The Waikato Argus GEORGE EDGECUMBE Proprietor. TUESDAY, AUGUST 17, 1897.

Waikato Argus, Volume III, Issue 171, 17 August 1897, Page 2

The Waikato Argus GEORGE EDGECUMBE Proprietor. TUESDAY, AUGUST 17, 1897.

The cablegrams which have reached us during the past few months with regard to Indinn affairs have been of a very disquieting nature. Those which we publish this morning mny possibly be rightly considered the explanation of the unrest of which there have been so many indications of late. It is stated that the Sultan has sent an envoy to India to stir tip disaffection among the Mahommedan population. It is also reported that the Ameer of Afghanistan is advocating a holy war against unbelievers, and that a pamphlet with this object has been widely circulated amongst the Pathan and Sepoy troops of the army. Many British and foreign writers have pointed out that India is the most vulnerable place in the British Empire, for the reason that there always exists a likelihood of fanaticism leading to Ihe rebellion of the vast population. The native Press Las bteu poisoning the minds of the population for many months past, and has made malicious accusations against those who have been engaged in carrying out the stringent measures which were absolutely necessary if the plague was to be stamped out. Here is a sample of the writing taken from the Mahratla: —"The reign of the soldiers is a reign of terror and torture. The images and sacred gods are polluted, live animals are thrown into the fire, people are unnecessarily stripped naked, abused and insulted, women aie made months at f»nd those who are pregnant and otherwise incapable of moving are dragged to the segregation camp." Such charges as these were embodied in a memorial to the Imperial Government and were thoroughly investigated and found to be absolutely without foundation. The officers and soldiers upon whom devolved the duty of carrying out the measures which were deemed necessary were accompanied by some native gentlemen in order that as far as practicable the religious feelings of the people might be respected. They weie vlso accompanied by lady doctors to deal with females. The serving out of greased cartridges was the nominal cause of the Imlian Mutiny, and it was so, to the extent that it roused the indignation and fanaticism of the population. The moasures taken to suppress the plague have been used in a similar manner, and have caus cl riots in Bombay, Poona and Calcutta. r lho cartridges, to write figuratively, were the match applied to the latent rebellion which had long been prepared for. If it be true that the Ameer has acted in the manner reported, it must be accepted that he has been prompted and encouraged by some other Power, and it is only Russia which could afford him any assistance in defending his territory against the attack of the British troops. The Powers which have sided in a degree with Turkey over the lato war have been Russia and Germany, and it is more than probable that these two Powers have prevailed upon the Sultan to stir up the Indian population against British ritlo, as a means of weakening the Empire and making it more pliant with rognr 1 to several matters in which interests clash. The rising in Chitral, if the report with regard to the Ameer be true, may be laid at his door. There has of late also been another element of trouble and that is the agitation which originated with the lato Mr Bntdlaugh and which has been continued by Sir William Wedderbarn and others, for the granting of a constitution to the Indian Empire. It is difficult to believe that the last-named would encourage sedition and riot as a mean to this end, but it can be readily belicv.d thai, those to whom the vernacular papers are mouthpieces would not hesitate to stir up trouble with the forlorn hope that out of chaos a constitution would spring. The 2>osition of affairs is unquestionably very serious and very involved, and cannot bo lightly viewed.