A Brief Life of Sir Stamford Raffles, the Founder of Singapore

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UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

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Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries A Brief Life of

Sir Stamford Raffles

The Founder of Singapore.

R. D. PRINGLE,

Y. M. C. A. General Secretary for Malaya.

I Preparation.

II Gathering Strength.

III Test and Triumph.

IV The Man behind the Work

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SIR STAMFORD RAFFLES.

Red letter dates in his life.

1781 July 5th Born on board the "Ann" off the island of Jamaica.

1795 Entered the office of the Secretary of the East India Company.

1805 March 8 Appointed Assistant Secretary, Penang.

1805 March 14 Married to Olivia Mariamne Fan- court.

1807 Met Leyden his influential friend. Malay Translator to Government. Promoted Secretary to Government, Penang, at £2000 a year.

1808 Saved Malacca to the British Crown.

1810 June-October With Lord Minto, in Calcutta, planning the attack on Java.

(The true axis of his life.) 1811 Sept. 11 Appointed Lieutenant Governor of Java.

1814 June 4 Appointed first Chairman of Java Auxiliary Bible Society.

Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries 1817 April Issued his History of Java. Knighted by the Prince Regent, in London.

1818 March Arrived Bencoolen, Sumatra, as Lieutenant Governor of Fort Marlborough.

Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries Foreword.

T has been truly said that the Story of the Expansion of England is but the Biography of her greater Sons.

What impulse was it that drove Englishmen to brave stormy and uncharted seas, to endure hunger, thirst and desolation, to invade the strong¬ holds of cruelty and lust—in the noble words of Scripture to be "in perils of water, in perils of robbers, in perils by the heathen in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness?" Henley's ringing words supply a large part of the answer:

" Ever the faith endures

England, my England 1

Take us and break us: we are yours, England my own."

High on the golden roll of England's greatest sons shines the name of Thomas Stamford Raffles. He feared God; he honoured the King; he burned

Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries with a consuming passion for the increase of England's greatness and for the betterment of humanity.

In the hope that its simple pages will increase knowledge of, and inflame reverence for, Raffles and his noble comrades who built the British

Empire, on the part of young people in British Malaya, this book is, by request, sent forth.

R. D. P.

GH1IS

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Chapter I.

PREPARATION.

The tang of the venturer was in Raffles' blood, and the source of it is not far to seek, for was he not born and cradled on his father's ship, off the island of Jamaica (on the fifth day of July 1781), and as a mewling infant rocked to sleep on the heaving bosom of the vast deep? His family was of gentle origin and made its home chiefly in Yorkshire, England. When Stamford made his debut on father Neptune's breast, the family was burdened with neither pelf nor power, so that our hero, after a very modest education, was entered at the tender age of fourteen as a temporary clerk in the Secre¬ tary's office of the East India Company. There he remained for ten years. Raffles, like Napier and the Lawrences of Indian fame, owed much of his indomitable and courageous self-reliance to the fact that very early in life he was thrown into deep waters of the stream of life. Genius loves to mope in solitude: Character prefers to jostle with the crowd. The silver spoon of easy circumstance may just as easily ohoke the boy as feed him. The lad Raffles ate very plain food with a very

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plain spoon, and like Daniel and his friends, flourished amazingly, and gathered strength to do and dare. In the office young Raffles was a strenuous worker, and his hours of leisure were largely given up to study; while the comfort of his parents was the first charge upon his slender resources. At all times of his career he en¬ deavoured to devote a portion of his day to study or reading, and on one occasion he laid it down as a rule for himself that lie should "appropriate eight hours in each day to study, reading, or writing, and that the loss of time on any day should be made up on another. My object in making this memorandum is that I may hold the rule as inviolable as I can, and by frequently recurring to it revive my sleeping energies, should I at any time be inclined to indolence. I should not, however, omit to add that all reading and study on a Sunday is to be confined to the Bible and religious subjects. The Greek and Hebrew, however, as connected, may nevertheless form a part of the study of that day." He was constantly writing to his mother in such terms as these—"If you have any wants or wishes, tell them to me that I may attend to them; you could not confer on me a greater delight than the power of contributing to your happiness and comfort to the extent of my

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Sir Stamford Baffles. 13

means." " God, of His infinite mercy, preserve you, my dearest mother, and grant that we may once more meet in happiness, to part no more. The hope that I may reach England in time to keep up your spirits and give you a new lease of this life, is ever present, and will be my first inducement to turn my steps home¬ ward the moment my public duty admits." Thus, alike by the discipline of intellect and the formation of sterling unselfish character, Raffles was making himself ready for higher and more lucrative employment. It soon came. Early in 1805, when Raffles was twenty-four years 6f age, the East India Company decided to augment its staff in Penang, and on the warm recommendation of the Secretary of the Com¬ pany (Mr. William Ramsay) Raffles was ap¬ pointed Assistant Secretary at the handsome salary of £1,500 a year: (Some increment that from £70). He owed this grand promotion (under God) to his own character, abilities and industry. Having secured a fine position, the saga¬ cious Raffles engaged the assistance of a hand¬ some and gracious lady to enable him to enjoy and fill it to the best advantage. Thus on the 14th of March, 1805, Olivia and Thomas Stam¬ ford were duly declared man and wife by the Rev. A. P. Poston, in the Parish Church of St. George, Bloomsbury, London.

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There was a strong element of romance in Baffles' marriage. In August or September of 1804 a tall, distinguished looking lady, with flashing black Italian eyes, appeared in Baffles' office, in London, to supplicate a grant from the Compassionate Fund, her husband having died in the (Indian) Medical Service of the Com¬ pany. She carried away the sum of twenty-five guineas and the promise of a pension of 1/3 a day. But she carried more—even the heart of Baffles itself! Like Caesar, Olivia came, and saw, and conquered.

Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries Chapter II.

GATHERING STRENGTH.

Raffles (with his bride, and his own eldest sister) in due time arrived in Penang (1805) with the rank of Junior Merchant and the post of Assistant Secretary to Government. He set¬ tled ia a house called "Runnymede," the rent of which was £330 a year, or more than one- fifth of his salary. Captain Travers, who knew him from 1806, says: "It is due to Mr. Raffles to state that he was respected and consulted by every member of the Government. In his offi¬ cial capacity he gave most general satisfaction, whilst the settlers looked up to him for assis¬ tance and advice in every difficulty; and when he afterwards became Chief Secretary the most general satisfaction was evinced throughout the Settlement. Being of a cheerful lively disposi¬ tion, and very fond of society, it was surprising how he was able to entertain so hospitably as he did, and yet labour so much as he was known to do at the time, not only in his official capa¬ city, but in acquiring a general knowledge of the history, government, and local interests of

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the neighbouring states. This he was greatly aided in doing by conversing freely with the Malays, who were constantly visiting Penang at this period. Many of them were often found to be sensible, intelligent men, and greatly pleased to find a person holding Mr. Raffles' situation able and anxious to converse with them in their own language." Raffles had not waited until his foot touched Malayan soil before tackling the language of his new home, but pursued the study of Malay on board the "Ganges" to such good purpose, that when he landed at Penang he had already mastered the grammar. In 1807 he was ap¬ pointed Malay Translator to Government. This was something; but much more was to follow as an indirect result of his mental in¬ dustry. It was his linguistic gifts that threw him into such intimate and affectionate contact with Leyden of Calcutta, when that distinguished and extraordinary man visited Penang in 1805. And it was Leyden who, upon Lord Minto's appointment as Governor-General of Bengal, assiduously and discreetly drew that great Ad¬ ministrator's attention to the stirring qualities of the brilliant young Secretary at Penang. And thus, when in 1810 Minto and Raffles met in Calcutta, it was as those who had long known each other through the good offices of a trusted

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Sie Stamford Raffles. 17

common friend—John Leyden. And through Minto Raffles got his great opportunity in Java. It is interesting also to note, that early facility in the Malay language not only made Leyden Raffles' devoted friend; who, in turn, brought to his side the powerful head of the Bengal Government, Lord Minto; but that ac¬ cording to Raffles' own confession in later years, he had hardly known that Singapore existed had it not been for his studies in Malay. The importance of being ready, of taking time by the forelock and not by the queue, is one of the best lessons to be learned from Raffles' life/ There is always room at the top for the ready man. Had Raffles devoted himself to cards, or even to chess, during his long voyage to Penang, instead of bending his mind to Malay, his career, and with it the history of Singapore, might have been far different from what, happily, it is. Late in 1810, then, after five years' resi¬ dence in Penang, Raffles stands before his noble chief, Lord Minto, in Calcutta. He has a great story to tell the Governor-General about the devices of the Dutch in the Malay Archipelago, and an equally great plan to propose for the confusion of the same. Strange enough, he gathered most of his information and formed most of his convictions thereupon, while absent from Penang on sick leave—under these cir¬ cumstances :—

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The unhealthy climate of Penang, coupled with Raffles' manifold and exacting duties and self-imposed studies, had seriously impaired his health, and in 1808 he was peremtorily ordered to take a sea voyage. He assented, but placated his eager spirit by selecting as the objective of his voyage, Malacca,* "the ancient seat" of Malay power and lore, and the mart of trade, whose vitality had surprised and embarrassed the very administration of which he was a humble member." In 1805 the East India Company had decided to increase the impor¬ tance of Penang and to evacuate Malacca. At this juncture Raffles arrived in Malacca. NSTot approving the abandonment of this ancient town he determined to spend his vacation by looking into the question for himself; and, to cut a long story short, having done so, he so fully convinced the authorities in Calcutta and London, of the error of their ways, that they countermanded their orders for the evacuation of Malacca and retained their hold upon it. Thus during a brief holiday, and while shaken by serious sickness, Rafflles contrived to save Malacca to the British flag. In 1511, the Portuguese took Malacca from the Malays. In 1641, the Dutch took Malacca from the Portuguese, In 1795. the English took Malacca from the Dutch. "The Chinese appear to have emigrated to this place at a very early period, as is evident from the remarks of Albuquerque, when it fell into the hands of the Portuguese in 1511; and the antiquity and extent of their tombs and burial places, which oocupy the base of different hills in the neighbourhood."—Baffles.

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Lord Minto had previously honoured Raffles as a scholar, but now, with his des¬ patches from and about Malacca before him, he was rejoiced to recognise him as a statesman- administrator of high degree. It cannot be doubted that the Court of Directors of the East India Company, in London, were similarly im¬ pressed. Thus again, Raffles bought up the op¬ portunity. He was always ready. In Malacca, Raffles took into his employment several Malay scholars, among them Abdullah bin Abdulkadir, who afterwards became the author of the famous historical reminiscences, the Hikayat Abdullah. The following description of Raffles, taken from the Hikayat Abdullah, is of unusual interest. "Now as to the appearance of Mr. Raffles, I noticed that he was of medium height, neither tall nor short, neither stout nor thin. His fore¬ head was wide, a sign of great power of organ¬ isation; and the front of his head was large, a sign of ability. His hair was light, a sign of courage; his ears were broad, to enable him to hear everything; his eyebrows were strongly marked; he had a cast in his left eye; his nose was thin, the sign of a clever talker; his tongue was persuasive, his mouth large, and his neck of good length. His complexion was not exces¬ sively fair; he had a broad chest, a small waist, and feet of medium size. When he walked, it was with a light stoop. As to his manner, he

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seemed generally to be absorbed in thought. He was extraordinarily courteous, with a plea¬ sant face and word for everyone, of every sta¬ tion, and a wide sympathy for all men. He was generous to the poor. He was very clever in repartee, and whenever he spoke it was always with a smile. He had a great power of getting out the details of long past events, and he never let a matter go till he had got to the bottom of it. He preferred quiet places, and he was for ever writing or reading books. Whenever he was studying or talking, it did not matter who came to his house, he would not see them, till he had finished. I also observed that he did Every¬ thing with method; taking each in its turn, and never jumbling up one with another. I noticed also that in the evening when he had had his tea with his friends, there were always on a large table, pens, ink and paper, and two lighted candles. And when he was tired of walking up and down the room, he would lean right down on the table and shut his eyes like one weary and asleep. Two or three times I thought he was asleep, when suddenly he would start up and write, and then return to his for¬ mer attitude. He would go on like that till eleven or twelve o'clock when he went to bed. That was his daily custom, except when he had friends. When he woke in the morning, he would read what he had written the night be-

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fore, walking backwards and forwards all the time. Out of ten pages which he read, he would give three or four to a clerk to copy into a book; the rest he would tear up and throw away.'' Late in 1810, then, we see Raffles standing before Lord Minto in Calcutta. At that time Britain had no policy for the Archipelago; but a clear and strong one was carried to Calcutta in the brain of Stamford Raffles. It was the stirring Napoleonic era: Holland was in sub¬ jection to France, and her eastern colonies shared that fate. Raffles, primed with irresis¬ tible facts, successfully urged Lord Minto to project an attack upon Java, and he returned to Malacca. As "Agent to the Governor-General with the Malay States," with a commission to pre¬ pare for this warlike expedition (appointed 19th October 1810), he was now independent of the Penang Government, and from his home in Malacca, he assiduously and skilfully set about the necessary preparations for the de¬ scent upon Java. It marks his thoroughness that Raffles brought with him from India guns, clothes, clocks and other attractive European wares to be used as presents for the Malay and Javanese princes whose goodwill it was desir¬ able to secure/ By the collection of vital statistics of the numbers and dispositions of the forces in Java; the island ports, towns and

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22 Sir Stamford Baffles.

fortresses, trade, political and social conditions; by the sending of friendly letters, by native agents, to native princes, and even to the Dutch, Raffles well and truly laid the foundations of the splendid success which crowned the efforts of the troops when they landed at Chilingchipg, near Batavia, on the 4th of August, 1811. He left nothing to chance. Lord Minto personally commanded the expedition—he had joined Raf¬ fles at Malacca—and at the battle of Corneelis, on the 26th of August, 1811, followed by the capture of Samarang on September 18th, the English wrested Java from the French .and added the island to the British Crown.

Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries Chapter III.

TEST AND TRIUMPH.

Lord Minto stayed five weeks in Java, and when he left it, Raffles remained as Lieutenant Governor. To this high and responsible post he was raised, to use Minto's own words, "As an acknowledgment of the services he had rendered, and in consideration of his peculiar fitness for the office." Thus at thirty years of age, and with but six years of Eastern experience, Raffles had reached a commanding position such as our modern civil servants think themselves lucky to secure after twenty years of successful service. Raffles spent four and a half years in supreme charge of Java. The interests of the 6,000,000 of souls thus committed to his care, were paramount. "I will not deny" he writes, that my first view was directed to an amelio¬ ration of the condition of the inhabitants, and that I considered the improvement which it would afford to our finances' rather as the justi¬ fication than as affording the first impress of the change." Raffles had the outline of his

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policy for Java ready to hand. It was no mean or timid one. His spacious mind and imperial eye had previsioned Java as the heart of a magnificent island empire, under the Union Jack, and having the title of the Confederated States. Timidity and lack of imagination in London, sterilised his plans, and as a result of the Congress of Vienna, in 1814, Raffles suffered the agonising mortifications in 1816 of surren¬ dering his office to a successor, whose alone duty it was to transfer the island to the Dutch authorities. To the ardently patriotic Raffles, such an act must have been as a signal for the contraction of England, an order for the"paling of her glory, the first sign of the paralysis of the soul. His departure from Java was viewed with concern and deep regret by Europeans and natives alike. An address signed by 214 per¬ sons, Dutch and native, and followed by a hand¬ some service of plate, was presented to him. Trudall, the Lieutenant Governor who suc¬ ceeded Raffles, asked an old Javanese chief whether the people liked the notion of getting back their old Dutch masters? "Certainly," said the chief, with irony, "Can't you fancy a young and beautiful widow, who has been joined to a harsh and withered old man, but has lost him and is wedded to a liberal and gallant young bridegroom—Can't you fancy how she

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will rejoice when she finds the old man returned to life again and come to claim her." This parabolic statement enshrines a high tribute to Raffles' administration. The scene of the morning of his departure was,a moving one. Boatloads of affectionate people anxious to wish their friend Godspeed filled the roadstead, and the deck of the "Gan¬ ges" on which he sailed was a mass of fruits, flowers and poultry, the offerings of a people who regarded Raffles as the greatest benefactor Java had never known. And why? Because he ruled in the love of God^and for the betterment of the people. His supreme ambition was not to swell the coffers of the great East India Company, but to enrich the lives and ennoble the characters of the com¬ mon folk by securing to them justice, freedom, and restraint from vice. He found the pea¬ santry in a position of degraded and hopeless servitude to half a dozen masters, and he set them free; he crushed with a strong hand the shameful trade in human flesh, and enjoined the Residents "to be watchful that no free Java¬ nese are taken or given in pawn, and that no money be ever advanced on the persons of such people on any pretence whatever.'' He abolish¬ ed torture as an instrument of justice and put down gambling with resistless force. Finan¬ cially, he was a great success. When Raffles

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took over charge of Java, the island, under the Dutch, had barely paid the expenses of adminis¬ tration, the total annual revenue being only £49,000. The French during their five years of supremacy, forced it up by a vicious and precarious system, to £90,000. " Raffles' management increased the revenue to £536,000, by means which relieved the peasantry, abolish¬ ed vexatious dues, and determined responsibil¬ ity; and this while maintaining an army of occupation at the cost of £30,000 a month, and in spite of the loss of the American trade by war with England." (The Lost Possessions of England, pp. 258-259). Raffles suffered two poignant personal sor¬ rows while in Java. First on the 27th of August, 1811, Dr. John C. Leyden, Raffles' devoted and accomplished friend, expired in his arms, in Batavia. It was a terrible blow. Sir Walter Scott, whose dear friend Leyden was, immortalised Leyden, in his '' The Loi'd of the Isles,'' by these lines:— " Scenes sung by him who sings no more! His brief and bright career is o'er, And mute his tuneful strains; Quenched is his lamp of varied lore, That loved the light of song to pour; A distant and a deadly shore Has Leyden's cold remains! " But more terrible still, was the death of Olivia, his dearly loved and accomplished wife.

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She "was seized with a mortal sickness in November, 1814, and was gone almost before her husband realized that danger was near. He called himself, when she had passed away, "A lone and stricken man," and the desolation of his heart was increased by the loss, in quick succession, of the children she had given him. On her tomb Raffles inscribed these lines:—

" Oh thou! Whom ne'er my constant heart, One moment hath forgot, Tho' fate severe hath made us part, I'll still forget thee not." On the homeward voyage, after eleven strenuous years in the East, Raffles was in a state of prostration until the "Ganges" round¬ ed the Cape. He was permitted an interview with Napoleon at St. Helena, and he duly arrived in England on the 11th of July, 1816. He was received as a man of distinction; settled down in London, visited relatives in the pro¬ vinces, discussed affairs with his Directors, completed his History of Java, married Sophia Hull as his second wife, and visited the Con¬ tinent. The Prince Regent, at a levee, ordered the proceedings to stop, thanked Raffles for the pleasure and profit he had derived from the perusal of his book, and conferred upon him, there and then, the honour of knighthood. The Princess Charlotte and her husband, afterwards Leopold of Belgium, favoured Raffles with their

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warm friendship and esteem, and it seems likely that if both had survived, Raffles would have been nominated Governor-General of India, and raised to the peerage. In November, 1817, Raffles sailed to take up his new appointment in Sumatra, as Lieutenant Governor of Fort Marlborough (Bencoolen), and arrived on the 20th of March following. On the voyage, Lady Raffles presented her husband with a beautiful baby girl, to whom among other names was given that of Tanjong- Sejara (the Lily of the Sea). To see Bencoolen was to disapprove of it. It was in Raffles eyes, a tanah mati (sterile spot): Government House he described as "a den of ravenous dogs and polecats." But to sit down and sulk was not Raffles' way. He quietly outlined a policy which in¬ cluded the abolition of slavery, the emancipa¬ tion of the people from the forced cultivation of pepper, the suppression of gambling and cock- fighting. But his imperial mind was not to be satisfied with the administration of Bencoolen: it was soon at work again upon his old passion —the contest with the Dutch for pre-eminence in Eastern seas. The position was that the Dutch possessed the only entrances to the Archipelago—the Straits of Malacca and the Straits of Sunda—and that the British had no proper territory between the Cape of Good

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Hope and China. And not only had the Dutch shut the Eastern ports against us: they had also despatched emissaries all over the Archipelago, to poison the minds of the native chiefs. To such a policy Eaffles had but one reply: Britain must.at all hazard secure control of a command¬ ing station in the Archipelago. Once more he sets foot in Calcutta, aflame with zeal, and primed with information, with the one goal be¬ fore him—the arousal of the Governor General to take prompt effective action to thwart the Dutch. The Marquess of Hastings (late Lord Minto) received him with flattering cordiality and sent him back to the Archipelago with full powers to secure the free passage of the Straits of Malacca. In the closing weeks of the year 1818, he set out, accompanied by Major Farquhar, to found a commanding British Settlement. Banea had been thought of, but the operations of the Dutch made its acquisition impossible; The Carimon Islands were examined, but found unsuitable. Eaffles' own objective was the neighbourhood of Johore, for he writes to his scholar friend Marsden, on December 12th, 1818, "My attention is principally turned to Johore, and you must not be surprised if my next letter to you is dated from the Site of the ancient city of Singapore."

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Accordingly on the 28th of January, 1819, Baffles' little squadron of four vessels cast anchor off St. John's Island, in the harbour of Singapore, and the next morning he landed and hoisted the Union Jack. "When he surveyed the wide roadstead of Singapore, peacefully shel¬ tered by the isles and yet on the highroad to the Far East, he saw at a glance that he had at last attained his heart's desire." He had secured that one free port in the Far Eastern seas that was bound in time to destroy the spell of Dutch monopoly. Singapore had been the ancient maritime capital of the Malays, but was, when Baffles annexed it, a mere village with a handful of ignorant inhabitants. Baffles hoisted the Union Jack on the 29 th of January, 1819, and on the following day he concluded preliminary arrangements with the Sultan of Johore and the Temenggong of Singa¬ pore; and on the 5th of February a definite treaty was signed by Baffles and the two chiefs named, by which, in return for an annual pay¬ ment of $5000 to the former, and $3000 to the latter, those princes ceded the Settlement of Singapore to the English, and pledged them¬ selves to grant no treaty or Settlement to any power, European or American." It is of interest to note that by the diligent research of the late Mr. 0. B, Buckley, the

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original Malay treaty of 30th of January, 1819, was discovered on a Bank Holiday in 1901, among the Johore records. To Buckley and his friends it must have seemed like a voice from the dead. The astonishing prosperity that has marked the whole history of Singapore since Baffles secured it for the British Crown, has amply justified his foresight, as on the other hand, it has branded with vacillation and poli¬ tical blindness the high British authorities who sought to destroy his plans. The Marquis of Hastings withdrew his previous sanction— fortunately too late to he effective; the mem¬ bers of the East India Board were furious; while the ministers of the Crown were "exces¬ sively angry." But, having secured the interests of the Empire in the acquisition of Singapore, Baffles endured with equanimity these vapourings. Baffles was able to carry away, in a very small envelope indeed, all the thanks he got for his statesmanship in saving and consolidating the British interests in Malaya. Baffles' whole connection with Singapore covered a period of rather more than four years —from February 1819, to June 1823. During that quadrennium he not only established the new settlement, but laid, firm, secure, and deep, the foundations of that system and spirit of

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administration which., by the blessing of God, have ensured the permanent and ever growing success of Singapore. Having safely placed its future control in the care of the Supreme Government of India, Raffles, in June 1823, proceeded to Bencoolen to wind up official matters there, prior to going home. Abdullah, his assiduous Malay writer and faithful friend, has left on record the fol¬ lowing fine account of Raffles' personal fare¬ well. "On the day after all his things had been put on board the ship, he sent for me and I went to the room where he used to write. He said, 'Take this letter and keep it carefully with the one I gave you at Malacca. If hereafter any distinguished Englishman comes here, show him the letters and he will befriend you. Moreover, should you work in the Court, show the letters to whoever is then at the head of affairs in Singapore, and you will receive a higher salary than is usually paid to Malays. Do not grieve, for if I live I will surely return to Singapore; but should I die, then good-bye, and I charge you to diligently learn the English language until you know it well. Here is another paper; take it, and when I have gone give it to Mr. Queiros, who will pay you two hundred dollars, which I ask you to accept for me. If I ever return, I want to write several books dealing

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witli the countries in this neighbourhood; in them I will mention your name and the great help you have given me in all Malay matters and everything that was within your knowledge, so that white men may know you and trust you.' I could not speak, but I took the papers while the tears streamed down my face without my being conscious of it. That day to part with Sir Stamford Raffles was to me as the death of my parents. My regret was not because of the benefit I had received, or because of his great¬ ness or attraction; but because of his character and attainments, because every word he said was sincere and reliable, because he never ex¬ alted himself or depreciated others. All these things have remained in my heart till now, and though I have seen many distinguished men, many who were clever, who were rich, who were handsome—for character, for the power of winning affection, for talent and understanding, I have never seen the equal of Sir Stamford Raffles. Though I die and live again, I shall never find his peer When I had received the two letters, Sir Stamford and his lady went down to the sea accompanied by an immense crowd of people of every nationality. I also went with them, and when they reached the ship they went on board. A moment later prepara¬ tions were made to heave up the anchor, and Sir Stamford sent for me. I went into his

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§4 Sir Stamford Baffles.

cabin, and saw that he was wiping the tears from his eyes. He said, 'Go home; you must not grieve, for if I live we shall meet again.' Then Lady Raffles came in and gave me twenty-five dollars, saying, 'This is for your children in Malacca.' When I heard that, my heart was more than ever fired by the thought of their kindness. I thanked her and shook them both by the hand; but I could not restrain my tears, so I hurriedly got into my boat and pulled away. When we had gone some distance I looked back and saw Sir Stamford again gazing from the port. I saluted him and he waved his hand. After some moments the sails filled and the ship moved slowly away." Having happily concluded his business in Bencoolen, Raffles at daylight, February 2nd, 1824, sailed with his wife for England, on board the '' Fame.'' Ere midnight they were all afloat on the ocean in small boats, and their good ship the "Fame" was at the bottom some fifty miles from Bencoolen. A criminally careless steward had gone with a naked light to draw brandy from a cask, and the spirit took fire. By the mercy of God every soul reached Bencoolen, but, saving in life, Raffles' loss was very grie¬ vous. To use his own words:—"The loss I have to regret beyond all, is my paper and drawings—all my notes and observations, with memoirs and collections, sufficient for a full

Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries Sir Stamford Raffles. 35

and ample history, not only of Sumatra, but of Borneo, and almost every other island of note in these seas:—my intended account of the establishment of Singapore, the history of my own administration; Eastern grammars, dic¬ tionaries, and vocabularies, and last but not least, a grand map of Sumatra, on which I had been employed since my arrival here, and on which for the last six months I had bestowed almost my whole undivided attention. This, however, was not all. All my collections in natural history—all my splendid collections of drawings, upwards of two thousand in number —with all the valuable papers and notes of my friends Arnold and Jaek; and to conclude, I will merely notice that there was scarce an unknown animal, bird, beast or fish, or an interesting plant, which we had not on board; a living tapir, a new species of tiger, splendid pheasants, etc., domesticated for the voyage; we were in short in this respect, a perfect Noah's Ark." A painfully severe catastrophe this, to be¬ fall any man on the eve of retiring from the East. Baffles estimated his personal loss at about £30,000, not a penny of it insured. Here again, his indomitable courage leaps forth, for instead of bewailing his cruel fate he immediately, on the very first morning of his return to Bencoolen as a waif of the sea, set to work on a new map and despatched shikaris

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36 Sir Stamford Raffles.

into the jungles to collect fresh specimens of flora and fauna. On the 10th of April, Raffles again set sail, this time in the "Mariner," and after a very stormy passage they arrived safely on the 22nd of August. Raffles was heartily welcomed, and even Canning, who had rated him for over zeal, took him into his confidence. He made hosts of influential friends, some of whom he treated to Chinese snail soup, and soup made from edible birds' nests of Java. At the end of the year Farquhar gave him some uneasiness by a spite¬ ful attack on his work at Singapore, but facts were too strong and Raffles' reputation was un¬ shaken. In May, 1825, he founded the Zoological Society in London and became its first Presi¬ dent. His bust adorns the Lion House, in the Society's Premises at Regents' Park, to-day. But his last days were to be days of storm and cloud. While he was wondering how large a pension the East India Company would give him, in recognition of his services, the Company was preparing a preposterous bill of £22,272 against him, and this was duly presented. He protested against the injustice of this claim, and fought against it while he lived, but on his death,, a few months later, the lean-hearted directors actually allowed the widow, out of her slender resources, to refund the sum of £10,000,

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Let us hope it burned big holes in their pockets. On the 5th of July, 1826, Raffles was found dead of apoplexy at his country seat, High- wood, Middlesex. He was buried in Hendon Parish Church, but no monument was erected to mark .the exact spot where the dust of this great Englishman reposed. However, it is within our recollection that a year or two ago W. G. St. Clair, the late Editor of the Singapore Free Press, actually saw Raffles' coffin exposed during alterations at Hendon Church, and begged hard, but begged in vain, from the present - vicar, that the name plate might be entrusted to him for conveyance to Singapore, there to be placed in the Cathedral, as an object of rare and precious interest to the people of this city. A brass tablet was erected many years ago in the Hendon Church, commemorating Raffles' achievements, and Chantry's bust in our own Raffles Institution, the statue in Westminster Abbey, the statue in Singapore, and the bust in the Zoo, all help to keep alive what indeed can never die while England lives, the name and memory of one of England's greatest sons, —statesman, administrator, naturalist, patriot, and Christian gentleman.

Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries Chapter IV.

THE MAN BEHIND THE WORK.

The fifteenth psalm is the Bible portrait of a true gentleman. "Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle1? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh right¬ eousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart, he that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, not taketh up a reproach against his neighbour, in whose eyes a vile person is contemned, but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, not taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved." Stamford Raffles reached as near to that high standard of life and conduct as any public man of his own or any other generation. From the first hour of his humble stool in the East India office to the day of his proud departure from Singapore, he lived an earnest, upright God-honouring and man-blessing life. He was

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ever learning, ever coming to a knowledge of fresh truth, and ever putting his knowledge at the service of his country, his fellows, and his God. His gift as a naturalist; a linguist, an administrator, a statesman, were of the highest order, and they were enshrined in a character and" personality of the rarest quality. Dutiful and affectionate as a son and brother; faithful and loving as a husband and father; steel-true as a friend; wholly loyal as a subject; just and considerate as a ruler; humble and sincere as a Christian; we may well apply to him the ap¬ preciation that Shakespeare bestowed upon Brutus:

" His life was gentle, and the elements So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up And say to all the world, This was a man." What Clive and Warren Hastings did for India, Baffles did for Britain, in Southern Asia. Self-reliant to a degree, he was yet a man of gracious disposition. Courageous and sanguine he had yet the gift of extraordinary patience: A man of action, full of martial fire, he was yet a close and diligent student of books and human¬ ity. While not what we might call an evan¬ gelical Christian, the fear of God and the love of humanity were ever before his eyes: he was one of those who feel that goodness is more than emotion, and character is greater than creed. His everyday life proclaimed the identity be-

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tween religion and goodness. It was more to liim that the natives of Java should assemble to bless him as he moved to his ship than that portly directors in London should inscribe him in their minutes as a perfect master in filling their coffers. "I never read the Book of Common Prayer through; but apart from that, I will say that I could give my assent and consent to all and everything contained in no book whatever— except one—that is the Bible. That book is perfect: there is nothing false or erroneous in that " Such was Raffles' simple faith in the "Word of God: equally simple was his trust in the Redeemer of the World. That faith he practised in the East by uprightness of charac¬ ter, tenderness of disposition towards the weak and helpless, resolute destruction of habits (such as gambling) which overthrew the charac¬ ter of the people, no matter if their indulgence built up the resources of his Company. Great in heart, and simple of heart, mighty in intel¬ lect but mightier still in character, lover of country, but more ardently still lover of human¬ ity, man of judgment, equity, truth, man of God, we salute thy memory and thank God that, though dead, thou speakest! Raffles' statue by Chantrey stands in the north aisle of Westminster Abbey, and bears the following epitaph:

Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries Sir Stamford Eaffles. 41

To the memory of SIR THOMAS STAMFORD RAFFLES, LL.D., F.R.S.

; Lieut. Governor of Java and First President of the Zoological Society of London, Born 1781—Died 1826. Selected at an early age to conduct the govern¬ ment of the British conquests in the Indian Ocean, By wisdom, vigour, and philanthropy, He j-aised Java to happiness and prosperity Unknown under former Rulers. After the surrender of that island to the Dutch And during his government in Sumatra, He founded an emporium at Singapore, Where, as establishing freedom of person as the right of soil, And freedom of trade as the right of the port, He secured to the British flag The maritime superiority of the Eastern Seas. Ardently attached to science, He laboured successfully to add to the knowledge And enrich the museums of his native land; Promoting the welfare of the people committed to his charge, He sought the good of his country and the glory of God.

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