Page:History of India Vol 8.djvu/548

486 the skirts of the Hindu Kush. Along the main northern line of the Himalayas we have few protectorates because we have no need of them; we have there a triple chain of almost impassable mountains, backed by the high table-land of Central Asia; and on the other side is the Mongolian desert. But it is only upon this section of England's outer line – between Kashmir and Nepal – that she is satisfied even with the stupendous mountain barriers of the Himalayas. She can allow no interference with Nepal from the north, and further eastward the encroachment of the Tibetans upon the protected state of Sikkim produced a little war of recent memory.

As on our northwestern frontier the British are very sensitive to the vicinity of Russia, so on our border-line in the northeast of Burma we begin to feel distinctly, beyond the mountains and untravelled highlands, the presence of that great organized state, the most ancient upon earth, which has so long dominated the eastern side of Asia – the Chinese Empire. Here, as toward the northwest, England is filling up the vacant spaces on the map; she is enlarging her dominion and setting forward landmarks. And here, also, her method of political exploration and reconnaissance is the protectorate in advance of the administrative boundary. In 1885 she made a great and important stride eastward when she was compelled to annex Burma, whose ruler not only showed symptoms of open hostility, but was bargaining for the protectorate of France.

Here, again, the acquisition of that kingdom carried