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Shipvomah men say that Manipuris had never been to their village but asked them to pay revenue two years ago; impressions of yesterday's durbar; rumour of intrigue between Burma and Manipur; fever |
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inaccurate spelling in the original text |
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TOUR DIARY OF THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER FOR 1873 |
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From 17th February - 11th April |
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17th February. [continued] Meur [sic] and that they had thought by our marching on we had not been satisfied with this present and were coming to plunder and destroy their village. It would be interesting to know whether this present really was ever sent for it certainly never reached us if it was. However when we go back to Shipvomah and Razami I shall certainly enquire about this matter. They went on to say much to our amusement and the evident discomfiture of the Majors that the Manipuries had never entered their village but that they had been called upon to pay them revenue for the first time two years ago. That the first year they had paid them 4 cows and the second 3 cows. That these cows had been paid over into the hands of 2 Manipuries who had come to their village accompanied by Nagas of Dinmai, and finally on being asked why they had come to Manipur, they said they had been called in by the Manipuries - so that this last little plan of the Rajah's has done his case more harm than good and I have not the slightest hesitation now in saying that both the Rajah and his Ministers have behaved infamously in this matter from beginning to end. |
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After the Majors had taken their leave I was intensely amused by Colonel Thomson's Head Clerk (one Bhobon Mohun Roy, a Bengali) informing us that after we have left the Durbar yesterday (at which he was present) one of the Rajah's chief advisers, Dewan Lamapa Opudhya had said "If we listen to the honied words (mitha mitha bat were the words he made use of) of Butler Saheb he will charm us all into becoming his baggage coolies" which I take to be rather a compliment to my oratory or at all events powers of persuasion, proving that my personal interview even if it did no good, has at least done no harm. However I still hope that all my endeavours to throw oil upon these troubled waters has not been altogether wasted. The Rajah knows pretty well I think by this time that nothing will induce me to flinch from carrying out whatever orders the Government chooses to pass and that although I can be "Inascertain in modo", I am always "fosteter in" and as Colonel Thomson has once again addressed him today on the subject of the boundary question in a letter which he showed me, most kindly but firmly begging him to give us his co-operation and most strongly advising him if he has any claims across the watershed, to declare them at once. I think he will change his mind after all and let us carry out the survey work without giving us any more bother. By the way, I must not forget to mention that the Baboo above referred to also stated that he believed some intrigue was going on between Burmah and Manipur, that he had heard messages had passed between the two Courts but what their purport was he had been unable to discover. This report, however, I am rather inclined to think must be only a "shave" for I have always been led to believe that no love was lost between the Burmah and Manipur Governments in fact. I have always understood that the former would be only too glad of a chance of walking into Manipur again as it did once before when it is said they returned dragging off with them something like half the Manipuri population as captives. |
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Austin and Ogle have gone off today to visit the Logtak lake and hope to be back tomorrow evening so as to enable us to start off again the day after tomorrow en route for the Patkoi. I am sorry to say I have had another attack of my old Fever today and I am rather puzzled to know what on earth can have brought it on again unless it can be the change in the weather. |
