The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-08-06

and timid as wild animals in the pres
 ence of strangers. Further the gov
 ernment of India, in it's anxiety to avoid all cause of friction on the from tier, not only does not encourage, but
 actually foroibly prevents white men from entering the country of some or
 the most interesting tribes. We have
 some knowledge of the Looshais, Nag
 gas and Manipuris, but these people
 are civilized compared with the Akas, Danas, Miris, Abors, Mishmis, Kham- tis and Singphos. The only people who
 can get glimpses into the life Of the
 last named tribes are those officers who
 are brought into political relationship
 with them, and they are so busy with
 administrative duties as to have little
 leisure for phlosophic inquiry. The government of India has recently shown an awakened interest in what
 we might call the romantic and imagi-
 native side of Indian administration,
 though, of course, the study of romance
 can be as strictly scientific as that of anything else, and perhaps, now that we are to have director general of archaeology, we might also have di- rector general of ethnography. The one would find as much material in h.
 dia as the other. Nowhere, as already
 indicated Is there more room for spec
 ulative study than on the Assam iron tier
 For the present, however, continues
 the writer, we are constrained to de-
 pend on official publications, with all their reticence and inaccuracies, for our knowledge of the fascinating girdle that encircles Assam. Manipore. Of course, is the most important frontier state It will always be connected with the terrible occurrences that took place I there in 1893. We have punished mur-
 der outrage and the worst form of , treachery by bestowing on the people a
 settled and orderly form of govern
 ment, but 1t is strange to read d, re-
 mark, presumably by Colonel Maxwell, to the effect that the Maharajah Marjit
 was able to restrain the offences of housebreaking and cattle lifting to which Manipuris are especially prone, better than we can. But the Mahara- jahs methods were peculiarly Manlpu- IT, He cut off the feet and hands of all offenders. The other big state on the Assam frontier Is, of course, Bhutan, but with it we have very little.to do,
 except to go through an extraordinary ceremony yearly of exchanging pres ents, whereby the Bhutias go home not only richer but with a very poor opin- ion of our wisdom. In the year under
 report the Bhutias were given i've thousand rupees in cash and other
 presents, and in return they presented to the government two BhutiaSlankets two yak tails, two sups, two pieces of
 muslin and a Bhutia pony. All these
 items were sold at public auction for
 50-12 rupees, and the sale proceeds were
 credited to the government. The Char
 duar Bhutia Sat rajahs came into Tez-
 pore on February 2S, 1900, and were paid their posa allowance of 2,526-7 ru- pees in cash, with other presents l They, In return, presented the govern- ment with three blankets Bhutia bag
 and a yak tail The rajahs reported l that there was no disease or disturb | ance in their hills. The Thebengia Bhutias came to Tezpore on March T. 1900 and received 145-1S-6 rupees In cash, with the usual accompaniment of scarlet broadcloth, etc They pre- scented in return two blankets. one yak tail and a few chillies. "The Bhutias | who came down to receive posa pay ments were given to understand clearly | that they have no longer any 'bohotia' | claims upon any of our plains people, l and that there must be no sort of tyr amy, oppression or extortlon of money practised against any of our subjects
 whatever on pain of stoppage of posa
 payment" With regard to the Akas, i Dallas and Miris we are told very It, | tie except that they received presents, and, like the Bhutias, presented us | with valueless articles in exchange.-
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