EXPLORING AN UNKNOWN COUNTRY.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 10955, 21 December 1911, Page 1

EXPLORING AN UNKNOWN COUNTRY.

THE ABOR EXPEDITION. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ACTION. The immediate, and, to many, the most directly interesting aspect of the Abor expedition led by General Bower is the fact that a wholly haps the last wholly unknown—country in. the. world will thus.be opened up (so writes Percival Landon in .the London Daily . Telegraph). -The geographical interest is unquestionable. Apart from the falls of the Brahmaputra, of which the very existence remains still a matter of much, and even of hot, : dispute, the gorge through which the Diliong river sinks 9000 feet and more from Thibet to the plains of Assam should be full of beauty, of interest, from a scientific and sporting point of view, and perhaps even of great industrial opportunity. Moreover, the Abors, and .-their-even less-known neighbors to the. north-west of the great river, remain almost as unfamiliar as they have been since the days when Dalton, Mackenzie and Maxwell severally raised for a few moments the curtain that hides them from the worlds , '.•'.

—The Real "Importance.— So-much of real interest would attack to this mission were it merely an isolated attempt to compel a better understanding between ourselves and the people of this unknown corner of the world, that there is some chance that its much deeper importance may from time to time be missed at home. This importance lies in the fact that _ the expedition is not a mere punitive or explanatory mission. It is a wellconceived operation that falls into its i.true place only when we remember that other missions are also being despatched to this neglected frontier, and that its primary and temporary work is being done. General Bower's column will be engaged upon its share of an enterprise which is likely to absorb public attention in India for some years to come. The plain fact is that the nebulous character of ouir North-East. Indian frontiers has long been the cause of some anxiety, and that recent events have transformed that anxiety into apprehension. There has been for four years a growing pressure upon our Northern and Eastern Himalayan territories. Nepal can look after itself. For Sikkim we have long been responsible. Bhutan we have taken under our care during the last two years. But our vigilance is useless unless it is complete. Our as yet unmarked frontiers through the unknown parts of Asia, between India and China must be drawn strongly and finally, while there is yet time. There: is 'yet time to do it —but there is only just time. Of course, as every English official and every native chief in India knows, this Chinese difficulty which is already much larger than a mere "man's hand iipon the horizon," has been caused by one act of almost criminal foolishness on our own part. When the fruits of the Tibetan expedition were gratuitously thrown away by the Home Government, it became merely a matter of time for China to reestablish herself in Tibet, no longer as suzerain," but as sovereign. The knowledge that we had broken the military strength and wrecked the national ambitions of the Tibetans might, perhaps, have made us pause before we surrendered her defenceless to her old master. But if no sense of fairplay in that respect should have weighed with us—and there may be something to be said against encouraging an Englishman's over-readiness to champion the cause of aspiring peoples —it would still have been wiser to listen to those who drew attention to the loss of an invaluable buffer state. Buffer states are often of doubtful advantage. Perhaps, in Europe and elsewhere in the world of civilisation,, they are a source of instability, sometimes even a positive challenge to the earth-hunger of a neighbor. But Tibet's great value as a buf-'; fer state lay in her almost impassable deserts, not in her political complexion or military strength, and at least British politicians should have the foresight to realise the danger of having a Chinese armv of occupation on the Indian side of those wastes. To-day that arniy is knocking at the very doors of Hindustani Perhaps it was thought that the Chinese would show some gratitude to those who thus cleared the path for her. If so, our statesmen lived in a'-: fool's paradise indeed, for the only return so far has been a curt demand from Pekin that Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan shall return to their Chinese allegiance! • We have brewed the broth and we must drink it., ~ ~ —The Unknown Land. —

But as I have said, where the frontier is-exaetly-delimited there is less trouble. The danger lies to the east. Here there has never been a denned frontier, with the exception of some 60 miles between Menil-Grai on the Zyul or Lohit river, and a point 50 or 60 miles, to the northeast in ahout E. long. 97deg. 38mm. and; N. l'a-t. 28deg. 36min. There is, indeed, a general acceptance of a vague line, running more or less N.E. from the south-eastern corner of Bhutan, itself an entirely vague locality, and trending through Miri, Daphla, Aboro, and Mishmi country to Menal-Crai, and then from the point above defined geographically in a south-easterly direction to the watershed of the Salwin river; until the furthest delimited point of the Burma frontier is reached in lat. 25deg. .35mm. But this sketchy border is unscientific, probably wholly out of accord with the actual tribal boundaries,. and, in any case, the merest conjecture.. We know nothing. AH the Indian Government are positive about is that the limits of effective occupation by, Tibet and China shall not be infringed-. But up to those limits our line must run. We have seen enough of the danger of having weak, hostile and irresponsible tribes within reach—and even within sight—of our richest Indian valleys.

So far nothing can be said wisdom of the policy of the Indian. Government. But it will be clear from a moment's thought that the difficulties are enormous. The country is entirely i unsurveved, and we know none or the tribal limits with any. certainty. Jun•rle as impassable as a fence alternates with snow mountains. The inhabitants will probably view our. activity with dismay ; there 'will be almost no opportunities for co-operation or even of correspondence; and, above all, there are the" remnants of the Tibetan authority and the boastful aggression of the.new Chinaman in the shoes of the Tibetan to cuard against. Yet the work of surveying and delimiting Is at last being undertaken, and, once again there is I time—but only just time—to do it in.

—The Abors. — The- expedition has been immediately necessitated by the murder of Mr 'Williamson in Komsing, or Km, on the left bank of the Dihong last spring. He and another Englishman, Dr Gregorcon, had penetrated as far as Kebong, j liad there crossed the river to Pangi, | ■md then divided the small column into two parts. "Williamson moved forward, and Gregorson, who was delayed by the needs of some sick coolies, stayed a day or two longer at Pangi. He then followed Williamson, and apparently only came near enough to hear the sounds of firing, and was then butchered himself. "Whether by treachery or not, Mr Williamson and his companions were murdered, and their deaths have provided the immediate reason of the present expedition. The real trouble lies 1 in quite another direction.