Chapter XXIV: Appendix: IV (3)

(7) The Russian Government engages that the Afghan
merchants who may trade and sojourn in Russian territory
will be safe from wrong, and that they will be allowed to
carry away their profits.

(8) The Amir of Afghanistan will have the power to send
his servants to Russia to learn arts and trades, and the
Russian officers will treat them with consideration and
respect as men of rank.

(9) (Does not remember.)

(10) I, Major-General Stolietoff Nicholas, being a
trusted Agent of the Russian Government, have made the
above-mentioned Articles between the Russian Government and
the Government of Amir Shir Ali Khan, and have put my seal
to them.

_Correspondence between the_ BRITISH _and_ RUSSIAN GOVERNMENTS
_Respecting the Exclusion of_ AFGHANISTAN _from the_ RUSSIAN
_sphere of influence, and settling the Russo-Afghan Frontier of
1872 and 1887_.

From time to time the Russian Government has given a series of assurances that whatever its action in other respects may have been, it regarded Afghanistan as entirely beyond its sphere of action.

In March 1869, the Earl of Clarendon, then Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, informed the British Ambassador at St. Petersburg that he had received communication of a despatch addressed by the Russian Chancellor, Prince Gortchakow, to the Russian Ambassador in London, containing the following declaration:

“You may repeat to her Britannic Majesty’s Principal
Secretary of State the positive assurance that his Imperial
Majesty looks upon Afghanistan as completely outside the
sphere within which Russia may be called upon to exercise
her influence. No intervention or interference whatever,
opposed to the independence of that State, enters into his
intentions.”

On October 17, 1872, Earl Granville addressed to Lord Loftus, Ambassador at St. Petersburg, the following letter upon the Russo-Afghan frontier.

“Her Majesty’s Government I have not yet received from
the Cabinet of St. Petersburg communication of the report
which General Kauffman was long since instructed to draw
up on the countries south of the Oxus, which are claimed
by the ruler of Afghanistan as his hereditary possessions.
Her Majesty’s Government have awaited this communication
in full confidence that impartial inquiries instituted by
that distinguished officer would confirm the views they
themselves take of this matter, and so enable the two
Governments to come to a prompt and definitive decision on
the question that has been so long in discussion between
them. But as the expected communication has not reached
them, and as they consider it of importance, both for the
maintenance of peace and tranquillity in Central Asia, and
for removing all causes of misunderstanding between the
Imperial Government and themselves, I will no longer delay
making known, through your Excellency, to the Imperial
Government the conclusion at which her Majesty’s Government
have arrived, after carefully weighing all the evidence
before them. In the opinion, then, of her Majesty’s
Government, the right of the Amir of Kabul (Shir Ali) to
the possession of the territories up to the Oxus as far
down as Khoja Saleh is fully established, and they believe,
and have so stated to him through the Indian Government,
that he would have a right to defend these territories if
invaded. On the other hand, her Majesty’s authorities in
India have declared their determination to remonstrate
strongly with the Amir should he evince any disposition to
overstep these limits of his kingdom. Hitherto the Amir
has proved most amenable to the advice offered to him by
the Indian Government, and has cordially accepted the
peaceful policy which they have recommended him to adopt,
because the Indian Government have been able to accompany
their advice with an assurance that the territorial
integrity of Afghanistan would in like manner be respected
by those Powers beyond his frontiers which are amenable
to the influence of Russia. The policy thus happily
inaugurated has produced the most beneficial results in the
establishment of peace in the countries where it has long
been unknown. Her Majesty’s Government believe that it is
now in the power of the Russian Government, by an explicit
recognition of the right of the Amir of Kabul to these
territories which he now claims, which Bokhara herself
admits to be his, and which all evidence as yet produced
shows to be in his actual and effectual possession, to
assist the British Government in perpetuating, so far as
it is in human power to do so, the peace and prosperity of
those regions, and in removing for ever by such means all
cause of uneasiness and jealousy between England and Russia
in regard to their respective policies in Asia.

“For your Excellency’s more complete information I state
the territories and boundaries which her Majesty’s
Government consider as fully belonging to the Amir of
Kabul, viz.:

“(1) Badakshan, with its dependent district of Wakhan, from
the Sarikal (Wood’s Lake) on the east, to the junction of
the Kokcha river with the Oxus (or Penjah), forming the
northern boundary of this Afghan province throughout its
entire extent.

“(2) Afghan Turkestan, comprising the districts of Kunduz,
Khulm, and Balkh, the northern boundary of which would be
the line of the Oxus from the junction of the Kokcha river
to the post of the Khoja Saleh, inclusive, on the high road
from Bokhara to Balkh. Nothing to be claimed by the Afghan
Amir on the left bank of the Oxus below Khoja Saleh.

“(3) The internal districts of Aksha, Saripool, Maimana,
Shibherfan, and Andkoi, the latter of which would be the
extreme Afghan frontier possession to the north-west, the
desert beyond belonging to independent tribes of Turcomans.

“(4) The western Afghan frontier between the dependencies
of Herat and those of the Persian province of Khorassan is
well known and need not here be defined. Your Excellency
will give a copy of this despatch to the Russian Minister
for Foreign Affairs.

“I am, etc.,
“GRANVILLE.”

(REPLY)

PRINCE GORTCHAKOW _to_ COUNT BRUNNOW (_communicated to_
EARL GRANVILLE _by_ COUNT BRUNNOW, _February 5, 1873_).

“ST. PETERSBURG,
“_January 31, 1873_.

“M. LE COMTE,--Lord Augustus Loftus has communicated to me
the reply of her Britannic Majesty’s principal Secretary of
State to our despatch on Central Asia of the 19th December.

“I enclose a copy of his document.

“We see with satisfaction that the English Cabinet
continues to pursue in those parts the same object as
ourselves, that of ensuring to them peace, and as far as
possible, tranquillity. The divergence which existed in our
views was with regard to the frontiers assigned to the
dominions of Shir Ali. The English Cabinet includes within
them Badakshan and Wakhan, which, according to our views,
enjoyed a certain independence. Considering the difficulty
experienced in establishing the facts in all their details
in those distant parts, considering the greater facilities
which the British Government possesses for collecting
precise data, and, above all, considering our wish not to
give to this question of detail greater importance than is
due to it, we do not refuse to accept the line of boundary
laid down by England. We are the more inclined to this
act of courtesy as the English Government engages to use
all her influence with Shir Ali in order to induce him to
maintain a peaceful attitude, as well as to insist on his
giving up all measures of aggression or further conquests.
This influence is indisputable. It is based not only on
the material and moral ascendency of England, but also on
the subsidies for which Shir Ali is indebted to her. Such
being the case, we see in his assurance a real guarantee
for the maintenance of peace. Your Excellency will have
the goodness to make this declaration to her Britannic
Majesty’s principal Secretary of State, and to give him a
copy of this despatch. We are convinced that Lord Granville
will perceive in it a fresh proof of the value which our
august master attaches to the maintenance and consolidation
of the most friendly relations with the Government of her
Majesty Queen Victoria.

“(_Signed_) GORTCHAKOW.”

In 1874, after the annexation of Khiva to the Russian dominions, Earl Granville wrote, on January 7, as follows, to her Majesty’s Ambassador in St. Petersburg, summing up the previous correspondence which had passed between the two Governments:

EARL GRANVILLE _to_ LORD A. LOFTUS.

[Extract.]

“FOREIGN OFFICE,
“_January 7, 1874_.

“Her Majesty’s Government see no practical advantage in
examining too minutely how far these arrangements (between
the Russian Government and the Khan of Khiva) are in strict
accordance with the assurances given to me in January
last by Count Schouvalow, as to the intentions with which
the expedition against Khiva was undertaken. They are not
disposed to share in the exaggerated apprehensions which
have at times been expressed in this country as to the
danger to British rule in India which may arise from the
extension of Russian influence in Central Asia.

“At the same time each step of that progress renders
it more desirable that a clear and frank understanding
should continue to exist between the two countries as to
the relative position of British and Russian interests
in Asia, and it is with that object that her Majesty’s
Government think it right on the present occasion to review
the communications which have passed on the subject, and
the position of affairs as they stand in respect of the
future. In so doing they are fulfilling the wish expressed
by Prince Gortchakow, in conversation with Sir A. Buchanan,
on the 2nd of November, 1869, when he begged that Lord
Clarendon might be told that, ‘as both Governments are free
from all _arrière-pensées_, ambitious views, or unfriendly
feelings towards each other, the more fully and frankly all
questions connected with Central Asia are discussed between
them, the more effectually will the ‘mists’ be blown away,
which, through the misrepresentations of over-zealous
subordinate agents, may at any time hang over them.’

“In the spring of 1869 Lord Clarendon, in several
conversations with Baron Brunnow, drew attention to the
rapid progress of the Russian troops in Central Asia, and
made a proposal for the ‘recognition of some territory as
neutral between the possessions of England and Russia,
which should be the limit of those possessions, and which
should be scrupulously respected by both Powers.’

“Prince Gortchakow, to whom Baron Brunnow had communicated
Lord Clarendon’s suggestions, replied that ‘the idea of
maintaining between the possessions of the two Empires
in Asia a zone to preserve them from any contact’ had
always been shared by the Emperor, and he authorised Baron
Brunnow to ‘repeat to her Britannic Majesty’s Principal
Secretary of State the positive assurance that his Imperial
Majesty looks upon Afghanistan as completely outside the
sphere within which Russia may be called upon to exercise
her influence. No intervention or interference whatever,
opposed to the independence of that State, enters into his
intentions.’

“Her Majesty’s Government gladly take this opportunity of
again acknowledging the friendly and conciliatory spirit
shown by the Imperial Government in the acceptance by them
of the views advanced on the part of Great Britain, as to
the frontier line of Afghanistan. Those views were stated,
as you are aware, in my despatch to your Excellency of
October 17, 1872, and the assent of the Imperial Government
to the definition of the Afghan frontier as therein laid
down, will be found in Prince Gortchakow’s despatches to
Baron Brunnow of December 7, 1872, and January 19, 1873.

“Such was the agreement arrived at between the two
countries. On their part, her Majesty’s Government may
fairly claim that it has been faithfully executed to the
full extent of their power.

“It is unnecessary to retrace the series of circumstances
which, in spite of the reluctance of the Russian
Government, led to the recent expedition against Khiva.
In the face of these events it would be unwise not to
contemplate the possibility that considerations of
self-defence, or the necessity of punishing acts of
plunder and hostility, may eventually give occasion for a
Russian expedition against the Turkoman tribes.

“In face of the agreement which exists between the two
countries, it is unnecessary for her Majesty’s Government
to make any profession of their conviction that Afghanistan
is perfectly secure from any hostile designs on the part
of Russia. They think it best, however, to bring the fears
entertained by the Amir to the knowledge of the Russian
Government, and to express their earnest hope that the
question of any further expedition against the Turkoman
tribes may be carefully considered, in conjunction with the
results which the Amir of Kabul apprehends may ensue from
it. They think it right to state candidly and at once that
the independence of Afghanistan is regarded by them as a
matter of great importance to the welfare and security of
British India and to the tranquillity of Asia.”

Prince Gortchakow replied on January 21, 1874, to his Ambassador in London:

PRINCE GORTCHAKOW _to_ COUNT BRUNNOW (_communicated to_ EARL
GRANVILLE _by_ COUNT BRUNNOW, _February 17_).

[Extract.]

“ST. PETERSBURG, _January 21_.

“I have expressed to the British Ambassador the entire
satisfaction which we feel at the just view taken by her
Majesty’s Government with regard to the questions which we
are called upon to treat together in Asia.

“In my opinion the understanding is complete. It rests not
only upon the loyalty of the two Governments, but upon
mutual political advantages which are palpably evident.
So long as they shall be animated by a spirit of mutual
goodwill and conciliation, no political misunderstanding is
to be apprehended between them.

“For our part, we remain constantly faithful to the
programme traced by mutual agreement, as resulted from
my interviews with Lord Clarendon, and as developed and
defined by the communications between the two Cabinets.

“I have repeated to Lord A. Loftus the positive assurance
that the Imperial Cabinet continues to consider Afghanistan
as entirely beyond its sphere of action.

“If on either side the two Governments exercise their
ascendency over the States placed within the range of
their natural influence in order to deter them from all
aggression, there is reason to hope that no violent
collision will occur to disturb the repose of Central Asia,
and interfere with the work of civilisation which it is the
duty and the interest of the two great Empires to bring to
a favourable issue.

“Be good enough to communicate these observations to Lord
Granville, and to repeat to his Excellency our conviction
that the two Governments have an equal interest in not
allowing their good relations to be disturbed by the
intrigues of Asiatic Khans, and that so long as they
both act together with a feeling of mutual confidence
and goodwill, the tranquillity of Central Asia will be
sufficiently guaranteed against all eventualities.”

On January 28, 1874, the British Ambassador at St. Petersburg reported to Lord Granville a further assurance given to him by the Russian Chancellor:

LORD A. LOFTUS _to_ EARL GRANVILLE.

[Extract.]

“ST. PETERSBURG,
“_January 19, 1874_.

“As regards Afghanistan, his Highness repeated to me that
the Imperial Government considered that kingdom to be
beyond the sphere of their political action, and that,
happen what might, in the internal state of that country,
the Imperial Government would not interfere.”

In 1876, after the occupation of Khokand by the Russians, Prince Gortchakoff instructed the Russian Ambassador to communicate the following despatch to her Majesty’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs:

PRINCE GORTCHAKOW _to_ COUNT SCHUVALOFF (_communicated to the_
EARL OF DERBY _by_ COUNT SCHUVALOFF, _February 25, 1876_).

[Extract]

“ST. PETERSBURG, _February 3, / 15, 1876_.

“His Majesty the Emperor has learned with much interest the
contents of the Memorandum accompanying a despatch from
Lord Derby, which Lord A. Loftus read, in my absence, to
the Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs.

“I enclose herewith a copy of this document, which is a
reply to the Memorandum dated the 11th May, 1875, which
your Excellency was instructed to communicate to the
Principal Secretary of State of her Britannic Majesty
regarding the relations of the two Governments in Central
Asia.

“Our august Master has learnt with satisfaction the
friendly desire therein expressed to prevent, by frank
explanations, any cause of misunderstanding between the two
Cabinets. His Majesty appreciates likewise the breadth of
view with which Lord Derby puts on one side discussions of
detail and restrictions which are inapplicable in view of
the ill-defined condition of the countries over which the
two Governments have to exercise their influence.

“Have the goodness to inform his Excellency, by order of
our august Master, that we entirely agree in the conclusion
that, while maintaining on either side, the arrangement
come to as regards the limits of Afghanistan, which is
to remain outside the sphere of Russian action, the two
Cabinets should regard as terminated the discussions
relative to the intermediate zone, which have been
recognised as unpractical; that, while retaining entire
freedom of action, they should be guided by a mutual
desire to pay due regard to their respective interests and
necessities, by avoiding, as far as possible, any immediate
contact with each other, and any collisions between the
Asiatic States placed within the circle of their influence.

“We are convinced that by keeping to this principle, and
cultivating feelings of equity and reciprocal goodwill, the
two Cabinets will succeed in consolidating the friendly
relations so happily established between them, for the
advantage of the general peace in Europe and Asia.

“Your Excellency can renew to Lord Derby the assurance that
he may reckon on our frank co-operation for this purpose.”

After drawing the attention of the Russian Government, at the end of 1876, to the correspondence exchanged between General Kauffman and the Amir of Kabul, the British Ambassador received the following further assurance:

M. DE GIERS _to_ LORD A. LOFTUS.

“ST. PETERSBURG, _February 21, / March 5, 1877_.

“The Imperial Government entirely share the opinion of the
British Government that a frank and cordial interchange
of opinions on the question of Central Asia cannot do
otherwise than contribute to the maintenance of the good
and friendly relations at present established between
Russia and England.

“With this view they felt ready to give, in the Notes
of the 19th November / 1st December and the 3rd /
15th December, to which your Excellency refers, the
assurance that Russia had not endeavoured to conclude any
arrangement, commercial or political, with the Amir of
Kabul, and that the rare relations of our authorities in
Central Asia with the latter had never borne any other
character than that of pure courtesy, in conformity
with local usages in the East. While now renewing these
assurances, the Imperial Government hope the British
Government will recognise that practically we have never
swerved from them, whatever may have been the erroneous
interpretations placed by the native Asiatic Governments
on the communications of General Kauffman, and whatever
false importance may have been attributed to the method
of transmission adopted by him. Misunderstandings on this
subject were nearly inevitable, considering the uncertain
character of the native populations of Central Asia,
and their inveterate inclination to intrigue; the only
effective way, in our opinion, of meeting this danger,
lies in the good faith and loyalty which, we are glad to
think, will never cease to influence, on either side, any
interchange of views between us and the British Cabinet.”

The following Notes were exchanged between the Russian Ambassador in London and Lord Salisbury before General Stolietoff’s final recall from Kabul after the conclusion of the Congress of Berlin:

COUNT SCHUVALOFF _to the_ MARQUIS OF SALISBURY

LONDON, _December 7, / 19, 1878_.

“You have expressed surprise on learning that the Russian
mission, which you thought had left Kabul, was still there.
You reminded me of the declaration made by M. de Giers to
the British Chargé d’Affaires concerning the provisional
character of this mission, which was despatched under
exceptional circumstances, and at a time when it was to be
feared that war might break out between England and Russia.

“I have received a telegram from Prince Gortchakow, in
which he charges me to ask you whether the arrangements
between Russia and England, such as they existed before the
despatch of the mission, and such as they are recorded in
the correspondence exchanged on this subject between the
two Cabinets, are maintained by her Majesty’s Government,
and whether they retain in their eyes their obligatory
character.

“His Majesty the Emperor is disposed, on his part, to
observe all the arrangements relative to Central Asia
concluded between Russia and England, and to recall
immediately the mission which is at Kabul.”

THE MARQUIS OF SALISBURY _to_ COUNT SCHUVALOFF.

“FOREIGN OFFICE,
“_December 19, 1878_.

“In reply to your letter of this day’s date, I have to
state to your Excellency that the continued presence of
the Russian Mission at Kabul is the sole obstacle to a
full revival of the understanding between the two Powers
expressed in the correspondence which has passed between
them upon the subject of Afghanistan and Central Asia;
and when the Russian Mission is withdrawn, her Majesty’s
Government will consider that all engagements on both sides
with respect to those countries retain their obligatory
character.”

In 1882 the position of the two countries in Asia was again discussed in connection with the Russian advance to Merv.

EARL GRANVILLE _to_ SIR E. THORNTON.

“FOREIGN OFFICE,
_February 22, 1882_.

“The Russian Ambassador called upon me this afternoon by
appointment. His Excellency told me that he had reported to
his Government the substance of the conversation we had had
on the 2nd instant on the policy of the two Governments in
Asia, as reported in my despatch of that date.

“Prince Lobanow said that he had told his Government that
I had commenced by stating that the present good relations
between Russia and England offered an opportunity, of
which it was desirable to take advantage, for coming to
some further understanding as to the position of the two
countries in Central Asia; that he had thereupon suggested
a renewal of the agreement formerly made with Prince
Gortchakow by Lord Clarendon and me; that to this I had
replied that I looked upon that agreement as still existing
in full force, but that it left certain matters undecided
which it would be well definitely to settle; and that I
had finished by proposing a delimitation of the Persian
frontier from Baba Durmaz to a point in the neighbourhood
of the Hari Rud.

“He had now received the reply of his Government. They
acknowledged the continued validity of the agreement
formerly entered into by Prince Gortchakow, by which
Afghanistan was admitted to be beyond the sphere of Russian
influence. That agreement was, however, as I had said,
incomplete: and they were ready to supplement it by a
settlement of the frontier of Afghanistan, from the point
where it had been left undefined as far as Sarakhs.”

In 1883 the following correspondence took place:

EARL GRANVILLE _to_ MR. J. G. KENNEDY.

“FOREIGN OFFICE,
“_October 2, 1883_.

“A report has reached her Majesty’s Government of an
intended visit of a Russian to Kabul bearing a letter from
the Emperor of Russia to the Amir.

“Such a proceeding on the part of the Russian Government
would be inconsistent with the assurances which they have
given to her Majesty’s Government from time to time on the
subject of Afghanistan.

“I have to instruct you to inquire as to the truth of this
report, and to inform me of the result by telegraph.”

MR. J. G. KENNEDY _to_ EARL GRANVILLE.

“ST. PETERSBURG, _October 3, 1883_.

“I have the honour to state that on receipt to-day of your
Lordship’s telegram of the 2nd instant I immediately waited
on M. de Giers at the Foreign Department, and inquired of
his Excellency whether there was any truth in a report
which had reached her Majesty’s Government that a Russian
intended to go to Kabul, furnished with a letter to the
Amir from the Emperor.

“M. de Giers at once replied that such an event was
impossible. The Emperor was most unlikely to give any
letter addressed to the Amir to any one. No such letter
could be written without M. de Giers’ knowledge, and he
could positively and solemnly assure me that no such letter
had been written by his Imperial Majesty.

“M. de Giers further states that so anxious were the
Emperor and himself to avoid all suspicion of Russian
communication with Afghanistan, that strict orders had been
sent to the Governor-General of Turkestan to desist from
the transmission of letters of ceremony, or even of letters
of recommendation, to the Amir in favour of travellers. In
fact, all possible steps were taken to prevent intercourse
between Russia and Afghanistan, which latter country was
considered to be in England’s ‘orbit.’

“In reply to a suggestion of mine, M. de Giers stated that
no such letter could have been written during the Moscow
Coronation festivities, at which period the Emperor had
been most guarded in all his dealings with the various
Asiatic potentates there assembled.

“M. de Giers also promised to inform me at once whenever
any intention existed of such an improbable event as the
transmission of a letter from his Imperial Majesty to the
Ruler of Afghanistan.”

In 1884, in view of inquiries made by the British Government as to the reported despatch of a Russian Agent to Maimana, within the frontiers of Afghanistan, M. de Giers communicated on April 15 / 27 to the British Ambassador at St. Petersburg the following:

“The Imperial Ministry can, on the other hand, state that
no agent has been sent to Maimana. According to the terms
of the arrangement come to between the two Powers, Maimana
is included in the country of the Amir of Afghanistan, and
the Government of his Majesty the Emperor is resolved to
scrupulously respect, as it has done in times past, all the
engagements it contracted in virtue of the arrangement in
question.”

In 1885 further disquieting reports having arisen with regard to the proceedings of the Russians on the Afghan frontier, the following Memorandum was communicated by the Russian Foreign Office to the British Ambassador at St. Petersburg:

“The Imperial Ministry for Foreign Affairs has taken note
of the Memorandum which was transmitted by the English
Ambassador on the 16th instant, and which contains the
expression of the wish of her Majesty’s Government that
the agitation raised in the two countries by the rumours
about the preparations said to be in progress on both sides
should cease.”

The same Memorandum states that, unless circumstances arise over which they have no control, which might bring about sudden changes, the two Governments are in a position which would allow them to arrive at an arrangement satisfactory and honourable for Russia, the Amir of Afghanistan, and England!

“The Imperial Cabinet cannot do less than join in this
desire of her Majesty’s Government. They have never
cherished, nor do they cherish, aggressive views on Herat,
or any other part of the Amir’s possessions, and they
only aim at contributing to the establishment of peace
and security there. Resolved, as they are, to respect
scrupulously the rights of Great Britain, as well as those
of the Amir, the Imperial Cabinet hope that her Majesty’s
Government will display the same regard for the rights of
Russia, and they are convinced that the two Governments
will thus succeed in avoiding everything which might
interfere with a satisfactory solution of the question now
under negotiation.

“ST. PETERSBURG, _March 18, 1885_.”

The circumstances which had arisen made the arrangement of a Russo-Afghan Boundary Convention desirable, and it was agreed at St. Petersburg on July 10, 1887, that:

“(1) The frontier included between the pillars No. 1 and
No. 19, and the pillars No. 36 and No. 65, should be
considered as definitely settled. The trigonometrical
points on the portion of the frontier line described
above, and included between pillars No. 19 and No. 36,
are likewise admitted as definitive. The description of
this part of the frontier, as well as that of the part to
the eastward of pillar No. 65, may be completed after the
demarcation. The synopsis of pillars attached to Protocol
No. 15, dated the 1st (13th) September, 1886, is admitted
to be correct and definitive as regards pillars No. 1
to No. 19, and No. 36 to No. 65. It will be completed
subsequently by the synopsis of the pillars from No. 20 to
No. 35, and by that of the pillars to the east of No. 65.

“(2) Leaving pillar No. 19, the frontier shall follow a
straight line up to the summit of the hill marked 2740 on
map No. 1, annexed to the present Protocol. This point,
where pillar No. 20 shall be placed, is known under the
denomination of trigonometrical station of Kara Tepe
(latitude 35° 17′ 49″, longitude 62° 15′ 17″). Farther
on the line shall descend the crest of the hills, being
directed from this point towards the confluence of the
Kushk and the Moghur. Pillar No. 21 shall be placed on a
point of this crest, or of its slope, so as to be seen
from the confluence above-mentioned. A straight line shall
connect No. 21 with No. 22, placed in the valley of the
Kushk on the left bank of the river, 900 feet to the north
of the confluence of the Kushk with the Moghur. Leaving
pillar No. 22, the line shall ascend the thalweg of the
Kushk to pillar No. 23, placed 2700 feet above the head of
the new canal, on the right bank of which the water-supply
is situated about 6000 feet to the N.N.E. of the Ziaret of
Chahil-Dukhter. From pillar No. 23 a straight line shall
be traced to the point marked 2925 on map No. 3 annexed to
the present Protocol (latitude 35° 16′ 53″, longitude 62°
27′ 57″). Whence the frontier shall follow the line of the
water-parting, passing through the following points: The
point 3017 (Bandi Akhamar, latitude 35° 14′ 21″, longitude
62° 35′ 48″, pillar No. 26); the point 3198 (latitude
35° 14′ 20″, longitude 62° 41′ 0″, pillar No. 27); and
the point Kalari 2 (latitude 35° 18′ 21″, longitude 62°
47′ 18″); and shall run on to the point marked No. 29 on
map No. 4 annexed to the present Protocol. The frontier
shall cross the valley of the river Kashan in a straight
line between pillars No. 29 and No. 30 (trigonometrical
station of Tori-Scheikh, latitude 35° 24′ 51″, longitude
62° 59′ 43″, map No. 3), where it meets the line of
the water-parting of the Kashan and the Murghab, shall
pass on to this latter, and shall follow it up to the
trigonometrical station of the Kashan (latitude 35° 38′
13″, longitude 63° 6′ 4″, pillar No. 32). From this station
a straight line shall be traced to a point on the Murghab
(pillar No. 35) situated 700 ft. above the canal-head of
the canal Yaki-Yuz or Yaki-Yangi. Further on the frontier,
descending the thalweg of the Murghab, shall join pillar
No. 36 of the frontier demarcated in 1885-86. To the east
of pillar No. 65 the frontier shall follow the line marked
A B C D on map No. 8 annexed to the present Protocol, the
point A being situated at a distance of 3500 ft. south
of the walls of Tinam Nazar; the point B being near Kara
Tepe Khurd-Kak, which remains to the Afghans; the point C
about midway between the east and west walls of Katabadji;
and lastly, the point D about midway between the wells
Ali Kadim and the wells marked Chahi. The wells of Tinam
Nazar, Kara-Tepe-Khurd, West Katabadji and Ali Kadim remain
outside of Afghan territory. From the point D a straight
line shall be traced as far as the commencement of the
local frontier demarcated between Bosagha and Khamiab,
which shall continue to serve as frontier between the two
villages, with the single reservation that the canals of
Bosagha along all their course, that is to say, as far as
Koinli (point H), shall be included in Russian territory.
In other words, the present demarcation will confirm the
existing rights of the two parties on the banks of the Amu
Daria, that is to say, that the inhabitants of Khamiah
shall retain all their lands and all their pastures,
including those which are east of the local frontier marked
E F G on maps Nos. 9 and 10 annexed to the Protocol. On the
other hand, the inhabitants of Bosagha shall retain the
exclusive enjoyment of their canals as far as Koinli, with
the right of repairing and supplying them, in accordance
with the customs in force in regard to those of Khamiab,
when the waters of Amu Daria are too low to supply directly
the canal-heads of Koinli. The officers who shall be
charged to execute on the spot the provisions of the
present Protocol between the above-named pillars shall be
bound to place a sufficient number of intermediate pillars,
taking advantage for this purpose as much as possible of
the salient points.

“(3) The clause in Protocol No. 4 of the 14th (26th)
December, 1885 prohibiting the Afghans from making use of
the irrigating canals in the Kushk valley below Chahil
Dukhter, which were not in use at that time, remains in
force; but it is understood that this clause can only be
applied to the canals supplied by the Kushk. The Afghans
shall not have the right to make use of the waters of the
Kushk for their agricultural works north of Chahil Dukhter;
but the waters of the Moghur belong exclusively to them,
and they may carry out any works they may think necessary
in order to make use of them.

“(4) The clauses in Protocols No. 4 of the 14th (26th)
December, 1885, and No. 15 of the 1st (13th) September,
1886, relative to the construction of a dam on the Murghab,
remain in force. M. Linoview having expressed the wish
that the obligation imposed on the Amir of Afghanistan
to give up for this purpose a tract of land on the right
bank of the Murghab, under the conditions stipulated in
the said Protocols, should be extended to the whole course
of the river below the canal-head of Yaki-Yuz, Colonel
Ridgeway is of opinion that the necessary steps to obtain
the assent of the Amir might delay the conclusion of the
present arrangement; but he is nevertheless convinced
that the assent of the Amir to this cession, under the
same conditions, of a tract of land on the right bank can
be obtained without difficulty, if later on the Imperial
Government should inform her Britannic Majesty’s Government
of their intention of proceeding to the construction of a
dam above the canal-head of Bendi Nadiri.

“(5) The British Government will communicate without delay
to the Amir of Afghanistan the arrangements herein agreed
upon, and the Imperial Government of Russia will enter
into possession of the territory adjudged to them, by
the present Protocol, from the 1st (13th) October of the
present year.

“(6) The frontier agreed upon shall be locally demarcated
by a mixed Commission according to the signed maps. In case
the work of demarcation should be delayed, the line traced
on the maps shall nevertheless be considered binding by the
two Governments.”

[45] This letter, which is generally referred to as the
letter from the Foreign Secretary, dated July 20,
1880, is known to have been sealed by Mr. Griffin and
delivered by him on July 31, 1880.

[46] “Forty-One Years in India.”--ROBERTS.