The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit FRIDAY, APRIL 10 1885. The Eve of War.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1510, 10 April 1885, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit FRIDAY, APRIL 10 1885. The Eve of War.

Our anticipations of a pacific settlement of the Afghan frontier difficulty have been rudely dispelled by the cablegrams that appear in our issue this evening. We had hoped that a peaceful solution of the difficulty was on the eve of accomplishment, but these disturbing cablegrams have distressed, for a time at least, all such hopes. • For a lengthened period Russia, for sinister reasons of her own, has cast covetous eyes on our Indian empire. To this empire Afghanistan is the high road, and the Ameer of that country is friendly to Great Britain. Persistently has the Muscovite Power encroached on the Afghan frontier, evidently with a view to lead the British into an embtoglio. Against this encroachmentthe British have steadily protested, and finally addressed an ultimatum to the aggressors. A fortnight ago the Russian Ambassador in London, M. de Staal stated to Earl Granville, the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, that his Government had still under consideration the reply to be made to that ultimatum. There were but two alternatives before the Russians—peace or war; and the Russian Government appear to have dallied with a choice, evidently to gain time. Our Imperial Government would have allowed but little more delay in the choice of an alternative, and Russia, by a diplomatic feint, gave an apparent concession towards peace. On the more conciliatory attitude she had assumed friends of peace founded their hopes that the hand of war would be stayed. But now comes the news of today announcing that a collision between the Russian and Afghan troops has taken place, and war between the Northern and Western Powers appears inevitable. Apparently diplomatic settlement of the question has failed, and we fear the great arbitrator by whose decision a solution must be supplied is the sword. Much as we shall deplore an appeal to this arbitration we must recognise that this will he one of the few wars upon which Great Britain has entered with clean hands, and while alive to the terrible cost, particularly to these colonies, we shall have little fear for the ultimate result.