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The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 110, December, 1866 - A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and Politics by Various
page 64 of 279 (22%)
natives great sums, and receiving from England large salaries as Consul
at Borneo and as Governor of Labuan. It has been asserted that he has
been guilty of wholesale slaughter of the innocent, interfering with
tribal wars under the pretence of extirpating piracy. None of these
charges have been sustained. On the contrary, it has been conclusively
shown that he has sunk more than £20,000 of his private fortune in this
enterprise. The piracy, so mildly called intertribal war, is undoubtedly
robbery, both on the sea and on the land, and conducted with all fitting
accompaniments of cruelty and bloodshed. This persecution has not been
borne by its object with much patience, and, indeed, like Rob Roy's
Highlander, "he does not seem to be famous for that gude gift." "I am no
tame lion to be cowed by a pack of hounds. These intertribal wars are
such as the wolf wages against the lamb. I should like to ask the most
peaceable man in England what he would do if a horde of bandits
frequently burst forth from Brest and Cherbourg, ravaging the shores of
the Channel, and carrying women and children into captivity, with the
heads of their decapitated husbands and fathers? Would he preach? Would
he preach when he saw his daughter dishonored and his son murdered? And
then would he proclaim his shame and cowardice among men? What do some
gentlemen expect? They particularly desire to suppress piracy. 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
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