2. "You will have learnt from my despatch, No. 28, of the 31st of May, that I am glad to consider the disclaimer by Mr. Read of the unauthorised use of his name as a disavowal of all participation in the proceedings of those who fomented disturbances in Muar, and I do not find anything in the more detailed proceedings of the Police Court which lead me to modify my judgment on the matter. 3. "As it has been decided not to proceed with the prosecution of Awang Ibrahim, I do not think it necessary to make any observation on that subject, except that, in my opinion, it would, for obvious reasons, have been better to have avoided the employment of the legal adviser of the Maharaja of Johor, Mr. Rodyk, and to have selected some other Counsel to conduct the case of the Government." [No. 104.] Sir F. A. Weld to the Earl of Kimberley. GOVERNMENT HOUSE, MY LORD, In reference to your Lordship's despatch, No. 28, of 31st May, I have the honour to inform you, that the report called for by telegram of 24th April, was forwarded by General Anson, in his despatch, No. 129, of the 29th April, 1880. 2. The Colonial Secretary informed Mr. Read that Mr. Rodyk had no business to do more than conduct the prosecution against Awang, and that he had overstepped his duty, in making what seemed to be an unnecessary attack on Mr. Read, but at the same time it cannot be forgotten, that Mr. Read had laid his conduct open to animadversion in many respects, for instance-his letter to the Sultan of Tringanu. It clearly tends to the subversion of the proper influence of the British Government when a Member of Council warns a native potentate against the Governor who represents it, and hints at projects of annexation. 3. I have not been able to discover any ground for Mr. Read's action, excepting his strong disapproval of the course taken by the Government in the Muar case. It is quite possible that, had I been Governor, I might have taken the same view as Mr. Read on the Muar question. I admit that strong arguments may be alleged in support of that view, but your Lordship's predecessor did not con sider those grounds, as put before him, sufficiently strong, and Her Majesty's Home Government decided against the view taken by Mr. Read and by many other gentlemen, whose knowledge of native affairs is worthy of respect. That decision having been made, it becomes the duty of the Governor to abide by it, and to uphold it, and to repress any attempt on the part of claimants resident in Singapore to disturb or raise up sedition in a friendly State, and I submit that the Governor, in carrying out the decision of the Secretary of State, may fairly look, not only for his support, but also for that of all men in the Colony of Mr. Read's standing and position, and that should such gentlemen be unable conscientiously to afford it, that they should still refrain from communicating with native chiefs, in a sense which may seriously embarrass a Governor in the execution of duties imposed upon him. 4. Moreover, Mr. Reed was seriously compromised by the declarations of witnesses and the documents produced before a Court of Law, as your Lordship will perceive from the papers now before you. I am unable to find that Mr. Read ever denied the allegations made against him. I am informed that even his friends considered that his warmth in what he honestly believed to be a just and righteous cause, led him into indiscretion in the relations with the claimant, Tunku Alam, and his party. 5. On my arrival here I found that the Administrator-the public end having been attained—had decided to drop the prosecution against Awang Ibrahim, and I concurred in that course. Mr. Read afterwards wrote to me the enclosed letter,1 to which I sent the annexed reply. I had an interview with him afterwards, at his request, and spoke very frankly to him, as he did to me. He said that he did not think that I could have given him any other reply. I was very favorably impressed by my conversation with him, and I accepted his assurance that it had not been his desire to embarrass the Government in native affairs, although few can doubt but that he did embarrass it. From all I can learn, Mr. Read's character stands very high here, and few men deservedly have more personal friends. If, after the Secretary of State decided the Muar question, he has erred in keeping up an agitation that could only now be productive of ill consequences and trouble, I willingly at 1Appendix C. 2Appendix D. tribute such error to an honest zeal for what he believes to be right and just, and should he return to this Colony, and should your Lordship desire that he be asked again to give it the benefit of his services in the Legislative Council, I can assure you that I shall have great pleasure in accepting them. I have, &c., FRED A. WELD. Mr. Read to the Colonial Office. SOUTHSEA, 6th September, 1880. SIR, I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 27th July, with two enclosures, and I beg to tender my thanks to the Right Honourable the Earl of Kimberley for the information thereby afforded me. As to the absence of a "categorical denial" of the statements in Awang Ibrahim's letters, not only of the 17th December, but of the 14th November and 3rd January last, I was under the impression that, as regards every allegation material to the question in hand, viz., that I had instigated and encouraged the disturbances in Muar, I had sufficiently denied them in the statement which I had the honour of laying before His Lordship. (See paragraphs 13 and 23.) However, to prevent all misconception, I beg now to state explicitly, that I neither instigated, nor suggested, nor advised, nor approved of the disturbances in Muar, that I "throughout used all my influence with Tunku Alam, his advisers and followers, to prevent them from committing or countenancing any acts of war or violence whatever." When I heard of the outbreak I felt and expressed my regret and disapproval of it, pointing out to them, as I had all along done, that the only rational means of redress lay in remonstrance with the Supreme Government, and in an appeal for the reconsideration of the cruel wrong, which I, with almost every European inhabitant of the Colony and the majority of the Malay population, considered had been done. To assist them in this, I brought the Muar case before the Legislative Council in December, 1877, and was not without hope that, with the assistance of some English friends, the attention of Parliament might be called to it. Further, with the express view of bringing the subject of the outbreak before the Legislative Council, which I did in December, 1879, I asked Awang Ibrahim to keep me fully informed of what was passing in Muar, so that his statement as regards my wishing for reports of events is, so far, substantially correct. I trust that the foregoing may be considered ample and satisfactory, and that consequently His Lordship will be pleased to grant the request submitted by me in the 30th paragraph of the paper of the 1st ultimo. I beg to apologise for the delay which has taken place in replying to your letter, but my absence from London, and having to send for my papers, will, I hope, be considered as a sufficient excuse. I have, &c., W. H. READ. The Colonial Office to Mr. Read. DOWNING STREET 16th September, 1880. SIR, Having laid your letter of the 6th of September before the Earl of Kimberley, I am directed to inform you that he has read it with satisfaction as a complete denial on your part of your having in any way instigated the late disturbances in Muar; and I am to express His Lordship's regret that any observations were made, in the course of the legal proceedings at Singapore, which appeared to you to reflect on your conduct. His Lordship cannot comply with the request submitted in the 30th paragraph of your printed statement of the 1st of August, but if you will have the goodness to send him a spare copy of your printed statement he will transmit copies of this correspondence with you to the Governor of the Straits Settlements. I have, &c., R. H. MEADE. Mr. Read to the Colonial Office. 25 DURHAM TERRACE, WESTBOURNE PARK, W., 24th September, 1880. SIR, I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 16th instant, which only reached me yesterday evening, and am glad to find that, convinced by my letter of the 6th instant, Lord Kimberley acquits me of having in any way instigated the late disturbances in Muar, and regrets that any observations were made, in the course of the late legal proceedings, reflecting upon my conduct. I am grateful to His Lordship for this statement of his opinion, but I beg most respectfully to observe that I am, to all intents and purposes, still under the charges made by the Crown Prosecutor in as far as the public are concerned, and that the reasons which caused me to resign the Legislative Council and Magistracy are still in force, and must remain so till His Lordship's opinion has been publicly made known. I am, &c., W. H. READ. The Colonial Office to Mr. Read. DOWNING STREET, 11th October, 1880. SIR,In reply to your letter of the 24th of September, I am directed by the Earl of Kimberley to inform you that the Governor of the Straits Settlements will be authorised to make public the views of the Secretary of State upon the circumstances which led to your name being connected with the recent disturbances in Muar. I have, &c., R. H. MEADE. No. 5. Extracts Relating to the Culivation of Tobacco in the Malay Peninsula. Extract from Encyclopedia Britannica, ed. 1910, Article on Tobacco, vol. 26, 1036. "Cultivation.-Tobacco is cultivated in localities scattered over almost the whole world, ranging as far north as Quebec, Stockholm and the southern shores of Lake Baikal in one hemisphere, and as far south as Chile, the Cape of Good Hope and Victoria in the other. Whilst, however, the plant adapts itself to a great va |