MR GLADSTONE ON THE AFGHAN DIFFICULTY.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 2012, 30 May 1885, Page 4

MR GLADSTONE ON THE AFGHAN DIFFICULTY.

II T .v the Housf of Common's on"April 9th, Mr Gladstone, in answei to inteiioga tions, said that on Satuiday the Cabinet considered Russia's ieply to England s pioposal to limit the /one of survey to the debatable points Russia's iepl> was ,111 agieeme it to do this, provided tin /one of survey, as maiked out by Eng latul, was extended -southward, so as to include the Paropamtsus laiigo of nioun tains. The Government consideied that the reply (lid not advance the qmstion towards a conclusion, and was dissatisfied mthit. " Within the past twenty foui 110111%" ''lid the Piemier, "a subsi, quent eoinmumcation h.i-s been teeoive 1 tio.n Russia, and this appeared, in the opinion of the Government, to place the mattei in a more hopeful pos>i tion." Being asked whit the natuie of this Mibsequt »t communication w is, Mi Gladstone said it would be impossible at pie»ei:t for the Government to make am fuither statement concerning the pending negotiations about the Afghan fiontiei in \ lew of the grave occuueiiee just leported. Continuing, Mr Gladstone said that it was evident that the Russians had attacked the Afghans The Afghans had in this attack been deflated, after making a gallant resistance. It was ap parent, also, that the Russians, nftei the fight, returned to their foimor posi tiou, oi at least to the left bank of) the Kushk River, which might be equivalent to Midi letiiemc nt. The Government had been informed, the Piemier went on, that the Russians had made every endeavour to induce the Afghius to begin the hghting. A Russian troop had even twice attempted to forcibly passthe Afghan picket lines. After one of these attempts, which failed to piovoke an Afghan attack, Captain Yates met an Afghan thief of stall, and talked to him about the conduct of the Russian soldiers being an evident violation of the Russian agieement uot toadvauce pending the outcome of negotiations. The Russian officer stated that he had no knowledge that any aiiangernent existed ag.unst a Rus Man advance. Captain Yates refened to the official dispatch sent fiom St. Pctiis lung (March 17th) to London, assunng England thatothers would be at once issued to the Russian officersat the front, directing them to foibid any advance and do all in their power to prevent the piovocition of the Afghans. The Russian officer declined that he knew nothing whatever of any such arrangement. Air Gladstone, commenting on this, s.nd that England had kept her part of tlu-> agreement up to Match 30th, at least The Afghans made no advance noi anj forwaid movement of any kind, so f.ii as the infonnotion possessed by the Mini^tera went. The Government, Mr Gladstone bt-vted, must regard the attack of the Russians upon Penjdeh as unprovoked The Government has asked an explanation of this attack fiom Rimij, but of com>e sufficient time had not yet vlnp^ed f'ii the leceipt of an answer. Sir Edward Thornton, llntish Ambassador at Pttcisbutg, had, however, last night telegraphed that M. De Gicis, the Russian Foieigh Minister, had expiessed for himself and ioi the C/ar, the earnest hope that this unhappy incident might uot pievout a continuation of negotiations for peace. [This remark was gieettd with shouts of deiisive laughter.] Sir Stafford Noithcote, the Tory leader, at this point rose, and recalling the Premier's statement just made, that the Government believed that defeating the Afghans at Penjdeh, the Russians had retned, asked sarcastically if it was not moie reasonable to believe that after driving the Afghans out of Penjdeh, the Russians stayed aud occupied the place. To this Mr Gladstone said that of course the natuial inference would be that the Russians now occupied Penjdeh. "Concerning this statement," however, the Piemier added, '"some confusion exists, because the statement that the Russians occupy Penj deli eina nates fi'mi a Biitish officer who had left the spot at the time of the fight, whilst Sir Edward Thornton lepoits, -übaequently to this, that M. db Giers stated that the Ru&siai.s, after attacking the Afghans, did not occupy Penj-deh '" Later in the evening, Mr Gladstone, leplying to a question asked l.y Sir Richard Cross, said the Government had icceived another telegram fiom Sir Peter Lumsden, which tended to qualify the statement made by him (M. Gladstone), in reply to Sir Station! Nmt'icotc, which was based on S r Ptlei Lumsdcn's statement that the Afghans had made no advance either Lefoie or after, March 17th. " Sir Peter Lumsden now says." continued Mr Gladstone, ,* that when the Russians thteafened an attack on the Afghan position by an advance in force, the Afghans thien out vidette Hues and extended thc-ii" pickets to Pul-i-Klnsti, on the left bant of the Kubhk River, aud gradually strengthened this position until, on Maich cOth, the bulk of their force Jh.id been transferred across the river. Sir Peter Lumsden is of opinion that the inovtment docs not constitute an actual advance on the part of the Afghans, but men ly the occupation of a inoic advantageous militaiy position.

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