As I have been requested to write a preface to The History of Sarawak under its Two White Rajahs, one of whom I have the honour to be, I must, first of all, assert that I have had nothing to do with the composition or writing of the book, and I do not profess to be a writer, otherwise than in a very ordinary sense, having left school at the age of twelve to enter the Navy.

In that service I remained for ten years, when I obtained my lieutenancy, and then received two years' leave, which the Admiralty were glad to grant at that time (about 1852), as they thought naval officers were of a type likely to be of service in the development of the colonies and the improvement of native states. I then went to Sarawak to join my uncle, the first Rajah, with and under whom I remained, and consequently had to retire from the Navy; but I will admit that my ten years' service gave me what I probably could not have gained from any other profession—the advantages of having been taught to obey my seniors, and of having been disciplined; and I very firmly adhere to the rule that no one can make a successful commander unless he has learnt to obey. It further taught me those seafaring qualities, which have been so useful ever since, of being able to rough it and put up with one's surroundings, the lack of which so often makes the men of the present day, in their refined and gentlemanly way, not quite suited to handle the wheel of a ship at sea or the plough on land.

Now I will pass on to say how this book, good or bad as it may be—and I am not competent to pass judgment either way—came to be written. I was asked by more than one if I had any objection to the writing of my biography, and I, as far as I can recollect, gave no decided answer one way or the other; but I thought if I handed over the correspondence and all records that related to Sarawak and its Government that the distinguished author, Baring-Gould, and my friend, Charles Bampfylde, might be enabled to form a truthful account, and at the same time give the public a readable book.

I thought that some interest might be felt in the story of a life such as mine has been for the last sixty years, coupled with an account of the institutions, manners, and customs of the inhabitants of Sarawak, and especially of the way in which we have always treated the native population, finding much profit by it, more in kindliness and sympathy than in a worldly point of view, by making them our friends, and I may say associates, though they are of a different creed and different colour; and how we gained their hearts by living among them and really knowing them, not as superiors, but as equals and friends; and I thought being brought out during my life by the pen of the able author and that of my old and much-esteemed officer, Mr. Bampfylde, it would be more likely to give a correct impression than if some one took up the pen after my death and gained material from some good and some rather scratchy works that have been written on Sarawak, since such an one would probably make up a work that would be, no doubt, very readable and well adapted to take the fashion of the day, but not so truthful as a man of long personal experience could do, and has, I think, done it; and this I can aver, that what is written are facts, however plain and uninteresting they may prove. The work is not the history of my life more than that of the late Rajah, and I may flatter myself that we—he as founder and myself as builder of the state—have been one in our policy throughout, from the beginning up to the present time; and now shortly I have to hand it to my son, and I hope that his policy may not be far removed from that of his predecessors.

My life draws towards its close, but the book, if and whenever brought out, will stand in the future as a record of events that may be considered as the work of private individuals who stood alone and unprotected in a far distant land, and who were, I may also say, fortunately, scarcely ever interfered with, or the policy of Sarawak could not have been as successful as it has proved. It will, I have reason to believe, attract more attention in comparatively new countries, such as America and Australia, where the story of Sarawak is perhaps better known than in England. One word more, and that is, that the native element has always been our base and strong point: and our lives are safe with them so long as they are wisely treated and relied on with thorough trust and confidence.