the conclusion
of the treaty and the appointment of a British Consul-General in Brunai,
and will also be able to attempt to imagine the oppression prevalent
before those events took place. The river, being a fertile and well
populated one and near Brunai, had been from old times the common purse
of the numerous nobles who, either by inheritance, or in virtue of their
official positions, as I have explained, owned as their followers the
inhabitants of the various villages situated on its banks, and many were
the devices employed to extort the uttermost farthing from the
unfortunate people, who were quite incapable of offering any resistance
because the warlike Kyan tribe was ever ready at hand to sweep down upon
them at the behest of their Brunai oppressors. The system of _dagang
sera_ (forced trade) I have already explained. Some of the other devices
I will now enumerate. _Chukei basoh batis_, or the tax of washing feet,
a contribution, varying in amount at the sweet will of the imposer,
levied when the lord of the village, or his chief agent, did it the
honour of a visit. _Chukei bongkar-sauh_, or tax on weighing anchor,
similarly levied when the lord took his departure and perhaps therefore,
paid with more willingness. _Chukei tolongan_, or tax of assistance,
levied when the lord had need of funds for some special purpose or on a
special occasion such as a wedding--and these are numerous amongst
polygamists--a birth, the building of a house or of a vessel. _Chop
bibas_, literally a free seal; this was a permission granted by the
Sultan to some noble and needy favourite to levy a contribution for his
own use anywhere he thought he could most easily enforce it. The method
of inventing imaginary crimes and delinquencies and punishing them with
heavy fines has been already mentioned. Then there are import and export
duties as to which no reasonable complaint can be made, but a real
grievance and hindrance to legitimate trade was the effort which the
Malays, supported by their rulers, made to prevent the interior tribes
trading direct with the Chinese and other foreign traders--acting
themselves as middlemen, so that but a very small share of profit fell
to the aborigines. The lords, too, had the right of appointing as many
_orang kayas_, or headmen, from among the natives as they chose, a
present being expected on their elevation to that position and another
on their death. In many rivers there was also an annual poll-tax,