Scrapbook of newspaper cuttings about Afghanistan [‎97v] (198/312)

LATEST INTELLIGENCE. |
—♦
INDIA AND AFGHANISTAN.
(B y I npo- E ukopean T elegraph vid T eheran.)
(from our correspondent.)
darjeeling, oct. c. ; j; : ;
The latest news from Pesbawur states that 200 |
men of each regiment in garrison, together with /
Horse Artillery and 40-pounder batteries, and
Sappers and Miners, proceed at once to Jamrood.
The guides and a regiment from Kohat will join
them 0 there. It is believed that this force, under
the command of General Roberts, will attack the
fort of Ali Musjid. .
Reports are current that a body of the '
Ameer's soldiers, consisting of four regiments and
six guns, has advanced to the mouth of the Khybcr ; „
Pass. A bazaar rumour states that the Ameer is jy,
massing troops and has no intention of submitting. ^
The neighbouring tribes are perfectly quiet.
The latest Press news from Lahore states that ^
advance on Cabul has for the present been «
woandoned. The armed demonstration on the ^
frontier is intended to coerce the Ameer to accept
our terms without compelling us to go to war. The
1st Sikhs and the 1st Mountain Battery will march f
immediately from Kohat to Peshawur. Colonel ||
Villiers, the Viceroy's military secretary, accom- j;-
panics the Jamrood Expedition. Grave complaints ■
are made of the commissariat arrangements with
reference to carriage for the troop?.
It is reported from Umballa that the 26th Regiment ^
cf Native Infantry had arrived ; that the 70th ^
and 59th Foot proceed forthwith to Mooltan ;
and that a detachment of the l8th Royal Irish
left Rauvind by special train for Mooltan. The
Indus Valley Railway iS preparing for the carriage
of the Bombay column to Sukhur. The 15th
Sikhs have marched from Sealkote to join the
force assembling at Mooltan. The 23d Pio- :
neers have marched from Simla en route]
for the frontier. General Biddulph and Major
Worsley left Nynee Tal for Quettah on Fri-
day. The troops will consist of two divisions.
The 2d Division will be divided into two columns,
rne under General Roberts moving up the Kuroom
Valley ; the second column joining, at Dera-Ghazi-
Khan, will reinforce the Pioneers at Quettah.
The 1st Division will for the present remain
in support. Colonel Hills proceeds at once to Der^
Ghazi Khan to hasten the Hdvanc3 of the troops
to Quettah. There is considerable delay consequent
on defective carriage.
Colonel Lane has been ordered to Mooltan to -
superintend and expedite the commissariat ar-
rangoments for the Quettah force, carriage being
again the difficulty.
It is reported that the Commander-in-Chief, Sir |
Frederic Haines, will command in person should |
an expedition against Cabul bo determined upon.
It is stated from Lahore that according to
influential native opinion the mere entry of
British troops into Afghanistan would lead to
the deposition and possibly the assassination of
the Ameer by his subjects, with whom he is very
unpopular.
The Government are very reticent as to the
ulterior destination of the troops, but as far as
any conclusion can be drawn from the movements of
troops and other indicia of military policy, the
Viceroy's plm of operation would appe ir to be to
endeavour to coerce the Ameer to yield an un
qualified submission by a strong military demon
stration on his frontier, and so prove to him that
| the Government have both the power and the will
to occupy,and if necessary to annex, his territory in
the event of his proving unsubmissive . It is hoped,
in addition,that when once the Afghans have tangible
| proof that the Government are determined to insist
upon absolute compliance with its demands, they
themselves will impose great pressure upon the
Ameer, and that should this pressure not prove
successful, the Ameer will probably be dethroned,
as it is believed that the people would be most un
willing to draw upon themselves the inevitable alter
native of an armed occupation in order to further
the Ameer's individual proclivities in favour of a
Russian alliance. In order effectually to carry
out this policy it will be necessary to occupy in
force the debouches of both the Bolan and the
Khyber Passes. This is with the twofold object of
preparing against active aggressive measures by the
Ameer and of boing prepared at the commence
ment of the spring for an immediate march
upon Cabul and Candahar. Should the pre
sent measures prove barren of successful results,
there can be little doubt that the Govern
ment will use every endeavour to avoid a winter
campaign, and, unless driven to adopt immediate
offensive operations by aggressive military move
ments on the part of the Ameer, they will in all
probability rest content until the winter is over I
with consolidating the necessary military and :
commissariat preparations for the very serious ;
undertaking of a prolonged Afghan war.
Possibly if a favourable chance should happen a
seizure of Candahar by a coup de main might be
attempted; but this is not thought a very probable I
occurrence, more especially as the Ameer has been
long forewarned by our occupation of Quettah and
is said to have greatly strengthened the fortifica-I
tions and to have adopted other precautionary
measures to guard against both surprise and
attack.
The occupation of the Kuroom Valley
by British troops is all-important. The valley
turns the Khyber Pass and stretches almost
to Cabul, and the difficulties to be encoun
tered in crossing the pass are trivial com
pared with those of the passing of the Khyber.
The people of the valley are reported to be well-
disposed towards our Government. It is stated
that the occupation of the Kuroom Valley
would place us, supposing our cantonment
to be located in the centre cf the valley
and our border to be defined by the present
limits of Barngash and Turi lands, just nine
marches from Cabul. It would als-) give us pos
session of the Peiwarand Shutar-gurdan Passes,
the ascent to which on the Kuroom side is compa
ratively ea^y, though the descent into Logar in Af
ghanistan is long and steep. From this position we
should master Cabul. Without crossing any chain
of mountain we secure a military position which
would prevent any hostile power from attacking
the advance of an army the flanks and rear of which
would be directly exposed, by either the Khyber or
Gomul routes. This position would be distant
about 119 imiles from Cabul, 110 from Kohat, and
90 from Banu. This Kuroom route is described by
competent authorities as possibly the best of all
the roads between Afghanistan and the Punjabj
both on account of the easiness of the roads and
the abundance of water, fuel, grazing, and procur
able supplies. The whole of the tribes are said to
be Shia Mahomedans and th us opposed in faith to
the Suni rulers of Cabul. The roads from the
valley to Ghuzni and Cabul are also good. With a
military force therefore located at Thall and the
whole valley under militarydominion and theKhyber
we shall be enabled to commence military opera
tions in the spring under th* most favourable
auspices.
My opinion that no immediate advance upon
Cabul is about to be attempted is corrobo
rated in some degree by a telegram which I have
received from Simla, and which states that the
winter movements of the Indian Govern
ment are still unsettled, and lhat it is
pro! able the Government will go to Cal-
cutMt ios lha winter after f . IU and that the
j Viceroy only will visit Lahore in the winter in
j order that he may have an opportunity of consult
ing with the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab as
to the movements of both the Kuroom and Quettah
forces. The former official announcement of
the resolution of the Government to re
main for the winter at Lahore was evi
dently consequent on the probability of a
winter campaign. That probability having now
been removed by later counsels, the urgency for
the location of the Government at Lahore has
ceased to exitt. r ihe Viceroy's visit to Rajpootana
has been definitely given up.
Scindiah was invested with the order of the Em-
| pire of India in full Durbar A public or private audience held by a high-ranking British colonial representative (e.g. Viceroy, Governor-General, or member of the British royal family). at Gwalior on the
j 21st. Many guests were present. The Maharajah
1 was gracious and co n ciliatory.