took an interest. His Excellency went on to say that he hoped that there was no question of any action on our part in regard to Tibet which might have the effect of raising questions of this kind. I told His Excellency that we had no idea of annexing the country, but he was well aware that it immediately adjoined our frontier, that we had Treaties with the Tibetans, and a right to trade facilities. If these were denied to us, and if the Tibetans did not fulfil their Treaty obligations, it would be absolutely necessary that we should insist upon our rights. His Excellency signified assent. I added that it seemed to me that in cases of this kind, where an uncivilised country adjoined the possessions of a civilised Power, it was inevitable that the latter should exercise a certain amount of local predominance. Such a predominance, as I had before explained to him, belonged to us in Tibet. But it did not follow from this that we had any designs upon the independence of the country.
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