As a matter of fact--a fact to him unknown, and unintelligible if it had been known--the Chief Commissioner could do nothing but put the case to the Government of India. This was done in as strong words as possible. The Government of India could do nothing except through the Secretary of State; the Secretary of State could not act except through the British Foreign Office; the Foreign Office was obliged to work through the Siamese Embassy in London and the British Resident in Bangkok; the King of Siam had to consult his local lieutenants at Chiengmai. The situation demanded patience, and much of it.
It has been said above that the territory occupied by the Siamese was vital to the Karennis. Their best and most extensive forests, the main source of their wealth, lay there. The only way of getting timber to the market from the forests was (and is) by floating it down the Salween, the mouth of which is in British territory opposite to Moulmein. The logs are stopped and collected at Kado, a short distance from the mouth of the river, and a duty levied by the Government of Burma. Every owner of timber has his stamp with which he marks his logs, and a register of these stamps is kept by the forest officer. The logs which had been seized by the Siamese were easily distinguished, and orders were given to the forest officer to detain them. By this means a check was put upon the rapacity of the Siamese, and the loss of the Karenni timber dealers restricted. In the course of time, the matter was arranged between the Siamese and the Foreign Office, and the Karennis were restored to possession (_vide_ Chapter XVIII, p. 221).
The history of this matter shows the difficulties which the Government of India and their subordinates on the spot meet with in dealing with a boundary dispute, even of a simple kind, with a foreign country. The facts have to be gathered locally and placed before the Government of India, who then have to negotiate through the Foreign Office, with the risk of misunderstanding and the certainty of long delays. It is unavoidable. Fortunately, on the north-western frontier, where the delays and hesitation which caused inconvenience in the disputes with Siam might breed serious trouble, the action of the Government of India is less trammelled.