THE BRITISH EXPEDITION IN THIBET.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 7683, 5 February 1904, Page 2

THE BRITISH EXPEDITION IN THIBET.

No wonder (says an American paper) that the Thibetans have been dismayed by the white invasion of their southern mountains. The mission under Colonel Yourighusband led up the valleys from Darjilinc:, six months ago, penetrated thirty miles into that part of Thibet. The party had received authority from Lhasa to advance that far to Khamba Jong (Jong is a Thibetan word meaning fort), and was to meet there the representatives of the Lhasa Government. But the hearts of the Thibetans misgave them, and they failed to keep their appointment, and the subjects of the Dalai Lama who till those valleys were badly frightened when they saw the mission and its military escort, for they live near the frontier, where no thought is so consistent and ever present as that of the constant vigilance required to ward off missions and all other forms of intrusion. No white man bas ever before seen this fort of Khamba, which is about a hundred miles north of the terminus of the Indian railroad at Darjiling. It was far to the west that Landor was caught and tortured. But the Indian surveyors who, disguised as Buddhists, have passed the rich and well-tilled valleys on their way to Lhasa, have known of the rudely armed troops who have sallied forth from Khamba Jong with their match locks, lances, swords, and slings upon th 6 first intimation that Europeans were knocking for admittance at the southern passes leadiDg into the city. It is the southern part of Thibet, where most of the population till the vallery, that are best guarded. The repellent characted of the bleak high northern plateau is looked upon, in a measure, as a sufficient defence for Lhasa on the north. But Khamba Jong it only one of a considerable number of fronteir posts along the southern border. They are frequently inspected by officials from Lhasa to ascertain the discipline of the garrison, and the conditions of their defences and military resources. The Tbibetans, under the advice of China, permitted eoine Europeans to settle at Yatung on the frontier, in 1894, and to exchange the commodities of Europe for those of the forbidden land. This concession, however, has been almost a dead letter; the Lhasa Government has continued to interfere with native traders offering foreign goods for sale, and has forbidden any subject to cross the frontier. It was because of this unfriendly attitude and the practical nullification of the commercial agreement to which Thibet was a party, that the Indian Government insisted upon a conference with the representatives of the Dalai Lama. But the representatives were invisible, and now a military expedition will be sent further into Thibet to Gyangtse Jong ou the high road to Lhasa, and only about a hundred miles from the Holy City. If the British make this trip they will see a country which will win their admiration —unless the forces of the Lhasa Government are able to divert their attention from rich, smiling valleys, walled in by towering mountains. Every inch of some of the valleys is cultivated; and though the roads to Lhasa passes over some desolate highlands, it extends for most of the way through the xuillet fields and the pasture lands of the valley. An expedition approaching Lhasa from Darjiling would thus pass through a really delightful part of the large country, most of whose aspects are so bleak and uninviting. If the Thibetans had military talent and modern equipment, they might give an invader some most unpleasant experiences along the southern road to Lhasa; but they have kept themselves so aloof until now that no one knows whether they would fight well under any circumstances.