The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-09-28
The Coming Contest in Arghanistan.


What are likely to he the Immediate and
the ultimate results of the war which now
sccms certain between the English in India
and the Amir of Cabul by what consider
alton aside from overt support, which is
scarcely looked for. have tho Russians in
! Turltistan been able to shape the action of
She Afghan prince l. there such change
Of circumstances as to make it unrcason-
ahlc to expect such grave disaster To the
| British arms as attended the expedition Of
| 1882 or such nbortive success as marked
Chen. PoLLOcK's campaign IN 1872 These
| questions cannot hc answered without
glance at those earlier experiments. and
! without n survey OF the relations during
the last five years between the vlce-rcgal
! Government and its Afghan ncighhor
! When British army passed the Indus in
1889 the ruler of Cabul was Dosr MouAMMED.
! the father ot SHIR ALI. and the ahlcst ruler
whom central Asia had seen since AHMED
! KHAN. This force some twelve thousand
strong, approached by the way ot Bcloochis-
/ tan. entered the cnemys country by the
Bolan Pass, and within three or four months
had occupied AHMEp's old metropolis. Can
dahar, had taken Ghuzni, the famous Afghan
| The conquest of Aighanistan seemed COM
| plcte, yet within three years the invaders
/ had been hurled from every fortress except
two. and the whole remnant of the Cabul
! garrison had been massacrcd in the Jugde-
/ lux Pass. only one Englishman reaching
Jelalabad to tell the tale. This signal mis-
carriage. the worst which ever bcfcll Eng
lishmcn in Asia. was due to two causes, one
Of which was the shameful negligence and
incapacity of the commanding officers.
What could be- done by competent leaders
was speedily dcmonstratcdhy POLLOCK. who
forced the khyhcr Pass. and in n very brief
campaign reoccuped tho whole country
Yet he in turn was confronted by an obstacle.
then almost insurmountahlc. TO prolonged
military operations in this region The
English force was acting at too great dis
lance from its base and It's communications
were in perpetual danger ~ Interruption
Between the British frontier and the Afghan
territory lay the Sikhs and other redoubta-
bic tribes. at that date still unsuhducd So
long as their empire was as yet unconsoli-
dated in the northeast, the masters Of India
saw themselves constrained to give over the
idea OF setting up prince Of their own in
Cabul and accordingly Gen. POLLOCK with
drew beyond the Indus DosT MOuAMMED
returned. and before his death in 1863 had
entered into n treaty with the vice-regal
Government. Indeed. IL is now known that
Lord LAwRENCE's refusal To recognize any
Of MoHAMMEp's sons as Amir was due to
the fathers counsel. The young princes, it
seems. were to bc left to fight it out, since,
according to their sires experience, the best
| fanp g.. in. 10. - ft
having Injured To the benefit ~ SHIR ALI.
the latter was finally recognized by Lord
MAYO in 1869. who also introduced the policy
OF subsid2ng the Afghan sovereign. Such,
If we except trivial Observation-Disclosures was
the Official state OF things up To the begin
| ming 81 last year, when the conference be-
tween the British and Afghan ENJOYS was
broken of at Pcshawar.
Meanwhile n change had taken place in
| the northwestern frontier of India, we'll cal
! culatcd to provoke the jealousy Of the Az
CHAN ruler and one which renders the per
manent conquest 81 his kingdom far more
practicable than 1t was forty years ago
Since Gen. PoLLoCRS evacuation Of the
| posts beyond the Indus, the Sikhs had been
! conquered and in the mutiny had approved
themselves the most Trustworthy. a. they
are the brav"st soldiers in the vicc-rcgal
service. The Puniah, which had boon
| standing menace, was now n hulwark TO
| British India. The kfridi- and other hill
/ tribes dwelling uu IN" eastern slopes ~ the
/ Solymnn rang. aud tu whus" irro,'ipu- fa-
/ uaticiSm the khNbcr AMI hohat bnssc,. owe
/ their terrurs, had been repeatedly qucled
| and brought to terms, until with few ex-
captions. they showed disposition 10 sub
nit. All this lett the English free. in ease
~ war, to force. without much apprehcn-
sion 81 trouble In the rear, the northern
gate Of Afghanistan. 1t was, however, their
cncroachments in another direction which
awoke SHIg ALI To a sense Of his critical
| position. and not unnaturally led him 10 turn
an carto Aluscovite suggestions. The ybcr
] Pass IL not the only avenue by which Cahul
l. accessible; on the south, just across the
Bclooch border lies the Bolan Pass. the an
cicnt route OF commerce between India and
the West and the road by which the Afghan
! land was invaded in 1889. Now, within two
years. the boundary Of British India in this
quarter has been pushed forward from
line far 10 the east Of the hill country.
across the BeloOch section of the SOlyman
Mountains. across the upland plains upon
the west, and an English force, for upward
Of n twcvcmonth, has been secured by
treaty in permanent possession Of the Bo-
Ian dclilc, the historic key of Candahnr and
Ghuzni. During the past year n telegraph
line has been constructed through the pass
and connected with the Indian network
| while the iortrcsscs Mt either entrance
Quota on the west and Mltri on the east --
have been occupied and strengthened.
Measures have been taken, moreover, 10
firmly bind the Khan OF Khclnt by n liberal
subsidy, by increasing his authority over
the subordinate Bclooch chiefs and by for
tifying his capital. In word, no pains
have been spared to convert the Khan who,
1t will he remembered, was present at the
Delhi assemblage, into a useful and willing
vassal of the Empress OF India The effect
produced on the mind OF the Afghan Amir
by the events in Beloochistnn may be easily
conceived. Under the influence Of fear and
suspicion an envoy was despatched, in Feb
| ruaTV, 1871 TO a conference at pcShawar.