The Sun.
London, England, 1868-07-04 00:00:00

THE PEACE SOCIETY ON THE AT7I7'UDE

IN INDIA.

. Although we agree with the Peace Society (which
has sent us the following) in its remarks, as well as
generally in its objects, we neither approve of
" peace-at-any-price" nor of calling people names
because they differ from us in opinion. Peace-at-
any-price defeats the object it intends to promote,
and therefore the policy is not truly one of peace.
Peace can best be secured, as mankind are at pre-
sent constituted, by being prepared for war. When
the Milleniurn dawns, its first sign will be the heed-
lessness of military preparation, all striving to do
right, and willing to submit to the judgment of an
umpire. But as we have not yet reached this stage
indeed, notwithstanding the efforts of this society,
we fear little progress towards it has been made ;
we advocate preparation as the best means of pre-
venting war. But why should these men of peace
use terms of opprobrium ? Why call the officers of
India " querulouS," "superannuated," the proposal
" foolish," " absurd," " selfish," &c. ? Peace is not
promoted by the use of hard names, and those who
adopt it as their motto should be meek and lowly
in demeanour, and ever be ready with the " soft
answer that turneth away wrath :"
A FOOLISH ANGLO-INDIAN PROPOSAL.--There
are many persons who painfully remember the disastrou s
war with Afghanistan, in which a British army of 12,000
was annihilated in the awful passage of the Khyber Pass,
from which only one person of our army escaped alive.
The Afghans are a warlike race, eminently patriotic, and
have repeatedly shown themselves willing to cultivate
friendly relations with the English. Recently, as is well
known, the Russians in Central Asia have advanced their
position to the borders of Afghanistan on the north, and
have thus spread the benefits of European civilization, of a
tolerably advanced kind, over a Tartar region previously
semi-barbarous at the best. Sir John Lawrence, the able
and judicious Governor-Goneral of India, is not disposed
to regard this advance of Russia to the Oxus as implying
any danger to the British possessions in India. But a
number of querulous superannuated Anglo-Indians have
raised a cry of " India in danger." This foolish cry has
been taken up by-some applicants for promotion and mili-
tary employment. These altogether form a powerful
clique, which threatens to greatly endanger the peace of
the British possessions in the East. Tho English Peace
Society has already exposed the absurdity and interested
selfishness of this outcry. And it is further cheering to
observe that the Times, and other metropolitan journals,
have taken a correct view of the matter. But the con-
tinued vigilance of the Press, and of the British public,
will be necessary to thwart the persistent pressure of the
Anglo-Indian clique. The Times sagaciously remarks,
"It would not be beyond our power to effect the conquest
of Afghanistan, though the work could only be achieved
at an enormous charge; but the only end of this conquest
would be, that the British frontier would be brought
nearer to the Russian positions by the whole breadth of
that province." It adds, that even if the conquest of Af-
31anistan were effected, " the garrisons of the two nations
would be actually confronting each other, and the long-
dreaded collision would have been precipitated by our own
efforts to prevent it." Further, the present position of the
English in India is admitted to be far stronger on the
east of the Indus with its mountain barrier than if Af-
ghanistan were conquered, and the Oxus taken as a fron-
tier. In addition to these strategic reasons for not hasten-
ing offensive operations, there are many other objections
to the policy of the Anglo-Indian clique, not the least of
which is the important circumstance that the Russians are
sincerely desirous of maintaining a pacific policy towards
this country, and would have more cause of apprehending
danger from us by a conterminous frontier than we should
- kayo occasion to fear from them.