PIRACY IN THE MALAYAN ARCHIPELAGO.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 204, 4 August 1862, Page 6

PIRACY IN THE MALAYAN ARCHIPELAGO.

c [ j j (From the; Straits Tim>-s, :lrd June.) I i Englishmen are proverbially slow of belief, - | and a residence ia this part of tlieir posscsj sions docs n:>t seem to quicken or sensitise their I appreciation of any perspective cvii. We havo ; long hoard of the continue I presence of pirat j tieal vessels in the Archipelago, anil especially j ; around the coast ot'ljorneo, \\m\ yet we have c I been >c!ow to believe the fact, or, at least, to v ; estimate it in its true colors an i bearing. Tiie i Lanuu pirate has almost h-coiii.- with us a ' memory of the past, lie ha* been associated ~ !in our minds only with the duvs when the lirst - i Rajah Brooke toiled to establish that indee ' pendent Kingdom which, though an anoniaiv c jin Colonial history, is already ibresliauowiii--- --'• j its future greatness. We have b.-en long r»> c | coneiled to a chronic disbelief or disregard of i the evils of tbis species of piracy, and the , | news that reached ns yesterday, and the parti- j c j culars of which we publish to-day, ma}- well y I startle us into serious reflection, - iWe have now evidence beyond doubt tliat, c \in a solitary fleet of six prahus, on the high - road of a great portion ofthe native trade, and c | lurking in the vicinity of European settle- - ! ments, were no Jess than 400 captives, of both s ] sexes and of all ages, picked up in nearly every ' j portion of the Archipelago—some at sea and t ! some on shore, and destined to he consigned , jto endless captivity. There were gathered to- ! gether, in a hon.age of the worst class, the | people of .Singapore, of Java, and of Borneo, j the .simple Diak and the enterprising trader— 1 | the one to wee]) over his home and his family, 1 I and the other to curse the neglect and parslj mony ofthe country that fails to give protecs j tion to the trade that supports it. What the , | effect must be when the cruelties that have been t successfully perpetrated on hoard these six , | prahus, are carried to the ears ofthe timid j people of Fiores, Celebes, and Pontianak, is I not difficult to conjecture. Unsafe ou tiie high road to English'ports, their produce will no longer seek our markets, but rind in some nearer Dutch port a safe though a poorer barter. We give a letter sent to ns by the Rajah Muda, Captain Brooke, which will give our readers authentic details of the engagement of ■ the Rainbow. We cannot top highly commend the promptitude, courage, and ability whicli has been evinced. The appeal whicli h made at the close of this letter is no unrea- ■ sonable one. It is not the interests of Sarawak i alone which demand the co-operation of the j British Government for the suppression of j piracy along the coast of Borneo. The preI nervation and spread ofthe trade of this place require it, our maritime position in these seas j makes it our duty, and more than either of - I these, the laws of humanity peremptorily dej maud it. It is with a sense of duty, then, that jwe recommend the appeal of Captain Brooke |to the notice and consideration of our local j government, and to that of the senior navul 1J officer in this place. Tiie Scout is already

destined to proceed lo Sarawak, and it may be well, before her departure to make every arrangement to render her visit there effective, for the detection nnd seizure ofthe pirates still reported to be on the Borneo Coast.