gard to foreign relations,
they had never had any dealings with an outside race, and they intended
to preserve this policy so long as they were not compelled to seek
protection from another Power.

The tone of the reply indicates the attitude of the Tibetans. Obstinacy
could go no further. The document, however, was not forwarded officially
to the Commissioner, but returned to the Assembly by the Amban as too
impertinent for transmission. The Amban explained to Colonel
Younghusband that the Tibetans regarded the negociations in the light of
a huckster's bargain. They did not realize that we were in a position to
enforce terms, and that our demands were unconditional, but thought that
by opening negociations in an unconciliatory manner, and asking for more
than they expected, they might be able to effect a compromise and escape
the full exaction of the penalty.

The first concession on the part of the Tibetans was the release of the
two Lachung men, natives of Sikkim and British subjects, who had been
captured and beaten at Tashilunpo in July, 1903, while the Commission
was waiting at Khamba Jong. Their liberation was one of the terms of the
treaty. Colonel Younghusband made the release the occasion of an
impressive durbar, in which he addressed a solemn warning to the
Tibetans on the sanctity of the British subject. The imprisonment of the
two men from Sikkim, he said, was the most serious offence of which the
Tibetans had been guilty. It was largely on that account that the Indian
Government had decided to advance to Gyantse. The prisoners were brought
straight from the dungeon to the audience-hall. They had been
incarcerated in a dark underground cell for more than a year, and they
knew nothing of the arrival of the English in Lhasa until the morning
when Colonel Younghusband told them they were free by the command of the
King-Emperor. I shall never forget the scene--the bewilderment and
delight of the prisoners, their drawn, blanched features, and the sullen
acquiescence of the Tibetans, who learnt for the first time the meaning
of the old Roman boast, 'Civis Romanus sum.'

On August 20 Colonel Younghusband received through the Amban the second
reply to our demands. The tone of the delegates was still impossible,
though slightly modified and more reasonable. Several durbars followed,
but they did not advance the negociations. Instead of discussing matters
vital to the settlement, the Tibetan representatives would a