94 



BURMAH. 



nade was filled with court officials, princes, heralds, 

 iudges and ministers, clothed in rich velvet dresses, 

 fringed with gold-thread. The King's body-guard 

 lined the sides of the audience-hall. While we were 

 waiting, the sounds of sweet music, played inside 

 the palace, were heard, and after a delay of seven 

 minutes the gold doors at the back of the throne 

 were opened, and the King appeared. He seemed 

 to support with difficulty the weight of his clothes 

 and solid gold crown. As he took his seat a number 

 of Brahmans inside the palace set up a chant in his 

 honor, and then a herald read out a list of his Majes- 

 ty's titles and a thanksgiving for the many benefits 

 that he daily confers on his people. Another herald 

 then read the Viceroy's letter introducing Sir Doug- 

 las Forsyth, and asking the King to use all dispatch 

 in settling the Karennee question on an amicable 

 basis. The list of the presents sent by the Calcutta 

 Toshia-Khana was next read, and then an official, 

 seated near the foot of the throne, and the herald at 

 Sir Douglas's right, held the following conversation, 

 the questions and answers having been previously 

 prepared: "How is the Queen and all the royal 

 family ? " " They are quite well." " How long have 

 you been on the journey?" " Fifteen days." "How 

 is the paddy-crop this year, and are the rains favor- 

 able, and the people contented and prosperous?" 

 " The paddy-crop is good, and the country prosper- 

 ous." 



The presents from the palace, consisting of a 

 number of gold cups, a sword in gold-covered sheath, 

 and a number of silk cloths, were then brought to 

 Sir Douglas, and the King retired. "Walking, as he 

 did, oppressed by the weight of a dress wnich is 

 laden with thick gold embroidery, and with a heavy 

 crown on his head, the King looked very feeble and 

 worn. He was too far off for his features to be clear- 

 ly visible, but he has a grave and almost a refined 

 face. His eyes are small and bright, and his hands 

 are very small by no means a rare feature among 

 the Burmans. The mission returned to the residen- 

 cy by the route it had pursued on coming, and an 

 appointment was then made for Sir Douglas to break- 

 fast with the Kenwoon Mengyee, or prime-minister, 

 and to call upon the other two Mengyees, or chief 

 officials, afterward. 



After Sir Douglas Forsyth had set out for 

 his mission, the Government of India received 

 information that the King had openly and os- 

 tentatiously received in a friendly manner Le- 

 setahee, the Chinese commander of Mom em 

 and the neighboring stations, who had sent out 

 the troops which attacked the expedition of 

 Colonel Browne and compelled it to return. 

 His own nephew was at the head of this Chi- 

 nese force. It was stated by the English pa- 

 pers that Lesetahee had promised to King to 

 send him, in case of war, 60,000 auxiliaries. 

 The Government of India inferred from the 

 friendly reception of Lesetahee that the King 

 was careless whether he offended the British 

 Government or not, and that he was in league 

 with the Chinese, who had already murdered 

 Mr. Margary and attacked Cofcmel Browne's 

 expedition, and who had always thrown ob- 

 stacles in the way of British exploration of the 

 upper Burman frontier. The Government of 

 India felt so decided on this matter that it sent 

 Sir D. Forsyth an order to insist upon an ex- 

 planation of the King of Burmah's relations 

 with the Chinese before entering upon the con- 

 sideration of boundaries or any other subject. 



After completing his negotiations with the 

 Government of Burmah, Sir Douglas Forsyth 



returned to Simlah to report to the Viceroy. 

 The latter officially informed the Council of 

 India of the negotiations with the King, giving 

 also the text of a new treaty concluded be- 

 tween the two countries. According to this 

 treaty, the King of Burmah recognizes the in- 

 dependence of the disputed Karen country. 

 A British officer would be dispatched to the 

 frontier, after the rains, to mark out the boun- 

 dary between the Karen country and Burmah. 

 "With reference to the refusal of passage of an 

 escort, it is stated that a fresh communication 

 to the King has become necessary. The Vice- 

 roy entertains confident expectation that such 

 further communication may be so received by 

 the King as to maintain the friendship between 

 the two Governments intact. The impression 

 produced by this official publication was un- 

 favorable, and a large portion of the Indian 

 press looked upon the special mission of Sir 

 Douglas Forsyth as a failure. 



In regard to the murder of Margary, the 

 Goverment of Burmah persisted in denying 

 any complicity. A Chinese journal published 

 about this time a series of important letters 

 which seemed to show that the Burmans, in- 

 stead of being implicated in the treacherous 

 attack on the expedition, were themselves ob- 

 jects of suspicion on the part of the Chinese. 



The complication between Burmah and Brit- 

 ish India, and the disastrous influence which 

 it had upon commerce, raised again in the In- 

 dian press a clamor for the annexation of Bur- 

 mah. In view of this event, which they thought 

 must certainly come sooner or later, an Indian 

 paper urged upon the attention of the British 

 Government the importance of establishing 

 the shortest and speediest means of throwing 

 troops into the country. "During the war of 

 1872," it says, " Lord Dalhousie found the diffi- 

 culty of this, and when it was over took steps 

 for the construction of a road by which troops 

 could be marched from Calcutta to Burmah. 

 A difficulty such as the present shows the ben- 

 efit that would have been gained had his plans 

 and orders been carried out. At present, Brit- 

 ish Burmah is garrisoned from the forces under 

 the commander-in-chief of the Madras Presi- 

 dency, from which troops are sent by steamers 

 across the bay of Bengal to Rangoon. This 

 voyage generally occupies five days. The time 

 occupied going up the Irrawaddy from Ran- 

 goon to Mandalay varies according to the sea- 

 son of the year. Sir Douglas Forsyth went 

 up when there is least downward current, and 

 he took fourteen days, so that, allowing the 

 shortest time en route, including transport of 

 baggage, troops from Madras could not reach 

 Mandalay under three weeks, and most likely 

 would require a month. Now, Lord Dalhou- 

 sie's plan was to send them from Calcutta via 

 Dacca, Chittagong, and Aracan, and, were the 

 Eastern Bengal Railway extended in that di- 

 rection, there is no doubt/ that would be the 

 most expeditious route. But there being lit- 

 tle chance of such extension for many years 



