The narrative in the last chapter took the history down to the end of June, 1887, when comparative peace had been established in the Southern States.

The Northern States up to this time had not come under the influence of the Superintendent at Fort Stedman. The Chief Commissioner had decided that no expedition should be sent into those States until after the rains of 1887, unless it became absolutely necessary for the support of the friendly Sawbwa of Hsipaw. The chief had been able, as has been explained (p. 147), with the alliance of San Ton Hon to hold his own and to defeat their opponents headed by Naw M?ng and the Chaunggwa Prince. If he had stopped at that point much misery and destruction would have been saved. But Hkun Saing\'s vanity had been inflated by the reception he had received at Mandalay when ten years\' revenue had been remitted to him and the States of M?ngtung, Mangl?n, and Hsumhsai made over to him, and he cherished visions of further aggrandisement. San Ton Hon was very much of the same mind.

After defeating the Prince they turned their forces southward and made an attack on Hsenwi Alelet, where comparative peace had been maintained by the Pa-?k-Chok at M?ngyai. San Ton Hon led his troops down by the east while Hsipaw\'s men, under the Sawbwa\'s father-in-law, went by the west. Mr. Hildebrand had heard of their designs and sent them orders to desist. The allies persisted, however, alleging that they were acting under instructions from Mandalay. M?ngyai was occupied. The Pa-?k-Chok and Naw M?ng, who was with him, escaped[161] to M?ngnawng and sent messengers to Fort Stedman praying for redress. They were ordered to remain quiet until the Superintendent should come to Hsenwi. San Ton Hon remained in M?ngyai making arrangements for administering the district. He then left for the town of Hsenwi in obedience to a further order from Mr. Hildebrand. By the end of August, 1887, peace had been restored, that is to say, active fighting had ceased in the Northern States, and the contending parties awaited the coming of the Superintendent to settle their claims. Little harm would have resulted from the turbulence of Hsipaw and San Ton Hon if they had restrained their followers from ravaging the country. These bandits, San Ton Hon\'s Kachins at the head of them, had burnt and destroyed everything. Thus the autumn of 1887 saw the cessation of bloodshed in both the Northern and Southern States. All were beginning to look to the British representative at Fort Stedman as the final arbitrator of disputes, and trade began to revive.

Meanwhile the objects to be aimed at and the measures to be taken in the ensuing open season of 1887-8 were occupying the Chief Commissioner. Mr. Hildebrand was invited to Mandalay, and the subject was fully discussed and settled in consultation with him. The main lines of the policy to be followed in relation to the States were defined. The conditions upon which the chiefs were to hold their States under the British Government were determined and embodied in a patent, or sanad, to use the Indian term, for the greater chiefs, and in a letter of appointment for the lesser. By the sanad the recipient was recognized as a feudatory chief and empowered to govern his territories in all matters whether criminal, civil, or revenue, and was authorized to nominate for the approval of the Government a fit person according to Shan usage to be his successor. These privileges were made subject to certain conditions, one of which was the payment of a tribute, settled for five years at the amount previously paid to the King, and liable to revision thereafter. The forests and royalties on all minerals and precious stones were reserved to the Government. Order was to be maintained by the chief, the rights and[162] customs of the people were to be respected, and trade protected. All disputes arising between one State and another were to be referred to the Superintendent, at whose headquarters the chief was to maintain an agent or representative. The order of appointment given to the lesser men bound them to pay the revenue assessed by the Superintendent, and in all matters connected with the administration of their districts to conform to the instructions and orders issued by the Chief Commissioner or the Superintendent.

It was decided that each chief or ruler, whether known by the title of Sawbwa or some lesser designation, should be required to appear in person, to make a declaration of allegiance, and to subscribe to the terms of his sanad. Where there were rival claimants, weight was to be given to the fait accompli, and to considerations of expediency rather than to those of abstract right or justice. It was not held incumbent on the British Government to go behind existing facts or to inquire how the man in possession came by his power, provided he appeared to be a person capable of maintaining order.

Some matters of importance hitherto unsettled were decided by the Chief Commissioner at this time. The important State of Lawksawk had been left in temporary charge of a Burman Myo?k (vide page 154). There was a man named Hkun Nu who had been the (hereditary) Myoza of a small State called Tabet by the Burmans, Tamhpak by the Shans. He had been deposed about 1892 by the Burman Government because he could not raise the revenue demanded from the State. He lived in great poverty in Mandalay until the deposition of the King. His case coming to the Chief Commissioner\'s notice, a small allowance, enough to keep him alive, was made to him. Hkun Nu proved himself useful in giving information about the Shan country and in taking letters, not without some personal risk, to various potentates. He accompanied the expedition to the Shan States early in 1887, and was found by Mr. Hildebrand to be both intelligent and trustworthy and to be a person of some influence in the Shan country. On Mr. Hildebrand\'s recommendation, and with the goodwill of many of the notables of Lawksawk, and of some[163] of the principal Sawbwas such as M?ngnai and M?ngpawn, he was appointed by the Chief Commissioner to be Sawbwa of Lawksawk, a territory of 4,048 square miles and paying a gross revenue of Rs. 27,297. Thus from being the dismissed magistrate of a petty district, earning a small wage as a guide and messenger, Hkun Nu became the ruler of a considerable and wealthy State by a sudden turn of the wheel of fortune. It may be recorded here that the State prospered under him. On his death in 1900 he was succeeded by his son, who was summoned to Rangoon in 1906, and presented to their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales. He received the decoration of K.S.M. on the 1st of January, 1907, and has done much in the way of road-making and otherwise to improve his country.

Another matter that came up was the Sawbwa of M?ngnai\'s claim to the adjacent State of Kengtawng, which had been made over by the Burmese Government to Twet Nga Lu. Orders were now passed confirming the Sawbwa\'s title to administer Kengtawng as a State subordinate to him.

Many important questions remained, which could not be settled until the Superintendent was able to visit each State with a sufficient military escort to mark his authority and to render opposition improbable. Hsenwi was in a disturbed and distracted condition and had to be pacified and arrangements made for its administration. The method in which the group of smaller States on the western edge of the plateau known as the Myélat was to be administered had also to be considered and decided. The nearness of these States to Mandalay had resulted in diminishing their independence. Their position was in fact not much different from that of a purely Burman district. Then there were the Trans-Salween States, with which communication had not as yet been established. Five of the smallest of these had been claimed by the Siamese. Another very difficult matter was the attitude of the Karennis, whose relations with the British Government it was necessary to define. In the case of every State, big or little, the amount paid as revenue during the King\'s time had to be ascertained, the tribute payable to the British[164] Government to be determined, and engagements to be taken for its regular payment.

In Mr. Hildebrand\'s expedition in the beginning of 1887 only one force had been employed. Experience showed that the area to be dealt with was too large for one column. While the force was in the south, fighting and disturbances were going on in the north. The appearance of two expeditions, one starting from Mandalay and visiting the north, the other from Fort Stedman, taking the Southern States and then moving up to combine with the first, would make a greater impression than a single force of much larger strength. Rumour would magnify the numbers of each, and if opposition were contemplated by any of the chiefs, he would not know where to direct his attack. For these reasons it was decided to employ two columns. The larger, under command of Major Swetenham, 27th P.I., was composed of:—
2    guns 1-1 Eastern Division, R.A.
50    rifles—West Surrey Regiment.
150    rifles—27th P.I.
25    British}
25    Native} Mounted Infantry
20    lances—1st Bombay Lancers.

It assembled at Fort Stedman, and was called the Southern Shan Column.

The smaller column was commanded by Major Yates, 1-1 Eastern Division, R.A., and included the following troops:—
2    guns 1-1 Eastern Division, R.A.
50    rifles—Royal Munster Fusiliers.
100    rifles—43 G.L.I. (Bombay Army).
50    rifles—Native} Mounted Infantry.
25    rifles—British}

This column was designated the Northern Shan Column. Its starting-point was Maymyo (Pyinulwin), forty miles from Mandalay.

To Mr. Hildebrand, as Superintendent of the Shan States, was given the chief political charge, and, within certain[165] limits laid down by the Chief Commissioner, the movements of the columns and the measures to be taken for the pacification of the country were left to his discretion. He was to accompany the Southern Column, and Mr. J. G. Scott was appointed to go with him as his Assistant. Lieutenant H. Daly was posted as civil officer with the Northern Column. In all political matters he was placed entirely under Mr. Hildebrand, and was told that he was to act, and only to act, under his instructions.

The relations of Mr. Hildebrand to the military officers in command of the columns were carefully defined. The primary object of the expeditions was to establish peace, decide disputes, and lay the foundations of orderly rule for the future. The need of warlike operations was not anticipated. The military officers commanding were instructed therefore to give to the civil officers every assistance in carrying out the wishes of Government that could be given with due regard to the safety and well-being of the troops. In the event of hostilities becoming necessary, then the civil officer was to stand aside while the soldiers became solely responsible for the planning and carrying out of the necessary operations. The maintenance of the strictest discipline was enjoined, and the most scrupulous exactitude in paying for labour and supplies. Troops and followers were made to understand that they were operating in a friendly country.

Instructions were given to Mr. Hildebrand as to the route to be taken by each column, the matters demanding his attention, and the principles by which he was to be guided. Mr. Daly with the Northern Column was to move through Hsipaw to Northern Hsenwi, then to Tawngpeng, the chief of which State was still recalcitrant; and thence returning to Hsipaw, he was to march to M?ngyai in Central Hsenwi.

Mr. Hildebrand with the Southern Column was to go to M?ngpai, thence to Mawkmai, thence to M?ngpan, and then to M?ngnai, which was a convenient centre for the settlement of many matters. After a halt there, which it was anticipated might extend to several weeks, the column was to turn northward and march through the[166] intervening States to M?ngyai, which it was to reach about the same time as the Northern Column. The idea was to bring the two columns together in Hsenwi, where the contending parties of San Ton Hon, Naw Hpa, Naw M?ng and Nga Aw the Pa-?k-Chok, whom San Ton Hon and the Hsipaw Sawbwa had expelled from M?ngyai, were expected to give trouble. At M?ngyai, the settlement of the large State of Hsenwi—the most difficult, perhaps, of the duties entrusted to Mr. Hildebrand—would have to be taken in hand.

The Southern Column started on the 22nd of November, 1887, on its five months\' march through the States. Before it moved, the chiefs of the Myélat and the Sawbwas and Myozas of States in the neighbourhood of Fort Stedman, were called in; the revenue to be paid by each was fixed, and the drafts of their sanads and letters of appointment given to them. There was no difficulty with any of them except Saw ?n, the Sawbwa of Yawnghwè, who owed his position to the support afforded to him by the British Government. He objected to the payment of revenue, and feigned illness to avoid appearing before the Superintendent. He made it almost impossible to get coolies or bullocks, except directly through him and at most exorbitant rates. He exhibited, in fact, a fine example of a swollen head. But it may be that he partly believed in the truth of some absurd stories respecting the withdrawal of the British from Burma, which he was found afterwards to have spread abroad.

The first halt was made at Kaung-i, the residence of the M?ngpai Sawbwa. The settlement of the chronic feud between him and Pobye, the Karenni chief, was the main business here. Pobye appeared, and the Superintendent heard both parties. After vainly endeavouring to bring them to an agreement, Mr. Hildebrand induced them to pledge themselves to abide by the Chief Commissioner\'s decision, and meanwhile to keep the peace. At a later date, they submitted their case at Rangoon to the Chief Commissioner, who settled the dispute....

At M?ngpai every effort was made without success to induce Sawlapaw, the powerful chief of Eastern Karenni, to come in and arrange a modus vivendi with the British authorities. He remained obstinately hostile, and had to be chastised later on.
A Jungle Camp in the Shan States.

[167]

At this halt, where several chiefs were assembled, the principle of succession ruling in the Shan States was discussed. It appeared that as a rule succession devolved on the eldest son of the chief wife: failing her male issue, on the eldest male issue of the next wife. Failing heirs in the direct line, the succession went to collaterals. This was shown to be the ancient custom not to be departed from except in the case of obvious unfitness of the heir for the duties of his position either from incapacity or from vice. In Loilong and Hsahtung some questions relating to minor chiefships were settled. It was found that on this south-western frontier of the Shan States the inhabitants were mostly Karens and kindred races split up into small tribes speaking different dialects, timid and shy people submitting to the tyranny of dacoits and outlaws who sought a refuge in their hills from the pursuit of the police and troops in the low country.

The column marched through the Mawkmai territory to M?ngpan. No special matter had been marked for settlement in Mawkmai. But it was noted that the villagers in the south stood in great fear of Sawlapaw, and paid blackmail to him. Work in the forests of Southern and South-eastern Mawkmai had been stopped on account of the hostility of the Karenni chief. The adjacent country was practically deserted, and the complaints against Sawlapaw were loud. Mawkmai, however, at this time was the most wealthy and prosperous of the Shan States, and the Sawbwa seemed powerful enough to hold his own against any of his neighbours.

From Mawkmai the column went on to M?ngpan. Here they met the Siamese Commissioners and Mr. Archer, His Majesty\'s Acting Vice-Consul at Chiengmai (Zimme), who had come to discuss the claim made by the Bangkok Government to some small States east of the Salween. M?ngpan had been taken and burnt by the filibuster Twet Nga Lu, who had so far recognized British authority that after his expulsion from Kengtawng by Kun Kyi, the M?ngnai Sawbwa, he came to Fort Stedman and laid his claim before the Superintendent. It was considered and rejected by the[168] Chief Commissioner. Thereupon he collected a regiment of bravi, as numerous in the Shan States in 1887 as in Italy of the Middle Ages, and descending on Kengtawng burnt whatever had escaped former devastations. Compelled to retreat by the Sawbwa\'s men, he retired south on M?ngpan, and captured it in December, 1887. Again driven out by the M?ngnai troops, he fell back beyond the Salween, the M?ngnai men following him. But as the pursuit led them into the territory of M?ngtung and M?ng Hang, which were claimed by the Siamese, they were ordered by the Superintendent to retire to the right bank of the Salween. Twet Nga Lu was left encamped close to M?ngtung, where a small Siamese garrison was stationed, and he thus escaped for the time. He was proclaimed a rebel and dacoit and every chief in the Shan States was desired to treat him as an outlaw. This was the situation at M?ngpan when the Southern Column met Mr. Archer and the Siamese Commissioners at that place.

The four States in dispute with Siam were M?ngtung, M?ng Hang, M?ng Hta, and M?ng Kyawt. They were claimed by the British Government as part of the undoubtedly Burman State M?ngpan, but had been occupied secretly by the Siamese. A fifth, M?ng Hsat, was also claimed by them, but no garrison had been placed in it. It was and always had been a dependency of Kengtung, with which the Siamese could not pretend to have any connection. The Siamese claim had its origin in the conduct of the local rulers (Phayas) of these little territories in the disturbed times following the overthrow of King Thebaw.

The Mawkmai Sawbwa made a successful attack on M?ngpan in the cold season of 1886-7. Earlier in the same year the Siamese had moved up a large force from Chiengmai, ostensibly to assist the British in maintaining order: more probably in the hope of picking up some fragments for themselves when the Burman Government went to pieces. Under these circumstances the local rulers, threatened with burning and robbery by Mawkmai, with invasion and slavery by Siam, sought the protection of the more powerful Siamese and drank the water of allegiance to Chiengmai. This was the only foundation for the claim made by the Bangkok Government. Their assertion that[169] the States had been under Siam for a century had nothing to support it. The population was admittedly Shan. A report of the facts was drawn up and sent to the Chief Commissioner. Meanwhile a modus vivendi was arranged by Mr. Hildebrand with the Siamese Commissioner on the basis of maintaining the status quo, preserving peace, and abstaining from working the forests in the States until the dispute was settled by the Governments of the two countries. It may be stated here that a decision in favour of the British claim was announced in 1888 and effect given to it. Four States were restored to M?ngpan, and possession of the fifth, M?ng Hsat, confirmed to Kengtung.

The State of M?ngpan contains a broad area of good paddy land, and in former times exported large quantities of paddy. When Mr. Hildebrand visited it he found the lands devastated. With the one exception of Laikha it had suffered more than any other Shan State. The town had been repeatedly burnt by filibusters. The great bulk of the population had fled over the Salween and scattered through the smaller States, some even going as far as Chiengmai (Zimme) and Kengtung. Leaving M?ngpan, the column reached M?ngnai on the 7th of January, 1888, and halted there for some weeks. M?ngnai had been the place of assemblage of the Cis-Salween chiefs in the King\'s time. All of them had been warned in advance to meet Mr. Hildebrand at M?ngnai, and all except the Sawbwa of Laikha, the Myozas of M?ng Kung and Kehsi Mansam, who had started too late, were present. The chiefs assembled at M?ngnai were:—

    The M?ngnai Sawbwa.
    The M?ngpawn Sawbwa.
    The M?ngpan Sawbwa.
    The Mawkmai Sawbwa.
    The Wanyin Myoza.
    The Nawng Wawn Myoza.
    The Hsahtung Myoza.
    The M?ngsit Myoza.
    The M?ngnawng Myoza.
    The Hopong Myoza.
    The Keng Hkam Myoza.
    The Nam Hkok Myoza.

Naw M?ng, son of Naw Hpa, who was claimant of Hsenwi, and Kun Aw, who was Pa-?k-Chok of M?ngyai in Hsenwi Alelet, and had been ejected by San Ton Hon and Hkun Sa, the exiled chief of M?ngtung, were also present.

[170]

The question of tribute was one in which all took a keen interest, and it was fully discussed. The right of the British Government to demand tribute was not contested. But the manner of it, whether it should be in the form of annual presents or of money to be raised from the people by a house tax, was the subject of dispute. The exemption for ten years which had been given to the Sawbwa of Hsipaw caused much heartburning and led to demands for a similar indulgence.

Eventually, however, all agreed to pay tribute, the amount for the next five years being that which had been paid yearly in King Mindon\'s time.

The Trans-Salween States from various causes did not appear at M?ngnai. But a dispute between Mawkmai and M?ngnai regarding the right to a small Trans-Salween State of M?ng Pu was settled satisfactorily in favour of M?ngnai. Mawkmai\'s claim had no strong foundation, and after the facts had been set forth, the Sawbwa accepted them and yielded in a peaceable and graceful fashion. It was evident that already the authority of the British Government had been acknowledged by all, and that its decisions would be obeyed.

On the 20th of January Mr. Hildebrand held a Durbar, which all the chiefs, and a very great number of the smaller folk, attended. The draft patents and letters of appointment were given to the chiefs, along with suitable presents, and the advantages of the peace which would follow the establishment of British authority were pointed out to them by the Superintendent in a speech. A march past and a sham-fight by the troops gave them an opportunity of comparing British disciplined and trained troops with their own disorderly and ill-equipped followers. Sports followed the Durbar, affording amusement to all and giving a common ground on which all could unite. The wisdom and the excellent results of holding these meetings cannot be denied.

On the 22nd of January, 1888, the column left M?ngnai and started on its way to M?ngyai, where it will be recollected (p. 166) it was to meet with the Northern Column and Mr. Daly. The route to be taken on this march had been left by the Chief Commissioner to Mr. Hildebrand\'s[171] discretion. Is has been seen that the Laikha group of States were not represented at the Durbar. The Superintendent, therefore, instead of taking the route to the east through M?ngnawng, which was reputed to be the shorter, took a western road leading through Laikha, M?ng Kung, and Kehsi Mansam. It proved to be the easiest route that could have been followed, and showed the troops to as large a number of States as possible.

On the second march out the Sawbwa of Laikha and the Myoza of M?ng Kung were met coming to meet the Superintendent. They turned and marched with the column. They said that difficulties in procuring supplies had delayed them, and the truth of this statement was proved by the appearance of the countryside when the next march brought the force into Laikha territory—a wide billowy plain not long ago closely cultivated and well peopled: now deserted and waste. "The face of the land," wrote the Superintendent, "was deserted and desolate as an American pampas or a Russian steppe. We marched along the main north road which had clearly been not long since a wide thoroughfare travelled over by many men and many cattle. Now it was narrowed to a mere path which encroaching bushes and rank grass threatened at no great distance of time altogether to obliterate. Marks of tigers were seen here and there on the clay trodden hard by the feet of many wayfarers now no more to be seen. The few householders who remained were gaunt with hunger, and had not energy enough left to pull up the bamboo spikes which had been placed in the ground during the fighting which was the primary cause of all this misery, emphasized by the famine which succeeded as a necessary result. The Hsen (local headman) spiked his foot coming out to meet the column."

The description of the town of Laikha is not less melancholy. It has been on the decline for years. "Civil wars and local disturbances have ruined it slowly but surely." It was one of the finest and wealthiest places in the State, and there were many splendid monasteries and elaborate pagodas. These were found deserted and falling to pieces, the shrines left to moulder away without a single pious offering, the jungle coming up to their very thresholds and creepers tearing the bricks asunder.

[172]

Leaving Laikha on the 30th of January, three marches brought the column to M?ngkung, a State blessed with very fertile soil and good streams. But here also local dissension and Burman interference had brought ruin. On the death of the chief (designated Myoza), one Hkun Saing was able by bribery or intrigue to procure an order from Mandalay giving him the succession. The people, however, clung to the rightful heir, the son of the deceased Myoza, a boy of ten or twelve. Hkun Sang persuaded the neighbouring State of M?ngnawng to take his part. Kehsi Mansam took the boy\'s side. Nearly every village in both States was burnt, and the able-bodied men were too absorbed in the fight to till the soil. Ruin and famine followed in the track of the fighting, which did not cease until our troops arrived on the Shan plateau. The only villages to which any prosperity remained were those in the hills inhabited by tribes of a Karen origin who held aloof from Shan politics. At M?ngkung the minor chief of M?ngsang and M?nghsu came to see the Superintendent. Here also news came that Mr. Daly with the Northern Column had reached Hsenwi and had received from San Ton Hon a promise that he would come to M?ngyai. This hopeful information regarding San Ton Hon enabled the Superintendent to issue a proclamation in Shan to the monks, headmen, and elders of Hsenwi, assuring them that a settlement of their affairs would certainly be made and ordering them to attend at M?ngyai.

From M?ngkung to Kehsi Mansam was four marches through a country marked by the ravages of war. Nevertheless the Myoza, "an undersized, insignificant-looking creature, addicted to the use of opium," was not too depressed to come out fifteen miles to meet the column, which he played into the town with a band of local musicians and dancers leading the way.

Matters relating to some minor States were discussed at Kehsi Mansam, and the peaceful settlement of Hsenwi seemed not distant. But it was sanguine to expect that people who had been engaged in petty wars for years would take suddenly to the ways of peace. The lion does not all at once lie down with the lamb, nor it might be said more appropriately does the jackal make peace with the wild dog.[173] Two days after the arrival of the column at Kehsi Mansam it was reported that an attack had been made on M?ngyai and San Ton Hon\'s deputy driven out. The men who headed this adventure were nephews of the Pa-?k-Chok and gave out that they were acting for that personage with the Superintendent\'s approval. As the Pa-?k-Chok and Naw M?ng had accompanied the force ever since it marched from M?ngnai, it was feared that this story might seem probable to San Ton Hon and might prevent him from coming to M?ngyai. Letters, therefore, were sent to reassure him and to explain that the expulsion of his man from M?ngyai would not influence the decision of the Superintendent.

From Kehsi Mansam, passing through the Alelet or Central Division of Hsenwi, the column reached M?ngyai on the 15th of February, 1888. Mr. Daly, with the Northern Column, joined Mr. Hildebrand on the 1st of March. Kun San Ton Hon came with him. Meanwhile all the headmen of various denominations, uncouth to English ears, Myozas, Heins, Seins, Ta M?ngs, and Kin M?ngs, had collected in obedience to the Superintendent\'s summons, and were busy no doubt in discussing the situation and the best methods of settlement and comparing the present condition of the State broken up into petty divisions, none of them powerful enough for self-defence, with the comparative order which had prevailed when it was under its hereditary Sawbwas, who could show an unbroken succession for two hundred years.

On the 1st of March, when San Ton Hon arrived with Mr. Daly, all the Hsenwi claimants were assembled at M?ngyai. Naw M?ng—representing his father, Naw Hpa, who was a refugee with the Kachins in the north; Sang Aw, the Pa-?k-Chok, who claimed the Central Division; and San Ton Hon, who claimed the whole State. Naw Hpa was pronounced on all sides to be too old and infirm to rule. Naw M?ng claimed as his heir and representative the whole of Hsenwi, excepting some of the southern subdivisions, which had been given independence in the King\'s time. His attitude was most reasonable. He confessed his obligations to the British Government. Unless they had occupied Mandalay and removed Thebaw, he and his sister would[174] have been lying still in hopeless imprisonment. He was ready to bow to the Superintendent\'s decision, whatever it might be. The Pa-?k-Chok was even more accommodating. He was an old worn man whose only title to be considered in the matter was that he had preserved the peace in the Central Division at a critical time. He would be quite content if he were permitt............