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Scrapbook of newspaper cuttings about Afghanistan [‎10r] (20/312)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (150 folios). It was created in 07 Sep 1878-19 Oct 1878. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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[S ept. 2r, 1878.
Mile-end, and he bought the cloth from Beale for £30, about half its value.
He was found guilty and sentenced to five years' penal servitude. Beale was
senterced to eighteen months' hard labour.
Our correspondent at Chatham states that the large ironclad broadside ship
Northampton^ of twelve guns, and 6,000-horse power, at Chatham, is to b^
irnmediately prepared for the conveyance of the Marquis of Lorne and the
Princess Louise to Canada, and is to be got ready with all despatch. It is
expected that the Marquis and the Princess Louise will pay a visit to Chatham
to inspect the vessel, which has a large number of hands employed on her in
the steam basin. r 1
. j?* 16 Pr . ince Wales has this morning sent to the Lord Mayor a donation
of fifty guineas towards the Abercarne Colliery Fund now being raised at the
Mansion House. &
The nomination of candidates for the representation of Truro in Parliament
has been fixed for Tuesday next, and Thursday for the polling.
At a meeting of residents of Devon, held at Exeter yesterday, under the
presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. of the high sheriff of the county, it was decided to promote a move
ment for the erection of a statue of the Earl of Devon, as a mark of cordial
approval and public gratitude for life-long services rendered to the county and
community at large. The proposal to form a committee to carry out the object
■was moved by Sir Lawrence Palk, M.P., and letters of support were received
-fromEarl Fortescue, the Earl of Portsmouth, Lord Lymington, Lord Poltimore,
the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and others.
A marble statue of the late Mr. Alfred Rooker, twice mayor and many years
alderman of Plymouth, was publicly unveiled yesterday. It is placed in Guild
hall-square, and was accepted from the subscribers by the mayor, on behalf
of the corporation. The statue is the work of Mr. E. B. Stephens, and cost
/t,5oo.
The Academy hears that Mr. Charles Dickens has undertaken to write a
life of the late Mr. Charles J. Mathews, based upon material supplied by the
executrix, including, for the early years of his life, an autobiography prepared
for publication by Mr. Mathews. In addition to this Mr. Dickens will spare no
effort to make the story complete by working in all the letters and other
-material that he can collect among Mr. Mathews's numerous friends.
It is not generally known (the same paper says) that Schiller wrote a
complete, though brief. Life of Egmont, which was originally published in
4;he Thalia, and of which the usual editions of his collected works give a
fragment only. The delegates of the Clarendon Press are about to publish
this biographical sketch in its entirety, together with Schiller's " Belagerung von
Antwerpen," which gives an almost unrivalled description of one of the most
remarkable sieges in the history of warfare. The volume will be annotated by
Dr. Buchheim.
Mr. Henry Irving took a benefit last night at the Alexandra Theatre, Liver
pool, and in the course of a brief address to the audience, said At the termi
nation of my present tour my professional career in London will enter upon a
new period, though without change of scene. When an actor turns manager, it
is not with a greedy wish to monopolize either profits or opportunities. I, at
least, most earnestly profess that it will be my aim at the Lyceum Theatre, of
which I am now manager, to associate upon the stage all the arts and all the
talents within my power to subsidize, so as to make the theatre a true school of
dramatic art. I cannot myself pretend to be a master of any school ; but I can
say that most eminent members of my'profession have joined me, and will help
to make my theatre all I should wish it to be for the benefit of the public from I
>hom I have received so much kindness.
Yakoob got a small band around him, won some substantial aavau- ,
tages in the villages near Herat, and at length took that place by
a coup de main, at the head of 5,000 men. His gallantry drew many
adherents, and in 1868 he regained Candahar on behalf of his father.
He also rendered material assistance to Shere Ali in the recapture
of Cabul. It was at this period—the autumn of 1868—that Shere Ali
became distrustful of him. Yakoob had discovered that Abdulla Jan's
mother was intriguing to secure the succession to her son, who had
just been appointed Governor of Candahar. Accordingly, Yakoob also
resorted to intrigue with the view of keeping his hold upon Herat as
Governor; and at the same time he demanded to be recognized as
heir apparent. The Ameer gave him no direct answer, and Yakoob
followed up his demands by others more sweeping, most of them
relating to an enlarged share in the administration of the country. Shere
Ali temporized by making partial concessions, which gave Yakoob a voice
in the government of the capital, but at the same time he surrounded
his resolute ambitious son with adherents of Abdulla Jan. Yakoob's posi
tion soon became untenable. He perceived that nothing would prevent
Abdulla Jan's nomination as heir apparent; and in 1870 he fled from
Cabul, accompanied by his full brother Ayub, a boy of thirteen or four
teen years. Yakoob endeavoured to provoke a rebellion; but Shere Ali's
influence had now become too strong for all that his sons could do against
it. Yakoob and his few adherents were beaten off from Candahar, Ghazni,
and Girishk, and once more he took refuge in Persia. In the spring
of 1871~this time with some Persian assistance—Yakoob again laid siege
to Herat, and it fell into his hands. Through the influence of Lord Mayo,
father and son became reconciled. Yakoob presented himself at Cabul
and declared himself penitent; and in September of 1871 he was made
Governor of Herat, but with a strong body of Shere Ali's adherents around
him. Yakoob and Shere Ali's nominees were never in accord, Yakoob
endeavouring to keep them from any real share in the administration,
and they reporting to Cabul everything that might turn to Yakoob s dis
advantage. There can be little doubt that Yakoob justified their reports,
especially after the formal nomination of Abdulla Jan as heir apparent
in 1873. He intrigued with the Persians and the Turcomans; and it is
believed that he also asked help of the Russians to assist him against
his father; but he failed all round. The Ameer declined his request to
hold the governorship of Herat in perpetuity, free from Cabul influence,
and in the autumn of 1874 summoned him to Cabul. Yakoob suspected
treachery, and demanded a safe conduct, which was granted. No sooner,
however, had the young man arrived in the capital than his father put him
under arrest, and he has been in confinement ever since. The Indian
Government interceded with the Ameer to spare his life, and ^to treat him
well; but the first request only was granted. Yakoob's imprisonment
[S ept. 21, 1878.
THE AFGHAN SUCCESSION.
The death of Abdulla Jan, the youngest and favourite son of Shere Ali
and heir apparent to the throne, has added the question of Afghan
succession to the many subjects which Sir Neville Chamberlain will have
to discuss with the Ameer. The troubled history of Afghanistan, after
the death of Dost Mahomed, will not be lost upon the English envoy,
for the good relations which this country had maintained with the last
Ameer were wrecked in the strife among his sons. If Sir Neville
Chamberlain obtains satisfactory terms from Shere Ali, it will be necessary
to provide for the maintenance of those terms by an undisputed succes
sion, and the best way to make it undisputed will most probably be the
early recognition by the English Government of Shere Ali's nominee. A
brief outline of the history of the Ameer's family will show how dangerous
it may be to leave this question unsettled till after Shere Ali's death.
The present ruler of Afghanistan had five sons, so far as is known in
current history, the eldest and youngest of whom are dead. The eldest,
Mahomed Ali, fell at the head of his father's army, at Kajbaz, in 1865,
in a hand-to-hand encounter with his uncle, Amin Khan. Amin was
fighting against Shere Ali for the Afghan throne; nephew and uncle
met on the field of battle, and Amin shot the heir apparent through the
head. Five Kabulis avenged their leader's death, and Atnin Khan fell,
riddled with bullets, by the side of his brother's son. Mahomed left
a child, named Ahmed Ali, who is now about seventeen years of age;
and last week's telegram from Calcutta announces the probability of
Shere Ali naming this young man as his heir, instead of either of his
three surviving sons. The Ameer has always been favourably disposed
towards his grandson, and after Mahomed Ali's death it seemed likely that
the lad would be selected for the Wali Ahadship in the place of his
father. But the mother of Abdullah Jan, who played an important part
in these troubled times, secured the succession to her own son, and
Ahmed Ali's chances of coming to the throne retired into the background.
Shere Ali's eldest surviving son is Ibrahim Khan. He is a man of no
parts, and the Ameer treats him as of small account. He is a dull, heavy
creature, and it is suspected that he is of weak intellect. He loyally
assisted his father in the war of succession, but was always on the losing
side, and was present with his father in the flight to Herat. He has been
Governor of Cabul, but was not popular in that capacity.
Yakoob Khan, the third son of the Ameer, is of a very different
mould. When sixteen years of age—he is now about thirty-three—he was
left in charge of the governorship of Herat, while his father travelled to
Cabul to claim the throne, and he continued in that post till 1866. In
that year Shere Ali sustained a serious defeat at the hands of his
brothers, and a conspiracy in the interest of one of those brothers
broke out in the western capital. Yakoob discovered the promoters, and
put them down. Within a few months, however he was compelled to fly,
and Herat was captured by Afzul Khan, Shere Ali's eldest brother.
Yakoob and his father became exiles, and Yakoob ineffectually endea
voured to obtain assistance from the Persians. The latter declined to
take Shere Ali's part; but, undaunted by the failure of his negotiations,
Yakoob got a small band around him, won some substantial advan
tages in the villages near Herat, and at length took that place by
a coup de main, at the head of 5 ,000 men. His gallantry drew many
adherents, and in 1868 he regained Candahar on behalf of his father.
He also rendered material assistance to Shere Ali in the recapture
of Cabul. It was at this period—the autumn of 1868— that Shere Ali
became distrustful of him. Yakoob had discovered that Abdulla Jan's
mother was intriguing to secure the succession to her son, who had
just been appointed Governor of Candahar. Accordingly, Yakoob also
resorted to intrigue with the view of keeping his hold upon Herat as
Governor; and at the same time he demanded to be recognized as
heir apparent. The Ameer gave him no direct answer, and Yakoob
followed up his demands by others more sweeping, most of them
relating to an enlarged share in the administration of the country. Shere
Ali temporized by making partial concessions, which gave Yakoob a voice
in the government of the capital, but at the same time he surrounded
his resolute ambitious son with adherents of Abdulla Jan. Yakoob's posi
tion soon became untenable. He perceived that nothing would prevent
Abdulla Jan's nomination as heir apparent; and in 1870 he fled from
Cabul, accompanied by his full brother Ayub, a boy of thirteen or four
teen years. Yakoob endeavoured to provoke a rebellion; but Shere AU's
influence had now become too strong for all that his sons could do against
it. Yakoob and his few adherents were beaten off from Candahar, Ghazni,
and Girishk, and once more he took refuge in Persia. In the spring
of 1871-—this time with some Persian assistance—Yakoob again laid siege
to Herat, and it fell into his hands. Through the influence of Lord Mayo,
father and son became reconciled. Yakoob presented himself at Cabul
and declared himself penitent; and in September of 1871 he was made
Governor of Herat, but with a strong body of Shere Ali's adherents around
him. Yakoob and Shere Ali's nominees were never in accord, Yakoob
endeavouring to keep them from any real share in the administration,
and they reporting to Cabul everything that might turn to Yakoob's dis
advantage. There can be little doubt that Yakoob justified their reports,
especially after the formal nomination of Abdulla Jan as heir apparent
in 1873. He intrigued with the Persians and the Turcomans; and it is
believed that he also asked help of the Russians to assist him against
his father; but he failed all round. The Ameer declined his request to
hold the governorship of Herat in perpetuity, free from Cabul influence,
and in the autumn of 1874 summoned him to Cabul. Yakoob suspected
treachery, and demanded a safe conduct, which was granted. No sooner,
however, had the young man arrived in the capital than his father put him
under arrest, and he has been in confinement ever since. The Indian
Government interceded with the Ameer to spare his life, and ^to treat him
well; but the first request only was granted. Yakoob's imprisonment
.
has been, according to the best accounts, very rigorous; and the story has
filtered from Cabul into India that his intellect has been seriously affected
by the harshness of his treatment. Yakoob was a man of rare energy
and talent, but he suffered from the disadvantage of having a mother of
low birth-^, circumstance which will seriously affect his chances of coming
to the thronViCtven it be untrue that he is insane, and supposing it
possible for Shere Ali to become reconciled to him. Captain Marsh's
interview with Yakoob at Herat in 1873 revealed a not unfriendly dis
position on Yakoob's part towards England, and the traveller discovered
that Yakoob was one of the few Afghans who could speak English.
Ayub Khan, the full brother of Yakoob, took no part in public affairs
till he fled with Yakoob from Cabul in 1870. The two lived together at
Herat till Yakoob set out on his hapless journey to Shere Ali in 1874;
and when Ayub heard of his brother's arrest he endeavoured to prepare
Herat for resistance against his father and to foment a rebellion in
the neighbourhood, a project which failed. A few months afterwards
he fled into Persian territory, where, meeting one of the Afghan generals
who had been treacherous to Yakoob's cause, he endeavoured to put him
to death. The Persians prevented this. With Yakoob's example before
him, Ayub declined Shere Ali's invitation to return to" Cabul, and we
believe that Ayub has ever since lived in exile. He married a daughter
of Shere Ali's half-brother Aslam, for whose murder Shere Ali was mainly
responsible.
Another claimant to the throne is Abdul Rahman, the son of Shere
Ali's elder brother Afzul. Rahman took a very active part in his father's
cause against Shere Ali, and in the earlier stages of the war between Shere
Ali and his brothers he displayed as much military skill as his cousin
Yakoob. In the end, however, Shere Ali defeated him, and he took refuge
at Tashkend. For the past five years the Russians have given this man
^3,000 a year as a subsidy, so that they may have a nominee of their
own at hand if disputes shall again arise in the Afghan succession. Abdul
Rahman has been to St. Petersburg; he is thoroughly Russianized, is
considered a very able man, and Shere Ali is greatly in fear of his
influence in the district of Balkh.
It will be gathered from this account that Shere Ali is not likely to
set up one of his three surviving sons as heir apparent. Ibrahim is a
dullard ; Yakoob is in prison, and has offended his father, apparently
beyond forgiveness; and Ayub is in exile. The nephew, Rahman, can
only hope to succeed by Russian influence. So that the prosp.ect points
with considerable probability to Shere Ali's grandson, Ahmed Ali. Save
in the case of Rahman, the English Government can have very little
preference for one man over another. They may have much sympathy
for Yakoob Khan, but his birth on the mother's side is against his
cordial acceptance by the Afghan nobles. It is not certain that in his
later days at Herat he did not endeavour to intrigue with Russia; and
being older than Ahmed, with great experience as a ruler, he may be
a more self-willed man than his nephew. His long imprisonment has
deprived him of much influence, if it has not also made him^incapable
of ruling a most troublesome people.

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Content

Press cuttings from British and Indian Newspapers regarding the Afghan War (today known as the 2nd Afghan-Anglo War), negotiations in Cabul [Kabul], the British Government's policy with regards to the Indian Frontier, and the movements of the Russians during the war.

The cuttings have been taken from a number of newspapers including the Pall Mall Budget , The Pall Mall Gazette , The Globe , The Times , The Pioneer Mail , The Standard , The Daily News , The Daily Telegraph , The Evening Standard , The Saturday Review , The Spectator , The Morning Post and The World .

Extent and format
1 volume (150 folios)
Arrangement

The cuttings have been arranged in the scrapbook in chronological order and the pages of the book have been tied into three bundles ff 1-46, ff 47-96 and ff 97-142

Physical characteristics

Foliation: This file has been foliated in the top right hand front corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio with a pencil number enclosed in a circle.

Written in
English in Latin script
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Scrapbook of newspaper cuttings about Afghanistan [‎10r] (20/312), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F126/24, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100024093679.0x000015> [accessed 17 January 2025]

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