The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men. Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. SATURDAY, AUG. 27, 1892.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIX, Issue 3139, 27 August 1892, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men. Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. SATURDAY, AUG. 27, 1892.

It has long been recognised as a fact that Russian statesmen and people will never rest satisfied till they have made the final effort to force their way through the natural and artificial barriers which divide their territory from the fertile plains of Hindustan. The cablegrams which reach us from day to day give grave reason to fear that the day'is not very far distant when the great effort will be made. It would be unreasonable to suppose that Russia is establishing a footing in the Pamir district owing to the intrinsic value of the territory she is apparently plotting to add to the area of her already unwieldy dominions. The country is exceedingly mountainous, and there is very little cultivable land to covet. In addition, the climate is wet, cold and inhospitable. The mountains are described as generally ranging from 0000 to 9000 feet of elevation, and the highest peaks attain an altitude of 25,000 feet. The action of Russia has excited in the Chinese the suspicion and fear that her object is to appropriate some of the Celestial territory, and we learn that they have advanced a force to secure the integrity of the Pamir country. She claims it, although she has never occupied it. Russia, we learn by cable, has assured the Chinese Government that General Zanoffs expedition was simply one of observation. If the Chinese are as well grounded in Russian policy as European statesmen, they will consider this observation much in the same light as that of the skilled burglar, who carefully studies the ground and habits of the residents before venturing to " crack the crib." We believe, however, that the fears of the Chinese are uncalled for; thf movement is solely a menace to our Indian Empire. It is recorded as a fact that in 1877, when hostilities between Great Britain and Russia seemed imminent. General Skobeleff had planned an advance upon India by three separate voutes—the first straight from the Caspian, the second down the valley of the Oxus, and the third by scaling the Pamir Plateau, and from thence reach Chitnah, and from this point march on the Punjaub by the valley of the Indus. The direct advance from the Caspian and that proposed down

the valley of the Oxus are blocked I))' the treaty defining the Afghan frontier. This, no donbt, accounts for the activity of the Russian generals with regard to Pamir. There is also room for grave suspicion tlmt the revolt of the Hazaras is attributable to a large extent to Uussian intrigue, These people occupy the northern portion of the Ameer's territory, which abuts on the Russian line. They are a warlike people, anil as the result has proved the Ameer's troops_ were taxed to the utmost in bringing

them into subjection. They have always, though nominally the subjects" of the Ameer, done very much as they liked, for the reason mainly that to make orderly subjects of them meant a large expenditure of life and treasure. It will be remembered that Abdurrahman was placed ou the throno by the Indian Government, which is under treaty to support him in the position and to pay him a subsidy of £120,000 per annum. England has no desire to annex the country, and it is equally certain that any attempt on the part of Russia to do so would be considered by her a casus belli. It is only this contingency that stays Russia's hand. In the meantime the policy she pursues is to t keep

the country in a state of turraoil, destroy its horaogenity, and weaken its resources, so that when the time arrives for action it shall be found weak and divided, and only a very flimsy barrier against the march southward of a Russian army. The Ameer complains that Russia has encroached on his territory and shot some of his subjects. We previously learned that a collision had taken place between the forces of the two powers, and that the Russian commander had been shot,. This incident places in the hands of such an unscrupulous poVer as Russia a pretext to invade the Ameer's territory so soon as time is opportune. The accession of Mr Gladstone to power justifies the hope that she will be able to indulge in much more license with

immunity from consequences than would have been possible with Lord Salisbury at the head of affairs. Two very significant cablegrams have reached us lately. The one an extract from Mr Gladstone's mouthpiece, "The Daily News," to the effect that reasonable treatment of Russia, in allowing her to occupy the Oxus country, would dissipate any fear of hostilities. The other is that Mr Gladstone condemns the Triple Alliance, the reason for the existence of which is to keep in check the aggressive policy of Russia on the one side, and on the other

any attempt on the part of France to wreak vengeance on Germany. Mr Gladstone's proclivities have always been favourable to Russia, and the quotations we have made above give room for grave fears that theso proclivities will hasten the war which is admitted on all hands to be inevitable. When the war comes, Great Britain fully recognises that j she will be called upon to strain every nerve in defence of her Indian Empire. This being the case, her policy is not to allow Russia to ' creep onwards, as she is capable of doing, as noiselessly yet as certainly as the tide. The hopes of the nation rest upon Lord Roseberry to keep i her clear of the disgrace which has hitherto befallen her in consequence . of the flabbiness of Mr Gladstone's foreign policy.