CONTROL OF FRONTIER PROVINCES 471

occasionally unfriendly, if they are not strong enough to be seriously dangerous. It is always a question whether the most unruly barbarian is not, on the whole, a much better neighbour than a highly civilized but heavily armed state of equal calibre. In the case of the free tribe or the petty des- pot, although the tranquillity of the common border may suffer, it is possible to bring them gradually into pacific habits and closer subordination. In the case of the civilized state, its neighbour undoubtedly obtains a well-defined and properly controlled frontier on both sides of it; but it will be also a frontier that needs a vigilant patrol, and that will probably require fortifica- tions, garrisons, and constant watching of all move- ments, diplomatic and military, beyond the exact line that divides the contiguous territories. It is probably due to England's insular traditions that in Asia we are very susceptible to the distrust and danger inseparable from a frontier that is a mere geographical line across which a man may step. Hav- ing no such border-line in Europe, except perhaps at Gibraltar, England has always been naturally reluctant to come to such close quarters with any formidable Asiatic rival. Upon this principle it has long been the policy of the Anglo-Indian government to bring under its protective influence, whether they desired it or not, the native states, or chiefships, or tribes, whose terri- tory has marched with its own boundaries; the recip- rocal understanding being that the British undertake to safeguard them from foreign aggression on condition