The Plunder Obtained By The Chinese, Exclusive Of The Jewels And Gold Ornaments Of The Women, Was Estimated At 3,500 Pounds.

This very atrocious business was believed to have been aided and abetted, if not absolutely concocted, by Chinese merchants living under the shelter of the British flag at Malacca.

With the death of Tuanku Bongsu all hope of prosperity for Selangor under native rule was extinguished.

Matters became very bad in the years between 1867 and 1873, the fighting among the rival factions leading to a more complete depopulation of the country, not only by the loss in party fights, but by the exodus of peaceable cultivators. Lawlessness increased to such an extent that murders and robberies were of continual occurrence. Mr. Swettenham, the Assistant Colonial Secretary, affirms that it is hardly an exaggeration to say that every man above twenty years old had killed at least one man, and that even the women were not unaccustomed to use deadly weapons against each other.

The history of the way in which we gained a footing in Selangor is a tangled one, as the story is told quite differently by men holding high positions in the Colonial Government, who unquestionably are "all honorable men." Our first appearance on the scene was in 1871, when the Rinaldo destroyed Selangor, for reasons which will be found in the succeeding letter. In November, 1873, an act of piracy was committed on the Jugra river near the Sultan's residence. On this Sir A. Clarke, the Governor of the Straits Settlements, with a portion of H.B.M.'s China fleet, went to Langat and induced the Sultan to appoint a court to try the pirates, three of the ships and two Government Commissioners remaining to watch the trial. The prisoners were executed, the war-ships patroled the coast for a time, and everything became quiet.

In 1874, however, there were new disturbances and alleged piracies, and Tunku Dia Udin, the Sultan's son-in-law and viceroy, overmatched by powerful Rajahs, gladly welcomed an official, who was sent by Sir A. Clarke, "to remain with the Sultan should he desire it, and, by his presence and advice give him confidence, and assistance to carry out the promises which he had made," which were, in brief, to suppress piracy and keep good order in his dominions; not a difficult task, it might be supposed, for it is estimated that he had only about two thousand Malay subjects left, and the Chinese miners were under the efficient rule of their "Capitan," Ah Loi.

In January, 1875, at Tunku Dia Udin's request, a British Resident was sent to Selangor. Some time afterward the viceroy retired to Kedah, and the Sultan has been "advised" into a sort of pensioned retirement, the Resident levying, collecting, and expending the taxes. Sir Andrew Clarke was very fortunate in his selection of the Sultan's first adviser, for Mr. Davidson, according to all accounts, had an intimate knowledge of the Malays, as well as a wise consideration for them; he had a calm temper and much good sense, and is held in honorable remembrance, not only for official efficiency but for having gained the sincere regard of the people of Selangor.

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