ABSTRACT
The beginnings of British Malaya have been told with the pen of a master by one who had played a leading part in the making of its history. From 1895 to 1901 Sir Frank Swettenham was Resident-General for the Federated Malay States, and from 1901 to 1904 he was their High Commissioner, as the Governor of the Straits Settlements. In the words of his successor, Sir J. Anderson: Throughout the States his powerful personality has impressed itself indelibly on the country and on its administration. But for his vigorous initiative and resolution, his great administrative ability, the confidence with which he was regarded by the native rulers, as by his own officers, and his unshakeable faith in the future of the country, the enormous advance it has made in every direction could never have been made. The extent of that advance can only be properly appreciated by those who have seen something of the Malay States outside British protection.
