7RMW'
y  1.

"4  i

13.1.
4'.. ' } ~; ': -< ' 3,.t
*    * e.

Ay

";,
i '.  '
'.,.     '..  <<,t,4..:,,

'.
r,         "
e
i             }
'! '.+ rte.i:'  ':  ~   "..".  *x  '  i




Q I

a

4/




S-C6--tt

A a-..Mg

fvW7&zZ)




MAP
TO ILLUSTRATE
THE

S

IAME

S

E

QUESTION
1893

W. & A. K. JOHNSTON
EDINBURGH & LONDON

COLOURED]

[PRICE SIX]

{                  i




:f,

I.
4
21          -
Al

I

MAP

TO ILLUSTRATE

THE

S

JAM

ES

F

QUESTION

1893

W. & A. K. JOHNSTON
EDINBURGH & LONDON

COLOURED]

[PRICE SIXPENCE. i.:;','

v
t
(It
1
{
3
1
1
r;
1,i.i
'  i    x
w
Y4' t
a
r

#

i




NOTES ON SIAM.
NATIVE name MUANG THAI (The Land of the Free); forms the central portion of the Indo-China
Peninsula. Siam is bounded on the north by Burma, on the north - east by Tonking interposing
between Siam and China, on the east by Anam, on the south-east by Cambodia and Cochin-China,
and on the west by British Burma. Its greatest length is about 1oo miles, and its greatest breadth
about 750 miles; the area is estimated at 280,550 square miles, and its population at nearly 6,ooo,ooo.
The Capital is Bangkok, on the river Menam, having a population of about 6oo,ooo.
The reigning King is CRULALONGKORN I., born 2Ist September 1853; succeeded his father
Ist October 1868. The Siamese dominions are divided into numerous Provinces, each having a
Governor, who derives his authority from the King. The population is very mixed, consisting of
Siamese, Chinese, Laosians, Malays, and a few Europeans.
The Army consists of about 8,ooo men; the Navy of 2 screw - steamers and a few gunboats.
Heavy guns are mounted on forts commanding the entrance of the Menam river.
The principal Exports are-Rice, teak, pepper, bullocks, fish (dried), hides, tin, cardamums. Total
Income, about ~2,ooo,ooo. Imports (1889), ~1,593,257; Exports, ~2,286,280.
To show the importance of the British trade with Siam, The Scotsman gives the following table,
showing the countries that trade with Siam, the number of the vessels employed by each, and their
tonnage; from which it appears that 87 per cent. of the whole carrying trade is carried by British
shipping.
NATIONALITY.           N   aU"  or    Tos.
BRITISH -   -     -    -    -     -   248         182,354
SIAMESE -   -     -    -    -     -    I             656
GERMAN -    -     -    -    -     -    i6         16,128
FRENCH -                               I-  -  -  -  -  13  2,561
DUTCH -     -     -    -    -     -    3           2,508
SWEDISH AND NORWEGIAN  -    -     -    4           1,779
ITALIAN -         -   -    -     -    3           1,199
CHINESE-.          -    -    I           1,062
SARAWAK     -     -    -     -    -    2             810
SPANISH -    -    -    -     -          I            688
TOTAL  -     -    -   292         209,745




1L
CONFIDENTIAL,

e
If
I

AN ACCOUNT OF THE ORIGIN AND
PROGRESS OF SIAMESE INFLUENCE
IN THE MALAY PENINSULA,
1785 To 1882.
F   f&---.... -........;.




.N(,hC
IM,9s




THE SIAMESE IN THE MALAY PENINSULA.
SIAM, if we may believe Native History, had on many
occasions prior to the present century attempted, without success, to establish her supremacy in the Malay Peninsula.
At the time when Captain LIGHT, on behalf of the Honourable East India Company, occupied the Island of Penang
with the sanction of the Sultan of Kedah, in July, 1786, the
authority of Siam appears to have extended to Senggora on the
East Coast, and to a place called Junk Ceylon (a corruption of
the name Ujong Silang) in almost the same parallel on the
West Coast of the Peninsula, the lower and major portion of
which is called the Malay Peninsula.
It is possible, indeed probable, that Siam, at this time, may
have claimed suzerainty over one or more of the Malay States
bordering the Southern Provinces of Siam, but there is nothing
to shew that any foreign influence was exerted in any Malay
State beyond what was sufficient to procure the sending to
Bangkok of the "Bunga Mas" or Golden Flower, a tributary
offering which, according to some, is a mere complimentary gift,
but according to others must be regarded in the light of tribute
and as a sign of vassalage.
The latter, however, is probably not the construction placed
upon the sending of these "golden flowers" by the Court of Bangkok, for in years gone by, if now discontinued, it was the practice for Siam to make this very offering to her powerful
neighbour-China.
The Malay States which at different times appear to have
sent the "Bunga Mas" (or "Bunga Mas dan Perak"--gold and
silver flowers) to Siam are Kedah, Perak, Tr ngganu, KIlantan,
Petfni, but if this offering were a sign of vassalage, there
could hardly have been any necessity for that warlike expedition against Kedah in 1821, which led to such a change in the
relations between this Malay State and its Siamese conquerors.




-2 -
Flushed with success, the Siamese pushed on to Perak, where
they met with but slight resistance; Se6angor was next
threatened, but the determined attitude of Sultan IBRAHIM of
Selangor, and the action taken by the British Indian Government, not only kept them out of the latter State, but drove
them back out of Perak, and in Treaties concluded by the
British Government with Siam and Perak in 1826 provision
was made to prevent the Siamese ever again interfering in
Perak affairs.
But Kedah fell, and, unsupported by the British, the only
ally to whom the Sultan could look for protection against his
northern foe, the Siamese became the dominant power in
KIdah, their influence in that State having grown from year to
year, till now it is paramount in even the small details of internal government.
How all this was brought about, is clearly told in a paper
written by Mr. JonIN ANDERSON, Secretary to the Government
of Penang, at the request of Governor FULLERTON in 1824.
The paper was afterwards recalled, and so carefully suppressed,
that Mr. ANDERSON was obliged to give his word of honour
that he had not retained a single copy. One copy did, however,
escape, and was reprinted in the Singapore Chronicle in 1835.
That journal had, however, in 1854 become almost as rare
as ANDERSON'S original "Considerations," and Mr. J. R. LOGAN,
then the Editor of the Journal of the Eastern Archipelago,
considering the paper too valuable to be lost sight of, republished it in Vol. VIII. of the Journal.
The Journal itself is now so scarce, that probably not more
than three or four complete copies could be found, and whilst
the question of Siamese influence in the Malay Peninsula
remains on the present doubtful basis, this paper of ANDERSON'S
must continue to be one of great interest, as shewing by what
means a Bhuddist race from a distant land obtained a dominating influence over a portion of the Mahomedan people of the
Malay Peninsula.




-8 -POLITICAL AND       COMMERCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
RELATIVE TO THE MALAYAN PENINSULA
AND THE BRITISH SETTLEMENTS IN
THE STRAITS OF MALACCA.
CONSIDERATIONS ON THE SIAMESE CONQUEST OF KtDAH AND PARAK.
THE intelligence of a sudden invasion, by a large Siamese force
from Ligor, of the territories of the King of Kedah, the old ally
of the British Government, which reached Prince of Wales Island
in November, 1821, and the various rumours which prevailed
regarding the ulterior objects of the Siamese army, spread terror
throughout the island, and, although there was a considerable military force at the Presidency, the alarms of the native population
were difficult to be appeased. Many of the wealthy inhabitants
buried and concealed their valuable property, while others made
preparations for conveying it away to other British Settlements.
The supplies of grain, cattle and poultry, from the Kedah country,
on which Penang had so long chiefly depended, were suddenly
withheld, and there was considerable distress amongst the poorer
classes, by the increased price of provision.
The prompt and humane measures of Government, however, not
only for quieting the fears of the inhabitants, and allaying all
apprehensions of an attack by the Siamese, but for obtaining supplies of grain from Bengal and other quarters; while, in the meantime, large issues of rice were made from the Hon'ble Company's
stores, which was distributed to the poorer classes at a moderate
price, prevented much distress, which must have otherwise ensued,
and  speedily  restored greater confidence in the strength and
resources of the Government, which could command ample aid in
case of need.
For a better understanding of this unexpected event, it will be
proper to take a short review of the circumstances connected with
it. On Sunday, the 12th of November, 1821, about noon, a large
fleet of praus, full of Siamese, was observed standing into the Kedah river, coming in the direction from Trang, a large river to
the Northward, where the armament had been equipped. The
Pinghfilu or Commandant of the fort instantly sent notice of its
approach to the Bindahara or General of the Kedah Army and
the Laksamina or High Admiral, who were a short distance up
the river, and having some apprehensions of treachery, prepared
the guns to bear upon the praus, waiting only for the orders of
the BindahAra to fire upon them. The General, however, who
was taken by surprise, did not choose to authorize this, and determined to employ measures of pacification in the first instance.
The arrival of the Siamese was so sudden, that the Malayan




chiefs had time to assemble only a few of their dependents, with
whom they proceeded to the wharf or public landing place, which
is about one hundred and fifty yards beyond the fort, and which
was surrounded by the Siamese fleet, well armed. The Bendahara,
Laksamina, Teminggong, and a few of the Kedah chiefs were
seated on the covered wharf, and the Siamese ascended in a large
body with muskets, spears and other warlike weapons in their
hands. The Bndahhra interrogated them  as to the object of
their visit, and was informed that they wanted rice, being about
to attack the Burmans. The General promised them an immediate supply; but while the conversation was going on, the
Siamese had assembled a large party ashore, and surrounded the
wharf; they now threw off the mask and told the Kedah chiefs,
they had come to seize them and they must submit to be bound.
The Bindahara and Laksamana exclaimed, with one accord, " we
are betrayed, let us attack them furiously," and instantly drawing
their krisses, plunged them into the Siamese who stood nearest
them. A general battle now ensued.
The venerable Laksamana and Timenggong, who used to boast
that he was invulnerable, with several other chiefs, were soon
dispatched, the Bundahara was disarmed and bound, and their
men, dispirited and panic struck by the loss of their leaders, fled
in all directions, pursued by the Siamese, who butchered them in
great numbers and put them to death by means the most cruel
and revolting to human nature. These operations being observed
from the fort, a few guns were now brought to bear upon the
Siamese vessels, and two or three were sunk. The Siamese then
proceeded to set fire to some of the houses, previously dragging
out any of the men who had taken refuge in them, and torturing
them to death, pillaging the houses of all their contents that were
of any value; and they seized, indiscriminately, all the praus and
vessels in the river at the time, amongst which were several small
trading boats from Penang.
Having, after a slight opposition, possessed themselves of the
fort, which was garrisoned principally by a few Bengal and Chuliah
sepoys, they dispatched a party immediately to the Kuala Merbau,
a large river to the southward, and nearly in sight of Penang fort.
On the following day, Monday, they entered the Merbau and met
with a slight and ineffectual opposition from a small battery near
the mouth of the river, which kept them in check for a short
time, and allowed an opportunity for the intelligence of the
approach of a hostile fleet to reach the King of Kedah, who was
residing in floating houses a few miles further up, where he was
forming a new settlement and cutting a canal from that river to
the Muda, another large river to the southward, which forms the
northern boundary of the British territories on the main.




-5 -
Hearing that the Siamese force was ascending the river, and
having only a very few adherents at hand, he hurried off in the
greatest consternation with all his wives and children, and
mounting them, together with his most valuable ornaments, and
as many dollars as he could collect, upon several elephants, which
were fortunately at hand, he proceeded across the jungles, in a
direction towards the Prye river, within the territory of the
Honourable Company. The King left a large brig and a schooner,
on board of which was a large amount of treasure which fell into
the hands of the captors. Numbers of his attendants who fled
with him, but were not mounted upon elephants, perished from
fatigue and hunger in the woods, and particularly, several of his
most respectable and venerable chiefs.
The King himself, after five days of severe fatigue and exposure,
during which time he separated from several of his elephants, and
much of his valuable property, which was no doubt purposely
conveyed away in   a different direction by his own faithless
attendants, to whom he had intrusted it, arrived at a place called
Kota, the residence of his brother Tunku SLMAn, up the Prye
river, where embarking all his followers and property on board
four or five praus he descended to the mouth of the river, and
solicited the protection of the British Government.
The Governor of Prince of Wales Island, with that humanity
and consideration which was due to an ally, instantly granted the
protection sought for, and the King was not only provided with
suitable accommodations, but a strong guard of Sepoys was posted
at his residence, to prevent any attempt to carry him off by force,
and he was granted an allowance adequate to maintain himself and
numerous family comfortably. his Majesty has remained ever
since, in the enjoyment of these advantages, and supports his trials
with becoming fortitude and dignity.
On the morning after the King crossed over from Prye, a fleet
of fourteen or fifteen Siamese praus was observed standing close
along shore in pursuit of His Majesty, and they had actually the
audacity to attempt to enter the Prye river, where they believed
the King still was. The fleet was driven back by two of the
Hon'ble Company's Cruisers, which had strict orders afterwards
to prevent any Siamese vessels from coming near the harbour,
without previous examination and permission. A few days after
this occurrence, the Raja of Ligor sent a letter to the Governor
couched in very haughty and disrespectful terms, desiring the
King of Kedah to be delivered up to him, a demand which was
met by a dignified refusal, accompanied by a salutary admonition as
to the style of future correspondence with the representative of
the British Government. Some of the Siamese troops having
pursued the Malays into the territory of the Hon'ble Company,




-6 -
near the Kuala Muda, the Government lost no time in despatching a company of Sepoys, under an active officer, Captain COOKE
of the 20th Regt., for the purpose of expelling such daring intruders, and affording protection to such emigrants as might seek
shelter under the British flag and escape the persecution of a relentless enemy. The temperate, but at the same time resolute,
conduct of that officer in supporting the dignity of British Government, and in seizing and disarming a party of Siamese who made
an encroachment upon Province Wellesley, was no doubt calculated to evince to the Siamese Authorities, the power and determination of the British Government to oppose such proceedings,
and the moderation of the measures adopted in the first instance.
The natives from Kidah, and the traders from other countries
whose vessels had been seized, and who had been deprived of all
their property, now flocked to Penang in thousands, many in small
canoes formed of a tree hollowed out. it is scarcely possible to
conceive the state of distress and misery in which hundreds of
these poor fugitives landed at Penang; men, women and children
crowded together for several days in small boats, without any provisions and scarcely any clothing; most of them escaped clandestinely, and many boats which were overloaded with passengers
were lost, the emigrants finding a relief from their suffering in
a watery grave. Many Malays who were detected in the attempt
to escape, were put to death, and the wives and daughters were
forcibly dragged from their husbands and fathers and ravished by
the Siamese soldiery. The mode of execution was horrible in the
extreme, the men being tied up for the most trifling offence, and
frequently upon mere suspicion, their arms extended with bamboos, when the executioner, with a ponderous instrument, split
them right down from the crown of the head, and their mangled
carcases were thrown into the river for the alligators to devour.
The   King  of Kidah's second and favourite    son, Tunku
YAKUB, attempted to escape like the rest, but was pursued and
taken, and has since been sent in bonds from Kedah to Siam.
The Bendahara, or Prime Minister, after being kept in chains a
long time at Kedah and deceived with hopes of liberation, for
which the Penang Government earnestly interceded with the
Ligor Chiefs, was carried away and poisoned on the road to
Senggora. It is impossible to calculate the number of Malays who
have perished by the swords of the Siamese, by the loss of praus
on their way to Penang and other places, and by famine and
fatigue in the woods. Every aid was administered to the refugees who fled to Penang, and beneficial regulations subsequently
made by Government for affording them the means of livelihood.
It is proper, in this place, to notice the highly creditable conduct
of the late Governor of Malacca, Mr. TIMMERMAN TYSSEN, who;' ':}:.,.,:
-:,
3
t.




--7--

imnediately on hearing of the conquest of Kedah, and having
received exaggerated accounts of the Siamese force, and the probability of an attack upon Penang, despatched one of His Netherland
Majesty's Frigates, which was lying in Malacca roads at the time,
with the handsome offer of co-operation, in case of the Siamese
engaging in hostilities, and even the chiefs of some of the surrounding Malayan States were not backward in making respectful
tenders of all the aid their limited means would admit of, which
were suitably acknowledged by the Government of Penang. Such
was the opinion of all the neighbouring Malayan States of the
treachery and injustice of the Siamese in attacking Kedah, and
such their apprehension of becoming themselves the victims of
their rapacity, that they were eager to employ their utmost efforts
to expel the Siamese from Kedah, and looked up, with full confidence, to the British Government supporting its old ally.
Having effected the complete subjugation of K5dah, and possessed himself of the country, the Raja of Ligor next turned his
attention to one of its principal dependencies, the Lankawi
Islands, and fitted out a strong and well equipped expedition,
which proceeded to the principal island, which, independent of
possessing a fixed population of between three and four thousand
souls, had received a large accession by emigrants from Kedah.
Here too, commenced a scene of death and desolation, almost
exceeding credibility. The men were murdered, and the women
and female children carried off to Kedah, while the male children
were either put to death, or left to perish. That fine island, from
which large supplies were derived, is now nearly depopulated, and
such of the male population as did escape, driven from their homes
and bereaved of their families, have been carrying on a predatory
warfare both with the Siamese and peaceable traders close to
Prince of Wales Island. Some of them have settled in Province
Wellesley and are employed as cultivators.
Several badly planned and ineffectual attempts have, at different
times, been made by small and unorganised bodies of the King of
Kedah's adherents in the country to cut off the Siamese garrison
at Kedah; but these have all been followed by the most
disastrous results; not only by the destruction of the assailants, but
by increased persecution towards the remaining Malayan inhabitants. The King himself, for some time, was anxious to have
made an effort to regain his country, in concert with some native
powers which had promised him aid in vessels and men; but he
was dissuaded from so perilous and certainly doubtful an enterprize by those who were interested in his cause, and who apprehended his certain overthrow and destruction from such an
attempt. There is no doubt, the Siamese were too powerful and
too well prepared for any such ill-arranged expedition, as it could




-8 -
have been within the    compass of the   Kedah   Raja's means
to have brought against them, to have had any chance of success;
and it would have been inconsistent with the professed neutrality
of the British Government to have permitted any equipmehts or
warlike preparations within its ports; the more particularly so, as
a mission had just proceeded to Siam from the Governor-General
of India.
However much disposed the Penang Government might have
been, on the first blush of the affair, to have stopped such proceedings on the part of the Siamese, and to have checked such
ambitious and unwarrantable aggression; however consistent and
politic it might have been, to have treated the Ligorean Troops as
a predatory horde, and expelled them, at once, from the territories
of an old and faithful ally of the British Government; the
Mission from the Supreme Government of Bengal to the Court of
Siam, and the probable evil consequences of an immediate rupture,
were considerations which could not fail to embarrass the Penang
Government and render it necessary to deliberate well before it
embarked in any measures of active hostility; while the disposable force on the island, although fully adequate to the safe
guardianship and protection of the place, and sufficient to repel
any force that the Siamese could possibly bring against it, was yet
insufficient for prosecuting a vigorous war, or maintaining its
conquests against the recruited legions which the Siamese power
could have transported with facility, ere reinforcements could have
arrived from other parts of India. Under all these circumstances,
the policy of suspending hostilities was manifest, and it was deemed proper to await the orders of the superior and controlling
authorities.
But there was a more urgent necessity than even the foregoing
considerations dictated, of not acting without the consent of the
Supreme Government, as that authority has always declined sanctioning any interference with Siam and Kedah, in the innumerable
references which have been made from the chiefs of the Settlement
of Penang since Captain LIGHT first took possession, during all which
long period of 85 years, the King of Kedah has been subject to
incessant alarm and apprehension from the Siamese, and suffered
all the oppression they could inflict, without actually possessing themselves of any part of his dominions. The Supreme Government, admitting that Kedah has always been tributary to
Siam, has ever objected to any interference that would be likely
to excite a collision with the haughty power of Siam, which it
appeared to be the object of the British Government to conciliate.
It was expected that the Mission would have produced some
results advantageous to the interests of our Ally, by the mediation
of the Ambassador, and that, at all events the affairs of Kedah




-9 -
would have been settled upon a proper footing. So far, however,
from any of these most desirable objects, which were contemplated,
being attained, the Siamese authorities not only assumed a tone of
insolence and evasion to all the reasonable propositions of the
Ambassador, but signified their expectation that the King of
Kidah should be delivered up to them; and the obstacles which
existed to a free commercial intercourse have not been removed.
The King of Ligor, not satisfied with the conquest of Kedah,
and grasping at more extended dominions, under pretence of conveying some messengers from Perak, who had carried the Bunga
Mas, or token of homage, to Kidah, requested permission for a fleet
to pass through Penang harbour, which, being conducted beyond
the boundaries by a cruizer, proceeded to Perak, and after a short
struggle, his forces also possessed themselves of that country,
which had   been reduced by a Kedah    force in 1818, by the
orders of Siam, in consequence of a refusal to send the hBunga
M]as; while the history of that oppressed State affords no instance
of such a demand ever having been made by Siam, or complied
with before.
It was understood that Selangor, a settlement originally peopled by Bugis, was to be the next place of attack; but time timely
preparatiolns and comnnumanding and determined posture of defence
assumed by the Ri'tja of that country, deterred the Siamese, for a
time, from making the attempt; if we are not misinformed, however, extensive preparaitions have been long in progress at Trang,
for carrying these designs into full effect. There is little doubt,
the Siamese contemplate the total overthrow and subjugation of
of all the Malayan States on the Peninsula, and the subversion of
the  Mahomedan religion. PCtani and Trungghnu, the principal
States on the other side of the Peninsula, have long suffered from
the Siamese oppressions, and, as it is generally believed, the R ja
Muda, or brother of the Emperor of Siam, is about to establish
himself at Trang, and the Rhja of Ligor has actually proceeded
to convey him thither from the capital, Bangkok; there are, no
doubt, some schemes in embryo, which it is dificult to conjecture
and impossible to foresee.
During the two years that have elapsed since Kedah fell into
the hands of the Siamese, the supplies of provisions to Penang
have been very scanty, and everything has been prodigiously
enhanced in price. The Government of Prince of Wales' Island,
seeing but little prospect of a speedy termination of the disturbances at Kedah, or a satisfactory settlement of affairs, and
anxious to provide for the numerous fugitives who had voluntarily
placed themselves under its protection, and become British subjects, considered it advisable to appoint a Resident at Province
Wellesley, who had authority to lportion out small tracts of land




-10--

to such families as might wish to settle permanently and cultivate,
to make small advances of cash repayable within a certain period,
in grain, and to give every encouragement to the cultivation of
padi, and the rearing of cattle and poultry, by which, it was
hoped, the island would, ere long, be plentifully supplied with
provisions. The population there has had a large increase by the
emigrants from  Kidah, and there is every probability, that in
time, under good management, and by a cnciliatory line of
conduct towards the inhabitants, considerable supplies may be
obtained from that. source. As yet, however, they have scarcely
exceeded what was obtained from thence before the capture of
Kedah, the new settlers being, for the most part, indolent and
undetermined in their movements.
The longer experience we have had of the Siamese Government
of Kedah, the less does it appear to evince any desire to conciliate the British Government. Several atrocious murders have
been perpetrated in the Kedah river upon some inoffensive and
peaceable native traders, subjects of the English Government of
Penang, and the whole of their property l)lundered, as has been
fully ascertained, by the connivance if not the direct authority of
some of the principal Siamese chiefs; nor have these authorities
made anmy atonement for such outrages, which the British Government has a right to expect, and which it will doubtless enforce.
] n short, instead of adopting a mild, conciliatory system of admi.
nistrtion, calculated to engage the affections of the inhabitants
whose country has been wrested from them, there has been one
continued scene of the most brutal rapine and carnage, oppression
and devastation, that can possibly be imagined. British subjects,
with whom, it might have been supposed, they would have had
some dread to interfere, have been cruelly put to death, and the
British Government not only slighted and insulted by evasive
replies and frivolous delays, but the population of the presidency
kept in a constant state of alarm and agitation by daily reports of
large armaments, destined to make an attempt upon the island,
fitting out at Trang, and other rivers. How improbable soever
such designs may be, still it is essential that the fears of the native
inhabitants should be appeased to avert the injury which the
commerce of the island would necessarily sustain.
In advocating the cause of the injured and oppressed nation
of Kedah, as I humbly profess to do, I may be permitted to
notice, that the records of the Penang Government from 1785 to
1790 furnish ample evidence; first, that the right of interference
of Siam with Kedah was not acknowledged at the period of the
cession of Pulau Penang to the British Govcrnment; secondly, that
that cession was made upon the express condition of succour and
protection against a powerful, relentless and overbearing enemy




thirdly, that we accepted the grant upon this understanding, that
is, without making any objections to the proposals of the RAja of
Kedah, before possession was taken. And lastly, that we are
bound by considerations of philanthropy and humanity to extend
our aid to an oppressed monarch, who has long been our friend
and ally, and to a defenceless multitude groaning under the most
bitter tyranny, and suffering all the horrors and calamities which
a ferocious enemy can inflict.
Their religion is violated, their wives and children are forcibly
dragged from them, the aged parent and the helpless babe are
butchered by these ruthless and sanguinary barbarians, who consider them as useless appendages, and the most wanton murders,
perpetrated by means the most cruel and painful to the wretched
victims, are of daily occurrence. Surely, a powerful nation which
has ever been foremost to dispense justice and to succour the
oppressed, will not suffer such acts of horror and cruelty at its
very door, without employing its power and influence to check
such enormities. The history of our possessions in Continental
India affords numberless instances of our interference on many
far less pressing occasions, and shall we not extend our fostering
protection to our friend and ally-to the acknowledged sovereign
of Klidali whose father ceded to us one of our four presidencies,
who has been overcome by an ambitious and powerful neighbour?
When we add to the many powerful and irresistible inducements for our interference, considerations of a more interested
nature as regards our own prosperity and stability in this quarter,
and look to the baneful effects of the Siamese conquest of Kidah,
in the stoppage of our accustomed supplies, to the distress of our
inhabitants by the increased price of provisions, to the almost
entire stagnation of trade, from that quarter; when we advert to
the indignities and cruelties inflicted upon quiet and peaceable
British subjects who ventured to continue their commercial pursuits with Kedah; when we consider the state of disorder and
confusion around us, and that piracy is daily increasing (the
natural result of thousands of Malays being driven from their
homes), and that a predatory warfare is carried on in our immediate vicinity, nay, sometimes within sight of our harbour; when
we know that many of our own unoffending subjects have suffered
in common with the enemy; when we reflect on the tone of insolence and contempt hitherto assumed by the haughty ruler of
Siam, the presumption even of the lowest officers of this proud
despot, with whom we have had correspondence or connexion;
when we remember the uncordial reception of our mission, and the
indignities and corporal punishment inflicted upon two defenceless
Englishmen in the palace of the Emperor, for a trifling breach of
their peculiar laws and ignorance of the customs of the country;




when we consider, in short, the unsociable propensities, if I miy so
term it, of the Siamese power, and its evident disinclination to
treat with us upon a footing of equality, or to conciliate the friendship and good-will of a nation which has the power to crush it in
a moment; when we observe that the trade of the country is by
no means equal to the exaggerated statements of its importance
and value, while we have the example in the history of our transactions with the no less imperious power of China, that trade,
though it may be interrupted for a time, will eventually flourish
more after the establishment of a proper understanding and an
occasional contention for just rights and privilcgcs; and when,
moreover, we observe that the eyes of all the surrounding States
are upon us, and expect us, not only to succour the King of K'dah, our ancient ally, but to oppose a barrier between them against
the unjustifiable encroachments of the Siamese,--we shall surely
have incentives enough for taking a vigorous part in the defence of
the Kedah kingdom.
Do we admit the principle that the Siamese have.a right to
subjugate all the Malay States on this side of the Peninsula, viz.,
Perak and Selamgor, which have, with great inaccuracy, been
stated as always tributary to Siam, we, in fact, give encouragement
to the total destruction and annihilation of the valuable trade
which forms the principal export of this Settlement (Penang), of
the revenues of the Honourable Company, and of the means of
support and livelihood of our numerous ard industrious subjects.
The Emperor of Siam may, in many respects, be compared to the
former ambitious ruler of France, and if his projects are not nipped
in the,bud, there is no foretelling what the result will be, if the
fruit is allowed to attain maturity.
Various are the opinions which have prevailed relative to the
tributary dependence of Kidah upon Siam, and it shall be my
endeavour, as far as the paucity of materials will admit of, to
deduce, from a careful examination and comparison of different
authorities, evidence to shew that Kdah has submitted only to
a certain limited dependence upon Siam, in no way derogating
from her sovereignty, still retaining to herself the right of administering her own Government according to her own laws and
institutions, and that consequently the subjugation of the country
is an act of unprovoked aggression, which it is the policy of the
British Government to resent.  "His Highness of Kedah" (as
justly remarked by the Honourable the Governor of Penang in
December, 1821) " has certainly much misgoverned his kingdom,
" yet his long close connexion with the British Government has
" given us a far greater influencc over his mind and character, than
" what we can expect to acquire with regard to the chief who may
" be placed on the throne of Kedah by the Siamese. It appears




-18--

" to me, that the British Government should not hesitate to endear.
" our to obtain the restoration of our Ally to the throne of his ances.
" tors, because it is undoubted policy to prevent the near approach
" of the Siamese influence and power, and because his restoration,
" if effected by our means, would redound highly to the honour and
" reputation of the British character among the surrounding Malay"an States "; to which may be added the opinion of his respected
predecessor, the late Colonel JOHN ALEXANDER BANNERMAN, who,
in allusion to the difficulties in which the King of Kedah was
involved in 1818S, by the demands of the Siamese, observes:
" Independent of the cause of humanity which has never been
" disregarded by the British Government or our Hionourable Em" ployers, there are many other motives that strongly bias me at this
" juncture in favour of His Majesty of Kcdah's restoration. There
" is no doubt but that our commerce with the neighbouring Malay
" States is much impeded by the dissensions subsisting between these
" Princes, and the trade with Perak in particular, from which
"our revenues once derived great benefit, is now almost wholly
" suspended."
The following extract from the despatch to the Supreme
Government, dated 28th November, 1821, from     the Penang
Government, clearly shews the opinion entertained of the necessity
for the removal of the Siamese from  Kedah: "In apprizing your
SExcellency of the present state of affairs at Kedah, it cannot
" be considered unimportant to observe that unless some arrange" ments are made by which the Siamese power may be withdrawn
" from our immediate neighbourhood, there will be an evident
" necessity for increasing our disposable force at this Presidency,
" iii view to secure against that arrogant and formidable power, the
" tranquillity of the Settlement, and the freedom of its trade with
" the northern ports. Hitherto there has been no difficulty in this
" respect; the State of Kedah has served as a barrier between the
" Siamese possessions and the Company's territories, and has been
" bound to us by treaty.and reciprocally engaged for our benefit ";
and in reference to the disposition of the Siamese Government
in comparison with the Malayan: "But we apprehend such
" would not be the case with a Siamese Government, so closely
" bordering on us; the natural insolence and haughtiness of the
" nation would be apparent in every intercourse, and they could
" only be held in check by the strong arm of power and a continual
" preparation to repel the aggressions which would be at all times
" too ready to be manifested."
In adverting 'to the conquest of Kidah and Perak by the
Siamese, we are naturally led to take a brief review of the political
relations which have heretofore subsisted between them. Confused and incongruous as is the history of the early settlements of




-14--
the Malays on the Peninsula, which we find narrated in the Seja.
rah Malayu, or Malayan Annals, we are enabled to gather sufficient
to shew that, prior to the emigration of the Malays from Sumatra.
in A. D. 1160, the more northerly part of the Malayan Peninsula
was partially inhabited by Siamese.  The Malays pretend to
derive the descent of their Sovereigns from ALEXANDER THE GREAT,
and trace in a regular line of genealogy, the successive Dynasties
and Kings of Hindostan, till the time of Rija SURAN, grandson
of Raja SULAN, who reigned in Andam Nagara, and all the lands
of the East and West were subject to him. The first place of
importance he appears to have reached on the peninsula, was a
fort situated on the river Dinding, in the vicinity of Pcrak. The
King extended his conquests to the country of Glang Khian,
which, in former times, was a great country, possessing a fort of
stone, up to the river Johor. In the Siamese language, this word
signifies the Place of the Emerald (Klang Khian). The ancient
city of Singapore was established by Raja SANG NILA UTAMA, (a
descendant of Raja SuiA), who emigrated from the East Coast
of Sumatra, it is supposed from the country now known by the
name of Siak, which borders on the Menangkabau      country.
After the destruction of Singapore by the forces of the Raja of
Majapahit, then a powerful State on the Island of Java, Raja
ISKANDER Snuni founded the city of Malacca. He died in 1274.
The conversion of the Malays to Islamism is said to have taken
p)lace about the year 1270, in the reign of Rtja KECHIL BESAR,
who, after conversion, assumed the title of Sultan MTItHAMED SIIA I.
I n 1509, the annals represent Malacca as being one of the first
cities of the East, and the King of that powerful State had successfully opposed every attempt of the Siamese to subdue them. At
this time, it is said, Malacca was in a very flourishing state, "and
" the general resort of merchants, from Ayer Leleh, the trickling
" stream, to the entrance of the Bay of Muar, was one uninterrupted
" market place. From the Kling town likewise, to the Bay of
" Peiagar, the buildings extended along the shore, in an uninter" rupted line. If a person sailed from Malacca to Jugra (Pareelar
" Hill) there was no occasion to carry fire with one, for, wherever he
" stopped, he would find people's houses. On the eastern side
" likewise, from Malacca as far as Batu Pahat (Hewn Stone) there
" was the same uninterrupted succession of houses, and a great many
" people dwelt along the shore; and the city of Malacca, without
" including the exterior, contained nineteen laxas of inhabitants
" (190,000)."  The last engagement between the Malayan and
Siamese forces, which is recorded in the annals prior to the conquest of Malacca by the Portuguese, is thus described: "The
" Rija of Ligor was ordered by the King of Siam to attack
" Paihang, and Sultan MUITAMED of Malacca determined to send




-15 -
" assistance to Pahang. At this time, the subjects of the city of
" Malacca alone, besides those of the coast and villages, amounted
" to ninety lac. The Malacca people arrived at Pahang, and in
"a few days finished a large fort. The RIja of Ligor now
" advanced with all his hosts, which were innumerable, and corn" men(ed the war in a manner which cannot be described, and the
"soldiers of Ligor died like hens of the pip. The men of Malacca
" and Pahang attacked them, and they gave way, and were broken
" and completely dispersed. Mahla Raja DEWA SUSA fled to the
" uplands of Pahang, and proceeded straitly by land to Kelantan,
"from whence he returned to Ligor."  This happened in 1509.
In 1511, the Portuguese arrived and besieged Malacca. Sultan
MUHAMED fled, and founded a fort at Bintanger. Hle afterwards
retired to Pahang, and was received with great kindness. It was
afterwards that he founded the city of Johor, and subsequently
Rhio, on the Island of Bintang. In the subsequent year, the
Malays made an attempt to retake Malacca from the Portuguese.
In 1516, 17, IS and 19, Sultani MUHAMED, Ex-King of Malacca,
and now King of Bintang and Johor, blockaded Malacca, but in
the last was defeated. In 1521, the Portuguese made an attempt
upon Bintang, but were defeated by the Malays under the celebrated Laksamina. During the subsequent five years, there were
iniccssant hostilities between the Portuguese and Malays, and the
former attacked Pahang and Pthlani, murdering and laying waste.
In 1537, an attempt was made on Johor by the Portuguese.
They were defeated by Sultan A LUDEN and the Laksamtna, but in
a second attempt, they reduced and sacked the town of Johor. In
1559, Sultan ABDUL JALII, the First, ascended the throne of Johor.
From this period till 1610, there is little heard of Johor. Sultan
AIDULLAH SHAH ascended the throne in this year, and in 1013, we
find that the King of Acheen, the ancient Ally of the Ex-King
of Malacca, possessed himself of Johor, Pahang, and other places
on the peninsula.
It does not appear that Singapore, Malacca, Perak, Johor,
Pahang, or Rhio, or indeed any of the Malay States which were
founded by emigrants from Sumatra, ever were subject to Siam
during the long interval from 1160, when Singapura was first
settled, up to the period of the conquest of Malacca by the Portuguese in 1511; on the contrary, there is unequivocal proof, that
the Malays successfully maintained their position, and frequently
repelled the attempts of the Siamese. In 1567, we are informed
by MARSDEN, that " Sultan MANSUR Sntii from the kingdom of
"Perak in the peninsula, ascended the throne of Acheen, after
"several preceding Sovereigns had been murdered by the Acheenese."
The same author informs us, that in 1613, the King of Acheen,
whom the annals name ISKANDER MUDA, was known to our




-16--

travellers by the title of Sultan Paduka Sri (words equivalent to
most gracious) Sovereign of Acheen, and of the countries of Aru,
Deli, Johor, Pahang, Kedah and Perak on the one side, and of
Barus, Passaman, Tiku, Sileda, and Priaman on the other. Some
of these ])laces were conquered by him, others he inherited. It
is supposed by Mr. MARSDEN, that during the reign of Sultan ALuEDDIN (and the opinion has been quoted by others as an authentic fact), who ascended the throne of Malacca in 1447, the
country was under the power of the Siamese during some part of
his reign of 30 years; but this conjecture is by no means supported by the Malayan history of that reign, and the successful opposition by the Malays to all the attempts of the Siamese seems to
contradict such a supposition, which has perhaps been inadverttently advanced by this generally correct and enlightened author.
In 1619, the King of Acheen made a conquest of the cities of
Kedah and Perak on the Malayan coast.    At this time, Perak
sent a gold and silver flower to Acheen, in token of homage. Mr.
M 8ltsDN states, that in 1611, "the whole territory of Acheen was
" ahlmost depopulated by wars, executions and oppression. The King
" endeavourcd to uphold the country by his conquests. Having
" ravaged the kingdoms of Joliohor. Pahang, K~dah, Perak and
" Dli, he transported the inhlabitanlts from these places to Acheei,
" to the number of twenty-two thousand persons." In 1614 we find
" the Dutch complain that the Queen of Acheen gave assistance
" to their enemies, the people of Perak."
I shall now proceed to take a cursory and abstract view of the
political connexion of the several principal Malayan States on the
Peninsula, up to the period of the establishment of the British
interests at Prince of Wales' Island, under their separate heads,
beginning with
KEDAH OR QUEDAII.
Long prior to the conquest of Malacca by thie Portuguese, the
annals inform us, that the R1ja of Kedahli proceeded to Malacca
for the Nobats,* which were granted him; he was well received,
obtained his dignities direct from Malacca, and was considered
tributary to that State. Whether after the conquest of Malacca,
or prior to that event, is not precisely ascertained, the King of
Kedah sent a   Bunga lMas, or gold flower, to Siam, and the
origin of this custom is thus accounted for by the Malays of the
present day. In early years the King of Kedah sent a flower of
gold to the eldest son of the King of Siam, a child, to play with,
and the present being construed into a token of inferiority, or
homage, the custom has been kept up triennially ever since; but
* The Drums, or Insignia of Royalty.




the King of Kedah has usually received in return a present of
superior value,such as a gold siri stand, handsome gold wrought
cloths, &c. "By long custom," says Mr. LIGHT9, "the Kings of
" Kdah have acknowledged the King of Siam as their Lord
" paramount and sent triennially a gold and silver tree as a token
" of homage; in return for this the King of Kedah was supplied
"with elephants from the forests of Ligor and the provinces of Siam,
" which to him was matter of great profit; this was all the con" nexion; the present King demands a heavy tribute of money,
" arms, men, boats and provisions to be employed in his wars
" againat the Burmans; to avoid this the King of Kedah seeks the
" alliance of the English; he has no alternative, either he must join
" the Siamese against the Burmans, or defend his country against the
" Siamese; the latter is by far the most prudent and beneficial."
Kedah being a small country, as the King expresses it in one of
his letters, and very near Ligor, in order to preserve a good
understanding, this flower of gold (from whatever cause the custom
may have originated) has always been sent periodically to Siam
in token of homage, and in like manner, the haughty despot of
Siam even condescends to send a similar token triennially to China
by which he secures very important privileges in the way of trade
and exemption from duties. In his case, the presentation of the
token of homage is considered as entitling him to indulgence,
whereas on the other hand, its receipt from the Malayan State by
him, is made a plea for oppression. Mr. CRAWFURD states, that
" the King of Siam, although the circumstance be not generally
" known, acknowledges himself a tributary of the Emperor of
" China. His doing so, does not arise from any political necessity
" or consideration, or out of any actual dependence of Siam upon
" China, but altogether from this mercenary motive, that the vessels
" which carry the Ambassadors may, under pretext of their doing
" oo, be exempted from the payment of all imposts. With this
" view, two of the largest description of junks, amounting to nearly
"1,000 tons each, sail annually from Bangkok to Canton loaded
" with merchandize. They carry Ambassadors annually to the
" Viceroy of Canton, and once in three years, the Ambassadors go
" to Pekin, an honour, however, of which they are not considered
" worthy, until they receive a title of Chinese.nobility from the
" Viceroy, and assume the costume of the Chinese. They carry
" the Chinese Emperor a golden flower in token of tribute, but
" receive in return gift s to a far greater value. The vanity of one
" court, and the rapacity of the other, have long rendered this
" intercourse a permanent one." If in this case, the presentation
of a golden flower is made a pretext for obtaining very considerable immunities, does not arise from any political necessity, and
does not betoken any inferiority, but is viewed merely as a corn



-18 -
plimentary offering, it is difficult to discover upon what grounds
Mr. CaWFURTD anl others have hinged th3ir arguan3nts, th It a
similar offering on tho prt of the K'dsh Stave indicates a fadl
subjection, which an occasional non-compliance with or omission
of the ceremony justifa0s the Siamose in subjugating the whole
country, and wresting the kingdom from an acknowledged rightful sovereign. But of this, more hereafter. Kedah has occasionally sent a golden flower to Achoen and to Ava. The ceremony seems indeed to be a mere interchange of civility, or a polite
acknowledgement of inferiority, like one gentleman giving precedence to a superior in rank, though both may be equally
independent.  In 1770, the   Bugis  attacked  and plundered
Kedah, burning many houses. In 1785, the King ceded the
island of Penang to the English, up to which period, there is no
account of the Malayan State of Kedah, which flourished under
a succession of Mahomedan sovereigns many centuries, and was
at one period a place of very considerable trade, never having
been under the authority of Siam further than is implied from the
transmission triennially of a gold and silver flower.
PRAK.
The old Bendahtra of Johor was originally appointed Rija
over Perak, under the title of Sultan MUZAFER SIHAH. lie married
the Princess of Perak, and begat Sultan MaNSJR, who reigned at
the time the Malayan annals were written, in the year of the
Hejerat 1021. There is no tradition that this State ever did send
the Bunga Mas to Siam, nor does it appear that any such demand was made. It acknowledged dependence upon Malacca,
even prior to a King being appointed from Johor, when it was
under the control of a Pingulu, or Minister of the Malacca State,
but after the year 1567, when its own King became sovereign of
Acheen, a token of homage was sent to that State by his successor
to the throne of Perak.
SiLANGOn.
This Settlement was formed principally by an emigration of the
Bugis from Celebes, and has never been in any way dependent
upon Siam. In 1783, the Selangor people joined those of Rhio,
and went by land to Malacca, which they blockaded. A fleet
from Holland arrived opportunely in 1784. It is reported by Mr.
LIGHT who writes to the Governor-General, that, "the Dutch
" then proceeded to Silangor, which they found empty, the King
" with his followers having fled to Pahang. The Dutch at the
"beginning of this war wrote to the Rajas of Tringgi~nu and Kedah




-19 -" for assistance; the former joined, but the latter declined, excusing
" himself on account of a war in Petani. This will account for the
" King of Tringganu's reception of your letter, and for the King of
" Kdah's anxious desire to have the Honourable Company for his
" protector. In July last, the King of Silangor, having collected
" about two thousand Pahangs, crossed over to Selangor, and in
" the night sent a few desperadoes to massacre the Dutch. They
"got into the fort, and wounded one of the sentinels and the chief,
" but the garrison taking alarm, killed eight of the Bugis, dis" persed the rest, and in the morning, the Dutch, being afraid of
"another attack, embarked in their vessels, and fled to Malacca,
" leaving all their stores, provisions, and ammunition undestroyed;
' the King took possession, and still keeps it. The King of Sln" gor cannot remain long in his present situation, his people are
" kept together by hopes of assistance from the English, which he
" expects from the indulgence and preference our merchants always
" received from him and his father, above any other nation." " I
"had scarcely arrived when I received intelligence that the Dutch
" fleet consisting of three large ships and fourteen sail of praus
" and sloops, were before Selangor. The King, unable to procure
"provisions, or to support himself longer without assistance, entered
"into a treaty with the Dutch, the particulars of which I have not
"learned. It is said, they obliged him to swear on the Koran he
" would send all the tin to Malacca, and be a friend to the Dutch.
" They took away the guns which they had lost there, and have
"now sent for him to Malacca." In the early part of the year
1786, the Raja of Slhngor, Sultan IBItAIIIM, who is still alive,
sent a letter to the Governor-General of India saying, that the
Dutch Company's people had gone (having been expelled by
force) and requested the British Government to form a Settlement.
It does not appear, that this State has ever had any intercourse,
direct or indirect, with the Siamese, either commercially or politically.
KLANG.
This was formerly a dependency of Malacca, and afterwards
fell under Silangor. In the reign of Sultan MUDHAFER SHAH, the
third Mahomedan King of Malacca, Klang was one of the most
flourishing Settlements under Malacca, and formed originally by
emigrants from Singapore and that place. In the year 1340, the
chief of this place Tuan Perak, son of the deceased Bendahara,................Srieva Raja was principally instrumental in repulsing the Siamese in one of their attempts upon Malacca. The
circumstances are thus related in the annals: "About the year
" 1840, it is reported that the King of Siam, who in ancient timunes




-20 -" was named Salien Nani, hearing that Malacca was a great coun"try and did not own his allegiance, sent to demand a letter of
" submission, but the King of Malacca refused. The Siamese pre" pared to attack Malacca, and had reached Pahang, when all the
" inhabitants from Muar assembled at Malacca, and Tuan Perak
" brought up the people of Klang with all the women and chil" dren." The people of Klang complained of their chief's conduct,
in bringing up their wives and children, as only the males from
other places had arrived. His 'Majesty demanded why he had
done so; Tuan Perak replied: " The reason I have brought their
" wives and children is, that they may contend with a true heart
" against the fee, and even if the Raja were disposed to shrink from
" the combat, they would only be the more eager to prevent the
" slavery of their wives and children. For this cause, they will
" contend strenuously against the enemy." The King of Malacca
was highly pleased with Tuan Perak and said: "Tuan Perak,
" you must not live longer at Klang, you must come and live
" here." The men of Siam however arrived, and engaged in fight
with the men of Malacca. The war continued for a long time,
and great numbers of Siamese perished, but Malacca was not
subdued.  At last the whole Siamese army retreated.     Tuan
Perak was appointed Bndahlra, or General. Some time after,
the Siamese made another attempt. "They advanced as far as
" Batu Pahat, a place a few miles to the southward of Malacca, but
" were vigorously opposed by the Malays; the Siamese champion
" said: 'The preparations of the Malays are immense. If they
" advance, what a fine situation we shall be in, especially as we
" found ourselves to-day, unable to contend against a simple prau
" of theirs.' Then all the Siamese returned. In their retreat, they
"were pursued by the Bcndahara, Paduka Raja, as far as Sing"apore."
JOHOR
Was founded by Sultan MUHAMED, ex-King of Malacca, in 1512.
The place was destroyed by the Portuguese in 1608, and a new
town built higher up the river. In 1613, when the Dutch had a
small factory there, it was conquered by the Acheenese. In 1703,
says MILBUIRN: " Captain HAMILTON visited the place, and was
" kindly received. The King made him a present of the Island of
" Singapore, situated near the entrance of the river, but he declined
" taking possession of it, notwithstanding its convenient situation for
" trade, and the surrounding country being well supplied with
" excellent timber and trees fit for masts." In more recent times,
it has been little heard of, and from being a large and populous
city, dwindled down to a small fishing village. Johor has long
been a dependency of Rhio.




-21 -
PAHANG.
In the reign of Sultan MANSUR SHAH of Malacca, an expedition
was sent against Pahang. It is thus related in the annals:"The Bindahara proceeded against it, and after a day's journey,
" the Malacca forces reached Pahang, and defeated the inhabitants
" with great ease."  The King of Malacca married the beautiful
Princess WANANGo SRI, the daughter of the Pahang Chief, Maha
Rtja DEWA    SENA, who fled.    During the reign of Sultan
SMANSUR SHAH, the Siamese never returned to Malacca, nor did
Malacca men interfere with the Siamese. Towards the conclusion
of this King's reign, he sent an embassy to Siam with a letter
which contained neither greeting nor salutation, and ran thus:" It is desirable that there should be no further wars, for there is
" reason to fear the loss of life, and verily Paduka BUBxoANGAN is to
" be dreaded in war, but there is great hope of his forgiveness and
" favour." The Emperor of Siam asked how it was Malacca had not
been taken by the Siamese, and Tilan TALANT, the Envoy from
Malacca "called an old man of Sayor, rho had the elephantiasis
"in his legs, to display his skill in the spear. He tossed up spears
" in the air, and received them on his back without the smallest
" wound." "This, Sire," said he, "is the reason why Malacca was not
" conquered by the Siamese, for all the men are of his description."
The Siamese also sent a mission to Malacca, and the King of
Malacca was rejoiced and said: " Now my heart is at rest, for my
" enemy is converted into my friend"-and as the historian expresses
it: "God knows the whole, and to him    be grace and glory."
The kingdom of Malacca was powerful at this time, and it is
reported, that embassies were sent to and from the Emperor of
China and the King of Malacca. In the reign of Sultan ALUEDDI)IN, the successor of Sultan MANSUR SHAH, the Laksaminaua was
sent to Pahang, to call the King to account for killing a Malacca
Chief.
It has been supposed by some authors, that during the reign
of this Prince, Sultan ALU-EDDIN RAYAT SHAH, the country of
Malacca was under the Siamese power, but this does not appear
to be by any means the case, as it would seem that Malacca,
during that King's long reign of thirty years, was as powerful as
it had ever been, as has been before shewn. Pahang in late years
has been considered under the authority of Rhio. The King was
desirous of having the English there, but it was never taken
possession of.
PAKANJA.

This was also a dependency of the Rhio State.




-22--
TRtNGGNU.
Before Penang was settled, the Sultan offered a Settlement at
this place, and about the same time, he writes to the Supreme
Government. " According to the advice communicated to us
" through Captain GLASS, we gave fair words and liberal presents
" to Siam, but Siam is not contented. He demands ourself, or our
" son to go and do homage at the foot of his throne, and if we do
" not comply with his demands, he threatens to destroy our country;
" there is no example or precedent from the earliest period of any
" prince of this country doing homage in any other manner than by
" letter."
KELANTAN.
This State was rendered tributary to Malacca in the reign of
Sultan MUHAMED SHAH.      The event is thus described in the
Malayan annals: "After some time, the Prince ordered Sri Maha
" Raja to attack Kilantani. At that period, the country of Kelan" tan was much more powerful than Petani, and the name of the
" Raja was Sultan SECUNDER SHAH, who refused to do homage to
"Malacca; Kelantan was taken by the Malacca men. The Sultan
" of Malacca married the eldest daughter of the Raja of Kelantan,
" whose death sometime afterwards, distressed the King much."
The chiefs of Kelantan have often complained of the vexatious
demands of Siam; but have never acknowledged more than its
inferiority to Siam, and maintained its independence under a
regular succession  of Malayan Kings, extremely friendly and
disposed to conciliate the English. The Rhjas of Kelantan have
separately solicited the protection of the British Government and
requested the establishment there of an English factory, offering
very considerable advantages.
JATANI.
The origin of the Pitani State is thus described: " It is related
" that there is a country named Kota Maligei, the Raja of which was
"a Moslem, and named RAja SLtMAN. This country came to be
"mentioned in Siam as a very fine country, but not subject to Siam.
"A son of the King of Siam, named CHAW SRI BANGSA, proposed
" to go and reduce it, and proceeded against it accordingly with an
" innumerable host, like the leaves of the trees, and when he reach"ed Kota Maligei, R ija SLtMAN came out and engaged CHAW SRI
"BANGSA, man to man, and each of them mounted on an elephant.
" CHAW SnI BANGsA declared, that if he was victorious over RAja
" SLhAK, he would assume the doctrine of Islam. The place was
"taken, and the Siamese chief became a Mahomedan, and desired




-28 -
"his Astrologers to search for a good place to found a city. There
"was a fisherman who had a son named TANI, whence he was called
" Pa' Tani (Tani's father) the city was built where he resided, and
" hence it was called Petani."* The King of Petlni sent Ambassa.
dors to the King of Malacca, requesting the nobats to be granted to
him, and Petani became a dependency of Malacca. The Eaglish
established a small factory in 1610, which was abandoned in
1623. The Siamese, about the time Penang was taken possession
of, plundered the place and murdered and carried off the inhabitants, and in subsequent years, the State became separated and
disunited under different leaders, or petty inpedendent RAjas.
In the history of the first Malayan settlement at Singapore, we
find that the emigrants from Sumatra found no inhabitants, and
met with no opposition, and on their subsequent expulsion from
thence, their establishment at Malacca, and again at Johor and
other places, were effected under similar happy circumstances;
nor do we read in the whole annals of Malayan history of their
colonies on the peninsula, of one single instance in which a country
was wrested by force, from aboriginal inhabitants. It has been
admitted by the greatest philosophers and politicians, that " all
"mankind have a right to things that have not yet fallen into the
" possession of any one, and those things belong to the persons who
" first take possession of them. Where, therefore, a nation finds a
" country uninhabited, and without an owner, it may lawfully take
" possession of it, and after it has efficiently made known its will in
" this respect, it cannot be deprived of it by another nation." It
follows from this argument, that the emigrants who founded the
Malayan colonies, had an undoubted right to possess themselves
of the desert countries which they found on the peninsula, and
that having possession, and never having relinquished it, during a
period of 660 years, they are, and must be considered, the rightful
possessors of these countries at the present day.
Having fully established the rights of the Malays to colonize
the peninsula, and having previously shewn that Kedah was the
only State which ever acknowledged any degree of dependence
upon Siam, after the dismemberment of the Malacca kingdom, of
which it was a part, I shall now consider what constitutes a Sovereign State, and the several degrees of submission or dependence
known to us, as existing among different nations and States, which
will enable us to draw a satisfactory conclusion respecting the
relative situation of Siam and Ki~dah, which it is more particularly the object of the present paper to discuss. The celebrated
VATTEL says, in speaking of States bound by unequal alliance: "We
" ought to account as Sovereign States, those which have united
* The name of this State is pronounced Petani; the above derivation is probabl, fanciful-F, A. $.




--24--

" themselves to another more powerful, by an unequal alliance, in
"which, as ARISTOTLE says, to the more powerful is given more honour,
" and to the weaker more assistance. The conditionsof these unequal
" alliances, may be infinitely varied. But whatever they are, pro" vided the inferior ally secure to itself sovereignty, or the right of
"governing its own body, it ought to be considered as an indepen"dent State that keeps up an intercourse with others under the law
" of nations." Of States allied by treaties of protection, he remarks:
"Consequently a weak State, which, in order to provide for its
"safety, places itself under the protection of a more powerful one,
" and engages, in return, to perform several offices equivalent to
" that protection, without however divesting itself of the rights of
" Government and sovereignty, that State, I say, does not, on this
" account, cease to rank among the sovereigns who acknowledge no
" other law than that of nations." In regard to tributary States, he
observes: "There occurs no greater difference with tributary States,
" for though the payment of tribute to a foreign power, does in some
" degree diminish the dignity of those States, from its being a con" fession of their weakness, yet it suffers their sovereignty to subsist
" entire. The custom of paying tribute was formerly very common,
"the weaker by that means purchasing of their more powerful
" neighbour, an exemption from oppression, or, at that price, secur" ing his protection without ceasing to be sovereign."  And of
feudatory States, it is stated by the same author: "The Germanic
" nations introduced another custom, that of requiring homage from
" a State either vanquished, or too weak to make resistance. Some"times even a Prince has given sovereignties in fee, and sovereigns
" have voluntarily rendered themselves feudatory to others. When
" the homage leaves independence and sovereign authority in the
"administration of the State, and only means certain duties to the
" Lord of the Fee, as some honorary acknowledgement, it does not
"prevent the State or the feudatory Prince being strictly sovereign.
" The King of Naples pays homago for his kingdom to the Pope,
" and is nevertheless reckoned among the principal sovereigns in
" Europe."
The original object no doubt of the Kedah State sending a
Bunga.Mas, or token of homage, to Siam, after the custom once
had been established, was to secure the protection of its more
powerful neighbour, and we shall now see the obhligations of the
protector as well as protected. " When a nation is not capable
" of preserving herself," says VATTEL, "from insult or oppression,
" she may procure the protection of a more powerful State. If she
" obtain this by only engaging to perform certain articles, as to pay
" tribute in return for the safety obtained, to furnish her protector
" with troops, and to embark in all his wars as a joint concern, but
" still reserving to herself the right of administering her own govern



-25 -"ment, at pleasure, it is a simple treaty of protection that does not
" at all derogate from Sovereignty, and differs not from ordinary
" treaties of alliance, otherwise than as it creates a difference in
" the dignity of the contracting parties."  And again: "If the
"more powerful nation should assume a greater authority over the
"weaker one, than the treaty or submission allows, the latter may
" consider the treaty as broken, and provide for its safety according
" to its discretion. If it were otherwise, the inferior nation would
" lose by a convention which it had only formed with a view to its
" safety, and if it were still bound by its engagements when its
"protector abuses them, and openly violates his own, the treaty
would, to the weaker party, prove a downright deception."  If
then such privileges may be retained by a State voluntarily submitting to another, the mere tacit acknowledgement of homage
implied by the transmission of a golden flower (for history does
not record the admission on the part of Kidah of the right
of the Siamese to any further concession), we cannot fail to regard
the subjugation of Kedah as an unjustifiable usurpation.
In support of the opinion which I have here advanced, regarding the dependence of Kedah upon Siam, as implied from the
transmission of a golden flower, it may be satisfactory to refer to the
sentiments of Captain LIGHT, and as he obtained the grant, he was
the best qualified to form a judgment upon this question. In
reply to the directions of the Supreme Government that he would
ascertain  " whether the  King of   Kidah was the     rightful
" Sovereign thereof," he thus writes: " It does not appear, either
" by writing or tradition, that Kedah was ever governed by the
" Siamese laws, or customs. There would have been some remains
" had there been any affinity between them. The people of
" KI(dah are Mahomedans, their letters Arabic, and their language
" Javanese. The King originally from Menangkabau, in Sumatra; but
" as Kedah was very near Ligor, a Kingdom of Siam, they sent
" every year a gold and silver tree, as a token of homage to Ligor.
" This was done to preserve a good correspondence, for, at this
" period, the Siamese were very rich and numerous, but no warriors,
"and a considerable trade was carried on between Ligor and
" Kedah.   After the destruction  of Siam, the King of Ava
"demanded the gold and silver tree, and received the token of
"homage from    Kedah.   PIA TAx drove away the Burmans, and
" built a new city at Siam; the King of Kedah sent the tree to
" Siam, and kept peace with both, paying homage sometimes to one
" and sometimes to the other, and often to both."
Between the years 1780 and 1785, we find the Bengal Government had turned its attention to endeavouring to secure an
eligible post, in or near the Straits of Malacca, for the purpose of
establishing a small settlement, for the promotion of the commerce




-26 -
of Western India, and the security of our traders passing to and
from China and other quarters; and we are indebted to the troubles in which the Raja of Kedah was involved, by the oppres.
sions of Siam, for the Settlement of Prince of Wales Island. Under the expectation of securing a powerful ally, and encouraged,
no doubt, by promises of protection and support from the British
Government, which Mr. LIOIT evidently pledged, the King of
Kedah ceded the island of Pulau Penang, by which he incurred
the certainty of the almost entire abstraction of the foreign trade
from his dominions, and an actual loss in revenue of 20,000 dollars
annually. Being afterwards disappointed in the hopes of succour
from the British Government, on which he had confidently relied,
and oppressed by the numerous demands of Siam for vessels, men,
and arms, which he assures the Superintendent were without precedent or example, and confident in his own strength, he determined to make an attempt to free himself from such thraldom and
oppression, and while the Siamese were engaged in a distant war,
made a sudden incursion into, and possessed himself of, the provinces contiguous to his own State. He was, however, dissuaded
from such an enterprize by the British resident, who advised him
to reply to the Emperor of Siam's demand, that the distressed
state of the Kedah country could not afford such supplies, the
wars between the Dutch and Malays having for several years
prevented any foreign trade with KIdah, and that this year was
attended with a scarcity; in the meantime, he was advised not
to neglect providing for his own security.  Mr. LGwrT also told
him, that were he determined to put his projects into execution, of
making an attack upon the Siamese provinces, " being the aggres"sor, he would put it out of the power of the Honourable Company
" having any excuse for making war against Siam."  Having now
brought down the history of the several States to the period when
the British Government formed a Settlement at Penang, it may
be useful to refer to the opinions of some persons, whose experience
enabled them to describe the political relations of the several States
at that time.
The most authentic accounts which are to be found of the
political connection which has subsisted between Ava and Siam
and the other States in their vicinity are contained in the correspondence of some of the earlier Settlers at Penang.   Captain
JAMES SCOTT, a gentleman well known in this quarter, many years
ago, as an eastern trader, and afterwards a merchant and planter
at Penang, resided some time at the Island of Junk Ceylon, at
Kedah, and at Selangor, and from his long acquaintance and
intercourse with the Malays, was well qualified to describe the
countries which had so long been the scene of his mercantile
operations. He submitted to the Supreme Government a paper




professing to convey "some idea of the political situation of the
countries East of the Bay of Bengal," of which I shall here transcribe an extract, as necessary to a proper understanding of the
political relations at the period:" Arracan, Pegue and Siam formerly possessed the shores from
"Chittagong to Kikdah. Some twenty years ago, the oppressions
" of government drove the merchants from frequenting the ports
"of Arracan, since which they have been little heard of. Pegue
" has lately been conquered, and is become a province of Ava.
" Siam formerly possessed from Martaban to Kedah, which last
" was tributary to them. Ava was little known to Europeans,
" previous to their, some twenty-five years ago, over-running Siam;
"they then extirpated the Royal Family, the Capital of Juthia,
" carried off immense numbers of the inhabitants, leaving that coun" try, once so rich, a mere wild. The Siamese under a bold Usurper,
" called PrA TACK, drove home the Burmans, and recovered all they
" had over-run, except Martaban, Tavoy and Mergui, which they
" retain at this time. They have dwindled under Ava, to mere vil" lages, from losing the exports of the western provinces of Siam,
" which have in some measure come to Salang. In 1778-9, PuA TAcK
" conquered Camboja, Chia and Ligor, and overwhelmed the whole
" Peninsula; but in 1783 Camboja revolted. He sent an army
" against them under Pris CHECK and SussIN, two brothers, who
" having reduced Camboja, returned to Bangkok, killed PI TACK, and
" possessed themselves of the Government, where they now jointly
" reign. In 1783, Ava made war on Arracan; the event is yet unset" tied. Tonquin and Cochin China, during the last ten years, have
" been depopulated by civil wars and the eruptions of some barbar" ous mountaineers, which attacked either party and plundered
" both. In 1783-4, the one competitor drove the other out, who
" retired to Siam for assistance. The successful one sent a French
" Missionary Bishop to Pondicherry to solicit the assistance of the
" French against Siam and the mountaineers. The Dutch had like" wise an Agent there, who offered the assistance of Batavia. His
" negotiation failed, and we heard he lost his life. In 1784-5, the
" Siamese sent an army of 15,000 men, and 150 praus and junks.
" The fleet by accident or treachery were surprised and taken, and
" only 5,000 men with their Generals reached Siam again. Ava has
" joined Cochin China and the French, and everything is being pre" pared, on the opening of the dry season, to conquer Siam;
" and, from all accounts, the internal state of Siam is weak beyond
" conception; that bond of union which seems to cement large
" empires, is feeble under the two jarring usurpers, and in a few years
" will probably fall to pieces of itself, without a foreign concussion."
After Penang had been occupied a short time, Captain GLAss,
the Commanding Officer of the troops, gives the following descrip



-28--

tion of the several States of the peninsula, and their more powerful
neighbours, which, though embracing other points foreign to the
present subject of discussion, had better be preserved entire, as a
satisfactory elucidation of the sentiments of those most conversant
with the subject in those days, of the connexion subsisting between
the Malayan States, and the powerful Empires of Siam and Ava,
as well as the policy which appeared proper to be pursued by the
British Government, in regulating their new establishment and
connexions to the eastward.
"1st. The Empire of Ava, with whose southern     provinces
" there will be a considerable communication. The haughty ferocity
" of this people and pretensions of their sovereigns, who treat all
" men as their slaves, prevent treaties of commerce being formed
"with them, or, if formed, having any reliance thereon, because a
" compact supposes an equality, which cannot exist in the relation
" of master and slaves, it is immaterial whether the relation exists
" in fact, or in idea, the consequence is the same. From a small
" tribe called Purmaa, they have conquered Cossac to the north"ward, Pegue and Arracan to the southward, three independent
" States; they have likewise wrested the provinces of Martaban,
" Tavoy, and Mergue from Siam; but while the Siamese can keep
" them employed, there is little to fear from them here; but should
" they be successful in the present contest with Siam, they may
" again adopt their wish, the reduction of the Malayan Peninsula.
"This is the only native power whose force we have to fear in open war.
"2nd. Is Jan Salang. This island is a distant and neglected
" province of the Empire of Siam, which in itself has no effective
" force to be dreaded.
" 3rd. Is Ki~dah, which comprehends a sea coast of forty to
"fifty leagues, and the best cultivated part of the Malayan Penin" sula. Its population exceeds 40,000. From its vicinity to this
" place, the plenty of provisions of all kinds which it produces, it
" deserves your Lordship's most pointed attention, being contiguous
" to the two potent Empires of Siam and Ava; to the former of
" which it is tributary, or more properly, pays homage, by sending
" yearly a flower of gold and another of silver, which, with presents,
" and an inoffensiveness in the people, has hitherto preserved them
" from the attempts of either. But the trifling conduct of the
" present King and his Council, is likely to give occasion ooffence
" to both; he will then fall a sacrifice to the successful. In giving
" this Island (Penang) to the Company, the King of Kidah and
" his Nobles could not have foreseen, what they now feel, a loss of
" trade and consequent revenue, and no reasoning will convince
" them, that an increased demand, and consequent increased price
" for the produce of their country, will in time prove an equivalent.
"The revenues of all the Malay Princes arise from the profits




" on a restrictive commerce in general, managed by a Malabar,
" who acquires influence in consequence of the command of cash,
" and generally expends a large part of the profits in support of this
" influence; free from these depredations, the revenues of Kedah
" amount to 100,000 rupees annually. This small sum, with the
" feudal obligations of his people, generally ill-complied with and
" ineffective when collected, cannot cope with either Siam or Ava
" in force or resources, but to allow this country to become a pro"vince to either, would render our supply at this place dependent
" on the nod of a despot. By securing the iidependence of this
" country, the Honourable Company would acquire a dependent and
" useful Ally, secure the supplies at this Settlement, until the island
" can supply itself, and virtually in the end, as our influence increases,
" an accession of about 40,000 subjects.
"4th. Is Perak, which borders on Kidah, and extends about
" fifty leagues inland; near Perak river is well cultivated, and it
" contains about 30,000 people, exports annually 5,000 piculs of
" tin, wich is delivered to the Dutch at 32 Spanish dollars per
" Bhara of 428 lbs. The Dutch have a small stockade fort, with
" about fifty people there to prevent the natives from carrying the
" tin to other markets; but with all their precautions, the quantity
" they used to receive, is greatly lessened since the Settlement of this
" Island. The people of Perak are, in general, very ignorant, their
" revenues so small, and their residence so far inland, that little is
" to be feared from their animosity, and less to be hoped from their
" friendship while connected with the Dutch.
"5th. Selangor. This country runs to Cape Rachado, but is so
" much reduced by the late war with the Dutch, that the population
" of forty leagues of a very fine country, does not, I am credibly
" informied, exceed 1,000 or 1,500 people. The King, I understand,
" wishes to give the English Company the sovereignty of his country.
" 6th. Rambau, an inland country, and while the Dutch possess
" Rhio, they claim the dominion of Johor, which takes in the
" whole of that side of the peninsula.
"On the eastern side are Pahang and Trengganu, the population
" of which is not great. Petani has lately been reduced to a province
" of Siam.
"From this view of the East side of the Bay of Bengal and
" Malay Peninsula, it appears, there are only three powers, whose
" effective force requires attention; all the others will soon consider
"our nod as law. The three are Ava, Siam, and the Dutch. As
" the plans of the two first are the result of ignorance and caprice,
" in the whimsical despot, it is hard to conclude anything by
" indication, &c."
A month after taking possession of Penang, viz., 12th Septem.
ber, 1786, Captain LIGHT, the Superintendent, gives the following




information to the Supreme Government of India: "The Bur" mans divided their army into several parties, and ravaged at the
" same time the countries of upper and lower Siam, Ligor, Chin,
" Chompow, Mandelong, and Bancy, burning and destroying and
" massacring without compassion or exception. On a sudden, their
" army disappeared, but whether by the Siamese, or occasioned by
"a dissention among the Generals, is uncertain, as both are alleged.
" The Siamese recovered the places they had lost, and the King's
" brother, SOORAM, who camne to Ligor with a small army, had no
" sooner put to death the 2,000 Burmans left there as a guard, than
"they resolved to call to account all the neighbouring States who
"had not given the Siamese aid against the Burmans. He sent
" for the chiefs of Pitani, the King of Kedah and Trengganu, none
" of whom choosing to enter the Court of so desperate a tyrant, sent
" their several excuses, with presents, which he returned, and began
" immcdiately upon Porgit. This place was deemed impregnable.
"It was surrounded by seven thick rows of bamboos; within the
" bamboos, was an exceeding wide and deep canal, and within the
" canal, a strong rampart of earth, on which was mounted a number
" of large cannon. The area within these walls contained all the
" inhabitants, cattle and grain; their strength amounted to near
" 4,000 fighting men. The chief had rendered himself obnoxious
" to his people from tyrannising. This, and their confidence of
"situation, gave the Siamese an easy conquest. The reduction of
" this place has made every one tremble for his safety, and though
"the King of Kedah has avoided the storm for the present by
"submission, yet there is no dependence upon the word of a man,
" who has no moral restraint whatever, but as policy will prevent
" his entering Kedah while he can procure supplies from it, until
" the season for cutting paddy, it is possible some accident may
" arise to destroy his schemes."
We may gather from the foregoing details, that for some time
prior to, and about the period the British Government took possession of Prince of Wales' Island, there had been and was, an
almost incessant warfare between the States of A va and Siam, and a
contest for preponderating influence over the minor States in their
neighbourhood, which involved these inferior powers in continual
distress, and imposed upon them the necessity, either of affording
supplies to the utmost extent of their limited means, or of being entirely subdued by their more powerful and overbearing neighbours.
Mr. Scoor admits that " Siam formerly possessed from Martaban
" to Kedah, which last was tributary to them."  Captain GLAss
states, that Kedah pays homage to Siam by sending yearly a
flower of gold and another of silver, "which with presents and an
" inoffensiveness in the people, has hitherto preserved them;" and
Captain LIGHT says, the King had " avoided the storm for tbe




-31 -
" present by submission," yet there is no mention that Kidah was
immediately under the control of Siam, or that it did more than
merely send a token of homage, or acknowledgement of inferiority
to a superior power. The King of Ki~dah, as an independent
sovereign, being requested to permit a British Settlement to be
formed at Penang, thus submits his proposals to the GovernorGeneral of Bengal, as the conditions of such cession:" Whereas Captain LIGHT, Dewa Raja, came here and informed
" me that the Rja of Bengal ordered him to request Pulan Penang
" from me, to make an English Settlement, where the Agents of the
" Company might reside, for the purpose of trading and building
" ships of war to protect the island and to cruize at sea, so that if
" any enemies of ours from the East or the West should come to
"attack us, the Company would regard them as enemies also and
" fight them, and all the expenses of such wars shall be borne by
" the Company. All ships, junks, or praus, large and small, which
" come from the East or the West and wish to enter the Kedah
" river to trade, shall not be molested or obstructed, in any way, by
" the Company, but all persons desirous of coming to trade with us
" shall be allowed to do as they please; and at Pulau Penang the
" same.
" The articles of opium, tin and rattans are monopolies of our
"own, and the rivers Muda, Prye, and Krian are the places from
" whence tin, rattans, canes, besides other articles, are obtained.
" When the Company's people, therefore, shall reside at Pulau
" Penang, I shall lose the benefit of this monopoly, and I request
" the Captain will explain this to the Governor-General and beg, as
" a compensation for my losses, 30,000 dollars a year to be paid
" annually to me as long as the Company reside at Pulau Penang.
"I shall permit the free export of all sorts of provisions and timber
" for ship-building.
"I Moreover, if any of the Agents of the Company make loans
" or advances to any of the Nobles, Chiefs or Rajas of the Kidah
" country, the Company shall not hold me responsible for any such
" advances. Should any one in this country become my enemy,
" even my own children, all such shall be considered as enemies
" also of the Company; the Company shall not alter their engage" ments of alliance, so long as the heavenly bodies continue to per.
"form their revolutions; and when any enemies attack us from the
" interior, they also shall be considered as enemies of the Company.
" I request from the Company, men and powder, shot, arms large
" and small, also money for the purposes of carrying on the war,
" and when the business is settled, I will repay the advances; should
" these propositions be considered proper and acceptable to the
" Governor-General, he nay send a Confidential Agent to Pulau
"Penang to reside; but if the Governor-General does not approve




-32 -" of the terms and conditions of this engagement, let him not be
"offended with me. Such are my wishes to be made known to the
" Company, and this treaty must be faithfully adhered to, till the
"most remote times.-Written on Tuesday, 24th Shawal, 1199. "
Here no mention is made of the Raja of Kedah being tributary
to any other State, and the offer is accepted from him as an independent King. If we considered him a tributary Prince, why
accept such a grant from him?
We now come to the most delicate branch of the discussion, but
I shall have no difficulty in shewing, that the policy of the British
Government to give protection to the Kedah State is no less
manifest, than its moral obligation to do so. It would appear
that prior to Captain LIGHT's negotiations with the Raja of Kedah,
and his obtaining a grant to the island of Penang, an ineffectual application had been made, for the same purpose, under the
orders of the Supreme Government; a proof that the acquisition
of a Settlement in this quarter, was considered important and useful. Mr. LIGHT thus writes: "As I understand this Government
"had made application to the King of Kedah for the island of
" Penang without success, with the consent of the Governor-General,
" I made use of the influence and interest I had with the King and
" Ministry, to procure a grant of the island of Penang to the Honour"able Company. The King of Kidah who now        solicits your
"friendship and alliance, has sent by me a grant of the island of
" Penang and has annexed to the grant some requests."
The propositions made by the King of Kidah as the conditions
of the cession, were separately remarked upon by Mr. LIGHT, and
he makes the following observations upon the first article, which
stipulated for assistance and protection in arms and men: "This
" article comprehends the principal and alm6st only reason why the
" King wishes an alliance with the Honourable Company, and in the
"treaty must be worded with caution, so as to distinguish between
"an enemy endeavouring or aiming at his destruction or the king"dom, and one who may simply fall into displeasure with either
" the King or his Ministers."
The interpretation of this is not difficult, and it appears to be
very certain, that Mr. LIGHT gave assurances, that such a close
and intimate alliance would be formed between the King of Kedah
and the British Government, by the cession of Pulau Penang,
as would ensure his safety, and the independence of his kingdom.
The Supreme Government, in accepting the grant, acquaints Mr.
LIGHT that "It has been resolved to accept the King of Kedah's
" offer to the Company of the harbour and island of Penang. This
" Government will always keep an armed vessel stationed to guard
"the island of Penang, and the coast adjacent belonging to the King
"of Kedah. The GovernorG.Deneral and Council on the part of




-88 -
"the English India Company, will take care that the King of Kedah
"shall not be a sufferer by an English Settlement being formed
" on the island of Penang."
That he has been a sufferer, there is no question; and if, as it is
alleged by many, the Emperor of Siam was displeased because
he gave Penang to the English, and had he possessed the means,
would have visited him with severe punishment at the time ( though,
by-the-bye, the records shew that Siam was, at the period coeval
with the formation of the Settlement of Penang, in a state fully
capable of subduing the Kidah country, her arms having been
victorious over some of the Malay States on the other side of the
peninsula, and there is little doubt the consideration of the alliance
of the King of Kedah with the British Government, and the
probability of their aiding him, prevented such an attempt) we are
the more bound, on these considerations, to defend the Kedah
country from invasion. But if there were any feelings of irritation
at that time on the part of the Siamese, the long interval which
has elapsed, might be supposed sufficient to have done away with
them. We engaged, it seems, to have an armed vessel to "defend
" the coast of Kidah at all times." It must be recollected, however, that KIdah was taken by an attack from seaward, the fleet
which captured it having been equipped at Trang, on this side
the peninsula. Sir JOHN MACPHERSON, then Governor-General,
in accepting the island, replies to the King's letter, and makes no
objection to the proposed conditions, which he submits to England
for approval, the King of course naturally expecting, from the
promises of Captain LIGHT, and the tacit assent of the GovernorGeneral, that they would all be approved of by the Honourable
Company.   " Your friendly letter containing a grant of Pulau
" Penang to the Honourable Company, was delivered to me by Cap" tain FRANCIS LIGHT, the 16th February, 1786. Captain LIGHT also
" made known to me the requests of my Friend and Brother, which
" I, having the interest and friendship of my noble friend at heart,
" have already transmitted to England for the approbation of the
" King of England, and the Honourable English Company. I have
" likewise ordered a ship-of-war for the defence of the island, and
" protection of the coast of Kedah." This last paragraph implies
clearly, that it was intended to secure Kidah against an invasion
or attack from seaward. Not more than a month after Penang
" was occupied, Mr LIGHT writes, as I have before noticed: "The
" King of Kedah has reason to be afraid of such a tyrant (the King
" of Siam) and hopes to secure himself by an alliance with the
" Honourable Company."
This was a very natural expectation, and we are, no doubt, indebted to the troubles which the King of Kidah experienced from
the Burmans and Siamese, for our Settlement of Penang. He




hoped to secure the protection of the English. It is acknowledg.
ed by' Mr. LIGHT, that the King of Kedah sent a token of homage to Ava, as well as to Siam, or, in other words, that he was
oppressed by two contending powers, and to get rid of his difficulties, he formed an alliance with the English, by giving as he
thought a quid pro quo in the cession of an island eligibly situated,
and which had been solicited by the Supreme Government. This
was accepted from him as a sovereign Prince, and we are constrained, therefore, to view him and his heirs as the sovereigns of
the Kedah country, otherwise we contend against our own right to
hold the island, except by the sufferance of the Siamese. We
know (at least Mr. LIGHT appears to have been aware of) the
motives which induced the King to give Penang to the English.
We accepted it with such a knowledge and shoull be guilty of
great inconsistency to deny it. It must be always borne in recollection, also, in weighing the merits of this important question, that
there was no stipulated payment, at the time of the Grant, for the
loss the King would sustain, by the abstraction of the trade from his
dominions. His compliance with Captain LIGHT's request originated, not in pecuniary considerations, but in the expectation of
gaining a powerful ally. But, if more proof were wanting, that
Mr. LIGHT gave the King assurances of protection, the following
paragraph of his letter to the Governor-General, dated 5th October, 1786, will put the matter beyond dispute: " I returned for
" answer" (to a letter the King addressed to him concerning an
expected invasion from Siam) " that his best policy is to have as
"little communication as possible" (alluding to the Burmans and
Siamese) " but to put his country in a state of defence, and that
" while the English are here they will assist him if distressed."
Who that reads this will say, that Mr. LIGHT considered Kedah
dependent on Siam? He regards it certainly as a dangerous and
powerful neighbour; but would he have leagued with Kidah
and told the King, " the English while here, will assist you if
" distressed," if he had viewed it as a tributary State? No arguments can be of any avail as to what were our original intentions,
and what was the King's conviction, after such an unequivocal
admission as this. Mr. LIGHT appears to have been fully aware of
the value of the acquisition. in this letter of 15th September,
1786, he says: " The excellency of this situation for commercial
" exchange, is evident from the united opinions of every person who
" has been here, Europeans and Indians, from the heart-burning
" of the Dutch, and from the jealousy of the people of Kedah,
" who already foresee they must be dependent upon this place for
"any foreign trade, &c."  We take away from Kedah its valuable
trade; we withhold the only return stipulated by the King, in
the first instance, namely, protection and assistance, (for even at




-35 -this time, there appears to have been no pecuniary compensation
granted), and we wonder that the people of Kedah should be
jealous of us. I have omitted to notice the opinion of J. PIRICF,
as to whom the island belonged, which is contained in a letter to
the Governor-General, dated 23rd February, 1786: "I prefer it
" (Penang) to the Negrais, as it is an island sufficiently detached
" from the continent to prevent surprise or even attack from the
" natives, and being a free gift from the acknowledged and rightful
" owner, can never give cause for war."
It may appear superfluous to multiply proofs that Kedah was
an independent kingdom at the period of our forming the settlement of Penang, but if further evidence were wanting, the opinion
of the highest authority in India at the time, may be produced in
evidence.  The Governor-General records his sentiments in a
minute, as follows: "The Grant of Penang seems, in fact, to
" have been procured by the influence of the principal officer of the
" King of Kedah, with a view to secure himself a place of retreat
" against his numerous enemies, ltd the ostensible object of the
"King himself in making the grant, originated in the idea of sup" porting his own independence by the protection of the Englis
" and his attachment to us will either be strengthened or changed
"into animosity, as that protection is granted or withheld. This
" protection, however, cannot be effectually given, without involving
" us in disputes with the Burmans or Siamese, the latter of whom
" are the most powerful."
Throughout his proceedings, we trace the anxiety of Mr. LrGIT
to obtain the sanction of the Supreme Government, for effectual
aid to the.Kingof Kidah, which he had no doubt promised, and of which
we find him still holding out expectations. He thus notices (in
his Diary) an interview with the King: "The King received nme
" without any state, and seemed much troubled; he told me there
" was a passage in the letter (from the Governor-General) he did
" not understand. It seemed to threaten him if he did not comply
"with the Governor-General's request; he asked me if I had a
" copy. I told him it must be a mistake in the translation, and
" what the translator had taken for a menace to him, was meant to
" his enemies; he said this was probable, and ordered three people
" each to make a separate translation.  Yesterday the King of
" Kedah sent the Laksamana to enquire if I would consent to the
" people of Pftani settling opposite to Penang, and assist him, if
" attacked by the Siamese," and again" this day, the King of
" Kedah sent his brother, the Laksamana, with a letter; the purport
" as follows: we have received intelligence that Ava has mustered its
" army to attack Siam, and arrived at the borders. We have also
" received a letter from the King of Siam, commanding us to defend
" the island of Junk Ceylon against the Burmans, who are




-36 -
" expected with a fleet of praus and ships.  We have sent our
"brother, the Laksamana, to accompany our friend to us, that
" we may profit by his counsel, and consider what is best to be done
" for the safety of our country."  The King of Kedah would not
willingly obey the orders of the King of Siam, and applied to us for
aid, to which he considered himself entitled. The more I consider Captain LIoHr's proceedings, the more am I convinced
of the   unkindness of the    conduct towards the King of
Kidah.   It has been seen, that Captain LIGHT acknowledged
he had assured the King he would support him, if in distress;
that he told him the Governor-General menaced his enemies;
and that he received the island on condition of protection; and we
find him  writing to the Supreme Government on the 17th May,
1787, nearly a year after we had possession of the island: "The
" IHonourable Board were pleased to mention in their instructions,
" that they were willing to give a pecuniary consideration to the
" King of Kedah. Soon after the Racensworth sailed, the King
" became very pressing, and we tound, for a considerable time, a
" difficulty in procuring provisions. I wrote to the King it was the
" intention of Government to make him  a compensation for the
" island, and to keep him in good humour I trusted him with 20
" chests of opium, at 250 dollars per chest, since which we have
Sbeen plentifully supplied with provisions. There is a necessity
" fo)r coining to some terms with the King of Kedah while the
" fears of the Siamese and Burmans are upon him; and I have
Sreason to believe nothing will be acceptable without Government
" promising the King protection. This place will be subject to
" many inconveniences without such an alliance as will oblige the
" King to furnish the Settlement at all times with provisions; and
" preventing other European nations from settling in any other part
" of his country. Should the Siamese be permitted to take posses" sion of his country, we shall not only find an insolent and trouble" some neighbour, but be under the necessity of assisting them in
" their wars, or to go to war with them ourselves. I humbly
" conceive that it will be easier, and attended with less expense to
" the Honourable Company, to declare at once the King of Kidah
" under our protection; little else than the name of the Company
" will be wanted; the longer it is delayed, the greater will appear
" the consequence of the island, and the more difficulty there will
" be in fixing a Settlement. The Danes, the Dutch, and the
" French have solicited permission to have only a house in Kidah;
" either of them will promise much, and should the King consider
" himself aggrieved or disappointed by the English, he may in
" despair seek for other alliance."
The bias upon Mr. Loiir's mind is too obvious to be mistaken,
and it is equally clear he held out expectations of assistance from




-37 -
the English ere the British Standard was hoisted at Penang;
otherwise, as he remarks, the King would have sought an alliance
with some other European power, who would have made unconditional promises. Why, also, if the island was a voluntary Grant
of the King, as it is termed (though this appears strange, when
we consider that the King of Kedah had given a doided refusal
to a former application on behalf of the Supreme Government)
should Mr. LoGHT state: " the King was pressing for a settlement,"
and why should he support his claims? It does appear, however,
that the Supreme Government objected to interfere, but why was
Mr. LorIGHT permitted to take possession, without coming to a clear
explanation of our intentions in the first instance? The same
paper which contained the Grant contained also the condition,
namely, protection; and the Governor-General writes: "I have
" ordered a man-of-war to guard Pulau Penang and the coast of
" Klidah," inferring ostensibly at least, that the protection sought
for would be granted.
Captain GJA ss, the Commanding Officer of the troo)s at the time,
and a discreet, sensible man by all accounts, gives his sentiments
as to the propriety of effectual aid being afforded to the Ri;ja
of Kedah, and insinuates, as plainly as his respect and deference
for his superiors would admit of, in an official communication,
that there had been some evasion, lie remarks: "'This feeling,"
(alluding to the abstraction of the trade from Kidah, and discontent of the Kedah people) "and the evasive answers Mr. LIGHT has
" been obliged to give them to many requisitions, has impressed
" them with the idea, that they have been deceived, and as no idea
" tends more to estrange their affections, &c."  They find themselves
deceived after a year's trial. It may be argued perhaps, why did
the King, in making a treaty afterwards, not insist upon our protection?  The fact was, he saw we were in possession, and he knew
it was in vain for him to attempt to expel the English. He, therefore, prudently made the best bargain he could, by accepting
money; but still this is no justification of the want of good faith,
evinced on the occasion. It was impossible that they could be so
blind as to avoid foreseeing a great loss in their trade by the Settlement of P'enang, but, as I have already observed, they were
content to sacrifice that advantage for the greater security against
the encroachments of the Siamese which they hoped to obtain by
and alliance with the English.
In Captain LIGHT'S account of Junk Ceylon, he says: "The
" King of Ki~dah claims the dominion of these seas" (that is between
Salang and Mergui) "and grants a license for collecting the birds'
"nests and sea slug to some of his officers, for which he receives
"about 1,200 or 1,500 dollars per annum. After the loss of Siam "
(alluding to the conquest of that country by the Burmans) "the




-38 -
"Malays got possession of the Island (Junk Ceylon) and the Laksa" mana of Kedah maintained an absolute authority, treating the
"Siamese as slaves, until an accident inspired the Islanders with the
"idea of liberating themselves, which they performed in one night.
"The Laksam  na constantly regretted the loss of this island, and
"offered me 1,000 men, when it was proposed by Mr. HASTIaNGS to
" establish a Settlement there." It is far from probable, that the
King of Kedah would have been allowed to reap the advantages of
so lucrative a trade, or to have laid claim to such extensive authority, if he had, in these days, been absolutely dependent on Siam.
But let us now turn our attention to the extremely difficult
and unpleasant situation in which Captain LIGHT found himself,
who, there can be no doubt, promised more than he was permitted
by the superior and controlling authorities to perform. In his letter, dated 18th June, 1717, he says:" I have supplied the King of
"Kedah with twenty chests of opium, at the price of 250 Spanish
"dollars per chest, which I do not expect he will pay until the Conm"pany have come to some settlement with him." In truth, Mr. LIGHT
felt his own honour at stake; he had engaged for more than he could
fulfil, and he was glad to pacify the King in any way he could.
This is a humiliating confession he is obliged to make: "I do
"not expect he will pay for it until the Company have come to some
" settlement with him."  What settlement?  If, as we are told, the
island was a free grant, why should Mr. LiGHT insist upon our
obligation to come to a settlement, unless he felt that he had given
a solemn pledge?
The island was taken possession of on the 12th August, 178(,
and we do not find the positive decision of the Governor-General
against affording protection, till January, 1787, when the sentiments
of the Supreme Government on that head are communicated to Mr.
LIGHT: " With respect to protecting the King of Kedah against
"the Siamese, the Governor-General in Council has already decided
" against any measures that may involve the Company in military
" operations against any of the Eastern Princes. It follows of course
" that any acts or promises which may be construed into an
" obligation to defend the King of Kedah are to be avoided. If,
" however, Mr. LIGHT can employ the countenance or influence of
"the Company for the security of the King of Kedah, consistently
" with these rules, the Governor-General in Council has no objection
"to his adopting the measure, strictly guarding against any acts or
"declarations, that may involve the honour, credit, or troops of the
" Company."
We shall now see that the communication of such sentiments
and determination, was productive of the greatest embarrassment
to the Superintendent, and what a hazardous game Mr. LIGHT had
to play, in consequence of his inability to support the King of




-89--

Kedah; that the latter finding he had been deceived, begins to devise measures for his own security, and retaliating upon those by
whom he conceived himself unfairly dealt with; this is styled by
Mr. LIGHT "duplicity and cunning."  He acquaints the Supreme
Government, that "Captain    WRIGHT in the    Grampus who
" arrived here on the 21st instant from Siam, reports, at Siam they
" questioned him particularly about the strength of the place. The
" French Padre begged of him, not to mention Penang, for the King
" was exceedingly disturbed at the English being there; they told
" him at his departure, the King had sent a letter desiring the
" Honourable Company to take Mergui. Two messengers from
" Kdah were at Siam, and report spread, that the Raja of Ke" dah had sent to Siam complaints against the English; the same
" report came from Junk Ceylon, with this addition, that the Raja
" had written for assistance to drive the English from Penang." And
again: "I should be extremely sorry, from any ill-grounded appre" hension, to put Government to any unnecessary charge or trouble;
" but it is impossible to say what may be the intentions of the
" Siamese. If they destroy the country of Kedah, they deprive us
" of our great supplies of provisions and the English name will
" suffer disgrace in tamely suffering the King of Kedah to be cut
" off. We shall then be obliged to war in self-defence against the
" Siamese and Malays; should your Lordship resolve upon protect" ing Kedah, two Companies of Sepoys, with four six-pounder
" field pieces, a supply of small arms and ammunition, will effectual" ly defend this country against the Siamese, who though they are
"a very destructive enemy, are by no means formidable in battle;
" and it will be much less expense to give the King of Kedah
" timely assistance, than be obliged to drive out the Siamese, after
" they have possessed themselves of the country."
Captain GLASS also writes to the Governor-General about the
same time: "The King of Kedah still continues to profess friend" ship towards us, but from his own want of resolution and the
" intriguing disposition of his Council, I do not think his professions
" are much to be relied upon. But I am still of opinion (for reasons
" already enumerated to your Lordship), that if his friendship and
" independence could be secured, it would greatly add to the future
" peace and welfare of this Settlement."
The following extracts from Mr. LIGT's communication to the
Supreme Government shew clearly, that the King was still buoyed
up with hopes of our protection, and though even at this period Mr.
LIGHTo had reason to suspect his friendship, yet the Rajah consented to follow the advice of the Superintendent and refrained from
availing himself of the means, then apparently at his disposal, not
only of subduing the Siamese in his immediate vicinity, but of
obtaining a large accession of territory and subjects; an attempt




--40 -
he would not have thought of making, unless he had been pretty
confident that it would be attended with a favourable result. Instead, therefore, of returning aggression by aggression, it seems
he followed the advice of Mr. LIGHT, and kept merely upon the
defensive. This entitles him to some consideration on our part.
About this time, namely, in June, 1788, Mr. LIGHT endeavoured
to negotiate for a final settlement of the King of Kedah's claims;
he says: "I have made an offer to the King of 10,000 dollars per
" annum, for eight years, or 4,000 dollars per annum, for so long a
" period as the Honourable Company should continue in possession
" of this island; to these offers, I have received no answer. I have
" endeavoured to sooth his Majesty into compliance with the offers
" of your Lordship, and have hinted, that although the Company
" did not wish to make alliances which might occasion disputes with
" powers they were at peace with, they had not positively forbade
" my assisting him, if really distressed."
About three years after taking possession of Penang, viz., in
July, 1789, we find Mr. LIGHT is under considerable apprehension
that the King of Kedah would form other alliances, and being
disappointed in the expectation of succour from   the British
Government, his attachment was daily subsiding. The negative
which the King gives to the offer of money in the first instance,
demonstrates that a pecuniary recompense was not his object,
and the ungenerous acception of the offer, proves too clearly that
he considered himself deceived. Mr. LIGHT says: "I make no
" doubt, but the King of Siam will take the first opportunity
" to send his troops into Kedah and Tr~inggnu," and afterwards
" I have entered on the character of the Raja of Kedahli to pre" pare your Lordship for a scene of duplicity which he is endeavour" ing to effect, and which principally prevents my embracing
" the present opportunity of waiting on your Lordship. After
" acquainting the King of Kedah of the intention of Government
" to allow him 10,000 dollars for seven or eight years, he remained
" silent a considerable time; at last hle acquainted me, that he did
" not like the offer, without stipulating for any particular sum of
" money, or mentioning what performance on the part of the Coin" pany would content him. Being informed, that he did not relish
" the idea of selling the island, I asked him if he chose to accept
" 4,000 dollars per annum, for as long a time as the HIonourable
" Company should continue in possession of the island. To this,
" after waiting a considerable time, he answered in the negative, at
" the same time by his letters and messengers hlie endeavoured to
" draw a full promise, that the Honourable Company would assist
" him with arms and men, in case an attack from the Siamese
" should render it necessary. This I evaded, by telling him no
" treaty, which was likely to occasion a dispute between the Honour



-41 -
"able Company and the Siamese, could be made without approba" tion of the King of Great Britain; at present, as there was no
" reason for his entering into war with the Siamese, he had nothing
" to fear; the Siamese and all other country powers would consider
" the English as his friends, and for that reason would not disturb
" him, unless provoked thereto by his bad policy. From    the
" information I have received, I am pretty well satisfied of the King
" having written to Malacca and Batavia to try if the Dutch would
" give him better terms, and last year I hear he wrote to Pondi"cherry, to try if the French would undertake to defend his
" country."
Neither Mr. LIGnT, nor any of the succeeding Superintendents
or Governors had it in their power to assist the King of Kedah,
although his appeals were frequent, and his oppression intolerable.
Availing himself of the arrival of the Governor-General of India,
Lord MINTO, at Penang, when his Lordship was proceeding to
Java, he addressed him a long letter dated 24th December, 1810,
detailing the whole history of his connection with the English
and the oppressions from Siam, and earnestly entreating the
effectual aid and protection of the Supreme Government. The
letter is as follows: "In the year 1199 of the Hegira, in the time
" of my late father, Mr. LIGhT bearing on the head of submission the
" commands of the King of England, and the orders of the Governor" General, with various splendid presents, appeared in the presence of
" my late father, the Rija, and requested, in the name of the King of
" England and of the Governor-General, the island of Penang, for
" the purpose of repairing their ships-of-war, highly extolling the
" greatness, splendour, power, wisdom, beneficence, of His Majesty,
" the prosperity of the Honourable Company and all those connected
" in the ties of friendship with them; promising that the King and
" the Governor-General would assist my father in:whatever might
" be required, and would prevent the enemies of Kedah engaging in
" proceedings detrimentalto the country. Moreover, that they should
"pay rent for the island 30,000 dollars per annum, and entered into
" sundry other engagements. My father, consulting with the Minis" ters, considering that the neighbouring Burman and Siamese nations
" were more powerful than Kidah and having reflected that the
" King of Europe (i. e., England) was greater and more powerful than
" either of those nations, and that by means of the friendship of the
" English Company, these powers would be prevented from violence
" or molestation, perceived that it would be very desirable to enter
" into alliance with the Company, because the Europeans were just
"and regular in conducting all their affairs, and should the Burman
" or Siamese powers unjustly attempt violence, the powerful aid and
" protection of the Company would enable my father to repel the
" aggression. My father was, therefore, extremely desirous of obtain



-42 -
" ing the friendship of the Company, under whose powerful shelter
" and protection, the country might be transmitted to his descendants
" increased in strength. For this country, being small and deficient
"in strength, would depend on the power of the Company to repel
" the attacks of the Siamese and Burmans. My father accordingly,
" impressed with a sincere desire to obtain the friendship of the
" Company, granted the island of Penang according to the request of
" Mr. LoIGHT, the Agent for the Governor-General, and a written
" engagement, containing my father's demands from the Company,
" was given to Mr. LIGHT, for the purpose of being forwarded to the
" Governor-General. Aftersome time, Mr. LIGHT returned to settle on
" the island, bringing some Sepoys, and he informed my father that
" the Governor-General consented to his requests, and had sent peo"ple to settle on the island; that the writing from my father had been
" transmitted by the Governor-General to Europe, for the purpose
" of receiving the royal seal and sanction, and that it would be return" edinsixmonths. My father accordingly granted permission to pro" ceed to settle on the island of Penang, and sent his people to assist
" in the work, and his officers to protect them from the pirates in
" the commencement. My father having waited some time, at the
" expiration of the year, requested the writing from Mr. LIGHT, who
" desired him to wait a little; at the end of six years no authentic
" writing could be obtained; he received 10,000 dollars per annum,
" but Mr. LIGlr refused to fulfil the remainder of his engagements,
" and in consequence of my father insisting upon having a writing,
" agreeably to his former stipulation, a misuniderstanding aroso
" between Kedah and Penang, after which a new treaty of alliance
" was concluded. Since that time, many Governors have been
"placed over Penang, but my father was unable to obtain a writing
"either from Europe, or from the Governor-General. In the year
" 1215, my father left the government to my uncle, at which time
" the Governor of Penang, Sir GEORGE LEITH, requested the cession
" of a tract of land on the opposite shore, alleging that the island
"being small, the Company's people were distressed for procuring
" timber, and the raising of cattle. My uncle being desirous of
" removing the uneasiness, granted a tract (of which the bounda" ries were defined) accordingly, placing entire dependence on the
" power of the Company to protect and defend him against his
" enemies, and Sir GEORGE LEITH made a new treaty, consisting of
" fourteen articles, and constituting the two as one country. This,
" and the former treaty, are inscribed on the Company's records.
" During the whole government of my father and uncle, no injury
" or molestation of any consequence had been sustained, nor has
" any one ever offered to send my letter of supplication to the King
" or to the Governor-General. I consequently desisted, and only
" communicated with the several Governors of the islands in matters




- 8--

" relating to the two countries, but no certain arrangement from
"Europe could be heard of, nor could I obtain any assurances on
" which I could depend.
"Moreover, so long as I have administered the Government of
" Kdah, during the time of the late King of Siam, his proceed" ings were just and consistent with former established custom and
" usage. Since the decease of the King, and the accession of his
" son to the throne, in the year 1215, violence and severity have
" been exercised by the Siamese against Kedah, in demands and
" requisitions exceeding all former custom and usage, and which I can"not support for a length of time. The Rajas of Kedah have been
" accustomed to submit to the Siamese authority in matters clearly pro" per and consistent with the established customs of the governments,
"for the sake of the preservation of the country, being unable to
"contend with Siam, from the superior number of their people.
" During my administration, their demands have been beyond
" measure increased, and heavy services have been required of me,
"inconsistent with the custom of the country. These, however, I
" submitted to as far as I have been able, for the sake of the people,
" and to prevent the danger of a rupture with them; how many
" services, unprecedented in former years, have I not performed,
" and what expenses have I not incurred in carrying into effect
" their requisitions! Nevertheless, I cannot obtain any good
" understanding with them, nor any peace, nor any termination to
" their injuries and oppressions. They no longer confide in me, and
" seek to attach blame, alleging that I have joined with the Burmans,
" with whom this year they have made war, and their intention is
" to attack Kedah for the purpose of reducing the country under
"their government. I have in vain endeavoured to avert the
" enmity of Siam, but without any appearance of success. I have
" made known to the Governor of Penang, every circumstance with
" relation to this country and Siam, and have requested his advice
"and the assistance of the Company, on which my father relied,
"because the countries of Kidah and Penang are as one country
"and as one interest. When, therefore, Kidah is distressed, it
" cannot be otherwise with Penang. The Governor advised me by
"all means to avoid coming to a rupture with Siam, alleging that it
"was not in his power to afford me assistance, for that the Supreme
" Government in Europe had forbidden all interference in the wars
" of the neighbouring powers. Perhaps this would be improper
" with respect to other countries, but Kedah and Penang are much
" distressed by the labours necessarily imposed to avert the resent"ment of Siam, anrid every exertion on my part has been made to
" prevent comining to a rupture with that power, but I was unable to
" submit to demands exceeding all former precedent, which induced
" me to apply to the Governor of Penang for the Company's aid




" to enable me to repel their demands, for my father having trans" mitted to me his friendship and alliance with the Company, it
" would be otherwise a reflection upon the power of the King of
" England, who is accounted a Prince greater and more powerful
" than any other. I conceive that the countries of Kedah and
" Penang have but one interest, and perhaps the King and my friend
" may not have been well informed, and in consequence the Govern" or of Penang has not been authorised to afford asistance, and that
" should they be acquainted therewith, they would consider it im"possible to separate the two countries. In consequence, I request
" my friend to issue directions, and to forward a representation to
" the King and to the Honourable Company, of the matters contain"ed in this letter. I request that the engagements contracted by
"Mr. LoIGHT with my late father, may be ratified, as my country and
"I are deficient in strength; the favour of His Majesty the King of
"England extended to me, will render his name illustrious for
" justice and beneficence, and the grace of his Majesty will fill me
" with gratitude; under the power and Majesty of the King, I desire
"to repose in safety from the attempts of all my enemies, and that
" the King may be disposed to kindness and favour towards me, as if
" I were his own subject, that he will be pleased to issue his com"mands to the Governor of Penaug to afford me aid and assistance
" in my distresses and dangers, and cause a regulation to be made
" by which the two countries may have but one interest; in like
" manner I shall not refuse any aid to Penang, consistent with my
" ability. I further request a writing from the King, and fromn my
" friend, that it may remain as an assurance of the protection of the
" King, and descend to my successors in the government. I place
" a perfect reliance in the favour and aid of my friend in all these
" matters."
The whole of Mr. LIGHT's correspondence is corroborative of
this candid exposition, and it was quite inconsistent with reason
to suppose, that Penang was ceded without some very powerful
inducements, in the way of promises by Mr. LOIGHT, which, no
doubt, in his eagerness to obtain the grant, were liberal and
almost unlimited and that his inability to perform them was the
occasion of much mental suffering to him.
Thus abruptly ends Mr. ANDERSON'S paper. His statements
are supported by documentary evidence, his position as Secretary to Government gave him every opportunity of learning
the facts, he was a Malay scholar, and his previous post of
Government Interpreter had brought him, more than any other
officer, in contact with the Malays, while the whole of the
native correspondence had probably passed through his hands.




Lastly, the account was written at the instance of the then
Governor, and we are told that, after hearing the other side, the
views expressed in Mr. ANDERSON's paper were in accordance
with the opinions "of the great majority of the Europeans of
"Penang not connected with the Government."
This paper was, however, recalled and suppressed, and it is
hardly surprising.
At this distance of time, close upon a century from the date
of the events, it seems clear that the Sultan of the Malay State
of Kedah called himself, and believed himself to be, independent; free to govern his country as he liked, free to make
Treaties, and free, with the consent of his people, to alienate
a portion of his territory. That position was accepted by
Captain LIGHT, Onl behalf of the Supreme Government at
Calcutta, was confirmed by the Governor-General, and a
Treaty concluded with the Sultan of Kedah (in 1791 ) for
the cession of the Island of Penang, without any question
ever arising of the need to consult Siam in the matter.
A second Treaty was concluded in 1800, with the Sultan of
Kidah, confirming the cession of Penang and ceding to the
British a strip of territory on the mainland ( now called Province Wellesley ), whilst it provided for an annual payment of
$10,000 to be made to the Sultan of Kedah and his successors
in office as long as these places should be occupied by the
British.
Thus, between 1786 and 1800, two Treaties were concluded direct with the Sultan of Kedah for cessions of territory, and no question of even the implied right of Siam to
interfere was ever made, nor did the Siamese themselves ever
mention such claim.
The Siamese were repeatedly mentioned in the negotiations
between the Sultan and Captain LIGHT, and also in the correspondence between the latter and the Supreme Government
in India, and always in the same strain, viz., that the Sultan
of KIdah was ready to give up a valuable position to obtain
an offensive and defensive alliance with an ally powerful




enough to keep in awe the Kings of Siam and Ava, dangerous
neighbours whom he had so far only kept out of his territory
by fair words and valuable presents.
When the matter was first mooted by Captain LIGHT in
1785, the Sultan of Kedah framed his demands in the letter
quoted in ANDERSON'S Considerations. Those demands were
sufficiently plain; first, a promise of real assistance-" if any
" enemies of ours from the East or West should come to
"attack us, the Company would regard them as enemies also,
"and fight them, and all the expenses of such wars shall be
"borne by the Company."
Secondly, that as Kedah would lose trade by the settlement
of the British at Penang, " as compensation for my losses,
" $30,000 a year to be paid annually, so long as the Company
"reside at Pulau Pinang."
And lastly, the first request repeated, "when any enemies
"attack us from the interior, they also shall be considered as
" enemies of the Company."
Those were the terms, and short of these the Sultan was
not prepared to accept, and asks that the Governor-General
will therefore "not be offended with him."
In the face of this letter, and in the face of the subsequent
correspondence which passed between Captain LIGHT and the
Supreme Government, it is impossible to throw any doubt on
the nature of the demands, or indeed on the nature of the
promises.
The island was wanted by the Honourable Company, one
negotiation had failed, this one succeeded. Captain LIGHT
gave a promise, and the Supreme Government accepted the
terms and confirmed the promise. The actual words of Captain LIGHT to the Governor-General, in forwarding the result
of his negotiations, were, referring to the first article abovementioned:   "This article comprehends the principal and
" almost only reason why the King wishes an alliance with
" the HIonourable Company," and the reply of the Supreme
Government was: " It has been resolved to accept the King of




-47 -
" Kdah's offer to the Company of the harbour and island of
" Penang.   This Government will always keep an armed
" vessel stationed to guard the island of Penang, and the coast
" adjacent belonging to the King of Kedah. The Governor" General in Council on the part of the English India Corn"pany will take care that the King of Kedah shall not be a
" sufferer by an English settlement being formed on the island
" of Penang."
Again, in October, 1786, Mr. LIGHT tells the Sultan of
Kedah, and reports what he had done to the Supreme Government, that "while the English are here, they will assist him if
" distressed;" and that is in reply to the Sultan's expressed
fears of the Siamese and Burmans.
And so the island was occupied, and the Supreme Government raised no objection whatever to the demands of the Sultan, they "resolved to accept the King of Kedah's offer. "
Mr. LIGHT drew the special attention of the Government of
India to the principal condition of the Sultan, but the request
for $30,000 seems to have been little regarded. It was, no
doubt, estimated at its proper value, the King of Kedah, being
asked to frame his terms, put in this sum, being prepared to
reduce the amount when the really important demand was
accepted.
Later, the Supreme Government began to waver, and Mr.
LiGHT informed them that the Sultan refused a money payment without the promise of assistance.
Later still, when a firm hold had been established on the
island, in 1793, the Home Government sent out the ultimatum that "no offensive and defensive alliance should be made
"with the Rd/a of Kedah," and, adds the writer from whom I
quote, * himself Mr. ANDERSON'S chiefest opponent in this
question, " Captain LIGHT died about the latter part of this
"year."
* Journal of the Indian Archipelago, vol. iii., page 614-" An
Account of the Origin and Progress of the British Colonies in the
Straits of Malacca," by Colonel Low.




-48 -
The political relations between the Indian Government and
the Courts of Burmah and Siam at this time persuaded the
Supreme Government that it would be inexpedient to support
Kedah against both her enemies, and thus perhaps induce them,
hitherto always at feud, to combine against the British Indian
Company.
The position had been secured; seven years of occupation
had proved its value, and shewn that it could be held without
difficulty by a small garrison against Asiatics; Mr. LIGHT, the
original negotiator, was dead; a Treaty which said nothing
about offensive or defensive alliances had been concluded; the
promises of 1785 and 1786 were forgotten or ignored, and the
Raja of Kedah was left to settle accounts with his Northern
foes as soon as the conclusion of their mutual quarrels should
give them time to turn their attention to him.
As Mr. LIGHT had pointed out, Kedah was safe as long as
Siam and Ava thought that an attack on Kedah might involve
a trial of conclusions with the British, but when it was publicly given out that the assistance for which Penang had been
ceded could not be relied upon, would not in fact be given,
then the fate of Kedah became a mere question of time, the
prospective conqueror, whether Siamese or Burman, a matter
of chance.
It is, perhaps, not necessary to touch further on these negotiations, except as regards one point, the conclusion of the
preliminary (I quote that word from Colonel Low) Treaty
in 1791. There is no mention of an offensive and defensive
alliance in that Treaty any more than in the subsequent
engagement of 1800, and it might be argued that the Raja of
Kedah should have taken care to see that the Treaty contained
the stipulation which he most desired.
I do not think that this serious omission would at all surprise any one well acquainted with Malays.
If a British Officer, accredited by the British Government,
makes, during the progress of negotiations with a Malay Raja,
any promise on behalf of his Government, it would not occur




--49--.

to the Malay to doubt but that such promise would be accepted
by those who sent the officer, and honourably fulfilled. Were
any such promise made, and on the strength of it territory
ceded to the British Government, the acceptance of the cession
would be deemed by the Malay the acceptance of the promise,
if nothing were said or written to him to point out that his
demand could not be complied with.
If, after five years' occupation of such ceded territory, a preliminary Treaty were concluded, though that Treaty did not
contain the fulfilment of the promise, the Malay would not
consider that the British Government was thereby released
from performing an engagement, on the faith of which the
occupation had taken place.
If such a Treaty were called preliminary, and it were necessary to obtain sanction for important matters from a distant
Government, the probabilities are that the Malay would be
told that this particular request of his was still under consideration, and that, when instructions were received from that
high and distant authority, a further and permanent Treaty
could be concluded with him.
Under such circumstances a Malay R ija dealing     with
British Officers would accept their advice.
Lastly, if the British, having been in occupation of a strong
position for five years as the friends of a Malay Rja, proposed
to conclude with him a Treaty which was not all or anything
that he could have hoped for, it is difficult to see what the
Malay would gain by refusal.
How all these matters appeared to the King of Kedah (the
son and successor of him who ceded Penang to the British),
will be seen from the letter * addressed by His Highness on
the 24th December, 1810, to Lord MINTO, Governor-General
of India, when proceeding to Java.
We are not told what reply was sent to the Rja, but that
letter, addressed to the highest authority then known to the
* See page 41.




-50--
Malay, would appear to him to exhaust his means of seeking
redress. An adverse reply would be conclusive of the futility
of further representations on the matter.
It was not till 1821 that the Siamese found leisure to attend
to Kedah, but then the attack was sudden, the war short but
sanguinary, and the submission that has resulted very complete.
The Malays of Kedah more than once, at short intervals
after their conquest, made an effort to regain their independence, and though on one occasion they drove out the invaders
and carried the war into Senggira, they were not long able to
prevail against their too powerfull enemy.
As I said in the opening, the supremacy of the Siamese in
Kedah to-day is absolute and uncontested. Whether the
influence of the Court of Bangkok has tended to ameliorate the
condition of the Malays of Kedah, to raise them in the social
scale, to render the country prosperous and the people happy,
is another question on which I shall say a few words later.
While Mr. ANDERSON considered, and was trying to prove
that Kedah had been deceived by the Indian Government, and
had fallen a prey to a relentless enemy, who, unprovoked, had
sought a means of reducing the country under its sway,
another officer took an opposite view of the case, and, regarding
Kedah as a rebel and traitor to its lawful sovereign, justified
the proceedings of Siam and blamed the Indian Government
for any countenance, support, or protection given to the Rdja
of Kedah or his family.
This officer was Captain Low (afterwards Colonel Low),
Superintendent of Province Wellesley, and I could have
wished to have here added his views on the subject, if only to
shew both sides. But Colonel Low has not written any connected article on this question, what he says appearing, with
many other matters, in a series of papers, to which I have
already referred, entitled "The Origin and Progress of the
British Colonies in the Straits of Malacca."* Moreover, Colonel
* Journal of the Indian Archipelago, vol. iii., page 599, and vol.
iv., pages 25, 119, and 3(E0.




Low's statements are, as a rule, his own, not supportel by
documents or the opinions of others, as in the case of Mr.
ANDERSON'S paper. Colonel Low, too, being then Superintendent of Province Wellesley, himself states that, from his
action, he had incurred the dislike of the Kedah people, and it
is possible that this fact may, to some extent, have biassed his
mind.
When Colonel Low's paper appeared in the Journal of the
Indian Archipelago, Mr. J. RI. LoGAN, the Editor, a man universally respected in this Colony, and whose long residence,
deep study, ability and independent position entitled him to
speak on such a question as this, felt it necessary to attach to
the paper the following note:" We have not deemed it proper to express our dissent from
" some of the Author's views with respect to the rights and claims
" of the Malay Kings of Kidah; but distant readers ought to know
" that public opinion in Penang has always been strongly in favour
" of them. In 182j an elaborate work was compiled from official
" records by Mr. ANDERSON, the Secretary to the Penang Govern" mont, in proof of the right of the King to cede Penang and his
" claim upon us for assistance against the Siamese. The Governor
" in Council concurred in Mr. ANDERSON'S conclusions, and the
" work was printed by their order." *
And again, in Vol. iv. of the Journal of the Indian Archipelago, page 23, appears the following:" Colonel Low has sent us the following memorandum with
" reference to our note at the foot of the first part of this paper,
" Vol. III. p. 617.
" Memorandum.-Mr. ANDERSON, the gentleman alluded to in
" the note, was Secretary to the Penang Government. He advo" cated the independence of Kedah of the Siamese-which was a
" political view of the case quite at variance with the views of the
" Supreme Government of India-and although the Local Govern" ment of Penang did not prevent his publishing the pamphlet,
" supposing that he would not uphold the Raja of Kedah against
" his Liege Lord as it was admitted by the Supreme Government
" that the Emperor of Siam was, yet when the Local Government
" became aware of the side taken by Mr. ANDERSON, it instantly
" directed him to suppress the pamphlet. That all the native
" public of Penang were in favour of Kdah can excite no surpmise,
* Journal of the Indian Archipelago, vol. iii., page 017.




-52 -
" as the bulk of the people was composed of Malays and Chinese
" whose feelings and interests were closely connected with Kedah.
" Many of the Europeans, from motives of humanity, were doubt"less also in favour of Kidah. but none of these cases can be
" deemed as any evidence or proof of the political question in
" either way, as to the Rija's claims or rights.
" Penang, 9th December, 1849.              J. Low.
" We shall not enter into any controversy with our esteemed
" contributor. In saying that public opinion in Penang has
" always been strongly in favour of the rights and claims of the
" Malay Kings of Kidah, we meant the opinion of the great
" majority of the Europeans of Penang not connected with Govern" ment. Much has been said and written on both sides of the
" question, and we saw with some apprehension the revival of the
" discussion in the pages of this Journal. We say nothing as to
" the relative value of Colonel Low's opinion and that of Mr.
" ANDERSON and the large number of European residents, past and
" present, who, like ourselves, agree in Mr. ANDERSON's views.
" Whether or not the Local Government of 1824 concurred in
" these views, may he gathered from the following extracts from
" the report of the trial o f Tunku MAHIIOMED 8AAD in the Court of
" Judicature at PeImagi igi 1840.
" From the eifence o f the floa'ble J. W'. SALDoN, Esq., Rei" dent Councillor (t Pniiaiq.
" Have you reat d this lhook in which the t raislatlion of the treaty
" is printed, and wlhicibears on its tiile page to be ' by Jouit
'  (NDEIsox, of the Hl oiotirable East India Company's Civil Scrvice, Penang,' and to be printed at Prince of Wales' Island
under the authority of Government by WILLIAM Cox in the
year 1824, and arc the Government records therein correctly
" cited?
" I have read Mr. ANDERSoN's work, but have not compared it
" with the Government records, but I believe they are cited
" correctly.
" Do you know the book to have been printed under the autho" rity of Government?
" I know that 100 copies were printed by order of Government
" and sent to the Court of Directors.
" Is the printed copy produced a true copy?
" I cannot say.
" Mr. BALIETCHET.- Then we must prove it.
" EDWARD D'OLIVEIRO called (previously sworn on the 26th
" October.)
" I was a printer employed in the Printing Office of the late
WILLIAM Cox; the copy of Mr. ANDEisON's book produced was
printed by Mr. Cox )y order of the Government.




-53 -" Mr. BALHETCIET.-I have already mentioned to your Lord" ship that the Government * recalled all copies of this book that
" could be discovered; that Mr. ANDERSON was obliged to give
" his word of honour that he did not retain a copy, and that this
" copy now produced and proved is from the library of Mr. JAMES
" FAIRLIE CARNEGY of this island, a brother-in-law of Mr. ANDER" SON.
" From the Charge to the Jury by the Honourable Sir WILLIAM
" NORRIS, Recorder.
" Again, the prisoner's agents had dwelt at some length, and
" with much feeling and eloquence, on the cruelties and oppres" sions which had followed the Siamese invasion of Kedah in 1821;
" and that they had not exaggerated matters was pretty evident
" from the details in Mr. ANDERSON's book, which could scarcely
" have been published, as it both purports and was proved to have
" been, under the authority of the Local Government of Penang,
" within three years from that period, had not the appalling facts
" which it records been substantially true.-ED."
I have, however, made a few extracts from Colonel Low's
paper, not so much with a view of throwing light on the
Kedah question, for that seems sufficiently clear, but because
of occasional references to other States -Prak, Trenggi~nu,
Pt~ini and Kelantan. Colonel Low, writing in July, 1848,
makes the following remarks on the occupation of Penang by
Captain LIGHT in 1786:
" It is much to be regretted that the cession of this island had
" not been obtained directly from the Siamese Court, which ap"pears to have been not indisposed to the measure at the time.
" Siam was then waging war with Ava, and it had become an
" object of great importance for it to have ready means of pro" curing European arms and ammunition on its western coasts.
" But its Emperor could not brook that the British had acquired
" the island from the Lord of his vassal State of Kedah, and
" accordingly resented the unauthorised alienation, which had been
" concealed from him, by threatening the Raja with a full measure
" of his vengeance.
" It was not long, however, before the consideration just noticed
" began to have its full and due weight, and as the island was in
" itself of no value to the Siamese King, he was apparently easily
"pacified, the intention was dropped of punishing the Rja then,
" and the Kidahyans and Siamese were soon allowed to enter into
" * By order of the higher authorities. The Governor, Mr. FULLERTON, held
" the same opinion as Mr. ANDERSON and urged that the British Government
" should not hesitate to endeavour to obtain tho restoration of our ally to the
" throne of his anoestors.-E."




-54 -
" a friendly intercourse with the settlers on that island, one which
" has not been seriously interrupted up to the present day.
" The then tenure, therefore, of Penang by the British rested upon
" the very flimsy foundation of recent occupation and it may now
" be considered as based on long occupancy alone-one, however,
"which, subsequently to the waived protest of the Siamese, has
" never been questioned or disturbed by them, but on the contrary
" has been formally recognized in the treaties betwixt the Court
" of Bangkok and the British.
" The treaties with the Kidah Raja were indeed null and void
" from the very first, since the Kidah Rija, as a delegated ruler,
" had no power to make them; or at any rate to give away any
" portion of the territory of Kidah. Even had he been a ruler
" both de.facto and de jure, his expulsion from that country after" wards' by the Siamese would have had a similar effect, for he
" could not have performed then those acts to which he was by
"treaty bound. A sort of tacit right, however, to hold possession
" may have arisen from the Siamese having originally neglected
" to strongly and sufficiently protest against it, and from their not
" having enforced the not very regular one, which they did make.
" This, however, would be a dangerous precedent on which to base
" occupations of territory.
" The treaty of Bangkok treats Kedah as one of the Siamese
Provinces. Hence there can be no independent RiTja there, and
" consequently no one who is entitled to the sum formerly payable
" to the self-styled independent Kedah Rajas, by virtue of the
" treaty made by Sir GEORGE LEITH before noticed. The Siamese
" Emperor could not claim it on the plea that he is the ruler de
"jure of Kidah, without directly admitting that the Rija who
"ceded Penang was a ruler in his own right, and so nullifying
" such a claim. If this sum is now, therefore, to be paid, it can
" only be as a gift. But it is one which cannot benefit the reci"pient, unless by helping to conciliate the Emperor, for it must,
" as it now does, find its way into his coffers. But although osten" sibly paid under this aspect of the case, and quite irrespective
" of political views, and merely in consideration of the fact that
" the possession of Penang was obtained from a Raja of Kedah," still from its being paid to a Siamese Officer or Governor of
" Kedah, and immediately afterwards from its being paid over by
" him to Siam, it has too much the appearance of being a rent or
" tribute. All this seems to be anomalous in politics, and had
" better, perhaps, be at once got rid of by a commutation, but
" securing at the same time the office of Governor as at present,
" on his duly preserving his allegiance to Siam, to the legitimate
" nearest descendant of the Raja who ceded Penang, or to Siam
" itself. We may, however, be pretty sure that, unless this be




-55 -
"done, the payment will be perpetuated, sinee for its sake the
" Siamese Government will, for so long as any of the descendants
" of the Raja just noticed remain, place one of them as Governor
" over Kedah, or at least, as now has been done, the central por" tion of it. There is, it may be added, no scarcity of scions of the
" stock of the Raja of Kedah.
" The original intention in securing Penang was purely of a
" general commercial nature, and for the purpose of erecting docks
" and building ships, and to be a naval dept-and to this agricul" tural and other objects were mere adjuncts. It became one in
" the chain of trading colonies with which the British have since
" girded the world."
I extract the following to shew that, in 1848, though a
strong partizan of Siam, Colonel Low writes Trengganu and
Kelantan as "Independent," though I believe that at that
time both these States sent the "Bunga Mas" to Siam, while
Pethni is called " Dependent on Siam":" The population of the Peninsula, excluding the British posses" sions, may probably stand thus at the utmost:" Independent.
" Johor and its dependencies)           40000
"and Pahang,       j              40,000
" Trengganu,......... 30,000
" Killantan,......... 40,000
" Perak,......... 25,000
'Selangor,.........        3,000
" Dependent on Siam:" P tAni,......... 50,000
" Kedah,......... 25,000
213,000 "
Immediately afterwards, hlie tells how Petani became dependent:
" About this time (July, 1786) the Siamese over-ran the
" Ptani country which had refused to pay the usual homage. The
" population of this country amounted then to about 115,000, but
" it was easily reduced to its former state of submission. Hajis
" abounded in it, as they now do, and it is well known that this
" class of Malays, both from bigotry and religious pride, are ever
" ready to foment rebellions. They gain little indeed by the Haji
" beyond these two qualifications."
I quote the following paragraph on the terms of the occupation of Penang to shew that Colonel Low calls the question
of affording assistance to Kedah a "new subject" (in Decem



ber, 1789), and this, I think, either shews bias or an insufficient acquaintance with the real facts:"The RAjaofKedah insisted [December, 1789] that Captain LIMhT
" had, several years before and previous to the cession, promised to
" assist him if distressed in his expected troubles with both the Bur"mese and Siamese. It appears that although such promise had not
" been actually made by that officer in positive terms, still that, by
" evading in general terms any direct reply, he had left the Rja
" to entertain hopes that he would perhaps gain his object. But
" it seems also clear that this new subject was then mooted by the
" R ja, as he had hopes otherwise of obtaining the aid of some less
" scrupulous power than the British, for enabling him to set the
" Siamese at defiance. In this frame of mind he had made secret
" overtures to the French at Pondicherry and to the Dutch. It
" does not appear that the former shewed any great alacrity in, meeting the Raja's views, but the Dutch entertained them with
"avidity, received the Raja's letters with great pomp, and doubt"less hoped, by a grand stroke of policy, to exclude the British for
" ever from the Straits, and this at the very time too when the
" hoisting of a signal of aid, if not of approbation merely, by the
" latter would have raised every Malayan arm throughout the
" Archipelago against Dutch rule and influence. A Dutch frigate
" was despatched to Kedah, and two other cruizers were anchored
" off Penang harbour and interfered with the traders to that port.
" The Raja of Kedah now laid an embargo on rice and other sup"plies usually carried to Penang."
Here follows an extract to shew the nature of the relations
between the Siamese and the British Authorities in Penang:" In 1792 the Raja, notwithstanding all past experience, gave
" umbrage to Siam by aiding or at least countenancing an attack
" made on the Siamese provinces of Dalung and Singg6ra by 400
" Hajis and 3,000 Pet ni men, who, however, were cut up by the
" Siamese troops. The Raja saved himself by timely concessions.
" The Siamese Court, in order to try the temper of the British
" Chief at Penang, sent an embassy to him requiring, if not de" manding, the aid of two vessels loaded with rice to be used in
" their war with the Burmese. The request was met with a
" present of some iron and nails! "
I have already referred to the following passage:" 25th February, 1793.-The Home Government at last sent
" out the ultimatum  that no offensive and defensive alliance
" should be made with the Rdja of Kidah. Captain LIoIT died
" about the latter part of this year.
" Although the rather implicit credence which he gave at first
" to the IlAja's assertion of his independence of Siam, might have
" led to more serious consequences than it did, still it would




-57 -
" appear that he was a man of sound sense, probity and judg" ment-active, practical, and moderate-that certainly reprehen" sible credence, however, secured to the British merchant and to the
" world the port of Penang, the most eligible one at this extre" mity of the straits."
I give two extracts regarding the acquisition of Province
Wellesley:" 15th July, 1800. At this period, Sir GEORGE LEITII, without
" any lengthened negotiations, purchased from the new Baja of
" Kdah for the sum of two thousand Spanish dollars, that tract
" of land on the Peninsula opposite to and outflanking Penang,
" which has since been called Province Wellesley."
" The new treaty which was entered into with the Raja em" braced the same articles as those which were contained in the
" preceding treaties, and the Raja was to receive ten thousand
" dollars per annum so long as he was de facto the ruler of Kidah.
" This treaty was superseded by the treaty of Bangkok and by the
" Raja's losing his government. But his son now receives it,
" although he is a mere Governor appointed by the Court of
" Bangkok over a fourth part of the Kedah country."
Colonel Low thus recounts one attack on Perak:" 1813. The Siamese obliged the Raja of Kedah in this year
" to attack the State of Perak, which then, as it now does, bounded
" Province Wellesley on the South. This was an unprincipled
" and unprovoked aggression. The Kedah forces evacuated the
" country soon after, but not before they had inflicted on it the
" miseries of demibarbarian warfare.
" 25th February, 1814. The Governor-General deprecated the
" undesirable consequences likely to result from the extension of
" Siamese power to the vicinity of Malacca, but as the invading
" force had retreated, no mediation as contemplated became neces"sary. Yet the Kedah Raja, before his invasion of Perak, had
"received from the Penang Government one hundred muskets
" and twenty barrels of gunpowder, and probably on some false
" plea, for the independence of Perak had all along been desidera" ted. The Perak Raija, quite unaware of the aid thus untowardly
" given to his enemy, addressed a letter to the chief authority at
" Penang, which exhibited the profound ignorance which has ever
" characterised the rulers of that petty State. He only asked for
" two ships of war and two thousand troops, one half of these last
" to be Europeans ( one hundred being perhaps the utmost
" strength of the latter at the time in the island). 'I am,' wrote
" this potentate over twenty thousand subjects, 'he who holds the
" 'royal sword and the dragon betel stand and the shell which
" ' came out of the sea which flowed from the hill of S'Gantang.'




-58--
" He offered at the same time the Dinding islands to the British
" for nothing, and the monopoly of all the tin and rattans in Perak
"for the yearly sum of two thousand dollars, also elephants in
" exchange for gunpowder, at the rate of sixty dollars for each of
" the height of six feet, and six hundred to nine hundred dollars
" for those of the largest size. These requests and offers were not
" attended to, although some of them were very advantageous.
" But the Supreme Government afterwards sanctioned the occupa"tion of the Dinding islands. This, however, never took place."
Again, another instance of the style in which the Siamese
carried on their correspondence with British Officers:" 12th November, 1821. The warning before noticed was true,
" for, in the November following it, the Rija of Ligor burst into
" Kdah at the head of a force of seven thousand men. The small
" brick fort at the entrance of Ki~dah river fell after a feeble
" defence on the 18th, and the Raja, without trying to defend it,
" fled precipitately on an elephant to the coast opposite to Penang.
" The Governor deputed Mr. CRAcJIOFT to offer him an asylum in
" Penang, but under the express stipulation, that neither he nor
" any of his followers should intrigue or commit any political act
" without the approval of the British Government. The Raja
" established himself under these conditions in Penang, and for
" upwards of twenty years afterwards strenuously and systemati" cally acted in direct opposition to them.
" The Rtja, it is said, escaped the hot p)ursuit of the Siamese by
" scattering rupees from his elephant in his route, which helped to
" delay the soldiers.
" The RIija of Ligor now addressed a letter to Mr. PIIILLII's
"describing the refractory conduct of the ex-Kidah Rja,* and
" stating that the Emperor would appoint a Siamese officer to be
" its Governor, and then, in somewhat of the Celestial fashion, he
"set forth that a large force would be sent to attack any country
" which should p)rotect the ex-Governor and carry him off. 'Let
"'my friend the Governor of Penang if he goes there secure him
" ' and deliver him, so that his head may be brought up. Should
" ' this be refused, be it known that I am at Kedah with a large
" ' force, and near to Penang, and that friendly relations will be
"'broken and commercial intercourse will cease.' He at the
" same time invites the Governor of Penang to visit him at Kidah
" to enter into amicable relations. This vaunting letter, which
" * He was never styled Raja by the Court of Bangkok, but
" Chow Pangiran, or Lord, the title which the Emperor conferred
" upon him when he went to the capital to solicit the Government
" of Kedah. The Malays, following their own custom, called him
" RiAja."  [This note is by Colonel Low.]




-59--
"supreme ignorance alone could have dictated, and which looked
"like a close approach to a declaration of war, only that it was
" not official and was the exhibition of anger in a mere provincial
"chief unauthorised by his Emperor, was calmly replied to. The
" Raja of Ligor was told that the British Government was not
" accustomed to deny the rights of hospitality to an ally or friend,
" and that confident in its own strength and power, it was not in
" the habit of receiving, or of using in its correspondence with
" neighbouring States, any unavailing threats and expressions.
" January, 1822. The uncle of the ex-Raja, who was a tool in
" the hands of the Ligorian, wrote to the Governor to have paid
" to him the rent as he called it, which the English had to pay for
"Penang. To back this demand, the Ligorian recognised this
" Chief as Governor of Kedah, although he had just before
" declared that a Siamese should be placed over Kedah. As the
" Siamese Emperor had never openly protested against the British
" occupancy of Penang, he committed a palpable political blunder
" in not maintaining the annual payment to the ruler de facto of
"that country. It is of small consequence how this money is paid,
" for any how, if demanded, it finds its way into the Siamese
"treasury. But it would have been extremely beneficial had the
" negotiators at Bangkok induced the Siamese at once to accept
"a sum of money in lieu of all further demands. At present the
" payment looks too much like rent or tribute."
The following extract is not in accord with one already
quoted, but Colonel Low gives no authorities for his conclusions. As a matter of fact, Kelantan is an important State,
probably the most populous, as regards Malays, of any in the
Peninsula, and denies the authority of Siam to interfere in the
Government:"July, 1822. The Raja of Kelantan, a small State on the East
" Coast of the Peninsula, wrote to the Governor of Penang offering
" to give up that country to the British upon his being allowed
" one-half of the revenues. He would have made a good bargain,
" and the British a bad one, had the proposal been entertained" for being then under Siam, it would have relieved him from
" vassalage, and placed more revenue at his disposal than perhaps
" he could else have had the power to retain."
The following refers to the British-Siamese Treaty of 1826,
to which I shall have occasion to refer later:" 1826. Captain BURNEY, Envoy of the Governor-General, con" cluded with the Siamese Court the Treaty of Bangkok, on the
" 20th June, 1826. This was chiefly of a commercial nature, but the




-00 -
" Court would not listen to any overtures for the return of the
" ex-RAja of Kedalh to that country. The right, however, of the
" British to possess Penfang, founded on occupation, was unequi"vocally and fully recognised in this treaty.*
" It does not appear that the commercial compacts contained
" in this treaty have been all adhered to by the Siamese-so at
" least we might infer from the frequent complaints of British
" merchants at Bangkok-and it is believed that the Americans
" have, without difficulty, obtained a much better treaty, owing to
" their being unshackled in the East by any political or other
" considerations, beyond mercantile ones."
Colonel Low thus alludes to the last attempt of the Siamese
in Perak:" About September, 1826, it was found that the Siamese had
" introduced troops into the State of Perak, on the plea that the
" RAja desired them, which, if true, would have been sufficient,
" but the Rija, after much difficulty, got a letter conveyed to the
" Governor at Penang acquainting him that the Siamese had
" arrived without his consent, and at the instigation of some fac" tious chiefs, and that he had been deprived of all power. As this
" conduct of the Ligor Raja contravened the 14th article of the
" Treaty of Bangkok, the Governor despatched an officer,t in charge
" of a party of Sepoys and with a Bombay 1H. C. Cruizer at his
" command, to free Perak from Siamese interference. This officer
" had also the powers of an envoy.
" The objects proposed were fully attained. The Siamese force
" forthwith evacuated their position on the bank of the river, and
" the Raja dismissed those who had intrigued with the Siamese,
" and formed a steady Government. He was then told by the
" Envoy, acting on his instructions, that he might rely in future
" on the aid of the British in expelling any Siamese who might,
" without his permission, proceed to Perak, and for resisting any
" interference not sought for by him with his Government. These
"measures secured the independence of Perak.
" The RaBja wanted to see the English flag hoisted in Perak, and
" he proffered a written deed ceding to them the island of Pangkor
" off the mouth of the river, but neither of these offers was
" accepted by the British Government."
" * Art. 10th. But as the Siamese right to possess Kedah is also
" clearly admitted in that document by the British Government,
"it follows that all Treaties made by the latter with the Rja of
" Kdah are null and void, if they were not virtually so long
" before." [This note is by Colonel Low.]
J Colonel Low himself,




-61 -Here follow two references to Colonel Low's own action in
the struggle between Siamese and Malays in the Peninsula:--
" He likewise spread a report that he would make a descent on
" Province Wellesley and 'retaliate for the obstacles which the
"' Superintendent there had thrown in the way of the Malays, join" ' inq the standard of the Prophet's servants.'"
" About seven thousand arms of different kinds were at this
" time seized in the Province by its Superintendent, and cast into
" the sea, but as its sallient population of Malays was about fifteen
" thousand, and such arms were easily manufactured, this measure
" had scarcely any perceptible effect in checking the preparations
" for war.
" Six years of peace in Kedah and of apparent return to their
" allegiance in the Malays of that country who had sworn fidelity
" to the Siamese on the Koran, had seduced the Siamese Governor
" into a fatal confidence. He had thought that his three hundred
" Siamese soldiers and these Malays could easily have repelled
" any attack."
I here give an extract recounting the re-capture and subsequent loss of Kedah by the Malays in 1838:" It had, however, the intended effect, for the Malays abandoned
" the fort to the Siamese part of the garrison which, thus weaken" ed, retreated towards the North. These Malays then joined the
" invaders, who took quiet possession. Ten days after the fall of
" the fort the Malays got hold of Perlis and Trang, provinces
" further to the North. The Malayan force, when first concentra"ted, consisted of 7,000 men, 2,000 at least having been drawn
" from Province Wellesley. Of these, 800 were employed carry"ing stores. This body was then split up into detachments and
" dispersed to guard all outlets to the country. Some Petani sol"diers and others joined this force for a short while, swelling it to
" 10,000 men. The Malayan chiefs believed that their army must
" have intimidated the Siamese, and that the Emperor would be
" induced, by a new promise of tribute by them, to restore the
" ex-Raja, and yet, at the same time, they adopted the very course
" which was most likely to thwart any negotiation with that view,
" the exciting of Pitani to rebellion. They now tried to negoti" ate through the Raja of Singg~ra, who pretended a wish to serve
" the Malays, in order that he might gain time to prepare against
" a meditated attack by them on himself, should he not further
" their policy. The negotiation of course failed, and the outer
" districts of Singgora were attacked some time subsequently by
" the Malayan troops, and after a very short and partial occupa" tion were evacuated, but not before they had sustained much
" mischief. They also attacked the Siamese district on the same
" East coast of Peninsula, called Channa; sacking and plundering




" villages, and Buddhist temples. The images which they found
" in these were chiefly made of tin, the priests having secured
" the more valuable ones before they fled. A party of the insur"gents then arrived at Kota Bharu, and finally at the embouchure
" of the Petani river, where they had hoped to procure boats to
" carry them to the assault of the town of SinggOra, the population of which consisted principally of Chinese. In this hope
" they were disappointed. The second Malayan column under
" MAHOMED TAIB reached the above town and invested it a good
" way off on the land side, but had not the means of doing so on
" the sea face. They had here passed nearly three months in a
" state of inaction, when the Senggoreans marched against them
" with a force of five hundred Chinese and two thousand Siamese
" and Malays. The invaders were worsted with considerable loss,
" and compelled, under Tunku MAHOMED SAAD, T. ABDULLAH, T.
" MAHOMED SUNNAWI and T. MAHOMED TAIB PUTIn, to retreat to
" Kedah."
The paper concludes with this note by Mr. J. R. LOGAN -
" To prevent distant readers being misled by Colonel Low's
" present strong opinions on the subject of the Siamese and Malay
Sclaims to Kedah, we beg to refer to our note at the bottom of
" p. 25, and to repeat that 'the opinion of the great majority of
" 'Europeans of Penang not connected with Government' has
" always been as strongly in favour of the Malays as that of
" Colonel Low has latterly been hostile to them and favourable to
"the Siamese. We may add, that we have taken some pains to
" make ourselves acquainted with -the facts, and that we regret
" our esteemed contributor should have abandoned the more
" unprejudiced views which he formerly entertained."
Briefly, we may gather from the foregoing, that the weight
of evidence shews that, a century ago, Kedah was independent of Siam   (though   Colonel Low   denied the independence), and that, a century ago, the Indian Government
received the island of Penang and the territory of Province
Wellesley from the Sultan or Rija of Kedah. In 1821, Siam
attacked and conquered Kedah, and in 1826 contracted with
the British  Government a treaty, known as the Treaty of
Bangkok, confirming to the British Government its rights over
Penang and Province Wellesley.




-63 -A subsequent treaty (1869), which will be found in the
appendix, rectified the boundaries of this territory, and it is
stated that this treaty took the place of one concluded in 1868
between the Governor of the Straits Settlements (Sir H. ORD)
and the Raja of Kedah, on the ground that the R'ja of Kedah
had no power to negotiate in a matter of this kind.
It has always, so far, been the custom for the Governors'of the
Straits Settlements and the Lieutenant-Governors of Penang to
conduct their relations direct with the Raja of Kedah, but within
recent years the Siamese Consul at Penang has gradually come
to be used as a medium of communicatioii between the Penang
Authorities and the Kedah Authorities. A new appointment,
at least one which has but lately come under the knowledge
of Government, is that of a Siamese Commissioner of the
Western   Provinces, i. e., Rendang, Junk Ceylon, Perlis,
Kedah, &c. Until within the last ten years this Siamese
Official interfered not at all, or but very occasionally, in the
affairs of Kedah.
Since the death of Yam Tuan * AHMED BIN SULTAN ZEIN
ALRASHID, Sultan of Kedah, the administration of Kedah affairs
has been in the hands of the officials at Bangkok. It was only
after a long period of delay that the late Sultan's son was
chosen to succeed his father, with two uncles, Tunku DIA
UDIN and Tunku YAKUB, as joint-Regents until the youth should
have come to years of discretion, or had gained sufficient
experience to enable him to rule without their aid.
The young Sultan of Kedah died, however, last September,
and the brothers, his uncles, have ever since spent nearly all
their time at Bangkok, each endeavouring to procure his
election to the Chief Authority in Kedah.
Meanwhile, the people live in a state of constant uncertainty
and intrigue, the simplest matters are referred to Bangkok for
decision, and the threat of making complaint to the Siamese
o Contracted from " Yang di Pertuan" an expression used to
designate the highest authority in a Malay State when that authority is a Sultan.




-64 -carries far more weight than a just cause.
It is said the last Sultan's younger brother will be elected
Yang di Pertuan, and that seems likely enough, but the choice
matters little, for he, too, will be under the control of his uncles,
who, each jealous of the other's power and popularity, will
seek to procure the favour of the Bangkok Court by the one
powerful persuasive-bribery.
This is the means by which lucrative posts are secured,
causes gained, revenge accomplished in all the dominions of
Siam, and, as in China, to procure the means to bribe, the
working population must be squeezed.
The Governor of a Siamese Province obtains his Government
by bribery: he is bribed to bestow the principal offices in his
patronage: the holders of these again sell the subordinate posts,
and so on down to the most insignificant servant in the Government employ:-each obtaining from those below him the
means with which he bribes his superior, and thus the nonofficial population pays, besides the taxes and imposts demanded
for the general purposes of Government, the whole series of
"squeezes" which go to fill the pockets of the officials.
Though Mr. ANDERSON and Col. Low differed about Kedah,
they agreed that Trengganu and Kelantan were independent of
Siam, and Col. Low states that about 1786 the Siamese overran Petani, so, if that is correct, we may suppose that, up to
that time (and I think later) Petani was also independent.
Perak, we find, was over-run by the Siamese on the same
pretext as that given for the conquest of Petani, viz., that the
chief had neglected to forward to Bangkok the "golden
flower."  But the British interfered, and the Siamese withdrew from Perak, and a treaty was concluded by which they
were altogether excluded from Perak,* the Sultan's independence being guaranteed; and yet, strange to say, in the Bangkok Treaty,* concluded four months before, it was provided
that the Sultan or Raja of Perak could, if he wished, send the
* See Appendix.







Al's is all error owing to at mis-print at pag6
709; V T0  viii., of il~tT81'  Treaties, whil';'.:'1Articlu X. cif the Treliti of Bnw-rhh h B26,
Patam    ajppears instead gat "PNtani."




Bunga Mas (golden flower) to the R&ja of Ligor-the Siamese
Officer who specially interested himself in the Malay States.
The Chiefs of Perak allege that the Siamese (or Pethni Malays
over whom the Siamese claim sovereignty) have, in the course
of the last 40 or 50 years, crossed the northern borders of
Perak, and occupied a very large area of Perak territory, and
in 1874 the Sultan of Perak asked the British Government to
assist him in obtaining the restoration of this tract of country.
I will now turn to the Eastern States--Petani, Kelantan and
Trengganu-over the first of which, I believe, the Siamese now
claim right of administration, and over the two last a sort of undefined suzerainty, born of the practice, which still obtains in
Kelantan and Trengganu, of sending the Bunga Mas to Siam.
In the Treaty of Bangkok, dated June, 1826, are three
clauses concerning the Malay States,* those are articles X.,
XII. and XIII., a reference to these clauses will show (Art. X)
an enumeration of the English and Siamese countries respectively. In the list of Siamese countries neither Petani, Kelantan, nor Trengganu is mentioned, though the sentence
closes with the words "and other Siamese provinces."  But
Art. XII. specially exempts the States of Kelantan and Trengganu, and it is difficult to understand why, when Senggora,
Junk Ceylon and Kedah were named, Petani, if then an undoubtedly Siamese State, should have been omitted.
After the conclusion of this treaty of 1826, matters appear
to have remained quiet for a number of years, Siamese and
British being engaged in the administration of their undisputed possessions, without raising, or giving cause to raise,
questions of national rights over independent countries; and
during this time the clauses of the treaty regarding Kelantan
and Trengganu appear to have been outwardly observed,
though, from what occurred in 1862 it may be.supposed that
Siam had, while seeking and obtaining (as for some time was
the case with Perak) the transmission to Bangkok of the
Bunga Mas, sought to impress upon      the  minds of the
* See Appendix.




-66 -
Rulers of Kelantan and Tr~nggdnu that this present constituted an admission of dependence on Siam.
Whatever may have passed between the Chiefs of these States
and Siamese officials, to British Officers, the Raja of Kelantan
and the Sultan of Trengginu have always maintained their
independence of Siam.
In 1856 another treaty* was concluded with Siam, confirming Article XII. above-mentioned, but in some measure
abrogating Article X. Between 1826 and 1869, no question
touching the independence of the Sultan of Trengganu, the Raja
of Kelantan and the Raja of Pethni was, as far as I can ascertain,
ever raised by the Siamese. During that time, the British
Authorities in the Straits had frequent correspondence with
these States, at least with Trengganu and Kelantan, and in
1850 the Sultan of the former State sent an Embassy to Java
without any reference to the Court of Bangkok.
In 1857, the Bendahra of Pahang, a State lying to the northward of Johor and between Johor and Trengganu, died, and
a dispute arose as to his successor. One of the claimants,
named Inche WAN AHMED        (the present Bendahara of
Pahang) worsted at the outset, left Pahang for a district named
Kimaman in the State of Trnggt^nu.
From this place he fitted out expeditions against his successful rival, and the then Governor of the Straits Settlements
(Mr. BLUNDELL), in the interests of British Subjects, and to
preserve the peace of the Peninsula, repeatedly desired Inche
WAN AHMED to desist from his attacks on Pahang, and also
strongly remonstrated with the Sultan of Trengganu, who was
supposed to be giving sympathy and assistance to Inche WAN
AHMED. This went on till 1861 when the ex-Sultan of Lingga,
a Dutch dependency, joined Inche WAN ARMED in Trengganu
Territory and was stated to be giving his support to Inche
WAN AHMED to enable him to fit out another expedition
against Pahang.
* See Appendix.




-67 -
In this year, 1861, the Sultan of Trengginu visited Singapore, and complained to the Governor that it was reported the
Siamese intended to depose him by force. On the receipt of
further information to the same tenor, the Governor of the
Straits protested, through H. M.'s Consul at Bangkok, against
any Siamese interference in Trengganu, pointing out that such
action would constitute an infraction of the treaty.
On receipt of the Governor's remonstrance the King of
Siam denied the rumour and matters remained quiet for some
months.
The first King of Siam meanwhile married the sister of the
ex-Sultan of Lingga, and in 1862 sent word to the Sultan of
Trengghnu to prepare to receive the ex-Sultan, then living in
Bangkok. At the same time the ex-Sultan was sent to
Trengganu, and to the same place went Inche WAN AHIIMED,
who had been for some time living in Kelantan.
The Governor of the Straits Settlements (Colonel, now
General, Sir ORFEUR CAVENAGH), seeing in this meeting the
prospect of further troubles in Pahang, sent letters to the Sultan of Trengganu desiring his Highness to send the ex-Sultan
of Lingga back to Bangkok.
The Sultan did not, however, do as he was desired, and after
a good deal of correspondence, two vessels-of-war visited Trengganu, with a Civil Officer bearing the ultimatum from the
Governor to the Sultan. As the Governor's request was not
complied with the Sultan of Trengginu's fort was shelled by
the British vessels.
The Siamese Government, which, in reply to the representation of General CAVENAGH, had promised to remove the exsultan from Trengganu, did not carry out its engagement till
March, 1863, and that only after the strong action described.
The measures taken by Governor CAVENAGH were justified
in the following papers which were printed in October, 1863.
The first is a narrative of events, while the two letters to H.
M.'s Consul at Bangkok maintain the treaty independence of
the States of Trengganu and Kelantan.




-68 -The Court of Bangkok does not appear to have made any
effort, through the British Consul or otherwise, to disprove or
deny Governor CAVENAGH'S statements or conclusions, and it
would, therefore, appear that the complete independence of
Trengganu and Kelantan must be accepted both by the Court
of Bangkok and by the British Government.
I know no proofs to shew that Petani is on any different
footing, but I am aware that, in the case of this State, the Siamese have assumed a control of details of administration not
attempted in Trengganu or Kelantan.




-69 -
NARRATIVE OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE STRAITS GOVERNMENT,
WITH REGARD TO THE RECENT OPERATIONS ON THE EAST COAST
OF THE MALAY PENINSULA, BY GOVERNOR CAVENAGH.
TR1NGGAbNU is an independent Principality, situated on the East
Despatch from Governor, Straits  Coast of the Malay  Peninsula, the
Settlements, No. 205, dated 16th No- Ruler of which, as is often customary
vember, 1861.                with weak Oriental States, despatches
a periodical Embassy with presents to his powerful neighbour, the
King of Siam, but he has never acknowledged obedience to the latter, and has always refused to do him personal homage.
2. When the treaty of 1826 was concluded between Great Britain and Siam, the independence of Trengginu and the adjoining
State of Kelantan was mutually guaranteed by Article 12. This
Article is still in force, having been confirmed by the treaty of
1856, whilst Article 10, which specially referred to the Countries
and Provinces under the authority of Siam, was, by the same engagement, in a great measure abrogated.
3. Even as far back as 1785, the Sultan of Trengganu has been
in direct communication with the
Vide Correspondence with the Gov- British  Authorities in the Straits,
ernor of Penang, 1785, 1787, and
ernor792. of Penang, 1785, 1787, and  and has, on one or two occasions,
Despatch from Covernor. Straitb actually solicited their aid to enaSettlements, No. 174, dated 31st De.
cember, 1847.                  ble him  to resist the Siamese when
Do. do., No. 11, dated 11th Ja- threatened with attack; he has, at
nuarv, 1848.
Do. do., No. 18, dated 9th July, all times, been recognised as an in1850..Do. do., No. 32, dated 13th Octo. dependent Chief and  neither  in
ber, 1851.                    1850, when      he   despatched   an
Do. do., No. 58, dated 11th De.
cember, 1851.                 Embassy    to Java, with the view
Despatch from Resident Coun cillor, of cultivating  friendly  relations
Singapore, No. 124, dated 4th Octo1er,wh
1s51.                         with the Dutch, nor in 1851, when
Do. from Supreme Government, No. his treatment of some Britsh sub1945, dated 11th June, 1852.
jects became the matter of investigation, were any pretensions to exercise the slightest control over
his proceedings, or to interfere in his behalf, advanced by the
Siamese Court.
4. The country of Pahang, the boundary of which is conterminous with that of Trengganu, was originally a Province of Johor,
governed by one of the great hereditary Chiefs; on the disruption
of the ancient Empire, the several Chiefs in charge of Provinces
asserted their independence, and Pahang has continued to be ruled
by the descendants of the last Governor, styled the Bindahara; as
Great Britain, from her power in the Straits, gradually assumed




--70--
the position of the old Sultans, the neighbouring Chiefs naturally
looked upon the British Government as the paramount authority,
and, although not bound by any treaty obligations, the Bindahra
of Pabang has always courted the friendship, and solicited the countenance and advice, of the Governor of the Straits Settlements.
5. In October, 1857, the Bhndahhra of Pahang died, leaving
two sons, of whom the elder succeeded
Despatch from Governor, Straits to the Sovereignty, the younger, Inche
Settlements, No. 13, dated 25th
January, 1858.            WAN AHMED,* having, itis said, previousDo. from Supreme Government, ly fled the country, to escape the punNo. 887, dated 2nd March, 1858.  ishment due to the crime of having had
connection with one of his father's wives, of which he had been
accused. Subsequently, Inche WAN AHMED laid claim        to the
Districts of Kuantan and Endau, and his claim having been denied,
organised a force within the territories of the Sultan of Tringganu,
by whom he was generally supposed to be supported, and proceeded
to attack his brother's Government.
6. Hostilities were carried on for a long period with varied
success on   both  sides. Inche WAN    AHMED, when repulsed,
Despatch from Governor, Straits invariably taking refuge in Kemmnan,
Settlements, No. 32, dated 2nd  a Province of Tringganu, adjoining
March, 1858.
Do. do., No. 50, dated 10th May, Pahang, where he re-collected his
1858Do. do., No. 56, dated 26th May, followers, and after obtaining supplies
ss1858.                     of  arms  and   ammunition,   made
arrangements for fresh incursions. Eventually, owing to the disturbed state of Pahang, consequent on these continued aggressions,
our trade with the Eastern coast of the Peninsula became seriously
interrupted, and the prevailing tranquility amongst the other Malay States became endangered, hence, in May, 1858 (a previous attempt made in March having proved unsuccessful, owing to the
violence of the monsoon), the then Governor of the Straits Settlements, Mr. BLUNDELL, visited Pahang and Tringganu in the
Government Steamer Hoogqhly, accompanied by H. M. Ship Niger;
as Inche WAN ARMED had, however, in the meanwhile experienced
a complete defeat, all necessity for any action on Mr. BLUNDELL'S
part had ceased, and he merely warned the Sultan of Trengganu
against the evil consequences likely to ensue in the event of his
failing to attend to the remonstrances of the British Government,
and attempting to interfere in the affairs of the neighbouring
country.
7. In September, 1858, information having been received that
Despatch from Governor, Straits Inche WAN AHMED, notwithstanding
Despatch from Governor, Straits
Settlements, No. 116, dated 13th the warning so lately given, had again
September, 1856.            been allowed to commence collecting
*  The present Bindahara of Pahang.-F. A. S.




--11----

a force at K mman, for the purpose of invading Pahang, upon a
representation from the Chamber of Commerce at Singapore, the
Steamer Hooghly was despatched to the scene of operations, with
orders to compel Inche WAN AHMED, by force, if necessary, to abandon his intention, and take up his residence either at Trengganu or
Singapore, the Sultan of Tringganu was also reminded of the responsibility he would incur by permitting a continuance of unprovoked attacks upon a friendly country.
8. After this admonition, for some time the Sultan refrained
from granting any support to Inche
Despatch from Governor, Straits Set- WAN AHMED, and the country of
tlements, No. 85, dated 23rd May, 1861.  Pahang, which had suffered greatly
Do.  do., No. 86, dated 3rd June, at
18is61.                       from the previous dissensions, was,
Do. from Sda  8upreme Government, No. for a while, allowed repose. In
39-11, dated 18th July, 1861.J
Do. from Governor, Straits Settle- the early part of 1861, however,
ments, No. 123 dated 19th July, 1861.
Do. from Supreme Government, No. Inche WAN AHMED left Trengganu
4535, dated 14th August, 1861.  with a considerable force, and reDo. from Governor, Straits Settle.
ments, No. 146, dated 23rd August, 1861. commenced his attacks, the whole of
Do. from Supreme Government, No. the seaboard consequently soon be5298, dated 13th September, 1861.
Do. from Governor, Straits Settle- came disturbed, and both parties
ments, No. 164, dated 17th September, having appealed to the head of the
Straits Settlements, with the view
of protecting our commerce, upon
which the unsatisfactory state of affairs had again entailed serious injury, as well as that of preserving the general peace of the Peninsula,
which there was reason to believe, had been threatened by the
neighbouring Chiefs becoming interested in the strife, it was
deemed advisable to adopt measures for ensuring a speedy settlemnent of the question at issue, and the present Governor accordingly personally visited Pahang, and offered his mediation; this
was accepted by the Bndahara, and his assent having been signfled to the terms proposed, they were communicated to Inche WAN
AIrMED, who, however, declined to agree to them; he was, therefore,
informed that his pretensions to authority over the Districts
claimed could not be recognised, and that any interference with the
interests of British trade would be promptly resented. For a short
period, Inche WAN AHMED, who had, in the first instance, again
retreated to Kam Iman, with the alleged support of the ex-Sultan
of Lingga (an intriguing Chief, the representative of the junior
branch of the Johor family, who had left the' protection of the
Dutch Government, and, in accordance with the wishes of Mr.
BLUNDELL, had been required to quit Pahang, in which country he
had originally taken up his residence) as well as of the Sultan of
Trengganu, succeeded in prolonging the contest along the frontier:
notwithstanding the renewed representations of the Chamber of
Commerce at Singapore, as to the evil effects thereby produced




-72 -upon our trade, it was not, however, deemed advisable to adopt any
active measures towards the maintenance of the Bhndahara's authority, and, in reply to his calls for assistance, that Chief was, therefore, informed that he must himself take means for expelling the
intruder from his territories, and that the action of the Straits
Government would be restricted to preventing any foreign interference: at the same time the Sultan of Trengganu, equally with other
Chiefs, was warned as to the necessity for pursuing a course of
the strictest neutrality, and refraining from rendering Inche WAN
AHMED any countenance or assistance; this warning had the desired
result; unsupported, Inche WAN AHMED, as had been expected, was
unable to successfully oppose his nephew, who had succeeded to the
Bendahraship, owing to his father's voluntary  abdication, and
speedily retired from the position he had occupied on the Kuantan
River, ultimately seeking refuge in Kelantan, a State to the North
of Trengganu.
9. In the meanwhile, the Sultan of Tringganu, who, in an interview with the Governor, held at
Despatch from Governor, Straits  Singapore, on the occasion of his
Settlements, No. 121, dated 19th July, visiting that Station, with the view
Do. do., No. 135, dated 7th August, of proceeding on a pilgrimage to
1861.
Do. do., No. 166, dated 17th Sep- Mecca, had distinctly  denied all
tember, 1861.Supreme Government, o. subordination to Siam, and fully
6298, dated 13th September, 1861.  explained the nature of the EmDo. from Governor, Straits Settle-  p
ments, No. 6, dated 10th January, 1863. bassy  periodically  sent  to the
Court at Bangkok, became seriously
disquieted by a report that it was the intention of that Court to
depose him by force, and place upon his throne the ex-Sultan of
Lingga, his nephew, who had been     summoned from Trnggfinu
(where he had latterly been staying) to Bangkok by the Siamese
Authorities; so alarmed was the Sultan, that, on the Siamese Squadron, with one of the Royal Princes and the Prime Minister on
board, visiting Trengganu, he failed to wait upon the former, and a
British Steamer, despatched for the purpose of watching the proceedings of the Siamese, being anchored off the Port, the Squadron
continued its route to Singapore. The report of the Sultan's
intended deposition having been confirmed by information from
other reliable sources, the Governor addressed Her Majesty's Consul at Bangkok upon the subject, pointing out that any interference with the Government of Tringganu could not but be considered a breach of the treaty, as proving a serious obstruction to
trade; this brought forth a denial on the part of the King of Siam
of the truth of the rumour, and the Siamese schemes of aggression
being thus thwarted, and all pretext for any quarrel between the
Chiefs of Trengganu and Pahang having been, through the mediation
of the British Authorities, removed by the return of the mother of




-73 -
the ex-Sultan of Lingga* to the former State, the Malay Peninsula,
for several months, remained undisturbed, and order and quiet
having been restored to Pahang, British capital again began to be
-employed in working the valuable tin mines, and thus developing
the resources of the country, of which the prosperity would have
rapidly increased.
10. On the 17th June, 1862, under the sanction of the Supreme
Government, a treaty of mutual
Despatch from the Governor, Straits defence and assistance was conSettlements, No 213, dated 16th Decem- eluded between the Bindahara, and
ber, 1861.                   cluded between the Bendahara, and
Do. from Supreme Government, No. his relative by marriage, the T'37, dated 18th June, 1862.
Do. from Governor, Straits Settle- menggong of Johor, aid as thus
ments, No. 76, dated 20th June, 1862. s ted  Bendaa     would
Do. from Supreme Government, No. supported, the Bndahra would
61, dated 17th January, 1863.  be fully able to resist any unaided
efforts on the part of Inche WAN
AUmbED or his adherents to again obtain a footing within his
territories, there appeared  every reason  to hope that    the
prevailing tranquillity would long remain unbroken; this hope, however, failed to be realised.
11. Although well aware, from    the correspondence already
referred to, of the character of the ex-Sultan of Lingga, and the
consequences likely to ensue, in the event of his being placed in a
position to interfere in the affairs of the Malay States, the Court
at Siam, with which he had, in the meanwhile, become connected by
the marriage of his sister to the first King, notwithstanding the
protestations of the Sultan of Tringg nu,f directed the latter to
make due arrangemets for his reception, and forwarded him to
* A Steamer was placed at the lady's disposal by the Straits
Government; on her arrival at Trengganu, her brother the Sultan
preferred, on her behalf, a claim to a portion of the District of
Kuantan; he was informed that he would be held responsible for
any evil that might ensue in the event of any attempt being made
to enforce the claim, without the sanction of the Bindahara.
t  About this time Trengganu and Kilantan were, for the first
time, visited by one of the Interpreters of the Consulate, a gentleman
who had been previously in the service of the second King of Siam;
as he openly avowed his opinion in favour of the claim on the part
of Siam to supremacy over those States, and wakfurnished with
letters from the Court at Bangkok instead of from the Governor
of the Straits, it is not unnatural to suppose that the Chiefs may
have been led to believe that Great Britain recognised the right of
Siam to subject them to its sway, and consequently, that the Sultan
may have felt himself constrained to attend to orders from Bang.
kok, rather than to the admonitions of the British Authorities.




-74 -
his destination in a Government Steamer, which, en route,
touched at Kelantan, where Inche WAN AHMED was still residing.
Upon the ex-Sultan's arrival at Trengganu, he was at once joined
by Inche WAN AMED, accompanied by several armed boats. After
a short stay at Trengganu for the purpose of maturing his plans,
of which no secret was made, the ex-Sultan of Lingga having himself communicated them to the Commander of a Gunboat belonging to his Highness the Tvminggong of Johor, Inche
WAN AHMED with his followers continued his voyage along the
coast, as far as the mouth of the Dungun River, up which river
he proceeded, and being still within the territories of "Trengganu,
commenced, in perfect safety, to organize a fresh attack upon
Pahang.
12. On the 26th of June, information reached the Straits Government, that the King of Siam
Despatch from Governor, Straits Set- had intimated his intention of caustlements, No. 100, dated 24th July, 1862.
Do. do., No, 103, dated26th July, 1862. ing the return of the ex-Sultan to
Do. from Supreme Government, No. the Peninsula, and vesting him with
809, dated 30th August, 1862.
authority over the Malay States. On
the following day a protest against the proposed measure was forwarded through Her Majesty's Consul at Bangkok, the Sultan of
Trengganu being, at the same time, again seriously warned against
allowing his territories to become the base from which hostile operations might be projected against a neighbouring friendly State,
under British protection, it being clearly pointed out that, for such
violation of his duty as a Ruler, he would be held strictly responsible.
13. On the 23rd of August, 1862, it was signified to Her
Majesty's Consul, that instructions
Despatchi from Governor, Straits Set- had been despatched to Trengganu
tements, No. 124, dateds18th September, for the return of the ex-Sultan to
1862.
Do. do., No. 136, dated 8thOct., 1862. Bangkok, should his presence in
that quarter prove objectionable,
and, after repeated urgent remonstrances both from the Consul and
the Straits Government, the Court of Siam, on the 30th September,
distinctly promised to at once withdraw the ex-Sultan, and thus to
remove the impression existing in the minds of the 13endahhra
and other Malay Chiefs, that the attack upon Pahang, which in the
meanwhile had been renewed, had been made with its sanction, if
not at its instigation.
14. On the 8th of October, 1862, in a letter, to Her Majesty's
Consul at Bangkok,? the Governor again urged the necessity for
the withdrawal of the ex-Sultan, at the same time pointing out
that, under the instructions received from the Supreme Government,
it had become his duty to adopt such measures as might seem suit* See p. 78.




able for the restoration of the peace and tranquillity to the
Peninsula, and that this result might possibly best be obtained by
preventing any  assistance reaching Inche WAN    AHia from
Trengganu. No reply having been received to this communication,
on the 29th, another remonstrance, couched in still more explicit
terms, was transmitted from Singapore, the date of the receipt of
which at Bangkok fully admitted of the despatch of a Steamer
in time to reach Trengginu by the 10th of the following month.
15. All doubts as to the objects of the ex-Sultan of Lingga's
stay at Trengganu having been reDespatoh from Governor, Straits Set- moved by the receipt of a commutements, No. 138, dated 13th Oct., 1862.
Do. No. 150. dated 11th Nov. 1862.  nication, dated 30th September,
Do. from Supreme Government, No. 1862, in which  he claimed so978, dated 23rd October, 1862.
Do. from Governor, Straits Settle- vereignty over Pahang and Johor,
ments, No. 157,3d dted24th Nov. 62.  whilst, apparently, there was little
Do,, No. 163, dated 4th Dec. 1862
Do., No. t, dated 10th Jan., 1863.  prospect of the promise made by the
Do., No. 36, dated 19th Feb., 1863.  Siamese Court being fulfilled, on the
contrary there being every reason to suppose that its fulfilment
would be purposely evaded, as the Northerly Monsoon was rapidly
approaching, when communication with the Malay coast would be, in
a great measure, cut off; in compliance with the continued appeals
from the Bandahtra, as well as for the protection of our own trade,
which, as represented in a communication, dated 31st October, 1862,
from the Secretary to the Chamber of Commerce, had again become seriously endangered, from the unsettled state of affairs in
Pahang; British property at Kuantan, the frontier district, having
been actually menaced by armed boats from Kemtman,-it became
incumbent upon the Straits Government to take measures for
depriving the Bendahfra's assailants of the means of obtaining
further reinforcements and supplies. On the 6th of November, the
Resident Councillor at Singapore, with Her Majesty's Ships Scout
and Coquette and the Straits Government Steamer Tonze, was
accordingly deputed to Tringg nu, with instructions to call upon
the Sultan to desist from affording any further countenance and
support to Inche WAN ARMED and his force, and to compel the
ex-Sultan of Lingga, to whom a passage in the Coquette was offered
to Bangkok, to quit his territories. On the afternoon of the 11th
of November, notwithstanding Lieutenant-Colonel MACPHERSON'S
urgent entreaties, the Sultan having declined to accede to their
demands, in accordance with the orders furnished to the Senior
Naval Officer to destroy, as far as practicable, the Sultan's fort and
to seize his boats, so as to effectually cripple his military resources,
and prevent his rendering further aid to the party whose cause he
had espoused, due precautions having been taken to preserve from
danger the inhabitants of the place, of whom not a single person
was either killed or wounded from the effects of the cannonade,




a fire was opened upon the fort, which stands apart from the town,
and of which the works were partly destroyed. After inflicting
sufficient damage to convince the Sultan of the necessity for attend.
ing to the warnings he had received, the Steamers returned to
Singapore.
16. On the 8th November, 1862, the promise to withdraw the
Sultan having been given more than
Despatch from Governor, Straits Set- a month previously, the Siamese
tlements, No. 178, dated 26th Dec., 1862,         t
Do., No. 5, dated 7th Jan.. 1863.  Minister for Foreign Affairs inDo., No. 78, dated 25th April, 1863.  formed Her Majesty's Consul, that
his Government were about to
despatch a Steamer to Trengganu, but that some time would
elapse  ere she   could leave Bangkok, and, as the Northeast Monsoon had set in with violence, it was doubtful whether she
could reach her destination and anchor off the coast. The advancement of this plea, which had been duly anticipated by the Straits
Government,# afforded a sufficient proof of the duplicity of the
Court at Bangkok, and the motive of the delay in the fulfilment of
its engagement; eventually on the 20th of November, when, owing
to the strength of the monsoon, all hopes of being able to effect the
removal of the ex-Sultan had ceased, a Steamer was duly despatched
to Trengganu; as had been doubtless expected and intended, her
mission proved unsuccessful, and it was not until the change of the
monsoon, in March, 1863, that he was at last withdrawn from the
Peninsula, where, as described in the Governor's letter, No. 480,
dated 4th December, 1862, t his presence had been the cause of so
much trouble.
* Extract from Despatch, Governor, Straits Settlements, No. 150,
dated 11th November, 1862.
" And being moreover convinced that the Court at Bangkok had
"no intention of fulfiling the promise made to Her Majesty's Consul
"with respect to the withdrawal of the ex-Sultan, and that the ob"ject in giving that promise was merely to gain time, so that the
"setting in of the monsoon might hereafter be pleaded as an excuse
"for not causing his removal, whilst from the same cause all endea" yours on our part to restore tranquillity to the Peninsula would,
"for some time to come, be completely frustrated, and we must
"have remained inactive until next Spring."
t See p. 80.




--77 -
17. In the interim, the struggle in Pahang, now cut off from
communication   with   Singapore,
Despatch from Governor. Straits Set- continued; the warehouses at
tlements, No. 93, dated 18th May, 1863.
Do., No. 104, dated 9th June, 1863.  Kuantan, belonging to British merDo., No. 117, dated 1st July, 1863.  chants, which had been previously
threatened, and for the protection
of which, owing to the surf generally running on the coast through
the Northerly Monsoon, nb arrangement could be made, were seized
by Inche WAN AHMED's followers, and although the BendahAlra
for a long while succeeded in holding his assailants in check, yet
eventually his adherents, under the impression that their opponent
was supported by the powerful State of Siam, an impression that,
whether true or false, as already stated, equally existed in the
minds of the neighbouring Chiefs, and partly owing to the lack
of energy displayed by their leader, who was enervated by
sickness, and to the want of food, Inche WAN AHMED'S force
having, in the first instance, on leaving the TriTngganu territories,
seized the upper rice lands, gradually became     disheartened
and retired towards the coast, taking up a position to command
the entrance of the Pahang River; here, in June, 1863, the
Bindahara died, and his eldest son being a minor, his party
have ceased to   possess a head. The Bendahhra's family have
sought  shelter in Johor, and the country has, for a time
fallen under the usurper's sway.* Whether he will be allowed to rule
undisturbed is doubtful; it is not improbable that one of the late
Bndahfra's brothers may rise up against him, and the civil war,
from which the unfortunate inhabitants have now suffered for the
last five years, and which may be mainly attributed to foreign interference, be prolonged for an indefinite period.t
ORFEUR CAVENAGH, Colonel,
-   Governor, Straits Settlements.
SINGAPORE, 20th October, 1863.
* His principal adviser is a brother of the ex-Sultan of Lingga,
who is said to exercise unlimited authority.-O. C.
t  These anticipations were not verified in the result-Inche
WAN AHMED became Bendahdra and was allowed to rule undisturbed.
Since his accession there has been no disturbance whatever in Pahang, and though he refused, for a long time, to recognise the treaty
made by his predecessor with the Temenggong of Johor, or the
boundary fixed by the Governor of the Straits Settlements under
that treaty as between Pahang and Johor, he has now accepted the
boundary, made friends with the Maharaja of Johor, and is now
on the best possible terms with the Straits Settlements Government.-F. A. S.




Glax. No. 939
or 1802.
No. 399.
To
HER   BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S COWSUL,
BANGKOK.
Dated Singapore, 8th October, 1862.
Sr,--Ix acknowledging the receipt of your despatch, dated 1st
instant, and with reference to the remarks made by His Excellency
the Kalahome, relative to the proceedings of this Government, I
deem it right to place on record a brief statement of facts connected with the present state of affairs in Pahang,the accuracy of which,
the Court at Bangkok will not, I believe, venture to impugn.
2. In July, 1861, consequent on a communication from the Resident of Rhio, as to the intention of their Majesties the Kings of
Siam to depute the ex-Sultan of Lingga to Trengganu (a Malay
State in the Peninsula forming no integral portion of the Siamese
dominions, and of which the independence is mutually guaranteed
by the 12th Article of the Treaty, dated 20th June, 1826), I considered it my duty to point cut to you, the prejudical effect that
such a measure must necessarily have upon British interests, and
in reply to the remonstrance made upon the receipt of my letter, you
were informed that the report that had reached me was incorrect.
3. In May last, notwithstanding the intimation thus given that
the presence of the ex-Sultan in the Peninsula would be distasteful
to the British Government, and the apprehensions of the King
himself, as   expressed in    the  extract from    the letter to the
Sultan   of  Trengganu    marginally *     noted, apprehensions for
which    there   must   have    been
S" sultan MAHOMD (the ex-Sultan  good foundation, the above Chief
of Lingga) came and resided for several
months; from his manners and speech was despatched to Tringganu in a
he appeared to be a thoughtless person, Steamer belonging to the Siamese
and fond of amusements, at which His
Majesty was rather apprehensive saying  Government, and an order issued
that now Sultan MAHOMBn had gone to
Trengganu, he will probably, consider-  for his being provided with suitable
ing himself as having been a Chief, not accommodation on his arrival at his
pay due respect to Phya Trengganu as
is family, and will thereby be the cause destination. En route, the Steamer
ofquarrels, and also he may think that  proceeded to Kelantan, from which
as Pahang once belonged to Lingga, and  1
its Chief and Officers have been accus- place she was joined by Inche WAN
tomed to respect him, to be able to induce the inhabitants to create a distur-  AHMED with eight war praus.
bunce, and should this be the case, Phya  4.  For some days, both Steamer
Trengganu as well as the Siamese will
be scandalized, they may say that Sul-  and praus remained at anchor off
tan MAHOMSD resided in Bangkok, where  Tri~nggtanu and whilst still on board
he was advised and received encourage.
ment to create a disturbance. Foreign  the former, the  ex-Sultan openly
traders also go to Pahang, and not an- wed the intention of attacking
derstanding the circumstances, will be  avowed   ention of attacking
apt to think like this, also boundaries of  Pahang,  stating  that  the attack
Trengganu and Pahang join, the inhabitants intermix and trade with each  would be made from  the Dungong
other, should any disturbances take  River as soon as a favourable opplace, it may be the cause of their disliking each other, and thereby lessen  portunity  offered, this intention
the prosperity of both places."  has been duly carried out in the




--79--
manner proposed, and consequently, there can be but little doubt
as to the influence through which Inche WAN ARMED has been
permitted to take advantage of the security afforded him by the
supineness or connivance of the Tringganu Authorities, to organize, within the territories of the Sultan, the force with which he
has recently entered the neighbouring State, and thus disturbed
that peace and tranquillity, which it has ever been the desire of
the British Government to maintain throughout the Peninsula.
5. Upon being apprised as to the intention of the Siamese Government, I lost no time in communicating with you on the subject,
clearly specifying the dangers likely to arise from the continued
residence in any of the Malayan States, of a restless, intriguing
character, such as the ex-Sultan is described to be, and at the same
time remarking upon the responsibility that must necessarily attach to that Government, through whose countenance and support
he had been placed in a position to mature designs prejudicial to
British commerce.
6. Although from the correspondence between the Court of
Siam and the Sultan of Trengganu, of which I have been favoured
with a copy, it appears that his Majesty the King of Siam was
equally acquainted as myself with the probable consequences of the
ex-Sultan's protracted stay at Trengganu, no active measures have
hitherto been taken by the Siamese Government to avert them, my
predictions have been duly fulfilled, Pahang has been attacked from
the side of Trengganu, the only quarter indeed from which the
attack could have been made with any hope of success, and the
working of the Tin mines, for which considerable advances had
been made from Singapore, prevented, and the general prosperity
of the country, which was rapidly recovering from the effects of
former similar inroads, materially checked.
7.  l lie foregoing statement requires no comment, and in conclusion I would merely observe that, considering the commercial
relations between the Straits Settlements and Pahang, it is incumbent on the British Government to endeavour to restore to the latter country that rest, and quietness so essential to the developeilent of its resources; this, in all probability, can be best effected
by preventing any assistance, either covert or open from reaching
Inche WAN ARMED from Trenggtnu, and should the present disturbances continue, I shall deem it my duty, acting upon instructions received from His Excellency the Governor-General in Council, to adopt such measures as may appear most expedient for the
protection of British interests and the maintenance of the general
peace of the Peninsula.
I have, &c.,
ORFEUR CAVENAGII, Colonel,
Governor.




-80 -1No. 480.
GBNL. No. 1159
or 1862.
To           HER MAJESTY'S CONSUL AT BANGKOK.
Dated Singapore, 4th December, 1862.
SIR,-ln acknowledging the receipt of your despatch, dated
28th ultimo, with enclosure, I deem it right to submit for your
consideration the following observations:1st. The States of Trengganu and Klantan form no part,f
the territories of the Kingdom of Siam, all correspondence between
the British Government and their Rulers has invariably been conducted direct through the Governor of the Straits Settlements, and
in the present instance, a reference was made through you, as the
proper channel to the Court at Bangkok, solely in consequence of
the immediate necessity for remonstrating with the Chief of Trengganu having arisen, in a great measure, from an act of that Court,
in having despatched to the above country, although well aware of
the probable result, an intriguing, restless ex-Chief (with whose
character they were intimately acquainted), whose arrival, consequent on the influence acquired from his having made his advent
under the auspices of the Siamese Government, had led to the serious disturbance of the general peace and tranquillity which it has
ever been the sincere desire of the British Government to maintain.
2nd. Although by the 11th Article of the Treaty of 1827, Great
Britain is clearly precluded from making any attack, with aggressive views, upon either Trengganu or Kilantan, it has never been
deemed a bar to our demanding redress for wrongs inflicted on
our subjects, or adopting measures to compel the Chiefs to respect the rights of the neighbouring Rulers; moreover the Court
of Siam is, equally with Great Britain, inhibited from any interference with the above States, but in this case, by the stoppage
of the rice trade with Pahang, the whole course of commerce has
been materially affected, owing to the intrigues of the ex-Sultan
of Lingga, whose presence in the Peninsula, as well as the power
he has hitherto exercised, is to be attributed solely to the apparent countenance and support of the Siamese Government.
3rd. The action of this Government as regards Trengganu has
been by no means hasty; in 1858, consequent on the part taken
by the Sultan of Trengganu with regard to the disturbances in
Pahang, my predecessor was obliged to personally visit the Malay
coast, and to warn the Sultan of the serious nature of the consequences likely to ensue, in the event of his interfering in the affairs of the neighbouring State, a similar course, and from the




-81 -
same cause, was forced upon me in 1861, and would again have
been pursued in the present year, had I not trusted in the good
faith of the Siamese Government, and fully believed, that upon being made acquainted with the state of affairs in the Peninsula, no
delay would be allowed in retrieving the error that had been committed, and withdrawing the ex-Sultan of Lingga from the scene
of his intrigues; I need not refer you to the dates of my numerous letters* on this subject, suffice it is so that in consequence of
your earnest representation, on the 30th September, a distinct
promise was made for the withdrawal of the ex-Sultan, whilst it
was not until the 8th of November, that you received a letter to
the effect that a Steamer would be prepared for the purpose of
carrying out that promise, it being, however, at the same time
specially mentioned, that the Northerly Monsoon having set in,
it was quite possible that communication with Trengganu might
be barred, and her voyage therefore prove utterly fruitless.
4th. After allowing full time for the despatch of a vessel from
Bangkok, and knowing equally with the Court at Bangkok that,
during the Northerly Monsoon, the surf over the bars at the
mouths of the Rivers in the Peninsula often, for weeks tegether,
runs too high to admit of any communication with the shore, it became my duty, as I had previously clearly intimated, to take the
necessary measures for protecting British interests, and preserving
the peace of the Peninsula. The best means for effecting this purpose was evidently the removal of the known instigator of the existing disturbance. Had this been permitted by the Sultan of Trcngginu, he would have been duly conveyed to Bangkok with all proper consideration and respect, and as this course would have been
in strict accordance with the avowed wishes of the King of Siam, it
must have met with his Majesty's approbation. That it was not
pursued is not to be ascribed to any fault on the part of the British
authorities, but to the refusal of the Sultan of Trengganu
to accede to our just demand, it was therefore evident that
he identified himself with the policy of the ex-Sultan, and
in  conformity  with  orders  received, it became  necessary
for  the  Senior  Naval Officer  to   neutralize, as far  as
practicable, all intentions of affording assistance to the invaders of Pahang by bombarding his fort, thus destroying any
Magazines or Store-rooms therein contained, and effectually depriving him of all power of furnishing further supplies of arms and
ammunition. Of this intended bombardment, due notice was given
with the hope of inducing the inhabitants of the Town to leave the
neighbourhood, and thus preventing their suffering from the mis*   Governor CAVENAGH repeatedly protested against the action
and interference of Siam, but I have not thought it necessary to
quote more than these two letters.-F. A. S.




-82 -deeds of their Chiefs, upon whom alone it was the desire of this
Government that any punishment should be inflicted.
2. In conclusion, I have the honour to enclose, for your information, copies of letters, dated respectively, 18th and 20th ultimo,
from the Bindahara of Pahang and Sultan of Trengganu, and of my
replies thereto.
I have, &c.,
ORFEUR CAVENAGH, Colonel,
Governor.
As Governor CAVENAGH'S action and statements with regard
to Kelantan and Trengganu do not seem to have been met by
any vigorous protest from the Siamese Government, the
Governor of the Straits Settlements probably considered that
an important point had been made, and for the information of
his successors in office he caused the papers to be printed and
placed on record in Singapore.
It may be supposed, that whilst General CAVENAGH remained in the Straits, the Court of Bangkok carefully guarded its
action towards the Malay States on the Eastern Coast of the
Peninsula, knowing the views held by H. M.'s Representative
in the Straits. Asiatics in such cases never push matters, waiting always for one event-the change or removal of the official
whose action is opposed to their wishes.
In 1867, Colonel (now General Sir H. St. G.) ORD, R.E., succoeded General CAVENAGH as Governor of the Straits Settlements.
Governor ORn had correspondence with the Sultan of Trengghnu, and even visited him in his own State, but the Governor
appears to have speedily concluded that Trengganu was subject to, and under the Government of, Siam, though what led
him to these conclusions it is impossible to say.
In 1869, however, H. M.'s Principal Secretary of State for
the Colonies (Lord GRANVILLE), in a despatch to the Governor
of the Straits Settlements, informed Sir H. ORD that the Sultan of Trengganu had dispatched an Envoy to England bearing




letters and presents to Her Majesty and to the Prince of
Wales.
Lord GRANVILLE asked whether the Governor was aware of
this mission, and if so, why the bearer of the Sultan's letter
(a Malay named Tunku MAHOMED ARIFFIN) was not provided
with credentials from the Governor, or from Her Majesty's
Consul at Bangkok, and generally the Secretary of State desired to be furnished with information regarding Trengganu.
A further despatch followed, informing the Governor of the
manner in which the Sultan's Envoy had been received, and
forwarding, for transmission to the Sultan, the gracious replies
of Her Majesty and the Prince of Wales.
In reply to these despatches, Sir H. ORD wrote giving the
Secretary of State an account of the circumstances which he,
the Governor, believed had led to the sending of the Envoy,
and he informed Lord GRANVILLE that the Sultan of Trengganu had no power to make independent references to other
Governments, with this remark: "I have never heard it
"questioned,* but that he was, like the Raja of Kedah and
"other rulers of Provinces in the Malayan Peninsula, a tribu" tary of the King of Siam."
As this despatch is the first, and indeed the only one, forwarded to the Secretary of State since the Straits became a
Crown Colony, purporting to give information regarding Trengganu and its relations with Siam, it will be as well to give the
letter in extenso:
Governor Ord to the Right Hon'ble the Secretary
of State for the Colonies.
"PENANTG, 22nd December, 1869.
"No. 268.
" POLITICAL.
"Mr LonRD,-I had the honour to receive yesterday your
"Lordship's two despatches, 195 and 198, of the 19th November,
"1869, on the subject of an Embassy sent to IHer Majesty's
* The italics are mine.-F. A. S.




"Government by the Sultan of Trengganu, and although the
"necessity of closing my despatches to-day leaves me but little
"time for going into the subject, and my position here deprives
"me of the opportunity of ascertaining certain particulars about
"it on which I should have liked to have satisfied myself I think
"it right to lose no time in furnishing your Lordship with such
"information respecting the matter as I am able.
"2. With regard to the position of the Sultan of Trengghnu,
" I have never heard it questioned but that he was, like the
" Rhja of Kedah and other rulers of Provinces on the Malayan
"Peninsula, a tributary of the King of Siam, and that, as such,
"it was not competent for him to enter into any direct negotia"tion with a foreign Government. In the case of the exchange
"of territory with Kedah, the Siamese Government sent its Com"missioners to this Government to arrange the affair, and the
"Rija of Kedah, although present, took no part in the proceed"ings, and was not recognised in any way by these Commis"sioners.
"3. I was not aware that the Sultan of Trengganu had sent
"an Envoy to England, and although the Maharaja of Johor
"informed me, a few weeks since, that there was a report in the
"Peninsula that he had done so, it seemed to me so unlikely that
"I did not attach any importance to the statement. When at
" Trengganu in August, 1868, the Sultan let fall some remarks
" indicating his wish to visit, or, if that were impossible, to send
"an Embassy to the Queen, but knowing that many of the
"Native Princes, seeing the result which had ensued on the visit
"to England of the Mahar.aja of Johor, were anxious to follow
"his example, and feeling that no possible benefit could accrue
"to him from such a step, which, moreover, I felt it to be very
"unlikely the Siamese Government would sanction, I endeavour"ed to throw cold water on the idea, and was under the impres"sion that he had abandoned it.
"4. It is difficult to foretell what will be the effect on the
"Siamese Government when it learns that one of its tributary
"Princes has sent an Envoy to England without its knowledge,
"but, from the suspicious character of the people, I am appre"hensive that it may not be easy to persuade them that our Gov"ernment has not been accessory to the step, and that it does
"not conceal something adverse to Siamese interests. When at
"Siam in August, 1868, I mentioned to the late King my in"tention of visiting Trengganu on my return, and the next day
"the Kalahome (then Prime Minister of the Kingdom, but now




"Regent) pressed me much as to the objeot of my visit, and
"seemed hardly satisfied with my assurance that it was purely
"of a complimentary nature with the object of making the Sul"tan's acquaintance and establishing friendly relations with him,
"and that I should not enter into any political matter with his
"Highness. I am also under the impression that, at this time,
"either the Kalahome, or some other person, possibly an
"Officer of the Consulate, told me that the Sultan of Trangga"nu had been talking of sending an Envoy to England and
"that it was looked upon with disfavour, being supposed to evi"dence a desire to obtain our assistance in emancipating him-.
"self from the domination of Siam.
" 5. Although having but a few minutes available before the
" departure yesterday of the English Mail for Singapore, not
"noticing that any communication hadbeenmadeby the Foreign
" Office on the subject to Mr. KNox, Her Britannic Majesty's
" Consul-General at Bangkok, I thought it right to send a
" hurried note to this gentleman stating what had taken place
" and suggesting to him that if the Siamese Government should
" appear dissatisfied with, or disquieted at, what had happened, it
"would probably be better that I should send the two letters of
" the Queen and Prince of Wales, in reply to those of the Sultan
"to Mr. KNox, to be by him handed to the Siamese Government
"for transmission to the Sultan, in place of sending them direct
" to the latter myself, as directed by your Lordship.
" 6. On this point, I should, however, await the orders of Her
" Majesty's Government and I would suggest, for your Lordship's
" consideration, whether, in the event of its being decided that
" the letters should be sent through the Siamese Government, it
" would not be advisable that I should be informed of it by
" telegraph, as also whether such decision is to depend upon the
" opinion Mr. KNox may express to me on the matter or not.
" 7. I deem it right to add, that the Envoy selected by the
" Sultan is said to be the son of a native RIaja on the Sumatra
"coast, I have always understood a person of no rank orposition.
" Being a clever, pushing, young man he has been usually selected
"by the Sultan to bring messages and complimeRtary letters to
" Singapore with presents of fruits, specimens of the Sultan's
" skill as a carver, of which he is very proud. On these occasions,
"it is customary for the local Government to support the mes"sengers and crews of the large boats in which they come, during
" their stay in Singapore, and the last time but one that this
" young man has come to the Settlements, I found that he was




-86 -
"making his stay longer than was-necessary, being evidently
"more anxious to enjoy the amusements of the place than to
" carry on his duties, and I caused him tobe told that he had better
"return to Trengghnu. However, before he could do this, he was
" arrested for a debt-some money he had borrowed for his own
" personal use of a native countryman-and I was obliged to
" repay it to obtain his liberation.
" 8. In the course of a few months, he came back again on
" some pretext or other, and feeling satisfied that he was making
" a tool of the Sultan and using his name for his own purpose,
" I refused to see him or hold any communication with him
" and told him he must return to his country at once. He, how"ever, followed me up to Penang and was with difficulty got rid
" of.
"9. I am told that the Sultan of Trengganu has been very
"ill, it is said he is suffering from a paralytic stroke, and I think
"it highly improbable that, had he been in health and possession
"of his faculties, he would have sent an Envoy to England
" without my concurrence, still less that he would have chosen
" this person* for such a purpose.
" 10. The Sultan has never preferred any complaint to me of
" our Government, though he naturally feels aggrieved and, I
" think, not unjustly at the way he was treated in 1862. He
" has never, to my knowledge, made any claim to the Islands
" which have lately been apportioned between Johor and Pa" hang, nor do I believe he has any, and if he feels any annoy" ance about his salute, I am confident, from the friendly feelings
" he has always shewn to me, that he would have made his views
" known directly to me and not in the manner his Envoy has
" adopted.
" 11. Awaiting your Lordship's instructions.
" I have, &c.,
" H. ST. G. ORI)."
* It is said that owing to the non-success of his mission, or the
manner in which he discharged it, Tunku MAIIOMED AlrrIN has
never been able to return to Trengganu.
AmRIFFIN does not bear a good character; he has been employed
for some years by the Netherlands-Indian Consulate in Singapore
to collect information on native affairs.-F. A. S.




-87--
In reply to this despatch, the Secretary of State authorised
Governor ORD to forward the letters through the King of
Siam as suggested by him.
I am not aware whether the letters ever reached the Sultan
of Trengganu, but the action taken by the Governor of the
Straits Settlements in 1869 must have appeared to the Court
of Bangkok a pleasing contrast to that adopted by his predecessor in 1862.
I was with Sir H. ORD when he visited Kelantan and Trengganu in 1872, and at Kelantan, Trengganu, Petani and Sengg6ra with Governor JERvoIs, in 1875, and, I believe, on both
those occasions, but certainly on the latter, the Chiefs of Kelantan and Trengganu, whilst admitting that they sent periodically
to Bangkok the Bunga Mas, maintained their independence of
the Siamese Government. The Raja of Petani was absent from
his home.
I am told that, within the last few months, the Raja of
Kelantan and the Sultan of Trengganu were summoned to
Bangkok, but that both refused to attend.
The Sultan of Trengganu died not many weeks ago, and the
Heir-apparent is a boy of about fifteen years old. The Malays
anticipate the interference of the Siamese Government in the
arrangements which must be made provisionally and prospectively for the government of Trengganu.
Trengganu, Kelantan and Petani march with each other,
with Pahang on the South, and with Perak on the West, and
in view of our position on the West Coast in Perak, Selangor and Sungei Ujong, the British Government cannot regard
with indifference the Eastern States and their political relations
with such a neighbour as Siam.
None of these States touch that country where some believe
the Peninsula may be successfully divided by a Canal, but the
project, which has long remained in abeyance, is now prominently brought forward, and should the work be attempted, should
it succeed, it will be well, in the negotiations which are then
conducted between H. M.'s Government and Siam, not to forget




-88 -British interests in the Malay Peninsula and the Straits of Malacca, nor those circumstances which are related in the foregoing papers.
F. A. SWETTENHAM.
Singapore, 20th February, 1882.




-89--
CONCLUDING NOTE.
IN forwarding this paper, I should not like it to be supposed
that I have not seen the replies of the Siamese Prime Minister to the facts of the case as put forward by Governor
CAVENAGH.
I have endeavoured to cover the arguments of the Court of
Bangkok   by  the statement at page 82 that " Governor
" CAVEN AGH'S action and statements with regard to Kelantan
" and Trengganu do not seem to have been met by any vigo" rous protest from the Siamese Government."
Had I attempted to give all the correspondence between the
Governor, the Consul and the Siamese Minister, and entered
into a discussion of the various arguments put forward by each
in support of his views, this paper, already too long, would have
grown beyond reasonable limits.     4
The originals or copies of all, or nearly all, these papers are
to be found in the Secretariat here, and I may refer to what
appear to be the two principal documents from the Siamese
Prime   Minister ( given at length on pages 92-94 )-one
a very mild remonstrance, addressed to the Consul, when Siamese messengers arrived from Trengganu to report the shelling
of that place by British ships; and the other, the Minister's
remarks on Governor CAVENAGHi'S letter, No. 480, of December,
1862, printed at page 80.
In the first case, the remonstrance;* (dated 25th October,
1862 ), if it can be properly so called, is of a doubtful and
hesitating description. The Minister relies on Article XII.
of the Treaty of Bangkok ( the Article which appears to maintain the independence of Trengganu and Kelantan): he tries
to enlist the personal sympathies of the Consul, by telling him
Siam must deal with Britain through him, and hints that
the Governor of the Straits is interfering with the Consul's
prerogative: and finally the Minister tells the Consul that
the action is "a cause of alarm to a nation of little power that
"never thought of offering resistance."  Presumably the nation
* See p. 02.




-90--

is Siam, possibly Trengganu, the wording is not very clear.
The letter concludes: "I am now, therefore, at a loss what to
" say further on the subject until the return of the steamer
" Alligator with Sultan MfAHOMED" (i. e., the ex-Sultan of
Lingga ).
When Sir R. SCHOMBURGK forwarded to the Prime Minister a copy of the Governor's letter in which Colonel CAYvENAGIL
firmly maintained the independence of Trengganu and Kelantan,
the Minister felt it incumbent on him to dispute * the accuracy
of the statement, and apparently forgetting Article XII. of the
Treaty of 1826, and his own recent reliance upon it, he claimed
a right, seemingly of government, over these States, supporting his claim in a very curious way. lie rested his case on
two grounds-first, that in 1859 the Governor of Singapore
sent the complaint of a Chinese trader of Singapore "relating
" to some matters in connection with Kilantan " to the Consul at Bangkok, who wrote to the Siamese Government about
the matter which was eventually settled by the British Consul
and the Siamese Government; and secondly, that in 1861 the
British Consul wrote to the Siamese Government stating that
the Governor of Singapore enquired whether "the report that
" the Government of Siam intended to depose the Rfja of
"Trenggnmu, and place the ex-Sultan of Lingga in his stead
" was true or not."
The Prime Minister thus draws his conclusions: " these two
"facts, with which you are acquainted, are sufficient proofs of
" the error of the Governor of Singapore's statement."
It may have been sufficient for the Kalahome, but I leave it
to others to judge what " these two facts" are sufficient to
prove. The case, as thus stated, does not seem to me to be a
strong one.
The Minister also referred to a letter purporting to have been
addressed to him by the Sultan of Trenggnum, reporting the
action of the Straits Government. This last really contains
little, except a report of the proceedings, giving the impression
that the Sultan considered he had been very hardly used, but
 Soop. 94,




-91 -
whether because the ex-Sultan of Lingga refused to leave
Trengganu, or because the English ships shelled the place,
seems doubtful.
The Sultan concludes with some compliments to the Prime
Minister, and his trust and confidence in Siam.
Considering how much the Trenggniuu people fear the
Siamese, and how little (remembering the case of Kedah) the
Malays feel they can rely upon the British for real assistance,
it will be understood how easy it must be for the Court of
Bangkok to obtain from the Sultan or Chiefs of Trengganu
any sort of document which may be desired.
How far this letter expressed the Sultan's real feelings
might be known: (1) from his appeal to Governor CAVENAGHi
to protect him from the Siamese,: (2) from the fact that he
despatched an Envoy to England: (3) from his constant assertion of his independence.
No doubt the Sultan's feelings towards the British, just at
this time (his fort having been shelled because he feared to
do something which might mortally offend his near neighbours
the Siamese ), were not as friendly as usual, but the old maen,
before his death, paid a long visit to the Governor at Singapore, and expressed himself much gratified with his reception.
His Highness never visited Bangkok.
It will be observed, that there is no claim made by reason of
the sending of the Bunga 3Ias to Bangkok.
Her Britannic Majesty's Consul at Bangkok ( Sir R. ScnoxiBURGK) contented himself, for the most part, with passing
copies of letters between the Governor and the Siamese Prime
Minister, but it appears that on one occasion ( 30th Sep!ember, 1862 ), the Consul had an interview with the Kalahume,
at which he pressed the Prime Minister to withdraw the
ex-Sultan of Lingga from Trnggftnu, informing His Excellency that the proceedings of the Governor of Singapore (on
whose responsibility he was then acting) had been approved by
the Governor-General of India.




-92 -The Prime Minister for a long time hesitated to consent to
the request, but the Consul said that "if this was not conceded
" hlie would go to Singapore by the next steamer to consult the
" Governor," whereupon the Kalahome " seemed much alarm" ed," and the matter was eventually settled by His Excellency agreeing "that if Her Britannic Majesty's Consul
" addressed a despatch to the Praklang desiring that, in the
"same manner, as under Captain BURNEY'S Treaty, the ex" Rja of Kedah Was removed from     Penang by the British
" Government the Siamese should remove Sultan MAHOMED
"from Trengganu, the Siamese Government would agree to do
" so."
Finally, I attach the despatch * of Governor CAVENAGII to tihe
Indian Government justifying his action in bombarding Trcngganu. This despatch Colonel C.v1:N AWIL seems to have written
to) clear hlimself from a charge of having acted hastily in adopt -
ing the measures he at last detemmi;ned would alone convince
the Siamese Court and tihe Sultan of Tringginu that he was
in ea! nest., and show that he intended to deal with the latter as
an aindependent Ruler.
F. A. S.
" BANGKOK, 25th October, 1862.
" To Sir RoBERTr I. SCiOMBnROK.
" Six,-I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your
" letter of the 24th instant, handing the copies of the following
" letters for the information of the Siamese Government, viz.:" From the Secretary to Government, Foreign Department.
" From the Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce.
" To the Sultan of Trengganu.
" From the Senior Naval Officer.
" From the Commodore Commanding Indian Division.
* See p. 95




-93 -
" To the same.--            "
" The contents of all these have been perused and understood.
" Regarding the affairs of Sultan MAHOMET, the ex-Sultan of
" Lingga, in connection with Tringgainu, you have several times
" written to H. E. Ciiow PHYA PRAKLANG, Minister for Foreign
" Affairs in Bangkok, and answers have been sent explaining
" matters on each occasion.
" The Siamese Government have not been negligent, but have
" each time sent instructions to the Rja of Tringganu, copies of
" which have always been handed you.
" On the 6th instant, you wrote stating that we must send a
" vessel to bring back Sultan MAIHOMET, and on the 8th instant an
" answer was sent stating that we would send the steamer Alliga" tor for Sultan MAHOMET, but that that steamer was not in readi"ness to start at once, and would require some days to put her in
" a state to proceed. All this was fully explained in that letter.
" The Alligator left Bangkok on the 17th instant, and now we
" are informed that his Honour the Governor of Singapore had
" sent vessels of war to Trengganu for the person of Sultan MAino" MET, and on not securing him, bombarded that place on the 11th
" instant before your letter with the reply of the Siamese Government had time to reach Singapore; such being the case is a mat" ter of grief to us, as the Siamese Government have been of
" opinion that Her Britannic Majesty was pleased to'appoint you
"as Consul in Siam, so that in the event of any matters arising,
" we would be enabled to consult with you, and so arrange such
" matters throughout the Siamese territories with justice.
" The fact that Trenggiinu has been bombarded by the authority
" of His Honour the Governor of Singapore, and the hasty man"ner in which it has been done, we consider as disregarding and
" setting aside the authority and position of Her Britannic Majesty's
" Consul in Siam, also a violation of the 12th Article of Captain
" BURNEY's treaty, and thereby is a cause of alarm to a nation of
" little power that never thought of offering resistance.
" I am now, therefore, at a loss what to say further on the sub"ject until the return of the steamer Alligator with Sultan MAnHO" MET, and I shall have enquired into the matter, and [?been] made
" aquainted with the nature of the Raja of Trenggnu's letters,
"when I shall be better enabled to communicate with you on the
" subject, and shall request you to kindly forward further parti" culars of these events to the Right Honourable the Earl RUSSELL,
" Her Majesty's Minister for Foreign Affairs in London.
"I have, &c.,
" C. PHYA SRI SURYWONGS."




--94--

" FROM THE PRIME MINISTER OF SIAM,
" To Sir ROBERT 11. SCHOMBURGK,
" BANGKOK, 18th December, 1862.
" SIR,-Your despatch of the 17th instant, and the following
" enclosures, viz.:--
" Copy of letter from  the Governor of Singapore to 11cr
" Britannic Majesty's Consul.
" Copy of letter from the BuindahAra of Palhang to the Governor
" of Singapore.
" Copy of letter from the Governor of Singapore to the BUniida" hira.
" Copy of letter from the RIja of TrunggAnu to the Governor
" of Singapore.                    *
" Copy of letter from the Governor of Singapore to the lfija of
" Tringginu.
" In all five copies have been understood.
I" beg to contradict the clause in the Governor of Singapore's
" despatch which states that, 'the States of Triniggnu and Kilaln'tan form no part of the territories of the Kingdom of Siam.'
" Those States have been tributary to Siam for years, and many
" generations of Rulers past; this fact is universally acknowledged.
" In 1859 the Governor of Singapore sent a complaint of CHIux
" YoNG YON G, a Singapore trader, to you, relating to some matters
" in connection with Kelantan; you consequently wrote to the
" Siamese Government about it.
" The Siamese Government and IHer Britannic Majesty's Con" sul arranged and settled that affair.
" In 1861, July 17th, you wrote the Siamese Government that
" the Governor of Singapore had written enquiring if the report
" that the Government of Siam intended to depose the Rija of
" Trnggiiinu and place the ex-Sultan of Lingga in his stead was
" true or not.
" These two facts, with which you arc acquainted, are sufficient
" proofs of the error of the Governor of Singapore's statement.
" The various other matters in the letter, it is unnecessary for me
" to remark upon, as they have already been referred to in the cor" respondence between my Government and yourself.
" When the Right Ilonourable the Earl RlUSSELL, Her Britannic
" Majesty's Minister for Foreign Affairs, has minutely investigated
" this matter, there is no doubt His Lordship will come to a just
" decision.
" I have, &c.,
" C. PHYA SRI SURYWONGS."




-95 -"No. 203.
" GENERAL No. 1476
" or 1863.
"FROM
" THIE GOVERNOR OF PRINCE OF
"WALES' ISLAND, SINGAPORE
" AND MALACCA.
" To
"THE SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF
" INDIA, WVITH THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL,
" SIMLA.
" FOREIGN DEPT.
" POLITICAL.
RE,    " Dated Sing qapore, 31st October, 1863.
" IN accordance with the instructions conveyed in your Office
Despatch, No. 575, of the 5th ultimo, I have the honour to forward
" herewith, for submission to His Excellency the Viceroy and Gov" ernor-General, a narrative of the proceedings of this Govern" ment, in connection with the late operations on the East Coast
" of the Malay Peninsula.
S2. The voluminous nature of the correspondence that has
" already taken place upon the above subject may, I trust, be
" pleaded as an excuse for any apparent want of attention to
" minor details in the preparation of this Report, which, at the
" same time, I fully believe will be found to contain all the infor" mation desired, no point of any real importance having been
" allowed to be passed over unnoticed.
" 3. Although truly sensible of the great kindness evinced by
" the Right iIon'ble the Secretary of State for India, in the man" nor in which he has been pleased to refer to my proceedings in
" the 4th Para: of his Despatch, No. 52, dated the 25th July, 1863,
" I cannot but feel sincere regret that those proceedings should,
in Sir CHiARLES  OOD's estimation, have been characterised by
" undue precipitation, and I earnestly trust that the perusal of the
" accompanying statement of bare facts, may serve, not only to
" remove that impression, but also to satisfy the Right lIon'blo
" the Secretary of State, that with reference to the provocation
" received by the wanton attack upon a country that had so re.
" cently placed itself under British protection, my proceedings
" were marked by the utmost moderation, and that it was only at
" the last moment, when it was clear that the promises of the
" Siamese Court were intended only to delude, and further delay
" therefore became reprehensible, that I determined, acting upon




-96--

" the general instructions I had received, to adopt the measures,
"apparently best calculated to ensure the speedy return of peace
" and prosperity to Pahang, measures demanded alike by the calls
"of humanity, and by the interests of the Settlement entrusted to
" my charge.
" 4. For upwards of four years, the influence of Great Britain,
" as the paramount power in this quarter, has been strenuously
" exerted to preserve the peace of the Malay Peninsula, seriously
" endangered by the civil war, by which the neighbouring country
" of Pahang has been so long devastated, the line of policy adopted
"had at last proved perfectly successful, and that unfortunate
" State, owing to our exertions, had for some months enjoyed the
"blessings of repose, when, consequent on the action taken by the
" authorities at Bangkok, the effect of our labours became entirely
" nullified, Pahang again became convulsed, and, in the case of its
" miserable inhabitants, to the sufferings engendered by the war" fare, of which their country had for the fifth time become the
" theatre, were added those of famine, caused by the seizure by
" their invaders of their rice lands, and the prohibition on the part
" of the Sultan of Trngganu, against the exportation of grain for
" their use.
"5. From the correspondence that had taken place during the
" previous year, as well as from the representations of the Sultan
"of Trcngginu, there could be little doubt that the Siamese Gov" ernment must have been perfectly well aware of the probable
'" result of the appearance of the ex-Sultan of Lingga in the
" vicinity of Pahang, whilst it is extremely difficult to believe that
" that result, if not actually planned, was not, at all events, con" templated with satisfaction.
"6. Although no time was lost in calling upon the Court at
" Bangkok to adopt immediate measures to prevent the anticipated
" attack upon Pahang, and His Excellency the Viceroy and Gov" ernor-General did not fail to express his displeasure at the con" duct of the Siamese Authorities, the repeated remonstrances of
" this Government were allowed to remain almost entirely uin"heeded; it is true that promises, in the first instance somewhat
" vague, but latterly more definite, were given that the ex-Sultan
Sshould be re-called, but no steps were taken for fulfilling the
" engagement, whilst, from information derived from other sources,
"there was every reason to suppose that its fulfilment would be
" purposely evaded, until the setting in of the Northerly Monsoon
" should afford a plausible excuse for their refusal to accede to
" our just demands.
"7. An acquaintance of upwards of a quarter of a century
" with the duplicity of the Oriental character, soon convinced me
" of the illusory nature of the promises that had been wade, still
" I trusted that, finding the British Government determined upon




-97---
" the point, the Court of Bangkok might at last become impressed
" with a sense of the necessity for withdrawing its protege from
"the Peninsula, and thus render any action on the part of the
" Authorities in the Straits unnecessary, hence it was only on the
" commencement of the change in the Monsoon that, with the
" view of protecting our commerce, as well as of putting an end
" to the strife, by which the whole Peninsula was rapidly becoming
" agitated, I deemed it my duty to request the Senior Naval
" Officer to proceed to Trengghnu, and insist upon the return of
the ex-Sultan to Siam, or, in the event of his demand not being
" complied with, to deprive him, as far as practicable, of the means
"of rendering aid to the Bendahara's assailants.
" 8. It may be considered that, before taking so decided a step,
"I ought to have awaited further orders, but I would be; respect" fully to represent that at the earliest, I could not have rece&ve I
" any reily to my Despatches for another month, whilst the dela,
" even of one day, by the interruption, owing to the heavy surf, cf
" communication with the coast, might prove fatal to the sutces3
" of the undertaking; moreover, from the tenor of my previou3
" instructions, I was well aware, that the intention avowed in inr
" letter, No. 103, of the 26th July, of adopting, if necessary, suit.
" able measures for ensuring Inche WAN AumED's expulsion froma
" Pahang, had met with the approval of the Supreme Government.
" 9. That the movement proved unsuccessful was not owing
" to any want of tact or ability on the part of the Officer emplloy.
" ed to conduct the negotiations, but to the fact that the Sultan
" of Trengganu knew that the season for a blockade had passed
" away, whilst so little disposed are we usually to exert our
" strength, that he dreaded the wrath of the Siamese more than
" our menaces, the great error committed was, doubtless, in not
" making the demonstration in the first instance, without any re" ference to the Court of Siam, a course that would have been
" perfectly justifiable, and had been previously followed with sue"cess, but, I could not but believe, that the expression of the
" opinion of the Viceroy and Governor-General of India would
" have been duly respected, and I was therefore induced to hope
" that its receipt would have led to the adoption, by the Siamese
" Authorities, of measures that might have tended to secure the
" permanent peace of the Peninsula, and thus obviated all ne" cessity for further intervention.
" I have the honour to be,
" SIR,
" Your most obedient Servant,
" ORFEUR CAVENAGH, Colonel,
" Governor.
" Sinapore, 13th October, 18682"




r
i
r
i
I
"
5
a




APPENDIX,







QUEDAII. *
AGREEMENT WITH THE KING OF QUEDAH, FOR THE CESSION O1
PRINCE OF WALES' ISLAND IN 1786.
Conditions required by the King of Quedah.
Replies of the Governor-General and Council to the King of
Quedah's demands.
ARTICLE 1.
That the Honourable Company shall be guardian of the seas;
and whatever enemy may come to attack the King, shall be an
enemy to the HIonourable Company, and the expense shall be
borne by the Honourable Company.
This Government will always keep an armed vessel stationed
to guard the Island of Penang and the coast adjacent, belonging
to the King of Quedah.
ARTICLE 2.
All vessels, junks, prows, small and large, coming from either
cast or west, and bound to the port of Quedah, shall not be
stopped or hindered by the Honourable Company's Agent, but
left to their own wills, either to buy and sell with us, or with the
Company at Pulo Penang, as they shall think proper.
All vessels, under every denomination, bound to the port of
Quedah, shall not be interrupted by the Honourable Company's
Agent, or any person acting for the Company, or under their authority, but left entirely to their own free will, either to trade with
the King of Quedah, or with the agents or subjects of the Honourable Company.
ARTICLE 3.
The articles opium, tin, and rattans, being part of our revenue,
are prohibited; and Qualla Mooda, Prye, and Krean, places where
these articles are produced, being so near to Penang, that when the
Honourable Company's Resident remains there, this prohibition
will be constantly broken through, therefore it should end, and the
Governor-General allow  us our profits on these articles, viz
30,000 Spanish Dollars every year.
The Governor-General in Council, on the part of the English
East India Company, will take care that the King of Quedah shall
not be a sufferer by an English settlement being formed on the
Island of Penang.
* Old and incorrect orthography for Kedah.--F.A.S.




-4 -
ARTICLE 4.
In case the Honourable Company's Agent gives credit to any
of the King's relations, ministers, officers, or ryots, the Agent
shall make no claim upon the King.
The Agent of the Honourable Company, or any person residing
on the Island of Penang, under the Company's protection, shall
not make claims upon the King of Quedah for debts incurred by
the King's relations, ministers, officers, or ryots; but the persons
having demands upon any of the King's subject, shall have power
to seize the persons and property of those indebted to them, according to the custom and usages of that country.
ARTICLE 5.
Any man in this country, without exception, be it our son or
brother, who shall become an enemy to us shall then become an
enemy to the Honourable Company; nor shall the Honourable
Company's Agent protect them, without breach of this Treaty,
which is to remain while Sun and Moon endure.
All persons residing in the country belonging to the King of
Quedah, who shall become his enemies, or commit capital offences
against the State, shall not be protected by the English.
ARTICLE 6.
If any enemy come to attack us by land, and we require assistance from the Honourable Company, of men, arms or ammunition,
the Honourable Company will supply us at our expense.
This Article will be referred for the orders of the English East
India Company, together with such parts of the King of Quedah's
requests as cannot be complied with previous to their consent being obtained.
QUEDAH, 1791.
TREATY WITH THE KING OF QUEDAH, 1791.
In the Hegira of our Prophet, 1205, year Dalakir, on the 16th
of Moon Saban, on the day Ahat.
Whereas, on this date, this writing showeth that the Governor
of Pulo Penang, vakeel of the English Company. concluded peace
and friendship with His Highness, lang de per Tuan of Quedah,
and all his great officers and ryots of the two countries, to live in
peace by sea and land, to continue as long as the Sun and Moon give
light: the Articles of Agreement are:



-5 -
ARTICLE 1.
The English Company will give to His Highness, the lang de
per Tuan of Quedah, six thousand Spanish Dollars every year, for
as long as the English shall continue in possession of Pulo
Penang.
ARTICLE 2.
His Highness the lang de per Tuan agrees that all kinds of
provisions, wanted for Pulo Penang, the ships of war, and the
Company's ships, may be bought at Quedah, without impediment,
or being subject to any Duty.
ARTICLE 3.
All slaves running from Quedah to Pulo Penang, or from Pulo
Penang to Quedah, shall be returned to their owners.
ARTICLE 4.
All persons in debt running from their creditors, from Quedah
to Pulo Penang, or from Pulo Penang to Quedah, if they do not
pay their debts, their persons shall be delivered over to their creditors.
ARTICLE 5.
The Iang de per Tuan will not allow Europeans of any other
nation to settle in any part of his country.
ARTICLE 6.
The Company shall not receive any persons committing high
treason or rebellion against the Iang de per Tuan.
ARTICLE 7.
All persons committing murder, running from Quedah to Pulo
Penang, or from Pulo Penang to Quedah, shall be apprehended
and returned in bonds.
ARTICLE 8.
All persons stealing chops (forgery) to be given up likewise.




--6 -
ARTICLE 9.
All persons, enemies to the English Company, the lang de per
Tuan shall not supply them with provisions.
These nine Articles are settled and concluded, and peace is made
between the Tang de per Tuan and the English Company; Quedah
and Pulo Penang shall be as one Country.
This done and completed by Toonkoo Shariff Mahomed, and
Toonkoo Allang Ibrahim, and Datoo Pengawa Tilebone, vakeels,
on the part of the lang de per Tuan, and given to the Governor
of Pulo Penang, vakeel for the English Company. In this Agreement, whoever departs from any part herein written, God will punish and destroy; to him there shall be no health.
The seals of Sheriff Mahomed and Toonkoo Allang Ibrahim, and
Datoo Pengawa Tilebone, are put to this wiiting, with each person's handwriting.
Transcribed by Hakim Bunder, Pulo Penang.
Signed, sealed and executed, in Fort Cornwallis, on Prince of
Wales' Island, this 1st day of May, in the year of our Lord 1791.
(A true translation.)
(Signed,) F. LIGHT.
QUEDAH, 1800.
TREATY WITH THE KING OF QUEDAH, 1800.
CONFIRMED, 1802.
In the year of the Hegira of the Prophet (the peace of the
Most High God be upon him) 1215, the year Hun, on the twelfth
day of the Moon Mohurrum, on the day Raabu (Wednesday);
Whereas this day, this writing showeth that Sir George Leith,
Baronet, Lieutenant-Governor of Pulo Penang, on the part of the
English Company, has agreed on and concluded a Treaty of friendship and alhliance with His Highness the Iang de per Tuan Rajah
Moodah of Purlies and Quedah, and all his Officers of State and
Chiefs of the two countries, to continue in sea and land, as long
as the Sun and Moon retain their motion and splendour: the Articles of which Treaty are as follow:ARTICLE 1.
The English Company are to pay annually to His Highness the
lang de per Tuan of Purlies and Quedah, ten thousand Dollars,
as long as the English shall continue in possession of Pulo Penang,
and the country on the opposite coast hereafter mentioned.




--4--

ARTICLE 2.
His Highness the Tang de per Tuan agrees to give to the English Company, for ever, all that part of the sea-coast that is between
Qualla Krean and the river side of Qualla Mooda, and measuring
inland from the sea side sixty Orlongs; the whole length abovementioned to be measured by people appointed by the Iang de
per Tuan and the Company's people. The English Company are
to protect this coast from all enemies, robbers, and pirates that may
attack it by sea, from north to south.
ARTICLE 3.
His Highness the Iang de per Tuan agrees, that all kinds of
provisions wanted for Pulo Penang, the ships of war and the
Company's ships, may be bought at Purlies and Quedah, without
impediment or being subject to any Duty or Custom; and all boats
going from Pulo Penang to Purlies and Quedah, for the purpose
of purchasing provisions, are to be furnished with proper passports for that purpose, to prevent impositions.
ARTICLE 4.
All slaves running away from Purlies and Quedah to Pulo Penang, or from Pulo Penang to Purlies and Quedah, shall be returned to their owners.
ARTICLE 5.
All debtors running from their creditors from Purlies and Quedah to Pulo Penang, or from Pulo Penang to Purlies and Quedah,
if they do not pay their debts, their persons shall be delivered up
to their creditors.
ARTICLE 6.
His Highness the lang de per Tuan shall not permit Europeans
of any other nation to settle in any part of his dominions.
*    ARTICLE 7.
The Company are not to receive any such people as may be
proved to have committed rebellion or high treason against the
Iang de per Tuan.
ARTICLE 8.
All persons guilty of murder, running from Purlies and Quedah to Pulo Penang, or from Pulo Penang to Purlies and Quedah,
shall be apprehended and returned in bonds.




ARTICLE 9.

All persons stealing chops (forgery) te be given up likewise.
ARTICLE 10.
All those who are, or may become, enemies to the Compan, they
lang de per Tuan shall not assist with provisions.
ARTICLE 11.
All persons belonging to the Iang de per Tuan, bringing the
produce of the country down the river, are not to be molested or
impeded by the Company's people.
ARTICLE 12.
Such articles as the Tang de per Tuan may stand in need of
from Pulo Penang are to be procured by the Company's agents,
and the amount to be deducted from the gratuity.
ARTICLE 13.
As soon as possible, after the ratification of this Treaty, the arrears of gratuity now due, agreeable to the former Treaty and
Agreement, to His Highness the lang de per Tuan of Purlies and
Quedah, are to be paid off.
ARTICLE 14.
Ohil the ratification of this Treaty, all former Treaties and
Agreements between the two Governments to be null and void.
These fourteen Articles being settled and concluded between
His highness the lang de per Tuan and the English Company,
the countries of Purlies and Quedah and Pulo Penang shall be as
one country; and whoever shall depart of deviate from any part
of this Agreement, God will punish and destroy him: he shall not
prosper.
This done and completed, and two Treaties, of the same tenor
and date, interchangeably given between His Highness the Tang
de per Tuan and the Governor of Pulo Penang, and sealed with
the seals of the State Officers immediately officiating under His
Highness the Tang de per Tuan, in order to prevent disputes
hereafter.




--
Written by Hlakim Ibrahim Ibn (son of) Sri Rajah Moodah, by
order of His IHighuess the Lang do per' Tuan, of exalted dignity.
(A true translation)
(Signed)  J. SwaNx,
Malay Translator.
Revised from the original by John Anderson, Malay Translator
to Government.
Approved and coufirmed by the Governor-General in Council,
November, 1802.
TREATY OF BANGKOK, 1820.
[The following Articles are those applying to the Malay
States.-F. A. S.]
ARTICLE 10.
'l'me English and Siamese mutually agree, that there shall be aii
unrcstricted trade between themi in the English countries of
Prince of Wales' Island, Malacca and Singapore, and the Siamese
countries of Ligor, Medilong, Singora, Patani, Junk-Ceylon,
Quedah and other Siamese provinces. Asiatic merchants of the
English countries, not being Burmese, Peguers or descendants
of Europeans, shall be allowed to trade freely overland and by
means of the rivers. Asiatic merchants, not being Burmese,
Peguers or descendants of Europeans, desiring to enter into, and
trade with, the Siamese dominions from the countries of Mergui,
Tavoy, Tenasserim and Ye, which are now subject to the English,
will be allowed to do so freely, overland and by water, upon the
English furnishing tlem with proper certificates. But merchants
are forbidden to bring opium, which is positively a contraband
article in the territories of Siam, and should a merchant introduce
any, the Governors shall seize, burn, and destroy the whole of it.
ARTICLE 12.
Siam shall not go and obstruct or interrupt commerce in the
States of Tringano and Calantan. English merchants and subjects shall have trade and.- intercourse in future with the same




-10 -facility and freedom as they have heretofore had, and the English
shall not go and molest, attack or disturb those States upon any
pretence whatever.
ARTICLE 13.
The Siamese engage to the English, that the Siamese shall remain in Quedah and take proper care of that country, and of its
people; the inhabitants of Prince of Wales' Island and of Quedah
shall have trade and intercourse as heretofore; the Siamese shall
levy no duty upon stock and provisions, such as cattle, buffaloes,
poultry, fish, paddy and rice, which the inhabitants of Prince of
Wales' Island or ships there may have occasion to purchase in
Quedah, and the Siamese shall not farm the mouths of rivers or
any streams in Quedah, but shall levy fair and proper Import and
Export Duties. The Siamese further engage, that when Chow
Phya of Ligor returns from Bangkok, he shall release the slaves,
personal servants, families and kindred belonging to the former
Governor of Quedah, and permit them to go and live wherever
they please. ThIe English engage to the Siamese, that the English
do( not desire to take possession of Quedah, that they will not
tt ack or disturb it. nor permit the former Governor of Quedah, or
anly of his followers, to attack, disturb, or injure in any manner
t1 he territory of Quedab, or any cther territory subject to Siam.
'lT'he English engage that they will make arrangements for the
former Governor of Quedah to go and live in some other country,
and not in Prince of WVales' Island or 'rye, or in Perak, Salaugore,
or any Burmese country. If the English do not let the former
Governor of Quedah go and live in some other country as hero
engaged, the Siamese may continue to levy an Export D)uty upon
paddly and rice in Quedah. The English will not p)revenit any
Siamese, Chinese, or other Asiatics at Prince of Wales' Island from
going to reside in Quedah if they desire it.
ARTICLE 14.
The Siamese and English mutually engage that the Rajah of
Perak shall govern his country according to his own will. Should
hlie desire to send gold and silver flowers to Siam as heretofore,
the English will not prevent his doing as he may desire.* If Chao
Phya of Ligor desire to send down to Perak, with friendly intentions, forty (40) or fifty (50) men, whether Siamese, Chinese or
other Asiatic subjects of Siam; or if the Rajah of Perak desire
to send' any of his ministers or officers to seek Chow Phya of
Ligor, the English shall not forbid them. The Siamese or English
*  See p. 12 of Appendix, Article Second.-F. A. S.




-11--
shall not send any force to go and molest, attack or disturb Perak.
The English will not allow the State of Salangore to attack or dis.
turb Perak, and the Siamese shall not go and attack or disturb
Salangore. The arrangements stipulated in these two last articles,
respecting Perak and Quedah, Chow Phya of Ligor shall execute
as soon as he returns home from Bangkok.
TREATY WITH PIhRAK, DATED 18Tn OCTOBER, 1826.
ENGAGEMENT entered into between His MAJESTY PADUKA SRI
SULTAN ABDULLAH MA-ALUM      SHAH BIN MURHOOM JUMMALOOLLAH, Supreme and Rightful Ruler over all and every part of the
Perak Country, and CAPTAIN JAMEs Low, Agent to the Honourable ROBERT FULLERTON, Governor of Pulo Penang, Singapore
and Malacca, on behalf of the HONOURABLE THE EAST INDIA
COMPANY, whereof copies have been interchanged, and which
is to be everlasting as the Sun and Moon. Moreover, it is a
token of lasting friendship and alliance to exist between the
HONOURABLE THE EAST INDIA COMPANY and the KING OF
PERAK, and between the KIaG and the Honourable ROBERT
]FULLERTON.
ARTICLE FrnsT.-lIis Majesty the King of Perak, of his own
free will and pleasure, hereby engages, that he will adhere to the
stipulations respecting the boundaries of Perak and the settlement of other points which were made with the Rajah of Salangore by Mr. John Anderson, Agent to the Honourable Robert
Fullerton, Governor of Pulo Penang, -&c., and also to all the
stipulations contained in the engagement which His Majesty made
with the said Mr. John Anderson, dated the 20th day of Mohurrum, Monday, in the year of the Hegira, 1241, all of which deeds
are here declared to be fixed and unalterable. Moreover, His
Majesty now engages that he will not hold any communication or
intercourse with the Rajah of Siam, or with any of his chiefs or
vassals, or with the Rajah of Salangore, or any of his chiefs or
vassals; which may or can have reference to political subjects, or
to the administration of his government and the management of
his country of Perak. His iMajesty will not countenance any of
his subjects who may connect themselves with, or league, or intrigue with, the Siamese King, or with any of his chiefs or vassals,
or with the Rajah of Salangore, or any of his chiefs orvassals, or
with any other Siamese or Malayan people, by which the
country of Perak can in any degree or manner be disturbed, and
the government of his Majesty interfered with.




-12 -
SEcoND.-His Majesty the King of Perak will not give or
present the bunga mas, or any other species of tribute whatever,
to the Rajah or King of Siam, or to any of his governors or
vassals, nor will he give or present such to the Rlajah of Salangore,
or to any other Siamese or Malayan people henceforward and
for ever. Moreover, His Majesty will not receive or permit to
enter into his country of Perak, from the Rajah or King of Siam,
or from any of his governors or chiefs, any ambassadors or armaments arriving at Perak for the purpose of arranging political
matters, or interfering in any way in the affairs and administration
of the country of Perak. In like manner he will not receive into
his  country  embassies or armaments sent by the Rajah of
Salangore, or by any other Siamese or Malayan people; nor
will he receive any party   from  any of the people, Rajahs,
or countries here specified into his country, should its strength
even consist of no more than thirty men, nor will he allow the
least number to enter his country. But all persons of every
country will, as heretofore, have free permission to trade unmolested to any port in the Perak Country, provided they do not
interfere in its affairs. Should parties or armaments of the description above stated arrive in the Perak Country from any one
of the countries, or Rajahs, Governors, or Chiefs, or people above
specified, or should any of the said RIajahs, Governors, or Chiefs
league with subjects of the King of Perak, in order to disturb
his country and interfere in any way in his government, then,
in any such case or cases, His Majesty will rely, as he now relies,
and in all future times will rely, on the friendly aid and protection of the Honourable the East India Company, and of the HTonourable the Governor in Council of Pulo Penang, &c., &c., to be
manifested in such a manner and by such means as may to them
seem most expedient.
THIRmD.-Captain JAMES Low, as Agent for the IHonourable
the Governor in Council of Prince of Wales' Island, &c., &c.,
engages that if His Majesty the King of Perak will faithfully
adhere to and perform all and each of the stipulations contained
in this Engagement as above specified, then His Majesty shall
receive the assistance of the British in expelling from his country
any Siamese or Malays as above stated, who, as also above specified, may, at any time, enter the Perak Country with political
views, or for the purpose of interfering in any way with the government of His Majesty. But if His Majesty shall fail to perform all and every Article of this his Engagement, binding on him,
then the obligation on the British to protect him and to assist him
against his enemies will cease, and he will lose the confidence and
friendship of the Honourable the Governor in Council of Pulo
Penang, &c., &c., for ever.




-18 -This Engaagement, which His Majesty has voluntarily, and with
great satisfaction,-entered into, has received as marks of its validity
the chop or seal of His Majesty, and the seal and signature of the
Agent, Captain.AMEs Low, together with the chops of the ministers of Perak, who are also parties in this Engagement with the
Agent, and it is delivered to the said Agent to remain as an everenduring memorial of alliance and friendship between the King of
Perak and the British.
This paper, written on the Eighteenth day of October 1826, of
the English year, and on the Sixteenth day of Rabi-al-awal, Wednesday, in the year of the Hegira 1242.
Signature of the Agent, Captain JAMES Low.
(A true copy)
(Signed) JAMES Low, Captain,
Political Ayent.
(A. true copy)
(Signed)  S. GARLING,
Resident Councillor.
TREATY OF FRIENDSHIP AND COMMERCE BETWEEN
GREAT BRITAIN AND SIAM.
Signed at Bang kok, April 18, 1855. Ratifications exchanged at
Banrgkok, April 5, 1856.
[ It is unnecessary to re-print the whole of the above Treaty, as
the only point affecting the present question is that portion of
Article II, which says:- "and will enforce the observance by
" British Subjects of all the provisions of this Treaty, and such of
" the former Treaty negotiated by Captain B3URN.EY in 1826 as
" shall still remain in operation."
The Articles and parts of Articles of the Treaty of 1826 which
were retained are the following *:Articles I., II., III., VI., VIII., XI., XII., XIII., XIV. and
the following extract from Article X.:-" Asiatic merchants, not

* Hertslet's "Treaties," Vol. X., pp. 558, 574, 575, 576 and

577.




-14--

" being Burmese, Peguers, or descendants of Europeans desiring
" to enter into and trade with the Siamese dominions fromnthe
" countries of Mergui. Tavoy, 'l'enasserim and Ye, which are now
"subject to the English, will be allowed to do so freely, overland
" and by water, upon the English furnishing them with proper
" certificates." The Articles relating to the Malay States are given
at pp. 9-11.-F. A. S.]
QUEDAH, 1869.
TREATY WITH SIAM OF 6TH MAY 1869 RELATIVE
TO THE BRITISH ENGAGEMENTS WITH QUEDAH.
Treaty entered into between Thomas George Knox, Esq., Her
Britannic Majesty's Consul General in Siam, and IHis Excellency
Chao Phya Sri Suriwongsa Phra Kalahome, Prime Minister of
Siam, Commissioner on the part of His Majesty the King of
Siam.
Being a Treaty in substitution for former Treaties, respectively
dated 1786, 1791, and 1802 of the Christian Era, and 1201,
1206, and 1217 of the Mahomedan Era, and also in substitution
for the Treaty with Ligor Siam of 1831,* and for the Treaty concluded by Sir HIarry St. George Ord on the 21st day of March of
the year 1868 of the Christian Era.
AIRTICLE I.
When this Treaty shall come into operation the Treaty concluded in the year 1602 of the Christian, and 1217 of the Mahomedan Era, between Sir George Leith Bart. Lieutenant Governor
of Pulo Penang and his Highness the lang de per Tuan Rajah
Mooda of Purlies and Quedah, with the previous Treaties and
agreements referred to therein, and the Treaty concluded in the
year 1831 of the Christain Era, between Robert Ibbetson Esq.,
Resident of Singapore, Pulo Penang and Malacca, and the Chao
Phya of Ligor Si Tamrat, and also the Treaty concluded on the
21st day of March in the year 1868 of the Christian Era between
Sir Harry St. George Ord, Knight, Governor and Commander-inChief of the Straits Settlements, and Their Excellencies Phya
*  A Treaty defining the boundaries of Province Wellesley.r. ~S,




-15 -
Debia Phrajim, and Phra Bedis Banij Siam Bejit Bhacty, Commissioners on the part of EHis Majesty the King of Siam, shall
cease and determine, except so far as they grant to Her Majesty
the territories referred to therein.
ARTICLE II.
The Governor of the British Colony of the Straits Settlements
shall pay annually to His Highness the lang de per Tuan of
Quedah ten thousand dollars, as long as Her Britannic Majesty
shall continue in possession of Pulo Penang and the country on
the bpposite coast hereafter mentioned.
ARTICLE III.
His Highness the lang de per Tuan of Quedah agrees that the
Dominions of Her Britannic Majesty on the mainland, opposite the
Island of Penang, shall comprize the Territories bounded as follows: that is to say, on the West by the Sea, on the North by the
right bank of the River Mudah, on the South by the right bank
of the River K1urrcen, (Krecan) and on the East by a line
running South from a spot on the right bank of the River Mudah,
op)posite the existiniig Frontier pillar at Sematool, in a straight line
to a point on the extreme eastern end of the Maratajam range of
Hlills. Thence along the top ridge of the Punchore Hill to the existing Frontier pillar on the right bank of the River Kurrecan, about
400 English yards above and East of Bukit Tungal. A map
showing the eastern Boundary above described, is annexed to the
present Treaty, and signed by the respective Commissioners.
The British Authorities engage to respect the Royal burying
grounds at Kotah Prye within the ceded Territory, and to consider
them still the property of His Highness the lang de per Tuan of
Quedah, but subject nevertheless to British jurisdiction in other
respects, provided always that the Mudah River shall at all times
be free to the peaceful navigation of the subjects of His Majesty
the King of Siam.
ARTICLE IV.
It is mutually agreed that stone pillars, not less than six feet
high and at the distance of one mile apart, shall be erected at the
joint expense of the Government of the Straits Settlements and
His Highness lang de per Tuan of Quedah, in order to mark the
Eastern boundary line of the ceded Territory; that no grant or
transfer of land shall be made, or houses other than Police Stations allowed to be erected, within one hundred yards on either
side of this Boundary line, and further.; that, within the distance




of two miles from the said boundary line, no shops for the sale
of Opium, Toddy, Bang or Spirits shall be licensed, or Gambling
houses be permitted, in their respective districts, by the Governor
of the Straits Settlements or the lang de per Tuan of Quedah.
ARTICLE V.
All persons convicted of, or awaiting trial for, or against whom
warrants for their arrest may be issued for, the crimes hereafter
specified, who may effect their escape from any of the Possessions
of Her Britannic Majesty into the Territory of Quedah, or who
may be found within the said Territory of Quedah, shall, upon a
formal requisition from the Governor of the Straits Settlements,
or the Lieutenant-Governor of Penang or Malacca, to the lang
de per Tuan, be delivered up to the British Authorities, and in
like manner, all persons convicted of, or awaiting trial for, or
charged by the lang de per Tuan of Quedah with, any of the
crimes hereinafter specified, who may effect their escape from
Quedah into British Territory, shall, upon requisition from the
lang de per Tuan to the Governor of the Straits Settlements, or
the Lieutenant-Governor of Penang or Malacca, be surrendered
to the Authorities of Quedah. The crimes above referred to are
the following, that is to say;--Murder, Dacoity, Robbery, Arson,
Rape, Burglary, Aggravated assault, Cattle-stealing, Making or
uttering false-coin, Forgery, Embezzlement, Perjury, Breach of
Prison, Fraudulent Bankruptcy, or Attempt to Commit Murder,
Dacoity, Robbery, Arson, Rape, Burglary or Aggravated assault.
But no person shall be delivered up in virtue of this article by
the Governor of the Straits Settlements, or by the LieutenantGovernor of Penang or Malacca, unless the Governor or Lieutenant-Governor, as the case may be, shall be satisfied that there
are reasonable grounds for believing him to have been guilty of
some one of the above crimes.
ARTICLE VI.
The lang de per Tuan of Quedah engages not to levy any duty
upon Cattle, grain or other provisions, exported from Quedah
into the British Territory higher than according to the following
Tariff viz.;-upon Rice $8 per Coyan of 40 piculs, upon Paddy
$4 per Coyan of 800 Gantangs, upon Cattle $1 per head, upon
Ducks and Fowls $1 per hundred. Provided always that, in the
event of failure of the Rice crop in the Territory of Quedah, it
shall be lawful for the said lang de per Tuan to prohibit the
export of Rice from Quedah for the current Rice Season, at any
time after three months notice of such his intention shall have




-17 -
been given to the British Government at Penang, and provided
that such prohibition shall be general and not applicable to particular places.
ARTICLE VII.
This Treaty shall be submitted for confirmation to the Government of Her Britannic Majesty, and to the Government of H.
M. the King of Siam, but it shall come into operation as soon as
possible after its signature.
In witness whereof the undersigned Thomas George Knox Esq.,
Her Britannic Majesty's Consul General in Siam, and Chao Phya
Sri Suriwongsa Phra Kalahome, Commissioner on the part of His
Majesty the King of Siam, have signed this Treaty and affixed
their seals thereto.
Done at Bangkok the sixth day of May in the year of our Lord
one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
(Sgd.)  THOMAS GEORGE KNOX,
H. B. M. Consul General.,,  C. P. SRI SURIWONGSA.,,  THE RAJAH     OF QUEDAH.
Note by the Editor of "Treaties and Engagements
with Native States."
The Treaty of the 21st March, 1868, above referred to as made
by Sir HARRY ST. GEORGE ORD, was not approved by the Authorities at home, as being irregular in form. It purported to have
been made between His Excellency Sir HARRY ST. GEORGE ORD,
&c., &c., on the part of Her Britannic Majesty, and His Highness
the lang de per Tuan of Quedah, subject to the approval and
ratification of His Majesty the King of Siam, whereas it was
objected in England that Quedah being held to be a Province of
Siam, the Treaty should have been made at Siam between the
British Authority there, the Consul-General, and the King of
Siam, as in fact the Treaty of 1869 was made. Except, however,
as to matters of form, the two Treaties are nearly identical in the
engagements entered into.
NoTE.-The spelling of Native names in the foregoing Treaties
has not been corrected, but is given as in the former prints of these
engagements.-F. A. S.

A,




7,




Aa




_"t  t: "..::...,
".,,




UWWW                             FMX39 1  2 8  8 1DO  NOT  CIRCULATE. I




" t" i                          f

i".,
Pi. -S;.. ' " ' ~ ~~...t'' "*.    -'.; s:   ",".  om  tvK'  ",,'".                  *.  J  %  J,  ",":,

*1

"      '..Y.w,.M
t.;; fk,.,

f~ liy+""'     r,'''
l..7.r e     '" -..i-  K  i"r;.
'.;;
i.   if L:Yi.
"..      ~  i  /.'                       '
" y          ~'
".?,F..,       w
' ~.

IL

w.l.fir....r"- '';  t':4..
"<.f       J~R.                   1.....   '...r    l;.,,.",_r i".:,

5,5
^'    taf.}a'      9                            a5J;;..,.,           +         rya "11a