1849.] Journal of a trip to Sikim. 483 



purpose, and was just despatching a letter to the Raja fully explaining 

 my opinions on his Agent's proceedings, and on his own letter, when 

 fresh orders arrived. They were not of a much more friendly tenor 

 than the letter to myself, at least as they were communicated to me 

 by the Agent ; but the upshot was, after much expostulation, and every 

 effort made by me to ascertain the real nature of the orders, that the 

 Agent agreed to allow Dr. Hooker to proceed, and to procure safe con- 

 duct and good treatment for him through Sikim to the Nipal frontier 

 of Kanglanamoo via Paimiongchi and Jongri. It was Dr. Hooker's 

 purpose to go on from Kanglanamoo to the Kanglachema pass of the 

 snowy range, and to enable him to do this I had previously procured 

 the consent of the Nipal Durbar through the Resident, and a guard 

 consisting of a Havildar's party came from Ilamgurhy* to Darjeeling 

 to escort him. 



After all the preparations were made the Raja's Agent raised a new 

 and unexpected difficulty. He refused to allow the Nipalese guard to 

 pass through Sikim with Dr. Hooker, and by this means fairly, or 

 rather unfairly discomfitted me ; for I did not feel quite at liberty to 

 say that his objection to the passage of the Nipalese, although forming 

 part of Dr. Hooker's escort, was altogether unreasonable, and as he 

 rested the -ruin of the project on this only, he gained his point — which 

 was delay. I ascertained to my full satisfaction, that from the begin- 

 ning he had no intention of allowing the journey, and I believe that 

 the objection to the Nipalese was a mere pretence to save himself from 

 openly refusing the permission he had previously granted. 



I had long ago made up my mind to the impossibility of carrying on 

 business satisfactorily with the Sikim Raja, through his officers, until 

 they should be differently and better instructed. The death in 1847* 

 of the Dewan Ham Sing, removed from the Raja's counsels the only 

 man of any honesty, or to be at all trusted, in word or deed. Of this 

 I have ample evidence, and was fully satisfied, f and as the Agent on 

 refusing leave to the passage of the Nipalese guard, asked my permis- 

 sion to return to the Durbar, I gladly gave it, and wrote to the Raja 

 an account of his proceedings, and said that what I had long felt as 

 to the impossibility of transacting business with his officers would now 



* Nipalese post, on eastern frontier. 

 t See my Office Records, passim. 



3 R 



