I noticed a book review of Sarawak: The Rajahs Officers 1841-1946 by Nigel Batty- Smith on the website run by Veronica Chang-Schmid. (Thank you, Veronica) I thought this would be a good addition to my library so I tried to find it on several of the used bookstores on the net. The volume was not listed anywhere and it seemed nowhere to be found. I finally found a copy in, of all places, the Sarawak State Library. I bundled my wife and son into a Grab and headed off to the Sarawak Room of the Library. I came armed with my notebook and pencil for a lengthy note-taking session.
The book was buried in a backroom and I had to get a librarian to find and bring it to me. I was a bit disappointed as I thought it was a copy of the original but never mind lah. I pursued the volume for some interesting history.
I was surprised to learn that Rajah did not select just anyone for various positions. When selecting his officers they did not have to have intellectual achievement but “good sound common sense”. Once engaged the officers could not take any leave for five years and could not marry for ten years. I cannot understand the reasoning behind these long-term prohibitions.
All cadets who wanted to join the service had to pass part 1 of the language exam or they would not go on as a “passed Cadet”. If they did not pass after 18 months they would be dismissed. However, it was not difficult not to pass because most of the time they were surrounded by people who only spoke Malay.
To become a District Officer one needed to be fluent in Malay and one Dayak language. They had to be able to read and write Jawi. There were additional tests on knowledge of the Islamic faith, as well as local laws and customs. (adat)
The Treasury
In the beginning, James Brooke relied on his inheritance of 30,000 pounds from his father to cover the administrative costs of the country. He devoted the entire proceeds to the cost of government. Antimony and opium became state monopolies. He earned 2,500 pounds in 1846 from these two endeavours plus an additional 500 pounds in trade. Up until that time, he had drawn from his fortune to the extent of 10,000 pounds to assist in meeting the cost of government.
From 1846 onward the government was financed by the revenues derived from opium and antimony. His personal fortune was drawn down by 20,000 pounds in 1853.
The book lists about 100 names. I picked a few as described below.
The “insurrection” peppered throughout is when the Chinese from Bau came down the river and burned Kuching down in 1857.
James Brooke was the Raja.
John Johnson aka John Brooke Johnson Brooke
He was the nephew of James Brooke and brother of Charles Brooke. He joined the army and became a Captain in the Connaught Rangers but left to join the service of his uncle. He arrived in Sarawak on 14 Sep 1848. He became ADC to the Rajah who asked him to assume the name Brooke and became the Tuan Besar. He administered the government in the absence of the Rajah.
He was in charge of a land expedition against Rentap in Sungei Lang in August 1854. He organized a second unsuccessful expedition against Rentap at Sadok in 1858. After the death of his first wife, he returned to England but returned in April 1860 and resumed his duties. He tried to open trade with Muka but was stopped by Sherip Mansor. He attacked Muka with force but was defeated. Awaiting reinforcements, Governor Edwards of Labuan stepped in and demanded peace. Edwards’s actions were later disavowed by the British government. Muka was ceded to Sarawak by the Sultan of Brunei.
While on a cruise in the Rainbowoff of Bintulu in 1862 he encountered a group of pirates. The fleet was totally defeated with 190 killed, 31 taken prisoner and 195 captured and liberated. He resumed his duties from Sep 1861 until Feb 1863.
He became openly opposed to Rajah James Brooke towards the end of 1862 due to a misunderstanding. The Rajah, along with the Supreme Council ordered he forfeit his rank and title in Feb 1863. He returned to England and died in 1868.
Arthur Crookshank (a road in Kuching is named after him)
A cousin of Rajah James Brooke entered service on 1 March 1843. He was in charge of government from June 1847 to Sep 1848 while the Rajah was travelling. He built the first fort at Skrang in 1849. He was part of an expedition led by the Rajah Muda to the Rejang River in April 1851. He nursed the Rajah back to health when the Rajah had smallpox. He was part of the expedition against Rentap in 1854.
Crookshank was badly wounded during the Chinese insurrection in 1857 and his wife was left for dead on the grass near his house. She was rescued by Bishop McDougall and recovered with his care.
The insurrectionism broke out on Tuesday night 18 February. After an anxious four days in Kuching, the Bishop was able to secure a boat. Early on Sunday morning, his party including Mrs. Crookshank, escaped downriver to Jenang where Mrs. McDougall and others had proceeded two days before. That day, the rebels again attacked in force and the party of Europeans including the Rajah, the Bishop and Crookshank retreated down the river to Jernang leaving Kuching in flames. The Rajah sent them on to Lingga where they remained for four weeks.
The Rajah remained in Jenang where, providently, the Borneo Company Steamer, Sir James Brooke from Singapore arrived the same day. The Rajah joined the steamer and proceeded back up to Kuching where with a few rounds of shot Kuching was retaken. At the same time, The Tuan Mudah arrived with a force of Dayaks from Batang Lupar. A massacre ensued as the Dayaks hunted the Chinese up to the Dutch border, taking several hundred heads.
Crookshank left the service soon after in 1857 and returned to England. His wife and he fully recovered and Crookshank rejoined the service in 1860 and became head of the police. He became Secretary to the State Council on 1 January 1862. He was present at the death of James Brooke in England on 11 June 1868. He retired on a pension in May 1873 and died on 15 February 1891. His wife followed him to the grave on 16 February 1912, 55 years after the insurrection.
James Brooke Cruickshank
He was called “Fitz” to avoid confusion with the above Crookshank. He entered the Rajahs service at 16 on February 1856. He became an assistant resident at Sadong in 1857. He helped the Tuan Mudah build the first Fort at Betong and was left in charge in May 1858. He joined the Sadok expedition against Saji in 1862. He became a resident in 1863. He was part of the Kayan expedition with the Tuan Mudah in June of 1863. He became a resident of Matu in June of 1866. He was part of the Council of Negri on 8 Sep 1867. He was transferred for duty at Sibu in 1868 and then at Simanggang in January 1869.
He left for England on leave from May 1870-1872. He became a resident of the third division on 1 June 1873. He built the fort at Balleh in 1874. Chaired a Committee of Administration from September 1873 to June 1875. He then became a resident 1st class of the 2nd division in July 1875. He retired on pension on 1 August 1875 but reneter the service as Resident of Baram but retired again due to ill health on 1 April 1885. Died in Edinburgh on 15 September 1894.
Dr John Cruickshank
He was a medical officer and father of James Brooke Cruickshank(see above) from 1860 to his resignation in 1862.
Charles Adair Crymble
Treasurer of Sarawak. He accompanied the Rajah Muda in Rejang in 1851. He was in charge of the Kucing Fort in 1852. He was Treasurer at the time of the Chinese insurrection in 1857.
Charles Grant
He came out as a midshipman aboard the Maeander when the ship brought out James Brooke as the newly appointed Governor of Labuan. He was appointed Private Secretary to the Rajah in Sep 1848. He took over Lundu from the Tuan Mudah in June 1853. At the time of the Chinese Insurrection in 1857, he was in charge of the Fort at Belidah, below Siniawan on the left bank of the Sarawak River. He retired in 1863. His sister Annie married Capt. Brooke, the Rajah Muda died in Kuching in December 1858.
Joseph Middleton: Sarawak’s first policeman and the death of his sons
He arrived with James Brooke as a boy aboard the Royalist in 1838. In 1852 he was referred to as Constable but was unknown when he was appointed. He was present at the Chinese Insurrection where his two children were killed and his wife narrowly escaped death. Mrs McDougall relates how on the afternoon of 1857 they went out for a walk along the only riding road. ” The Rajah spoke to the school children and we all amused ourselves with the little Middletons boys who were four or five years old at the time, strutting along with turbanned hats and long walking sticks. It was a dull evening and felt gloomy. That night soon after midnight the two little boys were brutally murdered. Kuching was in the hand of the rebels, the European House in flames and the Rajah a fugitive.” Joseph Middleton was still on the roll as a Constable in 1862 and presumably so until his death in 1866.
Nigel Batty- Smith Sarawak: The Rajahs Officers 1841-1946 Wiltshire, 1999
BorneoHistory.net
