338 



GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



ment had yet been made with Abdurrahman 

 Khan ; he had simply been recognized as Ameer 

 of Cabool, and had been offered such support 

 as he would require to establish his position. 

 No negotiations would at present be entered 

 into with regard to Candahar or the other mat- 

 ters mentioned in the Treaty of Gundamuk, 

 which the Ameer had been informed would be 

 treated as separate and independent subjects. 

 The Ameer would not be allowed to have for- 

 eign relations with any power except the Brit- 

 ish ; and the Government would not interfere 

 in the domestic politics of the country. In the 

 House of Lords, August 12th, Lord Camper- 

 down asked for the production of the papers 

 relative to the separation of Candahar from 

 the rest of Afghanistan, and expressed an ap- 

 prehension that that measure, which had so far 

 been attended with unfortunate results, might 

 lead to future troubles. Lord Granville spoke 

 of the difficulty of going into a discussion on 

 that subject at that moment. The Secretary 

 of State for India had authorized him to state 

 that the papers were being prepared for pres- 

 entation, but it would require very careful con- 

 sideration to decide what part of the informa- 

 tion asked for could at present be produced. 

 On the next day, the Marquis of Hartington, 

 having explained before the House of Com- 

 mons the military situation in Afghanistan, 

 and remarked that nothing could be more un- 

 wise than to interfere with the discretion of 

 military officers in whom the Government had 

 confidence, added that Abdurrahman Khan 

 would not be expected to receive a British en- 

 voy, but that the Indian Government would be 

 represented by a native resident. 



On the occasion of bringing down her Ma- 

 jesty's reply to the address, Lord Carnarvon, in 

 the House of Lords, May 21st, approved the 

 passages in which the policy of a confederation 

 of the South African colonies was upheld, the 

 intention of her Majesty to maintain the su- 

 premacy of the Crown in the Transvaal was 

 announced, and the colonies were promised in- 

 stitutions based on large and liberal principles 

 of self-government. He, however, cautioned 

 the Government against too great haste in or- 

 ganizing those institutions, and against a sum- 

 mary withdrawal of the troops from South 

 Africa, and recommended precautions against 

 the importation of arms, and the cultivation of 

 friendly relations with the Orange Free State. 

 Lord Kimberley held that, although it might 

 have been better if the Transvaal had not been 

 annexed, still, the annexation having been ac- 

 complished, and announcement having been 

 made to the Dutch settlers that the measure 

 would not be receded from, it was desirable on 

 all grounds to make it clear that the suprema- 

 cy of the Crown would be maintained there. 

 The question of the South African colonies 

 was a complex one, and its difficulties had not 

 been diminished since he was before at the Co- 

 lonial Office ; yet he was hopeful that hereafter 

 all of the colonies, and the Orange Free State 



also, with which the Government would culti- 

 vate friendly relations, would be united in one 

 confederation. On the next day Mr. Gladstone 

 spoke in the House of Commons in compli- 

 mentary terms of the honor and capacity of 

 Sir Bartle Frere, her Majesty's High Commis- 

 sioner in South Africa, and observed that, even 

 if it became desirable hereafter to make a 

 change which would involve his retirement, 

 no step would be taken to endanger the pros- 

 pect of confederation. On the 4th of August 

 the Government stated that since confedera- 

 tion, the special object for the promotion of 

 which Sir Bartle Frere had been retained in 

 South Africa, had failed, it had come to the 

 conclusion that he should be recalled. The 

 Ministers did this with regret, for they could 

 not forget the high personal qualities and dis- 

 tinguished services of the Commissioner. 



The- Duke of Marlborough inquired in the 

 House of Lords, June 7th, what statutory 

 powers the Government considered to be in 

 force in Ireland which would enable the Lord 

 Lieutenant to send an additional police force 

 into the country for the repression of crime, 

 and to provide for its maintenance at the ex- 

 pense of the locality. Lord Spencer replied 

 that the constabulary acts gave power to re- 

 press crime and to charge localities for any 

 outrages committed within certain areas. A 

 bill looking to the relief of distress in Ireland 

 by the provision of appropriations of money to 

 be spent in various works of public improve- 

 ment, etc., was introduced by the Government 

 in June. In the debate on the second reading 

 of this bill, June 17th, Mr. Parnell said that no 

 measure for the relief of distress would be ade- 

 quate which did not deal with the tenure in 

 land of the country, and that the assistance 

 which it was proposed to give would not really 

 reach the suffering people. Mr. O'Shaughnessy 

 held that a case had arisen for a liberal grant 

 from imperial funds. The Attorney-General 

 for Ireland pointed out that the main object of 

 the bill was to carry out the policy which had 

 been sanctioned by the late Parliament. An- 

 other bill was introduced by Mr. Forster on 

 behalf of the Government, the object of which 

 was to confer on the Judges of the County 

 Courts in certain distressed districts the right 

 to grant compensation for improvements in 

 cases where tenants were evicted for non-pay- 

 ment of rent. This measure was known as the 

 Compensation for Disturbance Bill, and was 

 limited in its operation to the years 1880 and 

 1881. It was opposed on the ground that it 

 infringed upon the rights of the landlords, and 

 was in effect a concession to the demands of 

 the land agitators. Its friends replied to these 

 attacks that the Irish landlords claimed greater 

 power than existed in England, where, unless 

 the contract contained a clause of reentry, no 

 tenant could be turned out of his holding, 

 solely for non-payment of rent. Another meas 

 ure, called the Fixity of Tenure Bill, the op- 

 eration of which would be to extend what is 



