7
is unfordable from Tangtung village downwards, flows in a deep gorge through this mountain-chain, Navigation is unthinkable in connection with this river, and it is only in a few places that a raft or boat could live on it.
The height of the Wulaw pass through which the proposed line passes is estimated at 9,000 fect, and as this apparently is the lowest point in the whole chain, the range is nearly as high as the main divide. There are no roads of any sort across it except a very difficult one going westward from somewhere below the village of Wulu (Lao Wulu) and the one that leads over the Wulaw pass. The only vulnerable point, therefore, is the above-mentioned gorge, which Major #french- Mullen, who is commanding my escort, thinks it would be more difficult to force if held in strength than any of the passes over the Salween watershed. The range is thus a very formidable barrier. That officer also agrees with me that it would be just as easy to defend this line as the other, perhaps easier, and it will give us a boundary that will preclude the possibility of further dispute with the Chinese. the other hand, if the divide is the frontier, we should possess two lines of defence at this point instead of one.
On
It would doubtless add somewhat to our prestige if we could retain Hpimaw, as we have claimed it, and it might detract from our prestige slightly if we gave it But I think the latter difficulty could he got over by arranging a friendly up. meeting between the local officials when the boundary is finally accepted by the two Governments, at which the local people would be informed that each side is making concessions to the other; the Chinese are giving up their claim to Hparè, Lagwi, Gawyawn, and Chikgaw, and we, on the other hand, are surrendering ours to Hpimaw, Tangtung, Gawlam, Kangfang, and the Lisu villages north of Kangfang, together with the forests of shamu trees from which the coffin-wood, which the Chinese value so much, is obtained. If this is done, it will also help to save the "face of the Chinese, and would no doubt be a most acceptable arrangement to them. The frontier could be demarcated at the same time.
Until it is settled where the frontier is to be, we must prevent the Chinese from stepping across the divide after our departure and interfering with the people. In order to put a stop to this, the country up to the crest of the watershed must be administered, and the cheapest way to do so, as I have already reported, is to appoint a “taungok," or superior headman, as was done in the Shingaw valley, who will live in the Lungpang group of villages, and stop any attempt on the part of the local fuyi to cross the frontier or send his retainers across it. My best Lashi headman, Labao Nu, of Lajawng village, is available for this purpose.
He is related to the headmen of the Lungpang group of villages, is influential and trustworthy, has been rewarded by the Viceroy and the Lieutenant-Governor of Burmah for good work, and is willing to accept the post on a salary of 50 rupees a-month. With such an official on the spot, and a civil officer at Wanghte to support him, we should be able to keep officious Chinese underlings out of the country until the question of the frontier is finally decided.
As regards the Hpimaw tract, I suggest that the Chinese Government should be asked not to permit the Tengkeng fuyi or his agents or servants to visit or administer it until the negotiations in connection with the frontier are concluded. This would not be an unreasonable request to make and might be acceded to.
If the Chinese agree to accept the proposed boundary up to the confines of Thibet, well and good. If not, we should be content to have it as far as latitude 27° north, beyond which nothing is known of the country except that it is perhaps the most difficult in the world, and is inhabited by Black Marus and other tribes of intractable savages, with whom the Chinese have little or no dealings. The country has never been explored, and is a blank on the map. Prince Henri of Orleans made a perilous journey across it from east to west in latitude 27° 40′ north, but has added little to our geographical knowledge of the region. The settlement of this portion of the frontier may therefore be postponed indefinitely.
As regards the branch of the 'Nmaikha near latitude 28° north, known as the Chin River to the Chinese, the basin of which is inhabited by the little-known tribe of Chiu-Tzu, who are supposed to be tributary to the Chinese Chief of Yetche (Yei Chil) on the Mekong, I agree with the late Mr. Litton that it would only confuse matters to raise the question of so distant and difficult a country about which both the Chinese and ourselves know so little.
A boundary commission is a thing to be avoided. It is very expensive, and as the Chinese officers are afraid to accept responsibility, and rue it if they do, it usually ends in an impasse, or if a settlement is arrived at the Celestial Government will refuse to ratify it. No Chinese official could venture to give up a yard of Chinese soil, or supposed Chinese soil, without running the risk of losing his position and perhaps also
his life. Their attitude is consequently always one of passive resistance. If possible, therefore, the frontier should be laid down in London or Peking, preferably the former, as the Chinese officials there will probably understand a map better than those in Peking. The whole thing, as Mr. Litton says, could be settled amicably in ten minutes if we had a civilised Government to deal with.
I can find nothing in any document in my possession, or in any paper to which I have had access, regarding the frontier proposed by Taotai Shih Huang Chao. If it includes in China the upper portions of the Chipwi, Hparè, and Lagwi valleys, it is quite useless to us as a line of partition between the two countries, for it would be naked to attack and indefensible; each of these valleys would furnish a pied-à-terre to a hostile force or a site for a future fort, and form an enclave where our bad characters and discontented spirits would congregate. In fact, it would be out of the question for us to accept such a boundary.
There can be no doubt that the people will welcome us with open arms everywhere, even at Ipimaw, for they know that we will bring peace and money into the country, which at present is steeped in poverty and a prey to chronic disorder.
4. Text of proposed Convention.-If the boundary as originally proposed is accepted by the Chinese Government in its entirety, the following draft of the text of a convention, taken from Mr. Litton's report, could be accepted by the Govern- ment of Burmah :--
"(a.) From Manang Bam,* in latitude 25° 33′ north, the frontier will follow the erest of the watershed range between the Nmaikha River with its tributaries to the north, and the Taping and Shweli (Lung Chiang) Rivers with their tributaries to the south, until it reaches the watershed between the Salween and the Irrawaddy Rivers.
"The following are the names by which certain points on this crest are known : Pan Wa Kou pass, the Tsu Mei (Sisters) peak, the Ta Ya Kou pass, the Tzu Chu Ya You (Lagwi) pass, the Feng Shui Ling pass, the Ta Ho Tou ridge.
"The following localities and natural features belong to China: the valleys (pa-tzu) of Lunma and Tan Tsa, the Lang Ya Shan peak, the Tientan valley, the Mingkwang valley, the Tatang valley.
"The following localities and natural features belong to Burmah: the valleys of the Shingaw, Tamu (Tun Maw) and Chipwi Rivers, the parè or Hkansheng valley, the Lagwi, Tzu Chu or Mangshang valley, and the Shijang (Hsieh Chiang) valley; the Hpimaw valley, comprising the drainage of the Htangjam, Changzaw ( Pi Ho) and Muku streams; the whole of the drainage of the Ngawehang (Hsiao Chiang) River,
"Thence the frontier will follow the crest of the lofty and conspicuous range known locally as the Kao Liang Kung or Kao Li Kung, which forms the watershed between the Salween and the Irrawaddy Rivers as far as latitude passing through the crest of the Pien-ma (Hpimaw) Ya Kou pass.
"The whole of the basin of the Salween (Lu Chiang) thus belongs to China and the whole basin of the Irrawaddy to Burmah.
* (b.) As the frontier now laid down follows conspicuous ranges of hills and is well known no further demarcation on the spot will be necessary, but it is agreed that officers will be dispatched by both Governments to erect boundary pillars at the principal passes over the ranges which form the frontier. Any difficulty in recog- nising the places mentioned will be settled by reference to the map which is attached to the English and Chinese versions of the convention, and which is recognised by both Governments as authoritative.
"(c.) It is understood that this convention does not affect the frontier of the various Thibetan districts, which will be reserved for future discussion.
(d.) The Yunnan Government having reported that certain headmen (fuyi') on the Chinese side of the froutier claim customary presents or pecuniary dues from villages situated on the Burmah side thereof, the British Government agrees to pay to the Chinese Government an annual sum of
rupees in full compensation for
the extinction of such claims. All jurisdiction and sovereignty over such villages shall thenceforth reside in His Britannic Majesty for ever. It is agreed that this sum
rupees shall be paid annually, commencing from the
by His Britannic Majesty's consul at Tengyueh, through the Taotai of West Yuunan, to be distributed to the said headmen (fuyi') in such proportions as the Chinese Goveru-
of
}
* I have omitted the words "the high conical peak" because they are not a correct description of the bill on which the northernmost boundary pillar of the convention has been erected.
[1974 -2]
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