252 Tibet and Turkestan
great god "Government" like a loyal Briton, not daring to say of it, ` ` Tantæne anilnis ccelestibus iræ 2 "
Except that confession and restitution are not yet among the phenomena of national ethics, no one, I fancy, would find fault with the speech of peacemaking which I had ventured to put into the mouth of the British Government. Exceptional as it is, I feel sure that, if uttered in sincerity, it would be followed by the happy results which most of us have experienced, now and then, in our private lives. Surely the best relation, selfishly considered at Calcutta, and assuming Tibet to be a point of possible Russian intrigue, would be that of friendship. But the course of past events has made it impossible that the Tibetan should not entertain fear rather than love of the British. Little has been done to dissipate, much to encourage that fear. Even in the acts which were extraneous to Tibetan relations, as in China, and which had no conscious reference to them, this had unfortunately been true. All the more reason for special effort here. How shall friendship be shown, you ask, to a people who refuse our modest "commercial missions" ? Let them alone, or slowly gain their good-will through the Ladakis and Kashmiris who have access to them and who afford you a far more useful intermediation than Russia possesses.
I This view of the case seems to be abundantly justified by the recent refusal of the Ameer to meet any of the substantial demands made by the British Commissioner who sought modifications in the existing treaty between the two Powers. Resulting from his unexpected obstinacy are several threats of punishment appearing in serious British publications. True, they are not official—but they are straws in the current of public opinion.
IIIFカラー高解像度
