New-York tribune., 1906-07-07
,rPnfA AND ITS PEOPLE.

SCHOOL, By H. Fielding Hall
4 x eSs The Macmillan Company.
rSs,sing Halls first book. 'grhe Soul OF a
-" vas OF a sort rare not only in this
feeILS ,u. at any period. He wrote without
Pe-..s, NJ the ideals OF an alien people. He
F'e.,os che inner life OF the Burmese with a
o-.r,, acuteness and breadth OF Judgment
,,,,sed the l1eenest interest In his reader.
~.,.s IN what ne had 20 say. he said it with
80, annarent concern as 20 literary graces.
o.. .r,-sbv achieved a singularly persuasive
a. n this new book. a study OF the outer
che Burmese as a race or nation. sle has
l--~,rhed his subject in the same unprejudiced
~ y. -.,losophic spirit. and with the same sue
o .,sr,ber OF a timber corporation and later
-,varnment oflcIal the author spent many
As - a. che land which was finally annexed by
-.-~-,.,s IN 1885 He shows us what Burma
q q, neople were like before that war Of con-
-. how they were conquered and what
s.,,res have followed. It is the story OF
--s race beginning TO grow up and learn under
- .T,t,oa OF an older one. Life was pleasant 20
80 Burmese OF a quarter century ago. They
.asoed all happy. all well TO do. with leisure to
-, and the WIN TO play. II there were pow
.-,v The Burman put a good face on It, The
.,rsr OF money was limited:
Money Eas ssge ge0G so % were festivals so was nde
50 NO M1S Money was not master but slave.
an vas vas. |I5f fsaf the power of money failed If
ioan1l 1l,SeS his pony he would not sell it. not for
any proIE 40 - avrnent Il seemed as II the neces-
1 ~ n lie were come by so easily that their I'M
1oTtanoe lessened-
7bsrs was no tyranny. for each village was
,.,s-coutained and self-governed. and gov
s-,ss honestly and we'll. Women had equal
.,-bts and equal opportunities with men. If
-, Aid all the weaving the men did all
.,s bsayv work, and the money Of the fam
40 -r,s in the vvoman's care. The Buddh-
a. faith was emphatic IN fits command over
80 oaonle and the women were the stanch
s1rnorfers OF the Buddhist monkhood. The as
,.ndancv OF women, the author points out, was
spe 10 the secluded life the nation lived, shut
svav from other races behind its mountain
walls. its seas and swamps. The men. he de-
,lares did not give one the idea Of weakness or
coEaraice; rather they seemed like boys still
n the nursery under women's gOvernance.
Ths boys have entered England's school, and
entertaining in a high degree is the authors ac-
count OF the way it was brought about. The
conquest he believes. was not only inevitable,
hut IT was the only way in which the Burmese
could be translated from their nursery into the
vorld-to learn what England learnt long ago,
4
the hands Of the Normans." It was a curious
struggle-a war which was not exactly a war,
as the authors personal experience testified.
The leaders and the rank and file were villagers,
who had no organization. no commissariat and
no arms but a few guns. all muzZle leaders.
They would collect for an attack. then disap-
pear 10 the evaporation of the invader who
would go out to look for them and ind nothing.
Their object was never TO meet US in open
fight, but TO harass us on the march, to attack
Us at night, 10 boycott US and make our rule
impossible. for they hoped against hope that
some time we would go away
There was never any bitterness in the war on
the British side. our author declares, and his
account Of his experiences during that time
bears out this statement. Now and then his
serious narrative is nghtened by picturesque
anscdote. Witness the story OF the Chins in the
expedition Of 1883. undertaken in the interest of
the Burmese:
after the early fighting IN the hills. and when the
column was establishing itself in a fort up there
some Chin chiefs came in to negotiate. Or rather
they came n TO ask questions and make remarks.
crossing into their hills at all; secondly, when we
Intended 10 60 away. And they wished to add
things hot for US. For the simple Chin knew
ms own mind, and was more or less Indifferent
@ sD9ut ours The Political Officer explained how
very ,elg much his thoughts varied from theirs. but
tAtg were dear TO what he said Then the general
.o9H lhe cnieIs IN hand words, ne said, ARE
useless soldiers have other means. I will give
tnem a demonstration-then they viii be afraid
a. - Ay calIed out some troops and formed them
lp y line and fired volleys across an open space,
70 imagine themselves the targets, and the Chins
smiled Then the guns brought out. There
been taken by assault a few days before, and was
hoR I abandoned. The guns were turned on this viii
4 Immediately showed signs of life. Little black
general laughed, the staff laughed the Cllins
laughed Here was indeed a demonstration But
when the colorei Of a (s6urka ragiroanf came in
@ nol haste 70 inquire why his working party there
vas being fred the laughter died from all faces.
.55necung only on the faces Of the Chin chiefs,
Eho sat upon the ground and shrieked. So the
For the rest Of the var the Chins took very good
care; II they wished to have fight to arrange it
sha sl when they built stockades they did IL where
Ssr & gIas coLld not shell then A good lesson IS
DO the other
II the Burmese were taught by the war, so
were the British. who found that moving col
uHns had no permanent effect against a people
N arms. The first measure toward pacifcation
vas 'pegging down the country by innumer-
aoie small armed posts from ten 70 fifteen miles
tpaTt- The subaltern IN command Of a small
1ofce studied the surrounding villages. people
ana roads, and managed to prevent any big
gatherings. The people got used 20 his presence
- ASconcleo 10 the inevitable. Inen IuS
'llage organization was invoked for good gov
tiAment. and made responsible for the peace
abe and lawful behavior OF its inhabitants.
anybody suspected of assisting the insurgents
could be deported, and the village could be fined
and have troops or police ouartered In It, The
wisdom OF the British administration was shown
n forbidding the burning OF OFFENDING villages
" any public parade OF executions. It endeav-
osed TO establish its rule without exasperating
ne people too deeply. The merchant and trad
-g classes. the author notes. submitted Arst;
nen the Buddhist monks. true to their doctrines.
wen u hating the invaders. preached peace.