111 India, aallcl therefore no active steps yere tnlren. ('")

The despatch Iron1 the Directors v i t h instyuctions regarding t h e policy to be pursueil toll-ards Xaning was not received unt i l the . follon-ing year, 1931. The Directors' letter, I~~hic l l nras dated Juue 2, 1830, su]?l~ortecl Fullerton's -xiel\- that t.lle Company passessecl sorereign rights over Saning. It was therefore subject to the levy

(35) J. I. A.N. S., I, 203-4. T. Br~cldell. , h e original docume~~ts n~ltraceal~le in the Straits Settlemeiits ailll Bellgal I~.chires.

(39) J. I. -1. N. P., 1, ,204. T. Rrndilell (40) Ibid., 204. Begljie; "3ialny Peiihlsula," lGO-GI. B. Pol., Bailge

1'76, Bol. 2 ; : April 2, 1S31.

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of the tent11 aild to the jnriscliction of tlle Straits Court. To aroi& the possibility of war 11orre1-er the Directors approved Fullerton's policy of not iilsbting upon these rights for the tmie being. (41)

011 Jaauary 17, 153 1, Ibbetson ~ r ro te to the Supreme Govern- llleilt that i t was now too late to follow the Directors' instructions t c preserve peace by reillittillg the tenrth during Al~dul Smaicl's lifetime. His successl'ul defiance. 11-ould encourage the natives of Ilalacca to. refuse to pay the tenth, and fnrthermore the concessioil ~\?onlcl be useless, since he had 110n7 gone too far to retreat, a i d 11acl been. obdurate to all the Gocernlllent's overtures. ILbetson ad\-isecl tha t troops be sent iuto 3-aning to collect t he tenth, and pu t an end once. and for all to the Penghulu's disoheclience, a course to n-hich lie. believed tlie I\iala;vs .ivoulcl olrer 110 resi.stance.(-'?) The Supreme Goverunlent replied on April 2, 1531, gi\.ing the Governor discreti011 to ark as he thought {best.('^) A last uiisuccessfnl attempt n-as ~l lade to persuade the Peixghulu to give v a y but he 1.efusetl all tenns short of actual inclepenclence.

Preparations were then, in July 1831, publicly nwde at i\lalacc,z for the despatch of a n elpeclition to Taboh, Bbclul Saicl's capital. No serious resistance 11-as ~anticipatecl. So the force consistecl onlj- of 150 sepoys, ~ n c l tn-o six-pounders clrenrll by b~illocl~g. The troops were almost entirely ignorant of the topography of Nnaing, and were too weak to leave detachlllents to 1;eep open the line of corn- nlunicationi. Kaning prored to be a11 undulating cou:itfy co~cred n-ith dense jungle except in the valleys, n-here tlie sepoys llad to wade through mar.shes ancl rice-sn~smps. There were no roads,. ancl only an occasional path so narrow that hours of worli. nrere required to get the guns along. The Malags fo1lo.n-ed their usual bactics of refusing a pitched battle; but harassecl the column f rom ambush, and .finally cut the line of communications. Supplies rail short, a.ncl the troops retreated to Malacca. The Malays attacked the retrmtiag colu~lln, $elling groat trees across the path, and the. tn-o g m s hacl to be spiked anil abancloned. (4G)

The British clefeat I ~ I S i n large par t due to thc aesislnnce which the Peaghulu had receiuecl from Rembau, a. sillall state in the Negri Bembilan which lay on the borders of Nailing. Abdnl Said hacl deceived Raja Ali, i ts ruler, into believing thnt t h e Company iutelldecl to conquer Remban as soon as Aaning llacl been overcoine. Accorclillgly Raja Ali sent his son-in-law S~niyicl Shaaban, ailcl several hunclred Ualnys, to help the Pengliulu. (*')

(41) Publie Letters to Bengal, 1830-31. Vol 14: June 2, 1830, So . IS.. (42) B. Pol., Range 126, Vol. 27: April 2, 1831. (43) Ibid. (44) Bengnl Secret aucl Political Cons~iltatioll, 41. 3Gk Oet. 14,

1831. Nos. 16 and 21. , ~

( 4 5 ) Begbje, "Afnlay Penillsula," 162-89. B. S. a11d P., 362: Oct. 14, 1831, Nos. 16 and 17.

(46) Ibiil., Xo. 17. Ibid., 363: Nor. 23, 1S31, No. 71. Begbic, ( 'Malay Peninsuln," iG2-7s.

Jo~~.i.ncrl .Tfc~Tccya~t Brccltch [Tol. I, Part 11, j

So startled >\-as the Governor oE the Straits SettIelneilts a t i.11.i~ unexpected event that he a t first believed t h ~ t he v a s faced tly a confecleracy of all the neighhouring states. (4') There seems to be no evidellce however that Xaning vas joined by any state except Xembau. Jbbetson asked for reinforcements, aild for perii~.issioa to form an alliance vith Eembau in order to detach it; from its ally. (4s)

This ~ulexpectcd reverse also stin~ulatecl the Straits Gorern- nleilt to further researches into the Malacca drchires. Tile reijslts mere enlig;zbening. but not altogether pleasant, sj~lce t h e j sho~sed the poilcy of Fnllerton ancl Levis hacl been in the JY-rong, while tli,ir critics Garliag ancl Anderson had been correct. It was clis-

i covel:ed that by about 1765 the Dutch had deciclecl tha; i t \\.as too expensive to conquer Nan'ing in order to exact the tenth, ancl hacl conlnlutecl i t into a snlall aililual tribute. TI-hen the British tittempted to collect the full tenth the Malays 100lie:l on i t ss n breacll of faith, ancl feared that after Kaning had beell conquered the same tax woul? be leviecl up011 the acljacel~t states. As a rcsult Renlbau joined S a n i n g i11 resisting the British attack. (40j

When the Iilclian Oorernmellt learned that the blunilers ol: the Straits administration had provokecl an expensive aucl xnprofitable war, 5t took no pains to conceal its displeasure. Ibbetson's pro- posal to forin iul alliallce wit11 Rembnu was rll~j~roi?ecl and the necessary reinforce~nents mere sent, since the Bengnl Council realized that to restore British prestige the campaign had to be carried to a successful conclu.sion, " worthless as the object" Jr.as. ''\ITe have hitherto been entirely ~ilisled by the erroneous infor- illation in those Settlements, otherwise rrrc should nero: 11tr~-e Lcen drawn into this useless warfare for a nrorthless object. TTe ca~lilot now i n policy recede 'iron1 i t without establishing our snpe- riority." (jO)

Fronl Septeluber to January the rains made campaigning im- possible, ancl bhe time u a s spent in llegotiatiol~s v i t h Ren111au. Raja Ali was finally conr~incecl that the Conlpany hacl no desire to attack him, ancl he realisecl that i n the end it mould win. On January 25, 1532, a treaty was lllacle between the Company ancl Assurances nrere given that neitl~elr ~vonld attack tlie other, aucl the C'oinpany renouilced whatever clainls i t m-ight hnve hacl to suzerainty over Bambau by virtue of the old Dutch rights. Rem1)au was thus recognized as a11 independent sovereign stt~te. In

(47) B'. S. and P., 369: Oct. 14, 1531, No. 16. (48) B. S. and P., 363: Nov. 25, 1831, Nos. 69-70. (49) B. 8. and P. Vol. 363: Nov. 25, 1831, Nos. 69-50. (50) Ibid., Nos. 74-77. B. S. and P. Vol. 366: June 4, 1838, Nos.

17-22. B. 5. and P. 'Vol. 367: July 9, 1532, No. 1.

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retun) Raja -1li n.ithdren7 his coiltillgellt f r o m x\ 'aning ~vhose force mas t h u s reduced t o about GOO men, a n d a few i l lo~l ths la ter sen t i t t o join the Bri t ish troops.(")

I11 l l a r c l ~ 1832 t h e campaign reoliened, F r o m 1 4 a l ~ c c a t o Taboh, t h e capital of Sn l l ing , -was tn-enty-~IYO nliles, fo r t h e last twelve of n-hich there mas n o road. T h e strategy of Colonel Herbert, v h o co~ilnlallrled the Bri t ish force, was no t brilliant, though i t was solid am1 slom. I-Ie cut a road 600 feet xritlc R.!.: the my t o Taboh fel l ing trees, burn ing the undergrowth, and fjl!.ing u.11 the swamps. T h e r a t e of aclvallce was a l ~ o u t three t o f o u r mil?s a month. T h e i \ l a la j s rarely macle a s tand, contenting them- selves with liarassiug the col-ering parties who were sent iuto t h e jungle t o protect t h e pioneers ancl convicts engaged i n cut t ing t h e road. Kei ther side s~fferecl muc!l loss. T h e Penghulu's force ileTer esceecleil a fen. hunclrecl a t most, a n d was greatly infe~*i.or in nuiubers to the illvarlers who h a d 120101 to 14010 nien; but Colonel Herbert , TI-110 might perhaps be charitably described as nerl,ous, paintecl gloomy pictures of h i s perilous condition, harassed by LC prodigious numhers" of t h e enemy, a n c l w i t h his force reduoecl t o t h e clefensive. A t the end of Apr i l .Saiyid Shaahan, t h e son-in- law of R a j a Ali, a r r i ~ e c l with a force of Malays, a n d in a t e w weeks transfornied the situation. Well-infonilled by his spies of t h e ei~emy's ~llovements, he mas able t o capture their stockndes when they were lef t t eml~ors r j ly un.defended, offing to the &lalays' hab i t of making perioclical t r i p s t o the i r farms. In Zune Taboh ~ r a s captured, Abclul 8 a i d ancl his chiefs took t o flight? and the resistance of S a ~ l i i l g collapsed. (") T h e troops v e r e gradually ~ ~ i t h d r n w n , and by Apri l 1534 the garrison of the Strai ts had been reducccl to tlie same s t reng th a s before t h e was. ( j3 )

T h e Go\ -e r~nnent n-as by n o nleans alxiious t o re ta in S a n i n g , since it was clear t h a t the revenue nro~dd n o t equal the espefises f o r lnang years if eyer.(") T h e cou~l t ry was offered t o l?aja. Ali of Eembrzu i n re tu rn f o r h i s services, b u t h e refnsecl it, saying t h a t h e h a d enough land . a l ~ e a d y a n d preferred t o receive his re~varcl in a. nlore tangilsle form. (") I t was therefore decided t o make X a n ) n g a n i n t e g ~ t l l pa r t of Malaccii Territory, subject to the Recorder's

(51) Begbie, " Malay Penins~da, " 15.5-59. Aitchison, T~eaties " I , 416-20. J. I. A. I. RT. S., 210. T.. Braddell. B. S. aad P. Vol. 363: Nov. 25, 1831, Nos. 23, 71, a l ~ d 72. Bid., 365: Feb. 20, 1532, Nos. 4-6. Ibid., 3 6 6 : June 4, 183" KO. 1'7.

(52) B. S. and P. Vol. 366: April 30, 1833, Nos. 1-10, 13-16. Ibid., 366: du~ie 2.5, 1533, No. 6. Jbid., 367: .July 9, 1.532, Nos. 4 ff. Ibid., 368: Sept. 3, 1532, No. 3. Ibid., 365: Oct.1, 1532, No. 11. Begbie, "BIalay Peniiisula," 200-260. Nen~l~old, llStl.aits of ;\Ialacca," I, 195, 225-31. J. I . -\.'I. N. S., 208-214. T. B~nddell.

( 5 3 ) B. 'S. alid P. Vol. 369: Nor. 19, 1532, No. 6. B. Pol., Range 127, Vol. 13: April 3, 1534, No. 24 -1. Nembold, "Straits of Ma.lacea," I, 234.

(54) B. Pol. Range 127, Vol. 24; Bept. 13, 1824. No. 19. Illid., 29: Xug. 24, 1535 KOS. 1.3.

(55 ) B. S. and P. Yo1 371: Jan. 28, 1532. Nos. 2-7.

Jotlr.tlal jfci-layci~~ R~.unch [TTol. I, P a r t 11.

Court ancl the telltl~. The offices of Pengliulu ailil Snlin r e r e abolished, s i i c l the country was placed under a Superi~~tenclel~t , who ~ v a s a gentlelllan of 1)utch descent, in Jlalacca. R e v a s assisted by fifteen village heaclmen, each of I-horn collected the taxes and maii~tainecl law and order iu. his -uwa district. ("0)

Abdul Said Aecl on the fall of Taboh to the neighl~ouring sta.tes, but willingly surrendered on the promise of pardon. The Company gave him a house aucl gardens, a pensiou of l?s.3.00 a month, and liberty to lire freely i n Malncca so Ioilg as he dicl not intrigue or try to run away. (") By the unique e s p e d b l t of involving the Company in a nTar ~vhich cost i t £100,000 Xhd.ul Saicl obtairlecl an nssurecl income of larger anlo~ult illan he hacl ever hacl before. The RIalays still regarded him wit11 cleep veneration, and t h e olcl nlall turllecl i t to good acconllt be sci-king up i u business as a farn~er , trader, ancl doctor. His ventures ..rere successfnl, and in 1839 he diecl in the oclonr of sanctity. ("J lt, is said that the generous treatment of Abclnl Said dicl nlore to strengthen British jllfluellce in the llalnx states than the sncceasfnl issue of the mar.("') Save for a small revenue which clid not cover the cost of acllllillisterillg Naning, this was all the C'onlpany hacl to shon- for an expenditure of £1.00,0010:

- -

(56) Ibid.. 2-.7. h'e.rrbolr1, I (:Straits of Malaccn; " I , 232-35. J. I. il., N. S., I, 218. T. Braddell.

(57) B. Pol. Range 12'7, Vol. 13: April 13, 1834, 3-0s. 53-56. India Political and Fol.eign Col~sultatiolls, Re1ig.e 198, Vol. 5 7 : Oct. 27, 1549, No. 57.

( 5 8 ) J. I. A., 11, 733-34. E. A. Elu~~clell. J. I. A., N. S., I, 216.1'7, T. Graddell.

(59) Ibicl., 217. (60) J. I.A., 11, 733. Blmidell. Swettenht~m, "British Malaya" 82.

19,251 Roycil Asicriic Soc ie ty .