The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-09-12

hsiplesx Opposed TO these nan are 81 a
British soldiers. nat aas ~ whom = a. -
HsoTe feared than an Afrfssk Tbs stale
Tent may seem frcascnatss 10 English
eyes h1t ~ are ctasiaz with facts now
ShenAa these sNmse Afrtd3s capture ire
khysser pass. as Il Is firmly believed they
intend 20 de- they VII held IL shssr hands
tae Key % the northwestern frontier Ct
india
The Ehyber pass IS ar orensnr between
hHee cliffs that Tzn upwards hundreds q
Eeet With the co4ntrv surrounding O.
cuPssd by large force. the pass could
oEiy se captured With Immense loss %
HE Il Is protected bv two TartS-Fcrt
AauGs- small stone affair overioex3nE
the read four mites up the pass fsom
Jararad. ard FoTt AdI-2zasixia. This iaf-
Ter IS I've and a half rnileS further up
the pass thau Fort Maa8e ard the 0pea-
Ing st this poin1 Il but forty fee. wide a
very small base II operations. The rsrrs-
Sens 81 both are composed cf native L.
Wis many 4 whom zHe Afgidis Whether
or not they would desert 20 an attacking
force only experience will snow.
The pass commands the entrance from
Afshanistan into india. and 81 as seems
70 BE- very probate the ameer - really
aioing the rebels. what = tremendous as
sistance il would De- TO them should they
capture khyoer pass. 10 have ali Afghan
istan a. their beck and call ready 10 give
al OF any scrt M any time Is il won
der thar British power seems trembling
III TIE balanee7 For many years past,
and especially after the arrange ments
entered into with the ameer Of Afghauis-
taa by Sir Mortimer Durand. the ameer
has been loDSsd up0r as a staunch friend
o Great Britain. and the news that he
has leat countenaace 20 the tribal pisings
on the frontier VIII come as a great sur
prise 20 those who believed that the
amer was proof against any inducements
70 embark UPON AN anti-British policy.
In justice 10 the ameer. however. IL
must pe recollected that powerful thoagh
he may be. he has little command over
the Wild tribes such as the fierce and
fanatlcaI Afridis who inhabit tracts of
country far remote from his capital.
Should however. the news that the anleer
has suddenly altered his friendly policy
into one of hostility prove correct. and
freed the withdrawal of his agents from
the chief Indian cities IS an onginous siga.
very Strenuous efforts sill become imme-
diately necessary on the Part OF the au-
rhoritieS- To De sure they cQncFntra Ell
at Rawal Pindi two hrigades OF troops
numbering perhaps 1000 men. but what 10
these amount 10 in the face of two score
thousand or more Of natives2
The very sir is rife with the spirit of re-
bellion. The natives openly sheer at the
red coat. the badge Of British supremacy
Well do the British officers realize what
Is coming. for every day many families
arrive in the great cities Of India from
the interior who have made the journey
in order 10 be safe from the danger which
threatens the husband and father. | have
no desire 10 be sensational, and have
simply written what every well-posted
Englishmsn IN India knows. Thousands
OF lives must BE- sacrificed before quiet
viil again reign in India.
Englands eyes are opened at last
to the real situation in India. Lord
Salisbury's government has conduct
ed this campaign according 10 a
seCretive policy as long as IL could. hit
the letters to relatives In England from
the officers and men nj the British regi-
rtnts sta toned in India have really made
public what the government has tried TO
conceal. The news OF the taking of khv-
Der pass and the two forts that control
IL have had about the same effect upon
the public mind as would have resulted
from an attempted repetition of the Guy
Fawkes experiment.
The average Englishman is nothing il
not intensely patriotic. and whether the
cause be just or not. If he thinks British