Slavery And Debt Bondage, Which, As
Hitherto Practiced In Perak, Have Involved Evils And Cruelties Which
Are Unknown To Any
But those who have actually lived in the State,
will, it is hoped, be abolished by equitable arrangement in 1883.
Various difficulties remain to be settled; the large Chinese element,
with its criminal tendencies, requires great firmness of dealing, and
the introduction of foreign capital and an additional form of alien
labor may lead to new perplexities; but on the whole the outlook for
Perak and its people is a favorable one, especially if the present
Resident, Mr. Hugh Low, is able to remain to continue his task of
developing the resources, settling the difficulties, and consolidating
the well-being of the State.
Nothing is known of the early settlement of Perak. It was formerly
tributary to the Malay sovereigns of Malacca, and afterward to those of
Acheen, to whom the Perak Sultans sent gold and silver flowers as
tribute. Siam has also at different times asserted sovereign rights and
demanded tribute, but the Siamese were expelled in 1822 with the help
of Rajah Ibrahim, the warlike chief of the neighboring State of
Selangor. The Government was a despotism, administered during the last
three centuries by Sultans who were connected with the ruling dynasties
of Johore and Acheen.
Our connection with Perak began in 1818 by a commercial treaty between
the East India Company and the Sultan, the chief object of which was to
circumvent the Dutch on the subject of tin. 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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