On 22 January 1878, Sultan Jamalul Alam issued two instruments: a territorial grant to Overbeck and Dent, and a commission appointing Overbeck to govern. The Sulu case for retained title rests on the grant’s lease reading, the powers delegated in the commission and the continuing obligation to the Sultan and his successors.
One grant, several English readings
The original is Malay written in Jawi, an Arabic-derived script. Its operative wording is rendered differently in English. The translation attributed to Harold Conklin describes a permanent lease; the British English version uses grant-and-cede terminology.
The 2019 Gallop–Kratz exhibit supplies a Malay transliteration as well as English translations of the grant and commission. It allows the wording to be examined alongside the manuscript, rather than through an English label alone.
The transliteration records pajakkan and pajakan. Its English rendering reads “have consented to lease, freely and willingly”. These are the words behind the lease interpretation.
Read the Malay transliteration & translationTransliteration and modern translation: exhibit C-14, certifications dated July 2019. The complete text is available in the linked exhibit.
Read the Conklin translation enclosureWhat the provisions establish
| Provision | Documentary wording or content | Its significance for the Sulu case |
|---|---|---|
| The transaction | Conklin’s attributed translation: “Grant by the Sultan of Sulu of a permanent lease”. The British version says “grant and cede”. | The lease reading retains title in the Sultan while granting lasting rights of use. The difference between translations is the central textual question. |
| The granting authority | The British text identifies the Sultan, his heirs and successors, acting with the advice and consent of the datus in council. | The instrument is an exercise of an existing ruler’s authority over territory described as tributary to him. |
| The annual sum | Both English readings provide 5,000 dollars annually to the Sultan and his heirs or successors. | The grant creates an ongoing obligation across generations, rather than a single completed payment. |
| Transfer and disputes | The British text restricts transfer to another foreign nation or company without British government approval and assigns disputes to the British Consul-General for Borneo. | The relationship remained governed by written conditions after the initial grant. |
Comparison based on the Conklin-attributed enclosure and the British translation published by the Sabah State Attorney-General’s Chambers. Read the complete British text.
A separate commission to govern
The Sultan appointed Overbeck Datu Bandahara and Raja of Sandakan. The commission empowered him to administer justice, collect taxes, make laws and maintain armed forces. These powers came from the Sultan’s stated authority.
“which we hereby delegate to him of our own free and sovereign will”
The commission identifies the source of governmental power; the grant addresses the territorial transaction. Their distinct functions matter when evaluating the Sulu argument that government was delegated while underlying title was retained.
Read the commission recordIn 1882, Granville told the House of Lords that the charter vested no sovereignty in the Crown and described administration as delegated under the Sultan’s suzerainty. His statement supplies contemporary British context for this distinction.
Granville’s statement in ParliamentThe coast named in the grant
The instrument follows the coast from the Pandassan River in the northwest to the Sibuku in the south, naming river territories and including nearby islands. Select a place to follow the description.
Pandassan River
The northwestern starting point named in the 1878 grant. The text then follows the coast around northern Borneo and down its eastern side.
The grant describes coastal territories, not all of Borneo or a surveyed modern polygon. Historical spellings and river mouths provide the reference points.
An obligation across generations
The annual payment connected successive administrations to an agreement made with the Sultan. Its terms, inheritance and later continuation can be followed through the records.
- 1878
5,000 dollars a year
The grant names the Sultan, his heirs and successors as recipients of an annual sum. The obligation was written into the territorial instrument itself.
Read the payment record - 1903
A further 300 dollars
The supplementary instrument concerning offshore islands adds 300 dollars annually and records arrears for earlier occupation. The two instruments together account for the annual 5,300-dollar sum.
Read the payment record - 1939
The obligation passes to heirs
After the Sultan’s death, the North Borneo court dealt with entitlement to the money. Its opening page records the Company’s admission that payment was due once the recipients were established.
Read the payment record - 1963–2013
Payments under Malaysia
Malaysia’s published account records payments from 1963 through 2012 and their termination in 2013. The payment relationship had survived the replacement of Company government by Crown rule and then Malaysia.
Read the payment record
For the Sulu case, these records establish that the Sultan and his heirs retained a continuing entitlement under the territorial arrangement. The lease reading explains that entitlement as rent; the payments themselves establish the obligation, rather than settle territorial title.
Sources & further reading
The National Archives, Kew · reproduction via Wikimedia Commons
Sulu Arbitration · published exhibit C-14
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Sabah State Attorney-General’s Chambers
Bureau of Printing, Manila · Project Gutenberg
UK Parliament · Historic Hansard