INDIA. 



437 



eminent for home or foreign service. The 

 Coorg European planters offered their ser- 

 vices as a mounted volunteer force. A num- 

 ber of Parsees asked permission to form a vol- 

 unteer corps. The Viceroy replied that he 

 deemed it unadvisable to permit separate corps, 

 but that any natives understanding the English 

 language, and willing and able to perform the 

 duties of the position, who wished to be so en- 

 rolled, could be enrolled among the European 

 members of volunteer corps. 



The war with Afghanistan engaged public 

 attention above all other subjects during the 

 closing months of the year. The native prin- 

 ces quickly volunteered their assistance to the 

 Government. The Puttiala Council of Regen- 

 cy offered 2,000 fully equipped soldiers; the 

 Eajahs of Jhind and Nabher offered 1,000 men 

 each ; and the states of Bhawalpoor, Kapur- 

 thala, Maleer Kotta, Faridkote, Ohamba, and 

 Sirmoor were said to share in a spirit of loyal- 

 ty which appeared at the moment general and 

 universal in the Punjaub. An account of the 

 beginning of the war, up to the capture of Pei- 

 war Kotul by General Roberts on December 

 1st, has been given in the article AFGHANIS- 

 TAN. The answer of Shere AH to the ulti- 

 matum of the British Government was not 

 received at Dakka till the 30th of November, 

 although it was dated on the 19th. If good 

 will did not consist of good words alone, the 

 Ameer suggested, but really consisted of deeds, 

 then it had not been manifested by the various 

 wishes expressed and proposals made by Brit- 

 ish officers during the last few years to officers 

 of the Afghan Government proposals which, 

 from their nature, it was impossible for them 

 to comply with. " One of these referred to my 

 undutiful son the ill-starred wretch, Mahom- 

 med Yakoob Khan " and was contained in a 

 letter in which it was written that if Yakoob 

 Khan be released and set at liberty British 

 friendship with Afghanistan would be firmly 

 cemented, otherwise it would not. There 

 were other matters of a similar nature that 

 bore no evidence of good will, but were effec- 

 tive in increasing the aversion and apprehen- 

 sion already entertained by the Ameer's sub- 

 jects. The Ameer's officers, in repelling the 

 British embassy, were not influenced by any 

 hostile feelings toward the British Govern- 

 ment, nor did they intend that any insult or 

 affront should be offered ; but they were afraid 

 the independence of the government might be 

 affected by the arrival of the mission, and the 

 friendship which existed between the two gov- 

 ernments might be annihilated. These appre- 

 hensions were increased by the statement in 

 the letter of the Viceroy that the Ameer 

 would be held responsible for any injury that 

 might befall the tribes who acted as guides to 

 the mission. "Had these apprehensions 

 proved groundless, and had the object of the 

 mission been really friendly, and no force or 

 threats of violence used, the mission would, as 

 a matter of course, have been allowed free 



passage, as such missions are customary and of 

 frequent occurrence between allied states." 

 After again professing his desire to maintain 

 a continued friendship with the British Gov- 

 ernment, and reminding the British that " out 

 of respect and consideration for the greatness 

 and eminence of their own Government" they 

 should not consent to inflict injury upon their 

 well-disposed neighbors, the letter concluded 

 by stating that "if, in accordance with the 

 custom of allied states, the British Government 

 should desire to send a purely friendly and 

 temporary mission to this country, with a 

 small escort, not exceeding twenty or thirty 

 members, similar to that which attended the 

 Russian mission, this servant of God will not 

 oppose its progress." 



On the 7th of December General Roberts 

 sent forward a cavalry reconnoissance in the 

 direction of the Slmtargardan pass. It pushed 

 on to Rokean without meeting with any resis- 

 tance, and learned that the army from Peiwar 

 had fled without stopping across the Shutargar- 

 dan. General Roberts himself then pushed for- 

 ward, and was led by the guides up the Shutar- 

 gardan, where he saw no signs of the presence 

 of the enemy, but numerous dead horses and 

 camels which had been left behind by the Af- 

 ghans in their flight ; after which he returned 

 to Ali Kheyl without firing a shot. The country 

 was found friendly. General Biddulph, having 

 rested for some time at Pisheen, advanced to the 

 Khojuk Pass, of which he reported the occu- 

 pation without opposition, and announced on 

 December 15th that he had begun a road over 

 the pass without encountering difficulty. None 

 of the passes were occupied by hostile tribes 

 or troops, and the people were all friendly. 

 He was joined at this point on the 17th by 

 Lieutenant-General Stewart, his superior offi- 

 cer. On the 13th of December Major Oava- 

 gnari reported that notables and officials were 

 coming in from Jelalabad to offer service. 

 General Browne began his march to Jelalabad 

 on the 16th of December, and. proceeding 

 without serious opposition, reached that place 

 and occupied it on the 20th. He found the in- 

 habitants friendly, and was received by a depu- 

 tation of the notables. A revolution having 

 taken place at Cabool, Shere Ali fled, and 

 Yakoob Khan was proclaimed Ameer by the 

 chiefs of one of the great Afghan sections. 

 Shere Ali and his family were reported on the 

 24th to have passed the Russian frontier along 

 with the Russian embassy, on the way to Tash- 

 kend. In the last days of December General 

 Roberts called together the principal inhabi- 

 tants of the Kuram Valley at Peiwar and Ali 

 Kheyl, and informed them that the Ameer's 

 rule had passed away for ever, and that hence- 

 forth they must look to the Empress of India. 

 Major Cavagnari received a letter from Syad 

 Mahommed, chief of the Kunar Valley, an- 

 nouncing his intention of coming in. 



The advance on Candahar was begun on the 

 31st of December, when a large part of Gen- 



