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No. 406, January 2,1858.J THB IEADBB." ¦...
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SIR JAMES BROOKE AND BORNEO. Sir Jambs B...
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CO-OPERATION AND THE WORKING CLASSES. Gr...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Walker! Walker Has Escaped, With His Exp...
he were to determine to go in for a little slice out of France , or Spain , or Holland , and were to charter a vessel in the port of London , or Bristol , or Liverpool , were to arm and man her with an uuusually large crew composed of the most reprobate and lawless of the black sheep of any one of those towns , and were all the while to make the most open avowal of the purpose for which he was taking all that
pains—why the paltry custom-house officers and the contemptible police with their staves in their coat-pockets , would walk on board and take possession of the ' gallant bark , ' and walk off her daring crew to the nearest station-house ; so the adventure would be knocked on the head . And it would be pretty much the same anywhere but in America .
On that continent , almost without exception , the population is scanty in proportion to the territory occupied ; especially towards the bounds of each state is the authority ill defined . If you were to seek the exact opposite of an estate within a ring fence , it would be an American dominion . The habits of the people harmonize with this state of things . There is an absence of denned position in the arrangements of society , as well
as in the territory . Numbers oi strong men are continually transferring themselves from one occupation to another . The domocratic government precludes the exercise of any arbitrary police vigilance , even more than in this country ; and that is saying everything . The consequence is , that it is perfectly impossible to restrain any given number of men who agree to rendezvous for a certain enterprise and to undertake it . If they attempted their blows within the territory of the United
States , it would be not so imich the Executive that would put them down , as the citizens , who are , like our own militia , or our special constables , the ultimate resort of the Executive . But the special constable cannot be employed abroad ; and a conspiracy whose object is centrifugal escapes any machinery by which the United States Government could control it .
Dismissing from our minds , then , the notion that the Government of President Buchanan could have restrained Walor as it would have done , we are driven to ask whether , after all , the new expedition to Nicaragua ia anything so extremely shocking . It may be very inconvenient to persona who are planning peaceful transit routes ; it may be vexatious to Mr . Buchanan ' s Government , which desires to maintain the appearance as well as reality of good faith ; and it may be scandalous to our own exceedingly
moral administration . We must , however , judge it not by English or United States standards . Walker is only one amongst many leaders , pure adventurers , contending for supremacy . If he had been regarded as entirely alien to the people of Nicaragua , there would be no necessity for external intorference : the people themselves would join to kick him out . That they do not do so proves that he has a party . lie is to Nicaragua what our William I . was to England , only
not yet victorious , with the exceedingly untoward circumstance that his England is surrounded by great and powerful states which may put a stop to his romance . Still he is only one amongst a dozen rudo knights-errant 'Who-are ^ ho [> ing > to . cai ^ v . e > o ^ tjeiupiriOOj ^ i $ l * olr swords . He is nn Anglo-Saxon ; ho is a professional man , with education ; and it is more than probable that amongst that dozen he is actually the very best . JNny , it ia quite possible that if Walker were established as the
Dictator ot Nicaragua , ho would not only be a more intelligent ruler than Franoia , but a better ruler than the region could obtain through domestic production .
No. 406, January 2,1858.J Thb Ieadbb." ¦...
No . 406 , January 2 , 1858 . J THB IEADBB . " ¦ 13
Sir James Brooke And Borneo. Sir Jambs B...
SIR JAMES BROOKE AND BORNEO . Sir Jambs Brooke is once more in this country . His territory of Sarawak , after the Chinese outbreaks , immediately recovered itself , and is now so perfectly in the hands of its administrators that the Rajah was enabled to leave at a few days' notice . We think that tHelg ^ andeur of the work thus accomplished scarcel
in the East by an Englishman is y appreciated in Europe . Holding three distinct populations under his rule , and possessing as an armed force the most miniature battalions possible , Sir James Brooke may now be said to rule over at least a quarter of a million of souls , for , in addition to the Sarawak provinces , several contiguous river territories acknowledge him as their arbitrator , if not
master . At one of these stations a young kinsman . of the Rajah acts as his representative , and maintains law and order among a hundred thousand persons ; he has a fort , of course , lightly mouuted with guns , and could stand a siege from any hostile or rebellious tribe ; but such a necessity has not arisen , and the moral influence of two or three Eng- * lishmen keeps a large and populous country under control . If we look for the secret of this extraordinary Government , we find , no doubt , that the Bajah is forced to work a machine of policy peculiarly fitted to his situation ; that Chinese malcontents are checked by the
Dyaks of the interior , who might be let loose upon them , and that the Dyaks themselves , if disposed to relapse into their old practices of marauding and violence , would be at once overpowered by the Malays , who , being intelligent and semi-civilized , acknowledge the blessing of an Englishman ' s supremacy . That this supremacy is sound , however , and likely to endure , is shown by the remarkable fact that the piratical communities of Serebas and Sakarran—the most formidable in the island
—are rapidly yielding to it : Sir James Bkooke , indeed , has conquered the Serebas , and almost conquered the Sakarrans . Thus these tribes—petty maritime Pindarrees and Mahrattas—have been brought to habits of commerce and industry , and to recoguise the equal law of Sarawak . We could say nothing which , to those who have followed the history of European transactions in Borneo , could more vividly exemplify the greatness of the undertaking progressing under the influence of the English Rajah .
Besides planting and fostering a new trade on a coast whence trade had been driven by piracy , Sir James Brooke is creating a considerable market in the interior . It may be anticipated that , when his projects are brought to maturity , a really important outlet for our manufacturing industry may thus be obtained . So far the services rendered by the Rajah to the community at home have been direct . But lie has performed others of an indirect and not less important character . He has opposed the extension of the Dutch
and Spanisli restrictive systems , and has done more to keep the field open for Great Britain than all our romonstrauces addressed to the Hague , and all our squabbles over treaties , since the State capitulation of 1815 , and the unfortunate surrender of Java . In Borneo itself , and in the Sulu group , he has performed achievements of diplomacy very singular in their simple form , and possibly of great value iu their results . We say possibly , sinco jbhe work must be completed , if at nil , by tho British Government . " * Sif " J"A " MES ~ BnooTrio s
success in these matters has been somewhat undervalued , and the misapprehension may partly bo traced to Sir John Bowrino's notice of his mission to Sinm . Rajah Brooke went ns Envoy and failed ; Sir John Bowiuno wont as Envoy and succeeded . That point is indisputable But Sir James went during one reign and Sir John during
another , and the difference was as wide as that between hatred and sympathy , ignorant jealousy and enlightened admiration . The one could not do that which was impossible ; the other did that which was not very difficult to do , and did it well . The question of Sir James Brooke ' s status in Borneo is one of immediate and permanent public interest . He is , admittedly , the independent sovereign of a considerable territory , the key to those portions of the vast island uuabsorbed by the Dutch . Now , is it
desirable to perpetuate this anomaly , or to bring the Rajah and the British Government into closer relations ? We believe we are right in saying that the settlement of Labuan is still upon its trial , and that a period has been officially fixed within which its vitality must be made apparent , or the British flag will be hauled down . Such a retreat would be most discouraging , ill-timed , and unfortunate . But the success of Labuan might be placed beyond doubt were complete protection established for trade and commerce in those
waters ; to this end a Government policy , favourable to Sarawak , is indispensable . Sir James Brooke may reign over a quarter of a million of happy and flourishing people , but he cannot be expected to mount guard over the whole coast , or to promote the interests of departments by which he is ignored . Large and varied questions connected with our Eastern policy are arising ; and while the subject is open there is no reason why we should neglect Borneo , a territory intrinsically of far more importance than Siam or Japan .
Co-Operation And The Working Classes. Gr...
CO-OPERATION AND THE WORKING CLASSES . Great credit is due to Mr . Holmes , of Leeds , for his efforts to popularize the principle of co-operative association . We sincerely hope that the example of Leeds and Rochdale will pe followed , ultimately , in every considerable town throughout the kingdom . We will take the Rochdale Pioneers Co-operative Store , and condense the information supplied in the paper read before the British Association for the Promotion of Social Science . It was established in 1844 ; the funds were raised in pound shares , each member taking five , and paying instalments of not less than threepence a week ; deposits were received at five per cent , interest . Now , what has been the result ? The societ y began with twenty-eight members ; in 1856 it numbered sixteen hundred ; its funds amounted to nearly thirteen thousand pounds sterling ; the business transacted during the year was to the extent of sixty-three thousand p ounds sterling , and the profits for the same period were three thousand nine hundred and twenty-one pounds , being thirtyfive per cent , on the capital , or six per cent , net on the returns . At first , only groceries were sold . ; butcher ' s meat , flour , coals , potatoes , clothing , drapery , shoes , clogs , hats , and other commodities and articles of daily use were added . The operations arc conducted at a central and four branch stores , employing nine grocery attendants , three butchers , and two drapers , with servers , porters , book-keepers , and managers . In the meat department , four oxen , twelve slieep , one caU" , and several pigs are killed weekly . For two per cent , all the working expenses , including rent , wages , and rates arc defrayed . Says Mr . Holmes , " Wages being generall y paid at Rochdale on Friday and Saturday evenings , about seven o ' clock , it is a perfect wonder to sec the numbers of well-dressed working men and thoir wives walking quiotly into the grocers' shops , where , beginning at the lefthand counter in No . 1 department , they are supplied with goods , pay , get their tickets representing the money , and then move on to No . 2 , and so on to ~ the-cighth-or ~ nintlwsUopnian ;~ thcftJnto tho _ butcher ' s shop , the flour , the potato , and the clothing rooms . " The tickets given roprosent the amount of money expended by each individual ; they arc collected at stated times , and , after the payment of interest on the society ' s capital , profits arc divided aocording to transactions . Two and a half per cent , from the not profits is sot aside to support a newsroom and library . Monthly meetings take place to discuss
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 2, 1858, page 13, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_02011858/page/13/
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