Do they
really imagine that piracy is to be suppressed by argument and
preaching?"
Mr. Brooke's enemies have three times pressed their accusations before
the House of Commons, and three times have been defeated by overwhelming
majorities,--the last vote being 230 to 19. Finally, to end the
controversy, a royal commission was appointed to visit the scene of
these transactions, and upon the spot to decide their merits. The report
of this commission has not reached us, if indeed it has ever been made
public; but the practical results of it are certain. Mr. Brooke has
severed his official connection with the British government by a
resignation of the offices which he held under it; while he retains his
sovereignty at Sarawak, with the undiminished love of his subjects and
an unimpaired influence over the native tribes. There seems to be no
doubt that the intelligent public opinion of England fully sustains him.
And it is safe to predict that with that opinion the final verdict of
history will coincide. That, placed in circumstances of great
difficulty, he may have taken steps not to be squared with the nicest
morality, is possible; for that is what must be said of every man who
has borne the burden of great public responsibility.
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