Appointment of a British Resident at Bhamô—Increase of native trade—Action of the king of Burma—Burmese quarrel with the Seray chief—British relations with the Panthays—Struggle in Yunnan—Li-sieh-tai—Imperialist successes—European gunners—Siege of Momien—Fall of Yung-chang—Prince Hassan visits England—Fall of Tali-fu—Sultan Suleiman’s death—Massacre of Panthays—Capture of Momien—Escape of Tah-sa-kon—Capture of Woosaw—Suppression of rebellion—Imperial proclamation—Li-sieh-tai, commissioner of Shan states—Re-opening of trade routes—Second British mission—Action of Sir T. Wade—Appointment of Mr. Margary—Members of mission—Acquiescence of China and Burma.
The first active step taken by the Chief Commissioner of British Burma, as a result of the expedition of 1868, was to recommend the appointment of a British Resident at Bhamô. The various Shan and Kakhyen chiefs, as well as the governor of Momien, had concurred in the opinion that such an appointment would be beneficial to the future trade.
By the 6th article of the treaty of 1867 it had been provided that British steamers should be allowed to navigate the Burmese waters, that British merchants should be permitted to reside at Bhamô, and, lastly, that British agents might be appointed at all customs stations, such as Bhamô and Menhla. The government of India, however, while approving of the appointment of a British Resident at Bhamô, declined to pass final or definite orders until the king’s sentiments should have been ascertained, and a distinct assent given by him. His Majesty had already, when the matter was mooted, declared that he would take care that his officer, the Woon, should co-operate with the Resident; but, according to the instructions given, that the plan should be laid before him as one “requiring a clear understanding, and a full approval on the part of his Majesty,” it was made the subject of a special audience. The king expressly declared that the appointment of a Resident at Bhamô had his full consent and approval; but he hoped that “obstinate or intractable officers, guided solely by their own opinion, without regard to advice or reason,” would not be sent. He further desired that the new official might be presented to himself, when he would introduce him to the Woon of Bhamô, in order to arrange their mutual relations. The spirit in which the king entertained and acquiesced in the proposal may be taken as an illustration of the manner in which the king of Burma has shown himself disposed to deal with the formidable power which holds the seaboard of his kingdom. Fully alive, as he must have been, to the possible embarrassments that might arise from his relations to England on the one hand, and to his suzerain, the emperor of China, on the other, it cannot be said that he has failed to carry out his treaty obligations to our government; and when the misrepresentation of which he has been the subject is taken into account, it will appear that the king of Burma has some right to complain of the treatment he has received at the hands of the British public.
In March 1869, Captain Strover was gazetted as the first British Resident at Bhamô, and in due course the British flag was hoisted at that ancient entrepot of Indo-Chinese trade. It is almost needless to remark that, as regards direct British commerce, no considerable results followed. In 1872 it was reported that not a single consignment belonging to British firms had arrived at Bhamô during the three previous years. The native trade increased considerably, and the Chinese merchants of Rangoon and Mandalay had despatched large quantities of cotton and salt, and other commodities, as well as a moderate supply of piece goods. In the spring of 1870, the arrivals at Tsitkaw averaged eight hundred mules a month. During the two following years caravans of one thousand beasts of burden are recorded as arriving from the Chinese territories. The river-borne trade increased so much that the agents for the Irawady Flotilla Company found that the monthly steamer service to Bhamô was insufficient, and besides the extra steamers placed on the line by them, the India General Steam Navigation Company despatched steamers and heavily laden flats. To quote a correspondent of the Times, “in four years the steam navigation developed itself into an almost regular fortnightly service, which, during the year ending October 1874, carried cargo to the value of about £200,000 to and from Bhamô.”
The king of Burma showed his anxiety to restore the trade of the Bhamô route by erecting and garrisoning a line of guard-houses through the Kakhyen hills, from the plain to the Nampoung, beyond which river, as being the boundary line of China, Li-sieh-tai would not permit their erection.
In 1872, no less than one hundred and fifty thousand viss of royal cotton were stored at Manwyne under the charge of the king’s agents there resident, and it is expressly noted that, so far as the Burmese are concerned, British goods could have been forwarded with perfect security. The Mandalay Chinese, however, were deterred (1871) from buying cotton for the Yunnan market by the information that the imperialist officers had laid an embargo on the caravans, to prevent them from supplying the Panthays with provisions. The caravans were not infrequently attacked by dacoits, especially near Nantin, and the Kakhyen chief of Seray was accused by the Burmese of having intercepted royal presents on their way to China. The tsare-daw-gyee of Bhamô, by way of reprisal, seized thirty mules belonging to the Seray chief, whence arose a feud, which was not forgotten at the period of the second expedition. At this time, it resulted in the messengers sent by the Resident to the governor of Momien being warned by the Seray chief not to travel that road, as it was unsafe for any Burmese.
It was a necessary, but regretable, consequence of the reception given to the first expedition by the governor of Momien that he maintained friendly relations with successive Residents. It appeared desirable, with a view to maintain the security of the trade route, to keep on friendly, though strictly neutral, terms with the holders of the commanding position of Momien. It is, doubtless, easy to look back, and be wise after the event; but, rightly or wrongly, the intercourse once begun could not be well abandoned; at all events, it was judged prudent to maintain it. It certainly created in the minds of the Chinese at Bhamô a distinct impression that the interests of their possible commercial rivals and of their actual political foes were identified. The Kakhyen chiefs of the southern route even complained that since they and the Shans had become friends of the English the Bhamô Chinese were no longer amicably disposed towards them. The presents sent by the Residents from time to time were, doubtless, magnified by the popular imagination, and neither side found it easy to believe that the sole object was the assurance of safe and commodious transit. Thus at least it may be conjectured from the study of the course of subsequent events, as well as from the manifestations of feeling on the part of both Panthays and Chinese.
The conflicting accounts and reports which were brought in, and which enable us in some degree to trace the progress of events in Yunnan, which led to the complete overthrow of the Mahommedan power, all combined to show that, from the time of our visit to Momien, the Chinese government would seem to have aroused itself to the necessity of recovering the almost lost province. Whatever the real strength of the Mahommedans may have been in 1868, it is certain that they had gradually lost ground in 1869. The various reports furnished were too contradictory, and, in truth, both the governor of Momien and the Chinese were too much given to exaggeration to furnish any trustworthy data. In 1870, as was well ascertained, Li-sieh-tai was the acknowledged leader of the imperialist Chinese troops in the Momien district, and had invested Momien, but had suffered a defeat, and been obliged to retreat into the Shitee-doung range of hills. He soon recruited his forces, and levied contributions from the Shans, and also from the Chinese merchants both of Bhamô and Mandalay. The latter were not moved by patriotism, but by the national feelings of affection for their kindred, and respect for their ancestral graves in Yunnan.
Towards the end of that year, Momien had been again invested by the Chinese, but a Panthay force from the north had succeeded in throwing reinforcements into the city, notwithstanding which, entrenchments were subsequently thrown up by the Chinese troops, who, under Li and Li-quang-fang and another officer, pressed the place hard, but to no purpose. The imperialists seem to have poured troops into the province, and a proclamation signed by Li was posted in Bhamô, announcing that ten thousand troops had surrounded Yung-chang. In the beginning of 1871, the northern districts, which had been the cradle of the rebellion, were held firmly by the Mahommedans, and the city of Tali-fu was reported by two natives of India, who came to Bhamô, to have been free two months before from the presence of imperialist troops. The Mahommedan troops then were in great force, and had been despatched to the relief of the threatened cities of Yung-chang and Shin-tin. The imperialist troops were then attacking Yeynan-sin, to the north-east of Tali-fu, and as they had cannon directed by three European gunners, the Mahommedans, though fighting with their usual bravery, suffered great losses, and could scarcely make head against them. Thus there were three lines of attack, one army assailing Yung-chang and the neighbouring cities south of the line between Momien and Tali; the main force advancing on the holy city itself, and Li-sieh-tai with his troops pressing the siege of Momien, where the governor doggedly held out, though reported to have been severely wounded, and kept up constant communication with the Residency at Bhamô. By the end of 1871, Yung-chang had been taken by the Chinese, and Tali-fu was said to be closely invested. Around Momien constant fighting continued with varied success, one Chinese leader having been killed and his troops defeated; but the Mahommedans were bravely fighting a hopeless battle against overwhelming numbers, and the more faint-hearted among them were advising surrender, or meditating treachery. The Sultan Suleiman resolved on sending his son and heir, Hassan, to solicit the aid or interference of the British government, in order to avert the threatened overthrow of his power, or secure tolerable terms of peace. The young prince, as he may be called, made his way in disguise, with a few attendants, to Rangoon, and thence proceeded to London, where he arrived in the spring of 1872. It is needless to say that his errand was bootless; but he was treated as a private guest of the government, and remained for some time in this country. On his return he was accompanied by Mr. Cooper, who was appointed in England to conduct him to the frontier of our territory. The prince had himself proposed that thence this well-known traveller should proceed with him to Tali-fu, and thus accomplish the object of his former venturous journey. En route they visited Constantinople, where the Sultan received the prince as a distinguished guest, and finally arrived at Rangoon. Here they received the intelligence of the capture of Tali-fu, the death of Suleiman, and the utter destruction of the Mahommedan power. This necessarily put a stop to their further journey, and the unhappy Hassan set out on a pilgrimage to Mecca.
During his absence in Europe, the Chinese generals had put forth all their power to capture the head-quarters of the rebels. For some months the natural strength of the position of Tali-fu, to which all the Mahommedans of the surrounding country had retired before the advancing Chinese armies, defied its assailants. Abundant provisions were stored in the granaries; and the garrison, said to number thirty or forty thousand Mahommedans, were determined to resist to the last. The chief minister of the Sultan was entrusted with the command of Shagwan, as the Burmese call the fort of Hia-kwang or Hsia-kwan, and he was bribed to admit the Chinese forces and surrender to them the granaries. The artillery of the Chinese, directed, as already stated, by European gunners, rendered it impossible for the sultan to cope with them in the field; but he held out within the walls of the city till provisions failed, and approaching famine compelled him to enter into negotiations. He was led to believe that, if he surrendered himself, his people would be spared, and willingly agreed to sacrifice his own life to save those of his followers. Knowing the fate which awaited himself and his family, he administered poison to his three wives and five children, and, having taken a fatal dose himself, proceeded in his chair to the Chinese general’s quarters, but died on the road. His head was cut off, and, preserved in honey, was forwarded to Pekin, and it is said that his three youngest sons were sent as prisoners. The Chinese general then demanded that the Mahommedans should surrender all their arms and ammunition, which was done. The officers were then required to repair to the Chinese head-quarters to pay their respects to the general. Forty-one obeyed the summons, and on entering his presence were at once seized and beheaded. Orders were then issued for a general massacre of the disarmed and leaderless garrison, and an indiscriminate slaughter of thousands of men, women, and children, completed the conquest of Tali-fu. Thence the army marched to Chun-ning-fu and Yin-chaw, which towns were successively captured, no quarter being given to any of the Mahommedans.