KABUL: ITS PALACES AND COURT LIFE
[Illustration: MISS BROWN, PHYSICIAN TO THE AMIR’S HAREM]
The road from Kandahar to Kabul in its present condition is one
of those permanent improvements with which the late Abdur Rahman
endowed Afghanistan. Under the ægis of that energetic ruler the old
caravan routes between Kandahar and Kabul, and Kabul and Herat, were
replaced by first-class military communications, the elders of the
villages in the several districts traversed being held responsible
for their security. The road to Kabul runs north-east from Kandahar
and the distance is 315 miles. The two points of importance are
Kelat-i-Ghilzai, on the right bank of the Tarnak river and 85 miles
north-east of Kandahar, and Ghazni, 225 miles north-east of Kandahar
and 78 miles south-west of Kabul.
There is no town at Kelat-i-Ghilzai; but there are two small walled
villages not far from the fort to the north-west and a few nomadic
encampments upon the surrounding plain. The fort stands upon an
isolated plateau, which in places is very steep. There are two
gateways, respectively situated upon the northern and southern faces
of the work. The quarters of the garrison are arranged along the
eastern and western faces and a battery of four guns is posted upon a
neighbouring height. The garrison is not large and the defences have
suffered from neglect. There is good water from springs within the
perimeter of the fort; but the position is endangered by the existence
of certain features in the immediate vicinity which command the walls,
and also by the facilities for cover offered by the character of the
approaches. The bazaar is small, containing fifty shops: in addition
there are several Government granaries and a residence for the Governor.
Ghazni, the capital of the Ghilzai country and the principal centre
between Kandahar and Kabul, occupies a very important point, since it
commands the road through the Gomul Pass to Dera Ismail Khan. From its
strategical position, too, it must be considered the pivot to any line
of operations against an enemy advancing from the west or north; while
its possession in the hands of an Indian army would place such a force
astride one of the most important channels of communication in the
state. It is situated upon the left bank of the Ghazni river, on level
ground between the river and the termination of a spur, running east
and west from the Gilkoh Range 7730 feet above sea-level. The place
spreads itself out to the south and east, but the river checks its
expansion on the west, the stream leaving but a confined space between
its left bank and the knoll where the citadel stands. It is surrounded
by a high wall, built upon the top of a mound, in part natural and
in part artificial. The wall is of composite construction, stone and
brick-masonry laid in mud having been employed in its erection. It
is flanked at irregular intervals by towers and possesses a total
circumference, inclusive of the citadel, of 1750 yards.
The citadel is situated at the north angle of the town, upon an abrupt,
detached knoll where the hills terminate. It lies 150 feet above the
plain and dominates the city completely. Its defences are a high
masonry wall, loopholed and provided with a parapet, but no rampart
save the natural hill. There are four towers at the angles, but these
are small and insignificant. The citadel has no other strength than
that afforded by its commanding situation and formidable slopes; the
area of the summit of the knoll is limited and the buildings are not
adapted to shell-fire. The town and citadel are both commanded by hills
to the north, but the former is in a measure sheltered by the position
of the latter. The supply of water is unreliable and there is only one
well within the walls. The view from the citadel is extensive, but
by no means inviting, as the plain is very indifferently furnished
with villages. There are very numerous shrines--197 being the
number given--which are surrounded by orchards, vineyards, and small
corn-fields. Excepting along the course of the river the plain is bare
and empty, although it is broken up by the irrigation channels which
cross the road at intervals of 8 or 10 miles. Distant hills extend
in low ranges of bare rock. The country skirting them is a waste of
stone and scrub, in the possession of wandering Ghilzais whose flocks
of goats, sheep and camels share the pastures with wild deer, wolves,
foxes and hares. The black-hair tents of these nomads of the desert,
pitched in the sheltered hollows of its surface for protection from
the keen westerly wind, impart to the scene its sole sign of human
habitation.
The town itself is dirty. The thoroughfares, lined with houses several
storeys in height, are narrow, dark and irregular. Near the base of the
citadel, upon its easterly and westerly aspect, there is a small open
space varying from 100 yards to 150 yards; upon the southern side the
houses crowd close up to the rock. From the Khanah Gate to the Kandahar
or Bazar Gate, a street runs with some pretensions to uniformity of
breadth and directness of course. Another leads north-east to the open
space upon the west of the citadel, while from the Kabul Gate there is
communication by several narrow and somewhat tortuous lanes. The houses
are built of mud; only in rare instances do they possess domed roofs.
The population fluctuates according to the season and the amount of
trade passing into India. It seldom rises above 8000 people nor falls
much below 3000 people. The inhabitants are largely drawn from the
Nasir, Suliman Khel and other Ghilzai clans, who are concerned with
the through caravan trade _viâ_ the Gomul, together with a certain
proportion of Duranis and Tajiks. There are, also, 250 families of
Hazara labourers and perhaps 200 Hindu shopkeepers, bankers and
traders. The community in Ghazni is very mixed, ignorant, superstitious
and, if the Hindu element is excepted, without wealth. Hindus in Ghazni
are required to wear tight trousers instead of loose ones, a black cap
in place of a turban and to pay a capitation tax. Upon compliance with
these restrictions they receive protection and contrive to control the
trade between India and Afghanistan. The chief trade of the place is
in corn, fruits and madder, all of which are largely produced in the
district. Wool and camels’-hair cloth are brought into the market from
the adjoining Hazara country; and, since the British occupation of Wano
and the opening up of the Gomul Pass, local commerce has developed.
Agriculturally, the district is a rich one. Large crops of wheat and
barley are obtained, the capital itself drawing no small proportion of
its grain supply from this market. In addition to the land under cereal
cultivation there are magnificent pastures, while the fruit is no less
celebrated. The excellence of the apples surpasses that of those grown
at Kandahar, although the Kandahar melons, an especial production of
that city, are superior to the variety which are reared at Ghazni.
For corn and apricots Kabul makes a heavy demand upon Ghazni; but
the madder grown in the vicinity is almost all exported to India,
while tobacco, corn and the castor-oil plant are grown only for home
consumption.
The climate of Ghazni for several months of the year is very cold,
the snow lying upon the ground from November until the middle of
March. Frosts fall early in October and the ice lasts until mid-day;
from November for many weeks there is no thaw at all. In December the
country is covered with 3 feet of snow, which remains on the ground
until March. The spring is genial and, as the fields become green,
flowers appear on the plain. Rain falls irregularly and only for a few
days, but the bane of the climate is the dust which comes up with the
westerly winds. In summer the heat is less than that which prevails at
Kabul and Kandahar. The severity of the winter months entails as a rule
heavy mortality among the people, the lack of fuel being the principal
cause of the deaths. The flocks of sheep and goats and the droves of
camels also suffer; and, as there is a large nomadic population in
the district, the distress is not confined to the limits of the town.
Indeed, the Ghazni centre experiences a higher rate of mortality than
anywhere else in Afghanistan.
Kabul is situated at the western extremity of a spacious plain in an
angle formed by the approach of two converging heights, the Asmai and
the Shere Darwaza, with which the Takht-i-Shah is joined by a narrow
ridge 7 miles above the confluence of the Logar and Kabul rivers. The
elevations of these three hills are Asmai 6790 feet, Shere Darwaza
7166 feet and the Takht-i-Shah 7530 feet. The city is about 3 miles in
circumference, but there are no walls round it at the present time.
Formerly it was encircled by walls constructed of sun-baked bricks and
mud. Traces of the wall may be seen in many places; along the crests
of the Asmai and Shere Darwaza it is still standing and follows those
heights to the Kabul river, which separates the two. If the existing
landmarks are any indication of its original size, it is improbable
that old Kabul ever can have boasted a permanent population of 20,000
inhabitants. The walls of the old city were pierced by seven gates,
the Lahore Gate being now the only one which is left. These earlier
gates were the Sirdar, Pêt, Deh Afghanan, Deh Mazang, Guzar Gah,
Jabr--and the Lahore, the existing entrance. Of these, the Sirdar was
the last, and the Jabr Gate the first, to be removed. The sites of the
others, although no longer existing, are quite well known and serve as
Custom stations to the revenue officers. Many of the names by which
these seven gates were known belonged to 1504, when Baber raised the
fortunes of the city to the dignity of a capital--a period so remote
from to-day that it is only by the recapitulation of the names that
the incidents of that epoch are recalled. Nowadays the Lahore Gate has
fallen into decay and its heavy wooden doors, studded with iron, appear
as if about to fall. The brickwork of the gateway has also crumbled
and the loopholes in the arch are choked with rubbish. In spite of its
dilapidated condition, it remains an emphatic link between the present
time and those past centuries.
The city extends a mile and a half from east to west and a mile from
north to south. Hemmed in by the mountains, there is little room
for a capital of any size, except in a northerly direction towards
the Shirpur cantonment. It is the intention of the present ruler of
Afghanistan to lay down the lines of a new city, which, in size and in
the importance of its defences, shall be worthy of the growing dignity
of the state. The late Amir, Abdur Rahman, had planned the site of
another capital in the fertile Chahardeh valley to the west of Shere
Darwaza and Asmai, and between them and the Paghman hills, when death
interrupted his labours. Nevertheless he bequeathed his policy to his
successor, Habib Ullah, who has not yet moved in the matter. Shir Ali,
disgusted with the unpleasant condition of his city, began a new one
at Shirpur--the city of Shir Ali--but circumstances prevented him from
completing more than three walls, these relics of a self-imposed task
subsequently affording much assistance to the British when the Shirpur
cantonment was built. In its present state Kabul affords a curious and
interesting study in contrasts between the old and the new conditions.
It is still a dirty city, its mean appearance emphasised by the
neglected condition of its rambling lanes and the ramshackle character
of its houses. Yet it boasts the possession of several buildings more
or less imposing, their existence striking a very welcome note of
relief after any close acquaintance with the narrow, ill-paved streets
and their unusually sordid environment. Still, accumulations of dirt
and the neglect of ages cannot conceal in the general complexion of the
capital a certain tawdry magnificence, constantly illustrated by the
erection of elaborate edifices that pass into neglect within a short
space of their construction. In this way there are quite a number of
so-called palaces in Kabul, as well as various buildings which, erected
under the spur of that conspicuous vanity that distinguishes the Afghan
Court and vaguely intended for industrial enterprises, have been
abandoned entirely or put to other uses.
In spite of the vagaries of design that distinguish the architectural
arts as they are revealed in Kabul, interest clings to the old Bala
Hissar which, lying on a spur at the foot of the Shere Darwaza, was the
abode of Shir Ali, similarly serving as the Residency for Cavagnari
when that ill-fated officer lived there. The Bala Hissar is now in
ruins, but it still contains the Black Well, a hole of infamous repute,
serving as a prison for political offenders and other malefactors. The
defences of the Bala Hissar have been demolished, although the original
gateway is still standing and the outer wall and moat exist. The fort
itself is now used as a magazine and within the walls rough barracks
have been provided for the troops. The recent increase in the garrison
of the city is expected to occasion its total demolition and the
re-erection of more convenient quarters.
[Illustration: WINTER PALACE OF THE AMIR]
The modern palaces of Kabul are, of course, superior in size and in
their scheme of adornment to the earlier buildings; on this account it
is impossible that they can fail to arrest attention. The residence
which will become eventually the principal seat of the Amir in Kabul
is the Dil Khusha Palace. This is still in process of construction.
Much time has been spent over the work, Mr. Finlayson, the architect
retained by the Amir, being delayed with his task by native jealousies
and Court intrigues. It will be a large, semi-European structure with
two storeys, the upper windows permitting pleasant views of the palace
gardens. Its cost, which will amount to several lakhs of rupees, is
to be borne by the resources of the state which are already quite
sufficiently straitened. As a rule the Amir selects his abode according
to the prevailing season, changing as the whim seizes him, the apparent
caprice being more generally dictated by the fear of assassination.
The favourite palace, the Erg, which was appointed as the quarters of
the Dane Mission, lies a little beyond the town, between it and the
Shirpur cantonment where Elphinstone had his headquarters. Here there
is now located an hospital for sick and wounded soldiers; and, provided
by a paternal and God-granted Government, a retreat for lunatics,
maimed prisoners, and the blind and indigent, where the delights of a
lingering death may be indulged, since the authorities thoughtfully
refuse either aid or medicine. The palace of the Erg corresponds more
nearly with the part played in the old days by the Bala Hissar. It is
at once the central domicile of the Court and a strong defensive work,
although it is commanded by a fort situated on the summit of Asmai.
The accommodation is divided between the palace quarter, occupying
the inmost station, and an inner and outer fort. A high wall, pierced
on its eastern aspect by a square gateway (in which there are no
gates) encloses the entire position. Within the gateway and extending
round the wall of the outer fort are the quarters of the troops, and
in the centre there are spacious gardens. One regiment is always on
duty in the outer fort, a second regiment being detailed to safeguard
the defences of the palace proper and its outer precincts. At no time
during the day or night is the Amir without a strong guard. Cossack
posts are established about the entrance, while patrols and sentries
watch the grounds and the palace itself. The inner fort is separated
from the outer one by a wide, deep ditch, and on the remote side there
rise high battlements. Access to it is gained by a drawbridge which,
lowered between sunrise and sunset, is raised at night.
In appearance this work is decidedly Oriental. The much decorated
gateway is set in a semicircular recess, flanked by imposing bastions.
The gates are of wood, massive and studded with iron, the arches
on either side containing quarters for the guards. To enter it is
necessary to cross the guard-room and to negotiate beyond it the
various sentries. In a small tower above the gateway a maxim is
stationed, the tower itself being used at sunrise and sunset as a place
of ceremonial salutation. Morning and night throughout the year, when
the Amir is in residence, the changing of the guards is accompanied
with an outburst of native music, a weird discord of drum and horn,
which breaks forth in greeting to his Highness. This inner work is
itself divided by a further wall, which is pierced with loop-holes
and unceasingly patrolled. To a certain extent it acts as a defensive
curtain to the heart of the palace for, in the space between, there are
a series of small gardens and the palace premises. The garden walks
are fenced with iron railings; abutting from them at their eastern
and southern extremities are rows of symmetrically arranged buildings
of single and double storeys. A postern-gate affords admission, its
position covered by a massive, wooden screen of considerable height,
length and strength. This erection protects the palace when the postern
gate is open. The several buildings that are congregated behind the
curtain-wall comprise the Amir’s pavilion, the official quarters of
the princes and a separate enclosure, in which stands the Harem Serai.
In addition there are the Amir’s treasury and storehouses, together
with the quarters of certain Court officials and the barracks of the
bodyguard--the little colony being set within a landscape of singular
beauty. Numerous varieties of plants grow in the garden; about the
pavilion there is a wealth of flowering stocks, sweet smelling peas
and gaily coloured roses, the air being heavy with the scent of many
perfumes. Considering the mean and uncomfortable squalor of the city,
the presence of this oasis with its fresh flowers, green grass, shady
trees and neatly tended paths, lends to the position of the palace an
attractive brightness. Away from the flowers there is a somewhat garish
note: the walks between the beds are paved with marble, and the stone
figures of two recumbent lions repose upon either side of steps leading
to the pavilion. This building was constructed by Abdur Rahman, its
plan being modelled upon a church which he had seen in Tashkent. It is
a pretentious two-storey structure, square in position, dome-shaped in
design, with towers and cupolas upon each corner, the lofty, octagonal
hall reaching to the roof. Upon the ground floor four alcoves lead off
from the main space, and above them there are four other rooms.
The corner towers possess an upper and a lower chamber. A covered
walk runs round three sides, shading the windows of the alcoves from
the glare of the sun at noon. The upper rooms are lighted by windows
overlooking the gardens; the alcoves on the ground floor by windows
which open upon the verandah. The outer face of the walk is pierced
by nine arches, and the roof serves as a promenade for any one who
may be occupying the chambers in the towers. Each alcove is about 12
feet square, while the breadth of the hall is 18 feet. The recesses
are retained by the Amir for his personal use, one acting as an
entrance lobby, another as the receptacle for his couch, a third as a
writing-room and a fourth as a waiting-place for his pages. There are
no doors to these recesses on the main floor and, between each lying
back against the wall, there are various articles of furniture, a black
wood writing-desk, a German piano, a marble-topped table and a carved
wood cabinet. Two pictures adorn the walls--one representing the House
of Commons and the other the House of Lords; it might be a suitable
attention upon the part of the Government of India to supplement these
pictures with paintings of Queen Victoria, Edward VII. and Queen
Alexandra.
[Illustration: AMIR’S SUMMER RESIDENCE--INDIKKI PALACE]
For audiences of a semi-private character, as well as for all Durbar
matters of a public nature, Abdur Rahman frequented the Durbar
Hall, situated beyond the moat in the gardens of the Erg Palace. It
is a long, lofty building with pillared verandah, corrugated iron
roof and twelve spacious windows on each side, curtained after the
European fashion. Two rows of white columns, placed at regular stages
down the floor of the building, support an elaborately carved ceiling,
ornamented with stencilled plates beaten out of empty kerosene tins.
It is 60 yards in length and 20 yards in breadth. The decoration is
Oriental, but in the upholstery there is a mingling of the influence of
the West with certain fashions of the East. The eastern entrance admits
through a big double doorway and portico to the Durbar chamber, which
is usually the scene of any festivities that the Amir may provide for
the delectation of his Court or the entertainment of his guests. At
such a moment the floor is carpeted with English carpets and the aisles
of the hall are occupied by long tables, each place being set with a
cane-bottomed wooden arm-chair, European cutlery and Indian napery.
The illumination proceeds from two electric arc lamps, their dynamo
worked by a portable engine which is brought from the workshops for the
occasion. The building lies east and west across the garden and, at its
western extremity, there is the Amir’s Guest House. This comprises, on
the ground floor, a large hall, which opens into the palace gardens and
three smaller rooms. A stone staircase, with wooden balustrade, leads
where there is a second apartment, on an upper floor, lighted by many
double windows and giving upon a terrace.
In addition to a summer palace at Indikki, regarded by the late Amir as
a convenient place of banishment for his sons when occasion for their
punishment occurred, there is the Shah Ara Palace. This was used for
the reception of the Dane Mission, and is generally employed in all
state ceremonies. It is situated in a spacious garden, where stands
during Ramazan a Durbar tent, in which the Amir fulfils his religious
duties. For audiences with the Amir at this palace the invited guests
assemble in a similar tent, whence they are conducted to the throne
room. The floor of this apartment is decorated with Persian carpets;
and a row of chairs, arranged along one wall, is confronted by two
carved cupboards. In the centre of the room is a polished table and
near the entrance there is a smaller one, circular and marble-topped.
The Durbars held in this palace are of interest because they constitute
one of the few occasions upon which the Amir of Afghanistan receives
and speaks with Europeans.
[Illustration: MAJOR CLEVELAND, I.M.S., PHYSICIAN TO THE AMIR OF
AFGHANISTAN]
Invited to the particular reception now described were Major Cleveland,
the physician of the Amir, and Mrs. Cleveland; Mr. Finlayson, the
architect; Mr. Thornton, the superintendent of the leather factory;
the Misses Brown, European medical attendants attached to the Harem;
and Mr. Donovan, of the Ordnance Department. The audience had been
arranged for noon, and after some little pause, during which the guests
were placed in their order of presentation, Habib Ullah sent in to
inquire whether he should shake hands with the ladies. Upon receiving
a reply in the affirmative he strode into the room, attended by
Mahommed Suleiman Khan, his private secretary, Azim Ullah, the Court
interpreter, and several pages.
Morning dress appeared to be the order of the function--Mr. Finlayson
wearing a frock-coat, Mr. Donovan a blue serge suit, Major Cleveland
a blue uniform with sword and no belt. The ladies adopted calling
costumes. The Amir, appearing in his official attire, had donned a
black frock-coat, with a single-breasted waistcoat, a white shirt and
a pair of light grey trousers over patent boots. He wore a turned-down
white collar and a stiff butterfly tie, which it was the privilege of
the private secretary to adjust from time to time. Upon his head he
wore a black astrakhan cap; the left hand was gloved with brown kid,
the glove for the right hand being carried. His clothes were well
cut and he was very carefully groomed. Smaller in stature than his
father, to whom he bears a marked facial resemblance, his attitude is
no less dignified, although his manner is much milder than that which
distinguished the late Abdur Rahman. In speaking, Habib Ullah suffers
from a slight impediment of speech, the result of an attempt against
his life when, as a child, some one endeavoured to poison him. In
appearance he is of a light complexion, with heavy features which are
adorned with a slight beard and moustache. He is broad, rather clumsily
built, with a marked tendency to stoutness. Neither in his face, nor
in such evidences of capacity as he has shown, does he reveal the
truculent ability of his immediate predecessor upon the throne.
[Illustration: MRS. CLEVELAND]
Frankness and self-reliance were, perhaps, the most prominent
characteristics of Abdur Rahman’s nature. At the same time, he was
a genial, strong, clever man of the world, well-informed upon all
subjects of general interest, eloquent, resolute, logical and
possessed of much innate humour and facility in repartee. Always alive
to his own interests, he possessed no small capacity for intrigue; and
his first bid for position in Afghanistan was as the nominee of the
Russians, General Kauffman, the Russian Governor-General of Turkestan,
having arranged that he should be supplied with 200 breech-loading
rifles, 20,000 rounds of ammunition, accoutrements for 100 horse and
100 footmen and 5000 Bokhara tillas (35,000 rupees). Yet, when he
appeared across the border and arrived at a secret understanding with
the Government of India about his nomination as Amir, he posed as
the champion of his faith and the liberator of the land from foreign
domination, suppressing, in order to do this, all mention of his
agreement with us and of his relations with Russia. Nevertheless, as
soon as his own position was secure, he curtailed the influence of the
mullahs.
It was no part of the Russian scheme that Abdur Rahman should go to
Kabul. They had calculated that, as we were about to retire from
Afghanistan, Abdur Rahman might drive out General Ghulam Haidar from
Turkestan and establish himself as ruler. Later, if circumstances
should permit and the British nominee at Kabul prove weak or incapable,
they expected to strengthen their position there and, at last, to see
all Northern Afghanistan under Russian occupation. With our acceptance
of Abdur Rahman as Amir, he realised that the interests of himself,
his dynasty and his country lay with us. Resolved to obtain all he
could from the British Government, he was perfectly good humoured and
contented when he found that all his demands could not be granted. He
spoke of Russia with friendliness, and acknowledged his obligations
to her for the seven years of hospitality that had been shown him.
He absolutely denied any agreement with or dependence on her; and,
making light of the circumstances under which he left Tashkent as also
the instructions and assistance he had received, he preferred, with
the aid of England, to reign as an independent sovereign. The results
of his rule reveal an astonishing record of work done, and progress
made, in the short space of twenty years. Amid constant anxiety and
discouragement, surrounded by open enemies and secret traitors, with
robber tribes to subdue, the whole machinery of administration to
create, and with very few servants and officials who could sympathise
with, carry out or even understand his schemes for the development and
civilisation of his country, he yet achieved a signal and brilliant
success, leaving it to his successor to cement the structure which
he had put together with such labour and loving care or to wreck it
altogether.
After addressing a variety of remarks upon the various interests in
Kabul to his guests, Habib Ullah opened a general conversation in
Persian, as that tongue is the language of the Court. Habib Ullah reads
and speaks English, Arabic, Hindustani and Persian, but considers the
employment of English as undignified. At the beginning of the audience
the Amir seemed preoccupied; but as he had just come from giving orders
in connection with the welcome and entertainment of the Dane Mission,
he presently talked of that event. He began by a graceful allusion
to the Viceroy, Lord Curzon, and a complimentary reference to Lord
Kitchener, in acknowledgment of the great interest these distinguished
people took in the welfare of his state. Gradually he brought the
conversation closer to his subject, likening Afghanistan to the
position of a shield held at arm’s length against the enemies of India.
“If such a shield were thin as parchment,” said Habib Ullah, “a child
could tear it. But if thick and strong were the shield it would resist
all attempts; and it is my object to make this shield strong--so strong
that it cannot be broken,” adding with parting reflection that he would
discuss further the means of strengthening the shield when the Mission
from India had arrived.
At this point in the interview Inayat Ullah Khan, the little prince who
at a later date visited India, entered the chamber. Salaaming to his
father he stood with the pages until given permission to be seated.
Habib Ullah now turned the conversation to his gun accident, finding
in the quick recovery that he had made under the skilful attention of
Major Bird--physician to the late Viceroy and specially despatched in
response to an urgent message from Kabul--a direct manifestation of the
grace of Allah. In order that his guests should be in a position to
inspect the injured limb the Amir rested his hand upon a table, which
he himself drew up. Removing the glove the effects of the operation
became apparent. At the moment that Major Bird had arrived in Kabul the
hand had become very swollen. There was, also, a great accumulation of
pus in the wounds, which it had been necessary to incise; while the
terminal phalanx of the index finger, and part of the second phalanx
of the middle finger of the left hand, had been removed. At the
time of this audience Major Bird had returned to India. The wounds
had healed; and the hand was perfectly healthy, although the joints
were still stiff. The accident, which has made him look with greater
toleration upon the wisdom of establishing in Kabul a permanent branch
of the Indian medical system, had been caused through the bursting of a
sixty guinea, hammerless, 12-bore, double-barrel gun of English make.
The Amir, on March 28, 1904, was snipe-shooting near the village of
Khudadad and had shot twenty brace, when, as he was firing, the right
barrel burst, a fragment an inch and a half in length being blown out.
Fortunately the palm of the hand was well beneath the barrel, the
injured fingers alone resting on the side--a position which explains
the escape of the other portion of the hand.
Upon the conclusion of their examination of his hand by his visitors,
the reception, which had occupied two hours in duration, terminated
with a concluding remark upon the murder of Mr. Fleischer, an
English-speaking German subject, who had been sent out from Krupp’s, to
superintend the Kabul ordnance yards and workshops. Mr. Fleischer had
remained in Kabul in charge of the arsenal until, returning to India to
meet his wife and family, he was murdered by the risaldar of the escort
that was taking him to Lundi Khana, the limit of Afghan territory in
the direction of India. Habib Ullah defended the action of the murderer
on the ground that, when a Mahommedan overhears his faith abused, he
must kill himself or the traducer. Mr. Fleischer had not abused the
Mahommedan religion, the foul deed arising out of a jealous intrigue
between Mohammed Sarwar Khan, the official in charge of the Amir’s
factories, and the risaldar, but set afoot by Habib Ullah’s practice
of accepting complaints against foreign workmen without permitting
them to make any explanation on their own behalf. Mr. Martin himself
had suffered through having punished this same official, Mohammed
Sarwar Khan, for gross insolence, and accordingly had left the Amir’s
service. After his departure Mohammed Sarwar Khan plotted against Mr.
Fleischer, finding in the latter’s visit to India an opportunity well
suited to his purpose on account of the Amir’s hostility to Europeans.
Accordingly Mohammed Sarwar Khan instructed the risaldar to provoke Mr.
Fleischer in such a way that complaints by this worthy pair could be
lodged with Habib Ullah against him.
The actual incident began on the evening of November 6, 1904, when,
near the village of Basawul, a party of Europeans, proceeding to
Kabul from Peshawar, were joined at their encampment for the night by
Mr. Fleischer and his caravan from Kabul. After dinner Mr. Fleischer
discovered that the Europeans from India had not been provided with
farrashes, whose duties it is to attend to the pitching and striking
of tents in camp. As Mr. Fleischer was going in the morning to Lundi
Kotal and would not require his farrashes, he sent a message to the
risaldar to inform him that these men were to return to Kabul with the
European party from India. The risaldar, on receipt of this message,
replied that he would not be responsible for the tents which the Amir
had loaned for the journey if the two farrashes were withdrawn. Mr.
Fleischer then despatched his servant to tell the man to come to him,
which order the risaldar refused to obey. Subsequently, later in the
night, when Mr. Fleischer had gone back to his own camp, the fellow
was again insubordinate. The next morning, November 7, Mr. Fleischer
bade farewell to the Europeans and, proceeding on his way to India, was
shot down a mile from Lundi Khana by the risaldar. News of the murder
was conveyed to Dakka, the officer of that post going out to meet the
risaldar. The newcomer inquired immediately whether there had been any
witnesses of the crime, and, learning that it had been witnessed by two
muleteers, he suggested that they should be shot too, at the same time
guaranteeing to support any story that the risaldar should invent. The
murderer did not attach any importance to the matter and declined the
proposal, returning to Dakka as the guest of the officer of that fort.
Within a short time news reached the Governor of Jelalabad, who sent
out to arrest the risaldar, reporting at the same time the deed to
the Amir. To save his own “face” Habib Ullah issued orders that the
murderer should be taken back to the scene of his crime and there shot,
the escort, which he had commanded, together with his family, being
cast into prison. The action of the Amir came as a complete surprise
to the risaldar; before execution he explained that, had he known that
the Amir would have regarded the shooting of a feringhee with such
severity, he would have shot the two witnesses as well.
In appreciation of Mr. Fleischer’s services the Amir went through
the farce of announcing to the Government of India his intention
of presenting the widow and her family with a pension. Many months
have passed since then and no payment has been awarded, money being
as difficult to screw out of Afghanistan as gold is from stones.
Nevertheless, Mrs. Fleischer has appealed repeatedly, but without
success, to the consideration of the Government of India and to the
generosity of the Amir.
In spite of his amiability Habib Ullah does not possess a very secure
seat upon his throne, the intrigues of the queen-mother and the
jealousy of his brothers disturbing his position. Nor does he receive
the confidence of his people or reveal sufficient strength of character
to dominate the situation. Afghanistan needs the firm hand of a man,
who is as much a maker as a ruler of men. Habib Ullah is weak-willed;
and, in a country where the authority of the priest is a law in the
land, his subserviency to priestly control and his subjection to the
influence of his brother Nasr Ullah Khan have attracted universal
attention. Nasr Ullah and the Queen Dowager, Bibi Halima, wife of the
late Amir and the mother of Sirdar Mahommed Omar Jar Khan, are the
stormy petrels in the Afghan sea of domestic politics. Habib Ullah in
some measure understands the situation; and, doubtless, it is out of
respect for their dignity that Bibi Halima and Omar Khan are closely
protected by a strong detachment of the Imperial Bodyguard--so closely,
indeed, that they are practically state prisoners.
[Illustration: HIS HIGHNESS PRINCE NASR ULLA KHAN]
It is more difficult for the Amir to assail the position occupied by
Nasr Ullah, who was appointed commander-in-chief of the Afghan army in
the early days of Habib Ullah’s accession. Little attempt therefore is
made by the Amir to curb the masterful will of his brother. Nasr Ullah
Khan, who has become a Hafis or repeater of the Koran, also held the
office of Shahgassi, or Gentleman Usher to the King. Just before the
advent of the Dane Mission at Kabul he was created an Itwad-ul-Dowlah
or Pillar of the State. In his dual capacity he threw into the scales
already settling against the Mission the whole weight of his influence,
ultimately securing its complete discomfiture. He is not, perhaps, the
most reliable prop to the policy and rule of his brother, since he
aspires to the throne for himself; and, there is no doubt that when
opportunity offers, he will make a bid for it. At the moment neither
his plans nor his partisans are prepared, but events move with such
swiftness in Afghanistan that no one can gauge more than approximately
the varying fortunes of the situation. Serious family quarrels have
compelled the Amir to exercise his authority in the arbitrary way
common in Afghanistan. The first step taken was in 1904, when the Omar
Jar was deprived of his bodyguard, the men being sent back to their
regiments. The next step was to remove him from his office as head of
all Government officials, an appointment in which he had succeeded
Nasr Ullah Kahn in 1902. These proceedings caused much excitement in
the capital and public feeling increased when it became known that
the Bibi Halima had refused to accept the allowance assigned to her
for the upkeep of her household. Matters became further complicated
by an incident which roused the Amir’s anger against the “Queen’s”
faction. Omar Jar ordered the Master of the Horse to send him the
favourite charger of the late Amir. This request was disregarded, and
the unfortunate officer, on being summoned to give an explanation, was
so maltreated by the Sirdar’s retainers that he died from his injuries.
When news of these proceedings reached the ears of the Amir, the Bibi
Halima and her son were directed to leave the palace where they had
resided since the demise of Abdur Rahman, Habib Ullah finally decreeing
that they should be confined to another residence, where they are
practically state prisoners. His Highness is said to have asked two of
the principal mullahs in Kabul to adjudicate upon the causes of the
strained relations existing in his family; but, although a temporary
compromise was established, no permanent reconciliation was obtained.
It is necessary to study carefully the table of the Amir’s descent[36]
to understand the precise position of affairs existing to-day in
Afghanistan.
Even in Afghanistan women wield an influence over the affairs of the
state, and its domestic policy is never without the disturbing effect
of a jealous woman’s interference. Indeed, the sway of the harem in
Court circles at Kabul is as pronounced as the power of the priests--a
condition of affairs that is no small departure from the old order,
when women and priests were relegated to the background. Since the
ascent of the present Amir to the throne there have been changes in the
army, in the state and in the harem. Three wives have been divorced--a
woman of the Mohmund tribe; a woman from the Helmund country who had
only been a few days in Kabul and the daughter of Saad-ud-Din Khan,
Hakim of Herat, the will of the Kabul priests prevailing upon Habib
Ullah to enforce the spirit of the Koran, which forbids the maintenance
of more than four wives. The number of concubines is unrestricted and
the strength of the royal harem in this respect increases constantly,
slaves of prepossessing appearance--in the service of the queens--being
chosen. Their end is usually disastrous, and the hapless woman who, as
a slave, excites the admiration of the Amir is generally--“removed.”
The four wives who have survived this example of priestly authority
are: (1) the mother of Aman Ullah; (2) Ulia Jancah (the daughter of
Yusef Khan Barakzai, the favourite wife until recently--she is the
mother of a daughter); (3) the daughter of Ibrahim Khan; and (4) the
mother of Inayat Ullah. The child of Yusef Khan, Ulia Jancah, is known
in the intimate circle of the harem as the Hindustani queen. She is a
woman of education, charm and accomplishment. She reads and writes;
as a former pupil of an Indian seminary, she also sings and plays the
piano. She is no admirer of the Afghan ruler, his people, or the state;
and it was the chance expression of this aversion which brought about
her displacement.
[Illustration: THE AMIR’S BODYGUARD]
PEDIGREE OF THE AMIR OF AFGHANISTAN[37]
=Amir Dost Mahommed Khan Barakzai.= Born 1774. Finally overthrew the
power of the ruling Saddozai clan on the death of Shah Shujah, 1829.
Died 1863.
Married a daughter of a Shia Rayi of Shalozan in Kuram, sister
of Shah Hussein Mania, father of Shah Jehan of Kuram.
Amir Mahommed Afzul Khan. Died 1867. Married a daughter of
a Popalzai Rayi of Koh-i-Daman, Haka Kabul, sister of
Khwahaja Mahommed Khan, and of Sultan Mahommed Khan Popalzai.
=Amir Abdur Rahman Khan.= Born 1844. Refugee in Russian
territory. 1869-79. Recognized as Amir 1880. Died
October 1, 1901.
Married Gulriz, a slave girl from Wakhan.
=Amir Habib Ullah Khan.= Born at Samarkand, 1872.
Succeeded as Amir in 1901.
Married a stepdaughter of Naib Salar Amir
Mahommed Khan.
Inayat Ullah Khan. Born 1888. (4th Queen).
Married a stepdaughter of Shahgassi
Mahommed Sarwar.
Aman Ullah Khan. Born 1890. (1st Queen).
Married a woman of the Mohmund tribe.
(Divorced).
Married a woman from the Helmund country.
(Divorced).
Married a daughter of Saad-ud Din Khan,
Hakim of Herat. (Divorced).
Married a daughter of Sirdar Ibrahim Khan.
(3rd Queen).
Married a daughter of Sirdar Mahommed Yusef
Khan Barakzai. (2nd Queen).
Sirdar Nasr Ullah Khan. Born 1874.
Married Bibi Halima, daughter of Sahibzadeh
Alik Ullah Khan, and grand-daughter, on the
maternal side, of Amir Dost Mahommed Khan.
Sirdar Mahommed Omar Khan. Born 1889.
Married Staro, a Chitrali woman of no important
family.
Sirdar Amin Ullah Khan. Born 1885.
Married a daughter of a Mir of Mazar-i-Sharif.
Sirdar Ghulam Ali Khan. Born 1889.
Amir Mahommed Azim Khan. Born (?). Died 1869. Married an
Armenian of Kabul, a relative of Daniyal Khan.
Sirdar Mahommed Ishak Khan. Born 1840. A Refugee in
Russian territory.
Married a daughter of Hajii Rahmet Ullah Khan Bamazai Popalzai.
=Amir Shir Ali Khan.= Born 1825. Succeeded as Amir 1863.
Died 1879. Married Kamar Jan, sister of Saadet Kahn of
Lalpura.
Mahommed Yakub Khan. Born 1852. Refugee in India since
1879.
Mahommed Ayub Khan. Born 1856. Refugee, first in Persia
and then in India, since 1881.
Wazir Mahommed. Akbar Kahn.
Sirdar Ghula Haidar.
The woman now filling the position of chief queen is the mother of Aman
Ullah. She has recently given birth to a daughter. At a more normal
season she strikes an interesting contrast with the daughter of Yusef
Khan. She is a woman of ungovernable passions, wilful, domineering,
and capricious--an odd mixture of the termagant and the shrew. She
has killed with her own hands three of her slaves who had become
_enceinte_ through their intercourse with the Amir, and she chastises
personally her erring handmaidens, purposely disfiguring any whose
physical attractiveness may appeal to their master. Her influence over
the Amir, however, is limited. She sings and dances, but she lacks
the subtle craft of the Bibi Halima and the gentle dignity of the
Hindustani queen. The four wives of the Amir occupy positions which are
graduated to a recognised scale. The first wife, the mother of Aman
Ullah, draws an allowance of one lakh of rupees annually; the second
wife, Ulia Jancah, the Hindustani queen, 80,000 rupees; the third wife,
the daughter of Ibrahim, 20,000 rupees; and the fourth wife, mother
of Inayat Ullah, 14,000 rupees a year. The first queen resides in the
harem serai of the Shah Ara palace where the two principal concubines,
the mothers of Hayat-Ullah Khan[38] and Kabir Jan[39] and respectively
former Badakshi and Tokhi slave-girls, are housed. The inmates of the
harem are busy people, occupying themselves in knitting, embroidery
and other feminine pursuits. The chief wife has a sewing machine and
with it makes clothes for her children. The Hindustani Queen, who is of
royal birth, lives in great style. She is an ambitious woman and wears
English dresses although it should be said that they are costumes in
the fashion of thirty years ago. Each of the Amir’s married wives, as
distinct from the concubines, has a separate house, where she lives
with her children.
[Illustration: HIS HIGHNESS HABIB ULLAH, AMIR OF AFGHANISTAN]
The Queen Dowager, Bibi Halima, the mother of Sirdar Mahommed Omar
Khan, a woman of engaging personality, at one time held a position not
without close resemblance to those filled by the Empress Dowager of
China and the Lady Om, queen to the Emperor of Korea. Her intrigues
on behalf of her son were over-bold and she is now confined--her son,
contrary to the energetic character of his mother, taking little
interest in his situation. The Bibi Halima is a woman of considerable
beauty, particularly intelligent and well informed. She is nearly
forty-three years of age, and her sympathies are so distinctly British
that her palace is regarded with as much suspicion as the British
agency. The law of succession to the thrones in Mahommedan countries,
apart from the exercise of opportunity which secures recognition upon
the basis that might is right, entails the throne upon the son
of the first woman whom the ruler may have married. The heir may be
younger than sons born to other women, but, if such a marriage were the
first alliance contracted by his father, the succession is seldom set
aside. Abdur Rahman, however, departed from this custom as the Amirs of
Afghanistan have power to appoint their successors.
Habib Ullah is the offspring of a Wakhan concubine named Gulriz with
whom the Amir Abdur Rahman consorted. Bibi Halima, also the wife of
Abdur Rahman, lays claim to it through her direct descent from the Amir
Dost Mahommed Khan. She is of the Blood Royal indubitably; and, if
she were in possession of her liberty, she would soon compel her son,
Sirdar Mahommed Omar Khan, to take the field. His chances of success in
any rebellion would be as great as those enjoyed by his half-brother,
Nasr Ullah Khan, similarly a son of Gulriz and full brother to Habib
Ullah. The disparity in the ages of these three sons of Abdur Rahman
bears upon the present situation--Habib Ullah, born 1872, and Nasr
Ullah, born 1874, being many years the senior of Mahommed Omar, who was
born at Mazar-i-Sharif on September 15, 1889. By a strange irony, which
may yet be not without its effect upon the succession to the throne,
Inayat Ullah, the son of Habib Ullah and the lawful heir to the throne,
was born in 1888, his uncle, the son of Bibi Halima and Abdur Rahman,
being only six months younger.
[Illustration: (text in Arabic)]
[Illustration: (_Translation._)
[40]_The proclamation is addressed: “To the loyal-hearted nobles,
to high and low, to all my subjects of the clans of Hazara.” After
reminding the clansmen at some length that formerly they displayed
some opposition and rebellion towards the State, the edict goes on
to state the terms of the Amir’s clemency, which are as follow:_
First. As regards your lands which have till now been given to
Afghans who have left their own districts for yours, I direct that
hereafter your lands which are in your possession and which are
cultivated and constitute your agricultural land are not to be
given to alien immigrants.
Secondly. Persons who have been banished from this God-given kingdom
and have fled to other parts are all hereby permitted and commanded
to return to their own proper homes, and let them come with
confidence. Let all of these absentees as are of good position (Mir),
or the descendants of such, come before me that I may see them and
that their dwelling-place and that their means of living and
residence may be well and appropriately arranged for. Let all ranks
of landlords and tenants be present at their homes. If their land
has not yet been given to aliens, We direct that after this it shall
not be given. Let them hold their own lands in peace and comfort.
And to as many persons as have, previous to this order, transferred
their lands to aliens and have not taken them back, in place of
these transferred lands State lands of culturable quality will be
granted from the area watered by the new canal, so that they may,
please God, settle down in peace and comfort.
We also notify to those who have absconded beyond the frontiers of
this God-given kingdom that if by the last month of this year they
do not return to their homes, we shall not allow their lands to
lie uncultivated. We direct that they shall be given over to alien
cultivators.
This order applies to all clans of the Hazara. But if the men of the
three villages of Sheik Ali, Koh (namely, of Talah, in Barfak), and
men of Chahar Sadah and the clan of Sultan who have absconded from
this God-given State return home, we are pleased to bestow on them
allotments of cultivated land in another place. In these three
villages named above land will not be given to them.
For the rest, for all the inhabitants of my kingdom I pray the
Glorious God to grant a daily increase of peace and prosperity.
Given on Saturday, the 12th of Ramzan-ul-Mobarik, 1322, Hijreh
(about the 17th of December, 1904).]
Ultimately, there is some prospect of a struggle for the throne taking
place between the uncle and his nephew. Each is a young man; but,
although time may not temper their discretion, it does lie within the
power of Habib Ullah to place the rights of his son beyond the reach
of this particular rival candidate. In any case, and it is of interest
to note it, Habib Ullah has gone out of his way to consolidate the
position of his eldest son, Inayat Ullah. This he did by despatching
him on the recent mission to India and appointing him Governor of
Kabul, while Mahommed Omar shares the restricted liberty of his mother,
and Hayat Ullah, born in 1890, the son of a Badakshi slave-girl and
half-brother to Inayat Ullah, the heir-apparent, has been appointed to
Badakshan as Governor of the province. These facts are in reality only
eddies showing the way that the current runs in Kabul, where from
its complex nature the position may be described as shifting, delicate
and treacherous as any quicksand. None the less the policy of the new
Amir has been markedly benevolent; and his remission of certain taxes,
his many acts of clemency to Afridi fugitives and his invitations[41]
to Afghan refugees of noble or tribal families to return, reveal a
great change in the controlling forces in Afghanistan. It is to us
not a matter of gratification altogether, for it merely shows that
the tribal leaders of noble families have lost their influence, that
they can no more sway factions or parties in the population, and that
power in Afghanistan is being gradually centralised around the Amir
in a circle of officials which is controlled by the mullahs. The
invitation to the refugees to come back is not out of any generosity of
feeling; it arises from pride--and a desire to appear to be indulgent
to those who are helpless and who are now impotent. In fact it is
political charity, intended to spread the good name of the new ruler
of Afghanistan in India, and to impress the British Government. It
is a certain indication too, that, in the event of complications in
the future with Afghanistan, the assistance of dissatisfied Sirdars
will be of little value, for, in a few years if not very soon, the
only elements will be the officials, the bureaucracy and the mullahs.
At the same time the power of the Amir himself has been reduced and
transferred to the officials. The measures of Abdur Rahman prepared the
way for this change. He either killed or frightened out of Afghanistan
every rival or every individual likely to acquire influence. His
declaration and boast was that his God-granted Government ruled for the
benefit of the people and the glory of religion, that he had no object
but the good of the country and no secrets from the people as he had
no interests but theirs to serve. There is not amongst any class of
Afghans the feeling of reverence for the throne which exists in Turkey
or in Persia. The Amir is the highest official of a tribe, that has
seized power; and Afghanistan is gradually evolving a bureaucratic
Government controlled by priestly influence, whose policy will not
always be measured by the interests of the country, but by whatever
interpretations of the “Sheriat” some powerful mullah may conjure up.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan is acknowledged to be an independent Government
within certain limitations. No Power has any right to interfere in its
administration, although it is obvious that certain contingencies might
alter its position in this respect. In the meantime, the Government of
Afghanistan owes no national debt nor any war indemnity. The Amir is
not hampered by any capitulations with Foreign Governments; he has no
foreign ambassadors in his capital--although this is more a grievance
than a pleasure to him, since he is anxious to vaunt his independence
before the Courts of Europe.
The relations between Great Britain and Afghanistan as they stand
to-day are fixed by treaties. The British Government acknowledges the
independence of Afghanistan; it accepts responsibility for its safety
and integrity against unprovoked aggressions, so long as the Amir
does not act against the advice of the British Government in matters
affecting his relations with other countries. Great Britain pays the
Amir eighteen lakhs of rupees as an annual subsidy by virtue of Sir
Mortimer Durand’s treaty with the Amir Abdur Rahman, dated 1893 and
confirmed by Sir Louis Dane with the Amir Habib Ullah, 1904-1905; in
addition to which she permits Afghanistan to import without restriction
supplies of war materials and to maintain a political agent at the
Court of the Viceroy of India.
In return for this understanding with the Imperial Government, the Amir
is bound by his word and treaties to be the friend and ally of Great
Britain; he pledges himself not to communicate with any Foreign Power
without consulting with the Indian Government, and to accept at Kabul
a British Agent, who must always be a Mahommedan subject and provided
solely with a native staff.
The British agent at Kabul holds an absolutely thankless position. He
is shunned of necessity by Europeans in order to avoid giving rise
to political suspicions, and he may see the Amir only in the public
Durbars or by special appointment. To all intents and purposes he is
a prisoner; since, although received in Durbar, he does not visit
any one and seldom ventures into the street. If a European were seen
speaking to the British Agent, or to any one attached to his staff,
he would certainly be packed off at once to the frontier. No Afghan
is allowed to enter the British Agency and no Englishman has visited
the British Agent, since Sir Salter Pyne left Kabul. Even to be found
near the building causes suspicion, as several Afghans have discovered.
Moreover, since in many cases punishment has not ended merely with
imprisonment, it has become an unwritten law to avoid the British agent
and his _entourage_ at any cost.
The British political agents at Kabul are appointed by the Indian
Foreign Office, who forward to the Amir for his approval the names of a
few Mahommedan officials. One of these candidates is selected, the term
of office being from three to five years. Upon returning to India he is
usually rewarded with the title of Nawab. The Agency staff consists of
two secretaries, one hospital assistant, and about two or three dozen
private servants and bodyguard, all of which must be natives of India.
The British agent attends the public audiences of the Amir; but, if he
has any letters or communications from the British Government to convey
to the Amir, he must ask for an appointment to deliver them.
If there are any legal disputes or claims between members of the staff
of the British agent, both plaintiff and defendant are referred by him
to the Courts of Justice in India. If the British agent or any member
of his staff has a dispute with the Afghan subjects of the Amir, such
cases are usually decided in the Courts of Kabul, under the law of
that country. Complications of a very serious political character are
invariably referred to the Governments of India and Afghanistan for
arrangement between themselves.
The British agent puts his diary and also the private letters of the
whole of his staff into one package, which he hands to the Amir’s
Postmaster-General at Kabul, taking a receipt for their delivery under
seal; from the Amir’s post-office they are sent down to Peshawar,
where the Amir’s postmaster is given a discharge for their surrender
to the political agent at Peshawar. In the same manner the packages of
letters, which are delivered by the British political agent at Peshawar
to the Amir’s postmaster at that place, are forwarded to the British
agent at Kabul by the Amir’s Postmaster-General, who also takes a
voucher for their safe and proper condition. The services and duties
of the Amir’s political agent with the Viceroy of India, who, together
with his staff, is a Mahommedan subject of the Amir, are nearly the
same as those of the British agent at Kabul, except that the term
and time of his office is not limited and depends entirely on the
pleasure of the Amir. Besides the political agent, the Amir has various
commercial agents in India as well as in England, the most important
of these having been Sir Acquin Martin, Mr. T. B. Guthrie and Mr. E.
T. Pack. Each of these industrious and excellent servants of the Amir
has suffered the loss of large sums of money through a very pronounced
defect in the Amirs of Afghanistan, which causes them to forget
their obligations so long as there is a frontier lying between the
Government of Kabul and those with whom its debts have been contracted.
Representations remain unanswered and, apparently, no authority exists
which can make the Amir of Afghanistan redeem his liabilities, although
an obvious course awaits if the Government of India would assent to the
attachment of the subsidy.
[Illustration: MAJOR CLEVELAND’S RESIDENCE IN KABUL]
[36] Printed on page 365.
[37] Adapted from “The Life of Abdur Rahman”: Sultan
Mahomed Khan and “The Middle Eastern Question”:
Valentine Chirol.
[38] Born 1890.
[39] Born 1893.
[40] See p. 372.
[41] See p. 371.