colonial office correspondence relating to brunei 'destroyed under

IJAPS Vol. 1 2005 (Inaugural Issue)COLONIAL OFFICE CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TOBRUNEI 'DESTROYED UNDER STATUTE' 1906–1934AVM HortonABSTRACTIn this paper the author scans the registers of correspondence relating toBrunei (1906–34) held in the National Archives at Kew. An annotatedchecklist of documents is provided. It is concluded that useful data can beyielded; and that, in a case such as Brunei, where documentation is in shortsupply, no potential source of information should be neglected. The exerciseraises issues about the preservation of historical records. Suggestions forfurther research are provided.Keywords: Brunei, historians, registers of correspondence, source material,vandalism.INTRODUCTIONThis paper deals with documentation relating to Brunei during theperiod 1906–1934 which has been 'destroyed under statute'. Thedata have been derived from the Registers of Correspondence (CO352/7 and CO 777/1–3) which are (or used to be, at any rate)available for inspection at the UK National Archives (formerly 'PublicRecord Office' or 'PRO') at Kew, London.The sultanate remained a British Protectorate between 1888and 1983, when the United Kingdom was responsible for its foreignpolicy and defence. Meanwhile, between 1906 and 1959 Whitehallalso controlled Brunei's internal administration through the agencyof a British 'Resident' or administrator.The lists (infra) detail correspondence received by the ColonialOffice from various sources [the British High Commissioner forBrunei (the Resident's immediate boss), based in Singapore; theAdmiralty; the Foreign Office; and so on]. There are four columns.The number in the first column provides the Colonial Officeregistration number of the document, the numbering starting fromscratch at the beginning of each new year; the date the despatch

IJAPS Vol. 1 2005 (Inaugural Issue)Colonial Office Correspondenceunder 'Miscellaneous Offices' (28413) in 1917, then under'Individuals' in 1917 and 1918. Apparently seeing himself as aprotector of the people of Brunei, one entry has him "demanding aconference and his expenses paid, with threats". The Colonial Officeignored him, because the summary "[Jones] requests reply" occursmore than once. A letter received on 27 May 1918 is intriguing:"[Jones] requests replies to his letters and recognition asrepresentative of Brunei" (25672). The next and final letter (73174),in December 1918, talks of a "liberation movement" and "requestssome definite assurance from Prime Minister". It would befascinating to discover further information about this Mr. Jones, inparticular the nature of his contacts in the Abode of Peace andwhether he had any local supporters (and, if so, who they were).Turning now to other matters, the registers confirm the nonretentionby the PRO of many of Brunei's Enactments. On the otherhand, an entry from 1924 (HC 38521) suggests that Lincoln's InnLibrary may have a run of Brunei's laws. (It does). Interestingly, in1922 the High Commissioner felt himself obliged to apologise for thedelay in the transmission to London of Brunei's Enactments.Instructions were issued to ensure that a similar failure would notrecur (CO 777/1: HC 47630).The estimates of Government income and expenditure werealso weeded, as also were many of the quarterly reports on the oilindustry (1911 onwards). Some later quarterly reports survive.The mapping of the Bornean sultanate is a matter whichmaterialised more than once. The theme is first mentioned in 1911(Admy 30942), although a map was not actually produced untilthree years later. The question re-emerged in a different guise in1924–1925, when the British Malayan Petroleum Company wasanxious to carry out aerial surveys in Brunei and Sarawak. TheAdmiralty (Admy 10874/1924), for its part, was interested inproducing charts of the coast.Another long-running correspondence (in 1920–1924)concerned the transfer to Brunei Bay by Rajah Vyner Brooke of theMuara farm rights.Other noteworthy points include the following:1. the telegraph service (HC 17076/1915; HC 45666/1920;HC 43650/1923; and file 3829/1926);2. military service during the Great War (HC 56727/1915;MO 46839, 47968/1918);3

IJAPS Vol. 1 2005 (Inaugural Issue)AVM Horton3. the examination ordered by the Colonial Office into thevalidity of Sarawak and British North Borneo's treaties withBrunei (HC 8539/1914 and FO 28941/1915);4. the fact that EE Abrahamson, an important businessman inthe sultanate, was naturalised a British citizen in NorthBorneo (FO 51475/1919);5. rumours in 1919 to the effect that Brunei was to betransferred to Sarawak (Douglas 57401/1919);6. negotiations with the BMPC re mining operations (HC 33735,53924, 55324/1923; BT 8473/1923);7. Brunei's (spurious) claim against the BNBC (27310/1915 and26156/1916);8. a visit of the then sultan of Brunei (Muhammad JamalulAlam II, r 1906–1924) to Labuan to celebrate the 1911coronation of HM King George V (r 1910–1936) of the UnitedKingdom (HC 28049/1911);9. naval intelligence returns (HC 8750/1919);10. an enquiry in August 1916 from the Brunei Rubber and LandCompany concerning whether reports on plantations weresubmitted by the British Resident in Brunei; and, if so, wherethey could be obtained (CO 777/1: MO 41099);11. the form in which the annual report was printed (item 20430,dated 02.11.1926);12. the proposed establishment of a hospital in Brunei (itemF 20086, dated 27.10.1926).In short, a perusal of the registers may provide important snippetsof information unavailable elsewhere.4

IJAPS Vol. 1 2005 (Inaugural Issue)Colonial Office Correspondence*The 'table of documents' which follows is divided into four parts,thus:Part I: CO 352/7, Register of Correspondence, Brunei, 1904–1914.Part 2: CO 777/1, Register of Correspondence, Borneo, 1915–1923.Part 3: CO 777/2, Register of Correspondence, Borneo, 1924–1926.Part 4: CO 777/3, Register of Correspondence, Borneo, 1927–1934.Within this framework the documents are arranged according to thevarious agencies of the British government, at home or abroad,which were in correspondence with the Colonial Office. Many of thedestroyed despatches originated from the British HighCommissioner for Brunei, based in Singapore, who doubled as'British Agent for British North Borneo and Sarawak'. AmongWhitehall departments featured are the Foreign Office, the IndiaOffice, the Admiralty, the Crown Agents, Home Office, the Board ofTrade, and the Treasury. Some questions about the sultanate werealso raised in the British Parliament. Various companies orindividuals also appear in the lists.The documentation now follows; and at the end of the paperthere is a summary, conclusion, and suggestions for furtherresearch. Before proceeding, however, perhaps it should bementioned that the exchange value of the Straits' dollar was 1s10½d in 1904, two shillings (£0.10) in 1905, and 2s 4d from 1906onwards (Emerson 1964: 522). The pound sterling was fixed againstthe gold standard at US$4.86 prior to the First World War and againfrom 1926–1931.5

TABLE OF DOCUMENTS (WITH ANNOTATIONS)PART I: CO 352/7 REGISTER OF CORRESPONDENCE, BRUNEI, 1904-1914DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODOCUMENT DETAILSANNOTATION(i) Despatches from the High Commissioner, 1906–191436821 06.10.1906 Post of Assistant Resident: requests approval ofthe appointment of FAS McClelland on £540-£600 and special allowance of £100 per annum.1987 16.01.1907 Oil: Anxious for a reply to telegram of 10January.18577 23.05.1908 Land and Mining Enactments: certain amendmentswere required in the former – but hopesthere will be no long delay in passing bothmeasures.McClelland (1873–1947) served as Assistant Residentin Brunei from May 1906 to May 1907. See also CO273/331 (33045). He joined the FMS Civil Service inNovember 1896 (Class 1B, 1919; Class 1A, September1922). His later, more senior posts included Auditor-General, FMS; Commissioner of Lands, FMS; andActing Resident, Perak.CO 531/1 (1331). This matter concerns an applicationby CE Gadelius for a mining lease (which was notactually issued until 1909). See further SarawakMuseum Journal 1995: 88.The Mining Enactment was passed in 1908; the LandCode did not get through until 1909.Vide infra for further Enactments passed in 1908.34424 21.09.1908 Estimates 1908: sends printed copies. Actual revenue in 1908 was only Str$43,539, actualexpenditure $75,738.34425 21.09.1908 Report on Brunei 1907. Now held in CO 824/1.47501 28.12.1908 Courts Order in Council – were gazetted 10November; copies of three Orders by Governor inCouncil were forwarded in Straits Despatch 26November (last, Governor 46547; next, HC39359/1909)See, further, British and Foreign State Papers (101):100.(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODOCUMENT DETAILS8124 06.03.1909 Commission as Consul-General for North Borneoand Sarawak: returns (next, FO 10783).ANNOTATIONThe Consul-General for North Borneo and Sarawak wasrenamed 'British Agent' for the same (Tarling 1970: 33).28129 23.08.1909 Enactment No. 5 of 1908: Coin Import andExport: sends.28130 23.08.1909 Enactment No. 6 of 1908: Buffaloes: sends.3194727.09.1909 Enactment No. 2 of 1908 (Mining), No. 3(Revenue Farms), and No. 4 (Stamps).34153 18.10.1909 Enactments 1908: 6 bound copies.2172 22.01.1910 Land Code 1909 – sends – with copies of lettersfrom Resident (last, HC 40185; next, HC 26804).A Land Code, based upon that in force in the FederatedMalay States, had originally been enacted by HisHighness the Sultan-in-Council in April 1907 (BAR1907: 8). It was necessary to pass such a law, theResident explained, "to provide some means ofascertaining and verifying claims to land put forward bynatives [sic]. The result of the passing of the Land Codecontaining provisions for a system of land settlementand registration of titles, was that the Land Office wasinundated with an extraordinary number of claims,most of them extremely vague and many of themapparently fraudulent, to all easily accessible land inthe state. The process of weeding out these claims andsettling disputed ownership, will take a great deal oftime" (BAR 1907: 8).A further Land Code was in preparation in 1908 andpassed in 1909 in order to proved "for a simpler methodof title than that at present in force" (BAR 1908: 7).(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODOCUMENT DETAILSANNOTATIONThis law was the occasion of a good deal of frictionbetween His Highness Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam IIand successive British Residents.26676 29.08.1910 Estimates 1910 (last HC 1169/1910). Actual revenue in 1910 was Str$77,051, actual expenditure$73,513, the first time a budget surplus had been achieved bythe Residency. Surplus balances were also achieved in 1912and 1913. National debt at the end of 1910 stood at$300,000, however, and worse was to come in this respect.The year 1910, the Resident claimed, "saw the smallstate of Brunei, as administered under Britishprotection, definitely emerge from its former comatosecondition into a sphere of active expansion" (BAR1910:1).39930 31.12.1910 Estimates 1911: sends; estimated deficit of[Straits] $6,685.28049 28.07.1911 Coronation celebration, visit of Sultan of Bruneito Labuan – sends translation from the sultanon the subject of.29281 21.04.1912 Tanah Brunei Company – is now in liquidation(last, HC 25392).8844 15.03.1913 Medical officer for Brunei: states action taken asregards appointment of a (last B26590/1912).Actual revenue in 1911 amounted to Str$109,430compared to expenditure of only $79,318 (CO 824/1Brunei Annual Reports).The destruction of this document was sheer vandalism.The coronation in question was that of HM KingGeorge V of the United Kingdom, 22 June 1911(Longford 1976: 51–2).The TBC was a fledgling rubber company, which failedto survive infancy. See The Planter, 69(809), August1993: 379.'B' here = 'Butterworth', the manager of the cutchfactory, better known as the author, 'Peter Blundell'(1875–1952).(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODOCUMENT DETAILSANNOTATION8539 07.03.1914 Affairs of Borneo: requests one copy each of twovolumes 1893–1899 and 1900–1905 for BritishResident (Next FO 95252).Prior to the establishment of the Brunei MedicalDepartment in 1929, health matters there had beenoverseen by the Labuan doctor. The person concerned,Dr RE Adamson, died on 24 July 1912, which promptedButterworth to raise the matter with the HighCommissioner (CO 531/4, B26950/1912). In 1919arrangements were made for Adamson's successor, DrTCA Cleverton, to visit Brunei at least once a month;and experts also came from Singapore to offer advice.The postal clerk doubled as a resident dresser in thecapital; and in 1918 a travelling dresser was engaged tovisit the outstations. These constituted the entiremedical staff employed by the government as late as1926.This might have been in connection with the Brookeclaim to exclusive mineral rights in Brunei. See SMJ1992: 240–3, 253–5.(ii) Despatches from the Admiralty (to the Colonial Office), 1904–1127263 02.08.1904 Smallpox at Brunei: copy tells of, to despatchHMS Rinaldo to Brunei with medical assistance.31507 09.09.1904 Ditto – extract from letter of OC Sirisu respectingoutbreak of. See FO 29639 and FO 32336.On the smallpox epidemic, see Kimball 1979: 276–278.HMS Rinaldo (1900-1921), sloop, 980 tons; 180 x 33feet; six 4-in guns; launched at Laird shipyard, 29 May1900; sold on 21 October 1921 to W Thomas, Anglesey(Colledge 1987: 291).(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBER26602DATERECEIVEDDOCUMENT DETAILSIN CO14.08.1911 Thanks for action in calling for reports onprogress quarterly. They will indicate how farGadelius has carried out obligations of his case(last, Admy 22867; next HC 37916).30942 23.09.1911 Boundary map – requests map drawing existingrelative boundaries of Brunei, North Borneo, andSarawak (last HC 18971; next HC 22604).ANNOTATIONThis is important because it demonstrates thatquarterly reports on the Brunei oil industry commencedin 1911.On Gadelius, an oil prospector, see the BruneiAnnual Reports, 1907–17; and SMJ 1995: 88.A map was eventually produced in 1914 following thehydrographic survey performed by HMS Merlin in 1911(BAR 1911: 9; BAR 1914: 6). See further, below, HC10937/1915.HMS Merlin (1901-1923), sloop, 1,070 tons, 185 x 33ft, 6-4 in guns. Launched at Sheerness Dockyard on30 November 1901. Became a survey vessel inSeptember 1906. Sold on 3 August 1923 at Hong Kong(Colledge 1987: 226).(iii) Despatches from the Foreign Office (to the Colonial Office):4635 10.02.1904 Consul-General for Borneo – concurs in terms ofnotification to be published in London Gazette asto appointment of Sir John Anderson, new StraitsGovernor, as (last MO 2411).13276 18.04.1904 Acting Consul at Brunei: Hewett has left; askswhen McArthur will take up appointment (last,Governor 12050).Sir John Anderson (1858–1918): Governor of the StraitsSettlements and High Commissioner for Brunei, 1904–11. Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the ColonialOffice, 1911–16. Governor of Ceylon, 1916–18.The London Gazette is one of three official journals inthe United Kingdom issued by authority twice a week. Itcomprises public notices, such as lists of governmentappointments (Oxford Illustrated Dictionary 1970: 333,column 3).Godfrey Hewett (1859-1932), a member of the BNBCService in the 1880s and 1890s, officiated as BritishConsul for the Borneo Territories between 1900 and1904.(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODOCUMENT DETAILS18133 22.05.1906 Presence of Rajah of Sarawak: concurs that nonecessity exists for communication to Rajah as tohis presence in Brunei (last HC 17422; next HC26871).19073 28.05.1906 Dutch mining concession in Borneo – sends a copydespatches from and to The Hague respectingalleged transfer to Germany of (next FO 23359).20174 06.06.1906 Expenses of Residency at Brunei: contribution willbe paid on receipt of reply from Governor as to datewhen Resident took over charge of consulate (lastFO 18134; next Governor 36819).34299 27.09.1907 British Consulate General – extra allowance forclerical assistance. Allowance of £60 can only bepaid from FO vote unless Treasury specificallysanctions the increase being so paid (last Treasy32676; next Treasy 35306).ANNOTATIONMcArthur arrived in Brunei on 3 May 1904 (Saunders1994: 101; Tarling 1971: 506).Malcolm Stewart Hannibal McArthur (1872-1934).Acting British Consul in Brunei, April-November 1904and October-December 1905. British Resident, Labuanand Brunei, 1906–8. Ended his career as acting BritishAdviser in Kedah, 1919–22.For more details about this episode, see Stubbs 1968:111; and BMJ 1986: 116–124.Sir Charles Brooke (1829–1917) ruled as Rajah ofSarawak from 1868 until his death nearly half a centurylater. By 1906 he had been very keen for some years toabsorb within his own country the territories remainingto Brunei.It would be worth pursuing this matter.The salary of the Resident continued to be paid by theBritish Government until 1927 (CO 717/58/29220 andCO 717/59/ 52345).(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODOCUMENT DETAILS41281 22.12.1909 Japanese consul for North Borneo, Brunei andSarawak: sends copy letter to JapaneseAmbassador as to jurisdiction of consul atSingapore (last FO 39318; next Governor3612/1910).ANNOTATIONThis should have been retained.(iv) Correspondence from the India Office (to the Colonial Office):39445 1912 Indian immigration to North Borneo. In the case of Brunei, there was a significantimmigration of several hundred Tamil labourers to workon plantations there during the mini rubber boom of themid-1920s. By 1931, however, during the depth of thedepression, only five remained.Tamils were also repatriated from Sarawak at aboutthe same time (vide Ooi Keat Gin 1997:285, note 104).4544 1913 Likewise.(v) Parliament:16467 10.05.1906 (Sassoon) alleged disturbances: to ask if anyinformation as to – has been received fromBritish Resident (last 15561; next HoC 27294).See The Times (London), Saturday 14 April 1906: 3c;and Monday 7 May 1906: 6b.On Sassoon, vide Stubbs 1968: 110–12, 114–16.Sir Edward Albert Sassoon, second Baronet (1856-1912), was a prominent supporter of Rajah Sir CharlesBrooke at Westminster. Succeeding his father in thebaronetcy (cr 1890) in 1896, he was Liberal Unionist MPfor Hythe from 1899 until 1912 and a sometimePresident of the Folkestone Chamber of Commerce. He(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODOCUMENT DETAILS06.07.1906 (Sassoon) Sarawak and Brunei: to ask FOwhether questions should be addressed to CO orFO.27204 25.07.1906 (Sassoon) Affairs of Brunei – to ask FO whetherany statement can yet be made as to – and topresent position with regard to the [word illegible]mining contract.44754 05.12.1906 (Sassoon). (1) Cost of British Residency; (2)Annexation by Sarawak; to ask as to (1); whetherpetition for (2) has been received and whether it isproposed to assent (last HC 36819; next HC40678).7736 01.03.1907 (Sassoon) Transfer of administration [of Brunei] toSarawak: to ask whether petition in favour of hasbeen received by HC and if so what answer hasbeen given (last, 45446/1906; next, B[rooke]34640).7737 01.03.1907 (Sassoon) Sarawak police in Muara. To askwhether the Secretary of State was aware of termsof concession to Rajah Brooke of Sarawak whenletter was directed to withdraw – whether forcehas been replaced by equally efficient forceconversant with language (last HC 5866; nextGovernor 20553).ANNOTATIONmarried Aline (d 1909), a daughter of Gustave, Baronde Rothschild. The Sassoons were wealthy Jewsoriginally from Baghdad, and the extended familyincluded the famous poet, Siegfried (1886–1967).Runciman 1960:199.Stubbs 1968: 110–111, 116.Stubbs 1968:111–12.Stubbs 1968: 114–15.(Continued on next page)

PART 2: CO 777/1 REGISTER OF CORRESPONDENCE, BORNEO 1915–1923 (DOCUMENTS 'DESTROYED UNDERSTATUTE')DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CO(i) Despatches from the High Commissioner:DESCRIPTIONANNOTATION10937 01.03.1915 Sketch map of Brunei – sends. This was presumably the one produced as a result of activities ofHMS Merlin (see above, HC 30942/1911).The 1914 map showed "that the sketch maps forming part ofthose of British North Borneo or Sarawak were very incorrect.The Temburong Valley proves to be larger than was imaginedwhilst those of Limbang and Trusan are much smaller" (BAR1914: 6).An earlier sketch map, at a scale of approximately six miles toone inch, accompanied McArthur's mid-1904 "Report on a Visit toTutong and Belait" (see FO 881/8567, reference by courtesy of MrSimon Francis).No map was printed with the Brunei Annual Report until the1928 edition.For a Sarawak version, see the map in the front and backendpapers of Hose 1988 (1926).17076 11.04.1915 Enactment No 1 of 1914: Post Office.Enactment No 2 of 1914: Telegraphs."A Postal Enactment and a Telegraph Enactment were passed inorder to place these services on a legal basis. The FMSEnactments were adopted together with an addition to controlwireless on steamers within the waters of the state" (BAR 1914:5).17107 13.04.1915 Oil industry. An oil strike had actually been made in Belait District in late1914; but it proved to be a false dawn, and oil exporting did notget properly under way until the early 1930s.40750 03.09.1915 Small scale map of Brunei. See just above.41756 09.09.1915 Oil Industry. See BAR 1915:6.(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODESCRIPTIONANNOTATION56727 09.12.1915 FW Douglas: military service. Francis William Douglas (1874–1953) was acting BritishResident in Brunei and Labuan between November1913 and January 1915.He became a temporary second lieutenant in theRoyal Army Service Corps [now known as the RoyalCorps of Transport] in October 1915. Promoted Captain,December 1915. Demobilised in July 1919 with therank of Major (CO List).He became a Class III officer of the FMS CS in 1912,Class II in 1919, and Class IB in June 1921, ending hiscareer as acting BR Perak for a few months from May1927. Staying on in Malaya, he was appointed in 1937Secretary to HH the Sultan of Selangor, who grantedhim the title of Datuk in 1937.5065513.10.1917 Licences of Shanghai Langkat Oil Company:Company has abandoned prospectingarrangements and licence lapsed on 1 August1917.1436 07.01.1919 War contribution: voluntary income tax: furtherdraft of £162 6s 3d as further contributions byEuropeans in Brunei.This is an important document which ought not to havebeen destroyed.The Shanghai Langkat company, sniffed the BAR1917: 4, "early in the year abandoned work on theirEast Tutong Prospecting Licence and devoted ninemonths to the leisurely removal of their material".An earlier contribution, in 1917, had raised £123 4s 6dfrom around twenty Europeans in Brunei. The taxvaried from one per cent to six per cent (CO 531/11,item 10762 1917/18; see also Treasury 13466?1918,infra).(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBER8750DATERECEIVEDIN CO10.02.1919 Naval intelligence returns.DESCRIPTION53945 18.09.1919 Oil industry in Sarawak and Brunei. See BAR 1919: 3.29966 07.06.1920 Saluting stations. None existed in Brunei.45666 14.09.1920 Government telegraph code – requests copy for useof British Resident.9982 02.03.1921 Estimates 1921. See next entry.ANNOTATIONThese two amounts, taken together, would total£285 10s 9d. This figure is at a slight discrepancyfrom the one given in CO 273/498, item 7434,where it is said to have been £285 8s 4d.31762 03.07.1922 Estimates 1922. The actual revenue in 1921 amounted toStr$165,890, expenditure to $197, 469. The figuresfor 1922 were $209,702 and $188,250. A loan of$20,000 having been secured from the StraitsSettlements during the latter year, the nationaldebt peaked at $444,500.44696 07.09.1922 Possibilities of trade with Italy.47630 25.09.1922 Delay in transmission of Brunei Enactments –regrets, and has caused instructions to be issued toensure that it will not recur.54306 01.11.1922 Farm rights in Muara Damit: considers it is notnecessary to print deed as only six copies required.33735 06.07.1923 British Malayan Petroleum Company [BMPC]:commencement of exports: Brunei Government hasno objection to the request of the company and willafford facilities for transport.See further BMJ 1992: 1–17.The BMPC was founded in 1922 and is now knownas the Brunei Shell Petroleum Company(established 1957).(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBER43650DATERECEIVEDIN CODESCRIPTION03.09.1923 International Radio Telegraphs Convention of1912 – no objection to accession to.53924 08.11.1923 Lease to BMPC in Tutong District: Government ofBrunei agrees and HC concurs in proposed grantof a second lease.ANNOTATIONBrunei's wireless telegraph station was built in 1920-1(BAR 1920: 5; and BAR 1921: 5).Str$3,101 was spent on 'construction of wirelesstelegraph stations' in 1921 (BAR 1921: ii, footnote)….In November 1922 the Anglo-Saxon PetroleumCompany's prospecting licence in Tutong District wasrenewed under the name of the 'British MalayanPetroleum Company' (BAR 1922: 4), both units formingpart of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group. Then, on 28 July1923 agreement was reached whereby the BMPC tookover the interests of the British Borneo PetroleumSyndicate in Belait district (BAR 1923: 4). In 1924 theBMPC received further extensions of their prospectinglicence in the Tutong area pending the completion of anew agreement with the Crown Agents acting in Londonon behalf of the Brunei Government (BAR 1924: 5).Whereas previously the two prospecting licences hadbeen held by different companies, now they were heldby only one. This raised problems. Although separatelythe two licences might have complied with certainrestrictions in force in the sultanate and in the BritishEmpire, collectively they no longer did so. Theprolonged negotiations in 1923–5 concerned whetherthe Belait and Tutong concessions should be regardedas separate entities or taken together as one; the area ofany mining leases which might be granted under theexisting prospecting licences; and minimum rental androyalty rates (CO 531/17–19).(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODESCRIPTION55324 15.11.1923 Tel: Tutong [oil] licence: no objection to extensionfor period necessary to complete negotiationsnow proceeding.55711 19.11.1923 Brunei Farm Rights: requests to be furnishedwith copy of draft deed of surrender assignment.ANNOTATIONSee HC 54306/1922 (above).(ii) Despatches from the British Agent for British North Borneo and Sarawak 218701 18.04.1921 Price of chandu: states that Government ofBritish North Borneo has been informed thatprice of chandu in Brunei and Labuan will beraised conjointly with price in British NorthBorneo. Rajah of Sarawak approached but noreply received yet, but as increase proposed is sosmall, joint action by Sarawak is notindispensable.(iii) Admiralty (to CO)54850 04.11.1921 Activities of Kuhara Mining Company: requestsinformation on points specified (next, MO57624).'Chandu', or candu in modern Malay, is prepared opium(KT)."No boring was done during the year on the Belait Oilfield [thus] (but some geologists of the Kuhara MiningCompany made an examination of the land leased tothe BBPS" (BAR 1921: 3, paragraph 26).More to the point, perhaps, it was thought at thetime that 'the Japanese Admiralty are behind Kuhara'(CO 531/15, item MO57624).(Continued on next page)2 The British High Commissioner for Brunei in one of his additional roles.

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBER(iv) Crown AgentsDATERECEIVEDIN CODESCRIPTIONANNOTATION33404 11.07.1922 British Borneo Petroleum Syndicate. This concern was quoted on the London StockExchange until 2000. The BBPS merged with Hardy Oiland Gas in 1998 to form 'British Borneo Oil & Gas' andthe combined concern was taken over in 2000 by theItalian multinational corporation, ENI S.p.A, i.e. theEnte nazionale idrocarburi, società per azioni, or NationalHydrocarbon Agency, joint stock company (The DailyTelegraph, London, Monday 12 October 1998: 27,DT Tuesday 21 December 1999: 32; The SundayTelegraph, London, 11 April 1999:B8; the ENI website,accessed on Wednesday 23 March 2005; and theCollins Sansoni Italian-English Dictionary).50527 17.10.1923 New Brunei postage stamps. According to Stanley Gibbons catalogues, new sets ofstamps were issued in Brunei on 31 March 1922(Malaya-Borneo exhibition) and again in February 1924(including a six-cent stamp depicting the water village).Previous issues took place on 1 October 1906, 26February 1907, and 12 June 1908. Apart from freshdenominations added to the original issue of 1924, nonew stamps appeared in Brunei until 2 January1947 (unless the BMA overprints of 1945–1946 areincluded).(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CO(v) Correspondence from the Foreign OfficeDESCRIPTIONANNOTATION28941 23.06.1915 Brunei-Sarawak treaties: FO record office havebeen asked to allow Douglas to examine FOcorrespondence down to 1869.51475 23.09.1919 Passport Office: passport for Mrs AMAbrahamson, who stated husband – the late EEAbrahamson was naturalised as a Britishsubject in North Borneo.36063 25.07.1922 Mangrove bark extract: sends copy [?]BR to BoTre proposed increase in duty on importationsinto USA (last, BoT 35472; next MO 41660).On FW Douglas, vide supra, HC56727/1915.With regard to Douglas's proposed examination ofBrunei-Sarawak treaties, in 1914 Sarawak had put in aclaim to exclusive mineral rights in Brunei. It might bespeculated, therefore, that, had Sarawak pursued thematter 'too far', Whitehall might have brought BrookeSarawak's own title-deeds under the microscope. TheSarawak side eventually accepted that their claim tomineral rights in the sultanate was unfounded.Mrs Anna Maria Abrahamson was born in about 1866and survived until 1947 (detail by courtesy of Mr SimonFrancis, who has extensively researched the history ofthe Abrahamson family.Edward Ellis Abrahamson (born c.1860) was abusinessman with interests (cutch, rubber) in Bruneiduring the early years of the Residential Era. Previouslya magistrate at Sandakan, he died in 1915 leavingestate valued at £11,486 10s 8d (gross) and £8,829 5s2d (net) (Probate Registry, York, letter to the author, 29February 2000).On the cutch industry in Brunei, see Blundell 1923.Cutch is a 'water-soluble substance obtained fromtropical plants' (CTFCD 2000:254), such as, in Brunei'scase, mangrove bark. The manufactured was used intextile mills for dyeing purposes (CO 273/448, item12474) and for the curing of fishing nets (see below,49381/1917). There are also medicinal uses (CTFCD2000:254). Alternative English-(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBER(vi) Home Office (to CO)DATERECEIVEDIN CODESCRIPTIONANNOTATIONlanguage forms of cutch are 'catechu' and 'cachou', allderived from the Malay word kacu.61978 14.12.1921 French import duty on cutch – no observationsbut desires to be kept informed of developments.(vii) Parliament19558 19.04.1923 (Sir H Brittain). Maintenance of British Borneotrade.Sir Harry Brittain (1873–1974); MP (Unionist) forActon, 1918–29; Vice-President, Institute of Export,1938–44; KBE 1918, CMG 1924; LLD MA DLBarrister-at-Law; Freeman of the City of London, 1938;autobiographies published in 1945 and 1949; died 9July 1974.(viii) Board of Trade58371 23.11.1921 French import duty on cutch – observations byITC.321 03.01.1922 Ditto: points out that letters from the firmsconcerned do not contain the necessaryinformation required before the possibility oftaking useful action can be considered.Discusses differential treatment of Britishcolonial tanning extracts and Argentine product.Does not consider HMG [His Majesty'sGovernment] is at present in a position to initiatenegotiations for more favourable treatment ofEmpire products in France.ITC = Island Trading Company. Further details areproved under item MO20566/1917. See also, Blundell1923.(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODESCRIPTION35472 21.07.1922 Customs duty on mangrove bark extract – fr[?further] copy to ITC and promises furthercommunication (next MO 924).4501509.09.1922 Mangrove bark extract imported into USA –sends copy to ITC re proposed revision of UStariff on tanning extracts (last, MO 41954; next,FO 45635).8473 17.02.1923 BMPC: application for an oil licence; requestingcopy of prospecting licence and lease (next,Admy 9952).ANNOTATION(ix) Treasury13466 18.03.1918 War contribution by Europeans in Brunei:desires to be associated with proposed messageof appreciation. Proposes to draw attention ofParliament to gift when next General Minute islaid on subject of war contributions (last, HC10762; next, HC 59316).See also, HC 1436/1919 (supra).(x) Miscellaneous Offices (to CO)41099 30.08.1916 Brunei Rubber and Land Company: reports onplantations. Asks if ... are submitted by BritishResident Brunei and if so where they can beobtained.If would be interesting to see the reply to this letter.A concise 'biography' of Labu Estate (TemburongDistrict) might be as follows: Abrahamson'srepresentative commenced planting there, 1908. Brunei(Borneo) Rubber and Land Company floated n Londonto run the estate, 11 May 1909. First estate in Brunei(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODESCRIPTION12808 09.03.1917 ITC. Manufacture of boiler parts.15553 26.03.1917 ITC. Priority instruction 5 issued (last MO12808).15852 27.03.1917 ITC: importation of mangrove bark extract intothe –requests assistance in obtaining licence forfull amount required (next, BoT 19831).20566 21.04.1917 ITC: mangrove bark extract for UK – asks iffacilities for importation can now be granted (last,BoT 19831; next, MO 28949).ANNOTATIONto commence tapping, 1914. 1,073 mature plantedacres by 1940. Paid-up capital peaked at £58,000.Dividends of 5% or more paid in 1920, 1925-7, 1940and 1950-6. BRLC sold Labu estate to the Bruneigovernment, 1958. BRLC went into voluntaryliquidation, 6 August 1959. First in, last out.The ITC owned the cutch factory in Brunei Town. Alarge proportion of the capital's population dependedupon it for their livelihood (BAR 1917: 2). The year1917 marked the peak, however, of unrestrictedGerman submarine warfare. By April 1917 one in fourships leaving British ports never returned. Theintroduction of the convoy system during the yearreduced this calamitous figure to one in a hundred.Conversely German submarine losses started to exceedreplacement levels (Taylor 1963:169, 177, 180, 181; seealso Livesey 1994:111–12, 116–19 and Strachan2003:71–80, 215–24, 283–5).There were also 'end-user' issues, in other wordswhether the ostensible purchaser in a third countrywas trading with the enemy (see, for example, CO273/448, items 4658/1916 and 12474/1916).(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODESCRIPTION28413 04.06.1917 Royal Historical Society – Borneo – sends letterfrom a Mr DH Jones asking for help in obtaininginformation etc which will assist in improvingposition of people of ... (next, Jones 28579).28947 07.06.1917 ITC: lack of freight – notifies probability ofoperations at factory, which will displace greaterpart of native labour employed (last, MO 20566;next, 30980 or 30985). 330980 or 30985 18.06.1917 ITC: importation of cutch into UK: sends copiesof correspondence with BoT and requestssupport to claim for reconsideration to allow ...(last, MO 28947; next 34653).32459 21.06.1917 ITC: quebracho industry. Calls attention tospeech by Chairman of Forestal Land, Timberand Railway Company as to retaining ... as aBritish Key Industry, and submits comments onit.ANNOTATIONCutch production in Brunei slumped from 48–52,000 hundredweights per annum in 1914-16 to only35-38,000 in 1917–19. But the value increased fromStr$285,400 in 1916 to $330,700 in 1917 and a record$361,501 in 1918.See under 'Individuals' (infra).On the ITC's difficulties in 1917–1918, see BAR 1917:2 and BAR 1918: 3.Evidently the ITC was experiencing difficulty insecuring access to the British market.'Quebracho' seems to be used here as a synonym for'cutch'. The dictionary definitions of 'quebracho', aword of immediate Spanish origin (but ultimately aLatin-French compound), are as follows: "1. either oftwo anacardia-ceous South American trees, Schinopsislorentzii or S. balancae, having a tannin-rich hardwood used in tanning and dyeing; 2. An apocynaceousSouth American tree, Aspidosperma quebrachoblanco,whose bark yields alkaloids used in medicineand tanning; 3 the wood or bark of any of these trees;(Continued on next page)3 My transcription error.

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBER34653DATERECEIVEDIN CODESCRIPTION10.07.1917 ditto: further representations as to theimportance of ... and urges reconsideration ofdecision as to provision of tonnage.39427 08.08.1917 ITC: importance of cutch into UK: understandsfrom Singapore that cutch is now priority cargo;asks for import licence for 50 tons duringSeptember.40154 13.08.1917 Ditto: reports steps taken to reduce output toavoid cessation of industry – requests assistancein obtaining permits for …41859 22.08.1917 Freight space for mangrove extract: ITC …requests assistance in obtaining import licences.43883 04.09.1917 Importation of cutch: asks whether licences cannow be granted.43883 06.09,1917 ITC: import of cutch: has applied twice to BdAgriculture but no reply has been recd: asks ifimport licences can be granted.46003 18.09.1917 ITC ditto: ... is again applying to Dept of ImportRestrictions: asks that application may besupported.ANNOTATION4 any of various other South American trees having hardwood" (CTFCD 2000: 1264); from Latin, crepare, to rattle,+ French, hache, axe (ibid.)The last point probably refers to wartime shippingrestrictions (cf. BAR 1917: 2 and BAR 1918: 2).(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODESCRIPTION49381 10.10.1917 ITC: ditto: has been unable to secure freightspace: asks that representations be made inproper quarters: urges that Bd Agri be induced torecommend BoT that cutch should be importedfor curing of fishing nets etc.49889 10.10.1917 ITC ditto: has heard from BoT direct: desires toimport 100 tons a month for curing of fishingnets, in addition to 100 tons a month for whichspace is already allotted.51203 18.10.1917 Ministry of Shipping: cutch importation into UK:... ITC have written direct to SoS and copies oftheir letters have been sent to the Far East LinesCommittee for investigation. Liners from Far Eastlifted 33 tons cutch in September.15381 28.03.1918 HM Petroleum Executive: grant of oil concessionsin Protected States: proposes to hold meeting todiscuss.17987 13.04.1918 Petroleum Executive: concessions held by BBPS:enquiry (last, HC 14046; next, HC 25302).46839 28.09.1918 Brunei Rubber and Land Company: release of LGLee from military service. Requests assistance inobtaining the ... as estate will be deprived of allEuropean supervision at the end of the year.ANNOTATIONThe matter now disappears; so presumably the ITCgot their way at last – a lesson in persistence.As mentioned in the introduction, Brunei remained aBritish Protectorate for slightly more than ninety-fiveyears, between September 1888 and the end of 1983.The BRLC ran Labu estate in the isolated TemburongDistrict of Brunei. See also, MO 41099/1916(supra).Lee was assistant manager of the estate (SSD1916, 1917, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923), subsequentlybecoming Manager of the same (SSD 1925, 1926,1927; please note that SSD 1913–1915 and 1918–1919 are not available to the present writer; the BRLCdoes not appear in SSD 1924; and Lee is not listed inSSD 1928, 1929, 1930). Along with his wife, Lee was(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODESCRIPTION47968 05.10.1918 Min. of NS [?National Service]: LG Lee: reportsinterview with Mr Dolbey and Mr Lee: as latterhas been accepted for military service inSingapore, question of his release is one for WarOffice to whom offer is being made.13334 28.02.1919 Colonial official: message for Cator: draft to HCforwarding (tel. to HC, 28 February).20937 07.04.1919 ITC: JH Goldschmidt of Copenhagen: asks ifthere is any objection to resuming businessrelations with.22774 07.06.1920 Institute of Petroleum Technologies: petroleumproduction: requests statistics 1910–1919.55090 05.11.1921 ITC: French import duty on cutch: representshardship caused by the duty imposed onmangrove bark extract cutch entering Francefrom Borneo, while Burmah cutch is allowed toenter free of duty.61671 13.12.1921 ITC: ditto: enclosing, copy letter from Roberts,Evans and Woodhead and asks that furtherrepresentations may be made to BoT.92407.01.1922 ITC: further representation.ANNOTATIONa victim of the Long Nawang massacre in 1942 (CO874/1106 f.33). He had joined SBRAS in 1921 andsubsequently became a Life Member of MBRAS. In1933 his address given as Ladang Geddes, Bahau,Negeri Sembilan.The Dolbey family was prominent in the BRLC.Geoffrey Edmund Cator (1884–1973) was BR Brunei,1916–1921. Knighted 1946.The Foreign Office had prohibited trade with the saidGoldschmidt in 1916 (CO 273/448, item 4658).This concerns Miri, Sarawak, presumably, rather thanBrunei. Oil was not discovered in the Abode of Peaceuntil April 1929.As at 1915 the Roberts, Evans, and Woodheadcompany was based at African Chambers, Old HallStreet, Liverpool. The ITC described the firm as 'ourbuyers' (CO 273/436, item 24660).(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODESCRIPTION3972 25.01.1922 ditto: ITC requests intervention with BoT in orderthat French import duty on cutch may be thesame as that on quebracho extract.12874 18.03.1922 Ditto: ITC refers to recent reduction of ... but asksthat SoS will continue to endeavour to get the coefficient,which is still retained at 4, taken offaltogether.15356 31.03.1922 ITC ditto: expresses thanks for representationsmade for reduction of 'co-efficient of increase',applied to ...21213 05.05.1922 ITC: ditto: enquires whether any information hasyet been received from BoT or from French Govt.25176 26.05.1922 Ditto: asks that question may be taken up againwith the French Govt.31060 27.06.1922 Petroleum Dept: Fuel for Japanese Navy.32563 06.07.1922 Duty on cutch: proposal of American Governmentto increase ...: ITC asks that representations maybe made in order to bring the product intoAmerica under the 'most favoured nation clause'.41660 22.08.1922 ITC: French duty: asks whether any reply has yetbeen received from HM Ambassador at Paris.4195423.08.1922 ITC: US duty: encl. copy letter from theirrepresentative in America and requests thatmatter may be taken up again with BoT.ANNOTATION(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODESCRIPTIONANNOTATION(xi) IndividualsB 44868 08.09.1922 Burchells: Brunei v Rajah of Sarawak. In orderthat necessary assignment and surrender may bepublished, enquires who will execute thisdocument on behalf of the Sultan of Brunei (last,R 39294; next, R 44872).B 56206 21.11.1922 Burchells: Brunei farm rights: returns the draftagreement (last, HC 55870; next, B 59411).B 27589 01.06.1923 Burchells: Brunei farm rights: states that MessrsTorr [solicitors to the Rajah] and Company will beinformed in the sense indicated.Here 'R' = JF Rowlett (1869–1932), Secretary of theSarawak State Advisory Council.'Burchells' were solicitors to the Colonial Office.Charles Tufnell Dyne Burchell (1858–1937) wasadmitted as a solicitor in July 1882. From 1882 to1937 he was a member of 'Burchell & Company', laterrenamed 'Burchells'. He died on 18 February 1937.The practice was then run by Alfred WilliamBurchell (1866–1953), who had been admitted asolicitor in December 1899. From then until his deathon 15 March 1953 he was a member of Burchells &Company. 4C 35297 16.07.1921 GE Cator: certain rights of the Rajah of Sarawak. This concerns the same matter at an earlier stage ofnegotiations.D 57401 10.10.1919 FW Douglas: cession of Brunei to the Rajah ofSarawak. Enquires if there is any truth in therumour re the ...; is so, requests interview.Douglas has been encountered already (FO28941/1915 and HC 56727/1915).(Continued)(Continued on next page)4 Data by courtesy of Mrs D Chilton (Law Society), letter to the author, 28 October 1988, paragraphs 2-3, taken on trust. The then style of the law firm was Dale andNewbury, 202 High Street, Brentford, London TW8 8AH.

DOCUMENTNUMBERJ 28579DATERECEIVEDIN CODESCRIPTION05.06.1917 DH Jones: improvement of the conditions inBorneo (last, MO 28413).J 34837 11.07.1917 Ditto: demands a conference and his expensespaid, with threats.J 36999 23.07.1917 Ditto.J 37978 30.07.1917 Ditto: requests reply.J 38786 03.08.1917 Ditto.J 52291 25.08.1917 Ditto.J 56423 16.11.1917 Jones, ditto: further representations from Jones(received via the Prime Minister; see J 16041 /1918).J 24694 21.05.1918 Ditto: requests interview and reply by phone.J 25672 27.05.1918 Ditto: requests replies to his letters andrecognition as representative of Brunei.J 73174 27.12.1918 Ditto: liberation movement: asks how matterstands and requests some definite assurance fromthe Prime Minister.S 27310 14.06.1915 Stephenson, Harwood and Co: Claim of Sultan ofBrunei against BNBC - requests permission toinspect original documents.S 26156 03.06.1916 Ditto: the BNBC's investigations are notcompleted but there will be as little delay aspossible.W 27313 06.05.1919 Warner and Company: exchange of titles, ITC ...requests copy of Land Code 1909.ANNOTATIONThe Prime Minister at the time was David Lloyd George(1863-1945).Stephenson and Harwood were solicitors to the BNBC.This could be a vital clue. Does this refer to the ITC'sacquisition of Gadong Estate?(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODESCRIPTIONW 29507 16.05.1919 Ditto: Land Code 1909: asks whether ... areavailable, and, if so, if they can see them orobtain copies.W 46088 17.09.1923 Whyte, Ridsdale and Company: exportation ofgoods to Brunei: requests information inconnection with.ANNOTATIONOther items listed in CO 777/1 "destroyed under statute" include(a) all the quarterly reports on the oil industry, 1918-23;(b) each Annual Report (these are in CO 824/1);(c) financial estimates - every year except 1916 (the minutes are usually available);(d) Enactments 1914-22.

PART 3: CO 777/2 REGISTER OF CORRESPONDENCE, BORNEO 1924–1926 (DOCUMENTS 'DESTROYED UNDERSTATUTE')DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CO(i) Despatches from the High CommissionerDETAILS OF DOCUMENTANNOTATION5370 04.02.1924 Estimates 1924. Actual revenue ($268,024) and expenditure($247,614) set new records in 1924, but at year-endthe national debt still stood at $435,500. Indeed, itwas not until 1933 that annual government incomeexceeded the national debt for the first time. Thatsaid, the mid-1920s were a comparativelyprosperous time in the sultanate thanks to a miniboomin rubber.38521 13.08.1924 Copies of Brunei Enactments for Lincoln's InnLibrary.49408 20.10.1924 Seventh International Conference on OilProduction – does not wish to be represented at.To be noted.16875 17.03.1925 Annual Medical Report for 1924. See CO 824/1.18163 21.04.1925 Proposed concession to BMPC – no objection toextension of 12 months asked for by company.10311 17.05.?1926 Report of BR Brunei ... reports shipment of 1,000copies addressed to SO.20430 02.11.?1926 Annual Report: form in which it is printed.Instructions have been noted. Scale of importduties such as press on the poorer classes arebeing examined with a view to reduction.Note the size of the print run. SO = n.a. ['StationeryOffice', presumably].Very interesting. It is true that in the mid-1920s theBAR was reduced to smaller sized pages, althoughthe number of pages showed a tendency to increase.Note also the instruction on import duties.(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODETAILS OF DOCUMENTANNOTATION(ii) British Agent1008203.03.1924 Prohibition of import and export of preparedopium [candu] from and into Sarawak.30339 26.06.1924 Opium control in Sarawak.10859 09.03.1925 Aerial survey by BMPC – the Governments ofSarawak and Brunei have no objection to offer tothe proposal.3560 13.03.1926 Second opium conference: Rajah agrees to theinclusion of Sarawak.On aerial surveys generally, Yergin (1991: 219) notesthat "During the Great War, aerial surveillance hadbeen used by the combatants in Europe for troopspotting. The technique was quickly adopted by theoil industry, making possible a broad view of surfacegeology that simply was not available to someone onthe ground. As early as 1919, Union Oil hired twoformer lieutenants, who had done aerial work inFrance for the American Expeditionary Force, tophotograph sections of the California landscape.Another important innovation was the analysis ofmicroscopic fossils - micro-palaeontology ..."."In 1924 [Ooi Keat Gin 1997:275], conforming to thepolicies laid down by the League of Nations, Vyner'sgovernment reassumed full control of the opiummonopoly that 'included the registration of opiumsmokers, the closing down of numerous retail shopsand their replacement by a few Government divans'without undue opposition or difficulties.A Chinese Advisory Committee was constituted toassist the authorities. The government undertookdirect control of the importation, preparation,distribution, and sale of opium".(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODETAILS OF DOCUMENTANNOTATIONThe ethics of governmental reliance such a productas opium for revenue became a matter of internationalconcern. At the first International Opium Conferenceheld at The Hague in 1912, it was agreed that, infuture, the manufacture and sale of opium would bemonopolised by the State, Hence, after 1 January1913, the Brunei administration received all canduimported into the country from the governmentfactory in Singapore, and a Monopolies Department,headed between 1913 and 1919 by Mr EG Goldfinch,was created. It was feared, however, that the ease ofsmuggling would complicate the enforcement of theinternational opium policy. Finally, the Brunei CanduEnactment of 1912 confined the sale of candu in thesultanate to adult male Chinese. Shops andcustomers had to be registered.The Geneva Conference of 1925 envisaged thecomplete suppression of opium smoking within fifteenyears of the date when smuggling should have beencompletely suppressed. The date of the latter, whichwas to be announced, was to be not later than 1935:hence total abolition was scheduled for 1950 at thelatest. The British government remained sceptical ofsuch rapid progress.Opium was a major source of government revenuein Brunei. In 1925 the Resident of Brunei proposed toearmark twenty per cent of opium revenue to anOpium Revenue Replace Fund every year until 1927,(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODETAILS OF DOCUMENTANNOTATIONand thereafter the whole of such revenue. The fundstood at $201,903 at the end of 1940. Althoughconsumption of opium had been in decline for sometime beforehand (12,660 tahil in 1926 to only 6,000tahil in 1938, with one tahil being equivalent to 0.083lbs), the Japanese occupation (1941-5) indirectly andfinally solved the evil of opium-smoking in Brunei 'bykilling off or curing all addicts'. After 1946 the candumonopoly was not re-established.(iii) Admiralty56805 24.03.1924 Concession to BMPC in respect of Tutong District– no objection to Aerial Survey (next, MO 56970).10874 27.05.1926 Admiralty survey of area of North coast of Borneo– HMS Herald has been detailed to carry out –asks that necessary facilities may be given (next,Gov SS, tel., 10 June 19264).HMS Herald (1918-1942; 1942-1944) certainly visitedBrunei in 1927 (BAR 1927: 8). Formerly HMS MerryHampton. Minesweeping sloop, '24' class (i.e. 1,320tons, 267½ x 35 ft, and probably two four inch guns.) 5Blyth SB, 19 December 1918. Renamed HMS Herald inFebruary 1923, survey vessel. Scuttled February 1942at Seletar; raised by the Japanese and commissioned inOctober l942 as the Heiyo. Mined on 14 November1944 (Colledge 1987: 227).(Continued on next page)5 Twenty-four of this sort of vessel were ordered by the Royal Navy in 1917 (Colledge 1987:15).

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODETAILS OF DOCUMENTANNOTATION(iv) Crown Agents22777 14.05.1924 Brunei farm rights: Burchells and asks wherer SoSapproves of payment of £29 11s 0d from Bruneifunds (last, HC 18928; next HC 39619).55296 26.11.1924 Concession of BMPC in respect of Tutong District:requests instructions with respect to the aerialphotographic survey of certain party of Brunei andadjacent states. Sends copy correspondence withthe company regarding area to be covered byprospecting licence contemplated under proposednew agreement (last, CA 21989; next, CA 55396).55396 26.11.1924 BMPC: two copies further corres with the companyand awaits instructions of SoS in regard to theproposed aerial survey (next, Admy 56805).57144 06.12.1924 BMPC: proposes with SoS approval to agree tocompany being granted twelve months in which toselect the area of 150 square miles (last, MO56970; next, Admy, 59055).60717 30.12.1924 BMPC: [rest illegible] (last, Admy 59055; next, CA2267/1925)6504T 22.01.1925 Indent for drugs: states that an export licence foritem No 55 reqd: in circumstances perhaps HOmay be asked to issue necessary licence withoutthe usual import certificate.This evidently concerns the area of land which thecompany wished to acquire for its prospectinglicence.(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODETAILS OF DOCUMENT13906 26.03.1925 BMPC: states that 18 prints of the agreement arebeing forwarded and encloses copy of the furthercorrespondence with the company with regard tothe changes to be covered by the prospectinglicence.ANNOTATION(v) Board of Trade5925 07.02.1925 Oil industry in Brunei and Sarawak: states thatthere would appear to be an error in the quarterlyreturns; ... (last, HC 59954/1924; next, HC18164).23530 23.05.1925 Brunei Enactment No 1: for observations (last HC18996; next, –).Brunei Enactment No 1 of 1925 was the InventionsEnactment.(vi) Miscellaneous Offices9382 27.02.1924 Ministry of Health: White's report on prevalence ofepidemic disease in the Far East.56970 05.12.1924 Concession to BMPC: no objection to companycarrying out aerial survey.Re a report presented to the Health Committee of theLeague of Nations, Geneva, by Dr FN White (1877-1964).A comprehensive geological survey of a very largepart of the state was effected but little realprospecting activity was carried out in TutongDistrict. At Belait however great strides were made(BAR 1924:5).(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODETAILS OF DOCUMENTF 20086 27.10.1926 ITC: medical services in Brunei, inadequacy of:requests interview in order to discuss ... suggestsestablishment of hospital in Brunei to which localindustries could contribute (next, MO 27110).ANNOTATIONThe first government hospital in Brunei was begun inthe capital in November 1928 and opened by SultanAhmad Tajuddin in the following September. It wasoriginally designed to contain thirty beds for thirdclass patients.The Brunei Medical Department was establishedin 1929. The first SMO Brunei was Dr KVVeerasingham, who held office from February 1929until May 1930. No further biographical particularsare available to the annotator at the moment.(vii) Quarterly Reports on the Oil Industry11554/1924 n.d. Fourth quarter 1923.26485/1924 n.d. First quarter 1924.42813/1924 n.d. Second quarter 192458540/1924 n.d. Third quarter 1924.18164/1925 n.d. Fourth quarter 1924.26201/1925 n.d. First quarter 1925.40888/1925 n.d. Second quarter 1925.57490/1925 n.d. Third quarter 1925.(viii) Enactments27202/1924 n.d. Indian Immigration Enactment (1924) Enactment No 1 of 1924.50383/1924 n.d. Excise Enactment (1924). Enactment No 2 of 1924.(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBER1851/1924-25DATERECEIVEDIN COn.d.DETAILS OF DOCUMENTSmall Offences (Amendment) Enactment; andTraction Engines and Motor Cars Enactment(both 1924).18996/1925 n.d. Inventions Enactment (1925) Enactment No 1 of 1925.3829/1926 n.d. Lights and Small Shipping (Amendment)Enactment (1925); and Telegraphs (Amendment)Enactment (1925).ANNOTATIONEnactments Nos 3 and 4 of 1924.The first motor car was introduced into Brunei in1924 by the then Resident, Mr EEF Pretty.Pretty (1891–1967) was British Resident, Brunei,1923–8 and 1948-51. He was appointed CMG in1951 and made a Brunei dato eleven years later.Enactments Nos 2 and 3 of 1925.

PART 4: CO 777/3 REGISTER OF CORRESPONDENCE, BORNEO 1927–1934 (DOCUMENTS 'DESTROYED UNDERSTATUTE')DOCUMENTNUMBERDATERECEIVEDIN CODETAILS OF DOCUMENTANNOTATION31703 1927 Opium and Dangerous Drugs: BNBC The Arms and Explosives Enactment wasEnactment No 1 of 1927, which appears to havebeen the only piece of legislation during that year.317101927 Brunei Enactments1. Forwards copies of Enactment No 1, IndianImmigration (Amendment) Enactment of 1926;2. Arms and Explosives Enactment, 1927(previous, HC 27202/1924; next, Sec62376/1929).31722 1927 Oil industry in Brunei: Quarterly returns.31725 1927 Medical Officer for Brunei.1. HC to CO, recd 3 May 1927: agrees thatresident Medical Officer should be appointed, butthinks for the reasons stated, that the appointmentshould be postponed till the spring of 1929;2. to Brunei Rubber Company, 10 June;3. to ITC, ditto;4. to HC, 15.06.1927;5. ITC to CO, received 14.06.1927: expressessatisfaction and hopes appointment will beexpedited.6. CO to HC, 22.06.1927;7. Gov to CO, received 05.08.1927, seeksapproval for new appointment and requestsselection of candidate;8. Gov 431, 14.09.1927. See also 28027 SS.Oil was not struck in Brunei until April 1929.SG (December 1988): 17 and 19 (fns 9–10).(Continued on next page)

(Continued)DOCUMENTNUMBER62692DATERECEIVEDIN CODETAILS OF DOCUMENT1929 Miscellaneous (last, 52618/1928; next,72605/1930).Mr E Combe, 05.04.1929, enquires as tosituation.62620 1929 Opium and Chandu OrdersHC No 32, 16.11.1929.13605 1933 Imperial trade correspondent at Kuching.ANNOTATION33615 1934 Mui tsai. There was only one such individual in Brunei. On muitsai in Malaya, see Allen 1983: 130–1.

IJAPS Vol. 1 2005 (Inaugural Issue)AVM HortonSUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONIn this paper attention has been drawn to documents 'destroyedunder statute'. The key message is that the registers can yieldvaluable snippets of information and that their use should not beneglected. It was pointed out, first, that much of the material whichhas been lost would have been of great interest to historians. It is auseful lesson in humility. Students of the past rarely get the fullstory: the process of sifting has already begun long before they seethe evidence and is a handicap to obtaining a completeunderstanding of the past. All this raises common-place concernsabout the preservation of historical materials: who should decidewhat is worth keeping and what is not? At least the registersfurnish us with some idea of what is missing.On a more positive note, secondly, indications are foundabout where to look for further information: for example, to Lincoln'sInn Library for copies of Brunei's legislation. Guidance is givenabout whereabouts in Hansard parliamentary proceedings relatingto the sultanate might be found. The registers also furnish thenames of people who might not otherwise have been suspected ofhaving a Brunei connection (such as Sir Harry Brittain). It is alsopossible to follow, for example, the struggle of the Island TradingCompany to get shipping space for its cutch exports, which was oneof the sultanate's leading products in the early years of this century.So, thirdly, the indexes yield certain clues which, combined withexisting knowledge, can help of fill in certain lacunae. No doubt thepositive results of all this are often fairly marginal; but in a case likeBrunei, where historical materials tend to be scanty (particularly so,curiously enough, for the first half of the twentieth century) everyand any scrap of information is welcome.With regard to the way forward, there is no doubt that otherPRO series of files relating to Brunei (e.g. CO 717 Federated MalayStates) also include documents "destroyed under statute". SimilarlyCO 992/1 (Register of British Borneo correspondence, 1942–1946)reveals that several files were either destroyed or suppressed beyondthe usual thirty-year time-span. One would particularly like to haveseen CO 531/31/14, sub-file 7, 'Special instructions re Sultan ofBrunei', relating to the end of the war. It would be valuable,therefore, to continue the search beyond the period 1906–1934 forBrunei itself and perhaps to extend the approach to the history ofother countries of South-East Asia as well.38

IJAPS Vol. 1 2005 (Inaugural Issue)Colonial Office CorrespondenceACKNOWLEDGEMENTSI should like to thank IJAPS' anonymous referee for helpfulcomments on an earlier draft of this study.I am grateful to Mr Simon Francis for his assistance in thepreparation of this paper, particularly in supplying data relating tothe Abrahamson family and photocopies from the Singapore andStraits Directory. The usual rider applies.In a thorough review of this paper Francis comments(message to the author by electronic mail, 9 September 200516:44:07h BST):1. Files relating to the Tanah Brunei Company and to the ITCmay be found in BT31 (Board of Trade series, No. 31), held atthe National Archives in Kew.2. Ships' logs for the visit of HMS Rinaldo and other vessels willbe in the ADM (Admiralty) series at the National Archives.3. The text of all Parliamentary Questions and Answers are inHansard, which is indexed.4. Several bulky files relating to Brunei oil concessions,including texts of agreements and leases, are to be found inthe COAG (Crown Agents for Overseas Governments) series atthe National Archives.Mr Francis has also generously allowed me to see the results, thusfar unpublished, of his researches in to the history of theAbrahamson family.39

ABBREVIATIONSA/CAdmyBARBBPSBMABMJBMPCBNBCBoTBRBRBBRLCBSPCAircraftAdmiraltyBrunei Annual ReportBritish-Borneo Petroleum SyndicateBritish Military AdministrationBrunei Museum JournalBritish Malayan Petroleum CompanyBritish North Borneo (Chartered) CompanyBoard of Trade (UK)British ResidentBritish Resident, BruneiBrunei (Borneo) Rubber and Land CompanyBrunei Shell Petroleum Company (previously BMPC)CA Crown AgentsCO Colonial Office; Colonial Office series of documents, PROcorres correspondenceCTFCD Collins English Dictionary, twenty-first century edition (2001reprint).DLFMSfnFOGovHCHMGHMSHOHoCITCITSJMBRASJSEASMBRASMODeputy Lieutenant.Federated Malay StatesfootnoteForeign Office; Foreign Office series of documents, PROGovernorHigh CommissionerHer/His Majesty's GovernmentHer/His Majesty's ShipHome OfficeHouse of Commons (UK)Island Trading Company (previously ITS)Island Trading Syndicate (later ITC)Journal of the Malayan/Malaysian Branch of the Royal AsiaticSocietyJournal of Southeast Asian StudiesMalayan/Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic SocietyMiscellaneous Offices

IJAPS Vol. 1 2005 (Inaugural Issue)Colonial Office CorrespondenceMPn.d.PROrecdSBRASSGSoSSSSSDTel.TreasyUKUSAMember of Parliamentno datePublic Record Office, Kewreceived.Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic SocietySarawak GazetteSecretary of StateStraits SettlementsSingapore and Straits DirectoryTelegramTreasuryUnited KingdomUnited States of America41

BIBLIOGRAPHYAllen, Charles (1940-). 1983. Tales from the South China Seas. London:BBC/André Deutsch.Blundell, Peter. 1923. The City of Many Waters. London: Arrowsmith,London.Colledge, J. J. 1987. Ships of the Royal Navy, 2nd ed. London: GreenhillBooks.Collins English Dictionary (Editorial Director: Diana Treffry; 21st century ed.Glasgow: Collins; 5 th ed., 2000; 2001 reprint; first published in 1979).Collins Sansoni Italian Dictionary (edited by V. Macchi; Sansoni Editore,Firenze; 3 rd ed., 1988).Colonial Office Series of Documents (Public Record Office, now NationalArchives, Kew).CO 144 Labuan.CO 273 Straits Settlements (despatches).CO 352 Register (for CO 144).CO 426 Register (for CO 273).CO 531 Brunei (1907–1926), British Borneo (1927–1946) and British NorthBorneo (1946–1951).CO 717 Malay States.CO 777 Register (for CO 531).CO 786 Register (for CO 717).CO 824 Brunei Sessional Papers (1906–1960).CO 874 British North Borneo Company.CO 992 Register of British Borneo Correspondence (1942–6).Daily Telegraph (London) and Sunday Telegraph (London).Emerson, R. 1964. Malaysia: A Study in Direct and Indirect Rule. KualaLumpur: University of Malaya Press, 1964; originally published in NewYork, 1937.Gibbons, Stanley. 1992a. Stanley Gibbons Simplified Catalogue. Stamps ofthe World, Volume 3: Commonwealth Countries, 1992–1993, 58 th ed.London and Ringwood: Stanley Gibbons Publications Ltd..1992b. Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue, Part I: BritishCommonwealth, 95th ed. London and Ringwood. Brunei appears onpp. 190–197.Hose, Charles. 1988. Natural Man: A Record from Borneo (with anIntroduction by Brian Durrans. Singapore: OUP, 1988; originallypublished, with a preface by Professor G Elliot Smith FRS, London:Macmillan, 1926).Kamus Times: English-Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Malaysia-English (editedby Awang Sudjai Hairul, MA Linguistik. Petaling Jaya: TimesEducational Co. Sdn. Bhd., 1990 reprint).

IJAPS Vol. 1 2005 (Inaugural Issue)Colonial Office CorrespondenceKimball, Linda Amy. 1979. Borneo Medicine: The Healing Art of IndigenousBrunei Malay Medicine Ann Arbor, Michigan: University MicrofilmsInternational, for the Loyola University of Chicago.Livesey, Anthony. 1994. The Viking Atlas of World War I. London: Viking.Longford, Elizabeth. 1976. The Royal House of Windsor. London: Sphere,1976; originally published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1974.Ooi Keat Gin. 1976. Of Free Trade and Native Interests: The Brookes and theEconomic Development of Sarawak, 1841–1941. Kuala Lumpur: OxfordUniversity Press.Oxford Illustrated Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1962; reprinted withrevisions, 1970).Runciman, Steven. 1960. The White Rajahs: A History of Sarawak 1841–1946. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Saunders, Graham. 1994. A History of Brunei. Kuala Lumpur: OxfordUniversity Press, 1994. London and New York: Routledge Curzon,2 nd ed. with additional final chapter, 2002.Singapore and Straits Directory (photocopies).Strachan, Hew. 2003. The First World War: A New Illustrated History.London: Simon & Schuster.Stubbs, Sir Reginald Edward (1876–1947). 1968. Two Colonial OfficeMemoranda on the History of Brunei (edited and annotated by DEBrown). JMBRAS 41(2): 83–116.Tarling, Nicholas. 1970. Britain and Sarawak in the Twentieth Century:Raja Charles, Raja Vyner and the Colonial Office. JMBRAS, 43(2): 25–52..1971. Britain, the Brookes & Brunei. Kuala Lumpur: OxfordUniversity Press.Taylor, A. J. P. 1966. The First World War: An Illustrated History.Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1966; originally published by HamishHamilton, 1963.Website. Ente nazionale idrocarburi società per azioni (ENI).Yergin, Daniel. 1991. Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power.London, Sydney, New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Toronto: Simon &Schuster.43

colonial office correspondence relating to brunei 'destroyed under

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?