BUEMAH. 



sudden change in the behavior of the tribes 

 and Chinese a change, they thought, not oth- 

 erwise to be accounted for. It was argued that 

 the Chinese Government at Peking could not 

 have had time to be communicated with be- 

 tween the time Margary passed through Man- 

 wyne and his return to that place ; and if the 

 Chinese Government had meant treachery they 

 might have had Margary murdered on his way 

 to Bhamo, when he was unescorted and friend- 

 less, and not have waited until he returned 

 with the expedition. But the Chinese Gov- 

 ernor of the frontier district is half a Burman, 

 and his wife lives at Mandalay, and is a fre- 

 quenter of the palace. This half Burman was 

 the prime mover in the emeute against Mar- 

 gary and Colonel Browne. This, with the fact 

 that the hostility shown by the Chinese to 

 Margary (whom they had before so cordially 

 welcomed) arose immediately in the wake of 

 the Burmese embassy, was believed to point 

 strongly to the King of Burmah as the insti- 

 gator of all the opposition to the expedition 

 and the subsequent murder of Margary. 



The disputed territory which is claimed by 

 the King of Burmah consists of a mountain- 

 chain which runs from north to south, and is 

 surrounded in the south and east by the Ka- 

 rens, and in the north and west by the Bur- 

 mans. A part of the southernmost mountains 

 borders in the west upon British territory. 

 The general name of this mountain-chain is 

 Nwai-Core Tsai-huit-tun (the Twelve Moun- 

 tains). In fact there are, however, more than 

 twelve mountains. They are inhabited by the 

 tribes ruled by one chieftain each, all of whom 

 are subject to one Tsanlewah, who recognizes 

 the King of Burmah as his sovereign, and pays 

 him tribute. On an average, each of the tribes 

 numbers from 4,000 to 5,000 persons, thus com- 

 prising an aggregate population of about 50,000 

 persons. The majority of them are Karens, 

 with whom some Toongoos are mixed. They 

 have priests and a written alphabet, differing 

 herein from the Karens of British Burmah, 

 who had no priests and no alphabet when the 

 Baptist missionaries, who have since given 

 them an alphabet and the beginning of a liter- 

 ature, became acquainted with them. 



Another difficulty between the two Govern- 

 ments arose when, early in 1875, about one 

 hundred Panthays or Mohammedan rebels of 

 Yun-nan, who, after the overthrow of their 

 empire, had taken refuge in the woods near 

 the Burmese frontier, sought refuge from their 

 Chinese pursuers with the English resident of 

 Bhamo, Captain Cooke. Among them was a 

 son of Tah-si-kun, who had been Mohamme- 

 dan Governor of Momein, and had been slain by 

 the Chinese. Captain Cooke consented to give 

 them an asylum in his residence after they 

 had, in compliance with his request, laid down 

 their arms. As soon as the Burmese Govern- 

 or (Wun) of Bhamo heard of their arrival, he 

 demanded their surrender. Captain Cooke de- 

 cidedly refused to comply with this request 



and took the fugitives on board an English 

 steamer to Eangoon. For a time the relations 

 between the two countries assumed a very 

 warlike character. The British papers in In- 

 dia represented the King of Burmah as their 

 implacable enemy. One of the British papers 

 in India gives this account of the proceedings 

 of the British Government against Burmah 

 since 1852 : 



In 1852 its western seaboard was annexed to the 

 British dominions. The King would not consent to 

 treat, so Lord Dalhousie, after inflicting sufficient 

 punishment, simply annexed a large slice of terri- 

 tory, broke off military operations, and withdrew a 

 portion of the expeditionary force. The Burmese 

 sullenly acquiesced in the will of the Governor- 

 General, and accepted the situation. Every pos- 

 sible endeavor was made by us to conciliate them, 

 buVwithout much effect. They have respected while 

 hating us, and have, whenever they could in an un- 

 derhand way, injured us. On one or two occasions 

 the King even went so far as to try and induce for- 

 eign officers " to help him to recover Kangoon." In 

 1867 he threw every possible obstacle in the way of 

 Captain Sladen's mission, and there are grounds for 

 believing that lie went even further in respect to 

 Colonel Browne's expedition. It is said that a let- 

 ter from the King of Burmah to the Chief of Bhamo, 

 recommending him to prevent Colonel Browne from 

 proceeding, is in the hands of Government, which 

 is also in possession of other evidence to the same 

 effect. It is also, at least, a singular coincidence 

 that Mr. Margary should have been murdered imme- 

 diately after the passage of a Burmese mission in a 

 city where, a few weeks before, he had been extreme- 

 ly well received. 



The Burmese Government emphatically de- 

 nied the accuracy of these British statements, 

 and an article, apparently official, in a Burmese 

 journal gives the following account of the re- 

 lations between the present King and the Eng- 

 lish: 



During the Burmese "War of 1852 and 1853 the pres- 

 ent King used his influence in behalf of peace, and, 

 in opposition to the ministers of the King ruling at 

 that time, advised the establishment of friendly re- 

 lations with England. The Viceroy of India, Lord 

 Dalhousie, never found a word of acknowledgment 

 for this attitude. The new boundary between the 

 two countries was determined by England alone, 

 without even conferring on the subject with Bur- 

 mah. When Colonel Phayre and General Fytche 

 visited Mandalay, the King received them very ami- 

 cably, and ratified every article of the treaty pro- 

 posed to him, among others the provision that 

 money could be exported from his country. This 

 was done in the expectation that the treaty would 

 lead to an extension of commerce in Upper Burmah, 

 and to the enrichment of his treasury. As this re- 

 sult was to a large extent realized, the King loves 

 the English as his brothers, and has given orders to 

 buy all his steamers from English firms. The King 

 has always been courteous toward English subjects," 

 he has overwhelmed them with presents, he has built 

 houses for the English residents of Mandalay and 

 Bhamo, and permitted them to hoist the English 

 flag. He also established a special court of justice 

 at Mandalay for the protection of English subjects. 

 For all these favors, the Indian Government has re- 

 warded him with treachery. The Karens, who, from 

 time immemorial, have been subjects of the Kings 

 of Burmah, have been seduced, by British influence, 

 to rebellion, and have been persuaded to place them- 

 selves under British protection. When the expedi- 

 tion of Major Sladen passed through Burmah, the 



