The condition in which the States were found by the British forces was a very sad one. For want of a controlling power over them there was a state of disorder amounting almost to anarchy. Might was right, and in the struggle for mastery the Shans were fast exterminating each other. Each petty chieftain with his followers was on the look-out to extend the sphere of his rule by aggression, and dacoit raids and incessant civil war were the result. Throughout the reign of King Theebaw the States had suffered, and the population had so seriously fallen off, by war and perhaps too by emigration, that land had fallen out of cultivation, and prosperous towns had been reduced, in some cases, to one-tenth of their former size. Added to this there had been a season of scarcity, and cattle disease had been very fatal. The people cordially welcomed the advent of a strong power that could enforce peace amongst them; and what was wanting for the temporal salvation of this distressed country was just that kind of sovereignty and paternal rule which England was able and willing to give them. It was necessary for England to assert and maintain her rights as the suzerain power, and to discharge her duties by taking them under the broad shield of her protection and guidance. The British representatives accordingly received the personal submission of all the principal sawbwas or chiefs, confirmed them in their positions as tributary rulers, settled their relations with Government and with each other, fixed the amount of tribute to be paid by each chief, and succeeded in placing the administration of the states on a satisfactory footing. Two British officials were appointed as Superintendents of the two divisions of the Shan States, northern and southern. Tribal disputes were henceforth to be referred to these officials for arbitration, and fighting between individual states was strictly forbidden. They were not to enter into relations with any other foreign power; and they were gradually to approximate their primitive methods of government to our standards. In return for these conditions, to be fulfilled by the Shans, certain very substantial advantages were bestowed upon them by the British. Each chieftain is recognised and protected in the exercise of his chieftainship. The import duties formerly levied by Burma on goods going from Shanland into Burma are abolished, to the great advantage and encouragement of their trade. The great want of means of communication through the country is being met by the construction of roads by the British Government, at its own expense. A preliminary survey has been made of the different routes for a railway to run through the country, and a more accurate and detailed survey of the one chosen is to be made shortly. The navigation of the upper parts of the Salween River, which flows through the Shan States, is receiving attention with the view of utilising it for purposes of trade, if it be found practicable.