The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1885-04-19
FOREIGN NOTES.

gard to the fashion of glove wearing: For nv part
detest gloves, except when there is dancing or in
the open air as protection from the sun or dust,
The constantly gloved hand becomes siupd-lookng
and loses address. Gloves In conjunction with court
dresses were device Of the Empress Josephine to
conceal the traces of the washtub on the hands and
arms OF marshaIs wives who had risen from the
common people, and to hide the manual beauty of
her sstersn-law. Before her time they were only
worn In the travelling coach"
kall Blind, the distinguished German revolu-
tionist, in refusing TO attend conference OF the
Peace Arbitration Association Thursday last in
London writes that he Is ardently desirous OF peace
wherever II can honoraby be obtained, hut as the
cars government Is so nanifestly Showing brutal
violence and as its final aim is India arbitration be-
tween England and Russia would be useless
proposal TO arbrate," he says, "woud only have
the effect apparently of exhibiting divided opinion
IN England, and would encourage further aggression
on the part OF ruthless despotsm, which has shame
essly broken the most solemn pledges. Witness
khiya, Merv, and the Afghan Frontier Commission!
England must make firm stand II India IL not to be
lost. II isa question of actisn now, not question
of words" only thirty persons attended the con-
ference
Gen. Komaroffs "eXplanation " and Russia's at
ttude toward 1t apty Illustrate the French duelists
celebrated maxim, "Put the other party In the
wrong, and tnen thrust straight" Neither the Gen
erals own exploit nor the action taken by his gov
ernment respecting are anything novel In Russias
policy. When Admiral NachimOh destroyed the
whole Turkish ieet at one blow of Sinope in 1853,
Russia OF course regretted the unfortunate occur
renee" and made show of blaming Its author.
yfh t te th rsr m gD a1 t was privately invested
tage that he had gained was utilized to the utmost.
So. too, when Gen. Tchernaieii, In June, 1866 cap
tured Tashkend (the present capital Of Russian
Turkestan) by sudden dash like that of Komarotf,
similar protestatlons and assurances of precisely
equal value, were made by the Cabinet OF ST. Peters.
burg But rchernaietf, while ostensbly censured,
was secretly rewarded and Russia took good to
retain the captured city.
ofthe twenty -four ortwenty.tiye battles fought by
British troops during the past eleven years, includ-
ing all those in Ashantee, Afghan, Zuuland, and
Egyptian campaigns, the number of casualties has
exceeded In only three instances the total OF nfty-
six killed and 40 wounded, indicted on us during
the desperate encounter on Sunday in the attacks on
Gen. McNeili. or these three two were disasters of
British army-namely, Isandlana and AIaiwand. In
the former case our total force of twenty-three
natives was annihilated, and on The occasion
OF the disastrous defeat and retreat OF Gen. Bur-
rongh's command our loss amounted to twenty-one
officers, three hundred English, and seven hundred
natives Killed, and fifteen officers and ninety men
missing. The third case in which our loss was
where nine officers and forty-hve men were Killed,
and twenty-five officers and three hundred and
twenty men wounded, and even here the number of
killed was less than that In Sundays battle In this
respect, however, both the two last-named are ex-
ceeded by Majuba HILL wnere elghty-nye were Killed;
Lang's Neck, eighly-One; Tamai, ninety-One, and
Abu Klea, seventy-four killed-London Telegraph.
claims TO Penjdeh there can be no.question. Con.
cedlng that hoh are new comers into that region, az
the Russians lnconlestibly are, the Afghans having
hrst occupied Penjdeh have as much right there as
the Russians have at Merry. Asthe London Morning
Post Justly observes: /" Having advanced eighteen
hundred miles from what only few years slnce was
their own frontier, the Russians now have the au-
dacily 10 pretend that they are aggreved, because
WITHIN the past few months the Afghans have ad-
yanCed couple OF dozen miles into territory which,
Ior me sake OF argument we Will admit, - dis
mans of Merry. The real question is not
whether the Afgbans, justly alarmed by the
uninterrupted advance Of The Russians toward their
territory have possibly 0yerstepped their limits
whether Russia, in her career OF admitted annexa.
tion, has not In defiance OF repeated promises, taken
npa position which places In serious jeopardy
state az well entitled TO maintain its independence
as Russia Itself Whether Penjdeh belongs to
Afghansian or to Mery may furnish matter for dis
0ission to geographers, or to persons who pride
themselves on their acquaintance with ethnography,
but u Is simply puerile TO contend that Russia, whose
frontier only the other dry lay beyond the scppes Of
khlvd has reason 10 consider herself wronged, be-
cause pending the delimiaton OF a boundary line
thls place has been occupied by the troops Of the
Ameer. In the fable OF the wolf and the lamb, the
former, at all events endeayored 10 be plausible in
hisargumehls, though he knew they were un'enabe."
The respective claims of Russia and Afghanlstan
to the Pended region are summed up by the London
Times as follows: ave hear good deal about the
right OF the Ameer TO Penjdeh, but what IL the right
OF Russia to that place? We are told that II Is In
habiled by Turcomans Hut Is Russia the only
power In tho world that has Tnrcoman subjects?
The AIneer has plen OF them besides those who live
at PeDJdeh, and the calm now put forth by Russia
TO that place would serve Just as wen for IIeEt
Candahar or valleys on the indian frontier itself.
Afghanlstan Is not Inhabited by homogeneous popu-
latlOn Oi AiRhans. IL Is inhabited Dy great variety
OF tribes and races, OF whom the Afghans are the
dominant one, About their nadtership there Is no
question, though 1t Ia not given 10 every man 10
command the allegiance OF the Afghans. Penjdeh
Is Joined 10 Afghanistan by chain OF fertile and
miles Of uncu!liyaled and unlnhablted country lis
Inhabitants have always paid taxes In money or In
kind TO the Alneers of Afghanlsian, except
San when ihey r,sn,ne Were TOO weak, az often
authority respected on the borders. hut until
within few months no Russian had ever exercised
authority, or demanded taxes much az set foot
near Penjdeh; and until within year or two there
were no Russians within hundreds OF miles OF the
place. Toaltempt lothrow the burden OF proving his
reasonable TO seize the Isle OF Wight and then
ask England TO show cause why that Island should
not be regarded as at least debatable ground our
treatment Of the Afghan frontier question has b0en
culpably lax for many years past. We have been
content with the delnifation shown on maps, and
have relied upon iussiin statements, now fepudi-
aIed 80, as 60 me yWahiidily validity e OF line drawn
rather too much 10 expect us on that account to
admit that Russia has as good right an Afghanis.
tan 10 anything she may choose 10 call debaiaDe,
The Afghans aud the Russians do not stand In al all
the same position al Pen1deh The first holding
bOInetnluR WHICH mas Always Dten unueThtOOl he
theirs aud which s continuous with their territory
The second are claiming what has never been theirs
and Ii separated from even their latest coDquesis by
wide expanse OF unlnhabted country. The
Afghans seek TO retain territory-a strip Of desert
II you wilwhich IL sraleglcally Important Tor the
defense OF their Independence. The Kussans are
trying 10 seize territory which, the desert II
Ii, is the more useless for any purpose except
to attack AfghaDlstan. Ths country has 10
wish 10 provoke war, but sill less does
1t Intend 10 present Russia with the Ineaus,
Brategca and polltical OF making war upon II with
greater effect Ia The near future The strip OF des
ert u utterly useless 10 Russia except az means Of
attacking our ally and ourselves. II H. IL trine
not worth 1ghtlng about then II IL for the aygressor
10 rellnqulsl H. SO long Russia thinks Il worth
lighting for, 30 long IL II no rlne, but matter OF
the greatest Importance 10 this country, and fully
justfyng whatever efforts may be necessary for its
defense"