White Rajahs; The (Reprint)

James Brooke arrived back at Kuching on 29th August 1840, feeling dispirited and tired. Hasim and the Malay notables gave him a pleasant welcome. But the rebellion had not been suppressed. There seemed to be no prospect of journeys into the interior, and nothing to do at Kuching. Once more he decided to leave. Again, Hasim besought him to stay. How could an English gentleman, he cried, desert him now? On 4th November James went to see the Rajah Muda to announce his irrevocable decision to depart. Hasim in his distress made one final appeal; if James would stay, Hasim would invest him with the country of Siniawan and Sarawak, its government and its trade, and suggested that the could have the title of Rajah. James was tempted. He was too prudent to accept the offer outright but he did not say no, and he agreed to stay.