Now, therefore, know ye that we, the Sultan have nominated and appointed, and hereby do nominate and appoint . . . Supreme Ruler of the above-named territories, . . . with power of life and death over the inhabitants, with all the absolute rights of property vested in us over the soil of the country, and the right to dispose of the same, as well as the rights over the productions of the country, whether mineral, vegetable, or animal, with the rights of making laws, coining money, creating an army and navy, levying customs rates on home and foreign trade and shipping, and other dues and taxes on the inhabitants, as to him may seem good or expedient, together with all other powers and rights usually exercised by and belonging to Sovereign Rulers, and which we hereby delegate to him of our own free will. the same territory; and this brings us to | of the granted territories, and go on to the fifth document, which we shall shortly enumerate the powers conferred in the find of special interest, as affording the following exhaustive terms: key to an animated contention by Spain. At some period, apparently about the end of the sixteenth or beginning of the seventeenth century, the then sultan of Brunei, having to contend with a serious rebellion, applied for help to the sultan of Sulu, and, in return for the assistance given, ceded to the latter more or less complete sovereign rights over the very district now granted by his successor to Mr. Dent. These rights have, in fact, been recognized by European powers in various dealings with the Sulu sultan, and were found by the company to be active over at least the eastern portion of the ceded districts, while the western seemed to have more or less fallen back under the influence of Brunei. However this might be, the Sulu claim was sufficiently real and comprehensive to make it necessary to obtain a grant also from this potentate, in order to substantiate their position; and during a visit to Sulu, in which he had the unofficial assistance of Mr. Treacher, then H.M. consul-general for Borneo, Baron von Overbeck seems to have had no difficulty in attaining this object. In a document bearing date the 22nd of January, 1878, the sultan of Sulu, on behalf of himself, his heirs and successors, and with the consent and advice of his datoos in council assembled, assigned to Messrs. Dent and Overbeck as representatives of the association, his rights and powers over the territories tributary to him on the mainland of Borneo, with the islands off the coast, in consideration of an annual subsidy of $5,000, which was taken to be a fair equivalent of the revenue they were yielding him in their then undeveloped condition. In order formally to complete the transfer, each sultan now issued a supplementary document explaining and delegating the powers and privileges to be exercised by the company in the granted territory, and conferring certain local titles on their chief representative in Borneo. Both these instruments, which are similar in purport and very nearly so in language, recite first the grant and the boundaries And, in order further to convey to the inhabitants information of the grants, each of the sultans deputed a high officer to accompany the representative of the association on a voyage round the coast. At each of the places touched at, these officers assembled the chiefs and people, and read to them a solemn proclamation announcing the grants and exhorting and commanding them to obey the new authorities. This, we are informed, was done at six different places, and everywhere the news was received without mark of opposition and in a friendly spirit. So far as the native princes were con cerned, then, the title of the grantees and the transfer of authority were complete. In addition to the four grants from the sultan of Brunei and his prime minister and heir apparent, they had a grant from the sultan of Sulu of what rights soever he possessed; and the grants had been published and explained with all possible emphasis. They proceeded accordingly, without further delay, to give effect to their powers by stationing residents at various places on the coast, to cultivate friendly relations with the natives, admin. ister justice as far as practicable, and gradually acquire information regarding the country and its resources. And, having thus definitely asserted their position, they applied to the Marquis of Salisbury, | cluded by British authority with the chiefs. a glance at the map certainly justifies our contention. The islands specially named are situated close to and round about the entrance to those straits, and immediately on the highway to the Dutch colony of Java; whereas Borneo does not lie to the south of Singapore, but some three hundred and fifty miles to the east, and a full half of the island is north of the parallel on which Singapore is situated. It was not to be supposed that the advent of the new rulers would escape jealous criticism by other powers interested in the great archipelago of which Borneo is the centre. For nearly three hundred years, Holland, Spain, and England have been asserting and exerting, more or less directly or indirectly, and with ebbing and flowing energy, rights of suzerainty, Borneo is now practically divided into of possession, and of exclusion over four separate governments. The Dutch these fertile islands; and neither Spain hold the whole southern portion of the nor Holland was willing to see pass island as far, on the west coast, as the under English influence the most fer- frontier of Sarawak, while a resolution of tile portion of the largest island of the the governor-general of Java in Council, group. Remonstrances against the al- passed in 1846 (their last official declaraleged annexation were promptly formu- tion prior to 1877), declares the river lated, and a correspondence ensued in Atas, in lat. 3° N., to be their northern which records of almost forgotten adven-boundary on the east. The remainder is ture come quaintly to relieve the dry divided between the State of Sarawak record of treaties made, broken, and and the independent sultan of Brunei, on lapsed, begun, abandoned, and disputed, the west coast, and Sabah, the ceded terwhich furnish the chief materials of the ritory of the British Borneo Company, in tangled story. Fortunately the conten- the north. Holland has, in fact, never tions raised at the Hague and at Madrid claimed any political rights over the terwere entirely distinct in their nature and ritory under discussion. On the contrary, origin, and it is possible to deal with the Resolution of 1846 expressly states each case separately, without mixing up that she does not claim to exercise any the other in the narrative. influence over the territory belonging to the sultan of Sulu, which is there defined as having for its boundaries the river Kimanis on the west, and the river Atas on the east. Nor has she seemed disposed to press too closely the argument that Borneo was one of the "other islands" contemplated in the Treaty of 1824 which we recently quoted. The contention of her government during the recent controversy has rather been the general one, that the starting-point of that treaty was the prin ciple that it would be desirable to avoid any mixed possession by Great Britain and the Netherlands of one and the same island in the Indian Archipelago, and that the latter would therefore have the right We need not, in the case of Holland, go farther back than a treaty negotiated at London in 1824, which was designed to settle all differences arising out of our occupation of the Dutch possessions in Asia during the Napoleonic wars, and to effect a final division and demarcation of territory in Malayan waters. Nor is it necessary to quote more than the twelfth article of this agreement, which, after recognizing the cession of Singapore, goes on to stipulate that "no British establishment shall be made on the Carimon Isles, or on the islands of Battam, Bintang, Lingin, or any of the other islands south of the Straits of Singapore, nor any treaty con to object to the establishment of a settle- | Borneo belongs to Spain also: whereas ment under British authority in the island Great Britain having always declined to of Borneo. Even in Holland, however, recognize Spanish sovereignty over Sulu, public opinion was by no means unani- and still less over its north-Bornean de mous on the point. We find, for instance, pendencies, repudiates altogether the in the course of a debate in the States claim of Spain to any right of interference General in December last, M. Van der in the matter. There could be little hope, Hoeven, whose voice carries weight in from the outset, of reconciling views so colonial matters, not only denying that the utterly divergent; and the chief purpose Treaty of 1824 was at all intended to ex- served by the correspondence which enclude England from Borneo, but affirming sued between the two governments is the that Holland had quite enough territory thorough elucidation of their respective already, and that "be considered it fortu- cases. The position taken by the Madrid nate England should have established Cabinet is concisely expressed in a deherself directly or indirectly in Borneo, spatch from Señor Calderon Collantes, thereby shutting out other foreigners." It dated the 14th of November, 1876: is unnecessary to enter further into the Since the sixteenth and seventeenth centu course of the discussion between the two ries, during which Spain took possession of Cabinets, which eventuated in a perfectly those territories, and more especially since the friendly solution, in the disclaimer by En- solemn stipulations of the 23rd September, gland of any desire of annexation; Lord 1836, 30th August, 1850, and 19th April, 1851, Granville, however, reaffirming, in what she has the right to treat as her subjects the is virtually his final despatch, that the Sultan of Sulu, as well as the inhabitants of Netherlands government would not, "as the Archipelago submitted to his authority. a matter of international right, have any By the first of the said Treaties, the Protectoground whatever" to object to our annexrate of Spain over the whole Archipelago in ing north Borneo, were such a project in which the Sultan exercises authority was reccontemplation; while Baron Rochussen explained and amplified, it being laid down ognized; ; by that of 1850 the anterior one was repeats his contention, equally as a mat- that the Sultan could not, either by himself or ter of principle, that, "the Treaty of 1824 by agreement with his "Dattos" or other prinhaving for its object to prevent any con- cipal men, cede to any foreign power any porflict of influences in the Indian Archipel- tion of the territory which constitutes the extent ago, it is not compatible with the bearing of islands which are situated within the limit of that arrangement that the authority of of Spanish rights; and finally, by that of 1851, Great Britain should be established over the sovereignty of Queen Isabella II. and her the island of Borneo, a great part of which successors over the said Archipelago was exis subject to the Netherlands." He ac- pressly recognized, the Sultan and the Dattos cepts, however, Lord Granville's assur- of the territory of Sulu and its dependencies promising solemnly to maintain the integrity ance that the contemplated measure is in as part of the Archipelago belonging to the no sense a measure of annexation, but Spanish Government. By the third Article that the territories ceded to Mr. Dent was recognized the incorporation of the "Iswill be administered by the company un- land of Sulu with all its dependencies into the der the suzerainty of the sultans to whom Crown of Spain, and its inhabitants as form. they have agreed to pay a yearly tribute;ing part of the great Spanish family which finds in the consistency of these assur. ances "a sure guarantee that the provi sions of the charter will always be carried out in the same spirit; and trusts that the new undertaking may contribute to the happiness of the native population, and be fruitful in useful results, without causing trouble or prejudice to the neighboring districts subject to the domination of the Netherlands." The contention raised by Spain was of a totally different character, and turns upon the claims of the Sulu sultan which we explained in relating the grants under which the company holds its territory. The Madrid Cabinet, in short, affirms that north Borneo belongs to Sulu, that Sulu belongs to Spain, and therefore north peoples the vast Philippine Archipelago," and other Articles of the same Treaty confirm the same, the Spanish flag, according to the fifth Article, being adopted thenceforward in Sulu as the only and exclusive flag of that territory. This despatch was written before the North Borneo Company's entrance upon the scene, and has reference to the protests which were then being made by England and Germany against the interference of the Spanish authorities with trade in the Sulu group. The point raised, however, is the same, and it will at once make clear the drift of the whole controversy if we quote Lord Derby's prompt reply: It should be borne in mind that the Spanish claim to sovereignty is utterly repudiated by the Sultan of Sulu, and that it has never been Government. treaty of 1836 permitted the most shadowy claim of territorial right to be founded on it, precisely the same objection might be urged to it also, with equal force. The extent, however, of the sovereignty there asserted is an offer by Spain and (we presume compulsory) acceptance by Sulu of the friendship and "protection" of the Spanish government - from which protection, however, "Sandakan and the other countries tributary to the sultan on the continent of Borneo" are, in the very first clause, specially excepted. Thirteen years later the English again appear upon the scene; and, in ignorance it appears even of the existence of the Spanish treaty of 1836, and in the absence of any sign of Spanish protection or occupation, negotiate with the sultan a treaty dated May, 1849, by the seventh article of The Sulu Islands, which thus form the which, "in order to avoid all future occakernel of contention, stretch in a continu- sions of difference, he engages not to ous chain over a distance of some two make any cession of territory within his hundred and fifty miles, from the north- dominions to any other nation, or subjects east corner of Borneo to the south-east or citizens thereof, and not to acknowl corner of Mindanao, the southernmost of edge the suzeraineté of any other State the Philippines; Sulu itself, the residence without the consent of Her Britannic of the sultan, being situated nearly in Majesty." But this treaty, although duly the centre of the group. It is easy to signed and sealed at the time by the sul. understand, from this geographical posi- tan and by our then consul-general, Sir tion, that the islanders should have been James Brooke, did not come into force considerably mixed up with the affairs of owing to a delay in the exchange of ratiBorneo on the one hand, and been subject | fications. The mere fact of its having to the frequent attacks of Spain on the been concluded, however, again to quote other. It is equally clear, however, that Lord Derby's lauguage in 1876, "seems these attacks have been constantly resisted, and that a state of intermittent warfare has prevailed, culminating ever and anon in the imposition of fresh treaties, to be broken and repudiated directly pressure was withdrawn. If mere paper claims were to be taken as evidence of right, England could put forward an excellent title to the very territory in dispute. For when, in 1762, we captured Manila and obtained control over the Philippines, we released the sultan of Sulu, whom we found there in prison, and replaced him on the throne, on the distinct understanding that the whole of the territory in north Borneo which had then recently been ceded to him, together with the south of Palawan and the intermediate islands, should be transferred to the English East India Company. And a treaty embodying these terms, which were will ingly agreed to, was duly signed the following year. But, as Lord Derby admits, that treaty, together with others concluded in 1761 and 1769, must be considered as having lapsed for want of de facto assertion. And, if the language of the Spanish to have induced the Spanish governor of the Philippines to fit out an expedition to punish the people of Sulu for having attempted to elude their engagements which expedition resulted in the signature at Sulu, in April, 1851, of a fresh document, wherein the claims of Spain are quite unmistakably asserted. The treaty itself is styled "An Act of Re-submission;" and in it "the island of Sulu and its dependencies" are declared "an inte gral part of the Philippine Archipelago which belongs to Spain." This document affords the only ground on which, at the time of the Borneo, grants, Spain could possibly base a claim to interfere in the affairs of "Sulu and its dependencies; " and we find Lord Derby admitting, in the course of his correspondence with the German government, that if the Spanish government bad, "in virtue of that treaty, established settlements there and made proper provision for the government of the islands and for the encouragement of trade under reasonable regulations, her Majesty's government might perhaps not now be disposed to dispute the sover eignty claimed by Spain." So far from | not be recognized in bar to his claim that being the case, however, the "Span- when an attempt was made to appeal to iards had never, at any time since the its provisions. It is sufficient to note treaty of 1851, been able to exercise the rights claimed by them or to obtain any footing in the Sulu archipelago. All they had done to maintain their right of sovereignty had been to despatch from time to time expeditions to chastise the inhab. itants for alleged acts of piracy, and to issue orders prohibiting foreign trade." Treaty or no treaty, in fact, they seem to have been no nearer the possession of real sovereignty than before; and a painful picture is drawn, in reports which were then reaching our government from its officers in that quarter, of the cruel nature of the hostilities being carried on by the Spanish gunboats. "Numbers of fishing and trading boats had been destroyed, and their crews sent to Zamboanga and Manila to labor on the public works for life; the villages near the coast had been frequently fired upon, and the town of Sulu had been twice bombarded." It was the complete interruption of trade caused by these proceedings which led to the emphatic interference by England and Germany to which we have before referred. But it would seem, to judge from the indignant language used by Lord Carnarvon in moving the Foreign Office on the subject, that a desire to put an end to these "atrocities" in the interests of humanity was nearly as potent as the desire to restore freedom of trade and have redress for grievances, in prompting that intervention. This, then, was the position of affairs when Mr. Dent appeared on the scene. A protocol from which the question of sovereignty was excluded had been agreed on between the three governments in 1877, recognizing the principle of absolute freedom of trade for their ships; and the Spanish gunboats seem to have been temporarily withdrawn from the waters of the archipelago. The lease to Mr. Dent was granted by the sultan in January, 1878. A renewed attack was made on Sulu by a powerful expedition from Manila a few weeks later; and in July of the same year the sultan was compelled to sign a fresh treaty, acknowledging unreservedly the sovereignty of Spain over the archipelago and its dependencies, and accepting a pension at her hands. Whether steps were taken this time to make the occupation effective, it is beyond our purpose to inquire. Bearing date six months later than the cession to Mr. Dent, the new treaty would obviously that the same assurance which had been given to the Cabinet of the Hague was given to Madrid: her Majesty's government had no intention of establishing any British dominion or rights of sovereignty over any portion of Borneo; but they declined with equal emphasis to admit the sovereignty of Spain. It is seldom, even in cases where the data are less complicated, that either party to a controversy can be persuaded he is in error. In cases such as the present, where points are brought to light of almost forgotten history, and issues based on some record of almost forgotten adventure, there must be still greater difficulty in imposing conviction. As Lord Granville remarked to the Marquis de Casa Laiglesia, in reference to the Spanish protest against the issue of the charter, "there was on either side a denial of the validity of the titles and arguments advanced by the other, and it was difficult under the circumstances to see how a continuance of the discussion could lead to any satisfactory conclusion." A speech made by the Marquis de la Vega de Armijo in the Spanish Senate, a few days later, seems practically, even if somewhat unwillingly, to accept this view; and an exhaustive despatch from Lord Granville to Mr. Morier ably winds up the discussion in the following words: North Borneo lies in the fairway of an immense British maritime trade between China, Its occupation by a foreign power would be Australia, India, and the United Kingdom. a source of disquietude to this country, and for that reason clauses were inserted in the British Treaties of 1847 and 1849 with the sultans of Sulu and Brunei, under which they respectively engaged not to make any cession of territory to any other nation than Great Britain without the consent of Her Majesty's Government. that Spain laid claim to some portion of the Thirty years ago, in consequence of a report north-east coast of Borneo, under a recent convention with the Sultan of Sulu, Lord Howden, then Her Majesty's Representative at Madrid, was instructed, in a despatch dated the 11th May, 1852, to remind the Spanish Government that as early as the years 1761, 1764, and 1769, Treaties of Friendship and Commerce were entered into by Her Majesty's Government with the Sultan of Sulu, and that by one of those treaties cessions of territory cluding the Island of Balambangan and the were made to Her Majesty's Government, inseveral dependencies of the Sulu Empire on the eastern coast of Borneo; and that on repeated occasions some of those ceded territo |