Scrapbook of newspaper cuttings about Afghanistan [‎63v] (130/312)

"AFGHANISTAN.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.
Sir,—Referring to a letter from Colonel Callander, in
your issue of the 27th, regarding a pass to the south of the
Khoord Cabnl Pass, which might be used for turning the
latter, it may be mentioned that on the retirement of the
British troops from Cabul in 1842, a mountain path—the
Goshpundurrah—to the south of the Khoord Cabul, was
successfully used for this purpose by a considerable force
under the late Sir Robert Sale.
It consisted of the mountain train—1st Bengal Light
Cavalry, 1st and 2d Brigades, 1st Infantry Division, de
tachment 3d Irregular Cavalry, Broadfoot's Sappers and
Miners, and the Corps of Jezailchees—and leaving Cabul
(without baggage or camp equipage) on the morning of the
12th October—the day the main body moved to Bootkuak—
marched straight to Khoord Oabul by the above path, ar
riving in the afternoon without having been discovered by
the enemy, and having turned the pass.
Yours obediently,
41. Colville-terrace, W., Sept. 30. F. MACKENZIE.
THE AFGHANS.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.
Sir,—The old assumption that the Afghans are of Jewish
descent has again cropped up and is re-asserted, though
with somewhat diminished pertinacity, by Mr. Wheeler in
The Times of to-day. Error, it is said, is immortal, and
this particular one, though often scotched, has not yet
been killed. The supposed Jewish origin of the Afghans is
based upon two grounds—the claim of the Afghans them
selves that they are descended from King Saul; and,
secondly, their supposed Jewish physiognomy. Upon one
or both of these grounds a conjecture has been formed,
" that they are the descendants of the ten tribes whom the
King of Assyria carried away to the city of the Medes."
That the Afghans claim a descent from Saul is certain ;
but the value of that claim can only be fairly judged by
those who are well acquainted with old Mahomedan
genealogies, and know their utter wortidessness. If.
however, the claim were worthy of consideration, it is still
inconsistent with the notion that the Afghans are descend,
ants of the lost ten tribes. Saul was of the tribe of
Benjamin, and that tribe was not one of the lost ten
There remains the question of feature. This no doubt has
its weight, but cannot prevail against the more important
question of language. We hear frequently of men " of
Jewish countenance," and " of Hebrew cast of features "
for or against whom no claim or charge of Jewish descent
can be urged. It is admitted that the Afghan language
has no trace of Hebrew origin. This is a great step gained.
Where, then, did the Afghan language come from 1 The
too ready answer is that " they changed their language.'
But nations do not change their language as a man changes
his clothes. The conditions under which a change of lan
guage occurs are well understood. One is, that a body of
conquerors or emigrants settle among a people more
numerous than themselves, as the Normans or the French
Protestants in England. The minority are in course of
time absorbed by the majority, and they become of one
language. If the Afghans were originally Jews, they must
have been either emigrants or conquerors ; they must
have been a minority of settlers in a far more numerous
nation. What was that nation ? What has become of it ?
Not one trace of it is to be found. The Afghans alone
speak the Afghan language, and that language has no trace
of Hebrew in it. If the claim were set up for a particular
Vha.il or clan of Afghans, it would be intelligible and hard
to refute. But as the matter stands, the emigrant Jews*
after settling in a strange country, must have adopted the j
language of their more numerous hosts, a work of years, I
aye, of centuries, and then have utterly destroyed them.
This supposition is too incredible, and no resemblance of
physiognomy can make it probable, end no more reason
able explanation can be given of the supposed change of
language. JOHN DOWSON.
September 27.
LONDON, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1878.
The detailed account of the military strength and
of the geography of Afghanistan which we give
this morning from the records of the Russian
Central Staff Office at St. Petersburg forms a curious
comment on the ignorance professed in official quar
ters in Russia as to Afghan affairs generally. If
we were to judge from some of our telegrams of
yesterday, we should be tempted to the conclusion
that Russia was only just aware of the existence of
such a country as Afghanistan. For a precise
knowledge of what has been going on there, and
still more for any attempts to influence the order
of events, Ru ssia, it would seem, is about the last
place to which we ought to look. But the ]
minute particulars about Afghanistan, mili
tary and geographical, which we now pre
sent from Russian official sources, show that
the modest diffidence of St. Petersburg is
out of place. From the same quarter we now
learn, with equal surprise, that England i
has been at work in Central Asia with a view
of creating difficulties for Russia, but, though a
counter-movement was contemplated by Russia, it
was never actually carried out, and the orders for
it were countermanded as soon as it appeared
likely that peace would follow from the meeting of
the Berlin Congress. A telegram of this kind,
coming from St. Petersburg, bears necessarily
something of an official character. It must have
been submitted to official eyes, and must have been
approved before it was sent off. If it is not quite a
message from the Russian Chancellerie, it is, at
least, a statement which the Russian Chancellerie [
js willing that the wox-ld should accept. It is worth
while, therefore, to look at it a little more closely
than we should otherwise do, the rather since it
conveys in some parts an imputation on recent
English policy in Central Asia. Let us see, then,
first, the conduct on our part which seems to have
induced Russia to think of sending expeditions to
reconnoitre beyond her own borders. The charge
js not made in very precise terms. We hear chiefly
of various reports received during the Russo-
Turkish war, giving information of what English
agents were doing to cause embarrassment to
Russia in Central Asia. The mission of Sir
P ougias F orsyth to Kashgar is the one solid basis
of fact on which the whole structure of suspicion is
raised, but, as the mischievous purpose of this
mission was avowed, it may be thought enough to
justify the use made of it. What we did openly in
Kashgar during the Russo-Turkish war we might
very well be supposed capable of doing in Bokhara,
or wherever else the chance offered. We could not
complain if Russia believed the various reports she
received of our hostile manoeuvres when her in
formants could point to Sir D ouglas F oesyth's
mission in confirmation of their truth. There is
one point, however, in which the chain of evidence
Is incomplete. The unity of time is wanting.
The Russo-Turkish war broke out in the
sprirg of 1877. Sir D ouglas F orsyth's
mission to Kashgar was in 1872. After
this it is almost superfluous to add that Sir
D ouglas F orsyth's mission was of a ptirely com
mercial character, and had no reference what
ever to Russia or to Russian affairs. As for
the doings of our agents in Bokhara, whether in
1872 or in 1877, it may be enough to say that we
never had an agent in Bokhara, and that no one
can know this better than Russia does.
Let us see next the so-called counter-movements
which Russia confesses, not, indeed, to having
made, but to having contemplated and prepared to
make. If we accept the Russian account of them,
the whole matter was simple enough, and ab
solutely harmless in its results. Whatever Russia
may have intended to do, she gave up even the in
tention the moment she was relieved from the
prospect of a war with England. It is difficult,
however, to reconcile the facts of the case with the
statements of the St. Petersburg telegram. Native
Russian agents were busy at Cabul as long ago as
1876, attempting to set the A meer against England,
and they have been there ever since. The special
mission of General S toljetopf to Cabul was
resolved on in March. It was not, however, until
the latter part of July that it actually reached
Cabul, bringing with it, we believe, a letter from the
E mperor himself to S here A li. A s for the further
measures contemplated by Russia and abandoned
by her, it is necessary in forming our judgment
about them to look exactly at the dates. The
information we have received points to the
conclusion that these measures were designed,
not when an Anglo-Russian war was thought
imminent, but when peace between the two
countries had practically been secured, and
that the orders with reference to them were
not countermanded until last August—that is
to say, not until some weeks after the Berlin
Congress had done its work. One point re
mains still to be noticed. When the first news
arrived at St. Petersburg of the stoppage of the
English mission to Cabul, the Russian Ministers—
so, at least, the St. Petersburg writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. as
sures us—had no more precise information
on the subject than the public generally.
It is quite possible that this statement may
be true in the letter. The telegram we pub
lished at the beginning of last week may very well
have been the source from which the information
of all parties at St. Petersburg was derived, and, if
so, the question of priority between the official and
non-official world is hardly worth disputing over.
But the meaning of the statement goes very far
beyond this. It implies, not only that nothing in
point of fact was known, but that there was nothing
special which could have been known. Now, we
hardly think that the temper and purpose of S here
A li could have been matters of as much mystery
to agents at Cabul who were in actual communica
tion with him as they were to the world outside, or