'The first of these questions is of secondary magnitude. You will Lord Lytton's probably deem it inexpedient to commit your Government to any Instructions permanent pecuniary obligation on behalf of a neighbour whose conduct and character have hitherto proved uncertain. On the other hand, you may possibly find it worth while to increase from time to time the amount of pecuniary assistance which up to the present moment the Amir has been receiving. But your decision on this point can only be determined by circumstances which have not arisen, and considerations which must be left to your appreciation of such circumstances.

'With regard to the recognition of Abdullah Jan, whose selection as legitimate successor to the throne of his father has been made with much solemnity by Sher Ali, and ostensibly acquiesced in by the most influential of the Afghan chiefs,

'Her Majesty's Government, in considering this question, have before them the solid and deliberate declarations made in 1869 by Lord Northbrook's predecessor to the present Amir, viz. "that the British Government does not desire to interfere in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, yet, considering that the bonds of friendship between that Government and your Highness have been lately more closely drawn than heretofore, it will view with severe displeasure any attempts on the part of your rivals to disturb your position as ruler of Kabul and rekindle civil war; and it will further endeavour from time to time, by such means as circumstances may require, to strengthen the Government of your Highness to enable you to exercise with equity and with justice your rightful rule, and to transmit to your descendants all the dignities and honours of which you are the lawful possessor."

The Government of India having in 1869 made that declaration, which was approved by Her Majesty's advisers, have not based upon it any positive measures; while to the Amir, who had received that declaration under circumstances of some solemnity and parade, it appears to have conveyed a pledge of definite action in his favour.

'It is not surprising that these conflicting interpretations of an ambiguous formula should have occasioned mutual disappointment to His Highness and the Government of India.

'Her Majesty's Government do not desire to renounce their traditional policy of abstention from all unnecessary interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan. But the frank recognition of a de facto order in the succession established by a de facto Government to the throne of a foreign State does not, in their opinion, imply or necessitate any intervention in the internal affairs of that State. The order of succession in Afghanistan has always been dictated by the incumbent of the throne, though it has generally been disputed by each aspirant to the vacated position of that incumbent.

'It remains to consider the question of giving to the Amir a definite assurance of material support in case of internal aggression

Lord Lytton's upon those territories over which Her Majesty's Government has Instructions publicly recognised and officially maintained his right of sovereignty. 'With or without any such assurance, England would be impelled by her own interests to assist His Highness in repelling the invasion of his territory by a foreign Power. It is therefore on all accounts desirable that the Government of India should have at its disposal adequate means for the prevention of a catastrophe which may yet be averted by prudence and the fulfilment of an obligation which, should it ever arise, could not be evaded with honour. The want of such means constitutes the weakness of the present situation.

'In the year 1875 Lord Northbrook gave to the Envoy of the Amir the personal assurance that, in the event of any aggression upon the territories of His Highness which the British Government had failed to avert by negotiation, that Government would be prepared to assure the Amir that they will afford him assistance in the shape of arms and money, and will also, in case of necessity, assist him with troops.

The terms of this declaration, however, although sufficient to justify reproaches on the part of Sher Ali if, in the contingency to which it referred, he should be left unsupported by the British Government, were unfortunately too ambiguous to secure confidence or inspire gratitude on the part of His Highness.

The Amir, in fact, appears to have remained under a resentful impression that his Envoy had been trifled with, and his attitude towards the Government of India has ever since been characterised by ambiguity and reserve.

'Her Majesty's Government are therefore prepared to sanction and support any more definite declaration which may in your judgment secure to their unaltered policy the advantages of which it has been hitherto deprived by an apparent doubt of its sincerity. But they must reserve to themselves entire freedom of judgment as to the character of circumstances involving the obligation of material support to the Amir, and it must be distinctly understood that only in some clear case of unprovoked aggression would such an obligation arise.

In the next place, they cannot secure the integrity of the Amir's dominions unless His Highness be willing to afford them every reasonable facility for such precautionary measures as they may deem requisite. These precautionary measures by no means involve the establishment of British garrisons in any part of Afghanistan, nor do Her Majesty's Government entertain the slightest desire to quarter British soldiers upon Afghan soil; but they must have for their own agents undisputed access to its frontier positions. They must also have adequate means of confidentially conferring with the Amir upon all matters as to which the proposed declaration would recognise a community of interests. They must be entitled to expect becoming attention to their friendly counsels; and the Amir must be made to

understand that, subject to all fair allowance for the condition of the Lord Lytton's country and the character of the population, territories ultimately Instructions dependent upon British power for their defence must not be closed to those of the Queen's officers or subjects who may be duly authorised to enter them.

'Her Majesty's Government are also of opinion that the establishment, if possible, of a telegraph from some point on the Indian frontier to Kabul, viâ the Kurum Valley, is an object deserving of consideration, and the permanent presence at the Viceregal Court of a properly accredited Afghan Envoy is much to be desired, as a guarantee for the due fulfilment of counter obligations on the part of the Amir and the uninterrupted facility of your confidential relations with His Highness. Subject to these general conditions, Her Majesty's Government can see no objection to your compliance with any reasonable demand on the part of Sher Ali for more assured respect and protection, such as pecuniary assistance, the advice of British officers in the improvement of his military organisation, or a promise, not vague, but strictly guarded and clearly circumscribed, of adequate aid against actual and unprovoked attack by any foreign power.

'Such a promise personally given to the Amir will probably satisfy His Highness, if the terms of it be unequivocal. But Her Majesty's Government do not wish to fetter your discretion in considering the advantages of a secret treaty on the basis above dictated.

'The conduct of Sher Ali has been more than once characterised by so significant a disregard of the wishes and interests of the Government of India that the alienation of his confidence in the sincerity and power of that Government is a contingency which cannot be dismissed as impossible.

'Should such a fear be confirmed by the result of the proposed negotiation, no time must be lost in reconsidering from a new point of view the policy to be pursued in reference to Afghanistan.

'On the other hand, the success of these efforts (which, if they be made at all, cannot be safely delayed) will be pregnant with results so advantageous to the British power in India that Her Majesty's Government willingly leave to the exercise of your judgment every reasonable freedom in carrying out the present instructions.'

These instructions Lord Lytton took out with him. It will be seen from them that the Government at home, while suggesting the lines on which negotiations with the Amir might be conducted and a new treaty framed, practically left the Viceroy free to choose the time and manner in which these instructions should be carried out.

Minutes and
Notes, 1876

CHAPTER III

TREATY WITH THE KHAN OF KHELAT

WHILE the overture to Sher Ali had so far been fruitless of good result, negotiations with the Khan of Khelat were most satisfactorily terminated in a treaty signed by the Khan and his Sirdars with the Viceroy and Government of India at Jacobabad on December 8.

The dominion over which the Khan of Khelat claims chief authority embraces the whole province of Beloochistan, being bounded on the north by Afghanistan, on the south by the Arabian Sea, on the west by Persia, and on the east by the British provinces of Sindh and the Punjab.

In a confidential Memorandum submitted to his Council on the subject of our relations with Khelat the Viceroy wrote: The history of this country is that of all feudal States. It is a chronicle of turbulent ambitions and barbaric intrigues engendered by a social chaos out of which no cosmical order has yet been evolved; a sanguinary narrative of incessant defections and revolts, incessant submissions and reconquests; the barons fighting for their cherished liberty to be lawless; the titular ruler unable to consolidate or develop his theoretical authority, and barely able to secure his personal safety by adroitly playing off this chief or that tribe against some other tribe or chief.'

Khelat

Up to the year 1872 it had been the policy of History of successive agents at the Court of the Khan to uphold the authority of the existing ruler, while endeavouring to interfere as little as possible in the internal affairs of the country; but in the years 1870 and 1871 an unfortunate rivalry sprang up between the Punjab and Sindh systems of policy and their official representatives. Colonel Phayre, political superintendent at Khelat, took up the cause of the disaffected Sirdars, and was supported by Captain Sandeman, the official representative of the Punjab Government. Sir William Merewether, however, Commissioner of Sindh, strongly opposed this policy. These three gentlemen were authorised by the supreme Government to meet at Jacobabad, investigate the complaints of the Sirdars, and mediate between them and the Khan. To this conference Lord Lytton traces the origin of all the subsequent difficulties in Khelat. It resulted in the removal of Colonel Phayre and the recall of Captain Sandeman. Sir William Merewether was left to conclude the mediation alone, but though his decision was in the main against the Sirdars it left the Khan deeply incensed and offended by a mediation which admitted his rebellious Sirdars to be heard and treated by the British Government as his equals.' "The Trojan war,' wrote Lord Lytton, 'would probably Minutes and have been of brief duration had the conduct of it Notes, 1876 been left to the craft and cruelty of ordinary mortals. But certain bellicose divinities espoused the rival claims of Argives and Trojans, and took a pleasure of their own in prolonging the conflict. In the same way our Sindh and Punjab officers transferred to the Olympian altitudes of the supreme Government a series of miserable quarrels only appropriate to their barbarian birthplace.'