“The book contains a good deal of original documentation, but it does not pretend to offer a comprehensive account of the founding of Singapore since it omits all reference to the correspondence between Lord Hastings and the Governor-General of the Netherlands India, Baron G.A.G.P. van preface der Capellen, as well as details of the protracted negotiations between the British and Netherlands governments which led to the Treaty of London in 1824 and the recognition of Singapore as a British possession. These subjects have been examined by the Dutch scholar P.H. van der Kemp in his numerous publications, and by Harry J. Marks in his monograph, Th e First Contest for Singapore 1819–1824 (The Hague, 1959)”—Preface.