"We found the Indian policy of the country justly and wisely guided by a man who, though he did not belong to our political Party-I mean Lord Mayo-yet was as honest and as good a of Viceroy of India. Within three or four Governor General as ever held the high Office months after we acceded to Office a meeting of the most friendly character was held at Umballa, where Shere Ali, the Ameer of Afghanistan, and his favourite son, stood upon the platLord Mayo, at a fixed point in the proceedings, form as friendly, by the side of Lord Mayo. Shere Ali, and said I trust Your Highness will use this sword with effect against your enemies; and Shere Ali replied-'I will use it That was the state of feeling; that was the against every enemy of the Queen of England.' state of affairs which prevailed at the commencement of our government on the North-Western Frontier of India; and that was the state of of our successors in Office." affairs when we handed them over to the charge which had been made by the right hon. | ber for Greenwich contend that our relaGentleman opposite. During the Vice- tions with the Ameer were so satisfactory, royalty of Lord Northbrook the advance as he had described them to be? The of Russia in Central Asia had been right hon. Gentleman had used very greater than during any former period. strong language with regard to certain Khokand had been annexed; Khiva had statements which had been made by Lord been annexed, contrary to the assurances Lytton; but he should like to call the which had been given by the Russian attention of the House to a statement Government; and a Treaty had been which had been made by the right hon. made with Bokhara which made Russia Gentleman himself. The right hon. practically supreme in all those regions. Gentleman, speaking a short time ago, If, therefore, there was any efficacy in saidthe policy of Lord Lawrence Shere Ali ought to have been more friendly to us when Lord Northbrook left India than when he arrived there, because Russia was much nearer to our Frontier. Now, everybody who knew Lord Northbrook must be aware that he would leave no stone unturned to bring a policy in which he so thoroughly believed to a successful issue. Neither was he in any way overruled by the Home Go-produced a jewelled sword, and handed it to vernment. Let the House contrast our relations with the Ameer in 1873, when he was ready to receive an English officer on a friendly Mission to Cabul, and those which subsequently existed in April, 1876. The first act of Lord Lytton was to make exactly the same request, which was curtly refused. UP to 1873 Shere Ali gratefully received a subsidy from the Indian Government; for years previous to 1876 that subsidy was sullenly refused. Up to 1873, almost to the end of 1874, not only were the letters of General Kaufmann sent to the Indian Government, but they were asked to answer them. In the LORD GEORGE HAMILTON said, year preceding 1876 the Ameer made no that the word "substantially " did not such request, and there was reason to be- appear in any report of this speech. lieve that he was receiving a far greater But that our relations were, at the time number of letters then than before. Up of which he was speaking, eminently to 1873 every request of the Indian Go- unsatisfactory, he thought he had devernment and all their advances were monstrated. He now had to deal with graciously granted and accepted by Shere by far the most embarrassing part of Ali. Between 1873 and 1876 they were the circumstances which they found to invariably ignored. The Ameer posi- exist on their assumption of Office. tively refused, in the most discourteous Lord Northbrook had undertaken that, terms, to allow Mr. Forsyth and other under certain circumstances, the Indian Englishmen to pass through his terri- Government would assist Shere Ali by tory. He absolutely ignored altogether force in resisting Russian aggression; Lord Northbrook's intervention on behalf but he had made no arrangement whatof his son; and he could not, in short, ever for carrying out that assurance. conceive a more unsatisfactory state of affairs than that which then prevailed. That was not all. During the time Shere Ali received 12 cannons, 21,000 rifles, 1,200 carbines, and £250,000. How, under those circumstances, he would ask, could the right hon, Gentleman the Mem MR. GLADSTONE said, that he was not responsible for the accuracy of the newspaper reports from which the noble Lord quoted; but he, in truth, spoke of the state of affairs as being substantially the same. At any moment General Kaufmann might advance, and we should have found ourselves in this position-either we must acquiesce in his annexation, and imperil our influence as well as the sanctity of our assurances, or else go to war with Russia. Her Majesty's Go sirable to enter into a Treaty engagement with him; and the establishment of a British Resident at Herat would be the natural consequence of such an engagement and of the nearer approach of the Russian frontier."—[Afghanistan, No. 1, pp. 134-5.] vernment believed the maintenance of peace to be one of the greatest of British interests; they declined, therefore, to allow the greatest of British interests to rest on no safer foundation than the validity of General Kaufmann's assurances, or the whims of a sulky and To that despatch Lord Salisbury had semi-civilized barbarian. He had, he replied that he could not accept the opithought, revealed a state of affairs that nion that we ought to wait until Merv called for some remedy. Lord Saliswas occupied, as then our opportunity bury, he wished to add, had not acted would, in all probability, be past. Then in a haphazard or hasty manner in the he said that, although a refusal to rematter. He had deliberately looked ceive an Agent would illustrate the through the records, and he had ascer- feebleness of our interest with the Ameer, tained, upon evidence which to his mind yet no useful purpose would be served was perfectly indisputable, that Shere by keeping up an appearance of inAli was willing, in 1869, to receive fluence with him without the reality. British Agents in certain places. Cap- He went on to say that he considered tain Grey, whose opinion was of the it of paramount importance that our greatest weight-for he was not a mere interpreter between the Ameer and be put upon a satisfactory footing. Lord Mayo, but had been specially The first step would be to induce him told off to attend to that Potentate-had to receive an Envoy, for which a presaid that the Ameer did freely consent to the appointment of British officers in Balkh, Herat, and other places. That statement was confirmed by the terms of the despatch from Lord Mayo, as well as by the letter of Shere Ali in 1869. Yet they were now told by the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Greenwich that the introduction of an Agent into Afghanistan was impossible and inconsistent with the independence of that country. In the year 1869 the language of Shere Ali was exactly the reverse. He said "I strongly hope that the British Government will always do good and be kind to me, and keep me under its protection."-[Afghanistan, No. Î, p. 91.] Lord Salisbury, therefore, communicated with the Indian Government, and asked them to take measures to ascertain whether Shere Ali would agree to the appointment of an Agent at Herat. That Agent was to be placed there simply in order to report the proceedings and advances of the Russians, and thus to give the British Government in India time to avert a collision which everybody wished to avoid. If there was any doubt upon the matter, the reply of the Indian Government was conclusive. They said that if Russian authority were estab lished over Turkestan "It would then become necessary to give additional and more specific assurances to the Ruler of Afghanistan that we are prepared to assist him to defend Afghanistan against attack from without. It would probably be de whole relations with the Ameer should text must be found, or, if necessary, to give instructions to the Viceroy to do a policy of inactivity was justifiable and | anxiety to Lord Lytton's Government, "masterly" on one condition alone though they did not like to break off that time was on your side. But if negotiations on that account, for it would every year your difficulties grew, and then have been necessary to make it a your position became worse, a policy casus belli. But, on the other hand, of inactivity was both culpable and Lord Lytton did not think, in the excowardly. We wished to avert war; ercise of the discretion with which he and, with the unhappy precedent of the had been intrusted, that he would be Crimean War before us, we believed justified in concluding a dynastic Treaty war could be best averted by plainly with a man who was endeavouring to stating what we could allow and what promote a war of extermination against we could not. The first essential of us. He must again protest against the such a policy was to obtain accurate manner in which the right hon. Gentleinformation as to Russian movements man had quoted from the despatch of in Central Asia. Those who placed Lord Lytton-that the negotiations were implicit confidence in the assurance of broken off simply because the Ameer an Autocrat, because he had, or was did not show sufficient eagerness to recisupposed to have, complete control over procate our friendship. If he had only his servants, committed a great blunder. read one line lower down in the deThe more autocratic a State was, the spatch he would have seen what Lord more dependent the Sovereign was upon Lytton's real reason was, and how, by the good-will of his Civil and Military promptly seizing the opportunity afServices. When once any policy of forded by the death of the Envoy, he aggression became so ingrained in the extricated himself from the difficulty. A minds of a Service as to become a tra- great deal had been said about a change dition, there was nothing to prevent of policy, and much hard language had the realization of that tradition except been used against the Government in the personal will of the Head of the consequence of that change having led State. He was liable, however, to re- us into war. What was this change of moval by death, and other agencies. policy? There was no proposal to inThe prosecution of the policy of aggres- terfere in the internal affairs of Afghansion was continuous, whilst the oppo- istan, nor had it ever been proposed sition was intermittent and uncertain. to force upon the Ameer a Resident at Everybody knew that there was a tra- Cabul whose presence would have overdition among a certain section of Russian shadowed the authority of the Ameer. society that it was their mission, one day No such proposal was ever made; and it or other, to conquer India. It was also was a totally different thing to sending known that there were certain adven- an Agent to the Frontier to enable the turous generals in Central Asia who ut- Indian Government to carry out the terly disregarded the assurances given at guarantee that had been entered into St. Petersburg; and until the British Go- with the Ameer. In the Instructions vernment had the power to put an Agent given by Lord Lytton to our Native at Herat they were in continual danger Agent at Cabul, which would be found of the outbreak of war with Russia. on page 186 of the Papers, it was stated Every possible precaution was taken to that insure the success of the Mission to the Ameer. But the tone which Shere Ali had adopted towards the Indian Government was one in which it had never been addressed before; his Envoy throughout had endeavoured to cause delay. At the very time-at the very moment-when we were proposing to concur with his master in an unconditional alliance, by which we should undertake to support him under all circumstances, there came rumours from all quarters that he was engaged in stirring up a Jehad, or religious war, on the Border. These rumours were the source of the greatest possible "It will be the duty of any such British Agents to watch the external affairs of the Frontier, furnishing timely and trustworthy intelligence Government. Should the Ameer at any time thereof to the Ameer, as well as to the British have good cause to complain that any British Agent has interfered in the internal affairs of the country, the Agent will at once be re called." agree The present Government were in assurance which was unconditional, ex- unhappy business of receiving the Ruscept for this one stipulation-that if we sian Mission. When hon. Gentlemen undertook responsibility in the matter opposite said that we had gone to we must have an Agent on the Frontier war with the Ameer because he reto prevent Shere Ali from embroiling ceived the Russian Mission, they totally us in war, as without it he could have and entirely mistook the cause of the done at any moment he liked. The war, which was not because he received main reason for making our assurance the Russian Mission, but because he by unconditional and definite was the evi- force refused to receive ours. For years dence, of which the Indian Government past the Ameer had said that he would were possessed, that Lord Northbrook's not receive any English Mission, as proposal in 1872 being conditional had he could not be responsible for their caused great displeasure to the Envoy lives; and that if he received English from the Ameer. In 1873, when the officers he must also receive Russian Ameer's Envoy came to Simla and asked officers. At a moment when our relaLord Northbrook to give him an English tions were most strained with Russia guarantee, that noble Lord, in reply, he ostentatiously received a Russian gave him a Russian assurance to the Mission at Cabul, thus plainly showing effect that General Kaufmann's inten- that his previous reason against receivtions were perfectly friendly. He ing English officers was a mere pretext. scarcely liked to refer to the sarcastic It must be remembered that the Ameer observations of the Envoy on the sub- of Cabul was not the only Asiatic Prince ject of the introduction of the name of with whom we had to deal. There were Russia into the negotiations. He said a great number of Princes under our "As regards the name of Russia, which I protection who possessed far greater mentioned in connection with aggression, it was wealth and power than he did, and who owing to an observation made by Lord North- were besides far superior to him in culbrook in the interview of the 12th of July, who ture and intelligence. They would never said, 'It is necessary that the Ameer should be informed that, since the country of Afghan- be allowed, and they had never attempted, istan is a 'buffer' between the territories of the to treat the English Government in the English and Russian Governments, it is there- way that the Ameer had. But because fore advantageous for Hindustan that Afa man was a barbarian he could not ghanistan should be strong and independent.' be allowed to set us at defiance. They Therefore, since he called Afghanistan the buffer against Russia, does this, or not, prove the were watching our conduct in this mataggression of Russia? Ultimately the Viceroy ter; and, in all probability, if we were to observed that even a friendly Government act without firmness in his case some can become an aggressor. But the English of the Indian Princes would be adoptGovernment, considering the repeated certain assurances which they have received from the ing the tactics of the Ameer. He trusted Russian Government, cannot entertain any that he had shown that the action the likelihood of it.' After hearing this, I re- Government had taken did not in any mained silent, because I thought that unity way deserve the language which had and friendship between Governments is a mat- been applied to it; and he hoped that ter of the greatest importance."-[Ibid. p. 205.] he had also shown that a very conHe did not know how the English Go- siderable number of the charges which vernment, with the knowledge it pos- had been brought against the Governsessed that Russia did not care for its ment were mere fictions. There was own assurances, could expect Afghan- another question which had been raised. istan, which was most liable to attacks It was said that if we went to war with from Russia, to place implicit confidence anyone we ought to have gone to war in its assurances. He thought that he with Russia. But the main object and had shown that the situation which ex- policy of the British Government as reisted when he came into office was one garded the North-Western Frontier of with which it was absolutely necessary India was to have upon it not only for them to deal. His firm belief was a friendly, but also an independent that if right hon. Gentlemen opposite Power. If they had had a war with had been in Office, and had known the Russia because it had sent a Mission facts, they would have taken the same to Cabul, they would at once have made course. Unfortunately, the Ameer did Russia responsible for the conduct of not trust the sincerity of the British the Ameer, and, by making her responGovernment; from first to last he had sible, have placed Afghanistan under played with them. Then came this Russian tutelage. We should then have which, on almost every conceivable subject, he had written, he was sure that the almost universal verdict would be that under the genius of the poet there lay the true instincts of the statesman. He was very much obliged to the House for the attention with which it had listened to him while he had thought it his duty, at very great length, to endeavour to lay before the House what the course of events had been. He would not attempt to anticipate what the decision of the House would be. If adverse to Her Majesty's Government, they would once more resume their place as an united Opposition; but if, on the other hand, the verdict was in their favour, by a majority much in excess of that which they generally obtained from their supporters, he thought they might fairly take that majority as a censure upon the peculiar tactics of the past two years— tactics which, while they had elevated and popularized the Government they were intended to degrade and destroy had, on the other hand, systematically endangered those great national interests, to promote and protect which should be the common object of all. had to fight Afghanistan, plus Russia; to its natural end, and it was possible and the object of the war being to impartially to consider his conduct, and, maintain the independence of Afghan- to study the numerous State Papers istan, we should, at the outset, have destroyed it. If we were successful in the war having destroyed the independence of Afghanistan, we should have been compelled to annex it, a consummation all wished to avert. He could not conceive any single object which would have been gained by going to war with Russia. Had a little more care and attention been exercised some years ago, it was his firm opinion that the necessity for war at the present time would have been avoided. If, on the other hand, finding matters as they were, the British Government had allowed the Ameer to set it at defiance, and had not insisted upon the reception of its Mission, war would only have been postponed for a time, and would have inevitably broken out at a later period; perhaps under more disadvantageous circumstances. Before he sat down, he wished to say a word concerning the Viceroy of India, who, he thought, had not been very fairly treated in the course of that debate. It had never been the fashion before to distinguish between the Viceroy and theGovernment under which he served, and to hold him up to opprobrium and ridicule on questions of veracity. And if any man might have expected exceptionally considerate treatment, surely that was Lord Lytton. He was not, it should be borne in mind, a Member of one of the great political Parties, like Lord Northbrook or Lord Mayo, with many great and powerful friends in the Legislature. He had served for many years with distinction in the Diplomatic Service, and it was known that he, with great reluctance, accepted the office of Viceroy of India. From the moment he arrived until the present day, he had had to deal with a succession of the greatest difficulties. He had had to contend with famine, financial and currency difficulties, great administrative changes, and the anxiety any Viceroy must always feel when there was a great upheaval in the social and political affairs of the Eastern world. Throughout all this Lord Lytton had SALE OF FOOD AND DRUGS ACT (1875) shown the greatest courage and ability. It must be admitted that he had not been always understood; but there never was an abler, more courageous, and, he might say, more industrious Viceroy. And when Lord Lytton's tenure of office came Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Debate be now adjourned." —(Mr. Grant Duff.) Motion agreed to. Debate further adjourned till Thursday. SELECT VESTRIES BILL. On Motion of Mr. JAMES, Bill to amend the Law relating to the nomination of Overseers by Select Vestries by custom or usage, ordered to be brought in by Mr. JAMES, Mr. HERSCHELL, and Mr. JOSEPH COWEN. Bill presented, and read the first time. [Bill 54.] PATENTS FOR INVENTIONS BILL. the Patents for Inventions Laws, ordered to be On Motion of Mr. ANDERSON, Bill to amend brought in by Mr. ANDERSON, Mr. MUNDELLA, Mr. DALRYMPLE, and Mr. Alexander Brown. Bill presented, and read the first time. [Bill 55.] AMENDMENT BILL. On Motion of Mr. ANDERSON, Bill to amend "The Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1875," ordered to be brought in by Mr. ANDERSON, Mr. P. A. TAYLOR, and Mr. WHITWELL. Bill presented, and read the first time. [Bill 6.] |