Alcock, Cunlife, Dewhurst, Keppel, Dent, Martin, Elphinstone, Myburgh and Mayne. The senior residents occupied Sandakan and the West Coast, while the other three residents with the second class residencies occupied Interior, East Coast and Kudat. The residents of Sandakan and West Coast were members of the Legislative Council, the Legislative Assembly of the Company. The election of Cowie to the board of directors in 1894 marked the beginning of a major change in the style of administration: Before, North Borneo was governed by the company, and the governors were fully empowered and fully responsible. But since Cowie took over, he mostly pulled strings from London. Instead of the development of North Borneo, the satisfaction of the shareholders was in the foreground. Alfred Dent, who fiercely opposed Cowie's costly and money-wasting ideas, finally resigned and withdrew from the company. Under Neill Malcolm, the administration was ordered to strictly supervise expenditure. Several governors reduced the number of district officers by eliminating the posts in Ranau, Pensiangan, Tenom, Sipitang, Penampang, Tuaran, Langkon, Lamag, Beluran and Semporna. Douglas James Jardine, who become the governor in 1934, completed the process by merging the Tawau Residency with the Sandakan Residency on the one hand and the Interior Residency with the West Coast on the other hand. He also removed the District Officer in Papar. Municipal administration was governed by the Village Ordinance of 1891. This ordinance fundamentally changed the status of the chiefs, the traditional indigenous tribal leaders. Following its implementation, the company only accepted those chiefs who had appointed them as community leaders. Other chieftains, who had played an important role for generations, were either shut down or branded as criminals or troublemakers. Disrespect for these traditional leaders contributed to the spirit of local resistance led by tribal group such as Mat Salleh and Ontoros Antanum. Tasks The company had two responsibilities, namely: Economic development through the exploitation of natural resources of the area. The company was authorised to use the area for agriculture, to settle it, to promote immigration, to mine and to cut wood. An employee of the company and later plantation owner in North Borneo, Owen Rutter, openly named the purpose of "producing dividends". Due to the experience of the decline of the British East India Company, a passage was written to protect the rights of the residents. The company was legally responsible for protecting the customs and rights of its residents,