SOMETHING ABOUT AFGHANISTAN.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 194, 16 August 1880, Page 4

SOMETHING ABOUT AFGHANISTAN.

The following extract from a letter from " Quetta, Beluchistan," {says the N.Z' Times) may, perhaps, be read with some interest just now, when even we peaceful civilians who ' sit at home at ease ". are on the gui vive for news from the Afghan frontier : — Camp Quetta, Beluchistan, 15th June. As I told you, I was ordered up here in September from the N."W. Provinces, one of the first P.P.W. Engineers who arrived. I was obliged to dispose of all my belongings at a ruinous sacrifice, and my horses (of which I was so proud) went for half their value, it was useless to bring them here, for " the Cabul scale" has become something more than an empty phrase. Sufficient food, grain, and forage is provided only for an exact number of animals at each halting place between Cabul and Peshawur. Officers not entitled to horse allowance will not be allowed to keep chargers or ponies unless they are reckoned as part of the common trausport •of the' army. There is &uch a practical spirit at work just now that, [ hear, rules will bo laid down as to officers first on service. The soldier has allotted to him certain distinct articles in the way of clothing as soon i as war begins, and there is no reason why officers should not also be limited in the same way. The soldier worthy lof his salt will. not grumble in the least if his wardrobe were curtailed to neces-

sities, though, perhaps, it wculd he too absurd for him to joyfully accept a, sword hilfc always fora pillow, whatever Sir Garnet Wolseley's opinions on tho subject may be. Such being the prevailing craze at present, I may thank my stars thafc we have not been restricted in the purchase of warm clothing and furs. Those I've been obliged to buy would make a Eussian princess envious. The winter has been fearfully cold — 10 in my tent* Now it is as hot as India, without the hot winds. During the cold weather, it was not unusual for me to come home from my morning's work- with icicles hanging from my beard and moustache, and as for my hands and feet, the bearer generally had to parboil them to restore animation. My workingt.party consists of from 400 to 500 men, armed to the teeth, and I firmly believe it is only tlje sight of tho revolvers that keeps the rebels in check. We dare not venture out of our tents unarmed, for cutting '• ferringees' " throats is the acknowledged pastime of the Afghan. The country is the most horrid you can imagine, nothing but hills,' stones, ,and, sand, and save the leaves of a few stun ted fruit trees, there is not the ; semblance of anything green, except the fools who come here ! So altogether, ifc is not the most agreeable place in the world' to live in, although the." Self-congratu-latory Society of jSimla" say it is the making of a Paradise! 1 only wish they were here. I never had a day's fever, nor knew what it was to be "hard up," till I came to Quetta. They certainly give me 100 rps. per month e&fcra pay, but it takes more than that to keep you warm ! "Will it interest you Mew Zealanders to know that Lady Fergusson's first reception took place, with great cclnt, at Government House, Garnish, Khind Poona, on Thursday evening last ; it was well attended, and the band of his Excellency the Governor enlivened the visitors with its music. Lord'Ripon held his first levee, afc Simla, on Saturday. He has forbidden all official work on Sunday ; Deo Gratia. In accordance with recent decisions of the United States Supreme Court (although it is very distasteful to the people of Virginia), negroes must hereafter be summoned the same as whites on Southern juries. Proposals for holding an Oecumenical Methodist Conference have been for some time under consideration, and such . a conference will in all probability be held in England in the month of September, 1882. According to the Bishop of Lichfield the Greek word translated in the Anglican version of the Bible "eternal,'*or "everlasting," in relation to the punishment of a future state does not mean " endless," but very, long. The annual exportation of coffee from tho producing countries is nearly 50 per cent, greater than it was 25 years ago. This is a much larger increase in proportion than the population. The number of theatres in Europe was estimated at 1542 in 1879. Italy stands at the head of the list with 348 j France comes next with 337, Germany has 191,, Spain 168, Austria \52, England 150. Mr Gladstone is said to be the best Greek scholar in England, if not in Europe, and when High Commissioner to the lonian Islands, in 1859, he ad-

dressed the local Parliament in modern Greek with much fluency and eloquence, to the intense astonishment of the natives.