The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-21

clples of Islam, managed, in the frs
 instance, by caJolery and bribery, to nee
 with certain amount of success In thu
 large trade centers they inaugurated
 campaign of assassination against tn British and Russian consuls and colo
 nies; and raising hired gangs of ban dits contrary to the fundamental law
 of neutrality, they terrorized the coun try. It is unnecessary to enumerate il
 detail the murders they effected, the loot ing of the banks. the seizure and de
 tention by hired ruffians of British of
 dcials and British subjects.
 Suffice it that the success of thes,
 agents was brief. Thanks to the stronl
 action taken by the Russian troops il
 the north, the military action taken b! ourselves in eastern Persia. and the in
 nate friendliness and good sense of tn Persian government, the situation grad ually cleared. These German agents grad
 ually became beggar refugees. fleeing iron the awakened Persian officials supported by our own and Russian assistance Robbed by bandits who had been theiI clients the day before these schemeri have for the most part, either been ar rested or are hunted refugees
 '"rhe result has been that Persia hal l reawakened to a sense of dignity anC national life. The short-lived rebellion engineered by the Germans has been fin ally quelled and in the place of the cor rupt force which turned against it's owI government at the dictation of aliens steps are now being taken at the reques
 of the Persian government to raise Q really efficient force under British of 1 fcers for the maintenance of peace ant l order on the southern trade routes anc at the main trade centers in the south which, 1t is hoped will shortly resIl in the revival of Persian prosperity ant ] of the old commercial relations with In.
 dia which have for so many centuries bound the two countries in ties of friend. | ship.
 These German intrigues in Persia-had | their inevitable effect also on Baluchistan and on Afghanistan. In Baluchistan a wave Of unrest passed along the Mekrar | border, resulting in one or two serious
 raids and fanatical outrage in which l two valuable officers lost their lives. The
 infection spread indeed as far as the Sind border of the Bombay presidency 1 but prompt action was taken, Detach. l ments of troops were moved to the dis. l turbed areas and, thanks to the cooper
 alton and loyalty of the leading Sardars | the trouble was soon suppressed and com
 plete tranquility again prevails
 1 In Afghamstan an already infiamma- I tory condition was increased by the ar ! could stop them, of a Turco- German mis- sion sent for the express purpose of de- ! tachlng AfghaniStan from it's aJleeiance | to Great Britain. The situation in Af
 ghanistan has, indeed been most dfff1cult
 and delicate since the entry of Turkey ! lnto the war. and 1t would be impossible l 10 give too much credit to the Amir for 1 the statesman-like manner in which he has steered the ship of state through inc reefs of religious excitement and political ! intrigue. va i7''' On the outbreak of war with Germany l the Amir guaranteed his neutrality Or I the entry of Turkey into the war and on supsequent occasions he has solennly re- anlrmed his intention to maintain tbio | attitude. His difficulty. however in doira so cannot be overrated. His people are now oeginnlng to realize what he. with ms statesman-like insight realized from the beginning: First that it would he madness for Afghanistan, lying as if does oetween two great powers, Russia and
 1reat Britain, to throw itself into the vortex of the war; secondly. that no re i ligious issue whatever was at staLa. +to though Turkey, under the guidance ot i an entirely irreligious military clioue ba d been drawn into the contest, Islam wae III no way threatened; and, thirdly that honor demanded that he should adhare iaitn1ully to his engagements to tha Rri+- lsh government so long as the British government on their side observed +hara enga gefnents 0 'A'ose This brings us to the norttxs+
 frontier tribes who inhabit the be1t or territory lying between the admin~ iSlratlve border of British India and sne Durand line. or Indo-Afeban
 oounoary. These tribes enjoy a semi l lnGependent position under what is
 oSiea our political control. The extent
 tnat control varies in different
 ' "reas' put the general system is to sroiu LhterIerence in the internal af- l&lrs or these tribes and to leave then, to live their lives as they desire so long as they respect the pax Rritan- nlca Of our settled districts and pro- tected areas. The system, on the Whole' works admirably, but of course lhese Wild tribesmen are liable to ia = natica1 outbursts
 Ihe entry of Turkey into the war anu the religious capital made out of snls py the pestilent priests of the ifontler inevitably reacted on this Wild tract. Tn 1915 there was consid- eraple unrest and various of the tribes hotaply the Mohmands, made inroads
 into British territory These were promptly dealt with by troops and the ! punishment inflicted on the recalci- trant sections was sufficient to re- ] store order Since then there has been 1 d perlod or extraordinary tranouility !, lhis has been due in part to the ex | ample set by the Amir in part to our opVlous military preparedness to meet .fouole on the frontier. in part to the | Tact that the Afridis, the most influ 1 eh.ial tribe, have remained in spite of 1 counter influences. absolutely stanch | ana steady throughout, and in part to .ne innate good sense and loyalty of | the tribes themselves
 1 'Of late there have been only two 1 quarters of the frontier which have l glven rise to trouble. In the south the | mahsuds. tribe of freebooters. with our any communal system, a congeries
 or isolated thieves and assassins, have l trled to take advantage of our pre- occupation to raid necessarily on the l Dera1at border Those raids. however 1 nave been summarily dealt with and
 the oay or reckoning will come in due 1 course. There is no religious or po- Hucai significance in the misdeeds of tEese lncorrigible people. In the north | the Mohmands have again of late
 shown an inclination to give trouble
 Inelr borders stretching along the feshawar district have. however, been
 reinforced and 8 blockade has been
 established which will. without doubt give them the required lesson and
 bring them to their senses
 "Concerning Tibet, I need only say
 that the relations between the govern
 ment of India and the Dalai Lama are
 oI the most cordial nature. Indeed the | iioeliah government are now on terms
 or friendship with the government ot
 India such as have probably never | existed hafn