.

1• • ",

Printed for private circulatir)11.

THE.

BURNEY PAPERS.

'.

Vol. IV.

PART 2.

(March 1841 to December 1846.)

Printed by order of the Vajirailii1:l:l National Library.

I
BANGKOK

1913.
 '[ 1 J
(I ndla and Bongal l)olitical 'Dep:lI I m el iL.
lJ.ett ... s Received,
VOl. 28. , To t Ile Hon ol'a..l>Ie thf> Cou rt of Directors
~f the Ea~t Jw li.a Cowpan r •

,Honorable Si rs,

We take U.is 'o pportn ll it,y t.o 'l ;y bt+ort\ your

iHonorable Cou rt ,co pi es of a ,d ispat'Ci l t"l'o m ,t he Go\'-
'ernol' of the Stl'ai·ts <l ll d 'Of Mi li lites I'eeo rrlpd hy the
,Hight HonOl:ahl e t he Governor Gene ral and by M 1',
Amos, wit h e the,.· pape rs 'i ll C(,) I1I H~X-io ll t h'E" l't·\\' il h,
'J'egardill g the case of 'l'alllikoo 1fahon erl Snail (a
'relative o f.t4l>e ;m,. H:Ull't' of Qll eclalt) 11',110 ~70 lft' I:J OJl(W-
"able Goud may l'el;J.It'lUber was 0111:' ot 1;ll e J('adt' I'~ ill
·t he ente rpl'i,ze fOl" rega illing i,possessio ll of thnt. C (llllltl'~r
f rom the Siaa.\8se i n 1838, a lli! who 011 H'le :f ailllr8 ( ~
t hat illsU<l'l'ectiollury 1.1tO l' ('flIe ll t -eS(;upecl tt ll'(l :;'f} p e~lI'>i t o
1}1:tve subseque nt(y ente red Oi l a C:.lt'ee r of prt'datory
'V iolen ce of lt he most at rociotts characlt' r,
2. 'l\.m lla,.oo M~ homed Sl1ad was lCapt'u red ill th<:l
;mollth of Ju ly ,bst year, and anaig ll t'd befo !"e ' th e
S up,'eme COlllI't of Pt3l1 m~g Oil It charge of pi ,r aey (;0 111-
:l.llitted on a -vessel belo llg il~g to a SH bj t'ct of mH'
'Gove mmeTt t . ['he p,t'osecutioll hav in g f~lile<l 011 t'.ll e
ip lea ,t hat as a deacendwH t of ,;f,he Ex l~n.iah (If
'Qlledah the pniflO n.,r was at war with S iam :tlld conse-
·q llently wi tl~ til e British Go ve rn me nt., t. he ally cJf 't hat
,'State , and t h e.refor'e tJlat t he act lI'.it.h ", hi·ell h e was
.charged, if p'r oved, W&s no t t he ac t of a ,p i'irat.e but I'I :at,
'of an enemy, Mr. 'E 8 11~,all l cOl~s id erl.' d it. hi " <lllty ,
'und er these CiJ'culUstallCCS t,o sew1 'fltJIll ko(; Ma lwme(i
-Saad, as :a. State .1 1"i.::;o l1 e'l' to Calcutt.:1 on hOMrl -I,h,e
:Diana stearnSI', t o he ,'Clewlt witll as m ig h t see,uI (" x-
ipedient to the S Iprerne {rCl Ve,rnJl1e-n't . O~'l the lln·i va!
·o f t he p['isone~' we took ,i nto cOlIsiil el'atiOlJ the qlUesti.oR
-as to t he cour se' \HOpe,[" t.o be Plu'&'ued in 'J'eg:tl'rl t o him,
,and t he res ult of our . rle lib-e t'atiDllS 'W.afl as fol loll's .
3. vVe WE're of 0 pi ll i oll that <tlt hough 'l'aullkoo
M ahomed Saad had -been aetl ili tte d of the c lwrge of
 r 2. ]

piracy on the pl ea' adduced, his rel ease from confine-

ment mig ht again expose the subjects of the British
Government and t hose of other fri endly powers in the'
Straits to hi s depnfd'a t iolls, and we conceived that it
was a dut y imperative upon us t o' p rovide against
• such a contin gency. Entertaining this view of th e
Im1tter we decid ed that Thunkoo M'ahom ed Saad, with--
out being subject t o rigorous restraint, should be'
placed Thl1der such restri ctions as mi ght prevent his
leavin g Bengal without th e fu nowledge and consent of
th e Govel'l1ment. In pursuance of this det er mination ,.
it was resolved that he should reside at Mooreher1abac1l
u nder surl'ei ll ance of th e Magistrat e" a monthly allow-
an ce of about 50 R,." being assig,ned fOY' the support of
th e pridonel' and his followers.
4. Before co ncl.udin g- thi s letter, we may meIll"'
t ion that some tinw after t he aniva1 h ere of rraunkoo
Mahomed Saad and whil e the D1ana was within the
jurisdiction of' the Su prenw Court, a weit of Habeas,
Corpus was lsaned in favor of the p risoner on th e
motion of one of the Barrist ers of that OOilrt .
5. Our res01ution h owever regarding the pri-
soner havin g been talren and his removal at his own
lIequest from. th e Diana into the v:essel whidl was t o
co nvey him to Moorshedabad havi.ng been effected.
a nterior t o the sening of the writ, the Government
a nd its office rs were placed under no legal obliga--
t ion ari sing from t he process of the Court t o indu ce
a de parture from the course which was, thought
best for the pub-lic i!n te~'ests to pursue in this,
case.
6,. Taunkoo Mahomed Saud, accompanied by hi's
son, has reached his destination and has been tak en
cha rge of by the Mag istrate of Moorsheda had.
W e have &ca.
( Signed) Auckland
&ca. &ca. &ca.
]'ort William
the 18th of March 1841.
 t 3

II ndia and Ben'ga'i [To th e Gore1'llment of India, Fort Wiiliam .]

Despatches,
vol. 29.
India
Political Department.

Case of Tuanku
~ rMlj.homed Saad.
1. W e now rep ly to Y0ul' politi(!ul le tters dat ed
* See Ind. and 18th March i~ and 9th May~ 1841, respecting the case
B enga l Lettm's of'ruanku Mahomed Saad.
R ece-i'l:ed, Vol . 28.
'" Not DOpierl. 2. This individual, a nephe w of t h e Ex-Kin g of
K edah, w.as t he l E'ade~' of the ex ped it.i()n Il'hi ch in 1838
t emporarily expell ed the Siam \~ se fl'om th a.t pI ace. Aft t' r
his expUilsio ll fl'om K edah, 'rnank u Mah onJ \:'d t::laa<1
engagud in a COU I'se of depl't'da-t ioll by Eea, which
t erminated i n hie f~llillg into the haud" uf th e British
Authorities, and being brought to Pellallg, Illwu Oil
the prosecution of a n illhabi.tant uf Pelll1l1,g. wltes e
boat he had plundered, he was put Oil hi" tl'ial fol'
p iracy before th e n ecurder, but wu s .apquittec1 U11 tl ltj
g round that h e \\'[IS an al ie n, in n stat.e of WII r ll ct
-only with 'Siam but wit h the Brit,ish Govel'lJmt'1l t, all(l
'in committing depredatiolls on Britieh s ul)j ~c ts hacl
-exerci sed the ~:i.ghts of uclmowledgeCl I\,adtwe ,

3. We are not called upon to ex press allY opinion

-on th~ correctness of this decisioll, whi-ch has been
passed by a COUI't of competent authority. Th e
accused being placed by it in th e position of a pI'isollel'
of war, Mr. Bonhan~, \vithout prev ions l'l"ferell Ce to
you, sent him to Bengal, as a. place wlwre hi s safe
-c ustody could be provided fot' with [ess har('l::;h i p to
• himself than in th e Straits, and a lthoug h thi~ sh() uld
not have been done without youI' prev ioLls sancti()n ,
we are inclined to think that th e a l'ra nge ment is a
beneficial one, and we approve -o f Y()UI' havin g placecl
Tuan ku Maho med Saad u llcl er the sUl'Vt'illallce of the
Mag istrate of Moorshedabad, with a small monthly
a UolVance tor his support and that of hi s fo llowers.

4. If any relati V(~ or dep ~ llclu nt of th e Ex

Rajah should h,e reafter engage in sim ilar com ses,
 [ 4 ]

he will of C11l1':3e 011 thp. pl'ill cipl es laid down by th e

R,"c() l'd e l', be t I'e tt,ed as n. public t' n ern'y , and when taken r
as a Iw i 8U Il e l' of wal' ; Il ili ess the case should be su ch a s >
ll>ld e n h'3 roll ow i II g" PI\;;SlIgB of the' H.eco rder's address·
wuul d aff'o l'd it t,)J'l!~pect of a· coavi etioll fot' piracy,

"He hy no means intended t o say tha t every

" ~fn.l:t.y inhabit a nt. of India who cou ld eon tl'ive to fit
" Oll t. a pl'OW was a.t, hbd'ty to cl'ui:>;e about and cnp-'
" 1; I\I'e :l ily pl 'Opelty belongill g to su~feets of Siam Ol"

" of this GUV81'1l'rtltml', wh ich migh t f:a ll in his way "

" l\·ith oLlt fea l' uf i ll l:11lTill g ' th e gnil t and pu ni s hment
" of piracy . In eve l'Y ;o nc ll cnse a p ira,tica1 :intenti on
" · 1ll 11'S-t. lI ecessarily be }H1c'Sll med u ll t i } t he contrary was,

" ~1t()Wll by t.he el€':we~t ev idence of a com"b.ln ed n at.jo lJa l

" ubjl'd. , a )](l a ll Hll t it ori l',y (W' commiss ioll froll) some
" }Jt' I'SOIt 0 1' p el'S0I 1& \\'lw h!)(\ :m ill d i ~p'Ll tabre l'igllt t o<
""grilll t it.'''

5,. 'W e lta ,V(" 1'1.:'ce~ ved a lP elaborat e paper fl'om

Lit'nte na nt CO'O ll t'\ Blll'lley con tai ni ll g a rev iew of th e-
entire h )storY' o f U111' conn ection wit h l\:edah . W e·
t, l'an s m it, to you a C'Op'Y of thi" valuable p3.per, and of
a cu mmunication whi ch ,'I.e howe r ecel1tly r.eceiv ed from
M ~'. i\lIrle r::iO ll , fOI'm el'ly of our Civil Sel'V i ce.

(), W e ohse rve that you ha're ca:blecl upon th e-

Cv vp.l'1 lll t' vi"' the Settlements to )-eport his opinion on
t ilt) }J o,,~ibi1ity and e.,pediellcy I)f effecti ng an a t'J'[1n ge-
)m~ nt. :fo t' th e rel l'lI'lJ of the gx H.aj'ah to K edah , and we

.
Iiltall he :.I lI x i ou;; t. u 11 ij3.1' your j'u rth e'l' p}'oceedings Olll
1. lli ;; Imbject.

7. There lS o])e f Ul'ther poi nt of wh ich it is im -

perative upon us to tllll,e ll otice. Captain Stewart,
th e office I' t o whom T Ullllkll jY{ahomed Saad Su rre n-
(ltl'ed hirnseH:I Pl'i ':)oll e l', b eill g in te rrogated a s a wit-
11t~iS;; b efore I', he l tecol'(le r'" Court , as t o the induce men ts
by \\:lli\ h that i ll divi(luul was led to give himself up,
lUad e \J. e following statement.
 r
l 5 ]

"I t old him that if he would come to Penan g

<,the Governm ent would p rotect him h om all his
" enemies. "

" 'What! did MI'. Salmond authori ze you t o make

" that promi se ? "

" Yes , I was inst ru cted t o do so by Mr .Salmond."

• •
8. W e feel 111uch surprie ed that you should not
have required Mr. Bonham to call upon hi s subordi-
nate Mr. Salmond , the .Resident Coun cill or at P ellan g,
for an expl anation of th e statement thu s mad e 'upon
oath by Cnptain Stewart, which is calcul ateCl t o give
t he painful i mp re!:'sion thnt at, least a constru ctive
breach of faith has been committed t owards '1'uan-
1m Mahomed Saad. Th e assurance whi ch Captain
St,ewart rrp resellts himself to have given by Mr.
Salm ond's aut hor ity that th e Governm ent would" pro-
t ect " 'J.'l.lan,kn Mahol1l ed Saad " from all his enemies"
wou ld have been most improper even to an avowed
b t>lligerent and wns in the lli g hest degree censurable
when given to a person who was regarded as a pirate.
It was by no mean s an easy question what was th e
least objectionable int.erpretation whi ch could unde r'
t he circum stances of th e case be put upon the geneml
jj0 1'11lS of su ch a ])l'omise, but we have Ca ptain Ste-

wart's own im pression as stated by him self, that th e

pt'omi se as u nderstood by th e person to wh om it was
g iven, has not been kept.

9. We desire that t hese sentim ents be imme-

diately co mmunicated t o Mr. Bonham and that any
explallation wh ich th at gentleman or Mr . Salmond
may have t o offer be transmi tted to us wit hout delay,
thM, we may understand th e real character of the
p roceedin gs con nected wit h the capture an d cust ody
of' 'l' nanlm :Mahom ed Saad ; a nd if those proceedings
were of th e charactel' repl'esented by Captain Stewart,
 [ 6 ]

we direct that Tuanlm Mahom ed be set at liberty,

and allowed to return to P enang, and that you ad-
monish him to abstain hereafter from predat ory cour-
ses, and not to renew hostilities with the British
Government or its allies.

W e are

Your affectionate Friend s,

(Signed) G. Lyall

&ca. &ca. &ca.

London
31 st December 1841.
 [ 7 ]

India Political Fort William 1st March 1841.

Consultations.
Range 19r.,
Vol. 52.

No. 83. To T. H. Maddock E squire,

Sec retary to Gov el'l1ment
Fort William.

Sir,
• See tid)! Advertin g to my letter of the 30th of July!\< 1838,
~e l'ie."1·a.nge 194, and to the reply received from your office und er da te
Vol. 75.
th e 20th September lit following I have no w the hon or
• ? 26 Sept.
to advise you that Tuanku Mahomed Saad was cap-
tured by a gUll boat on the 2nd July last and brought
to P emmg.

~. f::)hortly afte l' his capture he was committed

by the magistrates to t ak e hi s tl'ial on a charge of
piracy, th e result of which was an acquittal, the pri-
soner havin g pleaded ill bar t o the indictment that aEl
a descenda nt of the E x Go vernor of K eddah he was at
war with Siam and ill consequence with the British
Government, the ally of that P ower, and ther efore th e
act, with which he stood charged, if proved, ,vas n ot
th e act of a pirate but that of an enemy. This pl ea it
appears was considered to be proved and sufficient, and
be Court of J udicnture permitted him ' to be taken
fl'Om the bar by th e E xecutive Ituthorities, wh o had
b een previously in stnwted by me to demand him as
an enemy of the British Government.

3. The L earned Recorder having presided at the

trial it is not my desire at present to animadvert on
the proceedings of the Court more especially as I shall
short ly have the honor to submit a report of the trial
which has been promised me by th e Recorder but
which I have not yet rece ived, but I think the deposi-
tions will afford tol erable pl'oof of the nature and
character of 'ruanku Mahomed Saad's proceedin gs.
'l'hese have however been declared by a compet ent
authority not to amount t o piracy, but in my humble
 [ 8 ]

judgment it would with the proceedings before me be

highly imprudent t o release him .

4. Th e Government 'yill be aware that in 1821

the Siamese invaded and captured Keddah and at the
same ' time some of th e famil) of the Ex R1\ja at
present at Malacca. Amollg them was this very indi-
vidual, Tuanku Mahomed Saad, and he and some oth ers
of his relation s were afterwards released by the Siamese
Govel'llment through the inten'ention of Captain
Durney, who was sent on a Mission to that Court
shortly after the ca pture of Kedd ah, the British Gov-
et'l1l1l ent ill return stipulating "that the former Gov-
or (th e Ex Killg) not' allY of his followers should not
attack 01' disturb Keddah."

5th, 'l'hi s Treaty has always been much disap-

proved of by the British inhabitants of this Settlement
of which th e Malays are tully aware alld after the
proceedings whi ch hav e taken place in Court, ""hm'ein
it has been endeavoured to make it appear that Tualllm
Mahom ed SMd's acts, instead of being even of (\
questionable natme, were highly praise worthy and
patriotic, I have no doubt whatever that wel'e he re-
leased he co uld imm ediately, under the pretence of
makin g war on Keddah, again commence on the same
system of pillage which he has pursued for these past
three years.

6. Under these cil'cllmstances therefore, seein g

that in all probability 1 llanl).u Mahomed Saad is
alive through our intervention alone, which he has
repaid by making war on the British Government and
and on its ~dl y, and that there is no reasonable ground
to suppose were he I'eleased, that he would enclea~
vour to obtain a .livelihood by honest industry, and
lastly that it is desirable to show others of the Ex
King's family and the inh abitants of Prince of Wal es
Island. generally, that though Tuauku Mahonied Saad
has been acquitted of pit'acy, the British Government