A LETTER FROM AFGHANISTAN

Kumara Times, Issue 1050, 11 February 1880, Page 4

A LETTER FROM AFGHANISTAN

The Cromwell Argus has been privileged to make public the subjoined extracts from a letter received "by a resident at Bendigo from his brother, a general in the army now occupying Afghanistan. The letter is written from Gandahar, and is dated Nov 3,1879. It gives a clearer insight into the internal affairs of Afghanistan than can be learned'-from the news by cable published from time to time. From obvious reasons, and by request, we refrain from giving She name of the titled and gallant writer, but his position is such as to give his opinions great weight;— The massacre of the Cabul Embassy has changed the face of affairs in this country. The whole of my force had moved across the frontier and I was on the point of leaving with my rear brigade when I got orders to stand fast. It was fortunate in many ways, because if we had left this place we should not have got back without a fight. The fate of the country has not been quite settled, but I have been authorised to inform the people that the British Government will never let them pass under the Barukzye yoke again. At present I am ruler of the Provinces of Gandahar, Kelat-i-Ghilzia, Ghirisk, and Furnah—a country • bigger than England. The civil government is carried on through a member of the Royal Family, but he is obliged to appeal to me in all matters civil and criminal. We do not wish to annex the country, but circumstances have placed it in our hands, and it was a case of keeping it or letting chaos enter. The Ameer, who never had any real power we find, has abdicated, and as there is absolutely no one who has power to maintain himself unsupported, we have thought it best to convert Afghanistan into a protected-State. It would be governed by its own chiefs, but under our supervision, and its foreign affairs will be governed by us. lam very sorry to see the country iose its independence as it cannot pay the cost of occupatiohjbtit, aslsaid before, if we had thrown the people over, they would have passed Into th? clutches of Russia, and for this we were not prepared. The country is a miserably poor one, and the people are a nation of cut throats. lam not sure that I can do any good to the people, unless I can force them to keep the peace. In time they may settle down to agriculture, trade and commerce, but when all is done that can be done we cannot expect to improve the'country very much, as nature has not been very bontiful to it. The country being devoid of trees and water, the area of cultivation cannot be largely extended. However, we have now got the country on our hands, and we must make the best of it.