6 



AFGHANISTAN. 



through the day. The British having occupied 

 a defile in the rear of the Afghans, these aban- 

 doned the fort during the night, and General 

 Browne occupied it on the morning of the 22d 

 without tiring another gun. On the 23d the oc- 

 cupation without resistance of Sibi, by a column 

 which was advancing by the way of Quetta, 

 was reported. A proclamation to the Afghans 

 was issued by the Viceroy on the 22d, which, 

 after reciting the history of the relations be- 

 tween India and Afghanistan during the past 

 ten years, and the recent efforts to dispatch an 

 embassy to the Ameer, declared that " with the 

 Sirdars and people of Afghanistan the Indian 

 Government has no quarrel, as they have given 

 no offense. The independence of Afghanistan 

 will be respected ; but the Government of India 

 can not tolerate that any other power should 

 interfere in the international affairs of Afghan- 

 istan " ; and it concluded : " Upon the Ameer 

 Shere Ali alone rests the responsibility of 

 having exchanged the friendship for the hos- 

 tility of the Empress of India." Leaving Ali 

 Musjid in charge of a British regiment, General 

 Browne continued his march to Laudikana and 

 Pakka, where he reached the frontier of Af- 

 ghanistan proper, having destroyed by his suc- 

 cesses the Ameer's authority in the independent 

 territory. On the route, the head men of the 

 hill tribes came out to pay their respects to 

 the British general, among them Mohammed 

 Shah, chief of Lalpoor and head of the Mah- 

 munds, hitherto the Ameer's allies. 



The Russian embassy remained at Cabool 

 after the breach with England, and showed 

 no signs of an intention to withdraw from the 

 country. It was reported in October that it 

 designed to visit all the important localities, 

 and seek full information respecting their com- 

 mercial and industrial resources, and the dis- 

 position of the people. The Russian Govern- 

 ment replied to the inquiries of the British 

 Government respecting the purposes of the 

 mission, that it had been decided upon at a 

 time and under circumstances now no longer 

 existing (under the probability of a war with 

 England), but was now intended merely as an 

 act of courtesy to the Ameer. A semi-official 

 statement was also made, to the effect that 

 there was no ground for the assumption which 

 some parties had made that the Russian Gov- 

 ernment had any part in the decision of Shere 

 Ali to reject the British mission. On the 



8th of December an announcement was made 

 that the Russian embassy had been formally 

 and officially withdrawn. It was afterward 

 stated that the recall of the mission had been 

 ordered because of increased friendly feelings 

 toward England, and because the peaceful 

 policy had obtained the ascendancy. It was 

 Digested, however, that the step was also 

 partly directed by motives of policy, the rapid 

 advance of the British arms and the precarious 

 situation of the Ameer threatening to put the 

 mission in an embarrassing attitude if it re- 

 mained. 



The internal affairs of Afghanistan were 

 complicated by the death, in August, of Ab- 

 dallah Jan, the youngest and favorite son of 

 Shere Ali, and heir apparent to the throne, 

 leaving the question of the succession again 

 in dispute. Of the five sons of Shere Ali, two 

 are now dead : Mohammed Ali, the eldest, who 

 fell in battle in 1865, and Abdallah Jan, the 

 heir, just deceased. The eldest surviving son 

 is Ibrahim Khan, who is represented to be of 

 a good disposition and loyal to his father, but 

 of no ability, and hardly to be thought of as 

 the future ruler of the country. Yakoob Khan, 

 the third son, is able enough, but has been in 

 rebellion and always at difference with his 

 father, and has been in prison since 1874 for 

 intriguing against the succession of Abdallah 

 Jan. Ayoob Khan, the full brother of Ya- 

 koob, took no part in public affairs till he fled 

 with Yakoob Khan from Cabool in 1870. He 

 afterward lived at Herat with Yakoob Khan 

 till the time of that prince's imprisonment in 

 1874, when, having failed in an attempt to 

 instigate a rebellion, he retired to Persian 

 territory. Another claimant to the throne is 

 Abdurrahman, the son of Shere Ali's elder 

 brother Afzool Khan, who took an active part 

 in his father's cause against Shere Ali, but 

 sought refuge in Tashkend after the latter pre- 

 vailed. The Russians have for the last five 

 years allowed him a subsidy of about $15,000 

 a year ; and, as he is thoroughly Russianized, 

 he will be a good candidate for them to set up 

 in case they desire to take a part in settling a 

 disputed Afghan succession. The last proba- 

 ble claimant to the succession is Ahmed Ali, 

 son of Mohammed Ali, the first named of Sh'ero 

 Ali's sons. He is described as being an intel- 

 ligent youth of about eighteen years of age, 

 with a pleasing demeanor and fairly well edu- 

 cated. He has always been in favor with his 

 grandfather, and it is thought that he will be 

 preferred as the heir. His mother has another 

 son, who, however, being deaf and dumb, is 

 not likely to be brought into the contest. 



The Afghans in front of the column of 

 General Roberts in the Kuram Valley fell 

 back behind Peiwar Kotul. General Roberts 

 pushed forward, and reached the foot of the 

 pass with his column on the 29th. The enemy 

 fired upon the British troops when they were 

 about to take up their quarters for the night. 

 After a light engagement, the British en- 

 camped on the ground they had occupied. 

 The Afghan position was turned on the night 

 of December 1st, and the enemy were entirely 

 defeated at four o'clock in the afternoon of 

 the next day, with heavy loss, while the Brit- 

 ish lost ninety killed and wounded. Some 

 trouble was experienced in the Khyber Pass 

 from the depredations of the hill tribes, who, 

 having gained positions there, harassed the 

 convoys and messengers for the purpose of 

 plunder. Major Cavagnari was sent to punish 

 the marauders ; he broke up the hostile com- 

 bination and cleared the pass. (See INDIA.) 



