The Sun.
London, England, 1856-06-30 00:00:00

~V" 'The Government, seeing that by this conduct, de-
structive to the public peace, the Ameer Dost Mahomed
Khan was about to overthrow the whole ccuntry of
Khorassan, sent its troops to Herat, with orders that
the Ameer should confine himself to Cahill, that he
should relinquish his intention of marching upon Herat,
and should not meddle with the affairs of that place or
of Caudahar ; and that, in fine, the troops were to de-
fend Herat and to prevent all disorders in Khorassati."
"I am not aware of any intelligence from Tehe•
ran direct or from the Persian Gulf having reach-
ed Bombay since I last wrote. Another steam
corvette has been despatched to the .Gulf, but
merely to relieve one of those at present on the
station. Her departure, however, has • not failed
to attract the attention of those persons—and they
form a tolerably numerous class—who still believe
that the Indian Government, will have to send an
army to the Gulf to-Ocoupy the ports, and possibly
to advance upon the capital of the Persian empire.
" But to return to the Ameer at Canda-
har. I confess to feeling an interest in the
struggles of the old
_chief, unscrupulous and am-
bitious as he may be, in which probably but few
English readers will • participate ; • yet Surely
the ultimate fate—and probably the last scene
of his eventful life is not far distant —of a
man of unquestioned ability.,; and a'ldress, who
was once our foe, and a daring_ and gallant one—
then foCa Whileuur prisoner, till set free to return
to a capital in which fire and, desolation had fear-
fully avenged the blood of our fallen countrymen,
and who is now our- ally7—caunot be unworthy of
presage and of observation. ite Would. appear to
have been, at the date of the last accounts, in a
situation which would ic:;• th6-utiermost that
astute and fertile intellect, and that watchful and
ready eye which have carried him safely !lirough
the many perils of his long and chequered existence.
The strife between himself and his nephews, who had
all managed to escape front Caudahar, was daily be-
coming more and more embittered, and was likely at
no great interval of time to break out into open war-
fare. Toe members of the dispossessed family—
most of whom had originally fled to Herat and the
Persians—had returned to the neighbourhood of
Caudahar. There they were successfully busy in
exciting the tribes to rise against the Ameer of
Oahu]. Itahumdil Khan, the surviving chief
of Caudahar, who had hitherto been detained in
surveillance by his brother, the Dust, while his sons
and nephews got away, had effected his escape, and,
though closely pressed, had reached the country of
the Ghilzyes, and had so effectually raised the popu-
lation as to render the road to Ghuznee almost im-
passable for adherents of the Ameer, thus interfering
with the march of succours front Cabul. At that
capital itself there were symptoms of disaffection,
and there was no very friendly or cordial feeling
between the Governor and Mahomed. Ameer, the
Dost's sou, left in charge of his father's interests.
Nor, as a matter of course, among so many stimu-
lants to insurrection, were those of religion and
fanaticism wanting. The English alliance is thrown
in the teeth of the Dust by the Mollahs of Cauda-
har. He is the friend of the infidel, and, as such,
down with them. He is more than their friend, he
is their obedient slave, and defiles himself by listen-
ing to an•l acting upon their interested and ever-to-
be loathed advice. It is they that have urged him
upon Caudahar, and when he shall have brought
under his rule all the hills and valleys of Affghan-
istan, it is they that will press him forward to the
ruin of his people against Herat and the might of
Persia.

"To ;neat the internecine warfare which appeared
nevitable the Dost was preparing, himself as best
le could. Associated with hitn at Candahar were
its favourite sons, Hyder Khau (his Envoy to us

last year) and Mahomed Aslum khan. To au;
merit their forces he and Hyder had reviewed the
troops of the late chief of Candahar, and selected
for their own service such men as they deemed

likely to be most serviceable and most trusty.
Moreover, the Governor of Cabul had received
orders (I should mention that the news from Cabul
comes down to the 30th of April) to raise from
among the tribes of Kohistan 5,000 men, and to
send them to Candahar. From each of two other
districts he was required to obtain 2,000 men, and
not to be sparing of force, if necessary, in getting
wooruiti4.

"But it is not only agekinut an open enemy in
the field that the Dost has to prepare himself ; the
danger of assassination has also to be provided
against. Another plot against his life, and that a
gunpowder plot, had been lately detected and
evaded. One of his nephews—a son of the late
chief—had, apparently in the most friendly way,
placed a palace at the disposal of his uncle. When
the house had received within its walls the Ameer,
his sons, and his principal followers, it was to be
blown into the air with gunpowder. But the old
chief's intelligence was good, and he heard, iu time
to avoid it, of the plot that was laid for his de-
struction. Three of the principal conspirators,
among whom were the nephew and ringleader,
were secured, and placed in close confinement.
" This danger the Dost happily escaped, but he
was fearful that his enemies having failed in overt
attacks upon his life might have recourse to the
insidious method of poisoning his food. So appre-
hensive was ho of this species of peril that he was
said to have nominated Hyder Khan to superintend
the cooking of his meals, and Mahomed Ashem to
furnish him water. It can be no matter of wonder
if the effect of these accumulated anxieties at his
advanced ago has seriously damaged his health.
By the accounts from Cabul he had been very ill,
and the peaceful section of the people were regard-
ing with the greatest apprehension the possibility-
of his decease. The latest report at Cabul regard-
ing him was that he was willing to give up Canda- ,
liar and retire wi h his sons to his own city, pro-
vided the Caudahar chiefs will pay him annually
a tribute equivalent to five lass of rupees. This
proposition, if ma le, was perhaps the result of
failing health. physical and intellectual. But here,
and in the midst of his perplexities, the intelligence
for the present leaves him.
"On the Punjab frontier all is still, and from
the North-West Provinces generally there is no
news of importance. At the capital of Gholab
Singh, in Cashmere, a very considerable amount
of valuable property, consisting chiefly of shawls
and jewels, has been destroyed by fire—an event
chiefly remarkable for the method by which the
' Sovereign proposes to reimburse himself. Every
one of his subjectsis to contribute towards making