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Leader (1850-1860), 29th November 1851, Edition Town of 1, Page 1131, Untitled Article

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      without a colonel as clergy without a bishop . ( Applause . ) These are but the very simplest views of the question . These are the views which I have always held ; they are the views which I will always recommend and act upon . And if to-day , in Sarawak , the Christian religion hecomes a religion ofdivision and uncharitableness , I hope it may leave the country . It is a subject always deeply to be considered , very deeply to be borne in nind by all Christian people , how they approach a Mahomedan or a Hindoo population . It is not zeal for our own religion that will convince , for an undue zeal may brget an undue zeal in opposition to it . ( Bear , hear . ) There is but one way , and that way is the Christian way ; it is only mild

      persuasion , and mild persuasion alone , that will convince this people . ( Hear , hear . ) It is in the hands of God whether it shall be to-morrow or a thousand years hence . that is not the business either of this assembly or of a Christian people . ( Hear , hear . ) I will say , too—for I am deeply and personally interested in this question—. bat we must watch the Christian community ; for the i ? ssons of history teach us that Christians in a distant land do not always pieserve that unity and that Christian spirit which they ought to do . And Bhould these things raise difficulties in our path , remember that I have men tioned them , and remember that we need support from home to help us through them . I will not dwell longer on thjs subject , for . it is a very serious one ; but I will turn to the lecture which the reverend gentleman has so

      admirably delivered , and shall be happy if I can give any further information . In the first place , you must hear in mind those distinctionsof race in Borneo . They have bad governmenr ; the very bonds of society are loosened ; crime is walkii g abroad ; rapine , piracy , oppression , everything that you happily do not know in England , is there . You must always bear this in mind when speaking of the operations of this society . When I went there I had no fixed plan , no deep design . 1 did not go and say , "I will do this or that . " I had no design at all ; it was thrown in my way , and I followed ( he path be-f << re me . I struggled with difficulty after difficulty ; I did not know what tomorrow might bring foith ; but gradually light came out of darkness . ( Hear , hear . )

      That is all lean say , and that Js not saying much for myself . We found certain laws and customs existing , and , above all , a generous , high minded population , willing to be improved . How could we improve them ? They had many difficulties to contend with , and they ffdf constantly coming to me as their protector , though , in fact , they were my protectors . 'J hey had arms , and if I told them that certain thinas were their rights , they would trike arms to defend those rig hts . That was the system by which we attained to the very rudiments of jut-ti e , then we instituted a court , a simple court , the simplest in the world . The arrangement is this : —We all meet . ' 1 here is a round table . Every person of

      respectability , whether Englishman or native , sits down at that table . The prisoner sits on a mat . The whole trial goes on ; every person is at liberty to speak , and the decision is given and recorded a ' , the time . All 'he proceedings are in the Malay language , every native knows what is going forward , and they often take the deepest inteicst in the cases . You must never imagine that those natives are at all inferior to us in mental capacity , though they lack European culture . In fact , their mind is equal to the European mind , as far as we can judge . It" I wi ^ h them to do a thing , they will oppose me and say , " It is not proper to eio so according to our Jaws or cuhtonis , " and then we debate the question . If I alter a law , or say that a law is inapplicable , or cruel ,

      or too lenient , 1 call the people together in opi n court and explain to them why these laws appear ui . suitable to the state of society that has arisen . I then tell the chiefs to call the people together in their own towns , and consult as to what aie the best laws for the country , and 1 will receive their determination . 1 Hay in effect , Is it your wish that that shall be the law by which you yourselves are to be governed ? ' It is , as iar as possible , a self-government of the people . ( Hear , hear , hear . ) In my transactions with them I have always found that they are a noble and a highly independent people , and the most generous people in the world . As tine reverend gentleman has told you , they are highly truthful . With the exception of the class attached to the court , which is

      a viciouu class , both the Malays and Uyaks , taking the better clans—what you would call in this country the ; respectable class—are most truthful and most generous . They will bear no e > pprension ; they always wear a dagger by their side , and are a « ready to uHe it aa an Englishman to use . his fist ; and , if they use it , it is just , in the Kami ? uiniiiHT at < we use our fists , or the : same manner in which a gentleman , a hundred yearn ago , would draw his fiword , call on six seconds , and they would turn to in the : street—it might be in Lambeth—and lig ht six to six . Huch wiiH the . state of Eng lish society a hundred yeaiH ago , and of French society still more recently . These people will bear no iiiKull- 1 saw how easily their native rajaliH ruled them by acting on this principle , without even possessing their confide nee ; and that was a lesson to me which I have followed ever since . Whenever n man in accutjcu of any crime , though he may not be of good

      character , whether he be hig h or low , and even if he be accused of murder , he is licit her confined nor seized , nor i « an insult , put upon hi . s fcclingH in any way . 1 will T \ ariu ! e to you a eireiiin . slance which occurred within the last , two years . A man of twenty-seven or twenty-eight years of age , a man of respectability , who was constantly " bout , ray house and at . my table , and wus well known to all our porty , w . im suddenly accused of murder . I sent for him in the evening , Hid took him into my own room . * lc had Inn ueapon on ; he wan one of the chicfM . I ttiiid to him , lC . iij . ilt Lee , you me accused ef minder . Vim know ihc ci ' iHiom of the country ; you know I have a Irii ndl y feeling ( owhmIh you ; 1 am very sojiy , hut ><> u must bctiied , mid , if found guilty , you will be put . to death . ' 11 ,. , i ( l , Certainly , if 1 mn found guilty , 1 will Huffer death . 1 will do you no harm . Do you think 1 would d 0 y O u uny h . ium , or the native chief ( referring to

      one present ) any harm ? ' I said , ' No , I don't suppose you would , for you are friendly to me ; but I know that , at this moment , you would if you felt inclined . ' He said , ' Why ? ' I said , You have got your dagger on , and I am sitting close to you at the table . ' He instantly pulled it out , passed it across the tableto me , in the sheath , and said , ' You take that ! ' ( Cheers . ) : I refused to take it , saying he was a man of such respectability that I was sure he would submit to the laws . I said , ' Go away to-night , but come to the court at twelve o ' clock , the day after to-morrow ; you must be tried for your life ; and remember , you will be put to death if you are found guilty . ' He said , ' Give me a fair trial ; I will be there . ' He came ; he was in the court unarmed ; I am happy to add he was acquitted .

      ( Cheers . ) The judges and the jury immediately got up , and all shook hands with the prisoner , for we were all very glad of it ; he was a very good man , and I believe he was perfectly innocent . This will give you some idea of the state of the country , and of our simple mode of administering justice . So it is throughout ; there is a degree of simplicity in all the machinery of government , which would be very difficult to imagine in this country . All the proceedings are conducted in the most simple form . Everything is done in the M-4 iy language ; there is very little writing ; but I hope that good substantial justice is administered . The courts are composed of a certain number of English gentlemen , mingled with a

      certain number of natives , who form a judge and jury amon . ¦ st them , or rather the functions of the two are combined . The conse quence is that our institution ? have gradually spread , though , as you must be all aware , beyond the province of Sarawak I have no power ot jurisdiction ; I am limited merely to offering advice to the different parties who may come to ask it . There is always the element of piracy to guard against , though that 1 hope is at an end ; but still there are a number of Governments that would demoralize Sarawak if they had power to do so . But they have no such power ; and the only question is , whether we may not in future apply the same development that has been applied to Sarawak to the other rivers along the coast . ( Bear , hear . )"

      Untitled Article

      GOLD REGIONS OF THE WORLD . Mr . Wyld has issued a pamphlet on the Distribution of Gold throughout the World . It comprises large maps t-howing the gold beds , and is prefaced by a general introduction , descriptions of gold working , and the influence of the gold discoveries on the money markets of Europe . Gold is distributed more or less in all parts of the wotld . In Europe , although soir . e rivers have golden sands , and the ore is said to have been found in some hills and mountain ranges , yet it does not exist in

      sufficient quantities to yield a very large supply . Gold has been found in England and Ireland , in Fiance , Spain , and Portugal , but in comparatively small quantities . Hungary possesses the richest mines in Europe ; and the yield from the mines of Kermnitz and Sehemnitz is estimated at 1050 lb . yearly , worth £ 35 , 000 . From mines in Transylvania 13751 b . yearly are obtained . Altogether , the number of pounds of gold obtained from the provinces of the so-called Austrian Empire is summed up at four thousand . 41

      In Russia , '' says the pamphlet above mentioned , " the chief gold deposits are on the Asiatic side of the Ural Mountains ; but in 1739 a gold mine was found and worked in Olonetz . The total produce of KuHsia from Europe and Asia was , in the beginning of this century , estimated at 42 , ( 375 lb ., or about £ 1 , 800 , 000 yearly : in 1830 , at 15 , 0001 b . ; in 1835 , at 12 , 280 1 b . ; in 1 H 12 , at 41 , 000 1 b . ; in 1843 , at 55 , 000 1 b . ; in 1817 , at 73 , 300 lb . ; in 1848 , at 75 , 000 lb . ; in 1849 , at 09 , 000 lb . The value of the produce in 1817 is estimated at £ 4 , 000 , 000 . The Ural district resembles very much in its formation the gold diggings of California . The produce of gold fioin Sibeua increased during fourteen years , between 1829 and 1844 , from a yearly yield of 55 lb . to 40 , 8 ( 58 lb .

      Gold is found in Hindostnn in the great rivers at the foot of the Himalayas , in Mysore " , the Dcccan , on the Malabar eoaHt , and , indeed , throughout the vast legion under British dominion . It in obtained also in China , Thibet , Birmnh , Malacca , and Japan . Throughout Australasia gold in gathered , " abounding uu ) st in those islands which are composed of primitive and transition rocks . " Borneo is the richest of these islands , where the mines are : ehielly woiked by Chinese . The gold is found in veins and mineral ( strata , in the sands and beds of rivers , and in dry diggings . liorneo yields 9000 lb . yearly ; Sumatra 3000 lb . ; and the other mines of the Bundle r islands about , ¦ 1000 It ) . . lint the iiitcr ( . 'Ht . itig gold discovery of the year IH 51 is that of the Australian mines . The history of thin is Kullicicnt . ly curious to be giveni in full .

      " The resemblance of the Australian formations to those of the Ural wan first reinui keel by Sir Roddick Murchi-Hon , win * was so strongly impressed with the fuel , that he till it . i : i duty to allude to it , in the addre-ss which he delivered to the Royal Geographical ttooh'iy , as Pi e . sident , iu May , 1815 . In the subsequent year he specially addri'htied the Conii .-h miners on the subject , and adverted particularly to tho discovery of ^ ohl near Hat h ui st , on the western Hank of what lie styled the great . Australian Cordillera ; and he strongly ingcd the pro | niety of a strict , ^ eologieul in vestignlion , with the' view of « si ablushing Kol ( l workings . Colonel LlelinerHcn , of ! St .. Petersburg , a member of the JRusHiun Academy of Sciciice-n . uIbo well Rceiuuiuted with tho UrulKold work » , exprcHaeu

      the same opinion The views of Sir R . Murchison obtained great publicity in Australia ; but it is to be regretted the English Government is not in the habit of taking counsel from men of science , so that the opportunity was lost of taking all due and timely advantage m the discovery . " The Reverend W . B . Clarke also published letters , suggesting a theory of the gold deposits , in which , following Sir Roderick Murchison , and taking the Russian deposits as a basis , he predicted gold deposits in California and Australia . He likewise points out the Equator as a great gold region ; and this , too , the best practical authorities confirm .

      " Mr . Francis Forbes , of Sydney , about two years ago published and circulated in New South Wales a paper , in which he affirmed in the strongest manner , on scientific data , the existence of gold formations in -New Ho land . Mr . Forbes , not being listened to nor encouraged in his researches , went to California , where he died m l ° 00 . " Even the discoveries in Californa did not arouse trie New Hollanders to adequate researches , though report * were spread of wonderful discoveries m Victoria anet South Australia , which were speedily discredited . It was reserved for . a gentleman of New South Wales , Mr . Edward Hammond Hargraves , to make the definitive discoveries . He annears to have acted independently

      of all previous views on the subject ; but having acquired experience in California , and being struck with the resemblance between the Californian formations and those of New Holland , he determined on a systematic search for gold , which he brought to a successful issue on the 12 th of February of this year , by the discovery of gold diggings in the Bathurst and Wellington districts , anet which he prosecuted until he had ascertained the existence of gold sands in no less than twelve places . the first

      " Mr . Hargraves stands undisputedly as explorer of the Australian diggings ; though , as already stated , gold ores had been already found in many places , and especially near Bathurst . Having finished his explorations on the ground , he drew up a regular report , which in April he laid before the governor-general , who , after some consultations , sent the colonial geologist , Mr . Stuchbury , to make a further scientific investigation , which has resulted in a full confirmation . At a later period , the Surveyor-General , Sir Thomas Mitchell , and

      staff , took the same route . " The proceedings of Mr . Hargraves and of the Government got spread about , and on the 1 st of May of this year—on the day of the opening of the Great Exhibition , and five years after bir Roderick Murchison s Cornish address—it was made known in Sydney that great gold discoveries had been made in the interior , when a period of wild speculation immediately commenced . In the Bathurst . district , active operations had already begun , and hundreds successfully proved the Kold diggings . It is is well enough known that a Californian excitement has prevailed there , which it is unnecessary to detail . Iu the beginning of June the Governor-General made a grant of £ 500 to Mr . Hargraves , and afterwards an appointment of £ 350 a-year ; and at the same time the Sir Thomas Arbuthnot sailed from Sydney for England , with £ 1000 worth of gold among her cargo .

      . . " The locality of the gold diggings first reported , is in the upper basin of the Macquario . On the head stream of the Fish River will be found Bathurst ; and to the left of it , a small stream , about forty miles long , which runs from the liathurst road at Pretty Plains to Lewis Ponds . Thin is the Lewis River . Its western feeder is the Sumnierhill Creek , which , soon after the discovery , was beset with four thousand gold diggers , and from which the first exports were obtained . The width of these creeks , at their junction , is reputed to be about fifty or sixty yards , and the water sometimes rises suddenly twenty feet . The diggings extend downwards all the way to the Macquario . Swallow Creek is the locality of another digging . These Macquarie diggings are called Ophir .

      ' The mountain ranges near here run high , the neighbouring Mount CanoboliiH being 4101 feet above the sea . It is a matter of considerable importance , that , gold i » also reported as occurring in the feeders of the Lachlan , which rise on the south side of the range . In the Narrambla , near Carceon , south-west of Bi-. thurst , diggings were begun , so that , it may be expected that gold will be found in the Lachlan valley . " Besides the indication !* in the valleys of the Murray , on the western side of the Rocky Mountains , there are reports of gold on the eastern side , more particularly in several parts of the Hunter River—one of the chief rivers of the coast , flowing through the colliery districts to Maitland and Newcastle . Several , of the heads of the Hunter rise close to those of the ; Maequarie . Gold is reported as low down as Muitland . It it * likewise reported at . Hondi , six miles from . Sydney , and in the neighbourhood of Melbourne .

      " Arrangements have been alreruly made ? to operate liirgely in the gold districts . The first company formed in London in one called tho Australian UaUl Amalgamation Company , in which it . is intended , under the direction of Messrs . John Taylor and Sons , the mining engineers , to apply the experience K amrd in their mines in Mexico and Spain in the reduction e > f bullion with , quicksilver . " The AuHtralian discovery , however , has not diminished the intercm . in California . Research seems

      only to dinplay the fertility of that region in gold . The formation of companies , promising marvellous results , which would seem almost warranted hy Uio reports ' arriving daily , continues . While the old diggings an : surpassed by tins mines on Colonel Fremont ' s chUUv the Mariposa , the ; Atiua-Fria , the Nouveau Monde , the : West Mariposa , and tho Avo Maria ; names an familiar to English earn aa of thono of the Home Counties . The : total shipments of gold from California in 1 U 60 were eutimutcd ut £ 10 , 000 000 .

      Untitled Article

      m Nov . , 1851 . ] . izbt Header . 1131

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 29, 1851, page 1131, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1911/page/7/