On October 11 I left Khamba Jong to proceed to Simla to confer with the Government of India on future action, and thus ended this futile effort to settle the question on the frontier.
The unsatisfactory nature of the situation had in the meanwhile been taken notice of by the Government in England, and, under their instructions, Sir Ernest Satow, our Minister at Peking, on September 25 presented a note to the Chinese Government, stating that, in spite of the Dalai Lama having agreed that negotiations should take place at Khamba Jong, the Tibetan representatives had refused to negotiate there; they had imprisoned two British subjects at Shigatse, and refused to release them; and they were collecting troops, and making hostile preparations. Sir Ernest Satow further verbally informed the Foreign Board, in accordance with his instructions, that His Majesty’s Government expected them to bring immediate pressure to bear upon the Dalai Lama, with a view to the release of the two British subjects who had been imprisoned, and to the commencement without delay of negotiations between the Tibetan delegates and the British Commissioners. Should the Dalai Lama not give immediate satisfaction to these demands, His Majesty’s Government would feel themselves compelled to take such measures as they might consider necessary for the safety of their Mission and for the release of the two British subjects.
Prince Ching promised Sir Ernest Satow to despatch a telegram at once to Lhasa by Batang, and said he hoped an improvement would manifest itself as soon as the new Resident arrived; but he described the Tibetans as intensely ignorant and obstinate, and very difficult to influence.
At first the Imperial Government was not prepared to sanction anything further than the occupation of the Chumbi Valley; but on October 1 Lord George Hamilton telegraphed to the Government of India that Government had again considered the position, and were now prepared, if complete rupture of negotiations proved inevitable, to authorize, not only the occupation of the Chumbi Valley, but also the advance of the Mission to Gyantse, if it could be made with safety; and he asked the Viceroy to inform him of his plans, and particularly how he proposed to secure the safety of the Mission at Gyantse.