Historical Russian Envoy arrived for the first time at Kabul, and was entertained there with marked consideration, as the confidential bearer of verbal communications and a letter from General Kaufmann. From that time forward the Russian Governor-General was, for all practical purposes, permanently represented at Kabul, in the most efficacious manner, by relays of special Envoys, the one arriving as the other left. The Government of India was informed by its officiating Commissioner at Peshawur that the business of these Envoys, whatever it might be, could not be ascertained by our native agent at Kabul, because it was conducted directly and secretly with the Amir himself, and not with the Durbar. But,' he observed, 'the meaning of these frequent communications from Russia is obviously to establish friendly relations with the Afghans, and gain them over to an alliance with Russia. As soon as one agent is preparing to take his departure another comes.' 6 In March 1874 there was a change of Ministry in England; Mr. Disraeli became Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury became Secretary of State for India, and Lord Derby Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. While the Russian Government continued to give our Foreign Office persistent assurances that no military movement in the Transcaspian countries was contemplated or would be countenanced, Russian advance in the direction of Merv was nevertheless steadily pursued. In the autumn of 1874 the submission of several of the Turkoman tribes to Russia was announced, and the Ambassador at St. Petersburg reported that the whole of the country between Khiva and the Attrek was regarded as annexed to Russia. In 1875 a military reconnaissance' of the Turkoman Historical Summary steppe started from Krasnovodsk in July, in what was called a most amicable spirit,' and although, in consequence, it may be presumed, of the Emperor's orders, which had been communicated to our Government, no actual occupation of fresh territory in the direction of Merv took place, the nominal submission to Russia of the Akhal Tekke tribe was reported to have been obtained; and the movements of General Lomakin, which continued for several months, led to renewed rumours that a serious expedition was contemplated. More important events occurred in another quarter. Since the occupation of Samarkand, in 1868, there had been little interference with the Khanate of Khokand, lying to the east of Khojend and Tashkend; but in the autumn of 1875, in consequence of aggressions upon Russian territory, General Kaufmann marched on Khokand. The result of the operations that followed was the formal declaration that the whole of Khokand had been incorporated in the Russian dominions under the name of the province of Ferghana. All these proceedings continued to convince the British Government that the advance of Russia towards the Afghan frontier threatened to involve us before long in dangerous difficulties; and the matter had now become still more serious because the outbreak of the insurrection in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the summer of 1875 had shown the probability that the Eastern Question was again about to be opened in Europe. This probability became before long a certainty. Under these circumstances the undisguised illfeeling towards us of the Amir Sher Ali Khan, com C Historical bined with the apparent certainty that the time was not now far distant when the frontiers of the Russian Empire would be brought into close proximity with those of Afghanistan, became a cause of the gravest anxiety. The most unsatisfactory and dangerous part of the position was this-that while Russian intercourse with the Amir of Kabul grew daily more free and frequent, we were in a condition of almost complete ignorance regarding everything that was passing in Afghanistan and in the countries immediately beyond its borders. This ignorance had long been admitted and regretted. Lord Dalhousie had made it one of the stipulations of his Treaty with Dost Mohammed, in 1857, that British officers should be deputed, at the pleasure of the British Government, to Kabul, Kandahar, and Balkh, to see that the military subsidy given to the Amir was properly expended. They were to be withdrawn when the subsidy should have ceased; and although the Amir thought it undesirable that they should be sent to Kabul, he entirely approved of their presence at Kandahar. In 1859 our Government had come to the conclusion, although it was not carried into effect, that a British agent ought to be established at Herat, then independent of Kabul. Lord Lawrence, in 1868, recorded the opinion that one of the conditions on which it was desirable to give assistance to Sher Ali in consolidating his power was that he should consent to our sending at any time. native agents to Kandahar, Herat, or other places on the frontier. Lord Mayo recorded the opinion that it was desirable that we should have an English representative at Kabul, and that, although he found it inexpedient to insist upon this measure, he did Summary not think that the difficulties in the way of carrying Historical it out were likely to be permanent. Lastly, in 1873, the Government of Lord Northbrook proposed, as we have seen, the temporary deputation of a British officer to examine the boundaries of Afghanistan. Although the importance of obtaining better means of information regarding the course of events in Afghanistan and on its frontiers had thus been repeatedly acknowledged, our Government had, nevertheless, thought it undesirable to press the matter on the Amir. An important Note on this subject was written Note by Sir by Sir Bartle Frere, who was then a member of the Bartle Frere Secretary of State's Council. He insisted strongly on the dangers into which, as it appeared to him, we were drifting, and pointed out the measures of precaution which he believed to be necessary. The most important of these were the appointment of British officers on the frontiers of Afghanistan and Central Asia, and the occupation of Quettah. In regard to the first measure, Sir Bartle Frere's Note proved that it was very desirable, but gave no aid towards overcoming the difficulties. The latter step he recommended because its adoption would give us a far stronger frontier, and because he looked forward to the inevitable contingency of our having, at some future time, to meet Russia on the western borders of Afghanistan. There can be no doubt that Sir Bartle Frere's Note had a great effect in convincing Her Majesty's Government that the state of affairs had become extremely serious, and on January 22, 1875, a despatch exhibiting their anxiety was addressed by Lord Salisbury to the Government of Lord Northbrook. In this despatch he commented on the scantiness Historical Lord Salisbury's Despatch 1875 Lord North of the information which the Viceroy received through the Kabul Diaries, and remarked that for knowledge of what passed in Afghanistan and upon its frontiers the Government were compelled to rely mainly upon the indirect intelligence which reached them through the Foreign Office. Lord Salisbury then went on to point out that our native agent, however intelligent and honest, was in the nature of things disqualified to collect the information. which the Government of India required. One of the principal qualifications,' he said, for this function is the neutrality of feeling in respect to religious controversies which only a European can possess.' He therefore urged the Viceroy to take measures, 'with as much expedition as the circumstances of the case permit, for procuring the assent of the Amir to the establishment of a British Agency at Herat,' adding, 'when this is accomplished it may be desirable to take a similar step with regard to Kandahar. I do not suggest any similar step with respect to Kabul, as I am sensible of the difficulties which are interposed by the fanatic violence of the people.' The importance attached to an English Agency at Herat was, primarily, for the sake of the information an English officer might collect; but it would also be an indication of English solicitude for the safety of our allies, and might so tend to discourage counsels dangerous to the peace of Asia. Lord Northbrook's Government replied to this brook's reply despatch on June 7, 1875. They considered that the value of the reports received from the native agent at Kabul had been under-estimated; that it was probable that information regarding the Turkestan frontier would be obtained with greater |