Book Reviews : Nineteenth Century Malaya. The Origins of British Political Control. C. D. Cowan. Oxford University Press. 35s

Published date01 April 1961
DOI10.1177/004711786100200309
Date01 April 1961
Subject MatterArticles
185
the
outward
signs
of
conscious
imperialism.
It
therefore
appears
to
be
extraordinarily
lacking
in
any
overt
class
or
racial
conflicts,
at
least
to
all
appearances,
while
in
Mr.
Julius
Nyere
it
has
thrown
up
one
of
the
very
few
level-headed
African
statesmen,
as
aware
of
realities
as
he
is
free
from
bigotry-a
nationalist
without
bitterness
or
self-aggrandisement.
From
the
abortive
and
even
farcical
fiasco
of
the
ground-nuts
scheme
of
1948
there
has
emerged,
under
the
excellent
and
understanding
governorship
of
Lord
Twining,
a
country
that
its
uniquely
uncomplicated
and
with
the
prospect
of
a
peaceful
evolution
before
it.
The
author
communicates
his
own
love
of
the
Africans
whom
he
knows
so
well
to
the
reader.
Sir
Charles
J~effries
is
ideally
equipped
to
deal
with
his
theme
since
as
Deputy
Under-Secretary
of
the
Colonial
Office
from
1947
he
was
himself
intimately
associated
with
the
negotiations
which
led
up
to
the
transfer
of
power
in
Ceylon
and
Malaya
and
had
a
hand
in
the
planning
of
other
subsequent
operations.
Nor
has
his
retirement
in
1956
ended
his
interest
in
the
constitutional
advance
of
the
evolving
colonial
territories.
He
is
at
present
actively
engaged
in
furthering
the
work
of
Overseas
Service,
an
organisation
devoted
to
training
for
responsible
partnership
those
who
go
out
from
this
country
to
live
and
work
amongst
the
peoples
of
other
civilizations
and
cultures.
This
short
book
is
packed
with
information
and
is
an
authoritative
study
of
the
factors
involved
and
the
problems
raised
by
the
actual
transfer
of
power
in
a
colonial
territory-what
are
the
motive
forces
behind
the
demand
for
independence,
what
are
the
factors
which
determine
the
timing
of
such
a
demand,
what
governs
the
decision
whether
or
not
a
colony’s
wish
for
independence
shall
be
met
and
if
it
is,
what
must
be
done
to
make
such
a
decision
effective.
All
these
questions
and
many
more
are
answered
clearly
and
concisely
within
the
limits,
sometimes
rather
too
narrow,
of
official
discretion.
Events
are
covered
up
to
August
1960
and
the
author
ends
with
some
heartening
reflections
both
upon
the
recent
past,
and
the
probable
future,
developments.
In
appealing
for
a
continuation,
in
some
suitable
form,
of
the
British
Colonial
Service,
he
writes:
&dquo; The
chapter
of
British
colonial
history
which
has
been
chronicled
in
this
book
is,
on
the
whole,
a
happy
one.
The
smooth
transition
from
colonial
status
to
independence
has
been
carried
out
with
a
friendliness
on
all
sides
that
warms
the
heart.
To
pre-
serve
that
precious
friendship
under
the
new
conditions
is
worth
any
trouble.
The
United
Kingdom
cannot
force
or
even
press
its
services
upon
its
friends.
But
it
has
much
to
offer,
and
if
its
friends
pay
it
the
com-
pliment
of
being
willing
to
accept
its
services,
how
can
it
fail
to
respond?
&dquo;
It
is
to
be
hoped
that
events
in
Kenya
and
Southern
Rhodesia
will
not
break
the
pattern
so
admirably
outlined
here
and
that
Sir
Charles’
hopes
for
the
future
of
the
Commonwealth
will
be
realized.
This
is
a
book
of
the
greatest
interest
and
most
timely
in
a
period
when
the
colonial
world
is
being
&dquo; resolved
into
its
elements &dquo;
so
rapidly
that
the
threat
of
the
super-
vention
of
chaos,
as
in
the
Congo,
is
a
very
real
one.
It
can
be
read
with
advantage
both
by
students
of
government
and
by
those
concerned
with
the
progress
of
the
British
Commonwealth.
Nineteenth
Century
Malaya.
The
Origins
of
British
Political
Control.
C.
D.
Cowan.
Oxford
University
Press.
35s.
This
is
a
scholarly
and
well
documented
work
by
Dr.
Cowan
of
the
School
of
Oriental
and
African
Studies.
It
is
written
from
the
angle
of
someone
with
a
close
interest
in
Malaya
as
well
as
in
the
wider
aspects
of
the
general
development
of
British
colonial
policy
during
the
past
decades.
The
book
covers
in
detail
the
years
1867-1877
within
a
framework
out-
lining
British
policy
towards
Malaya
both
before
and
after
the
establishment
of
suzereignty.
During
that
crucial
ten
years
local
pressure
and
world
events
combined
to
force
at
first
local
officials
and
later
a
very
reluctant
British
Government,
into
initially
attempting
to
control
endemic
disorders

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