Problems faced during the early years of Singapore

During the year 1867, the Straits Settlements became a Crown Colony when it was placed under the direct control of the Colonial Office in London.
As a Crown Colony, Singapore had become more than just trading settlement. It now belonged to the British Queen, Queen Victoria.
For many years, the non-official members consisted of a few Europeans and Asians merchants.
As the number of non-official members in the Legislative Council was fewer than the official members, it was very difficult to persuade the government to act on their suggestions as the large majority of official members could out-vote the non-official members.
This made them unhappy.
For many years, there was pressure on the government to increase the number if non-official members.
The number was increased over the years and in 1824, the number of non-official members was equal to the official members in the Legislative Council.
This was also a step towards getting more local people to be involved in the affairs of the colony.
One of the main problems the British had to deal with in the settlement in the 1820s was crime.
As more immigrants arrived in Singapore in the 19th century, keeping law and order became more difficult.
From the mid-1850s, the British government faced three major problems, namely, the problems caused by the Chinese secret societies, the abuse of new immigrants, and piracy in the waters around the island.
Among the thousands of Chinese immigrants who came to Singapore to work or trade, there were also men who brought crime and violence. They formed gangs and secret societies and robbed, killed and took part in activities which were against the law.
Most of them also ran opium houses, brothels and gambling dens.
Although most of the people in Singapore were not directly affected, piracy was also great danger of lives, property and trade of the merchant community in Singapore.
The small police force of the early 19th century was unable to maintain law and order in Singapore.
Few people wanted to join the police force as the policemen were poorly paid and equipped.
Most of those who did join the police force accepted bribes.
The police force was made up largely of Malays and Indians and there were no Chinese in it. As the non-Chinese policemen could not speak Chinese dialects, they were unable to get information from the Chinese. Very often, the army was called in to help the police maintain law and order in the settlement.