Year: 1878

since put IL III the power OF an enemy W
compel them to make war or to accept be-
fore the world an affront from a Power too
important in warlike sense to make the
affront merely ridiculous. There is no
worse whist playing, we suppose, than that
which clearly opens way for your adver-
sary to force you to play your great cards
at some other moment than that at which
you would play them from deliberate
choice, and so there is no worse diplomacy
and no more palpable evidence OF the abb
sence of craftsmanship than acts by which
a great Power attaches its dignity to an
option that is in the hand OF another Power,
and binds itself to make war at a certain
date in certain contingencies, regardless Of
the unforeseen.


With the past relations Of the Indian and
Cabul governments this one fact has no
connection. 1t is blunder that stands
alone, and where it had it's source may
prove of small account; but the despatch
just given 10 the public in England seems
to cast it somewhat ostentatiously upon
Lord Lytton. Perhaps they are of opinion
in London that they have blunders enough
ontheir score already withou. this capital
additiNn. 1t was declared to the Ameer
that he must agree to receive ut his capital
q permanent British mission, give amnesty
to tribes that had offended by an exhib-
ton Of good will to the English and make
full and suitable apology to the British
government for having shut the door in the
face of its ENJOYS, and that, unless he sent
satisfactory reply on all these points BY No
vember 20, he would be regarded and
treated as declared enemy. It was thus
whether there should be war or peace. He
could have war if he wanted it, in condi-
tons favorable to him and without making
it himself. He had only to observe an in
activity more or less mastery y-merely main
tain that naughty silence with which he
had treated the English advances lately
and the English would be forced in the
given time to come through the mountains
with their armies and trains in the early
days Of the winter and find him. But
should it, for any reason whatever, suit
him not to fight should the Power
upon which he placed dependence for some
support in the conflict seem unlikely to do
what he might deem necessary then, at the
last moment, he might send his couriers TO
Peshawur and make his peace. He did not
send them, and it is TO be inferred therefore
that he is all right in respect to whatever
calls he may have to make upon that other
Power. England therefore agreed not to
fight if the Ameer was hopeless of help
from Russia--if he was in a condition in
which she could somewhat more easily whip
him not to fight if fighting were very
likely to be favorable to her.. but to fight if
her chances Of success were rendered des-
perate by a satisfactory understanding be-
tween the Ameer and his nearer and stronger
neighbor.


Russia is of course to be counted in the
scale in all these negotiations or other
transactions between England and the
Ameer All the world understood last year
when Russia made war on Turkey that
England was not only deeply interested on
the side of Turkey, but that she was
morally and in some important respects
practically q party to the conflict. Through
ont the world the clamor Of the English
press sustained the Ottoman cause it was
English money that armed. and supplied
the Turkish forces English officers made
plans and an officer of the British Royal
Navy commanded the Turkish feet. Eng
land assisted Turkey against Russia with
even more will than she assisted the South
ern Confederacy against the United States.
She assisted her as much as she
would be called upon to assist Canada
if it were at war with Us, for the
on y thing Canada would not get from Eng
land would be the rank and file, and that
was the only thing that Turkey like
Canada, could produce better than Eng
land. Afghanistan is now like Turkey,
with the part of invader exchanged between
England and Russia. Russia invaded then
and England encouraged and aided the de-
fence. England invades now, and Russia,
as has been already declared will maintain
''the same degree of neutrality that Eng
land did then. But Russia is, perhaps,
involved in this present quarrel in even a
further degree than is implied by the
parallel with the war in Turkey. Afghan
istan is in Asia now in n position
somewhat analogous to that OF Italy in
Europe in the Middle Ages, or of
Belgium in the war of the Spanish success
sion and the wars of the French Revolution:
it is the point of inevitable collision be-
tween the great Powers and ambitions
struggling for absolute mastery. For sue
cessive generations Italy was the arena in
which the prowess of Germany and France
fought out gigantic wars that had no rela-
ton to any other Italian interest than that
the seat Of an intangible principle OF SUI
premacy was in an Italian city. Belgium
was 'the cockpit OF Europe" because its
territory lay on the easiest military route
L 4, Il