living in Membakut and that he was involved in the plotting that caused Hashim's death, the HEICS Phlegethon and HMS Iris departed there destroyed Haji Saman's house and captured the town of Membakut although Saman still managed to escape. Brooke returned again to Brunei and finally managed to induce the Sultan to return to the capital where the Sultan finally regretted the killings of Hashim, his brother and their family members by writing a letter of apology to Queen Victoria. Through his confession, the Sultan recognised Brooke's authority over Sarawak and mining rights throughout the territory without requiring him to pay any tribute as well granting the island of Labuan to the British. Brooke departed Brunei and left Mumin in charge together with Mundy to keep the Sultan in line until the British government made a final decision to acquire the island. Following the ratification agreement of the transfer of Labuan to the British, the Sultan also finally agreed to allow British forces to suppress all piracy along the coast of Borneo. Later years Brooke in the following year in 1847, acting as HM Commissioner and British Consul to the Sultan and Independent Chiefs of Borneo negotiated the 1847 Treaty of Friendship and Commerce. One of the articles agreed to prevented the Sultanate from engaging in any concession treaty with other foreign powers especially after the visit of in 1845. American policy at the time however made no intention to establish any solid presence in Asia and the Pacific. By 1850, the United States recognised the status of Brooke's raj as an independent state. Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II died in 1852 and he was succeeded by Mumin, which already proved a success in Brooke's efforts to establish a pro-British government in Brunei. The new Sultan then ceded the Saribas and Skrang districts, which later became the Second Division, to Brooke in 1853 due to conflict with pirates. Three major rebellions led by Rentap (1853), Liu Shan Bang (1857) and Syarif Masahor (1860) shook the Rajah's administration which, together with the stagnant economic conditions at the time, caused Brooke to be plagued by debt. He was driven into planning to cede Sarawak to the British to settle his debt; while the idea was supported by some of Britain's members of parliament (MPs) and businessmen, it was rejected by Prime Minister Lord Derby who feared that the introduction of a British