P. F. Walker

“ It will be well when the envoy of your enemy wants to enter the country if you send an able emissary, possessing the tongue of a serpent and full of deceit, to the enemy's country, so that he may with sweet words perplex the enemy's mind, and induce him to give up the intention of fighting with you."
As to the treaty; in it, the Russian Government engages to be the perpetual friend of the government of the Ameer. To recognize the heir that the Ameer should appoint. To give assistance to Afghanistan, and to repel any enemy that the Ameer may be unable to drive out. ”

“ When morning broke, the camp followers struggled on, discipline was gone; the enemy pressed on the rear of the force, seizing and slaying all they could.
The rest is soon told, Akbar Khan and his Afghan horsemen came offering food and escort, but no food was brought, while the troops were attacked on all sides by the murderous Afghans. The only hope of safety for the force lay in the rapidity with
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which they could march through the passes, every moment wasted, increasing the number and boldness of their assailants; yet Elphinstone, incapable here as ever, refused to push on ”

“ Sir Henry Rawlinson says, "Had the British Conference fallen through in the summer of 1878, it is almost certain that there would have been a Russian military occupation of Afghanistan." How far he is right in the conjecture or not, it is impossible to say, but without doubt Russia would have striven to her utmost to attack us through Afghanistan, though it seems somewhat difficult to understand that she could have done more than raise the country against us, and thereby influence our position in India. ”

“ Shortly after his return to Afghanistan, Ahmed Shah died, and was succeeded by his son Timur, who moved the capital of his kingdom from Candahar to Cabul, as he distrusted both the Candahar people and the Duranis, who had supported his brother against him on his father's death. Timur governed the country well, and collected the taxes regularly, so that without wars his exchequer was full, still he was troubled with rebellions on all sides, the lightness of his rule leading the chiefs to imagine that they could rebel with impunity. ”

“ The argument on the other side is, that if we do not take Herat, Russia will, and Herat has been frequently described as a most important place; it is situated at a point where the Hindoo Koosh can be most easily crossed by an army encumbered with baggage and artillery; also the country around it is very fertile; and it is capable of being made a base from which to attack India, supplies being drawn from the country round, and through the channels of trade, Herat being a commercial centre. Our object, therefore, is to prevent Herat falling into the hands of Russia. ”

“ It is clear that if we leave Afghanistan now, the country will be torn by internal dissensions, and the population will remain the same lawless people that they have ever been; instead of little by little becoming the peaceable inhabitants that our strong rule, and the protection which we should give to life, property, and commercial enterprise, would in time make them; while the daring spirits, who are not fitted for peaceful occupations, would form for us, under discipline, very efficient soldiers. ”

“ The Afghans appear to have been surprised at their defeat, and particularly were they surprised at the rapid advance of the British troops; as they did not seem to have anticipated an advance against Cabul until after the approaching winter, it was doubtless owing to these reasons that the victory was so easily won, for the Afghans had not yet been able to collect in their full strength, and it was probably in view of this, that the Ameer frequently advised delay on the part of General Roberts, being himself, no doubt, in receipt of communications from the enemy. ”

“ During the reign of Akbar and his successors, Candahar was frequently lost and regained by them in their struggles with Persia, until the power of the Court of Delhi being weakened by continual dissensions and rebellions, and the incapacity of the monarchs having destroyed the strength of the state, Afghanistan was left free from all control from India; and Candahar, with a large part of the country, fell under the power of the Shahs of Persia, Abbas II., and his successor Suliman. In 1709 the Ghilzie Afghans revolted, and made Candahar independent of the Persian Crown ”

“ Sir Richard Temple has said that the situation of Candahar is such that it must under "all circumstances be held." "The cultivation round Candahar is of the very best in all Asia;"
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"the resources are extremely great." General Biddulph also, in a recent lecture delivered at the Royal United Service Institution, seems to be of opinion that our frontier should include Candahar, and be pushed on beyond that city as far as the Helmand, and for the following reasons:--That the first object of an enemy advancing to attack India would be to seize the Helmand country. ”

“ The third plan, which is the plan the Liberal Government now in office seem to desire to carry out, is the evacuation of nearly all the country that we have at present gained, and the retirement to almost our old frontier. And this policy appears to be based upon the considerations that the scientific frontier, and Candahar, can at any time be reoccupied by us, and that it will be more economical to spend a large sum in reoccupying the country when that step becomes necessary, than to spend considerable sums each year in holding it. ”

“ For not only should we have to transport the whole of our stores and men from India to Candahar, but also, again, the whole distance further on to Herat, all of which country, over 600 miles, would have to be protected by our troops, for in case of war with Russia she would no doubt do everything in her power to stir up the Afghans in our rear, and although we might run a railway the whole distance, yet it would require protection for its entire length. ”

“ While the brothers of Fathi Khan were rebelling against Mahmoud Shah, and while Dost Mahomed was obtaining for himself the chief command in Afghanistan, Russia was pushing on her frontier at the expense of Persia, and although we were bound by Malcolm's treaty to assist Persia, yet we sent her neither men nor money as we had agreed, maintaining, rightly or wrongly, that the war was commenced by Persian aggression, although no doubt the provocation came from Russia. ”

“ Alexander the Great was the next invader of India. Having subjugated Cabul about 331 B.C., he passed the mountains, crossed the Indus at Attock, and defeated King Porus on the Jhelum river; thence he pushed on as far as the Sutlej, which he was compelled to make his boundary, as his troops could not be induced to advance further, though he himself desired to traverse the districts bordering on the Ganges, of whose wealth he had received fabulous reports.
In A.D. 1001 we hear of the next important invasion of India from the north, by Mahmood of Ghuzni. ”

“ A treaty was concluded between England and Persia by which the Persian king promised to advance into Afghanistan, should the Afghans attempt an invasion of India, and an allied army of England and Persia was to resist the French, should they attempt an invasion from Europe; also all French agents were to be excluded from Persia. However, the Afghan invasion came to nothing, Zemaun Shah was blinded by his subjects, and became a pensioner of the British Government, and Shah Mahmoud became the ruler of Afghanistan until deposed by Shah Soojah. ”

“ It will be remembered that during the last Afghan war we considered that the Khan of Khelat had not acted properly towards us, and, under the conception that the frequent attacks made upon our communications had been due to the treachery of the Khan, we despatched a force against him in the latter part of 1839.
This force, under General Wiltshire, took Khelat after a somewhat severe resistance, in which the Khan himself was killed. We then raised a Khan of our own into power, and since that time the steady good work rendered by our political officers on the frontier ”

“ We shall therefore be obliged to assist the Ameer in some way, if we wish him to remain a friendly, or a strong ruler in Afghanistan; if we do not assist him we cannot expect any future Afghan ruler to be our friend, for the present Ameer has more claim to our assistance than it is conceivable that any future Ameer can have; yet if we assist him we shall very likely be drawn into another war, and even although we should only assist him with arms and money, we shall apparently still have the old difficulty of requiring agents in Afghanistan, and consequently wanting information ”

“ There is also this great drawback, that this reoccupation of country might have to be commenced at any time, for the danger with which we are threatened from Russia, is not that she would march a large army into India, but that whenever it was desired to create a diversion against England, a small Russian force composed of daring spirits would enter Afghanistan, form a native army as they proceeded towards our frontier, and disturb our position by forming alliances with native princes, whom we should not be able to control ”

“ During this war, which cannot but be taken to have terminated thus far successfully, we had met with but little opposition from the enemy, who evidently did not like meeting us in the open field, or even opposing us from strong and chosen positions. Our chief difficulty had been in transport, yet great credit is, I think, due to the Commissariat, for there were always sufficient supplies of food for the troops, though no doubt great loss and expense was occasioned amongst the transport animals by their being ill-fed, over worked, and badly loaded ”

“ Both natives and Europeans fought most bravely, until at last, all being either killed or wounded, resistance was at an end, not however before great loss had been inflicted on the enemy, who are said to have lost about 400 men. The attack had lasted from eight in the morning till the evening. In their expectations of plunder the Afghans were greatly disappointed, for the Residency being burnt, all in it was destroyed, except some coin, which the Ameer seized a few days after the attack. ”

“ Another of the arguments upon which the Liberal Government rely for this contemplated retirement from Candahar, (for the Kuram and Khyber have already been resigned) is the expense of the occupation, but at present there are no statistics showing what the expense would be, and opinions differ, one party asserting that the occupation would pay itself, and the other that it would be a great drain on the resources of India. ”

“ Sir Willoughby Cotton was now succeeded by General Elphinstone, an old officer who had served his country bravely and well, and who, although he obtained the respect of every one as a brave old gentleman, was not at all strong, a martyr to the gout, and not by any means the right man for Lord Auckland to have pitched upon for this special service, a service that was trying to the full the powerful brain of Macnaghten.
The troops at Cabul were quartered in what were called the cantonments, which formed a long parallelogram, the whole being surrounded by a ditch and mud wall ”

“ There is also no doubt, that by holding the Khyber Pass and the Shuturgarden we should command all the influence we required with the ruler of Cabul. Thus much for the annexation plan.
The second scheme is, that we should settle some chief or chiefs in Afghanistan as securely as possible, and ourselves retire behind the "scientific frontier," with or without Candahar. The scientific frontier, as it is called, is a line of country, roughly described as, extending from the Khyber to Quetta, including the Khyber and Michni passes, the Kuram, Sibi, and Pishin. ”

“ Ayoob Khan, who is at present ruler in Herat, is about the worst man we could have there, as not only does he govern very badly (Herat being in a very disturbed state) , but also he is bitterly opposed to ourselves.
The annexation of the country round Cabul, would be a loss rather than a gain, for it would require a very large garrison, and therefore be a great expense ”

“ The advantages of the scientific frontier over our old line, appear to be very considerable, for with our positions chosen in time of peace, and the necessary fortifications and communications by railway made, we should be able at any time to defend in strength, any given point, or points, with but little trouble and expense, and should have the enormous advantage of knowing every bit of the country ”

“ These rocky hills, forming the sides of the pass, completely surround the hill upon which the fort of Ali Musjid is placed, and in fact command the fort from several situations; were it not for their commanding positions, the situation would be one of very great strength, for the hills are exceedingly steep and difficult to climb, and being almost destitute of vegetation in most places, there is but little cover to shelter an attacking enemy. ”

“ Alarmed at this near approach of Russia, Shere Ali sent an envoy to Lord Northbrook, the then Viceroy, stating his apprehensions, and asking for a close alliance, arms, and money. But the Liberal Government treated the matter very lightly, stating that Afghanistan was beyond Russian influence, and that aggression from that quarter was not anticipated, but that should the Ameer be attacked from without, material aid would be given to him if he abstained from aggression and followed the advice of the British Government. ”

“ All invaders of India coming from the north have passed through Afghanistan. As far back as the year 518 B.C. Darius, King of Persia, crossed the Indus, and annexed a large portion of the north of India to his kingdom. ”

“ Lord Auckland must have been the most sanguine of men had he expected any other result."
The Ameer therefore entered into negotiations with the Russian agent, which resulted in his receiving from the Russians large promises of help and assistance, and decided help in the shape of an attack upon Herat by the Shah of Persia, at Russia's instigation, and assisted by Russian officers.
The Whig Government now thought it necessary to make a counter move against Russia, and urged Lord Auckland to adopt vigorous measures in order to counteract Russian aggression, both in Persia and Afghanistan. ”

“ British troops scaled the heights and steep ascents, and defeated the enemy in their strongholds on all sides. After one more severe fight with Akbar Khan, and all the force he could collect, the enemy were beaten, and driven from their mountains, and the force marched quietly into Cabul.
Nott, on his side, started from Candahar on the 7th of August, and, after fighting several small battles with the enemy, he captured Ghuzni, where Palmer and his garrison had been destroyed. ”

“ General Primrose, in his despatch, gives the greatest credit to the 66th Regiment in this battle; he says that out of 406 men and 19 officers who went into action, 10 officers and 275 men were killed, and 2 officers and 32 men wounded. "The officers and men nearly all fell fighting desperately for the honour of their queen and country." And he adds, about "100 officers and men made a most desperate stand in a garden. They were surrounded by the whole Afghan army, and fought until only eleven men were left, inflicting enormous loss upon the enemy. ”

“ If British troops should enter Afghanistan to support the Ameer against foreign aggression, they shall return as soon as they have repelled such foreign aggression.
That a British resident shall reside at Cabul, and that the British Government shall have the right to depute British agents to the Afghan frontier. ”

“ The discipline of the artillery was
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yet as strong as ever, frequently they halted, and checked the enemy with their fire; the native sappers seem also to have retained their order.
For many hours the artillery and cavalry retreated upon Atta Karez, without water, and it was late the next day when they reached Candahar, being met by General Brooke, who had been sent out to bring them in. The retreat of the infantry was a terrible affair, without order and without reason, they pressed on, following the line of baggage animals. ”