436 



INDIA. 



Sikkim. The frontier province of Sikkim 

 was claimed by the Tibetan Government at 

 Lhassa because the ruler, whose territory ex- 

 tends across the Himalayas, was a vassal of the 

 Lamas, and Tibetan forces were sent into Sikkim 

 to resist the British occupation. The Chinese 

 Amban who was sent to arrange a settlement 

 affirmed the Tibetan claim and the suzerain 

 rights of China over Sikkim. This view was re- 

 pudiated by the Chinese Government as soon as 

 it was made clear to the authorities at Pekin 

 that Sikkira lies south of the Himalayas; for 

 the Chinese have latterly been willing to con- 

 cede the geographical frontier of the Himalayan 

 range that has always been claimed by the Brit- 

 ish Government. The Amban was recalled for 

 his blunder and disgraced, and another Amban 

 or Chinese Resident was sent to Lhassa. Still 

 the Chinese Government clung with character- 

 istic pertinacity to the claim of titular suzer- 

 ainty. The Indian negotiators, as in the case of 

 Cashmere, refused to acknowledge any shadowy 

 nominal dependence of the province on China. 

 It was not till the Amban was induced to go to 

 Calcutta that the dispute was settled by a 

 treaty signed on March 17, 1890, by the Amban 

 and the Viceroy. According to this treaty, 

 which was ratified by the Queen on Aug. 17, the 

 crest of the range which forms the water part- 

 ing between the Teesta and its affluents on the 

 southern side and the Machu and other rivers of 

 Tibet is recognized as the political boundary. 

 The protectorate of the British Government and 

 its full and exclusive control of the internal af- 

 fairs and foreign relations of Sikkim are ad- 

 mitted, and both parties engage to respect the 

 boundary and prevent aggression from their re- 

 spective sides of the frontier. The questions of 

 providing facilities for trade across the front- 

 ier, of the rights of pasturage on the Sikkim 

 side, and of the arranging a method of inter- 

 changing official communications between the 

 British authorities and the authorities in Tibet 

 were left to be discussed by two joint commis- 

 sioners to be appointed within six months after 

 the exchange of ratifications in London. 



The Chin-Lushai Expedition. The effort 

 to subjugate the mountain tribes on the borders 

 of Burrnah and India was renewed in the begin- 

 ning of 1890. Two expeditions advanced from 

 opposite sides of the mountains, building roads 

 as they progressed. The troops suffered terribly 

 from disease. Any resistance offered by the 

 savages was requited by the burning of villages, 

 and to deputations of the inhabitants who came 

 to ask for terms Brigadier-General Symons re- 

 plied that if they did not submit their country 

 would be laid waste and the people hunted like 

 wild beasts. His column, numbering over 2,000 

 fighting men, advanced westward to Yokwa, 

 where it was joined by Brigadier-General Tre- 

 gear's column, which occupied more than the 

 expected space of time in its march from the 

 west, being delayed by an outbreak of cholera 

 and difficulties of transport. From Yokwa, 

 which is the chief village of the southern Baung- 

 she Chins, a large was sent northward against 

 the Tashons or northern branch of the tribe. 

 They were not reduced to submission wilh- 

 without a struggle. After they had paid their 

 fine and tribute, the British columns returned in 



March to their fortified camps, called Forts White 

 and Haka, whence small columns were sent out 

 to punish the Seyin and Kanhow Chins for cut- 

 ting telegraph wires. After the submission of 

 the Tashons other tribes gave in voluntarily and 

 delivered up their captives. One of the objects 

 of the expedition was to find a route for a rail- 

 road between Upper Burmah and Lower Bengal. 

 The officers explored the entire country, en- 

 countering little hostility after the natives 

 learned that a single shot was followed by the de- 

 struction of their crops and villages. The troops, 

 with the exception of small garrisons, were with- 

 drawn in April. 



The Tonhon Expedition. A column under 

 Major Blundell was dispatched from Bhamo in 

 December, 1889, to punish Kan Hlaing, chief of 

 the Tonhon Kachyens, whose principal village is 

 Swesaing, for his raids on British territory and 

 for having harbored Sawyannine, the Alompra 

 pretender. The force attacked Swesaing on 

 Dec. 23, and the Kachyens fought stubbornly 

 and well, though shell after shell was dropped 

 in their midst. The next day, when the English 

 burned their village, they fell upon the rear of 

 the column with fury. Tonhon was captured 

 after a bombardment that set it on fire. The 

 Kachyens retreated across the Shweli river. 

 The next day they returned and attacked the 

 British camp. After halting ten days at Ton- 

 hon, the column marched to the Shweli river, 

 crossed it with much difficulty, and marched on 

 Mantene, where the rebel Prince Sawyannine had 

 established his headquarters. He was reported 

 to have two guns and a force of 2,000 men, the 

 majority of whom were stated to be Panthays 

 or Chinese Mussulmans. When the place was 

 reached it was found to be abandoned, Sawyan- 

 nine having taken up his position at the Kach- 

 yen village of San-Sain, six miles distant. This 

 village was captured and burned by Major For- 

 rest, who was severely wounded in the fight. A 

 column under Major Greenway reached Mantone 

 from Momeik at the same time as Major Blun- 

 dell. Sawyannine fled across the Chinese front- 

 ier. Major Blundell brought back his force to 

 Bhamo in the middle of March. 



The Condition of Burmah. Considerable 

 material progress has been achieved in Upper 

 Burmah under British rule. The revenue has 

 risen from Rx 501. 606 in 1887-'88 to Rx 708.345 

 in 1888-'89 and Rx 1.012,300 in 1889-'90. The 

 revenue of Lower Burmah, which in 1888-'89 

 was Rx 2,542,994, rose in 1889-'90 to Rx 3,209,- 

 500. The revenue is derived chiefly from the 

 land. In Lower Burmah there is in addition a 

 capitation tax of 2| rupees for every single, and 

 5 rupees for every married man. In Upper Bur- 

 mah, in addition to a tax or tithe of 10 rupees 

 on every household, a rent is collected from the 

 state lands, which formerly belonged to the 

 King, and from confiscated lands. The Govern- 

 ment proposes to assess all lands, public or pri- 

 vate, eventually, and has introduced the system 

 already in one district. In the spring of 1890 a 

 proclamation was issued announcing that in the 

 Shan States, in addition to the tribute, all mines 

 and forests were regarded in the property of the 

 Government. The Tsawbwa of Thebaw, whose 

 influence has done more to bring about the 

 submission of the Shan chiefs than the fight- 



