o be cheated, and, if he have
the means, he has the right to enforce repayment. It may be urged that
trust ought not to be reposed; but trust is the ordinary course of
trade, and cannot alter the question. Again, it may be said, Apply
to the government; but it is well known and acknowledged that the
government will not interfere in any case of the sort. Seek redress by
law! there is no law to meet the contingency. Bear the loss, _i. e._
be betrayed, deceived, and cheated, and submit! It cannot be; for
although the law may properly inquire into the circumstances, yet
as it will not protect me here, or give me any redress for _fraud_
or _murder_, it cannot punish, if right be on my side. Am I quite
sure that the right is on my side? It is, as far as I can judge; and
having candidly stated every fact and circumstance, I am convinced
there can be but one opinion on the subject. I am sure that if I
seize property to the amount of that taken from me, I act justly,
though perhaps not legally; yet I firmly believe legally likewise,
although law and justice do not necessarily go always hand in hand. On
the whole, there was the old sore rankling--the false promises, the
gross deceit, the base ingratitude to a man who had done everything
to relieve this equivocating rajah from disgrace, defeat, and perhaps
death. But here I close this account for the present, to be resumed
on the return of the Royalist from Borneo.

"_August 4th._--Both retrospectively and prospectively the grounds for
all these transactions were ever pressing on my mind and guiding my
actions. The capabilities of the Sarawak country were very great. It
could abundantly supply the richest produce of the vegetable kingdom;
it abounded in mineral wealth, and especially in a vast staple
commodity of antimony ore; with a considerable population of Dyaks,
whose condition was decidedly improvable; a Malay population, by no
means large, which was advantageous; and a Chinese population ready to
immigrate with even a moderate prospect of protection. Beside these
inducements, must be added its propinquity to the Pontiana river,
and the trade which by that route might flow even from the center
of this little-known island. To crown all, there were the credit to
myself in case of success, the amelioration of the native condition,
however partial, and the benefit to commerce in general. These were
the reasons that induced me to enter on this arduous task; and to
these I may ad