Chin Ah Chan

Chin Ah Chan¹ 陳泉生 was Yap Ah Loy's 葉德來 counterpart in Langat 呀吃. He was heavily featured by Middlebrook (1951) in Chapter 4 (Yap Ah Loy becomes Capitan China, pp. 26 - 32). Most of the materials and paragraphs in Chapter 4 were reused by Wang² 王植原 (1958) when he published his Chinese version of Yap's biography, but he rendered Chin's name as 陳亜泉. This was probably the best approximation as Chin's actual name was probably completely obscured when Wang was preparing his book.

The standard narrative given by Middlebrook was that Chin was in Kanching³ 間征 for seven years (and was the wealthiest person there). We were merely told by Middlebrook that he eventually left the mining cottage in Kanching and sold all his properties to Ah Sze (at $3,000), likely because Chin was not able to take over the seat vacated by Captain Tsin 陳敬 in Kanching.

But in the scenes rendered by Wang in his book, Chin and Yap were described as very close friends, and he left Kanching because he was not to convince his fellow Jiayingzhou 嘉應州 tribesmen to unite under Yap Ah Loy after the death of the Captain China in Kanching. The Chin-Yap storylines in Wang's account is problematic because since Yap had to be formally given some explicit instructions to assist Chin when the latter wanted to return to the mines in Ulu Selangor in 1875, their relationship was unlikely to be close-knit.

Chin Ah Chan (1882) rendered Langat with 呀吃. Chin's rendering is to be read as 牙乞 (nga²hat¹) as the mouth-radical (口) was just there to indicate foreign origin. Similarly, the Malay word ‘parit' was prepended with the 口-radical when it was transliterated into Chinese. The word 嚴緞 (Yamtuan) follows the same principle and it can be seen in the proclaimation of Yap Ah Shak as Captain China in 1885. Conclusion can be incorrectly formed if Chin's letter is ignored. For example, Lee³ (2022) suggested that 吃 was derived from 𠮾 (兀 ngat⁶, in Cantonese), his theory is that the running script of 𠮾 was mistaken as 吃, is incorrect either from a calligraphic, timeline, or linguistic perspective.

A lot of the materials used by Middlebrook was drawn from J. C. Pasqual's Straits Times article (30 December 1939) with the provocative title: Kanching massacre: Murder that started a war. In his opening paragraph, Pasqual tells us that the scale of Kanching incident was comparable to that of Glencoe massacre (1692)

. . . but they were soon disillusioned when the Fuichoos from Kuala Lumpur shortly after invested Kanching and, cutting off supplies, descended upon the village and the mines in the stillness of night and burnt the houses and massacred all the Kainchoos that came in their way. This raid was a very sad affair; some were killed in cold blood in their sleep; others while occupied win minor occupations; while those who took to the jungle were pursued and a great many cut down in their flight. Those that managed to escape were followed up by the Fuichoos as far as Bernam and even into Perak and from that the time the power of Kainchoos began to decline. The number of men killed was put down by my narrator at 3,000 which seems rather exaggerated though not improbable considering that the assailants were armed and their victims quite defenceless. A large number of Kainchoos found refuge in the adjacent camphor forest (now reserved) on Bukit Capor . . .

1. I attended a panel discussion on Captain Yap Ah Loy 葉亞來論壇 organized by the Chinese Assembly Hall 吉隆坡暨雪兰莪中华大会堂 on 25 May 2024. Four eminent scholars were invited (a) Ling Tek Soon 林德順 (b) Yon Weng Woe 阮湧俰 (c) Liew Kam Ba 劉崇漢 (d) Guo Pingxing 郭平兴. The event was branded as a discussion or forum but the actual format was four speeches, arranged sequentially. A random question was thrown to the panelists during the Q&A session by an elderly man. He asked if any of them had ever heard of Chin Ah Chan, the man who purportedly left Kuala Lumpur for Langat. The panelists exchanged glances for a few seconds before concluding that the name was too obscure to recognize. I was puzzled by the panelists's response, given that all of them had apparently read Middlebrook (1951) multiple times, yet the name Chin Ah Chan seemed to stir zero excitement in their collective neurons.
   
   
2. Wáng Zhíyuán 王植原 (b. ?, d. ?) was the son of Wang Tianquan 王天泉 (b. ?, d. ?), who thrice functioned as the advisor to the Captain China of Kuala Lumpur. Wang was the author of the first full length biography of Yap Ah Loy (葉德來傳), probably partly inspired by the full length English biography produced by S. M. Middlebrook (1951).He visited Yap family multiple times and was received by Yap Ah Loy's second daughter, Yap Kim Lan 葉金蘭 (mothered by Wong 王氏) and Yap Ah Loy's son-in-law, Loong Len Yew 龍連佑 (the husband of Yap Kim Neo 葉金娘, mothered by Kok Kang Keow 郭庚嬌).
   
   Wang was the headmaster of Longwei Nanqiao School 壠尾南僑學校 when the book was published. Wang was also the headmaster of Keat Hwa High School 吉華獨立中學. Wáng Zhíyuán's grandson can now be found at the Sun Yat-sen museum in Penang.
   
   
3. Kanċing (کنچيڠ) is the Malay word for button. In his journal entry dated 28 March 1875, Swettenham tells us that:
   
   . . . leaving Q. Lumpor we crossed the Klang river, and walking in a northerly direction we again crossed the Klang or another river and after some hours walking over an indifferent road, which the rains of the two previous days had anything but improved, we came to Bukit Kanching, a long and steep climb and equally steep descent. But a short distance from the foot of this hill on the other side lay the village and miners of Kanching. Its name, which means a fastening is most appropriate, for it is quite surrounded by hills as shown in the marginal sketch . . .
   
   Unfortunately the sketch included by Swettenham in his journal was not reproduced in P. L. Burns and C. D. Cowan (1975) Sir Frank Swenttenham's Malayan journals, 1874 - 1876, Oxford University Press, Kuala Lumpur.
   
   
4. Lee Kim Sin (2022) Ulu Langat history: 100 years flashback 呀𠮾百年——乌鲁冷岳社区发展史略, LLG Cultural Development Centre and Ulu Langat Community Resource Centre. Lee Kim Sin 李成金 (1954 - 2021) was affectionately known as Cikgu Lee, he was the state assemblyman for Kajang (r. 2008 - 2013) and a student of the history of the tin mines in Ulu Langat.
   
   In pp. 21 - 22, Lee suggested that:
   
   . . . 加影商礦公會於1910年由吉隆坡竹友齋印刷的《籲嚕呀吃加影商礦公館章程》之封面題字，極可能是最早 把 Langat 譯為呀吃的文獻 (1910A, <12 June 1910, printed standard script)。然而,在章程內的文字中，它卻又把 Hulu Langat (指今之呀吃十四哩) 譯作牙屹山; 其第九頁 (1910B, 12 June 1910, written standard script) 的印章及署名卻書古路呀𠮾及咕嘮呀𠮾。由此可見，當時之譯名尚不劃一或不明確。
   
   雖然如此，經筆者參考保存於商礦公會的創會和周年紀念賀詞匾額(宣統二年孟夏 | 民國七年五月初六, 1910C | 1918, between 9 May 1910 and 6 June 1910 | 14 June 1918) 、存於福建公會的劉治國局賀匾等文物後，推斷最早的音譯應是呀𠮾或吁嚕呀𠮾。至於呀𠮾演變成呀吃應是誤把𠮾的行書體𠮾寫或讀成吃, 過後沿用至廿世紀中葉，方改為現今的烏魯冷嶽 稱謂。當年的呀𠮾山，今天已稱為呀吃十四哩，這名稱也是唯一能從中探窺出古早歴史痕跡的現存線索 . . .
   
   Note that Lee's analysis is not consistent with his own dataset because the standard script 楷書體 was used to write the text in both 1910A and 1910B, and there is no reason why any sensible brain would mistake 𠮾 as 吃. Since artifacts 1910A, 1910B, 1910C were created within the same narrow time bracket (i.e. between 9 May 1910 and 12 June 1910), the only logical conclusion we can draw is that 吃 was not uniquely used to render the Malay /ŋat/ sound.

In what follows, the English text by Middlebrook and the Chinese text by Wang are juxtaposed side by side.

In 1860 there was still only two groups of Chinese in Selangor north of Lukut, one at Kanching in the Selangor River district and the other at Ampang and Kuala Lumpur. Both were now properous and thriving settlements. The Chinese at Kanching were very largely of the Kah Yeng Chew clan and those at Kuala Lumpur of the Fei Chew (Fui Chiu). They were thus all Hakkas and came from the same part of Kwangtung province in South China. In normal circumstances the two groups would have been friendly, as they were members of the same tribe, but they belonged to different secret societies. As the mines developed their interests clashed. When the two settlements were in their infancy the men were fully occupied in their own areas opening up the land and prospecting. Then, with each side extending its field of operations, they found themselves working the same ground. When this happend fights were frequent: the friends and relatives of the injured swore revenge and ultimately it became a common practice to stage small attacks on public festivals when the mines were closed.

當十九世紀中葉，公元一八六〇年時，雪蘭莪州內的華人，僅有兩個大集團。一個在雪蘭莪河流域的間征，另一個在巴生河流域的暗邦與吉隆坡。這三處經過了多年的採礦和墾殖，除間征較差之外，現在均以成為富庶之區。在九十多年前，間征的居民，絕大多數是嘉應州人，而在暗邦和吉隆坡的卻是惠州人。他們兩集團雖則是同屬客系，但不同黨派，因此，遇有闢地採礦而彼此不期而遇的時候，就往往發生爭執和械鬥。在械鬥中不幸遇害的，親友們激於義憤，就很容易地在公眾節日裏，或礦場休業的空閑時間，糾眾持械，施行小小的報復。這種行徑，幾已成為當日一種尋仇械鬥的風氣。

As we have seen, ‘Drunken' Ah Sze was the first Chinese miner at Kanching and there was soon a Chinese community large enough to have its own Capitan China (one Tsin Kin). Then Raja Musa, eldest son of Sultan ‘Abdu'l-Samad, sent two Chinese called Chin Ah Chan and Siew Keng Ng, to open up more mines at Kanching. These two were Kah Yeng Chew men. Chin Ah Chan became properous and ultimately he was the wealthiest miner of Kanching. He also held the gambling and cock-fighting ‘farms'. The ‘farms' were monopoly rights over gaming houses, the import of drink and opium and so on. The local Malay chiefs claimed the right to tax these things and they were accustomed to grant a monopoly to the highest bidder as the easiest means of collecting the revenue. Most Chinese are very addicted to gambling and the farms were extremely lucrative despite the heavy fees paid to the chiefs.

The name given by Pasqual (1935) was Chong See or Tsin Tsen See (likely to be 酒仙四), the surname given by Pasqual was definitely not aligned with the surname given by Wang (1958).酒仙葉四，是投資在間征開礦的最先之一人。礦場開闢了不久後，華人在間征方面的，已奉We were told by Pasqual (1935) that the counterpart of Tsin Kin 陳敬 in Kuala Lumpur was Hiew Siew 邱秀. According to Pasqual, Hiew Siew's was the headman for 3 years before he was eventually replaced by Liew Ngin 劉壬光. Chong See was then joined, 3 years later, by Chin Ah Chan (operator of gambling and cock-fighting farms) and Siew Keng Ng (operator of mines). Chin eventually sold his farms to Yap See (Ah See Kledek) for $3,000, and the acquisition of Chin's share happened about 10 years after Kanching had been opened up.陳敬為領袖，自行處理內部糾紛及外交等問題，這領袖身份無形中就等於甲必丹一樣。那時蘇丹沙末之長子拉惹巫沙，委派嘉應州人陳亜泉和蕭敬五兩人為當頭，併在間征多闢了幾個礦口（礦場）。陳亜泉經營得法，他本人私下經營之礦，也得到豐收，因此他竟成為間征最富的人。除礦場外，他又兼營當日地方唯一的娛樂場所⸺賭場和鬥雞場。依照當時的規例，要開設賭場的，須先向當地政府投票承攬，以票價最高為場主，場內併得兼營酒類及鴉片，這是礦工們所嗜好的消耗品。

Loan application letter, written by Chin Ah Chan 陳泉生 on The Chinese date given in the letter was the 11th Day of the 12th Month of the 7th Year of the Reign of Emperor Guangxu 光绪七年十弍月十一日, which is approximately 20 days before the Chinese New Year.30 January 1882, and addressed to Bloomfield Douglas, Resident of Selangor 太王太人. Translation: Your servant begs to inform our master that the has opened 開創港門 at Ulu Langat 呀吃 large and small 15 mines 大小吧咧十五座 - he has also built 7 mud houses 新坭屋七間 and pajak 雞場一座 and made a road 新路一条 to Sungei Luit 双溝鐳 about as far as 6 miles 六條石之遠. Now an account of New Year is drawing near your servant is sum short of money for expenses 年近少銀應用. Your servant comes before O. M. and begs O. M. will kindly lend him $2,000 the same will be paid in 3 months. If your servant should fail to pay, O. M. will sell 願將雞場店鋪以及吧叻賣出 all your servant's houses, pajak, and tin mines to settle the loans and interest. Many years earlier in 1876, Chin tried to borrow money from Douglas ($5,000). In his letter (dated 18 July 1876) to Sultan Abd al-Samad, Douglas wrote: . . . I have to inform my friend that I am at present at Kadjang travelling through all my friend's country and as far as Ulu Bernam. I have met Towkay Ah Chan who complained for want of money and asked me to assist him. I could not assist him as that is not my business, but as I wish that my friend's country may further advance and get more chukei, I am of opinion that if my friend wish to assist him my friend had better despatch one of my friend's trustworthy officers to Ulu Langat to inspect all the mines of Towkay Ah Chan so as to satisfy my friend before doing anything which I will also be very much pleased. My friend had likewise better put my friend's own chop on all the tin that comes out there, so that Towkay Ah Chan will not be able to take away his tin to any other places . . .

About seven years after his arrival in Kanching Chin quarrelled with the other Kah Yeng Chews in the village. The reason is not recorded but as the old Capitan China had just died it is probable that the dispute was over the question of his successor. This quarrel had important repercussions for the Kah Yeng Chews because it led to a breach amongst themselves which put them at the mercy of the Fei Chews. It also resulted in Chin selling out his interests in the Kanching mines and leaving the district with all his men. The buyer of his interests was our friend ‘Sweet Potato' Ah Sze, the trader from Lukut and the partner of Hiu Siew. He had become a person of great influence and was said to be the wealthiest trader of the State. When Hiu Siew died Ah Sze would have been the natural successor to the post of headmen at Kuala Lumpur, but he asked to stand aside although it is recorded that he was consulted by the local Malays before the final appointment was made. He paid Chin Ah Chan three thousand dollars, a large sum in those days, for his mining and trading rights at Kanching.

七年之後，陳亜泉和礦工同鄉們發生了不可融和的嚴重意見，是為着間征內部的領袖問題而起。礦工們認為間征的居民既是嘉應州人佔大多數，尚由惠州人做領袖來管，未免予嘉應州人以難堪。而亜泉則認為：原日的領袖陳敬，既已年老身故，那麽責任就應屬於吉隆坡新任之甲必丹葉來，毋庸另舉別人（葉來是陳亜泉的知友，彼此關系密切，可參閱亜泉後來幫助葉來脫險的故事）。雙方意見爭持甚烈，亜泉一氣之下，竟把自己名下在間征所有之礦地，和賭場業務，一概賣給忠厚出名的酒仙葉四。他收了「番茨四」⸺葉四付出的承買價三仟元之後，就掉頭不顧地離開間征地同鄉了。從此葉四就成為了間征地大礦主兼大地主。

The ‘Malay Rajah's house on the hill' is the Malay stokade or istana in Bukit Tmbk (present-day Bukit Nanas). It is approximately one mile away from the Captain China's house in Market Street. Now Sultan Abd al-Samad's Sungai Tmbk is likely a reference to the riverine fork leading to this tmbk or stokade, which is the river depicted by Swettenham in 1875 when he travelled from Ulu Ampang to Market Street.

Chin Ah Chan went to live at Langat, a fact which also had a considerable influence on subsequent events in Selangor. Langat is on the opposite side of Kuala Lumpur to Kanching, and it meant that the Fei Chews had a settlement of Kah Yeng Chews to the north and south to them. Sultan ‘Abdu'l-Samad himself lived on the Langat river and it was at his invitation that Chin went to settle there. The story is that the Sultan gave him a concession over the whole Ulu Langat district with permission to open up as many mines as he wanted. It is also said that ‘Abdu'l-Samad lent him a considerable sum of money to meet the initial cost of this venture. The two men had been friends for some time, and a Chinese story explains why the Sultan was so generous to the Chinese trader. One day the Sultan was taking his evening bath when he found that he had lost his favourite ring, a large and valuable diamond. Chin Ah Chan, who was nearby, found the ring and returned it to him. Full of gratitude ‘Abdu'l-Samad promised to give him anything he wanted: Chin asked for a mining concession and 20,000 dollars!

This is likely the mosque marked by Swenttenham in his map in 1875, but this photograph was probably taken 10 years later.

Meanwhile there were developments in Kuala Lumpur. The Capitan China, Liu Ngim Kong, was a sick man and knew that he was dying. He tried to persuade his friend, ‘Sweet Potato' Ah Sze, who had in part been responsible for his own election, to take over his office after his death. Now that Ah Sze had interests in Kanching as well as at Kuala Lumpur it might be possible, he argued, to bring the two Hakka clans under one leadership, particularly as the Capitanship of the Kah Yeng Chews had lapsed. But Ah Sze was a shy and retiring man. He was ready to give his advice and assistance to the person in authority, but unwilling to become the leader himself. He therefore refused. Liu Ngim Kong, however, still wanted his support because his reputation for honesty and straight dealing gave him great influence with the miners.

當葉四在間征走紅時，劉壬光病勢日增，已是病入膏肓的狀態。他自知行將不起，見得葉四為人謙恭和氣，而又坦白忠誠，平日很得惠州同鄉的敬愛；而且當一八六〇年邱秀病歿之前，就徵求過他繼任甲必丹一職的。這回劉壬光病中就把邱秀那次的意見向他再提。可是葉四仍然抱著一貫的作風，只是專心於開礦和經商，不願居負重的領袖地位。尤其是那時領袖權對於間征的嘉應州人，經已失去指揮的效力。不過他准備提供意見，並竭力擁護繼承甲必丹職位之人，那是他一秉至誠的願望。

The Kampung Rawa mosque (1) and the Malay stokade and istana (the tmbk تمبق) on Bukit Nanas (2) are faintly visible in this photograph. This photograph was taken from Bluff Hill Police Station (present-day Bukit Aman). The mosque was situated at the junction between Java Street (Jalan Tun Perak) and Ampang Street (Lebuh Ampang). Its place is now taken by Hotel Al-Amin. The photograph can be found in J. Falconer (1987) Vision of the Past – A history of early photography in Singapore and Malaya: The photographs of G.R.Lambert & Co., 1880-1910, Times Editions, Singapore, p. 104.

The two men discussed the possibilities at great length. To their minds it was essential that the Capitan should be a Fei Chew. The Kah Yeng Chews were their commercial enemies. It would be fatal to the power and position of the Fei Chews if their rivals put in their own man as Capitan. It was for this reason that Liu Ngim Kong and Ah Sze were anxious to settle the question of a successor before anything happened to Liu Ngim Kong.

劉壬光和葉四兩人，在這個領袖繼承人的問題上，作了長時間檢討後，莫不認為嘉應州人是他們商業上的死敵，倘若委上了敵手充任甲必丹的繼承人，無疑地對他們的勢力及地位都加以致命打擊。因此，繼承人必須是一個惠州人才是正理。根據這個原則，趁劉壬光人還清醒，兩人就很迫切地來共同決定到人選的問題了。

A group of Malay attap huts time-trapped (approximately in the 1920s) inside a postcard. Cheah Jin Seng (2011) Selangor 300 Early Postcards, Editions Didier Millet, p. 160.

Finally they decided that Yap Ah Loy should be the new Capitan. At this time he was living in Klang. He had gone there at Liu Ngim Kong's request to watch his business interests: for this he was paid 150 dollars a month. Having reached their decision the next step was to get the support of Sutan Puasa, the leading Sumatran trader of Kuala Lumpur, and of the waris negri, the local Malay landowners, from whom the Chinese rented their mining land. There is no record of any attempt to get the support of Raja Mahdi, but he was also living in Klang and Yap Ah Loy must have been well known to him. Liu Ngim Kong may have argued that Mahdi was too recently in power to care very much who was the headman of the Chinese at Kuala Lumpur, in the interior. He was scarcely likely to interfere so long as the usual amount of tin came down the Klang river and he received his revenues. In addition his own position was not too secure. When he was sure of local Malay support Liu Ngim Kong visited the Sultan; ‘Abdu'l-Samad, true to form, agreed that Yap Ah Loy should be the next Capitan China.

結果，他麽選定了在巴生辦事的那位劉壬光全權經理葉來。決定後，第二步手續，就要得到當地的馬來人礦地的大地主，和吉隆坡拉哇街蘇門答臘商人領袖素丹不亜沙等的附議支持。其中雖然也討論到統治巴生那新近得勢的拉惹瑪蒂，但兩地距離較遠，要來幹涉，併非易事。況且運錫到巴生出口的時候，稅收交付的手續只要無缺，其余的可以說是毫無問題的。而且瑪蒂又是由強搶豪奪得來管領巴生的，自己也知道，他的地位不是很安穩的。劉壬光既經確實獲得當地馬來人的領袖支持之後，就親身去Chin Ah Chan (1882) rendered Langat with 呀吃. Chin's rendering is to be read as 牙乞 nga²hat¹ as the 口-radical was just there to indicate foreign origin.牙屹河口那國君駐蹕的所在——班打(Bandar Termasa)去拜見蘇丹鴨都沙末，果然馬上獲得蘇丹的批准，委葉來做下一任的甲必丹。

Two-lane sluice box. The sluice box must be gently sloped to maximize the recovery of tin. It is not known whether or not Chin Ah Chan's parit for washing tin were gradient-optimized.

Although the two men were intimate friends Liu Ngim Kong does not appear to have told Ah Loy of his decision at this time. He waited until he knew that death was imminent before he spoke of his visit to the Sultan. According to the Record it was not until the sixth moon (that is about the beginning of August 1868) that he sent for Ah Loy. The Short History (Source 3, sheet 6) says

He summoned Yap Ah Loy to his bedside and told him that his condition had become more serious after the attack of illness and he did not know what would become of him. That a few close followers of his were not intelligent enough and that his son was still young to be entrusted with his affairs. Knowing Ah Loy to be faithful he therefore gave him last words. He wished that after his death his remains be removed to Malacca for interment and requested him to manage all his affairs in Kuala Lumpur. He gave him his keys and asked him to take his advice. He became too ill after this and passed away in the seventh moon.

The Record (para. 16) puts it more briefly, saying that Liu Ngim Kong requested Ah Loy

to be his successor, manager of his property and protector of his family.

一八六八年（劉死前一個月）劉派人到巴生去，召他的總經理葉來到吉隆坡病榻旁邊，把先前和忠厚長者葉四共同決定的事告訴他。更因部下無一足智之人能擔任這重大的任務，他的兒子又十分幼稚，不能托付，深知葉來為人忠厚可靠，於是當面把鑰匙交給他，托他管理在吉隆坡的產業，保護家小，把身後遺骸運到馬六甲去安葬。葉來既會見劉壬光，當面接領受托之後，就立刻返回巴生，將所有經營事宜，分別委任助手代理完畢，然後返隆，預備接辦劉壬光所托下甲必丹的職責，和運柩葬諸事的手續。

Swettenham's sketch of Kuala Lumpur (see Burns and Cowan, p. 219), produced during Swettenham's first visit took place on 1872.his second visit to the mining cottage. This sketch is topologically correct and it is not to be interpreted topographically. It correctly shows the features encountered by Swettenham when he was traveling from Ulu Langat (26 March 1875, 8:00 am) to Ulu Ampang (estimated by Swettenham to be 7 miles) and then from Ulu Ampang to Kuala Lumpur (26 March 1875, 1:45 pm, estimated by Swettenham to be around 8 miles). We were told by Swettenham that ‘ . . . the road from Ulu Ampang to Qualla Lumpor is all open thro' lallang, gardens and occassional villages . . . '. The mosque marked by Swettenham was likely the Kampung Rawa mosque and we can use its unique roof design as a marker to lock and orientate ourselves in old Kuala Lumpur photos.

Liu's visit to the Sultan was an astute move. Mahdi's position in Klang was by no means secure. The Sultan, when he found that he no longer received $500 a month as his share of the revenues of Klang, broke with Mahdi openly. He cancelled a betrothal of marriage between his only daughter, ‘Arfah, and Mahdi, and offered her as a bride to the Sultan of Kedah. The latter suggested instead his younger brother, Tunku Zia'u'd-din, usually known as Tunku Kudin: after he had been accepted he arrived at Langat to pay his respects to the Sultan.

The Dato Dagang who had been such a powerful ally of Mahdi's also repented of his assistance in the overthrow of Raja ‘Abdu'llah. It is said that when he first promised his help Mahdi had agreed to give him control of the whole of the interior: subsequently Mahdi did nothing to implement this promise. The Dato accordingly became active in rallying Mahdi's enemies and in getting them to appeal to the Sultan and his new son-in-law Tunku Kudin for their support against the ‘usurper'. Another incident made him even more angry. One of Mahdi's brothers killed one of the Dato's followers, and when the Dato claimed blood compensation Mahdi did nothing to redress his grievance. It is difficult to understand Mahdi's behaviour. The Dato Dagang was a wealthy man with powerful friends in Singapore who were in a position to purchase arms and ammunition on his behalf. Further he was quite prepared to import them secretly into Selangor ready for the day when he could attack Mahdi and drive him out of Klang. He said openly that if Tunku Kudin would take the lead he would join him with all his men and resources.

The Sultan appears to have favoured this proposed attack, although he was careful not to say so openly. His first move was to appoint his son-in-law Viceroy of the State. This he did on 26 June 1868, soon after the marriage had taken place. From then on Kudin had the full authority of the Sultan for any action he chose to take against Mahdi or any other rebellious chief. The Sultan gave him a written authority (kuasa) in which he was empowered

to govern and develop (the State) for us and our sons.

By visiting the Sultan Liu Ngim Kong had in effect declared against Raja Mahdi and for the Sultan, the Dato' Dagang and the Viceroy in the coming struggle. He probably calculated that he was joining the stronger side and that Raja Mahdi would sooner or later be driven out of his precarious fief at Klang. Liu Ngim Kong's calculations were related to his own problem at Kuala Lumpur. With the support of the Sultan and the local chiefs and with Raja Mahdi likely to fall by the way, Liu Ngim Kong could impose his will on the Kah Yeng Chews of Kanching over the Capitancy. The only danger lay in the Kah Yeng Chews being able to find support from some other quarter. Unfortunately that was a real possibility. The appointment of the Kedah ‘interloper'. Tunku Kudin, as Viceroy of all Selangor, had been much resented by the sons of Sultan ‘Abdu'l-Samad. It might happen that the Sultan's eldest son, Raja Musa, who had financial interests at Kanching would encourage the Kah Yang Chews to revolt against the Viceroy and so make him unpopular with the Sultan.

The precautions taken by Capitan Liu proved to be fully justified. As soon as he died his clansmen clamoured for the Capitanship and the family property. The Short History says that

on receiving the news, Capitan Liu's clansmen of the surnames Liu, Kon and Chong all rushed to the spot according to customs: of relationship and with the hope that they might receive the succession after the funeral.

Ah Loy, who had returned to Klang after his interview with Liu, immediately went back to Kuala Lumpur to carry out the orders of the late Capitan about the funeral rites. This ‘interference' annoyed the dead man's relatives. They not only made trouble over the succession, but also seized some of Liu's furniture and personal belongings. The quarrel lasted some time and there was much bitterness between the parties until finally Sutan Puasa came forward and explained that Yap Ah Loy had been nominated Capitan and that the property which had originally belonged to Capitan Hiu Siew, and had been taken over by Liu, would now pass to Ah Loy. There was no question, he pointed out, of Ah Loy taking the position by force, because it was the wish of the Sultan and of the local chiefs. There was therefore no reason for them to quarrel and to break the peace. On hearing this

they all became silent having nothing more to argue . . . and raised no further objection.

When the dispute was concluded Ah Loy made arrangements for the funeral. He also checked the accounts and gave all the purely personal effects to Liu's relatives. Then after the funeral had taken place at Malacca he returned to Kuala Lumpur and took charge of the administration and other matters.

劉壬光和葉來會面，囑托以後一個月，就溘然謝世。死訊一傳，那The union of the descendents of Liu, Guang, Zhang, and Zhao 劉關張趙 was founded in Singapore in 1873. The name of the union was changed to 古城馆/古城會 only much later, in 1924. The spelling used by Pasqual (1935) was Liew Kwan Chong Chow.古城會的劉關張趙四姓的族人，就蜂擁到劉壬光府第，聲勢洶洶，爭言要任繼承人，併接管遺產各業。更有一部分沖進屋裏，穿房入舍，爭奪家具，喧嚷不堪。直到著名的馬來人大地主、商業領袖素丹不亜沙到來，向眾解釋，葉來已經繼承甲必丹的職務；而昔日邱秀的財產及劉壬光所有的，都統通托予葉來保管，所以葉來要用武力接管厥職是毫無問題的。因為事前也已徵得蘇丹鴨都沙末和當地各馬來領袖得同意，因此眾人毫無理由來這裏爭吵，以至破環了和平得秩序。眾人聽了這一席話之後，覺得無可置辯，這才安靜下來，讓葉來去辦喪事。葉來查核過劉壬光私人得細軟後，就將劉壬光個人所有，按照親疏厚薄，盡量分給他的親屬；然後才將遺體運到馬六甲去。等到安葬完畢，就立即返回吉隆坡，執行甲必丹得職務了。

This is the account given in the Record: no doubt it treats the matter as favourably as possible. There is more than a suspicion that Liu Ngim Kong had appropriated Hiu Siew's property and Ah Loy probably did the same thing in his turn. As the Capitan's manager he was the ‘strong man' of Kuala Lumpur, and his rivals could not hope to withstand him without organisation. The secrecy over the succession made this impossible. Once he had been announced as Capitan, with the support of the Malays, Ah Loy could afford to hold the property and defy the relatives.

This photograph (National Museum of Singapore, 2001-05125) can also be found in Falconer (1987), p. 88 (Plate 60). The exact location of the attap huts shown in the Lambert's photo (Chinese Village, 1895) is not known but it is guesstimated to be at round Bukit Timah region. It is reasonable to suppose that the Malay and Chinese attap houses in Swettenham's map (1875) were fashioned in a similar style.

Thus Ah Loy succeeded to the position of Capitan China, but the manner in which he did so meant that there were a number of disaffected persons opposed to him from the very start of his rule. His first step was to recruit more fighters for his bodyguard. He was determined to rule with an iron hand. As a precaution against personal attack he gave orders to his panglimas to select the best men and charge them with his personal safety. They were to accompany him whenever he visited the mines, and were to stand in attendance when he held his court and tried offenders. Like the other Capitans he held the honorary rank of Dato and with it had the power of life and death over his followers. He could also make such laws as seemed needful to him.

葉來接任初期，頗受到一部分人非難，發生過不愉快得事件，尤其劉壬光那古城會的族人，成見更深。於是他為著行事便利起見，第一步既組織一個強有力的衛隊，已施行鐵腕政策。他有各綽號叫做「魯夫」，也叫做「慈善的暴君」，大概就是由此而來的。為著防患未然起見，他授權左右衛隊長鐘炳和丘發，挑選精壯之士，負責保衛出入的安全；所以無論出巡礦場或坐堂審案，都有壯士隨從護衛著，以防萬一。他的地位，一如其他甲必丹賦有「拿督」的職權，而且還握有生死大權。為著行事便利，他也有創制法律的特權。

The variant depicted in this postcard is slightly different from Chinese attap huts shown earlier.

He soon obtained a reputation for thoroughness, particularly in his treatment of criminals and other troublesome persons (Pasqual, 30 December 1934). He built a prison large enough to hold 60 people, and drew up detailed rules for the punishment of all offenders. These appear to us to be over-severe but they were no doubt necessary in a primitive community where might was still right. Ah Loy graded his punishments carefully, reserving the maximum penalties for habitual offenders. For a first offence a thief was ordered to be dragged through the streets with the stolen property tied to his back and shoulders: for a second offence an ear was cut off, and for a third he was executed. When this was done he was not hanged or beheaded, but made to kneel with his wrists tied behind his back while the executioner plunged a sword through his throat. Minor criminals were usually put in the stocks with heavy fetters on their arms and legs until they could be tried.

他不久就建築了一間監獄，足以拘禁六十名犯人，併訂定各項處罰的條例。在當日類似原始時代的舊式社會殘存下來的貪殘劫奪，恃強淩弱的惡風氣裏，揆之以治亂世用重型的道理，也是無可非議的。他釐訂刑法等級，極其審慎，如非屬於有習慣性的故犯行為，則不致引用最大的刑罰。計初犯的盜竊案，遊街示眾是，把贓物綁在肩背上，任人圍觀。再犯就切去一耳，第三次就執行死刑。這刑既不是上吊，也不是斬首，而是令犯人屈膝跪下，雙臂反翦，然後由行刑的儈子手用劍把犯人的喉嚨割斷。至於未成年的犯人，通常則多把手腳用鐐銬鎖上，囚閉在獄室裏，等到成年時然後按律執行。

Swettenham's sketch of Ulu Selangor mines. The Chinese word for ‘sluice' is ‘吧咧', which in turn is a transliteration of the Malay word ‘parit'. In Chin Ah Chan's letter (1882), sluice lines are the pay-dirt processing lines (e.g. large and small 15 mines 大小吧咧十五座). The setup in Ulu Langat is likely similar to that of Ulu Selangor in which water can be selectively directed from the water reservoir (ampang) to the sluice line when pay dirt dug out from the mines and thrown into the sluice line (cassiterite, 7 g/cc, is centrifugally separated from earth and other materials (1.2 to 1.8 g/cc), aided by water). The cassiterite harvest can be then exported as-it or in molten block form through a riverine gateway (pangkalan or 港門, e.g. Pangkalan Lumpur).

In some respects Ah Loy's policy was successful and in the months that followed his appointment thieving became unknown. It is said that

no man dared stoop to pick up even that which he had dropped on the road.

Pirates no longer raided the boats moving down the river and the loads of tin reached the river mouth safely. During the first year of his Capitancy Yap Ah Loy opened up more mines although business was somewhat dull: it is said that he lost more than 20,000 dollars at this time. But after he had restored order and silenced Liu's relatives his business improved. At the end of the following year when his accounts were closed he had converted this loss into a profit of over 100,000 dollars! He was also the employer of 5,000 miners. It is not surprising that his personal fortune was

a matter for envy.

葉來繼任甲必丹的第一年，那時的景況雖不見的怎樣好，可是依然繼續地增闢礦場多處，以致虧本了二萬元之鉅，但到秩序的根基打好了，劉壬光族眾的反動也靜止了之後，他的事業又復進展起來了。

到第二年年底結算時，除去抵銷所失之外，還獲得盈利十多萬元。這時受他雇傭在各礦場操作的，已有五千人之多，他的「財運亨通」，委實令人羨慕。