The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-11-22


decorations upon his son-one for his brav-
cry in depressing the mutiny, and the other
for having governed the country so wisely.
cleverly and so entirely in accordance with
my wishes
Habibullah, having been carefully tested
and found to be of sterling stuff, was given
a degree OF power unprecedented in Asiatic
Kingdoms. Usually, an Oriental monarch
fears to trust his son with authority, lest
the son should conspire against him. Abdur
Rahman, on the contrary, trained his son to
carry his own great work after his
death.
The holding of the public audience Cor
durbar), which hitherto had been done in
person by all the Kings of Afghanstan,
was intrusted to the prince, and he was
made the supreme court of appeal All the
judges. whether ecclesiastical civil or GRIM
inal. were placed under him; there was no
court over him. save the Ameer. Every Off
cial in the kingdom was placed directly
under his orders.
When giving him this great power, Abb
dur Rahman asked him:
when you are called upon to do justice
between men, by what light will you be
guided?"
Accustomed to the fiattery of an Oriental
court, he expected his son to answer, by
your example," but the young man replied:
by the light of the Koran
"And if there is nothing in the Koran that
bears on the case, what will you do then?
Will you refer 1t to me?"
mo. 1 will do as 1 think right. 1 am APP
pointed to judge. and 1 will Judge"
The stern old Ameer applauded the an
swer and said that his son was fit to be
ruler and "a king.
A PATRIARCHAL COURT.
The procedure of trials before Habibullah
was simple and patriarchal There were no
lawyers an6 none of the laws delays. Any
body who wanted to see him had simply to
walk into his court and state his case. The
beggar and the prince were equal before his
throne of justice. Both stood shoulder to
shoulder before him and stated their griev-
! ances for his Judgment. Once he punished
his own brother, Nasrullah Khan, on the
complaint of an artisan.
All the high officials of the kingdom and
| most of the government departments were
placed under his control, and the other
| princes of the royal house were taught to
pay homage to him they did to the
Ameer He proved himself to be a fine SOL
| der, a just judge, an able administrator,
and a ruler in every way fitted to succeed
his great father
| So it came about that when Abdur Rah-
man died in 1901, Habibullah quietly as
cended the throne by general reclamation
| of the Afghan chiefs and people. Such
peaceful succession was unprecedented In
| Afghan annals. The death of other kings
had always led to civil war; but everybody
had been taught to recognize Habibullah as
the greatest man in the country, after his
| father. He was the logical King.
| During the lifetime of Abdur Rai.man
there was continual plotting against Habi-
bullah by the Sultana Halima, the principal
Queen. She naturally wished her own son, a
little boy named Mahomed Omar Jan, to
| become King; and she had very powerful
| following, as she was the Ameer's favorite
| wife.
She is a woman of royal blood, and
thought that her son had a superior claim to
| the throne, Habibullah's mother having
| been simply the hand-maiden of one of the
| other queens. This Queen had no children,
so, following an immemorial custom of the
said to Abraham, go in unto my maid,
that 1 may have children by her.
| By Oriental CUSTOM Habbullah is reck-
oned as the son of the Queen. not as the
son of the slave girl; but naturally Ma
homed Omar JAMS mother insisted on re-
| garding him in the latter light.
| A REMARKABLE WOMAN.
| She is a remarkable woman. Once, in her
II It'll
the Ameer was away. She left the harem,
| dressed herself as a soldier, put herself at
the head of the loyal troops, and led the
charge which won the day. When the Ameer
hurried back he found that she had hanged
| the principal rebels. restored law and order
| and gone back to the harem. He gave her a
| jeweled sword as a reward.
Naturally such a woman would fight hard
| for what she considered to be the rights Of
| her son. She vainly pestered Abdur Rah-
man to proclaim him the heir. He would
| not do it, but she worried him so much that
at last he gave up visiting the harem.
The Sultana did all she could in honor to
bar Habibullah from the succession. Some
of her supporters tried several times to
| sassinate him. but without her sanction.
| Once, some Of them told her of plot they
| had made to poison him. She instantly re-
vealed it to the Ameer, and they died
very unpleasant death.
| On another occasion, a mullah named
Kishmash. who was employed by the Ameer
| as a spy and belonged to the Sultanas
party. made false report that Habbullah
| was plotting against his father. The Sui
| tana helped to prove the charge untrue, and
| the unhappy Kishmash was blown from
gun.
Poor Halima played a straight hand and
lost. From an Oriental standpoint, Habibul-
lah ought to have murdered her and her son
| when he came to the throne That would
| have been playing the game according to
the traditions of Afghan politics. But he is
| chivalrous. He maintains her in equal dig
nifty with his own Queen, and has made her
son, though still little more than a boy, the
| head of the state offices'-a position of
great Importance in Afghanistan.
| 1t is quite likely that Mahomed Omar Jan.
who is a remarkable youngster, will sue