Sept. 14.
Tus question of the future of the dependencies of Chins is causimg considerable anxiety in official circles in Peking. This is due principally to the recent British Memorandum with reference to!
Tibet, and to the attitude adopted by Russia in Mongolia. Asa result of the lack of complete understanding, a prolific crop of wild rumours and conjectures, the growth of the fertile imagination of the young Chinese mind rather than the outcome of mature consideration of facts, has been accorded wide publicity. It was in response to a request by the (hinese Government to be informed of the attitude of the British Govern ment with regard to the intention of the Republic to incorporate Tibet as province, that a Memorandum embodying the views of the British Government was handed to President Yuan Shibkai. In this Memorandum it was) stated that the despatch of a Chinese military force to Tibet with) the object of re-establishing sover-eighty over the Tibetans would be disapproved as being in violation of the terms of the Anglo-Chinese Treaty of 1906. Great Britain, it. was pointed out, fully recogniz~ ed the suzerain rights of China in Tibet, and herself had no intention of disturbing the status quo which precludes British interference with the integrity or administration of Tibet. In addi, tion, the British Government declared that the Tibetans ought to be allowed to manage their own' internal affairs without Chinese interference, and recommended 9 new agreement between Great Britain and China as precedent to British recognition of the Republic. No direct reply has been given, but the statements in the Chinese semi-official Press, if not) the report that the majority of the Cabinet Ministers are of opinion that both the Mongolian and Tibetan questions should be referred to the Hague Tribunal for arbitration, are sufficient indication that China is unwilling to acknowledge the justice of the British contention. Further, the answers given by the Cabinet to the request of the Dalai Lama for certain concessions from China, clearly indicate that the Republicans intend to persist in the at-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.