English brethren, datus, and people all at present within the Court. I am happy in being here in company with you to hail the anniversary of the Rajah's birthday, and to join with you in opening this our new Court-house. I am here to bear testimony to the fostering care which the Rajah has ever taken of his children; we, who in years gone by were not only poor, but sunk under oppression, and heaviness of heart, by his assistance have become rich, and our hearts have waxed light within us under the blessing of freedom. The Rajah is but following out the good work begun by his uncle in our regard many years ago. The Rajah, in succeeding his uncle, has not attempted to suppress, to interfere with, or to decry our religion, therefore I say to you all, follow that religion truly and adhere to its teachings. Whoever there be who shall forget what the Rajah has achieved for him and his, that man is not worthy to be accounted a friend of the Government, but shall be looked upon as an enemy, and whoever becomes an enemy of the constituted Government is an offender also against the faith. How is it possible for any of us, remembering all that the Rajah has done for our advancement, to go against him, or in any way to oppose him. On the contrary, it is our duty—the duty of all of us who subsist under the Government—to praise the Rajah, to pray for long life for him and his, and beyond this to ask that he may be blessed with fortune in his reign, so that we may long live happy, as we are now, under him. It will be advisable here to give some account of the manner in which Sarawak has been and is still governed, in regard to which Sir Spenser St. John, who was out in Borneo, either in Sarawak or Bruni, for thirteen years, wrote in 1899: The Government is a kind of mild despotism, the only government suitable to Asiatics, who look to their chief as the sole depositary of supreme power. The influence of the old Rajah still pervades the whole system, and natives and Europeans work together in perfect harmony.[295] For administrative purposes the country is divided into four Divisions, with a Resident of the 1st Class, or Divisional Resident, in charge of each, but of late years it has been necessary to appoint only Divisional Residents to the 1st Division, the smallest in area, but the most important, as containing the capital; and to the 3rd Division, which extending from Kalaka to Kedurong Point, takes in about half the State, and contains about half the population. The Divisions are divided into Residencies, under charge of Residents of the 2nd Class, with Assistant Residents, and junior officers under them, all under the supervision of the Divisional Residents.