The Helms Letters
Ludvig Verner Helms, a young Dane of 26, was hired to take up an appointment in Kuching as an agent of the London firm Messers. R&J Henderson had a concession for working the antimony mines. Four years later, he became the Borneo Company LTD manager on its formation in 1856. The Company was comprised of commercial and non-commercial friends of the Rajah. The concern embraced trade, mining and agriculture. The Company never lost sight of dividends.
He remained in Sarawak until 1872, and in 1882, he published his memoirs under the title of Pioneering in the Far East. He spent his later years in England, and he died in London in 1918 at the age of 93.
Helms signed an agreement with the Borneo Company in 1856 where one-third of the profits of the Sarawak Branch should be his. “He was entrusted with the tough job of trying to turn failure into success.”
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The following two notes provide background for the letters. Tom
Malay Rebellion
The principal cause of trouble with the Company had been a plot with two intriguing Malay chiefs, Sherif Musahore(sic) and Datu Haji Guffur (sic), who in the past had been punished by the Rajah for rebellion and then pardoned. These two had seized their opportunity to conspire against the government to kill all the Europeans. After the 1859 revolt by the Bau Chinese, the Sarawak government was impoverished, and the Borneo Company had its prospects blighted.
The Mukah River Incident
Sarawak traders bought sago for shipment from Kuching to Singapore for many years. As they were called then, the sago rivers were the Mukah, Oya, Igan Matu and Nipa. The traders complained in 1860 that the Brunei Chiefs began to attack the ships and extract heavy duties. St John pointed out that the Sarawak traders had expected a monopoly on trade similar to that of Sarawak but was not expected from coastal Brunei. There was also a feud between two Brunei nobles in the Mukah river.
In 1857 Rajah Brooke received permission to try and settle the trouble. Captain Brooke in 1858 and Charles Johnson in 1859 levied fines against the subjects of the Sultan of Mukah. The fines were not turned over to the government of Brunei but to the Rajah Brooke. The Sultan of Brunei took this as an insult. In the summer of 1860, the Sarawak traders were denied entrance to the Mukah river and the Sarawak flag was fired upon. Captain Brooke and Charles Johnson went for a showdown. The river chiefs were acting under the influence Musahor a Brunei pengeran who had instigated the murder of two Sarawak officials in 1859.
George Edwardes thought Captain Brooke was wrong in attacking the subjects of Brunei in Brunei territory. He felt it was his duty to restrain the British subjects of Sarawak. Edwardes knew that the Brookes were imperilling the colony of Labuan.
With the blessing of the Sarawak Sultan, Edwardes went to Mukah and told the Sarawak forces to withdraw. They did so under protest. The sentiment of the British people to the east was overwhelmingly against Edwardes actions. The result was that Edwardes was relieved of his post as Governor of Labuan and the Sultan ceded the sago rivers to Sarawak.
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Letters
In a letter dated 6 July 1860, Hans states that he repaired the buildings, piers etc. of the Company, which his predecessor had left in ruins. He describes opening a tramroad to our antimony mines in at Bureau. “The antimony trade is very flourishing. I am now loading the third ship for England. The antimony veins look rich, and the high prices in England are mentioned. We have five or six cargoes afloat, and all are sold to arrive. We have found some other ore in connection with antimony, which may be more valuable. I believe I had told you that having found nickel and copper in other parts of the country. Our machinery for sago roasting is expected here in two months.
I am looking forward to testing it out.’ (It seems Helms would collect the raw sago and process it into flour in Borneo)
Another letter, 28 July 1860, describes the difficulty that Helms had to deal with on his return to Europe. The neglect of the Sarawak Branch of the Company has given rise to officers in Singapore that it (the Company) is not worth bothering about.
A letter on 23 August 1860 to the directors of the Borneo Company stated that because of rebellion in Mukah and other perceived plots, the trade of the Company had been destroyed.
In a letter to John Harvey dated 23 August, “The stupid inference of Governor Edwardes in the Muka quarrel has stopped our sago trade. Sarawak’s life and death question are whether Sherif Musahore is crushed and the Muka trade restored.
The Sago machinery had arrived but the Muhah war had prevented its use. He blames Governor Edwardes for destroying the sago trade and hopes the British government “will set us right”.
Letter 30 September 1860
“We discharged some machinery from the ship Rival . The natives were much astonished at our big boiler and much pleased as they take as a sign that the Company would go ahead. For the sago machinery, there are somewhat gloomy prospects, however, for it will take four months to put it up.”
12 September 1860 Letter
I expect to make a large trade in coconut oil, vegetable tallow and other kinds. Today much of the prosperity of Sarawak depends on oil wells, but no mineral oil has yet to be found….Hopefully, our sago trade will be restored next year…Our Nakodas (captains of boats that transport goods) understand that they must wait until then and behave well. Numbers of people have come in from Redjang and other rivers where hostile parties have burned many villages…Tapioca planting is increasing rapidly, and India Rubber which we have never been able to get before, is now beginning to come forward. He blames Edwardes for the sole role of destroying Sarawak prestige and trade on the coast for the benefit of Labuan
….after a few days, he continues that the Singapore traders are established in Labuan at the expense of the Sarawak traders.
25 September 1860 letter
Two Dyaks (he does not differentiate between Iban and Bidayuh)have asked for two Europeans and some Sarawak Malays to come and live in Kanowit. They find trade more profitable than war. Several trading boats have gone there to buy paddy, abundant but scarce here. He continues,” our roads are to be extended to Panminjan and thence towards the Rock.” (I am not sure if he meant the Company or the Rajahs roads)
29 September 1860
As a consequence of the request of some of the Chinese and Malays, I availed myself of visiting Mukah and reopening trade with Sarawak.
1 November 1860
Helms is now aboard HMS Victoria, heading for Muka. Onboard with him are six Nacodahs and a Mr Crookshank. The Mukah people he found were busy at the mouth of the river and took no notice. When we got halfway to the town, we ran into large boats of men erecting stockades and ships filled with men loading guns. Upon arrival at Pangeran Dipah’s house, which was filled with “savages”,.
Writing later, he said Diptah was willing to receive Sarawak traders but was clear that he is under pressure from Sheriff Musahore and his followers…and if a Sarawak force was to appear, they would probably join to a man the Sarawak cause.The boat of the Brunei Orang Kayadi Gadong was lying at Muka, deeply laden with brass, guns and two pikuls(unit of measure) of gold ornaments squeezed from the Oya and Muka people…I (Helms) have two letters from Dipah…and no Sarawak traders will risk going to Mukah…and Sheriff Musahore must be driven out, and if the British government would tell Edwardes to mind his own business…
Written on board HMS Victoria (undated)
Helms asks that Edwardes remove Sheriff Musahore …Edwardes answers that his highness (Brunei) wants to keep trade open on the rivers, but he (Edwardes)cannot press his highness on the individual problems of Sarawak traders.
The article with the letters ends here.
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The book “Pioneering in the Far East” by Ludvig Helms has sections on Sarawak that describe the Chinese Rebellion of 1857 and the dispute between the Brookes. Care must be taken about his references to the native population. See pages 123-195 and 204-256. It can be downloaded free from Google Books.
Footnote to Sarawak 1859 Estelle Gardner Sarawak Museum Journal 1963