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4

BHUTAN.

1

About two hundred years ago a band of Tibetan soldiers subjugated Tephiis, and settled down in the country. At the head of the Bhutan Government there are nominally two supreme authorities, the Dharm Raja, the spiritual head, and the Deb Raja, the temporal the

who

ruler,

council

is

aid

of permanent

however, there

is

Rajas in administering the country,

these

ministers,

the

called

no government

rapacious governors of forts wield sion

own

elected by the Penlows every three years from their

To

number.

at

all.

Lenehen.

Subordinate

a

is

Practically,

and

officers

the power of the State, and oppres-

all

The Dharm Raja

and anarchy reign over the whole country.

is

regarded as an incarnation of the deity. On his death a year or two is allowed to elapse and the new incarnation then reappears

in

the shape of a child,

family of a principal

cooking

recognising the

who

generally happens to be born in the

The

officer.

utensils,

child

etc.

establishes his identity

of the late

Dharm Raja



by he

a monastery, and

on attaining his majority is he exercises no more real authority than he did in his infancy. The Deb Raja is in theory elected by the council. In practice, he is merely the nominee of whichever of the two governors of East or West Bhutan happens for the time to be the is

then

trained

recognised

more

as

in

Raja,

though

powerful.

The

relations of the British with

in 1772, when Behar, a dependency

Bhutan commenced

the Bhutias invaded the principality of

Kuch

The Kuch Behar ruler applied for aid, and a force under Captain James was despatched to his assistance; the invaders were expelled and pursued into their own territory. Upon the intercession of Teshu Lama, then regent of Tibet, a treaty of peace was concluded in 1774 between the East India Company and the ruler In 1783, Captain Turner was deputed to Bhutan, with a of Bhutan. view to promoting commercial intercourse, but his mission proved of Bengal.

unsuccessful. until the

From

this period

occupation of

few dealings took place with Bhutan,

Assam by

the British in 1826.

It

was then

discovered that the Bhutias had usurped several tracts of lowland lying at the foot of the mountains, called the

they agreed to pay a small tribute.

command

Dwars or

They

failed to

passes,

do

so,

and

for these

however, and

commit depredaPemberton was accordingly deputed to Bhutan, to adjust the points of difference. But his negotiaand every other means of obtaining tions yielded no definite result redress and security proving unsuccessful, the Assam Dwars were wrested from the Bhutias, and the British Government consented to pay to Bhutan a sum of ;^ iooo per annum as compensation for the resumption of their tenure, during the good behaviour of the Bhutias. Continued outrages and aggressions were, however, committed by the availed themselves of the

tions

within

British

of the passes to

Captain

territory.