The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-12-12
Sir George Campbells Views.

@'@~ h&| 0Eef AtiiONo VI ~ II sun
hum over the bay and the city ye>ter-
day morning a tall figure in a plaid
ulster and a tourists cap made its way
on board the White Star steamer Re
public. at pier No. y North River. A
Herald reporter recognized in the
stranger Sir George Campbell. men,
Der Of Parliament for kircaldy and
ex-GoTernor General of Bengal, whose
speeches on Indian matters have ex-
clt"d such wild attention. Early as
was the hour all was hustle on board
the vessel, for she was to sail az eight
O'Clock sharp. and the decks were
thlon2ed with passengers and leave
taking friends The reporter made
himself known to Sir George. and.
withdrawing to a somewhat quiet
corner, held a brief conversation with
him concerning the Afghan difficulty
In which Great Britain is at present
involved.
Il still adhere, said Sir George, ito
the opinions | have expressed IN the
House of Commons and everywhere
else throughout this whole discussion.
| am o a militia Y man-though |
have seen a good deal OF the present
sort of thing-and | don't profess TO
Judge from d military point of view
whether II is right or not right to adj
rance the frontier but from a politi-
cal and financial standpoint | entertain
very strong opinions. Surprising it to
be granted that from a purely military
point of view it might be right to adj
vance the frontier, supposing Afghan
istan to be ? country in which the peo-
pie at all resemble those of India or of
the portion OF the Hlmalayas which at
all resembles India.
You have in Afghanistan a very
mountainous country, which, as the
late Dost Mohamed used to say, pro-
duces only two things-stones and
men and the d fficulty is not SO much
the military question as the dilemma
in which we shall be put when we
should have gained the country, if we
do gain it. lit is a case in which vic
tory will be very perilous. and. indeed,
worse than defeat, because the COUP
try can yield us nothing. Every
Afghan is born to fight from his youth
upward, and you must keep a solder
to look after each conquered subject,
while the country will yield no reve-
nue. TO pay for them. The policy
which is now being pursued is abso-
lUtely identical with that which was
followed just forty years ago; but then
we had a Russo-phobian panic on &C.
count of the Russian advance to Khiva
and the mission of the Russian officer
to Afghan, and we faEcicd that the
then ruler, Dost Mohamed. father of
the present man.. was unfrlendiy, and,
while we did not wish to take posses
sion of the country. we sought to set
up a friendly. instead of an unfriendly
ruler. We found then a friendly ruler,
a refugee in our territory, and with
little difficulty We set him up. but hav-
ing set hun up we found that u dli-
ticulties, We're only just begun, for the
AfghaES, who before united on
any mortal thing whatever, became at
once united to resist the man who was
supported by foreign power.
After two or TIN e years we found
the country far too hot for us, and
after a series of disasters with which
the world is familiar we We're only too
glad to get out of it. We are now re-
peating exactly the part we played on
that occasion. The history of the pre-
sent year might be told in the same
words in which the opening OF the
former campaign is described. Sup
posing we shall have an equal military
success. which may or may not be, we
should in any case find 1t rulnOu to
the business of India, because since the
muty we have not been the great mill
tary Power that Lord Beaconsfield
and the lingo party seem to suppose.
On the contrary, since we have dIScOv>
cred that we cannot trust the native
troops we have been obliged, for both
financial and political reasons, to re-
duce our army to a point which is very
little more than sufficient to hold the
country. We cannot put a large army
in the field; we have no reserves, n
if we had we have no money to pay
for them
care these views held by any con>
siderable portion of the British eo>
pie ;" asked the reporter.
Il believe" replied Sir George. THAT
with. perhaps, the exception of Lord
B~eaconsfield, these views were held
throughout by Her Majesty's govern
ment. They certainly were the views
of the representatives of the Indian de-
partment in the House of Commons,
and they have been supported always
by me in upholding those views
What do you think of the policy of
Lord Lytton:'
1T seems to me that the end of the
question has been forced by His Lord
ship, who has put himself at the head
of the extreme lingo party, with or
without the cOnnivance of Lord Bea-
consfield. Lord LytTon has always
been exceedingly anxious to do what
he has done now; but he was hereto-
fore restrained and forbidden by the
home government. and things were
quiet until the Russians threw a fly In
the shape Of the recent mission to
Cabul, which Lord Lytton greedily
swallowed, that being just the oppor>
tunity he wanted to give him a pres
text for i%ndulging in his aggressive