By Another Treaty, In 1826,
It Was Agreed That The Sultan Should Govern His Country According To
His Own Will;
That no force should be sent either by Siam to "molest,
attack, or disturb" Perak; and while it was stipulated
That the Siamese
should not attack or disturb Selangor, the English engaged not to allow
Selangor to attack or disturb Perak.
So things jogged along till 1871, when the Sultan died, and the Rajahs,
passing over two men who by blood were nearest to the throne, elected
Ismail, an old and somewhat inoffensive man. Three years of intrigue
followed, and many singular complications, which would be quite
uninteresting to the general reader, and they furnished no excuse for
English interference.
It is singular that the fall of Perak as an independent State was
brought about by what may be called a civil war among the Chinese, who
in 1871 were estimated at thirty thousand, and were principally engaged
in tin-mining in Larut. These Chinamen were divided into two
sections - the Go Kwans and the Si Kwans; and a few months after Sultan
Ismail was elected, a dispute arose between the factions. Both parties
flew to arms, and were aided with guns, ammunition, military stores,
and food from Pinang, Pinang Chinese having previously supplied the
capital needed for working the mines. The settlement was kept in
perpetual hot water, its trade languished, and in return for military
equipments the Chinese of Larut sent over two thousand wounded and
starving men.
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