This account of the present condition of Sarawak I feel to be very meagre, but I have been unable to obtain any information except from the _Gazette_, which, being written for a special purpose, only enters into the minor details required to keep the superior officers informed of what is passing in the interior and at the out-stations. If the old Rajah could see the present state of his adopted country, he would have every reason to be proud of the results of his work, for although it has not become what he hoped—a second Java—it is progressing. As the present Rajah, Sir Charles Brooke, was brought up to his work under the old influences, he has carried out the views and projects of his uncle in a very satisfactory manner, and it is only to be hoped that whenever his son may succeed him he may be thoroughly imbued with those traditions which have secured the success of one of the most striking enterprises of modern times. The old Rajah relied entirely for his position in Borneo on the support of the natives themselves, and the present Rajah does nearly the same.[12] They both had a corps of English officers (civilians) to aid them in governing the country, but the military forces are purely native, and these also constitute the bulk of the civilian employés, from the Datus, those valued members of the Supreme Council, to the humblest policeman. The more one reflects on the subject the more one is disposed to admire the system which has produced a unique Government, the like of which has never been seen before. But whilst we admire the system introduced by the old Rajah, we must not forget those who have so admirably carried it out, at the head of whom is the present Rajah, with his staff of trustworthy assistants. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 12: There are now a few Sikh police.] CHAPTER IX PRESENT CONDITION OF NORTH BORNEO—LOVELY COUNTRY—GOOD HARBOURS ON WEST COAST—FORMATION OF NORTH BORNEO COMPANY—PRINCIPAL SETTLEMENTS—TELEGRAPHIC LINES—THE RAILWAY FROM PADAS—POPULATION—TOBACCO CULTIVATION—GOLD—THE PUBLIC SERVICE—THE POLICE OF NORTH BORNEO—METHODS OF RAISING REVENUE—RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURE—TRADE RETURNS—EXPORTS—INTERFERENCE WITH TRADERS—A GREAT FUTURE FOR NORTH BORNEO To complete the survey of those countries, which, through the policy of Rajah Brooke, were ultimately brought under the influence and protection of England, I must devote a chapter to the British North Borneo Company. There is nothing grander or more lovely than the country which lies between our colony of Labuan and Marudu Bay, on the extreme north of the great island. I have sailed many times along that beautiful coast, and have been lost in admiration at the variety of its scenery, from the soft outline of its well-wooded shores to the succession of ranges of undulating hills which form the background, until all are dwarfed by the magnificent mountain of Kina Balu, which towers above them.