Cure For India Frontier Ills.

Hokitika Guardian, 27 July 1922, Page 4

Cure For India Frontier Ills.

PESHAWAR

The root trouble on the North-West Frontier is that the tribes are all well armed with small arms. The gun-run-ning trade in the IVrsitm (iulf, which llourished as never before or since ill the years 191)7-1910, radically altered the whole situation under our noses, before steps were taken to stop it in 1910. Someone has calculated that on the whole frontier from Baluchistan to the Little I’amir there may lie 120.00!) lilies, hut this tan only lie a guess. The humiliating factor of the situation is that We ourselves seem to he responsible for the hulk of tile armament.. There is a good deal of talk, hut as vet, little evidences of rifles touting in large quantities from Russia; anti Afghanistan certainly supplies some, lint they are not good.

The basis of the armament consists, however, of the spoils of the old gunrunning trade, and in Waziristan of the rifles of the militia, whom we were so misguided as to lose in 1910. .Many rifles have also been looted. I am told that arms issued by us in 1918 to supposed frendlies in the North Persia have now been traced to the frontier. Vast quantities of ammunition have been captured from convoys. The Frontier does not produce cordite, and tho rides would matter less if ammunition were scarce. But unfortunately there are said to he millions of rounds available. PASSION FOB ARMS.

Arms are a passion in this part of the world. In. fact all over India now there is a. strong desire to he allowed to possess firearms. This desire is naturally not encouraged elsewhere, lint on tho frontier of late years the Government has conceded to villagers on outside of the line the right to arm themselves against raids. Now the Puthan khans seek for an extension of this privilege. A service short rifle will fetch £OO across tho border. Not the least extraordinary thing on the Frontier is the Koluit Pass arms factory. Between Peshawar and Kohnt is a. very curious salient of tribal territory, through which runs the ordinary highway used by all travellers from Peshawar to lCohat, many of whom are probably unaware that they have passed out of British India. At the foot of the Pass on the Peshawar side there stands by the side of tho road just where it ceases to lie In- , dian territory, a little arms “factory.” This produces the Pass-made rifle, and I may turn out 400 or 500 weapons a | year, which find their way to the

tribesmen on both sides of the Durand Eine. and also to sucli ol our own vil-la-'ci- as possess (iovci'iinient peimits. ll is all conducted quite openly. I) stanguished official visitors touring the Frontier make a point of visiting it. Yet its tolerated existence strikes me as one of the oddest things ] have ever seen. There must. 1 suppose, he some good reason for it. OIL PROSPECT.

Still, it is a great thing to have an industry on the Frontier, and oven such an unproductive one as rifle-mak-ing finds champions on economic grounds. The main problem is economic The hillmen are hungry. We shall never have a settled frontier untill the hillmen can make a living without raids. There is said to be undoubted evidence of large oilfields, and a prospect that, these may he developoci Nothing likely to solve the problem of’ the present. Frontier lias yet been imagined. On the Persian oilfields the Kmd lias proved himself the best of all tlu> workmen of the country and there is no reason why the Pathnn should not display the same qualities as the Kind. May the day he hastened as much as possible I