After Some Curious Negotiations, He Succeeded In Obtaining Both A
Resident And The English Flag To Protect His Little Fortunes;
But it is
obvious that his calling in foreign intervention was not likely to make
him popular with his independent
Neighbors or disaffected subjects, and
the troubles culminated in a "little war," in which the attacking force
was composed of a few English soldiers, Malay military police, and a
body of about eighty so-called Arabs, enlisted in Singapore and taken
to the scene of action by Mr. Fontaine. The "enemy" was seldom obvious,
but during the war it inflicted a loss upon us of eight killed and
twenty-three wounded. We took various stockades, shot from sixty to
eighty Malays, burned a good deal of what was combustible, and gave
stability to the shaky rule of the Datu Klana, Syed Abdulrahman. Of
this prince, who owed his firm seat on the throne to British
intervention, the Resident wrote in 1880: - "Loyal to his engagements,
he had gained the good will of the British Government.
Straightforward, honest, and truly charitable, he had gained the love
and respect of almost everyone in Sungei Ujong, Chinese as well as
Malay, and if he had a fault he erred on the side of a weak belief in
the goodness of human nature, and often suffered in consequence." This
was Captain Murray's verdict after nearly five years' experience.
The population of this tiny State, which in 1832 consisted of three
thousand two hundred Malays and four hundred Chinese, at the time of my
visit had risen to twelve thousand, composed of three Europeans, a few
Klings, two thousand Malays, and ten thousand Chinese.
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