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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: his settlement of Labuan. Believing that the settlement of Sarawak was a mere incumbrance, and that it would be well if our connection with that part of the country were abandoned, he should support the honourable member for Montrose (Mr. Hume). The Raja was warmly defended by Mr. Plowden, Sir Robert Inglis, Sir Harry Verney, and others, and Mr. Hume was defeated by a majority of 140, 29 members voting with him. Between these debates Lord Palmerston, as Foreign Secretary, wrote to the Raja. April 23,1850. SiR, ?I have to acknowledge the receipt of your despatches to that of the 5th inclusive; and I have to inform you that the explanations and statements contained in your despatches of February 2nd and March 5th are considered by her Majesty's Government to be perfectly satisfactory; and that her Majesty's Government fully approve the course which you have pursued for the suppression of the system of wholesale piracy in the seas adjoining to Borneo; and I have to instruct you to follow the same course whenever a similar necessity shall arise. I am, etc., (Signed) Palmerston. The debate of July has been anticipated in order to have an unbroken account of the action of Parliament during the year, and we return now to February 1st, on which day the subject of so much discussion was writing from Labuan to Mr. Templer? I wrote you by the last opportunity, and now wish to write briefly on the subject of the clamour raised by the humanity-mongers, as I understand that I am to be personally assailed in Parliament, and the whole policy pursued is to be called into question. Is it not rather late in the day to object, when the same policy has been pursued and pursuing ever since Keppel'sattack on Sarebus, so highly and so generally approved in 1843 ? Are c...