6
4
BHUTAN.
1
About two hundred years ago a band of Tibetan soldiers subjugated Tephiis, and settled down in the country. At the head of the Bhutan Government there are nominally two supreme authorities, the Dharm Raja, the spiritual head, and the Deb Raja, the temporal the
who
ruler,
council
is
aid
of permanent
however, there
is
Rajas in administering the country,
these
ministers,
the
called
no government
rapacious governors of forts wield sion
own
elected by the Penlows every three years from their
To
number.
at
all.
Lenehen.
Subordinate
a
is
Practically,
and
officers
the power of the State, and oppres-
all
The Dharm Raja
and anarchy reign over the whole country.
is
regarded as an incarnation of the deity. On his death a year or two is allowed to elapse and the new incarnation then reappears
in
the shape of a child,
family of a principal
cooking
recognising the
who
generally happens to be born in the
The
officer.
utensils,
child
etc.
establishes his identity
of the late
Dharm Raja
by he
a monastery, and
on attaining his majority is he exercises no more real authority than he did in his infancy. The Deb Raja is in theory elected by the council. In practice, he is merely the nominee of whichever of the two governors of East or West Bhutan happens for the time to be the is
then
trained
recognised
more
as
in
Raja,
though
powerful.
The
relations of the British with
in 1772, when Behar, a dependency
Bhutan commenced
the Bhutias invaded the principality of
Kuch
The Kuch Behar ruler applied for aid, and a force under Captain James was despatched to his assistance; the invaders were expelled and pursued into their own territory. Upon the intercession of Teshu Lama, then regent of Tibet, a treaty of peace was concluded in 1774 between the East India Company and the ruler In 1783, Captain Turner was deputed to Bhutan, with a of Bhutan. view to promoting commercial intercourse, but his mission proved of Bengal.
unsuccessful. until the
From
this period
occupation of
few dealings took place with Bhutan,
Assam by
the British in 1826.
It
was then
discovered that the Bhutias had usurped several tracts of lowland lying at the foot of the mountains, called the
they agreed to pay a small tribute.
command
Dwars or
They
failed to
passes,
do
so,
and
for these
however, and
commit depredaPemberton was accordingly deputed to Bhutan, to adjust the points of difference. But his negotiaand every other means of obtaining tions yielded no definite result redress and security proving unsuccessful, the Assam Dwars were wrested from the Bhutias, and the British Government consented to pay to Bhutan a sum of ;^ iooo per annum as compensation for the resumption of their tenure, during the good behaviour of the Bhutias. Continued outrages and aggressions were, however, committed by the availed themselves of the
tions
within
British
of the passes to
Captain
territory.
