ssion of piracy,
and Mr Richard B. Martin. Early in 1881 the British North Borneo
Provisional Association, Limited, was formed to take over the concession
which had been obtained from the sultan of Sulu, and in November of that
year a petition was addressed to Queen Victoria praying for a royal
charter. This was granted, and subsequently the British North Borneo
Company, which was formed in May 1882, took over, in spite of some
diplomatic protests on the part of the Dutch and Spanish governments,
all the sovereign and territorial rights ceded by the original grants,
and proceeded under its charter to organize the administration of the
territory. The company subsequently acquired further sovereign and
territorial rights from the sultan of Brunei and his chiefs in addition
to some which had already been obtained at the time of the formation of
the company. The Putatan river was ceded in May 1884, the Padas
district, including the Padas and Kalias rivers, in November of the same
year, the Kawang river in February 1885, and the Mantanani islands in
April 1885. In 1888, by an agreement with the "State of North Borneo,"
the territory of the company was made a British protectorate, but its
administration remained entirely in the hands of the company, the crown
reserving only control of its foreign relations, and the appointment of
its governors being required to receive the formal sanction of the
secretary of state for the colonies. In 1890 the British government
placed the colony of Labuan under the administration of the company, the
governor of the state of North Borneo thereafter holding a royal
commission as governor of Labuan in addition to his commission from the
company. This arrangement held good until 1905, when, in answer to the
frequently and strongly expressed desire of the colonists, Labuan was
removed from the jurisdiction of the company and attached to the colony
of the Straits Settlements. In March 1898 arrangements were made whereby
the sultan of Brunei ceded to the company all his sovereign and
territorial rights to the districts situated to the north of the Padas
river which up to that time had been retained by him. This had the
effect of rounding off the company's territories, and had the additional
advantage of doing away with the various no-man's lands which had long
been used by the discontented among the natives as so many Caves of
Adullam. The company's acquisition of territory was viewed with
considera