er fine, it was strongly
suspected that the twenty-five Lascars deserted with her.

"The other four boats proceeded a day or two, when the first cutter,
with Colonel Campbell on board, went in the evening in search of water;
and though the rest showed lights all night, returned no more. They
were, on the following day, attacked by a prahu, which fired into
them and severely wounded one man, and succeeded in capturing the
jolly-boat; but finding nothing in her, set her on fire--Lascars and
all. The crew, however, was rescued, and she was abandoned; and the
two remaining boats, in course of time, arrived at Singapore. The
Royalist was taken up by government to seek the missing boats, and
just touched here for an hour or two, the boat coming up while the
vessel kept the sea.

"_Feb. 9th._--Mr. Williamson returned from Sanpro, where I sent
him to watch a party of natives who had gone among the Dyaks; the
Panglima Sadome, of the tribe of Sanpro, came with him, and brought
the lamentable account of the death of eight more Dyaks, cut off by
the Sakarrans. It frets me dreadfully; however, on the whole I see
a vast improvement, and a degree of confidence in me arising among
the Dyaks, greater than I expected.

"_14th._--I have now entered on the most difficult task, and the one
most likely to cause an ultimate failure in my undertaking, but which
is indispensably necessary. I mean, the administration of justice. As
long as my laws are applied to the people of the country, there is
no trouble; but directly _equal_ justice is administered, it causes
heartburn and evasion; the rajahs and Pangerans are surrounded by
a gang of followers who heretofore have robbed, plundered, and even
murdered, without inquiry being made. It was enough that a follower
of the rajah was concerned, to hush up all wrongs; and any of the
oppressed, who were bold enough to lodge a complaint, were sure to
rue it. All the rascals and ruffians who follow the great men find
this species of protection the best and the only reward; and as the
slaves are looked upon as personal property, any punishment inflicted
upon them is likewise inflicted upon their masters. I have all along
foreseen these obstacles, and the necessity of at once combating
them--whether successfully or not signifies little; but they must be
encountered, and the result left to the Almighty.

"Equal justice is the groundwork of society; and unless it can be
administered, there can be no hop