BURMAH. 



69 



ish, was dispatched to negotiate with the In- 

 dian Government. The envoys were detained 

 at the frontier by order of the Viceroy, and 

 were informed that they would not be allowed 

 to proceed unless they bore authority to assent 

 to stipulations which would render the posi- 

 tion of a British Resident at Mandalay toler- 

 able. During the delay to which the lega- 

 tion was thus subjected, the chief of the body 

 applied to the British Deputy-Commissioner 

 at Rangoon, asking for copies of the Penal 

 Code and the Code of Civil Procedure, and 

 other works illustrating the character of Eng- 

 lish laws and institutions, saying in explana- 

 tion of his request that he wished to employ 

 the opportunity that was given him in making 

 himself acquainted with the British legal sys- 

 tem. The "Mandalay Gazette" of February 

 22d published an announcement that the King 

 contemplated sending a mission to visit Eng- 

 land, France, and Italy, for the purpose of 

 studying everything connected with the mode 

 of government among European nations, in- 

 cluding their criminal and civil codes, their 

 revenue systems, and their military regula- 

 tions ; with the aid of the information thus 

 obtained, he designed selecting the best fea- 

 tures of administration in each country for 

 adoption in his own kingdom. The English 

 believed that the real object of this scheme 

 was to negotiate a treaty with another power 

 than the British, and to seek aid in the con- 

 struction of railways. The embassy, which 

 was waiting at Thyetmayoo for the permis- 

 sion of the Indian Government to proceed, 

 in time exhibited a royal order defining its 

 powers, and authorizing it to negotiate a new 

 treaty with England. Mr. Aitcliison, the Brit- 

 ish Deputy-Commissioner, replied to the new 

 application of the envoys, that the credentials 

 they had presented were not sufficient, since 

 they failed to confer plenary powers, and add- 

 ed that, while he would gladly wait for the re- 

 sult of a fresh application to Mandalay for 

 powers, it was desirable that the embassy 

 should go back, unless there was good reason 

 to hope that substantial overtures would soon 

 be made. Visits of courtesy were afterward ex- 

 changed between the Deputy-Comrnissionerand 

 the members of the embassy. During April 

 the envoys submitted propositions for a treaty, 

 embodying provisions that residences should be 

 established at Rangoon or Calcutta and at Man- 

 dalay ; that Burmah should be allowed to send 

 a consul to London ; that criminals should be 

 tried by the laws of the country in which the 

 crime was committed ; that political offenders 

 taking refuge in the residency of either govern- 

 ment should be given up to the power to whose 

 laws they were answerable ; that the monopo- 

 lies in petroleum, teak, and rubies should be 

 continued, and other goods should be sold at 

 former rates ; that the Burmese should be per 

 mitted to import arms and munitions of war 

 subject to the approval of the Chief Commis- 

 sioner, who should not be authorized to re- 



fuse his consent if friendly relations prevailed ; 

 and that all other provisions of former treaties 

 should continue in force. The draft was not 

 acceptable to the British, because it contained 

 no provisions for a guard for the residency, or 

 for the relaxation of the humiliating etiquette 

 which the sovereign of Burmah imposed upon 

 the representatives of foreign powers, and 

 which practically forbade the Resident from 

 having interviews with the King, and thus left 

 the principal grievances that had been com- 

 plained of unredressed. The embassy was, 

 therefore, dismissed, the Deputy-Commissioner 

 assigning as an additional reason why it could 

 not be entertained any longer, that as a change 

 in the Government of India was imminent, it 

 would be necessary to postpone the negotia- 

 tions for the present, so that the new Viceroy 

 should not be hampered in his action. 



The frontier was troubled by raids and dis- 

 orders which the Government professed to be 

 unable to prevent. An irruption was made in 

 the spring upon the territory of the Rajah of 

 Manipoor. The Governor of Silleymyo de- 

 tained the mail-steainer Yonan, and was ar- 

 rested for the offense and taken in irons to 

 Mandalay by the embassy returning from Thy- 

 etmayoo. An order was afterward issued to 

 the Woons along the river, instructing them 

 not to summon the captains of steamers ashore, 

 but to go on board the vessels if they had busi- 

 ness, with not more than five unarmed follow- 

 ers. In May an insurrection broke out near 

 the British frontier, in the interest of Prince 

 Nyoungoke, who had been residing at Cal- 

 cutta. The Prince escaped from British sur- 

 veillance, crossed the border, and took the lead 

 of a small force of rebels, to which numerous 

 accessions were soon made. The insurgents 

 were successful in the first engagements, but 

 having neither arms nor money, were inca- 

 pable of affording a steady opposition to the 

 royal troops, and were defeated and scattered 

 after a few conflicts. Prince Nyoungoke fled 

 to British territory, where he was taken pris- 

 oner and held by the British. Late in August 

 the apartments of King Thebaw were entered 

 by a Ponghee, designing to assassinate the King, 

 but he and his design were betrayed by a dag- 

 ger falling from his garments. The Ponghee 

 had twelve accomplices associated with him, 

 one of whom, his nephew, and himself, were 

 put to death. 



The Burmese made a demonstration against 

 the British frontier early in October, with two 

 bodies of troops, one consisting of seven hun- 

 dred and fifty, the other of three hundred men. 

 It was believed to be the purpose of the King 

 to demand an indemnity for the damage which 

 the kingdom had suffered from the insurrec- 

 tion of Prince Nyoungoke. The British ad- 

 mitted that a color of justification existed for 

 such a demand, for the Indian Government, 

 after having given the Prince refuge from the 

 pursuit of the King, had permitted him to es- 

 cape and make war upon his territory, and had 



