of the electric telegraph, and an attack upon British territory by Nga Shwe Bo near Meaday, the GovernorGeneral wrote to the Commissioner with some severity, but the replies of the latter show that the reprimand was accepted in a spirit free from all irritation.

"I am conscious, my Lord," wrote Phayre on the 4th of July, 1855, "that I am not without blame in the matter of the posts. I only hope that, when my explanation arrives, I may not appear so blameworthy as at present. The immediate cause of delay in the police posts was the non-arrival of the arms for the men. I certainly should have seen closer to that, but as all previous indents had been complied with direct, I only discovered their want on my arrival at Prome. But I do not attempt, my Lord, to exonerate myself. I acknowledge I am much to blame. All I can say is I hope it will appear less so than it does at present."

In not attempting wholly to excuse himself, Phayre showed his wisdom, for it was a cardinal point of the policy of the Governor-General to organise a strong police force, and the Commissioner's tendencies to be economical had been rebuked more than once, as the following extracts show:

An organised police, and above all an organised and powerful river-police, reinforced at points by gunboats, and all capable of dealing effectually with these dacoits, or guerillas, or insurgents, or whatever they are, is to my mind an indispensable necessity.

And again

Do not fear the expense. Peace externally I hope for, but submission and order internally I must have, and at whatever

cost.

And yet again

I reply to you frankly that I think your leaning is to keep establishments too low. I am aware of your motive, and appreciate it, but I think a free expenditure to repress outrages, which make much noise and do much harm, is good economy.

Called to account on another subject, Phayre thought that he had a better case and was not afraid to defend himself. The Governor-General was anxious to have a special department for the telegraph, and his plans were upset when the services of soldiers or civilians were employed in work which he intended to entrust to a distinct department. When, then, Phayre was engaging outsiders to carry on the work, his action was rebuked. He replied on the 20th of August, 1854

I am much concerned to find that I have taken steps of which your Lordship does not approve. There is, however, one portion of my plan which I have probably not explained with sufficient distinctness, and which I now beg to do. I did not mean that Major Du Vernet, and those appointed under him, should be anything more than temporary executive officers, marking out the line of electric telegraph, and putting the poles in the ground. As soon as this work was accomplished, it was intended that their functions should cease. Now, as it is your Lordship's wish that the telegraph should commence working as soon as possible, I do assure you, my Lord, that I am convinced that what I propose is the plan best calculated to attain that object.

The most serious occasion of difference between the Governor-General and his subordinate arose out of the violation of the British territory at a moment when Phayre was about to be sent as special envoy to Ava. On the 2nd of April, 1855, the Commissioner wrote:—

I now

come to speak of a matter that has disturbed me considerably. On my march from Meaday with Major Allan across the hills, we halted at a large Karen village at the foot of the high range. This village is about ten to twelve miles within our border. It had not been visited before; the people were friendly and were constantly about our tents. I gave the Headman the usual document constituting him Chief of his tribe. There were doubts whether these people would not be molested from across the border on account of my visit. Very soon after

I left, these Karens and the Burmese living in the village received notice from one Shwe Bo, a hired ruffian, that they must leave the British territory, and as they were unwilling to do so, an armed party came to drive them off.

Assistance was promptly sent from a British post, and the attempt was foiled. But Phayre was exasperated," and he proposed to withhold the mission to the King until full atonement for the outrage had been made, insisting that no reparation should be regarded as satisfactory which did not include the dismissal of Shwe Bo, the removal of Moung Bo, the Burmese officer on his side of the border, and the restoration of all our people who had been carried away. Lord Dalhousie, with his larger experience of affairs on the Punjab frontier, saw that such a line of action must lead to a war with Ava. He recorded his judgment in these words:

I dissented from the Commissioner's view of this case, and demurred altogether to his proposed policy. In the first place, it was evident that the commission of this offence was attributable to the neglect of the orders of Government, given in October last, for the establishment of police posts along the whole frontier. Had those posts been placed, the inroads made by Shwe Bo would never have been attempted. In the next place, our declared policy from the first has been to treat all such border forays on the Burmese frontier as we treat them on the north-west frontier; and by no means regard them as affording ground for quarrel with the Court of Ava on each recurrence of the offence. Thirdly, we have every reason to believe from the King's past conduct that such outrages meet with no countenance from him; and we have every reason to anticipate that on due representation being made he will punish the actors in the present raid.

The envoy was accordingly ordered to proceed, and to make a representation to the King of the necessity for repressing such affrays on the border, at the risk of

our interposition should his Majesty fail to comply. Phayre was also authorised to inform the Court at Ava that the British guards on the frontier would, if necessary, pursue marauders even across the border, and take such steps as they pleased to bring them to justice. These communications were well received, and frontier expeditions were unknown on the Pegu side of the British dominions in India.

On

A careful study of Phayre's correspondence with Lord Dalhousie reveals no more serious differences between the two men than those just narrated. the other hand, it discloses the wonderful range of the Governor-General's activity, knowledge, and suggestion. Phayre was on the spot, and for the most part he either made proposals as to a course to be adopted, or referred his difficulties to the decision of the Governor-General. To him, therefore, belongs all the credit due to a local official who supplies the information, originates plans, and carries out orders. But it is obvious that the success achieved in introducing peace and administration into Pegu was largely owing to Lord Dalhousie himself, and his subordinate constantly acknowledges his debt to his chief. The correspondence treats of the formation of a local corps, the employment of movable columns of troops, and the organisation of frontierguards and river-police. The location of cantonments and forts, the plans for laying out a city at Rangoon, and preserving to Government and the public their rights while granting building sites to applicants, the armament of certain classes or villages with the means of self-defence, the alignment of roads, provision of lighthouses, and the extension of telegraphs are fully discussed, together with larger matters of taxation, the introduction of surveys, and the organisation of civil

justice. The choice of suitable presents for the King and the Queen who "has a scientific turn of mind," and the prince to whom singing birds are acceptable, is a subject not beneath the personal interest of the Governor-General. Occasionally Phayre is surprised by the discovery that something which he had failed to report is known to Lord Dalhousie. On the 8th of July, 1853, the Commissioner regrets the "irregularity of not having reported to your Lordship that a reward had been offered for the capture of the robber chief Mya-tun"; but points out that no price had been put upon the offender's head, as the Government of India had been led to believe. Again, Phayre proposes the name of an engineer for the work of constructing the important road over the mountain from Arakan to the Irrawaddy. But the Governor-General prefers to entrust this work to another officer, and the Commissioner at once agrees that Forlong is the best selection, explaining that he had not been aware that his services were available. In the long and frequent correspondence which passed between Lord Dalhousie and Phayre, ideas were exchanged and projects evolved for the welfare of the new province, and every letter from the latter shows that he had acquired a thorough understanding and grasp of the subject under consideration. One is prepared, then, to find the GovernorGeneral writing of his subordinate that he is—

the fittest man in India for his work. His intimate knowledge of the language is an incalculable advantage. He has a perfect acquaintance with the Burmese national character, the firmness required to deal successfully with them, and at the same time remarkable gentleness of demeanour, and perfect good-temper.

The merit of selecting such a man rested entirely with the Marquis of Dalhousie, and Phayre reciprocated