Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1885-03-21

tney snail QeeM IL proper 10 10 bO, uOt
to settle anything definitely.
There car be nc question that Mr..
Blackwelrs advice should be taken In
the matter, and that In the meeting,
April 6, the three townships should be
represented.
There is go much said In the foreign
dispatches about Herat that 1t may not
be amiss to print 3 short account of
where aud what the place Is. Herat,
the capital of the most westerly OF the
three divisions of Afghanistan, stands
on the river Herr, st the height Of
$500 feet, aboye the sea Situated near
the boundaries at nee of Afghamistan,
Persia and Independent Tsrtary,
Herat is one of the principal marts of
central Asia, carrying on at the same
time extensive manufactures :: its
own in wool and leather The vicini-
ty, naturally fertile, nas been artificial
ly rerdosci much more so by means of
irrigation. But the city claims notice
mainly on political and military
grounds. Long the royal seat of the
descendants Of Timur, and often a bono
of contention between the wsrlike
tribes all round, it is fortified by q
ditch and wall, and is commanded on
its north side by a strong citadel. in
more modern times the placs has &C
qnired q kind of European importance,
being, toward Persia, the key Of
Aighanistan. Ehich, again, in turn af-
fords the only approach by land to
western India. In this connection,
Herat has been viewed as an outpost
of Enelsnd's eastern empire against
Russian intrigue and encroachment.
Hence it has been alike ths spbject Of
treaties and the occasion of wars Be-
tween Great Britain, as the mistress Of
Hindustsn, and Persia as virtually .
vassal of Russia. This feature of the
history of the city was more especially
developed IN connection with the last
conflict between Persia aud England.
In November 1856, the shah, regarded
by the British government as the yassal
and agent Of the car, captured Herat,
while actually conducting negoiistions
for an amicable adjustment at Con.
s~,antinople; but he was within q few
months constrained to relinquish his
prey and renoapes his claims by .
British expedition directed against the
opposite extremity Of his empire. Ace
cording to different estimates, refer.
ring. however, to different epochs, tile
population has varied from 10000 10
10000. The AfghanistaD tribes about
Herat are troublesome to Russia, upon
Whose borders they live, pretty much
as the MexiSaps might be by crossing
our borders In bands aud plundering
and harassing III people, say In Texas.
To repel this sort of annoyance, and 70
settle { boundary question that might
otherwise have been permitted to
slumber, Russian troops have been
moved toward Herat, and it Is THIS that
has alarmed England and caused her
to protest. At first there was a great
deal of excitement and some talk of
war, the assertion being freely made
that Russia's ultimate point of attack
was not Herat, but Constantinople.
That has pretty much died out, how
ever. 1t is nov said that Sir Peter
Lumsden has arrived ut Herat and that
he is strengthening the Notifications,
while Russian troops to the number of
some $1,000 are massed at Merv, the
Gos. southerly town of any note on
Russian SOL, and about $50 miles north
of Herst. In the mean time the car
and Dir. Gladstone seem &c want peace,
and the Daily Telegraph, quoting ,hs
czac, cOlnnents:-''This Is 10 doubt,
imperial good sense" 1t also adds, in
its acknowledgements the urgency OF
the Afghan question aDalsd we may
hope that there will be no difficulty ia
recohcsl:ng the pretensions OF the two
claimants to square miles OF territory
inhabited by troublesome tribes not
very eligible as subjects to Any -nlsr,
great or small. This temporary settle
meut in the east happily comedies with
the complete clearing up 0: our mis-
understanding with Germany" Tbs
tenor of the whole editorial is an ad-
mission that the war cloud has begun
b roll away,