Page:With the Russians in Mongolia.djvu/39

 At present the Russians are endeavouring to counteract the deleterious power of the Lamas by stimulating the Mongols to form a military force. It is necessary to uphold the temporal power of the Hu-tuk-tu. At present he owes this power to his fanatical followers. Education, it is feared, would so contradict the absurd teachings of the Lamas as to make them antagonistic, and a force sufficiently strong to counteract the Lamas' power is thought to be the only method.

With the object of training a Mongol army on modern lines, Russian instructors have been introduced.

The Mongols, though fine horsemen and descended from a race of warriors, do not care for anything but the militia form of soldiering.

With wise training and leadership they should compare well with the Chinese as soldiers, though they would be inferior to the Sikh; but it behoves the Russians to choose carefully their instructors, and for that matter their civil advisers, and to continue to inculcate into the Mongols absolute loyalty to their chief the Hu-tuk-tu. Mongolia is a country which, if wisely administered, has a future before it. The administration of the Chinese failed. The country of Mongolia is crying out for reform. It remains now with the Russians to carry out its development.