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Show JFST1X M'CARTIIY OX THE BIMTISII INVASION IN-VASION OF TIBET. Justin McCarthy has a clever letter on "'Politics "'Poli-tics and Pens in England" in the Independent of June 0, in the course of which he thuo speaks his mind on the British invasion ui Tibet: Why European civilization, and especially that which England illustrates, should not have the capital and the land of the Tibetans to the exclusive exclu-sive possession of their own people it would be difficult dif-ficult indeed for political sophistry to explain. If the Tibetans desire to keep their country all to themselves, that desire may, indeed, show them, to be a narrow-minded and rather eccentric people, an dwe may pity them for their unreasonable ex-elusiveness. ex-elusiveness. but it would seem to the ordinary mortal mor-tal that we had better leave them to their own odd principles. and not compel them by mere slaughter slaugh-ter to accept at our hands what we are pleased to call civilization. However, it seems to be resolved by the conservative government the word conservative conser-vative does not appear weli suited to a policy which will not allow the Tibetans to conserve any of their traditional ways that- Engl.ind must, force her way into the Tibet capital over heaps of dead bodies bod-ies and then dictate there the conditions which Tibet must accept. We all understand in England tha this is not the device of Mr. Arthur Balfour and his colleagues here at home, but that he and they are drawn into it. or driven into it, by the pressure of Lord Curzon. viceroy of India, and his councilor-?. Of course, the only end of such a policy, unless some strange chauge of mood should come over our advocates of imperialism, must be the compulsory ; surrender of Tibet to England's terms; or. in other words, to 'what may be practically described as the annexation of the hitherto unexplored country. Every attempt which the Tibetans may make against the British invasion will only cause the imperialistic im-perialistic voice to be raised in louder and shriller cry for the complete slubjugation of 'the land which has 1 he audacity to resist our advance. We shall be told that the honor of England and the security of England's eastern possessions demand the utter subjugation of the inhospitable, race who refuse to welcome our incursions and who get themselves killed in masses rather, than admit our right to do. , as we please with "what . )iot .and nyver yet has -been our own'. To 'imperialist spirit has become -more and more inflammatory of late' years, and it must be owned that' at the present time its influence influ-ence is not by any means confined merely to the political po-litical followers of the conservative government. Among those who sit on the side of the opposition there are unfortunately some nun of mark and of weight whose sympathies go. very far with the tendencies aud the movements of imperialism. The true and genuine leaders of the opposition are, in-ldeed. in-ldeed. still faithful to their own principles, but the Liberal party is now sadly divided here and there, and the spirit of conquest and subjugation has taken tak-en possession of many men who. were once devoted followers of Mr. Gladstone. We have various little wars going on in Asia and in Africa, and we are called upon day after day to join in exultation over the conquest of this or that dominion or. ruler concerning con-cerning whose doings the English people have no more real interest than they might have in the condition con-dition of some unknown planet. When once a, war of any kind breaks out it is. the common human instinct in-stinct to exult over the success of our own national forces, and thus it wi'J. T fear, come to be with a large proportion of ihe English people when they hear of the further advance of the capital of Tibet. 'Ihe government, we may assume, will not be sorry to find public attention thus driven awnv for the time from any inquiry int.. political mismanagement mismanage-ment at home, and even Mr. Chamberlain's scheme of fiscal reform may fall into the shade while excessive ex-cessive accounts are coming in of the resistance oflered by the Tibetans and of its trj.umpbant suppression sup-pression by the guns and the bayonets of the peace-, ful mission from England. |