Chapter XXIII: Appendix: IV (2)

“I saw some of these people, and asked them by way of
advice why they were disobeying the illustrious British
Government, and exposing themselves to slaughter and
loss. They said that their proceedings were undertaken
owing to the hopeless circumstances in which they were
involved, and they gave the particulars as stated below,
_i.e_., that during former years a firm promise was given,
on behalf of the illustrious British Government, to the
frontier tribesmen that they would always be exempted from
the restrictions of Government laws, and would remain
independent in their own country; that when they received
such orders from the great Government, they lived with
perfect assurance of mind, and never paid any taxes to any
one; that subsequently the frontier British officials,
disregarding the orders of the Government of India issued
to them (tribesmen), began to make roads in their country,
and subsequently asked them for revenue and inflicted
fines, &c., upon them and generally treated them in the
same way as the old inhabitants of India were treated.

“That the people inhabiting hilly tracts are generally
poor and possess no property; that they have, therefore,
exposed themselves to destruction, and they desire that
the frontier officials should act in accordance with the
promise which the Government of India had given them.

“I then asked them to produce any Government ‘Sanad’ in
support of their statements, and they produced several
printed notifications, declaring the independence of those
tribesmen, issued by the Exalted Government of India.

“As I have heard the above-mentioned particulars from some
of the said tribesmen, and as I saw the notifications also
which they had in their possession, I have communicated
the above as a piece of information to your Excellency.
Apparently the complaints of these people are against the
local frontier officers of India. It is possible that your
Excellency may have received similar accounts.

“Further, as to the closure of the Khyber road owing to the
instigations of the Mullahs and its remaining unprotected,
your Excellency has informed me about the causes which
have led to the discontinuance of the carriage through the
pass of merchandise, and especially of valuable goods and
warlike stores.

“I am aware that those independent tribesmen do plunder.
Thus, some time ago Sartip Muhammad Hosein, stationed at
Dakka, had entrusted to the charge of the escort party
(Khyber) some packages of raisins and raw goat-skins, but
some mischievous people carried off the above goods. There
was another kafila carrying about six lakhs of rupees,
belonging to merchants, which subsequently reached Dakka;
but the money was called back from Dakka.

“I have, therefore, arranged that any articles which may
be required to be despatched urgently should be sent by
Karachi and Kandahar, until the Khyber road is made safe
again.

“Your Excellency writes further about the story concocted
by designing persons that the troops assembled at Peshawar
were intended for an attack on Kabul, and that the
Government of India will honourably adhere to its promise
of supporting my Government. My dear friend, many men with
interested motives and foolish prattle are to be found
everywhere, and they say whatever comes to their silly
thoughts. No importance has ever been attached to the
foolish statements of such persons who only look to the
surface, and who seek to create mischief.

“Peshawar is a country which is in the possession of the
British Government, who are free to adopt any arrangements
and measures which they may like in it. In this way both
our Governments have authority to adopt measures which they
consider it necessary to take in their own territories.
Further, up to the present, no such thing has occurred
as should lead to the entertainment of such unnecessary
thoughts. Supposing such a thing were to occur, the first
step would be to ask for the cause of it from the side
where it should occur.

“If the matter were such as to require an exchange of
correspondence, correspondence would no doubt take place,
so that the cause of it might come to light. Otherwise,
why should ear be given to the foolish talk of interested
persons?

“In the same way that your Excellency has written, so
long as the British Government retain sentiments of good
friendship and union in regard to friendship and alliance
with the God-granted Government, please God, I will,
with full confidence, adhere to the friendship of the
illustrious British Government in accordance with the terms
of the agreement.

“As regards the camels which the Waziri thieves stole
from the troops in Dawar, and brought to Khost where they
sold them to the inhabitants, I have to state that Sirdar
Sherindil Khan has ordered the owners of the camels to keep
them safe. If your Excellency considers it necessary that
the camels should be taken back from them, then, as the
inhabitants of Khost have bought the camels from the Waziri
thieves, the price current in the country should be given
to them and the camels taken back, so that the people of
Khost may not suffer loss.”

_From_ HIS EXCELLENCY THE VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA
_to_ HIS HIGHNESS THE AMIR OF AFGHANISTAN, G.C.B., G.C.S.I.,
_dated Simla, September 6, 1897_.

(After compliments.)

“I have already, in my letter to your Highness of the 30th
August, acknowledged your Highness’s letter of the 18th
Rabi-ul-Awal, 1315 H., corresponding to the 18th August
1897, to the Commissioner of Peshawar, in which your
Highness has denied any complicity with the disturbances
on the frontier of India. I have now to acknowledge the
receipt of your Highness’s further friendly letter on
the same subject, dated the 19th Rabi-ul-Awal, 1315 H.,
corresponding to the 19th August 1897, which was sent by
way of Quetta in Baluchistan.

“With this letter, your Highness has sent me a copy of the
proclamation issued by the Mullah of Adda to the people
of Ningrahar. I thank your Highness for taking so much
trouble to send me this information. I had already seen
this proclamation, and I was informed that the person from
whom my copy was obtained had himself received the Mullah’s
proclamation from your Highness’s Sartip of Dakka.

“I cordially agree with what your Highness writes that ‘the
false utterances and fabricated reports of self-interested
persons’ should be investigated in a friendly manner, and
with a view to forestalling any such report which might be
made to your Highness, I write this letter to inform you
that my troops are about to enter the Mohmand country in
order to search out the Mullah of Adda and his lashkar, and
to disperse and destroy them. In the letter written by your
Highness on the 18th Rabi-ul-Awal to the commissioner of
Peshawar, your Highness has stated that Mullah Najm-ud-din
‘has now taken up his abode in a country which is
independent of Kabul and in the neighbourhood of Peshawar.’

“Your Highness has also written, ‘what more can I add in
this matter to the foregoing arguments, having regard
to the proximity to you of these Mullahs who are close
to your country and have now, according to the boundary
demarcation, fallen within the limits of the British
Government.’

“It is, no doubt, true that the Mullah has committed
hostile acts within the territory which it has been
agreed falls within the limits of the British Government,
and if my troops meet him there his punishment will be
speedily accomplished. But I am informed that the Mullah
has established his abode in the village of Jarobi, and
though, as your Highness is aware, the country is wild and
unsurveyed, and no permanent boundary pillars have been
erected, it is understood that this village probably lies
within the territory which, according to the arrangement
proposed in my letter of the 12th November 1896, would
fall within the limits of Afghanistan. Your Highness
will agree with me that this man, who has given so much
trouble to your Highness’s Government as well as to the
British Government, must not escape the punishment for his
misdeeds, and if the Mullah retires before my troops to
Jarobi, or to any place similarly situated, my troops will
be authorised to follow him up and destroy him and his
habitation. I do not wish your Highness to regard any such
action on the part of my troops as indicating an intention
to vary or depart from what we have agreed upon as the
dividing-line in the Mohmand country. I have no intention
that my troops should stay in that country, and they will
certainly not go further into it than is necessary in
order to carry out the object with which they are being
despatched. On the other hand, if the Mullah should take
flight across the mountains into the Kunar Valley, my
troops have orders not to follow him beyond the watershed,
but I shall look to your Highness to give orders to your
officers to deal with him as he deserves, and to restrain
him from exciting the foolish tribesmen to further acts of
hostility.

“I have always endeavoured in my correspondence with
your Highness to write frankly and openly so that
misunderstandings may be avoided. Your Highness will, I
hope, recognise that this is my object on this occasion.”

_From the_ AMIR OF AFGHANISTAN _to the address of_ HIS EXCELLENCY
THE VICEROY, _dated September 12, 1897_.

(After compliments.)

“I beg to inform your Excellency that I have received
your friendly letter of the 6th instant. The Mullah will
not come to this country of mine, because he has acted
wrongly, and, should he still come, I will expel him from
my country, so that he may go towards Arabia, because he is
a very wicked person. Your Excellency’s troops, however,
should not advance too far (_lit._ should not make a great
advance), lest some confusion arise within the limits of
Kunar or among the troops which are in Kunar. The Mullah
is a great knave. He should not be allowed to (_lit._ let
it not be that he might) excite the people and troops of
Ningrahar. Precaution is necessary, so that the Army of the
Sublime Government may not raise commotion and tumult in
the neighbourhood, and the Mullah excite the people and be
the source of disturbances.

“As regards the remaining portion of the undemarcated
boundary of that district, your Excellency states that
Jarobi is possibly within Afghan limits. As up to this time
no decision has been come to in regard to those places, it
will, undoubtedly, be as your Excellency has written.”

_From_ HIS EXCELLENCY THE VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA
_to_ HIS HIGHNESS THE AMIR OF AFGHANISTAN, G.C.B., G.C.S.I.,
_dated Simla, October 7, 1897_.

(After compliments.)

“Your Highness has probably already heard of the result of
the advance of my troops against the Adda Mullah, which
in my letter of the 6th September 1897, corresponding
to the 8th Rabi-us-Sani, 1315 H., I told your Highness
was about to be undertaken. The Mullah’s gathering has
been dispersed: my troops followed him to his home at
Jarobi, but he had already fled across the boundary into
your Highness’s territory, and, in accordance with my
promise, my troops did not pursue him further. It is now
for your Highness to fulfil the part which your Highness
in your letter of the 12th September 1897, announced the
intention of taking, in the event of the Mullah entering
Afghanistan. I look to your Highness to prevent him from
concocting further mischief from Afghan territory.

“As an instance of the mischief which the Adda Mullah has
been guilty of, I enclose in original a letter, dated
the 2nd September 1897, from Najm-ud-din to the Mian
Guls of Swat. The Mullah writes: ‘I had written to his
Highness the Amir, Zia-ul-millat-wad-din, on the subject
of jehad. His Highness replied that we should wait: that
his Highness would consult all the military officers,
Khans and Maliks of his Highness’s territory and then
write again in reply, telling me the arrangements and
preparations for jehad.’

“Further on, he adds: ‘Please God, his Highness the
Amir will make arrangements for the jehad and issue a
notification to that effect.’

“In this way, Najm-ud-din has tried to make mischief
between your Highness and the Government of India, and it
is not to be wondered at if, under such circumstances,
people believe that they will not incur your Highness’s
displeasure by acting in a hostile manner towards the
British Government.

“In my letter of the 30th August 1897, equivalent to the
1st Rabi-us-Sani, 1315 H., I informed your Highness of
the misdeeds of the Afridis, and of my intention to deal
with them in a manner to make clear the supremacy of the
British Government.

“I now have the honour to inform your Highness that a
punitive force under the command of General Sir William
Lockhart, K.C.B., K.C.S.I., will shortly start to march
through the country of the Orakzais and Afridis, and to
compel both tribes to submit to such terms as I decide to
impose upon them.

“I have received a letter from my Agent at Kabul,
enclosing copy of one sent to him by your Highness on
the 25th Rabi-us-Sani, 1315 H., corresponding to the
23rd September 1897. From this letter I learn that your
Highness has refused to receive or encourage, and has
turned back, the Afridis whose representatives were
on their way to Kabul. I thank your Highness for this
friendly act, which is exactly in accordance with what I
had proposed to ask your Highness to do.

“It is probable that, when the British troops advance, the
tribesmen will follow the example of the Adda Mullah’s
lashkar, and take flight into Afghan territory. I have,
indeed, been informed that they are already sending their
women and property into Ningrahar.

“Your Highness is aware that in December 1895 and in May
last I caused the Kaffir refugees to be disarmed, and took
measures to prevent their causing your Highness annoyance.

“I now ask your Highness to take similar action in regard
to the Orakzais and Afridis, by ordering your local
officers to disarm those who enter your limits and to
prevent them from making Afghan territory a base for
attacks upon my forces.”

From HIS HIGHNESS THE AMIR OF AFGHANISTAN _and its Dependencies
to the address of_ HIS EXCELLENCY THE VICEROY, _dated the 16th
Jamadi-ul-Awal, 1315 H., corresponding to the 13th October 1897
(received on October 20, 1897)_.

(After compliments.)

“I have received your Excellency’s friendly letter, dated
the 7th October 1897, enclosing a letter from Mullah
Najm-ud-din, the Fakir of Hadda, to the Mian Guls, which I
have perused. I have also understood the contents of your
Excellency’s letter.

“As to the escape of Mullah Hadda from his house before
the British troops reached it, and as to my promise that
I would turn him out from this side of the boundary if
he should enter my territory, I have now to inform your
Excellency that I have issued orders to search for the
said Mullah by day and night in view to arrest him. The
news-reporters appointed for the purpose report that the
Mullah has concealed himself and is secretly moving about.
I have also ordered that his whereabouts should be found
out and a report made. Please God, the said Mullah’s
mischief will be stopped, if he be within the limits of my
territory; but if this mischievous man move about in tracts
which have not been divided yet between the British and
Afghan Governments, the British officials should instruct
the Maliks of such tracts to make arrangements about the
said mischievous man. This man does not pass a single night
at one place. He is in motion like mercury: during night he
is at one place, and during day at another. Such are the
reports made by news-reporters. Notwithstanding this, I am
engaged in endeavouring to arrest him. Your Excellency may
rest assured that, if I succeed in arresting him, I will
turn him out from my territory.

“I have perused the letter which Mullah Najm-ud-din wrote
to the Mian Guls of Swat, and which your Excellency sent to
me. I write to say that whatever the Mullah has written,
he has done so with the object of deceiving the tribesmen.
His object is to excite people to rebel. Some years ago he
became hostile towards me, and excited all his disciples
to rise against me, and made them fight with my troops.
Now in this way he is making the distant people fight with
the British Government. He is mischievous; he says what is
advisable and beneficial in his own interests. If I had
given him the said promise, he was not distant from my
country, and at the outside my troops at Jelalabad were
only two stages away from his residence. Your Excellency
can see from the date of his letter what a lie he has
told. Liars tell lies, but wise persons should distinguish
(between truth and falsehood). I have known these Mullahs
well for years. They are like the priests of the time of
Peter the Great, who created great mischief in Russia.
These Mullahs pretend before the people that Paradise and
Hell are within their power and authority.

“I have understood what your Excellency kindly wrote
for my information about sending British troops for the
chastisement of the Orakzais and Afridis. I have also
learnt about the decision which the high officials of the
British Government have come to in regard to punishing the
said tribesmen and bringing them to obedience.

“I have further understood what your Excellency wrote
about the report which Maulavi Ghafur Khan made to your
Excellency regarding the arrival of the Afridi jirga at
Jelalabad, and my sending them back to their country from
that place; and your Excellency expressing thanks to me for
my action. As the people are seeking their own interests,
their statements cannot be relied upon.

“Your Excellency writes that, if at the time of the
British troops advancing against the Orakzais and Afridis
these tribesmen, being obliged to flee, should enter my
territory, they should be disarmed and prevented from
making any attack on British territory. My dear friend, I
will not, please God, to the best of my power, allow my
subjects to join the tribesmen who have rebelled, in view
to help them in their fights. But when they bring their
families to the houses of their own relatives I will take
no notice of the circumstance, because these people are
mutually related to one another. They have given thousands
of their daughters in marriage to one another. If I were
to prohibit this mutual intercourse and prevent them from
bringing their families to Jelalabad, the tribesmen would
become hostile to me, in the same way that they have become
hostile to the British Government. Their hostility to the
British Government cannot be of much account, because
the British Government is a Great Government. They have
appointed troops for their punishment, composed of English
soldiers, Sikhs, and Hindus. But all my troops consist of
these tribesmen. They will never agree to the destruction
of their own kith and kin; and they will again, under the
orders of the mischievous Mullahs, issue improper edicts
against me.

“It would be better if peace be made between the Tirah
people, Afridis and Orakzais, and the British Government.
But if not, and fight ensues, and these tribesmen should
flee and come to the district of Ningrahar, your Excellency
may rest assured that they will not be able any more
to attack or interfere with your Excellency’s country;
and until they have consented to become subjects of the
illustrious British Government, I will never allow them to
make any interference with British territory. But if they
continue to remain in their own mountains, they will be
beyond my power and control. If they come to my country,
like Umra Khan, they will not behave improperly, and I will
not allow them to do so.

_Treaty signed at Kabul on March 21, 1905, between_ MR.
(_afterwards_ SIR) LOUIS DANE, C.S.I., _and_ HABIB ULLAH, AMIR
OF AFGHANISTAN.

(After compliments.)

His Majesty Siraj-ul-millat-wa-ud-din Amir Habib Ulla
Khan, Independent King of the State of Afghanistan and
its dependencies, on the one part, and the Honourable Mr.
Louis William Dane, C.S.I., Foreign Secretary of the Mighty
Government of India and Representative of the Exalted
British Government, on the other part.

His said Majesty does hereby agree to this, that in the
principles and in the matters of subsidiary importance of
the Treaty regarding internal and external affairs, and
of the engagements which his Highness, my late father,
that is, Kia-ul-millat-wa-ud-din, who has found mercy, may
God enlighten his tomb! concluded and acted upon with the
Exalted British Government, I also have acted, am acting,
and will act upon the same agreement and compact, and I
will not contravene them in any dealing or in any promise.

The said Honourable Mr. Louis William Dane does
hereby agree to this, that as to the very agreement
and engagement which the Exalted British Government
concluded and acted upon with the noble father of his
Majesty Siraj-ul-millat-wa-ud-din, that is, his Highness
Zia-ul-millat-wa-ud-din, who has found mercy, regarding
internal and external affairs and matters of principle or
of subsidiary importance, I confirm them and write that
they (the British Government) will not act contrary to
those agreements and engagements in any way or at any time.

Made on Tuesday, the fourteenth day of Muharram-ul-haram
of the year thirteen hundred and twenty-three Hijri,
corresponding to the twenty-first day of March of the year
nineteen hundred and five A.D.

AMIR HABIB ULLA.
LOUIS W. DANE.

_Circular Despatch addressed by_ PRINCE GORTCHAKOW _to Russian
Representatives abroad: dated November 21, 1864_.

ST. PETERSBURG,
_November 21, 1864_.

The Russian newspapers have given an account of the last
military operations executed by a detachment of our troops,
in the regions of Central Asia, with remarkable success and
important results. It was to be foreseen that these events
would the more attract the attention of the foreign public
that their scene was laid in scarcely known countries.

Our august Master has commanded me to state to you briefly,
but with clearness and precision, the position in which we
find ourselves in Central Asia, the interests which inspire
us in those countries, and the end which we have in view.

The position of Russia in Central Asia is that of all
civilised States which are brought into contact with
half-savage, nomad populations, possessing no fixed social
organisation.

In such cases it always happens that the more civilised
State is forced, in the interest of the security of its
frontier and its commercial relations, to exercise a
certain ascendency over those whom their turbulent and
unsettled character make most undesirable neighbours.

First, there are raids and acts of pillage to be put down.
To put a stop to them, the tribes on the frontier have to
be reduced to a state of more or less perfect submission.
This result once attained, these tribes take to more
peaceful habits, but are in their turn exposed to the
attacks of the more distant tribes.

The State is bound to defend them against these
depredations, and to punish those who commit them. Hence
the necessity of distant, costly, and periodically
recurring expeditions against an enemy whom his social
organisation makes it impossible to seize. If, the robbers
once punished, the expedition is withdrawn, the lesson is
soon forgotten; its withdrawal is put down to weakness. It
is a peculiarity of Asiatics to respect nothing but visible
and palpable force: the moral force of reason and of the
interests of civilisation has as yet no hold upon them.
The work has then always to be done over again from the
beginning.

In order to put a stop to this state of permanent disorder,
fortified posts are established in the midst of these
hostile tribes, and an influence is brought to bear upon
them which reduces them by degrees to a state of more
or less forced submission. But soon beyond this second
line other still more distant tribes come in their turn
to threaten the same dangers and necessitate the same
measures of repression. The State thus finds itself forced
to choose one of two alternatives, either to give up this
endless labour and to abandon its frontier to perpetual
disturbance, rendering all prosperity, all security, all
civilisation an impossibility, or, on the other hand, to
plunge deeper and deeper into barbarous countries, where
the difficulties and expenses increase with every step in
advance.

Such has been the fate of every country which has found
itself in a similar position. The United States in America,
France in Algeria, Holland in her colonies, England in
India--all have been irresistibly forced, less by ambition
than by imperious necessity, into this onward march, where
the greatest difficulty is to know when to stop.

Such, too, have been the reasons which have led the
Imperial Government to take up at first a position resting
on one side on the Syr Daria, on the other on the Lake
Issik-Kul, and to strengthen these two lines by advanced
forts, which, little by little, have crept on into
the heart of those distant regions, without, however,
succeeding in establishing on the other side of our
frontiers that tranquillity which is indispensable for
their security.

The explanation of this unsettled state of things is to
be found, first, in the fact that, between the extreme
points of this double line, there is an immense unoccupied
space, where all attempts at colonisation or caravan trade
are paralysed by the inroads of the robber-tribes; and,
in the second place, in the perpetual fluctuations of the
political condition of those countries, where Turkestan and
Khokand, sometimes united, sometimes at variance, always at
war, either with one another or with Bokhara, presented no
chance of settled relations or of any regular transactions
whatever.

The Imperial Government thus found itself, in spite of all
its efforts, in the dilemma we have above alluded to, that
is to say, compelled either to permit the continuance of
a state of permanent disorder, paralysing to all security
and progress, or to condemn itself to costly and distant
expeditions, leading to no practical result, and with the
work always to be done anew; or, lastly, to enter upon
the undefined path of conquest and annexation which has
given to England the empire of India, by attempting the
subjugation by armed force, one after another, of the small
independent states whose habits of pillage and turbulence
and whose perpetual revolts leave their neighbours neither
peace nor repose.

Neither of these alternative courses was in accordance with
the object of our august Master’s policy, which consists,
not in extending beyond all reasonable bounds the regions
under his sceptre, but in giving a solid basis to his rule,
in guaranteeing their security, and in developing their
social organisation, their commerce, their wellbeing, and
their civilisation.

Our task was, therefore, to discover a system adapted to
the attainment of this threefold object.

The following principles have, in consequence, been laid
down:

(1) It has been judged to be indispensable that our two
fortified frontier lines--one extending from China to
the lake Issik-Kul, the other from the Sea of Aral
along the Syr-Daria--should be united by fortified
points, so that all our posts should be in a position
of mutual support, leaving no gap through which the
nomad tribes might make with impunity their inroads
and depredations.

(2) It was essential that the line of our advanced forts
thus completed should be situated in a country fertile
enough, not only to insure their supplies, but also
to facilitate the regular colonisation, which alone
can prepare a future of stability and prosperity for
the occupied country, by gaining over the neighbouring
populations to civilised life.

(3) And lastly. It was urgent to lay down this line
definitely, so as to escape the danger of being
carried away, as is almost inevitable, by a series of
repressive measures and reprisals, into an unlimited
extension of territory.

To attain this end a system had to be established which
should depend not only on reason, which may be elastic, but
on geographical and political conditions, which are fixed
and permanent.

This system was suggested to us by a very simple fact, the
result of long experience, namely, that the nomad tribes,
which can neither be seized nor punished, nor effectually
kept in order, are our most inconvenient neighbours; while,
on the other hand, agricultural and commercial populations
attached to the soil, and possessing a more advanced social
organisation, offer us every chance of gaining neighbours
with whom there is a possibility of entering into relations.

Consequently, our frontier line ought to swallow up the
former and stop short at the limit of the latter.

These three principles supply a clear, natural, and logical
explanation of our last military operations in Central Asia.
In fact our original frontier line, extending along the
Syr-Daria to Fort Perovski on one side, and on the other to
the Lake Issik-Kul, had the drawback of being almost on the
verge of the desert. It was broken by a wide gap between the
two extreme points; it did not offer sufficient resources to
our troops, and left unsettled tribes over the border with
which any settled arrangement became impossible.

In spite of our unwillingness to extend our frontier, these
motives had been powerful enough to induce the Imperial
Government to establish this line between Lake Issik-Kul and
the Syr-Daria by fortifying the town of Chimkent, lately
occupied by us. By the adoption of this line we obtain a
double result. In the first place, the country it takes in
is fertile, well wooded, and watered by numerous
watercourses; it is partly inhabited by various Kirghiz
tribes, which have already accepted our rule; it
consequently offers favourable conditions for colonisation
and the supply of provisions to our garrisons. In the second
place, it puts us in the immediate neighbourhood of the
agricultural and commercial populations of Khokand. We find
ourselves in presence of a more solid and compact, less
unsettled, and better organised social state; fixing for us
with geographical precision the limit up to which we are
bound to advance, and at which we must halt; because, while,
on the one hand, any further extension of our rule, meeting,
as it would, no longer with unstable communities, such as
the nomad tribes, but with more regularly constituted
states, would entail considerable exertions, and would draw
us on from annexation to annexation with unforeseen
complications. On the other, with such states for our future
neighbours, their backward civilisation and the instability
of their political condition do not shut us out from the
hope that the day may come when regular relations may, to
the advantage of both parties, take the place of the
permanent troubles which have up to the present moment
paralysed all progress in those countries.

Such, Sir, are the interests which inspire the policy of our
august Master in Central Asia; such is the object, by his
Imperial Majesty’s orders, of the action of his Cabinet.

You are requested to take these arguments as your guide in
any explanations you may give to the Government to which you
are accredited, in case questions are asked or you may see
credence given to erroneous ideas as to our action in these
distant parts.

It is needless for me to lay stress upon the interest, which
Russia evidently has, not to increase her territory, and,
above all, to avoid raising complications on her frontiers
which can but delay and paralyse her domestic development.

The programme which I have just traced is in accordance with
these views.

Very frequently of late years the civilisation of these
countries, which are her neighbours on the continent of
Asia, has been assigned to Russia as her special mission.

No agent has been found more apt for the progress of
civilisation than commercial relations. Their development
requires everywhere order and stability; but in Asia it
demands a complete transformation of the habits of the
people. The first thing to be taught to the populations of
Asia is that they will gain more in favouring and protecting
the caravan trade than in robbing it. These elementary ideas
can only be accepted by the public where one exists; that is
to say, where there is some organised form of society and a
government to direct and represent it.

We are accomplishing the first part of our task in carrying
our frontier to the limit where the indispensable conditions
are to be found.

The second we shall accomplish in making every effort
henceforward to prove to our neighbouring states, by a
system of firmness in the repression of their misdeeds,
combined with moderation and justice in the use of our
strength, and respect for their independence, that Russia is
not their enemy, that she entertains towards them no ideas
of conquest, and that peaceful and commercial relations with
her are more profitable than disorder, pillage, reprisals,
and a permanent state of war.

The Imperial Cabinet, in assuming this task, takes as its
guide the interests of Russia. But it believes that, at the
same time, it is promoting the interests of humanity and
civilisation. It has a right to expect that the line of
conduct it pursues and the principles which guide it will
meet with a just and candid appreciation.

(Signed) GORTCHAKOW.

TREATY BETWEEN RUSSIA AND BOKHARA (1873)

Concluded between GENERAL AIDE-DE-CAMP KAUFFMAN, GOVERNOR-GENERAL
OF TURKESTAN, and SEID MOZAFFUR, AMIR OF BOKHARA.

(1) The frontier between the dominions of his Imperial
Majesty the Emperor of All the Russias and his Highness the
Amir of Bokhara remains unchanged.

The Khivan territory on the right bank of the Amu Daria
having been incorporated in the Russian Empire, the former
frontier between Khiva and Bokhara, from the oasis of
Khelata to Gugertli, is abolished. The territory between
the former Bokharo-Khivan frontier on the right bank of the
Amu Daria from Gugertli to Meschekli, and from Meschekli to
the point of junction of the former Bokharo-Khivan frontier
with the frontier of the Russian Empire, is incorporated in
the dominions of the Amir of Bokhara.

(2) The right bank of the Amu Daria being severed from the
Khanate of Khiva, the caravan routes leading north from
Bokhara into the Russian dominions traverse exclusively
the territories of Bokhara and Russia. The Governments of
Russia and Bokhara, each within its own territory, shall
watch over the safety of these caravan routes and of the
trade thereupon.

(3) Russian steamers, and other Russian vessels, whether
belonging to the Government or to private individuals,
shall have the right of free navigation on that portion of
the Amu Daria which belongs to the Amir of Bokhara.

(4) The Russians shall have the right to establish piers
and warehouses in such places upon the Bokharan banks of
the Amu Daria as may be judged necessary and convenient for
that purpose. The Bokharan Government shall be responsible
for the safety of these erections. The final and definite
selection of localities shall rest with the supreme Russian
authorities in Central Asia.

(5) All the towns and villages of the Khanate of Bokhara
shall be open to Russian trade. Russian traders and
caravans shall have free passage throughout the Khanate,
and shall enjoy the special protection of the local
authorities. The Bokharan Government shall be responsible
for the safety of Russian caravans on Bokharan territory.

(6) All merchandise belonging to Russian traders, whether
imported from Russia to Bokhara or exported from Bokhara to
Russia, shall be subject to an _ad valorem_ duty of 2½ per
cent., in the same manner as an _ad valorem_ duty of ⅟40 is
charged in the Russian province of Turkestan. No other tax,
duty, or impost whatsoever shall be imposed thereupon.

(7) Russian traders shall have the right to transport their
merchandise through Bokhara free of transit dues.

(8) Russian traders shall have the right to establish
caravanserais for the storage of merchandise in all
Bokharan towns. The same right is accorded to Bokharan
traders in the towns of the Russian province of Turkestan.

(9) Russian traders shall have the right to keep commercial
agents in all the towns of Bokhara, in order to watch
over the progress of trade and the levying of duties, and
to enter into communications with the local authorities
thereupon. The same right is accorded to Bokharan traders
in the towns of the Russian province of Turkestan.

(10) All commercial engagements between Russians and
Bokharans shall be held sacred, and shall be faithfully
carried out by both parties. The Bokharan Government shall
undertake to keep watch over the honest fulfilment of all
such engagements, and over the fair and honourable conduct
of commercial affairs in general.

(11) Russian subjects shall have the right, in common
with the subjects of Bokhara, to carry on all branches of
industry and handicraft on Bokharan territory that are
sanctioned by the law of Sharigat. Bokharan subjects shall
have a similar right to practise all such occupations on
Russian territory as are sanctioned by the law of Russia.

(12) Russian subjects shall have the right to acquire
gardens, cultivate lands, and own every species of real
property in the Khanate. Such property shall be subject
to the same land tax as Bokharan property. The same
right shall be enjoyed by Bokharan subjects in the whole
territory of the Russian Empire.

(13) Russian subjects shall have the right to enter
Bokharan territory when furnished with permits, signed by
the Russian authorities. They shall have the right of free
passage throughout the Khanate, and shall enjoy the special
protection of the Bokharan authorities.

(14) The Bokharan Government shall not in any case admit
on to Bokharan territory any foreigners, of whatever
nationality, arriving from Russian territory, unless they
be furnished with special permits signed by the Russian
authorities. If a criminal, being a Russian subject, takes
refuge on Bokharan territory, he shall be arrested by the
Bokharan authorities and delivered over to the nearest
Russian authorities.

(15) In order to maintain direct and uninterrupted
relations with the supreme Russian authorities in Central
Asia, the Amir of Bokhara shall appoint one of his intimate
counsellors to be his resident envoy and plenipotentiary at
Tashkent. Such envoy shall reside at Tashkent in a house
belonging to the Amir and at the expense of the latter.

(16) The Russian Government shall in like manner have the
right to appoint a permanent representative at Bokhara,
attached to the person of his Highness the Amir. He shall
reside in a house belonging to the Russian Government and
at the expense of the latter.

(17) In conformity with the desire of the Emperor of All
the Russias, and in order to enhance the glory of his
Imperial Majesty, his Highness the Amir Seid Mozaffur
has determined as follows: The traffic in human beings,
being contrary to the law which commands man to love his
neighbour, is abolished for ever in the territory of
Bokhara. In accordance with this resolve, the strictest
injunctions shall immediately be given by the Amir to all
his Begs to enforce the new law and special orders shall be
sent to all the frontier towns of Bokhara to which slaves
are brought for sale from neighbouring countries, that
should any such slave be brought thither, they shall be
taken from their owners and shall be set at liberty without
loss of time.

(18) His Highness the Amir Seid Mozaffur, being sincerely
desirous of strengthening and developing the amicable
relations which have subsisted for five years to the
benefit of Bokhara, approves and accepts for his guidance
the above seventeen articles composing a treaty of
friendship between Russia and Bokhara. This treaty shall
consist of two copies, each copy being written in the two
languages, in the Russian and in the Turki language.

In token of the confirmation of this treaty and of
its acceptance for the guidance of himself and of his
successors, the Amir Seid Mozaffur has affixed thereto his
seal. Done at Shaar on the 10th day of October 1873, being
the 19th day of the month Shayban of the year 1290.

_Translations of letters_[46] _from_ ADJUTANT-GENERAL VON KAUFFMAN,
GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF TURKESTAN, _to the_ AMIR OF AFGHANISTAN.

TASHKENT, _June 1878_.

_To the_ AMIR OF THE WHOLE OF AFGHANISTAN, SHIR ALI KHAN.

“Be it known to you that our relations with the British
Government are of great importance to Afghanistan and its
dependencies. As I am unable to see you, I have deputed
my trustworthy (official) General Stolietoff to you. The
General is an old friend of mine, and during the late
Russo-Turkish war earned the favour of the Emperor by
his spirit and bravery. He has become well known to the
Emperor. This trustworthy person will communicate to you
what he thinks best. I hope you will pay attention to what
he says, and repose as much confidence in his words as if
they were my own; and that you will give your answer in
this matter through him. In the meantime, be it known to
you that if a friendly treaty will be of benefit to us, it
will be of far greater benefit to yourself.”

_Received through_ GENERAL STOLIETOFF, _August 9, 1878_.

“Be it known to you that in these days the relations
between the British Government and ours with regard to
your kingdom require deep consideration. As I am unable to
communicate my opinion verbally to you, I have deputed my
agent, Major-General Stolietoff. This gentleman is a near
friend of mine, and performed excellent services in the
late Russo-Turkish war, by which he earned favour of the
Emperor. The Emperor has always had a regard for him. He
will inform you of all that is hidden in my mind. I hope
you will pay great attention to what he says, and believe
him as you would myself, and, after due consideration, you
will give him your reply. Meanwhile, be it known to you
that your union and friendship with the Russian Government
will be beneficial to the latter, and still more so to
you. The advantages of a close alliance with the Russian
Government will be permanently evident.”

GENERAL STOLIETOFF sent the following letter, on his return to Tashkent from Kabul, to the Foreign Minister, WAZIR SHAH MAHOMMED KHAN, dated September 21, 1878:

“Thank God, I reached Tashkent safely, and at an auspicious
moment paid my respect to the Viceroy (Yaroni Padishah
means ‘half king’). I am trying day and night to gain our
objects, and hope I shall be successful. I am starting to
see the Emperor to-day, in order to inform his Majesty
personally of our affairs. If God pleases, everything that
is necessary will be done and affirmed. _I hope that those
who want to enter the gate of Kabul from the east will
see that the door is closed; then, please God, they will
tremble._ I hope you will give my respects to his Highness
the Amir. May God make his life long and increase his
wealth! May you remain in good health, and know that the
protection of God will arrange our affairs!

“(Signed) GENERAL STOLIETOFF.”

_From_ GENERAL VON KAUFFMAN _to the_ AMIR OF AFGHANISTAN,
_dated Tashkent, October 22, 1878_.

“Be it known to you that your letter, dated 12th Shawal,
reached me at Tashkent on the 16th October, _i.e._, 3rd
Zekada, and I understood its contents. I have telegraphed
an abstract of your letter to the address of the Emperor,
and have sent the letter itself, as also that addressed to
General Stolietoff, by post to Livadia, where the Emperor
now is. I am informed on good authority that the English
want to come to terms with you; and, as a friend, I advise
you to make peace with them if they offer it.”

_From_ GENERAL STOLIETOFF _to_ WAZIR SHAH MAHOMMED KHAN,
_dated October 8, 1878_.

“First of all, I hope you will be kind enough to give
my respects to the Amir. May God make his life long and
increase his wealth! I shall always remember his royal
hospitality. I am busy day and night in his affairs, and,
thank God, my labours have not been without result.
The great Emperor is a true friend of the Amir’s and of
Afghanistan, and his Majesty will do whatever he may think
necessary. Of course, you have not forgotten what I told
you, that the affairs of kingdoms are like a country which
has many mountains, valleys, and rivers. One who sits on a
high mountain can see things well. By the power and order
of God, there is no empire equal to that of our great
Emperor. May God make his life long! Therefore, whatever
our Government advises you, you should give ear to it. I
tell you the truth that our Government is wise as a serpent
and harmless as a dove. There are many things which you
cannot understand, but our Government understands them
well. It often happens that a thing which is unpleasant at
first is regarded as a blessing afterwards. Now, my kind
friend, I inform you that the enemy of your famous religion
wants to make peace with you through the Kaisar (Sultan)
of Turkey. Therefore, you should look to your brothers who
live on the other side of the river. If God stirs them up,
and gives the sword of fight into their hands, then go on
in the name of God (Bismilla), otherwise you should be as a
serpent; make peace openly, and in secret prepare for war,
and when God reveals His order to you, declare yourself. It
will be well, when the Envoy of your enemy wants to enter
the country, if you send an able emissary, possessing the
tongue of a serpent and full of deceit, to the enemy’s
country, so that he may with sweet words perplex the
enemy’s mind, and induce him to give up the intention of
fighting with you.

“My kind friend, I entrust you to the protection of God.
May God be the protector of the Amir’s kingdom, and may
trembling fall upon the limbs of your enemies! Amen.

“Write to me soon, and send the letter to the capital.
Please write in Arabic characters, so that I may be able to
read your letter.”

_From_ GENERAL VON KAUFFMAN _to the_ AMIR OF AFGHANISTAN,
_dated November 26, 1878_.

“I was much pleased to receive your letter, dated 24th
Zekada, 1295 (November 18, 1878), and to hear of your good
health. I have also received a copy of the letter which
you sent to the Governor-General. May God be pleased with
you. The British Ministers have given a pledge to our
Ambassador in London that they will not interfere with the
independence of Afghanistan. I am directed by his Majesty
the Emperor to communicate this news to you, and then,
after forming friendship, to go to his Majesty. I intend
to go to the Russian capital after I have arranged the
affairs of this country (Turkestan). As I do not consider
it advisable to keep your trusted officials, whom you are
in want of, here any more, I send Mahommed Hassan Khan,
Kamuah (Deputy-Governor), and Gholam Haidar Khan, with
two officers, back to you. I hope you will consider me a
well-wisher of your kingdom, and write to me now and then.
I have given instructions that, until my return, every
letter of yours which they receive at Turkestan should be
forwarded to the capital. Your good fortune is a cause
of happiness to me, and if any troubles come upon you, I
also shall be grieved. Some presents have been sent by me
through Mirza Mahommed Hassan, Kamuah; perhaps they may be
accepted.”

_Translation of a letter from_ GENERAL VON KAUFFMAN _to_ GENERAL
VOZGONOFF, _dated December, 1878._

“The Amir knows perfectly well that it is impossible for
me to assist him with troops in winter. Therefore, it
is necessary that war should not be commenced at this
unseasonable time. If the English, in spite of the Amir’s
exertions to avoid the war, commence it, you must then take
leave of the Amir and start for Tashkent, because your
presence in Afghanistan in winter is useless. Moreover, at
such a juncture as the commencement of war in Afghanistan,
you ought to come here and explain the whole thing to me,
so that I may communicate it to the Emperor. This will be
of great benefit to Afghanistan and to Russia.”

_From_ GENERAL VON KAUFFMAN _to the_ AMIR OF AFGHANISTAN,
_dated December 25, 1878_.

“Your letter, dated 27th Zel Hijja (November 20, 1878),
has reached me. I was pleased to hear tidings of your good
health. The Emperor has caused the British Government
to agree to the continuance of Afghan independence. The
English Ministers have promised this. I earnestly request
you not to leave your kingdom. As far as possible, consider
your own interests, and do not lose your independence. For
the present come to terms with the British Government. If
you do not want to go back to Kabul for this purpose, you
can write to your son, Mahommed Yakub Khan, to make peace
with the English as you may direct him. Do not leave the
soil of Afghanistan at this time, because it will be of
benefit to you. My words are not without truth, because
your arrival in Russian territory will make things worse.”

_From_ GENERAL VON KAUFFMAN _to the_ AMIR OF AFGHANISTAN,
_received at Mazar-i-Sharif on January 17, 1879_.

“I have received your friendly letter, dated 13th Zel Hijja
(December 8, 1878). In that letter you asked me to send as
many troops as could be got ready. I have written to you a
letter to the effect that the Emperor, on account of your
troubles, had communicated with the British Government,
and that the Russian Ambassador at London had obtained a
promise from the British Ministers to the effect that they
would not injure the independence of Afghanistan. Perhaps
you sent your letter before you got mine. Now, I have heard
that you have appointed your son, Mahommed Yakub, as your
Regent, and have come out of Kabul with some troops. I have
received an order from the Emperor to the effect that it is
impossible to assist you with troops now. I hope you will
be fortunate. It all depends on the decree of God. Believe
me, that the friendship which I made with you will be
perpetual. It is necessary to send back General Vozgonoff
and his companions. You can keep Dr. Yuralski with you if
you please. No doubt the doctor will be of use to you and
to your dependents. I hope our friendship will continue to
be strengthened, and that intercourse will be carried on
between us.”

_From_ GENERAL VON KAUFFMAN _to the_ AMIR SHIR ALI,
_dated December 29, 1878_.

“The Foreign Minister, General Gortchakow, has informed me
by telegraph that the Emperor has directed me to trouble
you to come to Tashkent for the present. I therefore
communicate this news to you with great pleasure; at
the same time, I may mention that I have received no
instructions about your journey to St. Petersburg. My
personal interview with you will increase our friendship
greatly.”

_Letter from_ MAJOR-GENERAL IVANOFF, _Governor of Zerafshan, to
the Heir-Apparent_, MAHOMMED MUSA KHAN, _and others_.

“On the 26th of Rabi-ul-Awul, at an auspicious moment, I
received your letter which you sent me, and understood its
contents. I was very much pleased, and at once communicated
it to General Kauffman, the Governor-General. With regard
to what you wrote about the friendly relations between the
Russian and Afghan Governments, and your own desire for
friendship, I have the honour to state that we are also
desirous of being friends. The friendship between the two
Governments existed in the time of the late Amir, and I
hope that it will be increased and strengthened by Amir
Mahommed Yakub Khan.

“May God change the wars in your country to happiness;
may peace reign in it; and may your Government be
strengthened! I have been forwarding all your letters to
the Governor-General, General Kauffman. May God keep you
safe!

“The Zerafshan Province Governor,
“MAJOR-GENERAL IVANOFF.”

Written and sealed by the General.
Written on March 29, 1879.

Treaty between the Russian Government and Amir Shir Ali Khan, written from memory by Mirza Mahommed Nabbi.

(1) The Russian Government engages that the friendship of
the Russian Government with the Government of Amir Shir
Ali Khan, Amir of All Afghanistan, will be a permanent and
perpetual one.

(2) The Russian Government engages that, as Sirdar Abdulla
Khan, son of the Amir, is dead, the friendship of the
Russian Government with any person whom the Amir may
appoint Heir-Apparent to the throne of Afghanistan, and
with the heir of the Heir-Apparent, will remain firm and
perpetual.

(3) The Russian Government engages that if any foreign
enemy attacks Afghanistan, and the Amir is unable to drive
him out, and asks the assistance of the Russian Government,
the Russian Government will repel the enemy, either by
means of advice or by such other means as it may consider
proper.

(4) The Amir of Afghanistan will not wage war with any
foreign Power without consulting the Russian Government,
and without its permission.

(5) The Amir of Afghanistan engages that he will always
report in a friendly manner to the Russian Government what
goes on in his kingdom.

(6) The Amir of Afghanistan will communicate every
wish and important affair of his to General Kauffman,
Governor-General of Turkestan, and the Governor-General
will be authorised by the Russian Government to fulfil the
wishes of the Amir.