hom mention has been made, was the most
vindictive and unscrupulous amongst them. He had attempted to poison the
interpreter of Mr Brooke, and had been discovered as the abettor of even
more fearful crimes. Mr Brooke, strengthened by his late arrivals,
resolved to bring matters to a crisis, and to test at once the strength
of the respective parties. He landed a party of men fully armed, and
loaded the ship's guns with grape and canister; he then proceeded to
Muda Hassim, protested that he was well disposed towards the rajah, but
assured him, at the same time, that neither he nor himself was safe
against the practices of the artful and desperate Macota. Muda Hassim
was frightened. One of the Dyak tribes took part with Mr Brooke, two
hundred of them, with their chiefs, placing themselves unreservedly at
his disposal, whilst Macota was deserted by all but his immediate
slaves. The Chinese and the rest of the inhabitants looked on. The
upshot may be anticipated. The rajah became suddenly active and eager
for an arrangement. The old agreement was drawn out, sealed, and signed;
guns fired, flags waved, and on the 24th of September 1841 Mr Brooke
became Rajah of Sar[=a]wak.

The first acts of Mr Brooke, after his accession to power, were
suggested by humanity, and a tender consideration for the savage people
whom he so singularly and unexpectedly had been called upon to govern.
He inquired into the state of the Dyaks, endeavoured to gain their
confidence, and to protect them from the brutal onslaught of the Malays
and of each other, and at once relieved them of the burdens of taxation
which weighed so cruelly upon them. He opened a court for the
administration of justice, at which he presided with the late rajah's
brothers, and maintained strict equity amongst the highest and lowest of
his people. He decreed that murder, robbery, and other heinous crimes,
should, for the future, be punished according to the written law of
Borneo; that all men, irrespectively of race, should be permitted to
trade and labour according to their pleasure, and to enjoy their gains;
that all roads should be open, and that all boats coming to the river
should be free to enter and depart without let or hindrance; that trade
should be free; that the Dyaks should be suffered to live unmolested;
together with other salutary measures for the general welfare.
Difficulty and vexation met the governor at every step; but he
persevered in his schemes of amelio