CHAPTER XII.
INTERMEDIATE EVENTS.
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.
Another version of the fall of Tali-fu narrates that the Mahommedans invited the Chinese to a conference at one of the gates, having previously mined the ground. The Chinese came in force, but, struck with a sudden suspicion of doubt, retreated just before the explosion of the mine, which destroyed the gate and part of the wall. The Chinese then returned and stormed the city, but the citadel was too strong for them, and held out till surrendered as above described. The Mahommedans claimed in their version to have been successful in their stratagem, and to have destroyed great numbers of the enemy, of whom many panic-stricken rushed into the lake, and perished there. The fort or position of Hsia-kwan was stated by the Chinese to have been stormed by a night attack, headed by the Tartar general in person, who led the way over rocky heights supposed to be inaccessible. At all events, it is certain that Tali-fu fell in August 1872, and on the New Year of 1873 the governor-general of Yunnan sent forward letters to the king of Burma announcing the fact, and requesting the king to assist in the reopening of trade, as the rebellion was at an end; but, to use the words of Sir Thomas Wade, “the rebellion died hard,” for Momien and Woosaw still held out.
The governor of the former place had been visited by a high Panthay official, who was secretly a traitor to the cause, and advised surrender; whereupon the governor invited him into his Yamen, and promptly beheaded him. In February three officers arrived from Momien at Bhamô with letters addressed to the Chief Commissioner of Burma, and were forwarded to Rangoon. The town was finally captured in May, the strong south-western gate described in page 192 having been successfully mined; but the victors found no one in the city. The governor had succeeded in bribing the officer in command of the troops to the north of the town, who had been a former adherent of his own, and suffered his few remaining co-religionists to escape by night, much to the disappointment of the Chinese, who could not consider the country tranquillised while so brave and able a leader was at large. In June a proclamation was posted throughout the Shan valleys, announcing the marriage of the emperor and the fall of Momien, and inviting all the people to return to their homes and cultivate their lands.
The ex-governor was heard of from time to time as lurking in the mountains with a few faithful followers, and orders were issued from the king of Burma that he should be seized if found on Burmese territory, and surrendered to the Chinese. This order was issued in compliance with a request sent by an envoy from the viceroy of Yunnan to the king; but he managed to elude both Chinese and Burmese, and succeeded in entering Hoothaw or Woosaw, the last remaining stronghold of his party.
This place, three days’ march north-west of Momien, is described as a town of one thousand houses, surrounded by a stone wall twenty feet high, and defended on one side by a deep stream, and altogether stronger and more flourishing than Momien. Its position must be at a high elevation, as in winter the swamps are frozen hard enough to bear men on the ice. Communication is carried on between this place and Lay-myo, one hundred miles north of Bhamô, on the Namthabet, an affluent of the Irawady, by which route the officers from Momien reached Bhamô.
Woosaw was captured at the end of May 1874, but the ex-tah-sa-kon and the principal officers succeeded in escaping to Chang-see, a town south-west of Woosaw, and eight days distant from Talo, on the Irawady, while his sons were at Tseedai assisting the tsawbwa in a fight with the Wacheoon chief.
The Panthays, in their turn, had become dacoits, as they had formerly termed Li-sieh-tai’s troops, and from their lurking-places on the hills near Nantin attacked the caravans going to Momien; while the last news of the ex-tah-sa-kon, who for a time was supposed to be dead, were that he had joined the Shan rebel Tsan-hai, who was committing acts of brigandage in the Burmese Shan state of Namkan, on the left bank of the Shuaylee.
Thus in the middle of 1874 the Chinese authority had been thoroughly re-established. As early as August 1873, an imperial proclamation had been issued in the Pekin Gazette, in which the emperor congratulated himself on the termination of the war, which had lasted eighteen years, and in which the half of the prefectural and district cities had been taken by the rebels. All arrears of taxes due up to 1872 were remitted, and the le-kin, or special war tax, was declared to be no longer required. Li-sieh-tai was appointed commissioner of the Koshanpyi or Shan states; and Sie-ta-lin, the newly invested Chinese governor of Momien, and the officials of the other strong towns, set themselves to restore trade and resettle the country, which had been deserted and left desolate for years. It can be well imagined that no little hatred of the Panthays, not unmixed with fear, animated all the border Chinese, and the constant rumours that the rebels were collecting for a new attack combined with the actual robberies committed to keep all the Chinese officials on the qui vive.
It has been already mentioned how the trade between Burma and China increased from 1872, as soon as the head of the Mahommedan revolt was crushed at Tali-fu. It is a significant fact that in 1873 the Chinese governor of Muanglong, situated to the south-west of Momien, sent orders to his feudatory, the tsawbwa of Sehfan, to open trade to Bhamô at any risk; and the chief, in announcing the intended departure of a large caravan, requested the Resident at Bhamô to send a deputy to meet him at Hotha.
The routes were regularly open, and large quantities of cotton, &c., exported, both by Bhamô and Theinnee, although disorders still existed, and straggling dacoits and lawless Kakhyens frequently attacked the caravans. Under these circumstances, the Chief Commissioner of British Burma, the Hon. Ashley Eden, conceived that the time had come for renewing, under more favourable conditions, the opening of the overland trade route to British commerce. In this he was strongly seconded by the commercial community at Rangoon. The question of the establishment of a British Consul at Tali-fu was also discussed. The first point to be attained was to secure a safe transit from Burma into China. The passage of a peaceful British expedition, which would on its journey thoroughly examine the capabilities of the country beyond Momien, and perhaps discover an easier and better route from Bhamô to Yunnan, was still regarded as the direct method of preparing the way.
In 1874, Lord Salisbury, the Secretary of State for India, decided to send a second expedition to penetrate China from Burma, and pass through, if practicable, to Shanghai. To avoid possible misunderstandings, and to make it plain to the Western Chinese mandarins that the foreign visitors were of the same nation as the English who lived and traded in the treaty ports, her Majesty’s Minister at Pekin was instructed to send a consular official, duly furnished with imperial passports, to meet the mission on the frontiers of China. Having secured the full permission of the Pekin government, Sir T. Wade selected Mr. Margary, a young but most promising member of the consular service, thoroughly versed in Chinese language and etiquette, to proceed from Shanghai to Momien. A plan had been at first proposed of despatching a party by way of the Theinnee route from Mandalay, but had been negatived by the king of Burma, on the ground of a rebellion then existing in a Burmese Shan state on the road. Consequently there was no other alternative but to proceed by one or other of the routes from Bhamô. The consent of the king was secured to this measure, although at first his Majesty objected to an armed escort, as he was quite willing to send a sufficient force to convoy the mission to the Chinese frontier; but when he understood that the armed escort would only consist of fifteen Sikhs, he withdrew his objection, and promised his full support and assistance. A considerable quantity of valuable presents were prepared for distribution among the chiefs and officials en route. These included a supply of edible birds’ nests, jewellery, binoculars, musical-boxes, and silver-mounted revolvers. Two valuable horses, one a magnificent Australian or Waler, and the other an Arab, were destined as presents to the viceroy of Yunnan, and a pair of large Australian kangaroo dogs were added to the convoy.
The command of the expedition was entrusted to Colonel Horace Browne, of the Burmese Commission; the post of geographer was filled by Mr. Ney Elias, whose successful and intrepid journey through Mongolia and survey of the Yellow River had won for him the Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society of London; and the remaining scientific duties of medical officer and naturalist were entrusted to myself.
In November 1874, Mr. Elias, who was then Assistant Resident at Mandalay, was commissioned to proceed to Bhamô, there to concert with the Resident measures for providing carriage so as to avoid delay. He accordingly visited the Kakhyens holding the route selected, and made a contract with their chiefs for the conveyance and convoy of the mission.
The expedition was appointed to leave Burma in January 1875, in order to accomplish the passage of the hill country before the setting in of the rainy season. As it was possible that Mr. Margary, who left Shanghai on September 4th, might not be able to reach Momien in time, Mr. Allan, of the Chinese consular service, was sent by sea to Rangoon to accompany the mission, and facilitate our intercourse with the Chinese authorities. The preparations for ensuring the success of the mission were thus rendered as complete as foresight could make them. The respective governments of Burma and China had been fully informed of the nature and purposes of the expedition, and had both given to our diplomatic representatives their full consent and promises of safe conduct. The personal goodwill of the border chiefs and mandarins was expected to be conciliated, in the same degree as their official co-operation had been secured by the passports furnished from Pekin; and although there was an element of uncertainty arising from the possible jealousy of the border Chinese and the plundering habits of lawless factions among the Kakhyens, the precautions taken might be well considered as enough to ensure success.