(G.L. No. 212 of 1852).

Sir,

Enclosure 2.

Mr. Blundell to the Resident Councillor at Singapore.

Malacca, 15th April, 1852. I have the honour to enclose translation of a letter received from his Excellency the Governor General of Netherlands India, communicating the circumstance of Tunko Allee, son of the late Sultan Hoossein, having tendered to the Sultan of Linga, through the Raja Muda (or Viceroy) of Rhio, the transfer of his rights over the Island of Singapore.

This young prince, Tunko Allee, appears to rank very low in the scale of common sense and intelligence, consequently the fact here brought to the notice of the English Government, is not one to cause alarm or apprehension of any kind I should be glad to receive the communication of your sentiments on the subject, and in the meantime it is desirable that early steps by taken to recall Tunko Allee to Singapore, I have caused a letter to be written to him here, by his quondam agent, Syed Saban, pointing out the impropriety of his conduct, and recommending his immediate return to Singapore, but I not aware, that we can enforce such return by any other means than the stoppage of his pension.

I observe that his Excellency the Governor General of Netherlands India, attributes a previous knowledge of the proposal of Tunko Allee, to the Sultan of Linga, and the failure of the intrigue to the reply of the Viceroy of Rhio. It may be that some connection exists between this intrigue and the present dispute between Tringanu and Pahang.

P.S.-The enclosed Malayan letters are requested to be returned to this Office.

E. A. B.

I hereby certify that the above is a true copy of our office copy of the letter No. G 1,216 of 1852, from the

Officiating Governor, S.S., to the Resident Councillor, Singapore, dated 19th April, 1852.

M. B. BROCKWELL,

Acting Chief Clerk.

Colonial Secretary's Office,
Singapore, 8th July, 1913.

Signed before me :

S. M. ARTHUR, Assistant Colonial
Secretary, Straits Settlements.

No. 4.

The Powers of a Sultan.

ACCORDING to Malay theory all parties interested in any great act of State should be consulted and should consent to it. As an illustration of the meaning of this statement it may be mentioned that when the writer of this memo. was British Resident in Negri Sembilan he was informed that the successor to the recently deceased Dato (or ruling chief) of Upper Muar could only be appointed with the unanimous approval of the four major headmen, the twelve minor headmen, all the waris or members (over 100 in number) of the ruling family, and all the ayer kaki or members of another influential family associated with the the ruling house. In practice this unanimity would seem to be unattainable, but under Malay rule a strong majority could always coerce a weak majority (sic) into giving its consent.

Reference may be made in this connection to the various treaties in the attached printed official record (dated 1889) of British and other agreements with Malay States.

(a.) The treaty for the cession of Singapore in 1819
was signed by the titular Sultan and by the
Temenggong or local feudal chief having autho-
rity over the island (page 19).

(b.). The second treaty (by which the whole island was
ceded in 1824) was similarly signed (page 29).
(c.) The treaty with Perak of 1826 mentions that
"to this deed as tokens of its validity have this

66

day been put the great seal or chop of the Ruler of the Perak country, together with the chops of the Chief Ministers of His Majesty's "Government" (page 90).

(d.) The famons Pangkor treaty of 1874 (from which dates our Malayan Protectorate) was sealed by the Sultan of Perak and seven leading chiefs (page 103). It is notable that one important Chiefs (the Maharaja Lela) whose signature was not affixed to the treaty, refused to consider himself bound by it, assassinated the British

* C.O. Library, 8452.

Resident at Pasir Salak when the Resident put up proclamations signed by the Sultan, but infringing the Chief's own rights, and brought about the Perak War.

(e.) The Dutch Treaty with Rembau of 1819

was

signed by the Raja, the Penghulu (or territorial chief) and four tribal chiefs (page 127).

(f.) The British Treaty with Rembau of 1831 was similarly signed (page 132).

(9.) The Rembau Treaty of 1832 was signed by the Raja, the Penghulu (or territorial chief), the Raja's heir (Syed Saban), and eight tribal chiefs (page 138).

(h.) The Rembau boundary treaty of 1833 is signed by two two territorial and eight tribal chiefs

(page 140). (i.) The Rembau-Johore agreement of 1877 is signed by the Dato (or territorial chief) only. To this treaty is appended Governor Sir Frederick Weld's note of its invalidity, owing to the absence of the signatures of the tribal chiefs (p. 142).

(j.) The Rembau treaty of 1883 is signed by the Penghulu or territorial chief and the tribal chiefs (p. 144). The first article of this treaty records the deposition of Haji Sael, the territorial chief who had signed the agreement of 1877 without obtaining the consent of his tribal chiefs.

(k.) The Rembau treaty of 1887 is signed by the territorial chief and two other chiefs (page 146).

(1.) The Negri Sembilan treaty of 1876 is signed by the Ruler and six territorial chiefs (page 150).

(m.) The Negri Sembilan treaty of 1887 is signed by the Ruler" with the consent" of the six territorial chiefs (page 151).

(n.) The Jelebu agreement with Johore of 1877 is signed by the titular Rular of Jelebu only (page 156). The next Jelebu treaty of 1883 refers (page 157) to the attempted deposition of the ruler who had signed the treaty of 1877 and is signed by the Ruler, the Penghulu (or territorial chief) and nine tribal headmen.

(0.) The Jelebu treaty of 1886 refers to the determination of the Jelebu people not to have another such ruler and is signed by the territorial chief and eight tribal headmen (page 163).

The exceptions are also significant. The Sultan of Pahang (who signs by himself only) is the first Sultan of his dynasty; he is a feudal chief (Bendahara of the old State of Johore) who has turned his fief into a kingdom. It is the same with the present Sultans of Johore who were Temenggongs or feudal vassals of the older line. In these cases the authority of the Sultan and local feudal chief are combined in one person.

The Sultans of Selangor are not Malays.

It will be seen from this long roll of actual treaties that a Malay suzerain ruler is not possessed of absolute power over his State. The consent of the great territorial chiefs and even of tribal headmen (in some cases) is essential to the validity of a great act of State. There is nothing in Sultan Ali's case to indicate that he was possessed of exceptional authority; indeed we know that he was an absentee ruler with very shadowy power indeed.

In this connection also we may refer to the constitutional dictum of Negri Sembilan where local autonomy is pushed furthest, "the King does not own the soil nor does he levy taxes; he is the fountain of justice and can claim a civil list."

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