Chinese to establish themselves is a convincing proof of the fact; and ten years since a body of about 3000 of them had great success in procuring gold by their ordinary mode of trenching the ground. - Vol. ii. pp. 188, &c. In the island of Labuan, and on the mainland near Borneo Proper, there is also abundance of excellent coal and ironstone, which will be greater inducements to English commerce, and English steam navigation, than even gold or diamonds. It would be no slight assistance to our communication with China to have a regular supply of coal constantly waiting half way between India and Canton. The following extract will explain this advantage. ' It will be seen by the map, that Borneo is, of all the great islands of the western portion of the Archipelago, the nearest to China, and Labuan and its neighbourhood the nearest point of this island. The distance of Hong Kong is about 1000 miles, and that of the island of Hainan, a great place for emigration, not above 800; distances which to the Chinese junks-fast sailers before the strong and favourable winds of the monsoon-do not make voyages exceeding four or five days. The coasts of the provinces of Canton and Fokien have hitherto been the great hives from which Chinese emigration has proceeded; and even Fokien is not above 1400 miles from Labuan, a voyage of seven or eight days. Chinese trade and immigration will come together. The north-west coast of Borneo produces an unusual supply of those raw articles for which there is always a demand in the markets of China; and Labuan, it may be reckoned upon with certainty, will soon become the seat of a larger trade with China than the river of Borneo ever possessed. ' I by no means anticipate the same amount of rapid advance in population, commerce, or financial resources for Labuan, that has distinguished Singapore, a far more centrical position for general commerce; still I think its prospect of success undoubted; while it will have some advantages which Singapore cannot, from its nature, possess. Its coal-mines, and the command of the coal-fields on the river of Borneo, are the most remarkable of these; and its superiority as a post-office station necessarily follows. Then it is far more convenient as a port of refuge; and, as far as our present knowledge will enable us to judge, infinitely more valuable for military purposes, more especially for affording protection to the commerce which passes through the Chinese Sea, amounting at present to probably not less than 300,000 tons of shipping, carrying cargoes certainly not under the value of 15,000,000%, sterling.' - Vol. ii. pp. 222, &c. We will extract a few remarks on this subject from an appendix to our present work, entitled a ' Sketch of Borneo,' by J. Hunt, Esq., communicated to Sir Stamford Raffles in 1812. This country is by no means so warm as one would be led to imagine by its proximity everywhere to the line: this arises from the perpetual refreshing showers and the land and sea breezes, the former being wafted over innumerable rivers. In the month of November, the thermometer at Pontiana ranges from 78° to 82°. 'During the wet season, the rivers swell and overflow the adjacent shores, and run down with such continued rapidity, that the water may be tasted fresh at sea at the distance of six or seven miles from the mouths: these overflowings fertilise the banks and the adjacent country, and render the shores of Borneo, like the plains of Egypt, luxuriantly rich. Susceptible of the highest possible culture, particularly in wet grain, in the dry season, the coasts, from these overflowings, present to the eye the richest enamelled fields of full-grown grass for miles around. It is at this season that whole herds of wild cattle range down from the mountains in the interior to fatten on the plains; but during the wet season they ascend to their hills. The whole of the north, the north-west, and the centre of Borneo is extremely mountainous. The greatest portion of the ancient kingdom of Borneo Proper is extremely elevated. That of Kiney Baulu, or St. Peter's Mount, in latitude 6o north, is perhaps one of the highest mountains known. The country about Sambas, Pontiana, and Sukadana is occasionally interspersed with a few ranges of hills, otherwise the land here might be deemed low. But to the southward, and more particularly to the east, in the Straits of Macassar, it is very low. The shore in these latter places is extremely moist and swampy; but the interior is said to be dry.'-Vol. i. p. 394. An unfortunate event accompanied the first taking possession of Labuan, which did not augur well for its healthiness; but Mr. Brooke thus accounts for it: 'The gratification we feel in recording an event of such high promise in the history of commerce and civilisation is impaired by one unhappy circumstance. The officers and crews of the two vessels suffered severely from sickness at Labuan; and Messrs. Gordon and Airey, the commander of the Wolf and the master of the Iris, fell victims to the jungle-fever. The former dying on the island, was buried there; the latter expired a few days after his return to Singapore. The sickness that prevailed among the sailors has been ascribed to their imprudent indulgence in the wild fruits of the island, to over-exertion, and needless exposure, &c. These things may have done some hurt; but the main cause of the sickness is too obvious to be mistaken. The ceremony of hoisting the flag was performed on a large space, cleared of jungle, and levelled expressly for that purpose. is very strange that the officers engaged in the service should not have been aware of the infallible consequences of such a proceeding. In all tropical climates, deadly miasmata continue for a long while to hang over newly-made surfaces of earth, and malignant fevers surely await the white men who are rash enough to take up their abode on such spots before they have been sufficiently exposed to wind and sun. It 'There is nothing, therefore, in the unfortunate incidents that have marked our taking possession of Labuan which should warrant a belief in the insalubrity of the island. Probably there is no spot within the tropics where European life is exposed to fewer risks from natural causes. The soil of the island is light and porous; it contains few or no morasses; and its situation exposes it to the action of the prevailing winds, which sweep perpetually up and down those seas. For nine months of the year it is supplied abundantly with water; and if during the other three months this article of primary necessity be less plentiful, it is still in no worse a predicament than Singapore itself. On the north of the island there are several small runnels which would appear to be supplied by perennial sources; and it will everywhere be easy to construct tanks and reservoirs.'-Vol. ii. pp. 260, &c. From the physical constitution of Borneo, we will now turn to its inhabitants; and on this point we have Mr. Brooke's valuable opinion on various classes of his subjects before his prejudices were likely to be enlisted in their behalf in consequence of the position of authority he now holds over them. It is on this account, perhaps, almost ungenerous to bring his own words against his territories, which were spoken under such different circumstances as if our object were to put him out of conceit with his newly acquired subjects. Mr. Brooke is not now a mere traveller, free to say what he likes of the natives around him, but the fatherly links of his rajahship no doubt enchain his heart with a moiety of the obverse of that principle that the king can do no wrong. However this may be, or whatever are his present feelings towards the inhabitants of Borneo, how far he identifies himself with them, and whether in the act of holding a levee in his character of Rajah of Sarawak and the independent chiefs of Borneo, as he has done at Oxford, he at all forgot that he was an Englishman, and had not always been a component part of a state in the Eastern Archipelago; yet it is most certain that his dealings with the island, and his peculiar talents for engaging the sympathies of all who come in his way, have thrown very great light on characters, and on conditions of life, about which little has hitherto been known. It would be in vain to expect that any extracts from his journal could in a reasonable space give much of the information he has gathered together, or give our readers the benefit of his reflections and sentiments. The whole compilation which Captain Keppel has published is most interesting and useful. The journal is well arranged, and the captain's own part is straightforward and well written, though strongly tinctured with the spirit of his profession. It is clear that the fighting part was more to his taste than the silent conferences with Malay authorities at which he had to be present. When on shore, he does not appear so much absorbed in the interest of native politics as his companion, and he has an inclination to diverge towards the more congenial subject of the prospect Borneo holds out to the future sportsman who may roam over its hills. This, however, is but incidental, and throughout his work it is impossible not to admire his high spirit, great goodnature, and the hearty admiration he uniformly manifests towards Mr. Brooke's character and intentions, as well as the ready co-operation he at all times gave him. The inhabitants of the island of Borneo consist of three distinct races: the aborigines, commonly called Dyaks; the Malays, who are the conquerors of these people, and hold them in oppressive subjection; and lastly, the Chinese emigrants, of whom there are vast numbers. The latter are a useful body in all laborious pursuits, but as they do not enter much into the political relations of the country, we have little to do with them. The two former are the people with whom Mr. Brooke had to deal. The term Dyak properly applies to but one tribe of the original inhabitants, but for convenience, sake it is used as a generic term. Concerning their origin there is great doubt; that there was in time gone by a distinct Polynesian race appears certain ; it is also most probable that this race was of different origin from the Asiatic nations. Mr. Brooke in one place suggests the idea that these islands were peopled originally by a tide of emigration from east to west; but after more investigation, he is satisfied with calling them aborigines, leaving it rather to be inferred that there was not that radical difference between them and the Malays as had been supposed; but that the latter invaded these islands at a later period, and were therefore much more civilized. We will not, however, enter into such a wide discussion, but confine ourselves to the present state in which they are found. This is peculiar: they are not exactly savage, yet they are far from being civilized. In many respects they have tolerable notions of the comforts and conveniences of life, yet in others they are morally depraved to an extent which excludes them from any right to the name of civilization in any stage of growth. But their character is not without hope, as is the case with some barbarous people. Their savage practices are in a great measure attributable to the fearful anarchy, misrule and oppression under which they suffer. It is hopeless for them, subject as they are to the grossest imposition and most constant depredations-nay, even habitual slaughter-to improve their condition. Mr. Brooke's sympathies have been most nobly excited in their behalf; the protection of these unfortunate, and, naturally, mild and gentle people, has ever been the chief incentive in his arduous task. Under his kind and thoughtful management we see no reason why they should not at once rise into the state of a useful and profitable people. They are, indeed, more than usually wanting in any form of religion, and this is one cause, no doubt, why they have not maintained themselves in greater independence; but the deficiency, we hope, will soon be changed into a very different aspect of affairs through the labours of those who are now setting out on their Christian mission. The Malays are a different race; they approach nearer to our conceptions of the Asiatic character, and in their disposition form a great contrast both with Europeans and with uncivilized nations. They differ from the former not so much as being in another stage of civilization for in many respects they are a most highly sensitive and polite people-but as being unconscious of that idea of morals which constitutes our code of honour and propriety. All their notions of good and evil appear to find no parallel in our conceptions of truth. This partly arises from their very blood, and partly from the religion of Mahomet. Perhaps it is not too much to say that the religion of Mahomet was a political device to satisfy the peculiar moral deficiency which has ever existed in the Asiatic character, highbred and courteous as it is. Be this as it may, the want we speak of is most apparent in the character of the Borneo Malays. They have no conception of any restraint but absolute and immediate fear. They have no honesty, no honour, no idea of truth, and no principle by which they can keep their hands from all manner of crime if they can do it with impunity. It thus follows that those in power are extortionate and oppressive, while those in subjection, being under the constant restraint of fear, show indeed more of the virtues of their race, but only from the same principle which makes one cock in a farm-yard look of an amiable disposition, whilst he is being continually thrashed by a stronger power. Remove the bigger cock, and the mildness of the other will soon vanish. The extraordinary deceitfulness and cowardice of character we find so often mentioned in the Psalms and other parts of Scripture would appear to have the Eastern stamp vividly marked; not but that human nature is the same in all; but a certain aspect of the mind, or a certain moral deficiency, may be peculiarly prominent in distinct races of the human family. Thus, there certainly is a want of the virtue understood by the term generosity, in the Eastern character. There is a disposition to exert power according to ability, not according to right; to oppress others whenever there is the opportunity; in short, to act up to the animal instinct which is observed in our former illustration from a farm-yard. On this principle, the man who is able appropriates many wives, though conscious of the laws of nature which divide the human race about equally into male and female. Again, regal authority becomes personal despotism, and every relation of life which places one in a position physically inferior to another is made the occasion of oppression and cruelty. The whole Asiatic character is represented by the fatalist's wheel of fortune. As Heaven places one up on high and another down below, they see no reason why its decrees should be opposed; they rather make it their religion to use such exaltation with all its physical force, and flatter themselves that when they are gratifying their own evil passions they are but acting in accordance with the Divine will, which has given them the opportunity of doing so. This earth appears to such a mind as a paradise into which the tempter has not intruded; for it is a place where every impulse is supposed to be good, and |