At any rate, he who observes
how, at apparently insignificant stations,--on little islands, on a
marshy peninsula,--mere dots on the map,--England has established her
commercial depots,--at Hong-Kong in the north, at Labuan in the centre,
and at Singapore in the south,--will gain new respect for the sagacity
which in the councils of the mother country always lurks behind the
red-tapism of which we hear so much.
* * * * *
After an absence of nine years, Rajah Brooke revisited England in the
year 1847. He was the hero of the hour. Every honor was showered upon
him. He was invited to visit Windsor Castle, received the freedom of
London, and then or soon after was knighted. Owing to his
representations of the readiness of the Dyaks to receive instruction, a
meeting was held in London, at which funds were obtained to build a
church and school-houses. Two missionaries and their families were sent
to Sarawak. The buildings were erected long since, and these Christian
means are in full activity. Brooke's language upon the proper
qualifications of a missionary exhibits in a striking light his
straightforward resolution and enlarged liberality. "Above all things, I
beg of you to save us from such a one as some of the committee desire to
see at Sarawak.
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