U If 



410 The Question of British Trade with Western China. [No. 4 



enervated enemies. These successes soon attracted to their side a 

 crowd of the innumerable class who had nothing to lose, and were 

 anxious to gain. To these the Pansees gave ample encouragement by 

 abandoning to pillage every conquered town. Not numbering among 

 themselves more than 20,000 righting men, they have now at their 

 command, armies amounting to between two and three hundred thou- 

 sand, of Chinese, Shans, and people of the wild hill tribes, Kahkyens, 

 etc, The war has become a struggle that has devastated the country, 

 destroyed commerce, and rendered life and property utterly insecure. 

 The captured cities were dealt with in truly oriental style, of which 

 particulars are needless. The conquerors seem to have restrained them- 

 selves from debauchery in order the better to handle the hordes of 

 villains at their command. The Pekin authorities, it is well known, 

 have had enough on their hands elsewhere, and seem to have made no 

 efforts to support the local government. In Western Yunan, at least, 

 this has been, in consequence, completely upset, and the Pansees have 

 formed a regular government of their own to replace it. The seat of 

 this new Mussulman power is at Tali, the second city of the pro- 

 vince. In, that city now resides the Pansee king. The system of 

 government is, as yet, purely military, the country being under the 

 roughest kind of martial law. The king is called Twwinseu ; his 

 chief officer, Sophutyangin, has the management of affairs at Momien, 

 a large Chinese town close to the Shan States, west of Yunan ; and 

 another commander, Tawsuntutu, is stationed at Yunzehan. Many 

 of the highest commands are given to Chinese and Shans who have 

 committed themselves to their side ! # 



From conversations at Bammo and Mandelay, with various persons 

 more or less the accredited agents of the Pansee government, I and 

 also convinced that it is the earnest desire of that government to 

 re-open the trade with Burmah. Through these same agents the 

 Pansee authorities will have also been enlightened as to the purely 

 commercial views, the British authorities have in regard to their 

 territories, and the solid advantages that will accrue to them if they 

 facilitate the opening of the routes and afford due protection to the 

 Chinese traders. 



* From information I have procured during the past year, I cannot "but think 

 that this Pansee ascendancy in Western Yunan is for the present, or until the 

 Emperor of China can spare an overwhelming force to destroy it, firmly 

 established. 



