Doubtless one thing, full of opportunity to the English, has been securely accomplished ; that is the establishment of discord in Tibet. There are few countries, however civilised, in which the fire of faction would not burn high after the giving of power by exterior force to one group of men, taking it from another. We do not sufficiently understand the real sentiments of the influential lamas toward the two great Incarnations ; we do not know well enough the real attitude of the Chinese authorities as distinguished from their enforced action under British pressure ; we do not know well enough the degree of stupefied despair which may have taken hold of the Tibetans at large on seeing the recent exhibition of barbarous will working through the power of science. It may be that this alone will bring submission, all internal adjustments between factions being made secondary to the desire to escape from the vengeance of the Christians. Yet even their submission may be checked by the resistance of others.
The proposed treaty clearly threatens the rights of Russia's subjects—Kalmuks and Buriats—who have from time immemorial journeyed to Lhasa's temples. The fierce, and, I believe, unwarranted suspicion, which has led to the war just ended, might at any time, if wielding suzerain power, cut off this pilgrimage or unduly harass the pilgrims. The rights of China are flouted ; the proposed treaty is, in fact, an attack upon the integrity of the Chinese Empire, as a corresponding aggression upon Northern India by Russia would be considered as an attack upon the British Empire. Yet England is
IIIFカラー高解像度
