Very little information is given to the public as to
the advance into Tibet. Colonel Younghusband, much hampered by deaths among his transport animals, is moving slowly towards the end of the Chumbi Valley; and as yet the Tibetan authorities offer no active resistance, while the villagers bring in supplies with the greatest readiness. No plenipotentiaries, however, meet the British Commissioner ; the sulkiness of the officials increases as we advance; and it seems probable that the ruling Lamas have adopted a policy of inertia. They do not care, so long as Lhassa is not threatened, if the British remain a year or two in the Chumbi Valley ; and they may stolidly refuse to do anything, even to answer a despatch, until they are compelled. There is no public opinion to com- pel them to do anything, and they will lose no prestige with Lamaism at large unless Lbassa is taken. One result of this slow progress is that the borderlands of Bengal are being searched for alternative routes into Tibet, and that, as the region is imperfectly known, a shorter and easier one may be discovered. The Chinese make no opposition, and, indeed, seem entirely unconcerned. Tibet, it will be remembered, though tributary to China, does not swell the revenue of Pekin.
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