On August 13 two Sha-pés, the Dalai Lama’s private Abbot, a Secretary of Council, and the Accountant-General paid me a formal visit. I remarked that the Amban had told me that they had drawn up a document which they had presented to him as a reply to our terms, but which was so impertinent that the Amban had said he could not even mention it to me officially. The deputation replied that they were really anxious to make a settlement, and the document they had presented to the Amban merely represented their views, and was not intended as a reply to me. Their idea was to give the Amban their opinion, and he would give orders upon it.
I asked them whether they were prepared to obey the orders of the Amban. They said that if the Amban gave orders acceptable to both them and him they would obey. I asked them if by that they meant that they would obey his orders if they liked them, but would pay no attention to them if they were not according to their taste. They replied that their idea was that the Amban should act as a sort of mediator. We would both present our views to him, and he would decide between us, and make a settlement satisfactory to both. When they had stated their case to him they had no intention to be impertinent; they were a small people, and ignorant of the ways of great nations; they thought that if they asked much at first, they might not obtain all they asked, but would obtain a part.
I told them I had already warned the Amban that I was not here to act the part of a merchant in the bazaar and haggle over terms. When I arrived at Khamba Jong last year, I had, indeed, then been prepared to discuss the terms of a settlement, and by give and take arrive at a mutually satisfactory agreement. I had, for instance, announced that we were prepared to concede the Giagong lands to them if they showed themselves reasonable in regard to trade concessions elsewhere. But they had declined to negotiate, and had chosen to fight. They had been beaten, and had no further means of continuing the struggle against us. They must, therefore, accept our terms or expect us to take still further action against them. The terms we were now asking were extremely moderate, but if we were compelled to undertake more military operations they would have to be made much more severe.