SIKHIM AND BHUTAN
and in accordance with their own laws, persuaded the rival parties to come to an agreement, which has been kept ever since; from 1880 onwards constant intercourse was kept up and the Lepcha party learnt to rely for justice on the Government at Darjeeling. Unfortunately in 1886, after sanctioning the assembling of the Macaulay Mission to Tibet at Darjeeling, the Home Government prohibited the Mission from moving a yard further, and the Tibetans, misunderstanding the motives of such inaction, advanced into Sikhim and erected a fort at Lingtu within Sikhim land, and actually in sight of Darjeeling: if the Macaulay Mission had been allowed to advance even as far as the Jelep frontier, in all probability more friendly relations would have been opened up and all subsequent troubles avoided. The expedition of 1888, undertaken to punish the Tibetans for their temerity, brings the history up to the date of my appointment, since which time all relations with neighbouring States have continued on a most friendly footing. The Lhasa expedition, although its base was in Sikhim and its line of communications traversed the country, had no quarrel with Sikhim, and received hearty co-operation and assistance from the Maharaja and the Sikhim officials, and unless Tibet and China should again become aggressive, I see no reason why its peaceful security should not continue.
18
