New-York tribune., 1879-09-16

to open warfare The whole Eastern SKY j.
overcast and English eyes are strained 10
catch the first CLEANS of light.
1t is the moral rather than the mint'uy ''S-
pect Of these Angl0-ILdian c0mpiicatlohS ''d'
concerns every student of contcmp"r"''o"S
history. Lord Beaconsfeld has been so III
cenions and adroit in all his devices Tor man
aging not only Cabinet tat p''l'lo"'
party, and not only political party o"t "he
of thc sohrrcst and most sensible OF h''on@,
that tbe ontimism of an easygo,ng WcfH
has accented the ends as jnStliilhS '"r
means, and closed lis eyes To uSiy i"e'S anu
dangerous teudcncics. The reStol"u"h vi
British prestige in the European oap''"'s
WAS AN upmixed good, and the acquisition OF
Cyprus seemed like 4 positive gam. '''-
tered abroad. idolzcd at home, the Premier
had apparently accomplished more ny "eA-
terity than Lord Palmcrst0n bad done pS "ai'
He seemed to fulfil TIE ideal ot statesman
ship which he himself had outlined III iHH-
credr-a leader who was never WITHOUT
resource. living in a labyrinth or plans an"
rejoicing .'to involve some one In the pefpieN-
cities which his magic touch could alone uh-
rayel.r For many months the veneer Oh sue
methods and the inherent weakness OF the
policy which he has made his OWL ~ was
scarcely safe to call it luck and to let 1t go Tor
that
But time, at last, makes all thhSS eVeh'
The world is finding out that ue s'a'e>''a'l
who renounced the straightforwaru haptS oi
English diplomacy aad worked ana ihtlgueu
in the dark. unmindiul OF popular tCaniuohs
and constitutional forms so long rs Ne couil
c1tch the ewes OF his c0untrymen ana touch
their imaginations has made slight gains at
enormous risks. In Armenia and III ASIA Mihor'
in the Balkan peninsula, IN South Africa
and. finally, in Nghanistar, the nation has
heen committed 10 a hazlIdous and oneiOuS
uolicy without having Il chance to reckon the
cost. or 10 find ont how little there was 10
o,,n and how much to lose by 1t. by its
secret treaty with the Porte, England bound
itself to resist the advance OF the Rus
slams in Armenia, ard at the same time placed
itself under moral obligations III the
sight of Europe to do in ASIA Minor
what had been done in India when the Mosul
Empire went TO pieces. While the peans over
pcace with honor were still in the air the
spectre OF Russian aggression rose in new
pace. With mountain chain tanNing the
Indus and convenient railway base close
at hand. India was already inprcguablc.
Yet England was dragged into Il position
whence it could not withdraw without dis
honor; and now, at the close OF IN ar
duous campaign. 1t has learned that
Afehanistan must be conquered as well as
attacked, and permanently occupied and adj
niuisiered as wei as conquered; and that the
new frontier Of India is the Iiindoo hoosh IN
the North from Hprat to Khyber, a long dis
tauce from the present railway system and
hundreds of miles nearer the Russian frontier
i'm Central Asia. The defence Of India from the
line ofthc Hindoo KooslI viii BE- AZ hazardous an
undertaking as the defence Of Cousiantiuoplc
IN the mountain Businesses of the Soughanlu
range. with water base Of supplies hundreds
of miles In the rear while the government OF
Afghanis.an is as complex an experiment as
the regeneration of Turkey. IL each case an
indcfen.iblc frontier is 20 be defended in The
future and moral responsibilities are incurred
which must sooner or later be shirllcd.
forcign policy such as this is neither honorable
nor profitable. 1t is essentially -LnSlsii.