India and Tibet / A history of the relations which have subsisted between the two countries from the time of Warren Hastings to 1910; with a particular account of the mission to Lhasa of 1904

by Sir Francis Edward Younghusband

He then said he would have liked to come and see me before, but was afraid of the Sha-pés. He told me how he had been hastily summoned by the Dalai Lama a few weeks ago, but on his arrival had found the Dalai Lama had fled. He had greatly disliked taking up political business, for he had spent his whole life in religious study, and was altogether ignorant of the methods of public affairs. But the Sha-pés and people in the palace had given him a message from the Dalai Lama, handing over the Dalai Lama’s seal to him, and telling him he was to act as Regent during the Dalai Lama’s absence.

The Ti Rimpoche then stated that what he had come to see me about was to ask me to show consideration towards their religion, and not destroy their monasteries. When he had come to look into affairs, he had convinced himself that those responsible for the conduct of them had acted very stupidly, and should have made a settlement with us long ago. Now they were beaten and had to accept our terms, but he hoped we would show them consideration. They were sending to the Dalai Lama to return, and he thought he ought to be here to make a settlement with us.

I told him that I thoroughly sympathized with him in the very unpleasant position in which he was placed. Others had brought trouble upon the country, and he had been called in at the last moment to repair the mischief. But while he was in an awkward position, I hoped he would realize the difficulty in which I also was placed. I had received the orders of the Viceroy to show the utmost consideration to their religion. I had also received orders to make a settlement on the terms which had been determined on by the British Government. But the settlement on these terms had to be made with the National Assembly, which was almost entirely composed of ecclesiastics. The Resident had told me yesterday that the reply which they had made to our terms was so impertinent that he dare not even mention it to me officially. If, then, this assembly of ecclesiastics refused our terms, what was I to do? I had to show consideration to them and their monasteries because of their sacred calling. I had also to get my terms agreed to. Could he suggest any way of doing this except by force?

The Ti Rimpoche said he altogether disagreed with the reply which had been sent to the Amban, but the others were determined to send it; not that they really meant what they said, but they thought that if they put their case strongly at the beginning, they might get easier terms out of me. He again begged me, however, to show consideration.

I said I would be very much obliged to him if he would at the earliest opportunity try to persuade the National Assembly that I was not here to bargain over terms. I was here, by direction of the Viceroy, to carry out the commands of the British Government in making a settlement. The terms of that settlement were drawn up with an especial regard for their religion. We were annexing no part of Tibet; we were not asking for an agent here at Lhasa itself; but we had to ask for an indemnity, because the military operations which had been forced on us in 1888 and in the present year had cost a very great deal of money. The Tibetans had caused the trouble. We had, therefore, to ask them to pay at least a part of the expense. We knew, however, that Tibet was too poor a country to pay the whole. We were, therefore, asking scarcely half of the real cost, and we expected that the Tibetans would give us, who had to suffer by having to pay the remainder of the cost, the advantage of being able to come to Tibet to buy wool and other things which were produced more cheaply here than in India, and of selling to the Tibetans the surplus of articles produced more cheaply in India.

The Regent said he thought this quite reasonable, and he would explain my view to the National Assembly. As to the Dalai Lama, I said I was quite prepared to give him the most positive assurance that he would be safe from us if he returned here. I did not wish to discuss personally with him the details of the settlement, but wished him to affix his seal in my presence; and it would certainly be more convenient if he were nearer Lhasa for reference during the negotiations. The Regent said he would send two messengers to him to-morrow, advising him to return. The trouble was, though, that he had nobody about him to advise him properly. At the close of the interview I told the Ti Rimpoche that I should be glad to see him again. He was an old man, and was, I knew, very busy just now, but whenever he liked to come and talk with me I should be most pleased to receive him.

The first sign of yielding came on August 15, when the Resident intimated to me that he had pressed the Tibetan Government to make a start towards a settlement by releasing the two Lachung men (British subjects) who had been seized last year beyond Khamba Jong, and that the Tibetan Government had agreed. He wished to know when and in what manner they should be handed over. I informed him that they should be handed over to me the next morning by two members of the Council.

That morning I held a full Durbar, and two members of Council, accompanied by two Lamas, brought the two Lachung men before me. I told the men, who showed the liveliest satisfaction at their impending release, that I had received the commands of the King-Emperor to obtain their release from the Tibetan Government, and they were now free. His Majesty had further commanded that if they had been ill-treated reparation should be demanded from the Tibetan Government. I wished to know, therefore, if they had been ill-treated or not. They said they had been slightly beaten at Shigatse, and their things had been taken from them, but since their arrival in Lhasa they had been well fed and had not been beaten. I told them that they would be examined by a medical officer, to ascertain if their statements were correct.

I then turned to the Tibetan Councillors and said that the King-Emperor considered the seizure, imprisonment, and beating of two of his subjects as an exceedingly serious offence. It formed one of the main reasons why the Mission had moved forward from Khamba Jong to Gyantse, and one of the principal terms of the settlement, which I had been commanded to make at Lhasa itself, was the release of these men. If the Tibetan Government had not cared to have them in Tibet they should have returned them across the frontier, or, in any case, have handed them over to us at Khamba Jong. Their seizure and imprisonment for a year was altogether unpardonable. I trusted they now understood that the subjects of the King-Emperor could not be ill-treated with impunity, and that we would in future, as we did now, hold them strictly responsible for the good treatment of British subjects in Tibet.

The Lachung men were then taken out and examined by a medical officer, in the presence of Mr. White and two Tibetan officials. The medical officer reported that there were no signs on their bodies of their having been beaten, and that they were in good condition. On receiving this report I expressed my satisfaction that the ill-treatment had not been severe. I would not, therefore, press the matter of reparation; but imprisonment for a year was in itself sufficiently bad treatment to British subjects who had committed no offence, and we expected that no British subjects would ever be so treated again. The Sha-pés promised to respect the subjects of His Majesty in future. They expressed their pleasure that one of the terms of the settlement had been concluded, and hoped, now a start was made, an agreement would quickly be come to. It was, at any rate, their intention to proceed as rapidly as possible in their discussions. It subsequently transpired that the two men had been kept separately in dungeons, twenty-one steps below the surface of the ground, and had not seen daylight for nearly a year. But as they were in excellent health and well fed, and as we had, while at Khamba Jong, seized over 200 yaks in retaliation, I did not pursue the matter farther. The most satisfactory feature in this affair was the fact that the release had taken place entirely on the initiative of the Amban.