Borneo.—Among the most remarkable and successful attempts to open a communication with the natives of the East India Islands, is that of Mr. James Brooke. This gentleman, prompted solely by a desire to improve the condition of the people of Borneo, and at the same time to explore this hitherto unknown region, has established himself at Sarawak, on the northwestern part of the island, 427 miles from Singapore. Such was the interest manifested by him on his arrival in the country to promote the good of the people, and to suppress the piracies which have been carried on for many years by the Malays, and certain tribes associated with them, that the then reigning Rajah, Muda Hassim, resigned to him his right and title to the government of the district, in which he was afterwards established by the Sultan of Borneo. The success that has attended Mr. Brooke's government, among a barbarous people, whose intercourse with foreigners had been confined to the Malays and Chinese, is most remarkable. Possessed of an independent fortune, of the most enlarged benevolence; familiar with the language, manners, customs and institutions of the people by which he is surrounded, with a mind stored with knowledge acquired from extensive travel and intercourse with various rude nations, he seems to have been prepared by Providence for the task which he has attempted, and which has thus far been crowned with success.
Capt. Keppel's Narrative of his expedition to Borneo, and Mr. Brooke's Journal, furnish some interesting ethnological facts. The Dyaks, or aboriginal inhabitants of Borneo, are divided into numerous lesser tribes, varying in a slight degree in their manners and customs. Their language belongs to the Polynesian stock, on which has been ingrafted, particularly along the coast, a large num[55]ber of Malayan words. It also exhibits evidences of migrations from India at remote periods. In speaking of the Sibnowans, Mr. Brooke observes that "they have no idea of a God, and though they have a name for the Deity, (Battara, evidently of Hindoo origin), with a faint notion of a future state, the belief seems a dead letter among them. They have no priests, say no prayers, make no offerings to propitiate the Deity; and of course have no occasion for human sacrifices, in which respect they differ from all other people in the same state of civilization, who bow to their idols with the same feelings of reverence and devotion, of awe and fear, as civilized beings do to their invisible God."[43] From their comparatively innocent state, Mr. Brooke believes they are capable of being easily raised in the scale of society. "Their simplicity of manners, the purity of their morals and their present ignorance of all forms of worship, and all idea of future responsibility, render them open to conviction of truth and religious impression, when their minds have been raised by education."[44] It is a well known fact, that since the establishment of Europeans in the Eastern Archipelago, the tendency of the Polynesian races has generally been to decay. The case of Mr. Brooke, however, now warrants us in hoping that such a result need not necessarily and inevitably ensue.
While success has attended this gentleman at the north, the American missionaries, among the Dutch possessions farther south, have totally failed in their objects. They attribute the unwillingness of the Dyaks to submit to their instruction, to the influence of the Malays, whose interests are necessarily opposed to those of the missionaries, for, it is evident that once under the guidance of the latter, the Dyaks will see their own degraded and oppressed condition, and submit to it no[56] longer. Mr. Youngblood says that "so prejudiced are the Dyaks, that I have been unable to obtain a few boys to instruct, of which I was very desirous."[45]
The Dutch have long had trading establishments in Borneo, but they had made no efforts either to suppress the piracies, or improve the moral and social condition of its inhabitants. Its great value has now become so apparent, that unless they keep pace with, and follow the example set by the English, they will be in danger of having it wrested from their hands by the more enlightened policy of the latter.
Borneo produces all the valuable articles of commerce common to other islands of the Eastern Archipelago. Its mineral productions are equally rich, and include gold dust, diamonds, pearls, tin, copper, antimony, and coal. The interior is quite unknown. It is three times larger than Great Britain, and is supposed to contain about 3,000,000 of people.
I have purposely avoided speaking of the trade and commerce of the islands of the Eastern Archipelago, as they are subjects which do not fall within the sphere of our enquiries, in a review like the present; although the productions, the trade and commerce of nations are properly a branch of ethnological enquiry, in a more enlarged view. An interesting pamphlet, embodying much valuable information on the commerce of the East, has been lately published by our townsman, Mr. Aaron H. Palmer. This gentleman is desirous that the United States government should send a special mission to the East Indies, as well as to other countries of Asia, with a view to extend our commercial relations. The plan is one that deserves the attention of our people and government, and I am happy to state that it has met with favor from many of our merchants engaged in the commerce of the East, as well as from some distinguished[57] functionaries of the government.[46] England, France, Prussia, Denmark, and Holland, have at the present moment, expeditions in various parts of the East Indies and Oceanica, planned for the pursuit of various scientific enquiries and the extension of their commerce. With the exception of Prussia, these nations seem to be desirous to establish colonies; and they have, within a few years, taken up valuable positions for the purpose.
Is it not then the duty of our government to be represented in this new and wide field? Our dominions now extend from ocean to ocean, and we talk of the great advantages we shall possess in carrying on an eastern trade; but how greatly would our advantages be increased by having a depot or colony on one of the fertile islands contiguous to China, Java, Borneo, Japan, the Philippines, &c. An extended commerce demands it, and we hope the day is not distant when our government may see its importance.
England, France, Spain, Portugal and Holland have possessions in the East. The former, always awake to her commercial interests, now has three prominent stations in the China Sea,—Singapore, Borneo, and Hongkong. But even these important points do not satisfy her, and she looks with a longing eye towards Chusan, a point of great importance, commanding the trade of the northern provinces of China, and contiguous to Corea and Japan. The "Friend of India," a leading paper, "is possessed with a most vehement desire," says the editor of the "China Mail," "that the British, without infringing their 'political morality,' could contrive some means[58] of obtaining the cession of Chusan, which, in their hands, he believes, could be converted into a second Singapore, and become one of the largest mercantile marts of the East."[47]
It is evident from what has been stated, and from the opinions expressed in foreign journals, that the attention of the civilized world has been suddenly attracted to the Eastern Archipelago, and it is only surprising, considering the knowledge possessed by the European nations, of the rich productions of these islands, and the miserable state in which a large portion of their inhabitants live, that efforts have not before been made to colonize them, and bring them under European rule.
The Spaniards contented themselves with the Philippines, but the Dutch, more enterprising, as well as more ambitious, extended their conquests to Sumatra, Java, the Moluccas, and recently to Bali, Sumbawa, Timor and Celebes. But these are not all, for wherever our ships push their way through these innumerable islands, they find scattered, far and wide, their unobtrusive commercial stations, generally protected by a fort and a cruiser.
It is said that the natives feel no attachment for their Dutch rulers, which, as they possess so wide spread a dominion in the Archipelago, is much to be regretted; for this feeling of animosity against them, may effect the relations that may be hereafter formed between the aboriginal races and other Christian people. Attempts will doubtless be made to prejudice the natives against the English, but the popularity of Mr. Brooke at Sarawak, in Borneo, his kindness to the natives, and the destruction of the pirates by the British, will no doubt gain for them throughout the Archipelago, a name and an influence which the jealousies of other nations cannot counteract. The natives of these islands except those of the interior, are strictly a trading and commercial people. Addicted to a seafaring life, and[59] tempted by a love of gain, they traverse these seas in search of the various articles of commerce which are eagerly sought after by traders for the European, India, and Chinese markets. Piracy, which abounds in this region, grows out of this love of trade—this desire for the accumulation of wealth—and we believe that nothing would tend to suppress crime so effectually as the establishment of commercial ports throughout the Archipelago.
It is said that the population embraced in the twelve thousand islands of which Polynesia consists, amounts to about forty millions. No part of the world equals it in the great variety and value of its products. There is scarcely an island but is accessible in every direction, abounding in spacious bays and harbors, and the larger ones in navigable rivers. The people are generally intelligent, and susceptible of a higher degree of cultivation than the natives of Africa, or of many parts of the adjacent continent.
To obtain a station or an island in this vast Archipelago, we should require neither the outlay of a large sum of money, nor the loss of human life; no governments would be subjected, or kings overthrown. Civilization and its attendant blessings would take the place of barbarism, idolatry would be supplanted by christianity, and the poor natives, now bowed down by cruelty and oppression, would, under the care of an enlightened government, become elevated in the scale of social existence.
The cultivation of spices in the Archipelago, and the acts by which the monopoly is secured by the Dutch in the Moluccas, reflect little credit on human nature. "No where in the world have the aboriginal tribes been treated with greater cruelty; and in some cases literal extermination has overtaken them. Their tribe has been extinguished, they have been cut off to a man, and that merely lest, in order to obtain a humble subsistence, they should presume to trade on their own account in those costly spices, the sale of which, without right or reason, Holland has[60] hitherto thought proper to appropriate to herself. No form of servitude, moreover, equals the slavery of those who are engaged in the culture of the nutmeg-tree. They toil without hope. No change ever diversifies their drudgery; no holiday gladdens them; no reward, however trifling, repays extra exertion, or acts as a stimulus for the future. The wretched slave's life is one monotonous round, a mere alternation of toil and sleep, to be terminated only by death."[48] The northern portions of New Guinea, as well as other islands, are in the same latitude as Banda and Amboyna, and produce the nutmeg and other spices. They might be extensively cultivated by the natives, if encouragement was given them; and a sufficient supply obtained for all the markets of Europe and America.
The Island of Bali, lying east of Java, from which it is separated by a narrow strait, has recently been subjected by the Dutch. Some difficulty growing out of the commerce with the people, is the alleged cause. It is an island of great importance to Holland, and would seriously injure her commerce with Java, should any other European nation take it under its protection, or plant a colony there. A slight pretext therefore sufficed for its annexation.
New Caledonia Islands. Later information has been received from the Catholic Missionaries in New Caledonia; for it seems that even in those distant and barbarous islands both Protestant and Catholic are represented. The Propaganda annals contain some interesting accounts of the natives of these islands, and of other facts of importance in Ethnology. Two Catholic missionaries, the Rev. Mr. Rougeyron and the Rev. Mr. Colin, had been twenty months on these islands, during which time they had accomplished nothing in the way of conversions, and[61] but little towards improving the moral condition of the natives. It was hardly time to expect much, as they had only then begun to speak the language of the country, which they found very difficult to acquire. The natives are a most lazy and wretched people. They cultivate the ground with the aid of a piece of pointed wood, or with their nails, but never in proportion to their wants. For the greater part of the year they are compelled to live upon a few fish, shell-fish, roots and the bark of trees, and at times when pressed by hunger, worms, spiders and lizards are eagerly devoured by them. They are cannibals in every sense of the word, and openly feed on the flesh of their enemies. Yet they possess the cocoa, banana and yam, with a luxuriant soil, from which, with a little labor, an abundance could be raised.
Among no savage tribes are the women worse treated than here. They are completely at the mercy of their cruel and tyrannical husbands. Compelled to carry burdens, to collect food, and cultivate the fields, their existence promises them but little enjoyment; and when there is any fruit or article of delicacy procured, it is at once tabooed by the husband, so that she cannot touch it but at the peril of her life.
The missionaries had begun to expostulate with the natives on the horrors of eating their prisoners, and other vices to which they were addicted, and observe that "a happy change has already taken place among them; that they were less disposed to robbery, and that their wars are less frequent."[49] They are beginning to understand the motive which brought the missionaries to them, and already show a desire to be instructed.
The protestant missions have not accomplished any more than the Catholic's among these savages. The latest accounts state that four of the native teachers who had been converted to Christianity, had been cruelly mur[62]dered, and that such was the hostility of the chiefs at the isle of Pines, that the prospects of the missionaries were most discouraging.[50]
Sooloo Islands.—Mr. Itier, attaché to the French mission in China, has recently visited a cluster of islands ............