Scrapbook of newspaper cuttings about Afghanistan [‎3v] (6/312)

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Another camp is spoken of lower down the
frontier, but its details are kept a close secret,
and I am not at liberty to mention even the few
particulars which have reached me. Our rela
tions with Cabul are, I believe, a shade more
favourable than they were, which is after
all not saying much. Chetan Shah, the As
sistant Surgeon whose services were lent to
Sher Ali at the close of 1876, has recently
returned to British territory, and rumour hath
it is the bearer of a friendly message from
his surly patient. It is unlikely that the
Hindoo Galen will again trust his head in the
lion's month, even on the temptation of such
liberal pay and presents as Sher Ali always be
stowed upon him ; but if he can be induced to
return, he may be the means of putting us on
better terms with j;he Ameer than have existed
between the two countries since Sir Lewis Felly's
breakdown at Peshawur last year. The Adam
Kheyl Affridis are reported to have sent a jirga
to Cabul ulon rhgle to receive the usual present
of lungia and knives in return for nominal alle
giance ; and some of the Bonairwals, Swatis, and
Mohmunds have started on the same errand.
But our prestige on the Peshawur border has
risen so considerably since the successes of last
cold weather, that Sher Ali must find it a
difficult task to induce any of the indepen
dent Pathan tribes to do him homage on any
terms. These deputations have a pleasant time
of it, feeding free, and receiving small presents
on departure. A journey under such conditions
is peculiarly acceptable to a Pathan, whose
happiness in life (when not fighting) consists
in feasting his friends or being feasted by them.
The Ameer is of course anxious to exhibit his
pretended power over our frontier tribes, with
the object of forcing us to conciliate him by
liberal concessions. But in reality he has no in
fluence whatever with these wild republicans,
who acknowledge no superior, not even amongst
themselves, and who are so far sufficiently im
partial to accept British bread and lungis with as
good a grace as Sher All's. These tribes fully un
derstand our ability to punish them when they de
serve it, and whole kn/Has of scarves and daggers
from Cabul would scarcely move them to raid on
British territory unsupported by some personal
grievance requiring adjustment. Grievances at
present they have not. Major Cavagnari's series
of jolies surprises during the past few months,
combined with the Jowaki collapse, have read a
chapter to the border Kheyls, which they will
not easily forget.
OPINIONS OF THE INDIAN PRESS.
Thk Mission to Cabul .—The Times of India
considers " it is perhaps unjust to condemn the
Eussian demands until we absolutely know
•what they are, but liussian presence at Cabul is
in itself a gross breach of the undertaking made
in 1872 ; and it is impossible to forget that in a
hostile line of country held by troops and govern
ed solely by military men, the local desire to
push forward has often before been too strong to
chime in with the published wishes of the
Cabinet at St. Petersburg, which, preaching
peace, has managed in several directions to be
come encumbered with a good deal of the pro
perty of neighbouring nations. The Russian
Mission after all may be an answer to the blun
ders of Sir Lewis Pelly's secret and ineffective
and humiliating attempts. For this blunder our
Government have to atone, and in the unusual
energy with which they have appointed a counter
mission, it would seem that they acknowledge
the gravity of the situation. We hope, however,
that Sir Neville Chamberlain will be armed with
sufficient powers to restore the prestige we have
lost in the rude Court of Cabul. If he merely
goes into Afghanistan to exchange civil compli
ments and to come back rebuffed, we shall be
plunged before we know where we are into a
new Afghan campaign. For it is clear that,
with the Ameer's leave, or without it, we cannot
allow Russian outposts to be established upon
our very frontier. As Lord Salisbury said on
Tuesday, 1 British interests in Afghanistan exceed
Russian interests.' "
The Bombay Gazette observes that after the
Pelly mission " Shere Ali still remained sul
ky; the Russians made the most of the op
portunity, and now the Government of India
is placed in the humiliating position of being
the first to sue for a re-establishment of those
friendly relations which Lord Lytton was good
enough to offer to extend to the Ameer when
that gentleman in his hours of repentance
might choose to ask for them. The fact is a
triumph to Shere Ali, and the contempt which he
must feel for the Government of India when he
finds he has frightened it into sending a special
mission to Cabul after it had professed to wash its
hands of him and his affairs, will make him an
exceeding difficult person to persuade that Eng
land and not Russia is the Power which it will be
most to his advantage to appease. Lord Lytton's
great blunder was committed when he consented
to Sir Lewis Pelly's mission to Peshawur without
determining at the same time to show Shere Ali
that the Government of India was prepared to
give material support to the demands of its re
presentative, or at all events those ' sugges
tions' which should have been demands. And
now that Russian diplomacy, by its activity and
alertness, has scored another victory over English
policy, we cannot see how Sir Neville Chamber
lain's mission can repair the blunder. Vigorous
steps must, however, be taken immediately to
secure the Khyber Pass just as the Bolan Pass
has been already occupied. The time has gone/
by for shuffling, timid, and discreditable politic^
relations with the Ameer of Cabul." / c '