petition lately presented to Gov-emuer Ord by the Chinese residents in the Straits Settlements is a curious and instructive document, and one that may well be perused by the British Government. The facts stated are undeniable, and there can be little fault found with the conclusions. The trade of the Straits, and especially of the Chinese residents, who form a large and important section of the community, has dwindled away of late years; and this not from any fault of the traders, or any failure inthe staples of commerce, but because Great Britain has forgotten her duties as a great nation, and as a natural consequence has made shipwreck of her influence. The practical commentary on the Acheen War is worthy of note, and seems to point out that the treaty which took away our right of interfering in Sumatran matters was at least blunder. The Chinese settlers at the Straits are well. known for the energy and readiness with which they have submitted to the institutions of the Colony. The benefits to be derived from the system: of open trading are too palpable not to have had a convineing effect. On all sides, however, the Straits are surrounded by States which, from selfish motives or from incapacity, have set"themselves to place restrictions on trade. Holland, with her narrow and selfish colonial system, blocks the trade with Java and threatens to close Sumatra. Spain, in her antiquated Government at Manila, practically closes the Philippines and the Sooloos. Borneo and the Moluccas are more or less completely under the control of the Dutch, with the same result as in Java. The Malayan peninsula itself, with its rich products, mineral and vegetable, is shut out because Great Britain will afford no protection against the lawless petty chiefs who eat up the country. Johiore and Siam are in point of fact the only spots left where a trade can be carried on; but, though no complaint }is made of these two, the trade can only employ a limited number of bands.
"Tu former times," says the address, "the Governors of the Settlements "were as fathers, and the Rajahs of "each Malay State as their children "the children followed their fathers' "example, but we do not hear now this state of affairs existing.
"If any British subject (or wealthy "merchant, dwelling under and obey-"ing British law), should now, in carrying on commercial relations with "the Chief of a State, be injured, "deceived, or plundered by such a Chief or even the smallest of his head-"men, he can get no redress. Although "a British subject, or obeying British "Jaws, dwelling in these Settlements, "and contributing his share to their "Revenue, if this man complain to "the Government, trusting to get re-"dress for his injury from the Malay "Rajah or headman, the Government "will not interfere, but will tell him: "You went to that country expecting "to obtain large profits, therefore you "must expect great trouble and risk.' "If he should afterwards apply to the "Rajah or petty Chief of the State where holias been plunderedorinjured, "and talk of redress, this Rajah or petty "Chief (knowing that Great Britain "does not protect or foster her lawfully "trading subjects) treats the affair as of "no consequence, and throws the com-"plaint aside as unworthy of his atten-"tion." Now what the Chinese traders say of the Straits, may unfortunately be said of every colony or settlement where British subjects are congregated. Practically no redress is to be had for grievances suffered by a private me dividual, however legitimate may be the enterprise in which he was engaged. The worst, however, of all this, we fear, has not yet arrived. There are still officers of thie old school who take a pride, so far as the tram. mels of the Foreign or Colonial offices permit them, in advancing British interests; but there is a new school growing up, trained in the new ideas of those departments, whose main glory consists, not in advancing the interests of their country, but in th stacles in the way of the individual. such men it is positively a source of Feongratulation that a British subject has been plundered in some tratisaction. The supposed Inngnage of the Straits Governor has been heard before this in China, and the British merchant has had to go unsatisfied away, to gain what redress he was able. It does not need any profound study of international law to perceive the fallacy on which such opinions are founded. There are certain universal rules, the breaking of which places the perpetrator out of the pale of civilisation. We unfortunately have to acknowledge the rights of the Dutch and Spanish Govermuents to exclude as far as they possibly can, our own trade with their ports, because, however oppressive and selfish their laws may be, there is at least a pretence of executing those principles of universal application which guide the relations of man with mau. The laws of the Dutch in Java are of the most arbitrary and selfish character. They are avowedly directed to the aggrandisement of the European State, even at the expense of the Colony. The object is to make the income exceed the expenditure as much as possible, and with this object in view restrictions of every sort are placed on the freedom of trade and intercourse. It is the opium monopoly of India given a general application. Withal this, the internal state of Java is one of compari happiness. The laws are fairly adminis-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.