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0354 Tibet and Turkestan : vol.1
Tibet and Turkestan : vol.1 / Page 354 (Grayscale High Resolution Image)

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doi: 10.20676/00000231
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little was needed, if the Indian traders chose to
present themselves at a known spot in a desert
and take chances of selling their goods. That
those who do not want to buy your goods shall
be forced to build your storehouses and your
temporary dwelling-places and establish means of
supplying you with food—that is hard. Among
people of nearly equal strength it would be called
outrageous.
The Tibetans were opposed to contact of any sort,
as it is probable that through Chinese channels they
already knew of the success of various disguised
surveyors, in the service of Calcutta, who had pene-
trated their country in many directions, even to
Lhasa's self, and had carefully mapped its roads,
mountains, and towns and rivers. Such maps are
precious to the scientific geographer and to the
thoughtful warrior. The difficulty of protecting
themselves even by theoretical non-intercourse is
great: they might well consider the task hopeless
if various traders were to be admitted. Some of
them would certainly be spies. The Chinese had as
much reason to hesitate, in this special case, as the
Tibetans. Loss of their suzerainty was to be con-
templated as probable, and also loss of their tea-
trade. A period of five years was fixed for the
non-importation of tea from India, and other word-
ing showed plainly enough that the day would come
when the Tibetan market would be forced open.¹
This you may say is righteous; monopolies are
generally bad. Free trade is good. That, too, is
my belief. But there is something better than free