Stamford Raffles was in the service of the East India Company when he landed in Singapore on 28th January 1819. On the 1st April, 1867, India ceased to control the destinies of Singapore.
Charles Burton Buckley's Assessment of Raffles in An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore 1819-1867, pp. 788-790:
Sir Stamford Raffles when, to use his own words, "it seemed possible that the English Ministry might sacrifice him, honour, and Singapore, 'to the pretentions of the Dutch'” was cheered by a vision of what Singapore might become. It is difficult to suppose that he can possibly have imagined then, what we see now.
But suppose that some Seer had led him up to the Forbidden Hill (Bukit Larangan) now called Fort Canning, and had shown him the jungle and the mangrove swamps transformed into a large and busy town; the river flowing near the hill hidden by long ranges of buildings, large engineering shops, and godowns filled with produce; and the harbour and all the wharves occupied by shipping, stretching far away before him. And. if he had been told that the few Malays in the little attap campong, on which he was looking down, were the nucleus of a population of over a quarter of a million inhabitants; that the yearly shipping was over six million tons, taking the arrivals only ; and that the trade of the settlements would become actually the third among the printed returns of Trade for the years 1900-1901 of all the British Colonies and Dependencies: (At the beginning of The Statesman's Year Book for 1902 is a Table which gives the total imports and exports of the Colonies and Dependencies of the British Empire for 1900-01. Total India, including the Feudatory States, is given as 151 millions ; then follows Canada with 78 millions ; and the third is the Straits Settlements with 57 millions sterling, the exchange being taken as 2/-. The next are New South Wales, 55; Victoria, 35, Cape Colony, 27; New Zealand, 23 millions; with all the other Colonies tailing behind. Hongkong has no complete trade returns. Singapore is not given separately from Penang and Malacca.) —Surely, the sight would have surpassed, even his far-seeing conception of what the place was to be.
But some of the passages in his letters already quoted in this book must lead those who understand the importance of Singapore at the present day to wonder at his remarkable foresight, his tireless energy, and his great sagacity. They read like a prophecy. Some of these passages (on pages 6, 67 and 78) will bear repetition here ;—
"This is by far the most important station in the East, and as far as naval superiority and commercial interests are concerned, of much higher value than whole continents of territory;—If no untimely fate awaits it, it promises to become the emporium and pride of the East.—It would be difficult to name a place on the face of the globe with brighter prospects. This may be considered as the simple, almost magical, result of that perfect freedom of trade, which it has been my very good fortune to establish."
There is a passage in the very long and eloquent Minute of Raffles at the founding of the Raffles Institution, which has not been quoted in this book, and which it now seems a pity to omit:
"The acquisitions of Great Britain in the East have not been made in the spirit of conquest. A concurrence of circumstances not to be controlled, and the energies of her sons, have carried her forward on the tide whose impulse has been irresistible. Other nations may have pursued the same course of conquest and success, but they have not, like her, paused in their career and by moderation and justice consolidated what they had gained. This is the rock on which her Indian Empire is placed .... Our influence must continue to extend; the tide has received its impetus, and it would be in vain to attempt to stem its current; but let the same principles be kept in view, let our minds and policies extend with our Empire, and it will not only be the greatest, but the firmest and most enduring, that has yet been held forth to the view and admiration of the world. While we raise those in a scale of civilisation, over whom our influence is extended, we shall lay the foundations of our dominion on the firm basis of justice and mutual advantage, instead of on the uncertain and unsubstantial tenure of force and intrigue ..... Commerce is the principle on which our connections with the Eastern States is formed. . , . Education must keep pace with commerce in order that its benefits may be ensured and its evils avoided; and in our connection with these countries it should be our care that, while with one hand we carry to their shores the capital of our merchants, the other shall be stretched forth to offer them the means of intellectual improvement." (788-790)