AN AFGHAN PRINCE'S OPINION.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 2008, 21 May 1885, Page 3

AN AFGHAN PRINCE'S OPINION.

Is Bui nab} 's well known woik, "A Rule to Kirn a,' puhh-hed in 187~>, the following papei l>y the Sndar Iskandei Ahmed Kh.in, MaiuAei of Afghanistan, is givtn in an appendix, and will be lu.ul with mteiest at the pieaent june tuie : — " Loul Gtanville's policy in foitifjing Afghanistan on one side only, and leaving exposed the otheis to the inroads of enemies excites my utmost surptiM.-. It is like unto a man building a house with tlueu walls, and luaviug the gable end to adventmeis. "Such 11 just now the case with Af gh.uustdii. Loul Gram illc invited, a^ he thought, the safety ot Afghanistan in •isuM taming its boundaiy on the Oxus, leaving exposed that tow aids the noitli west, thus opening a passage to Russia by way of Meive, to which she (Russia) is alieady appioachuig, as the lecent movements of Gcncial Lomakin at once indicate. "I really think the English Govern ment has no tune to lose by looking in difleiently at the question. It may be leadily piedieted that Llussiawillcoi'tainly take Mci ye. When that is accomplished, it is equally ceitain England will loseliei piestige, not only in Afghanistan but likewise in Persia, and then she (England) must have icsource to an expedient atti i the fashion of a Chinese wall on the Indus to maintain her snpieinacy in India. Thus, the national expenclttuie on behalf of Afghanistan for the-e twenty years past will be merged and finally lost, and not through the treacheij ol the Afghans, or their unfaithful tow aids England, but thiough the misguided policy of England herself in allowing the most poweiful invader to take possession of the threshold of the house, and then telling the inmates to take oate of themselves. " Merve, at this time, is only a refuse for marauder ; but let Kussia possess it, and it will become a place of notoriety, and one of the richest in the world, both for its feitihty and well-known capacity for the maintenance of a coips of soldiers at little cost ; for example, five or six melons only will constitute a camel load. Hence the am mala which loam at large become fat and sleek, without caie of the owner, and vegetation eKowheie is equally luxuuai.t In short, if Men i' passes into the hands of R.issia it will logaiu its fonnei splendour. But the question will not rest heic, that Ru«sia will take Muve meiely, and hold it quietly, but she will take the Morgab River also, and niaich up to it, and thus possess all the countiy. For example, when she leaves Merve the fiist country worthy of note with which she will come in contact on the same river is Ulatan, with its ruined foit. and which was the country of the Saloie Turkomans, who wete compelled todesei fc, and for these fifteen years they have come uuder the jurisdiction of Herat in the fort of Marooghagh, and cultivate its old tcintory. The next country Russia willseue is Penj Deh, on the same user, wheie are Saiok Turkomans dwelling, which place is neaily equal in fertility to Merve. That country was frequently dependant upon Herat ; for example, the Shah Kamrau, the last sovereign of Sadozai, had always a commission there, and my father, at the request of the Sarok Turkomans, sent twice a Commissioner among them to collect the taxes. " One stage fuithor on and Russia will come to the foit of Maioogh.igh, fiom thence within one stage to the toit of Morgab, which it situated on the high road betwixt Herat and Maimana, and further on still, to Afghan Turkistan. When Russia shall have leached here, she will divide or cut off lleiat fiom Afghan Turkistan, and thus extend her power from one side to Maimana, and the other side to Herat Badgheese as far as the Coshk, which is sepaiatcd ftoin Herat Bism by the high mountains of 13a bn. '1 he eountues I have named me nearly equally tortile, and also fa\ out able to any number ot armies matching ' through. " Russia having established liei -elf in these count) tes, she will lose no time m exercising uer poweiful influence upon the whole of Afghan stan, by sending a mission under the name of commeiH lal oi scientific pin poses — a pretext which is uot uncommon to European diplomacy, and w inch rnv<mjbly achieves tliedesm-d policy. In that case Afghamstui will not be able to refuse the Russian mission, as she has done up to the present lime, the enemy being at the threshold. " I cannot think that Russia will ap proach Mcrvo without the secret consent of Persia, who must not consent to Russia's agression thither unless some specious proposition be made, which cannot be less than allowing her to take Herat by means of her aid. " Persia must have two points of interest, vi/. :-- First, the legitimacy ot Merve, which belongs to her of aucicut light ; and, secondly, the co->t of two ai mies which peiished there. Theiefore Persia must oppose any Power approaching Merve, ot if she be unable to do bo hcisolf, she must call foi the help of England. Should she do neither (as she has done to the piesent, in not mastering her own territonty and leaving it to the mercy of intruders), then the whole question has approached a solution •' In my opinion England ha-> not long to reflect on the matter indifferently ; she must, as soon as possible, piopos>; to Peisia the conquest of Mervo, and thus prevent Russia from taking it. Should Russia, notwithstanding, makeaggiession upon Merve, it will be clear that she has Persia in view (not a country left at the mercy of any aggressive Powei), by conquering which no Power could legitimately accuse her. In the event of it Persia's refusal to conquer Merve at once, it remains that England take care of that country, either diplomatics ily, by ascertaining the boundary beyond Meive, or by taking possession of the countiy by means of the Afghan forces, ami thus reckoning Persia the closest ally to Russia.

Pkim'h Li j'.dmkkmvY has made the beat ie< onl at Monaco a tables tins sta son ; one night icccntly he retired with winnings to the amount of over £'21,000. Oncl upon a time Chaion was mu pused to find a vcnoablc female walking up and down the f.utlicr bank ot the nvei Htyx, diamatioally demanding fenyage to the portals of Hades. " Ami who aic you ?" roughly mquiicd the gnin boatman. "Alas!" cried the \cnciahlc female, " I am aEutopc-an prima donna." " And how old are you?" a.sked Chaion. " Eighty seven last May," replied the sony crone. "Then get thee hence," cried Charon ; " this is no placo foi thec. What ! and wouldst thou court death at thy tender age, when so many aitistie tiiumphs await thee in America? " Ax Historical Chalice. — Litigation has arisen in France respecting a ch.vlice picsented by James I. of England in Kji'4 to Frias de Velnsco, Constable of Spain and Ambassador to London. The chalice is a work of the thirteenth or fourteenth century, and is of great value. The recipient presented it to the Nunnery of Medina de Pomar, with reversion, in case of the convent being dissolved, or being indisposed to kee|> it, to Burgos Cathedral. It remained in the convent till 1883, when the abbess, on account of pecuniary straits and fear of robbery, entrusted it to a piicst for sale, A French collector, Baron I'ichon, bought it for £(5500, but the Convent received only £4500. The Due de Frias and the Burgos Chapter now claim it. The Spaniard who eolil it to Union Pichon told him it had belonged to the Due de Frias, and the Baron aecoid ingly wrote to the Due to enquire as to its history. The latter then wrote to the abbess, and she admitted the sale, but pleaded that the convent rceoids did not show the origin of the chalice, which tradition connected with a Tuikisli sovereign. The chalice, however, bcaiH a Latin inscription, showing when and by whom it was given. Tlio heating of thu coat is likely to occupy some time.