The “Despatch” referred to in his letter to James Young was addressed by Raffles to John Adam, Political Secretary to the Governor-General, and dated 13 February 1819, the day he arrived back at Pinang from Singapore. Despite its historical importance in recording his official account of the founding of Singapore, including an interesting reference to a small Chinese resident population on the island engaged in gambier cultivation and the smelting of tin ore, the despatch has escaped general notice. Given its date and length, one must assume that Raffles drafted the despatch during his voyage along the Straits of Melaka in the Indiana, although because of stylistic imperfections it is perhaps more likely that it was dictated to someone travelling with him or to a clerk after he arrived at Pinang. The original despatch may survive in the Government records in India, but the present transcription is from the copy in the British Library sent from Calcutta to London in 1819:123
Letter 8
Raffles to Adam
13 February 1819
To J. Adam, Esqr.
Chief Secy. Supreme Govt. – Fort William
Sir,
On the 19th ultimo, I had the honor to advise you of the circumstances under which I was enabled to accompany Major Farquhar, in prosecution of ulterior objects of my Mission. –
2d. I have now the satisfaction to report, for the information of the Most Noble the Governor General in Council, that those objects have been fully and substantially accomplished; & that a British Station commanding the Southern entrance of the Straits of Malacca, and combining extraordinary local advantages with a peculiarly admirable Geographical position, has been established at Singapore the ancient Capital of the Kings of Johor, on terms and conditions, which I trust will meet the approbation and confirmation of His Lordship in Council.
3d. In my dispatch under the date the 16th. ulto. I expressed an opinion that altho’ the occupation of Rhio by the Dutch might exclude us from that Port, yet there was still a prospect under the additional Instructions which I had the honor to receive from you under date the 7th. [sic] Decr., of obtaining our object at Johore – With this impression I was desirous, previously to any further communication with Rhio or any other of the Malay States, to ascertain the situation, which on a comparative view of all the material considerations and circumstances belonging to it, possessed the greatest local capabilities and advantages for our proposed Establishment – The Carimons having been recommended by Major Farquhar, and Capt. Ross having undertaken a general survey of them, I thought it advisable, as they lay in the route to Johore and Rhio, to proceed in the first instance to these Islands –
4th. Geographically the Carimons seem to be well situated for giving to a strong Naval Power the Command of the Straits during War; but they are yet uninhabited, and are covered with an almost impenetrable forest – The Northern part of the larger Island is mountainous, but to the Southward, a portion comprehending at least three fourths of its extent, it is low and apparently swampy – The only harbour the Carimons possess is formed to the North East, by the position of the lesser Island, and altho’ there is a sufficient depth of water on one side of this harbour to enable Ships to approach the Shore in the event of their finding it necessary to seek protection from a battery, yet when this advantage is afforded, the mountains rise abruptly from the Sea, and the Settlement must necessarily be established at a considerable distance, where level land may be found – the nature of this land is such as to justify a doubt of its salubrity, and on the whole, the position did not appear to me to be sufficiently inviting to be made our Chief object of attainment; the uncertainties & difficulties attendant on the first clearing of a primitive forest, & the establishment of a distance Colony in an unknown & unfrequented Island, surrounded and out flanked by the commanding Stations of our Rivals at Banca, Rhio & Malacca, would have demanded countervailing advantages which are not possessed by the Carimons, & it appeared to me that the views & wishes of His Lordship in Council would be more adequately fulfilled by our Establishment in a Situation which had previously acquired a name, where Commerce and population had already resorted, & where in alliance with the Native Authorities and on terms of friendship with the people we might hope to obtain all the advantages of a Military and Commercial Station without incurring the uncertain hazard and the certain expense which the Colonization of a new Country necessarily involves. –
5th. I accordingly proceeded to Singapoor where the Chief Authority of Johore proper and the adjacent Islands was reported to have fixed his Residence – This town which was founded in the 12th Century is situated on the Northern side of the Straits to which as well as to the Islands it has given its name, and at the bottom of a harbour which I believe is unrivalled in these Seas either with reference to its extent or to the Shelter and safety which it affords – The Port of Rhio I have reason to believe will not bear any comparison with it on these points or in the more essential one of Geographical situation, as it lays in the direct route of our China Trade and all other Ships passing through the Straits – In the neighbourhood of the Town there is cleared ground sufficient for the immediate accommodation of our Settlement and Troops – The surface of the Country in the Vicinity and generally throughout the Island is elevated without being Mountainous, the Soil and the Water are excellent and I am justified by the concurrent opinion of all the Naval and Military Officers who accompanied the Mission in reporting it to be a Station admirably adapted in every essential circumstance for our proposed Establishment. –
6th. On my arrival off the Town a deputation came on board with Compliments and congratulations of the Chief Native authority and a request to know the object of my visit – Having enquired whether there was any Dutch Settlement, or flag here or at Johore and whether the Dutch had by any means attempted to exercise an influence or authority over these ports, they replied that Johore [L]ama or old Johore had long been deserted; that the Chief authority over it and all the adjacent Islands, (excepting those of Lingin and Rhio) now resided at the ancient Capital of Singapore where no attempt had been made to establish the Dutch Power and where no Dutch Flag would be received – After this explanation I stated my intention of visiting the Chief in the course of the Evening when the object of my visit would probably be more fully explained. –
7th. On landing I was received by His Highness with every mark of personal attention, and every demonstration of respect and attachment to the British Govt. – The principal object of my visit being to obtain information on the present political State of Johore, the relative condition and power of its princes and the connection existing between the different States of the Empire, I found means to lead to these points, and obtained the following intelligence in reply to my enquiries which has since been confirmed by universal testimony and which combined with the information I previously possessed on it, will I hope place the subject in a clear point of view. –
8th. The Kings of Johore trace their descent through a line of Twenty-five Sovereigns commencing from the first Hind[u] Prince who established himself at Singapoor in the year 1160; after various vicissitudes in consequence of which they removed the Seat of their Government first to Malacca and subsequently to Johore, they were ultimately obliged by an invasion from Menangkabow to abandon Johore, in the early part of the last Century. – The Sultan fled to Pahang where he died, but his Bandahara or first Officer of State proceeded to Malacca and other places on the Coast where he engaged several Bugguese Chiefs in the Service of the King – with these auxiliaries the Bandahara sailed for Rhio, where after some time the Heir of the deceased was proclaimed Sovereign of Johore – This Prince in reward of the services eventually rendered him by the Bugguese (Natives of Celebes) ordained and determined that the Rajah Moodah or Vizier of Rhio should always be a Prince of Bugguese extraction, and should be charged with authority over all the Bugguese and other Traders resorting to it – The Sultan himself generally resided at Rhio or Lingin and exercised a general control over the States of the Empire, which with those already mentioned, comprehended also the separate Government or rather Kingdoms of Pahang and Johore. –
9th. Conformable to the long established usage of the Empire, founded perhaps originally on the natural divisions of the States composing it, the great Council of Johore was constituted as follows. –
First – The Eldest Son of the reigning Monarch, who was also the legitimate successor to the Throne. –
Second – The Bandahara and Chief of Pahang. –
Third – The Tummungung and Chief of Singapore and Johore proper which comprehended the Island and the Southern extremity of the Peninsula; and
Fourthly – the Indrabongso whose title is now extinct – The Great offices of the Bandahara & Tummungung have never ceased to exist and when the number of the Princes of the Blood has admitted to it have always been filled by the Sons of the Sultan. If on the contrary he had no male offspring, the title of Bandahara was conferred by his pleasure and carried with it the right of succession to the Crown while the other offices were either filled up by his warrant or descended by Inheritance from the previous occupant. –
10th. It may be material to observe that the Rajah Moodah of Rhio had only a local jurisdiction; being necessarily a Bugguese, he had no voice in the Govt. & was particularly excluded from all affairs which had a reference to the political Interest of the Malayan Empire. –
11th. The tranquillity of these States had long been disturbed by the restless ambition of the Dutch Company and the Intrigues of the Bugguese, when on the Establishment of the British at Malacca in 1795, one of His Majesty’s Ships conveyed the legitimate sovereign Sultan Mahummud Shah to Rhio and established him in the independent Government of his dominions from whence he had been in temporary exile – The acknowledgement of his independence by the English, the personal Character and talents of the Sultan and the attachment of the Malays to their ancient constitution and to their legitimate Sovereign soon reorganized the Empire and consolidated the power of this Prince whose reign was in general tranquil and prosperous – He died about six years ago universally respected, and according to the Constitution and Custom of the State he previously declared and installed his Eldest Son Tuankoo Loong as his Successor to the Throne of the Empire – This Prince has since assumed the title of Sultan Hussain Mahummud Shah. –
12th. The death of the late Sultan unfortunately took place at a period when his Successor was absent from the Seat of Govt., on a visit to his relation the Bandahara at Pahang; between this place and Lingin communication can only be held in the favourable Monsoon, and nearly a year had elapsed from the father’s death, before his Son arrived to take possession of his hereditary rights, and to assume his legitimate authority. During the interregnum however the Chieftains who possessed the local authority both at Lingin and at Rhio had found means to extend their influence and to throw obstacles in the way of the regular Succession, which either by subverting the constitution or dismembering the Empire, would tend to perpetuate their independent power – The Heir to the Throne was poor and had no means of assembling a Force to support his rightful claim while the Bugguese Chief of Rhio was rich and surrounded by his Tribe. – Under the pretence of waiting until all the distant Chiefs were assembled the installation of the new Sultan was deferred sine die and a small part of the Port duties of Rhio was assigned for his subsistence. The Second Son of the late Sultan who is understood to be of an easy disposition and of weak intellect continued in the meantime in the nominal exercise of authority at Lingin and it ultimately accorded with the policy of the Bugguese Chief at Rhio to consider this person as his immediate Superior; the empty allegiance and honors necessary to a chief of his own creation being more easily rendered than the substantial rights of the legitimate Sovereign to the established portion of the Revenues of Rhio and to the undivided authority of the States. –
13th. Affairs remained in this State for about four years antecedent to the Mission of Major Farquhar to Rhio and Lingin – The Govt. was considered to be in an unsettled State and was in fact so anomalous that while the Chief of Rhio held from the rightful Sultan the exercise of his authority at these Islands the justice of his Claims were universally and unequivocally acknowledged and a certain portion of the Revenues were set apart [?] of his duty to enter into the local politics of the Govt., but it is to be remarked that when he addressed the person called Sultan by the only title of Sultan known to us, that Chief distinctly stated to him that he was not Sultan of Johore, & requested Major Farquhar would not address him by that Title – If after this any doubt remained on the Subject, the Document given by this Chief to Major Farquhar and transmitted by him to the Government of Prince of Wales’s Island would be conclusive of the Question – It is declarity [sic] of the authority which had been assumed by the Rajah Moodah – it is not attested by the Seal of the Sultan of Johore, and it expressly states that the Rajah of Lingin had never at any period asserted or assumed the Sovereign power, the words of the translation are “I have never from the first to the present time been in the habit of discussing or settling any State Affairs” and again “no matters of business have ever yet appertained to me”. –
14th. The Treaty which Major Farquhar as Agent to the Penang Govt. entered into at Rhio, and which is attested by the Seal of the Rajah Moodah as Vizier of Rhio was, it is true, executed by the parties, in the name of Abdul Rahman Sultan of Johore, Pahang, Rhio and Lingin. The introduction of this title was probably a designed stroke of policy on the one part, and the admission of it was perhaps inconsiderate on the other; but if, under any circumstances, a mistake of this nature could affect the just rights of the Constitutional Chief, or be considered as an acknowledgement by our Govt. of an usurped authority, that consequence would in the present instance, be happily obviated, by Abdul Rahman’s previous abrogation of the title so gratuitously conferred upon him. –
15th. During the period which intervened between the conclusion of this Treaty and my return to these Seas[,] [t]he Dutch arrived at Rhio & demanded the renewal of their ancient but now obsolete rights – This was firmly and positively refused, and they then brought forward proposals for a new Treaty. For several weeks their admission into Rhio on any terms was vigorously opposed, but at length the blockade of the Port by a line of Battle Ship[s] and Frigate[s] and his apprehension from the powerful military force on board the Netherlands Squadron, prevailed over the wishes and the opposition of the Rajah, who was finally obliged to admit them into Rhio and to enter into such terms as they were pleased to dictate – The Dutch authorities now endeavoured to assemble the Chiefs of Lingin[,] Pahang, and Singapore, but of these the latter only attended the Convocation, and he boldly opposed their establishment at Rhio on the terms of the treaty by which the long established and lucrative right of himself and other Chiefs to a participation in the Commercial Revenues of Rhio was usurped & appropriated by the two contracting parties. – His remonstrances were of course unavailing nor did he deny the right of the Rajah Moodah to make such arrangements with regard to Rhio as suited his present circumstances however inconsistent they might be with his former engagements – he however declared that he would never for himself or the absent Chief of Pahang submit to any terms which could compromise the independent authority which they exercised in their respective States, until the legitimate Sultan assumed the general Government of the Empire [nor] would he ever admit the Settlement of the Dutch nor the interference of their Ally the Rajah Moodah in his own Territories. –
16th. Subsequently to this declaration the Tummungung was requested by the Dutch authorities to affix his Seal to the Treaty which they had concluded with Rhio as a mark of his friendship and good will towards their Nation – To this application the Tummungung replied that he was desirous of always remaining on terms of amity with the Subjects of His Netherlands Majesty with whose Power he was well acquainted – he had however been always more intimately connected with the English, and provided a compliance with the request did not tend to interrupt that intercourse and could not be considered to commit him with regard to that Nation or to his own Sovereign he could have no objection to attest the deed which they had executed and he accordingly affixed his Seal to it in compliance with their request – He did not however consider himself by any means a party to the Treaty in question. His Name and that of Singapore is not mentioned in it to his knowledge, he did not then nor has he since received any Copy nor has he had any communication verbal or written from the Dutch regarding it.
17th. The legitimate Sultan of Johore was at this period in the Straits but it did not [accord] with the Interests of the Rajah Moodah to invite him to the conference and on the other hand this Prince was probably satisfied with the opportunity thus afforded him of preserving his independence of Dutch Authority. –
18th. The person whom I found in the exercise of Sovereign power at Singapore and its dependencies is the Tummungung to whose spirited and independent conduct in support of the rights of his State and of his Sovereign I have already adverted – The division of the Empire under his authority descended to him from his ancestors and he holds his warrant from Sultan Mahummud Shah to govern the lands of Singapore and its Dependencies with the title of Sree Maharajah Datoo Tummungung – On the death of Mahummud Shah, he was at Rhio where he remained for above a year after that event in the hope of assisting in the Instalment of the Successor; but finding his hopes disappointed and that measure retarded by the intrigues of the Bugguese, he quitted Rhio in disgust and returned to his Govt. at Singapore where in concert with the Rajah of Pahang he still continues to hold out hopes to the Sultan Hussein Mahummud Shah of extending his rule over the other States – Thus the only two duly constituted authorities of the Empire who have a voice in the affairs of Govt., the Bandahara & the Tummungung, are decidedly favourable to the legitimate Sovereign and a local intrigue of the Vizier of Rhio who can never himself aspire to the Crown, is all that impeded his succession to the inheritance of his ancestors transmitted to him through a line of twenty-five Monarchs and through a period of Six Centuries. –
19th. It is proper to observe that from the period of the late Sultan’s demise until the Establishment of the Dutch at Rhio an argument subsisted between the Chiefs of the separate States by which the Division of the Revenues arising from the Port Duties at Rhio, that is to say the principal productive source of Revenue now existing, was regulated in certain proportions. – In their Treaty with the Rajah Mooda the Dutch overlooked this circumstance and by appropriating a moiety to themselves & another to the local Chief have disunited all the previously existing relations –
20th. Finding that the object of my Mission might be adequately obtained at Singapore in the event of any circumstance of difficulty at Rhio which the occupation of that Island by the Dutch rendered extremely probable, but desirous nevertheless of effecting that object with every possible degree of delicacy and attention as well to the neighbouring States as to the prejudices and feelings of their Chiefs, I dispatched Major Farquhar to Rhio according to my original intention and with the additional instructions of which I have the honor to enclose a copy for the information of His Lordship in Council – In these instructions the attention and efforts of Major Farquhar were principally directed to conciliating the friendship of the Rajah Moodah and to obtaining his concurrence, however unnecessary on a general view of the Subject that concurrence may be considered, to our Establishment in the Johore Dominions – Major Farquhar was also particularly directed to avoid all collision with the Dutch Authorities. –
21st. At this stage of my proceedings it appeared to me to be advisable and proper to enter into some terms with the Tummungung by which he might be engaged and secured to our Interests and I have the honor to transmit a copy of Preliminary Articles of agreement which I accordingly entered into with that Chieftain on the 30th. Ulto.,124 by which I obtained his permission to establish a British factory on any part of the Dominions subject to his Authority – My object being so far secured I deferred the ulterior arrangements until the return of Major Farquhar from R[h]io and the arrival of His Highness the Sultan Hussein Mahummud Shah who was absent from Singapore at this period but whose authority and sanction I considered indepensible [sic] to any definite agreement. –
22nd. The Troops having been landed on Singapore I availed myself of the leisure afforded me by the circumstances which I have already stated to proceed further to the Eastward for the purpose of Surveying the Port of Johor and the Northern side of Singapore as well as for determining on the necessity of placing any small post in either of these Situations – as I found the access to them however to be difficult and as I discovered a very general prejudice to exist among the Natives to any Establishment on the unfortunate site of old Johore[,] which having been three times destroyed had received the malediction of the late Sovereign[,] I did not consider it necessary to persevere in this object. –
23d. On the 1st. Instant His Highness Sultan Hussein Mahummud Shah arrived at Singapore and on the following day he paid me a formal visit, during which I explained to him the object of my Mission – His Highness confirmed the particulars of the intelligence I had previous received from the Tummungung, expressed his entire acquiescence & approbation of the Agreement which that Chief had concluded with us, and requested in return to be taken into the alliance and protection of the English Nation. –
24th. In replying to His Highness’s request and in explaining to him the terms on which we [were] desirous of establishing a permanent Station at Singapore under the sanction of his authority, I was careful to impress on his Highness’s mind our fixed determination to avoid all interference in the political concerns of his Empire and to take no active share in asserting or maintaining his power over any portion of his States: I would nevertheless willingly stipulate to afford to His Highness personal protection from all Enemies while he resided in the vicinity of our Factory and taking these principles for a Basis I informed His Highness that I would be happy to enter with him on the consideration of the articles of a defensive Treaty between His Highness and His Excellency the Most Noble the Governor General. –
25th. On the following day [3 February] Major Farquhar returned from Rhio and delivered to me the accompanying Report of his Mission125 from a perusal of which His Lordship in Council will perceive that the result is as favourable as could be reasonably be [sic] expected, under existing circumstances, without committing and involving the Native Authorities with those of His Netherlands Majesty now established on that Island – while the Vizier regrets his incapacity to fulfill the Commercial agreement into which he entered, he declares his friendship and attachment to our Nation and it is satisfactory to find that the Dutch have received no authority from him supposing him for [a] moment competent to grant it – The Dutch possess no authority by virtue of the new Treaty concluded with him even to exercise any power or to establish any Settlement either at Pahang, Lingin or elsewhere, and in short have no pretension derived even from the Vizier to any other position than that of Rhio –
26th. Under the circumstances I had no hesitation with regard to the propriety of immediately concluding the requisite definitive arrangements for the Establishment of a British Factory at Singapore and having delivered to the Sultan under appropriate Honors the letter containing my Credentials with which I had the honor to be charged by the Most Noble the Governor General, I proceeded to discuss with their Highnesses the Sultan and the Tummungung the terms of the projected Alliance. –
27th. On the 6th Instant a Treaty, of which I have the honor to transmit one of the original Copies in the Malayan and English Languages[,]126 was executed in Triplicate by their Highnesses and by me in the capacity of Agent to the Govr. General – The British Flag was hoisted at the same time on Singapore under a Royal Salute from our Garrison, from all the Shipping and from the Tummungung’s Battery. –
28th. As the Provisions of this Treaty include all those which formed the substance of the preliminary Articles of Agreement, the explanation which it is necessary I should enter into on the Subject of them will [be] common to both – You will observe that after the preamble and the confirmation by the Sultan of the agreement concluded on his part by the Tummungung on the 30th. Ultimo the 2nd. Article of the Treaty proceeds to the Grant on the part of the [East India] Company of a compensation to the Sultan for such advantages as might be lost to him now or hereafter in consequence of the Establishment of our Factory which the 3d. Article authorizes and confirms, or the regulation and command of the Harbour which is ceded to us by the Eighth. –
29th. In determining the amount of this Compensation which I trust will appear to His Lordship in Council to be but a moderate return for the transfer to our Authority of the best port in His Highness’s Dominions, I was influenced partly by a consideration of the reasons which the Article holds out[,] but chiefly by the knowledge that the Sultan was excluded, both by the Vizier’s Cession of half the Revenues of Rhio to the Dutch and by His Highness having entered into a Treaty with us, from all hope of the further payment to him from this Source of the small share which had been assigned for his subsistence and which amounted to about 4,800 Dollars per Annum. –
30th. The allowance of Sp. Drs. 3,000 pr. Annum to the Tummungung appeared to me a fair compensation for the sacrifice to us of his immediate authority over the harbour and as a ground rent for the Post occupied by our Troops and establishment, now placed in the lines which surrounded the ancient Capital, containing a considerable portion of the cleared and consequently most productive land, and on the most commanding situation which the Island affords. In addition to the reasons which I have adduced and which apply to their Highnesses individually, some weight is due to the consideration of their having both deprived themselves by the 5th. Article of their Treaty, of all the advantages which might eventually have been derived from an union or alliance with other Nations. –
31[st]. His Lordship in Council will observe in the conclusion of the 2nd. Article which as well as the 3rd. and 4th. relates to this Subject, the caution with which I have assiduously avoided all occasion of interference in the political relations or affairs of these States which could possibly compromise our tranquillity, by any Collision with the subjects of His Netherlands Majesty, or by any discussions with the Chieftains of the Empire who have assumed an independent Authority – personal protection to their Highnesses or a reciprocally defensive alliance, was a stipulation however of indispensible [sic] necessity to these Chiefs, who are sensible that by an alliance with us they have exposed themselves to the ill offices of our Rivals in peace and to the attacks of our Enemies in War; and every consideration of sound policy of what [was] due to our Character and to the dignity conferred by our Alliance would have forbad me to deny to their Highnesses as long as it suits their convenience or policy to remain in its vicinity, the protection of the Flag which we have pla[c]ed in their Dominions.
32nd. The 6th. and 7th. Articles which relate to the Jurisdiction and to the Administration of Justice and the 8th. and 9th. regarding the regulation of the Port and the duties which may hereafter be derived from it will form the subject of a future communication when the progress of the Settlement may naturally lead to it, and furnish the foundation to which the future edifice is to be adapted. In the meantime I entertain a confident hope that on a Review of the Treaty, His Lordship will be of opinion that while the British Interests have been fully provided for, those of the Native Authorities have been considered with justice and liberality; and that in conformity to my instructions every precaution has been taken for preventing the necessity under any circumstances of involving ourselves in any political question whatever. –
33rd. In order to afford to His Lordship in Council a general idea of the nature of our position at Singapore, I have the satisfaction to forward by [the] Bearer of this Dispatch a regular Survey of the Harbour127 with a description and Instructions for Shipping, executed at my request by Captain Ross of the Honble Company’s Bombay Marine – This Survey is purely Nautical, but it will nevertheless serve to shew the Site of our Establishment, the nature of the Harbour and the general Capacity of the whole for defensive operations – the sketch on a larger Scale which accompanies it,128 the corresponding points of which can be easily found on the general map, is intended to shew the facilities of defence afforded by the nature of the ground contiguous to and forming our principal position. –
34th. The point marked A is [the] apex of a hill rising about 100 feet from the level of the plain which extends itself to a considerable distance to the Northward, and commanding every circumjacent Situation; the ascent is an inclined plane of about 30 degrees from the Sea face, … the whole extent of which could if it were necessary, be strengthened by a wet Ditch constantly supplied from the River which washes its base towards the South – On the top of the Hill there is abundant space for the construction of a small Fort or blockhouse and between the base and the Sea on the lines and ditch which formerly surrounded the Capital of Singapoor inclosing a considerable space cleared and level on which the British Troops are now encamped. –
35th. To the Northward of the point marked B and between it and the Malay Village a Battery under the Command of the Fort or blockhouse and containing 2 or 3 heavy Guns and Mortars might be advantageously constructed to serve as a point d’appui to another Battery on Sandy point; the last of which would have the anchorage for all Vessels of a moderate size within the range of its Guns and would also possess the command of the Inner Bay marked C which both for extent and depth as well as for the conveniences of wood and water is admirably adapted for the reception and shelter of the Native trade – As the ground in the vicinity of this point[,] as well as in general throughout the [h]arbour is soft mud, and as the soundings are inserted in the Chart of the lowest range to which they fall in [?] and spring tides, whips of the greatest burthen might in any future circumstance of necessity find Security under its Guns[.] It is the opinion however of all the professional men whose judgement I have had an opportunity of consulting that a Martillo Tower on Deep Water point would be the most efficient, eligible, and ultimately the cheapest mode which could be adopted for the defence of the harbour – It would require but a few men – it would altogether supersede the necessity of Batteries and the consequence subdivision of the Garrison, whilst it would fully Command and protect within a distance of a few hundred yards an extensive anchorage where the heaviest Vessels would be in the most perfect safety – As their arguments appear to me to be reasonable, I take the liberty of suggesting the proposal to the consideration of His Lordship in Council, and in the Event of its being honoured with His Lordship’s approbation, of recommending that prepared timber and frame work, Guns and traversing Carriages, be forwarded from Bengal by any convenient opportunity – The construction of the Tower will, as soon as the proper materials can be collected, be readily undertaken by Lieutt. Ralfe of Artillery,129 whom I have provisionally appointed Assistant Engineer, under the Superintendence of Major Farquhar. –
36th. With reference to the foregoing observations as well as to the Military force requisite under existing circumstances for the Garrison of Singapore, my judgment has been directed in a great measure by that of Major Farquhar with which it entirely coincides, and I should have had the official expression of that Officer’s professional opinion had not the shortness of the period which intervened between his return from Rhio and my departure, and the numerous avocations by which that period was occupied, deprived him of the means of entering fully into the Subject – I shall hereafter have the honor of supplying this deficiency but in the mean time I am justified by a knowledge of his sentiments in reporting for the information of His Lordship [in] Council that the number and description of Troops mentioned in the Margin [3 Companies Sepoys 30 European Artillery 70 Golundauze] is in our opinion adequate for all probable exigencies – I have accordingly requested the Governor and Council of Prince of Wales’s Island to detach 2 Companies of the 20th Native Regiment in addition to the Company which accompanied me, and have been disembarked at Singapore, to complete the requisite proportion of that description of force – The Artillery and Lascars now at Singapore are also detailed in the Margin [30 E. Artilly 20 Golundauze 10 Lascars] and I beg leave to recommend that fifty Golundauze be embarked from Fort William by an early opportunity to complete the proposed Garrison. –
37[th]. Having determined on the nature and extent of the Military defences to be immediately constructed, my attention was next directed to the formation of the necessary provisional Establishment for conducting the various Civil and Military duties of the Settlement – For the necessary information on this Subject I take the liberty of referring you to the accompanying Copy of the Instructions with which I furnished Major Farquhar previously to my departure, and which I trust will meet the approbation of the Most Noble the Governor General in Council – The establishment which I have provisionally authorized while it ought to ensure an efficient discharge of the duties confided to it, has been limited by a due attention to œconomy and the Public Interests, and the contingent expense attending the construction of Works & Buildings, will I have reason to believe be limited in its amount, and be applied with integrity & ability – It may be necessary to observe that under the circumstances of the moment and of the new Settlement, no Estimate of that expense could possibly be obtained. –
38th. In appointing an assistant to Major Farquhar in the Civil Duties of the Residency, I have availed myself of the Services of Lieutt. Crossley of the European Regt.,130 who has been under the necessity of leaving Bengal on sick certificate[.] This officer held for seven years the most responsible and confidential situations under the late British Government at the Moluccas, and from his knowledge of the Character and language of the Natives, as well as of the duties which he will be required to perform[,] is peculiarly qualified for the Situation – In a new Establishment, where so much depends on the ability, character, and application of the persons employed, and where there are few precedents for the guidance of the Public functionaries in the details of their duties, the Services of such an Officer are peculiarly valuable, and I earnestly hope His Lordship in Council will do me the honor to confirm a nomination, which has been dictated by the strongest sense of what is to the Public Interests. –
39th. I have the honor to transmit an Indent for the Ordnance and Military Stores required for the Batteries and Garrison, which I request may be furnished with the least delay practicable; as well as the Articles of provision necessary for the use of the Troops during a period of one year, for which I have also the honor to transmit an Indent with this letter – As Rice is procurable here on cheaper terms than it can be freighted from Bengal and as I may also have an opportunity of transferring a part of the very large quantity in store at Bencoolen, I have not thought [it] necessary to include it in the Indent; I beg leave however to observe that the Stores at Penang and Bencoolen being an extent too limited to permit the supply of any other articles required by us, and the importance being so great of rendering our Establishment at Singapore respectable and efficient at any early period, I would on no account recommend the modification of the Indent now transmitted, under an expectation of finding means of supplying them to the Eastward – and I hope that it may be found practicable to dispatch them before the failure of the present monsoon, may render the transport tedious and expensive –
40th. As it is my intention after my Services at Acheen can be dispensed with to proceed to Bencoolen by the route of Singapore, an opportunity will be afforded me of making such additional arrangements and of issuing on the spot, such further Instructions to Major Farquhar, as longer experience and more particular local information, may render necessary and proper – In the meantime I trust I shall stand excused in anticipating some of the leading advantages which will in my judgment necessarily result from the permanent Establishment of the British in this quarter, and for pointing out the features and circumstances by which Singapore is peculiarly adapted and recommended for the purposes of such an Establishment. –
41st. The short experience which has been afforded us of the bold and vigorous policy of the Dutch since the restoration to them of our Conquests in these Seas, has been sufficient to demonstrate the spirit of exclusion and encroachment which characterizes and animates their rising power; & the comprehensive and enlightened views of the Governor General in Council have been directed and have foreseen the necessity which was thereby imposed on His Lordship’s Govt. of guarding against the abuse on the part of the Dutch authorities of the generous policy of His Majesty’s Ministers, and of securing the means of protecting our Commercial and political relations before the maturity and consolidation of their arrangements, should have deprived us of the power of averting the evil consequences which might arise from their success. –
42nd. With this view, it was of primary importance to obtain a post which should have a Commanding Geographical position at the Southern entrance of the Straits of Malacca; which should be in the track of our China and Country trade; which should be capable of affording them protection and of supplying their wants; which should possess capabilities of defence by a moderate force; which might give us the means of supporting and extending our Commercial intercourse with the Malay States; and which by contiguity to the Seat of Dutch power, might enable us to watch the march of its policy and if necessary, to counteract its influence. –
43rd. To prove that the position now occupied by our force at Singapore possesses the means, and affords the greatest comparative facilities to the attainment of the important objects contemplated by His Lordship in Council; and to demonstrate, I trust to the satisfaction of His Lordship, that the measures which I have taken to secure it, have been regulated by just and honorable principles, is the object which I shall endeavor to attain in the concluding paragraphs of this letter. –
44th. Owing as much perhaps to the Bankrupt state of the Dutch East India Company, and to its having subsequently been under the immediate authority of our Settlement at Prince of Wales Island – as to the want of a harbour for the protection or convenience of Trade, Malacca has long been on the decline; but the new Establishment at Rhio, and the energy which now animates the Dutch into [sic] would have probably soon raised it to its former importance – a glance at Singapore on the Map, is sufficient to shew that it as completely commands the Straits of Malacca and of Rhio, the last of which is in sight of our Settlement, as it does those which bear its name[.] It is also obvious that while the occupation of it by the British, destroys the Political importance of Malacca, by giving us the power of interrupting at any time its connection with the Chief Govt. and the other Dutch dependencies, it paralyzes all plans, which may have been in progress for the exclusion of our Commerce and influence with the Malayan States – Our Station at Singapore may therefore be considered as an effectual check to the rapid march of the Dutch over the Eastern Archipelago, and whether we may have the power hereafter of extending our Stations or be compelled to confine ourselves to this Factory, the spell is broken, and one independent Port under our Flag may be sufficient to prevent the recurrence of the System of exclusion [and] monopoly which the Dutch once exercised in these Seas, and would willingly re-establish. –
45th. Situated at the very extremity of the Peninsula, all Vessels to and from China via Malacca, are obliged to pass within five miles of our Head Quarters, and generally pass within half a mile of St. Johns, a dependent Islet forming the Western point of the Bay on which I have directed a small post to be fixed, and from whence every ship can be boarded if necessary, the water being smooth at all Seasons – The run between these Islands and the Carimons, which are in sight from it, can be effected in a few hours, and crosses the route which all Vessels from the Northward must necessarily pursue which are bound towards Batavia and the Eastern Islands. –
46th. As a Port for the refreshment & refitment of our Shipping and particularly for that portion of it engaged in the China trade, and [sic] it is requisite for me to refer to the able Survey and Report of Captain Ross131 and to add to it, that excellent water in convenient situations for the supply of Ships, is to be found in several places; and that industrious Chinese are already established in the interior, and may soon be expected to supply vegetables &ca. &ca. equal to the demand. – The Port is plentifully supplied with Fish and Turtle, which are said to be more abundant here than in any other part of the Archipelago. Rice, salt and other necessaries, are always procurable from Siam[,] the Granary of the Malay Tribes in this quarter – Timber abounds on the Island and its vicinity; a large part of the population are already engaged in Building Boats and Vessels, and the Chinese of whom some are already employed in smelting the ore brought from the Tin Mines on the Neighbouring Islands, and others employed as Cultivators or Artificers, may soon be expected to encrease in a number proportionate to the wants and Interests of the Settlement.
47th. The Capability of affording protection to Ships and of their being defended by a moderate force has been already adverted to, and for any further information which may be necessary I beg leave to refer you to the Instructions of Major Farquhar. –
48th. A measure of the nature of that which we have adopted was in some degree necessary to evince to the varied and enterprising population of these Islands, that our Commercial and Political views in this quarter, had not entirely sunk under the vaunted power and encroachment of the Dutch, and to prove to them that we were determined to make a stand against it. – By maintaining our right to a free Commerce with the Malay States and inspiring them with a confidence in the stability of it, we may contemplate its advancement to a much greater extent than has been hitherto enjoyed – Independently of our intercourse with the Tribes of the Archipelago, Singapore may be considered as the principal Entrepot to which the Native Traders of Siam, Cambodia, Champa, Cochin China and China will annually resort. – It is to the Straits of Singapore that their Merchants are always bound in the first instance, and if on their arrival they can find a market for their goods and means of supplying their wants, they will have no possible inducement to proceed to the more distant, unhealthy and expensive Port of Batavia – Siam which is the Granary to the Countries North of the Equator, is rapidly extending the Native Commerce, nearly the whole of which may be expected to enter at Singapore – The passage from China has been made in less than six days and that number is all that is requisite in the favourable Monsoon for the passage from Singapore to Batavia or Acheen while two days are sufficient for a Voyage to Borneo. –
49th. The justice and legitimacy of the title under sanction of which, we have established ourselves at Singapore, may be summed up in a few words, by a short Statement of Facts, none of which can be denied, and is such, as cannot in my judgement be disputed, with any shadow of reason or degree of plausibility – From the detail which is included between the 8th. and 23rd. Paragraphs of this dispatch, I think it will appear evident, that the Sultan of Johore and the Tummungung of Singapore, are competent to the conclusion of a treaty and the transfer to the British of ground sufficient for our Factories – That we are even justified by the example of the Dutch at Rhio, to consider the Tummungung alone, as a competent authority for these purposes – That we have for adequate considerations procured the grant of the Sultan and Tummungung for our Establishment at Singapore – That the Dutch flag has never been planted on that Island – That we are not aware of the existence of any Claims now or heretofore on the part of the Dutch to any authority over Singapore or its Chiefs – That we have the authority of the Rajah Moodah of Rhio, who has lately concluded a treaty with them, for believing that the said treaty relates solely and exclusively to Rhio. – That on the visit [of] Major Farquhar to that Island, it was not concealed from the Dutch that a British force was then at Singapore; and that no intimation of a claim to it on their part or protest against the occupation of it on our’s, was made by their authorities – On a review of the whole I trust it will appear to His Lordship in Council that the Dutch have no just reason to complain, that far from interfering with them at Rhio, we, as soon as we found they were established there, submitted to be excluded from that Port, rather than incur the hazard of any Collision with them; and that if they possess any shadow of a claim on Singapore, it must be founded on some ancient or obsolete treaty by virtue of which, as Sovereigns of the Eastern Seas, they might as reasonably hope to exclude us from the Archipelago altogether. –
Fig. 22
Plan of Singapore Harbour, February 1819, by Captain Daniel Ross.
50th. It is hardly necessary to anticipate the assertion of a Claim so puerile, but I nevertheless take occasion to observe that there is less reason to suppose the States of Johore can be subject to such a claim, than almost any other in the Eastern Seas; as it appears from a Notification addressed to the Sultan of Johore by the Commanders of the British Sea and land forces at the capture of Malacca in 1795, that they had the authority of the Dutch Govt. of Malacca for declaring the Agreement between the Governor General of Batavia and the Sultan of Johore to have ceased, and that the States of the latter were independent. – As a reference to this Document may be desirable I do myself the honor of transmitting a Copy of it enclosed in this letter. –
51st. In conclusion it may be satisfactory to His Lordship in Council to be informed, that no connection having ever existed between the States of Siam and Johore, our establishment at Singapore can have no possible influence on our political relations with the former people, beyond the means which it may ultimately afford us of observing their Character and Cultivating their friendship. –
I have &ca
(signed) T.S. Raffles
Prince of Wales’ Island
13th. Feby. 1819
