Tai Chi-tao has left the frontier for the plains below, and Chao Amban has arrived from Kanze. With the departure of Tai and the arrival of Chao the Panchen's affairs, for the meantime at least, have come to an end. Chao Chuan-shi, a native of Sian, was appointed by the central authorities to escort the Panchen to Tibet, but with ihe passing away of the Big Lama, that mission came io an end. Chao, with his small army, is following Tai down on to the plains. The enormous cavalcade, which at one time numbered close on 10,000 animals, is slowly being disposed of, and when this is done. "AN Quiet on the Western Front" may be sounded. a ces 2%
Tai Chi-tao, a brilliant minister of state, has also proved himself a clever diplomat. What he has accomplished can only be surmised as at no time did he make any public statement dealing with the object of his mission to Eastern Tibet. He went to Kanze with his large caravan, performed what burial rites were necessary on behalf of the central authorities, discussed the future of the hungry lama horde, numbering it is said some 1500 followers, interviewed all whi desired interviews, examined all there was to be seen, and returned to Tachienlu. There was some talk that the minister might visit Derge, Batang, and Litang and see all there was to be seen in the new province of Sikang; this however was cut out and Tai now returns to his position as head of the Examination Assembly in Chungking. The minister had many opportunities of meeting individually and collectively the different members of the present Border Administration, On occasions he would meet them collectively when they gathered fully expecting to'hear some significant statement about the world in general and Sikang in particular. The minister began "Some years ago when I was in Switzerland the mountain people had a habit of living almost exclusively on mountain products; and this was wise. And in the\ discourse that followed, Tai Chi-tao, the high minister of state, discussed yak butter, barley flour, mountain fruits, spring water, and the relation between these things and hill people. Political questions with all their embarrassing issues were very carefully and wisely eschewed. The guests were manifestly disappointed but that did not distress Tai Chi-tao. His object in coming to the frontier was to represent the Chinese Government at the burial rites of the Panchen Lama, and this he apparently carried out; at the same time he also made a careful study of border conditions, observing the differences between the people of Switzerland and Tibet.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.