AFFAIRS IN THE EAST INDIES.
Her majesty, in her speech on the prorogation of parliament, alluded to an army which the governor-general had led across the Indus. This “army of the Indus” was put in motion for the western frontier at the commencement of the present year; and the circumstances which led to so important a proceeding were briefly these. The kingdom of Affghanistan has been called the land of transition between eastern and western Asia: a proverb says, “No one can be king of Hindoostan without first becoming lord of Cabool.” The founder of the Affghan empire was Ahmed Shah, who died in 1773. Ahmed Shah made several victorious incursions into the East; and his son, Timour Shah, followed his example. The decease of Timour Shah, however, delivered over the Affghan empire to the domestic hostilities of his sons; and the rival tribe of the Barukzyes took advantage of their dissensions to precipitate them from their sovereignty. When, indeed, Sir Alexander Burnes visited Affghanistan in 1833, the only portion which remained in the hands of a descendant of Ahmed Shah was the principality of Herat. The remainder was parcelled out in the following manner between the usurping family:—Dost Mohammed Khan ruled in Cabool; Sirdar Sooltan Mohammed Khan ruled Peshawar, although his two brothers. Peer and Sared Mohammed Khan, shared its revenues; and Candahar was governed by Kohun Dil Khan, assisted by Ruhun Dil and Shere Dil, his two brothers. The chief of Cabool owed his success to Futteh Khan, the chief of the great family of Barukzyes, and the most powerful of the Affghan nobles. Futteh Khan, in fact, governed the kingdom under the designation of vizier, while Mahmood abandoned himself to debauchery. If Mahmood, however, submitted to the ascendancy of his able minister, not so did his son, the prince Kamrau. By his orders Futteh Khan was seized at Herat and deprived of his eyesight; and a few months afterwards the unhappy vizier was literally hacked to pieces by the courtiers of Mahmood, in the presence of that monarch. In the days of his power Futteh Khan had distributed the different governments of his kingdom among his numerous brothers, and this act drove them into rebellion. Mahmood abandoned his throne without a struggle, and, although he retained Herat, with the title of king, became, in effect, a vassal of Persia. The Barukzye brothers were left to dispose of his dominions at pleasure, and they determined on recalling Shoojah to the throne, who after many perilous adventures had fallen into the hands of Runjeet Sing at Lahore. Shoojah escaped from Lahore; but the Barukzye brothers having taken offence at his arrogant treatment of one of their friends, transferred their support to his brother, Gyooh: the trappings of royalty were given to him, while they retained to themselves the power and revenues of the kingdom. The dismemberment of the Affghan empire, however, from this time proceeded more rapidly. Runjeet Sing seized some of its finest provinces, including Cashmere; Shere Dil Khan established himself at Candahar as an independent prince; Dost Mohammed made himself master of Cabool; Sirdar Sooltan Mohammed Khan became tributary governor of Peshawar; Balkh was annexed to the kingdom of Bokhara; and the Ameers of Scinde declared themselves independent. Gyooh fled to Lahore; and the only province of the kingdom which remained in the hands of a descendant of the royal family was Herat. The prince who governed Herat was Kamrau, who had directed that the eyes of his lather’s vizier, Futteh Khan, should be put out. Without directly acknowledging the sovereignty of Persia, Prince Kamrau had been for some years in the practice of rendering an occasional tribute to the shah, as often as the governor of the Persian province of Khorassan was strong enough to extort it from him. At this time, however, the prince of Herat refused to perform any such engagement; and he even permitted his vizier to pass through Siestan into Khorassan, where he compelled the chiefs of Khiva and Khafin to pay tribute to his master, and carried away twelve thousand persons, and sold them as slaves. This conduct of Kamrau furnished Mohammed Shah, the Persian monarch—who had recently ascended the throne by tire assistance of British officers, and supplies of money from the English treasury—with a pretext for endeavouring to make himself master of Herat. There was an existing treaty between England and Persia, which stipulated “that if war should ensue between the Persian and Affghan governments, the English government should take no part in it; nor should give assistance to either party, except as a mediator, at the solicitation of both parties, for the purpose of producing peace.” Had the Persian monarch limited his views to an attack upon Herat, this treaty would have been binding on the English nation; but it soon became evident that he extended them to Ghizni and Candahar. Mr. Ellis, who had been sent to Persia as British envoy in the year 1835, thus wrote at the commencement of the following year:—“The intention cannot be mistaken: Herat once annexed to Persia, may become the residence of a Russian consular agent, who would from thence push his researches and his communications, avowed and secret, throughout Affghanistan. Indeed, in the present state of the relations between Persia and Russia, it cannot be denied that the progress of the former in Affghanistan is tantamount to the advance of the latter, and ought to receive every opposition from the British government that the public faith will permit.” Russian influence, was, in fact, predominant in the councils of Mohammed Shah, and the power of Russia appeared to stand higher in the general opinion than that of Great Britain. Moreover, the Russian ambassador was urgent upon the shah to complete his designs against Herat, and he even offered his military services in the expedition. Under these circumstances Mr. Ellis signified to the Persian ministers the extreme displeasure with which the English would look upon the prosecution of any extended schemes of conquest in Affghanistan: without disputing their right to obtain redress from the prince of Herat, he intimated that the British government would be better pleased if that purpose could be effected by negotiation; and offered to send a British officer to Herat for the purpose of facilitating the adjustment of the existing differences. To this proposal the Persian ministers at first assented, but they afterwards rejected it altogether. In the meantime Uzeez Khan arrived on a mission from Kohun Dil Khan and his brothers at Candahar, with the object of effecting an alliance offensive and defensive, with the shah, and uniting in the attack upon Kamrau. Towards the close of 1835, Dost Mohammed Khan, the chief of Cabool, also dispatched an agent to the court of Persia with letters, in which he offered to cooperate in an attack upon Herat, and sought in general the protection of the shall against the Sikhs. The real objects of the chiefs of Candahar was also to obtain protection from the same enemies; and neither they nor the chief of Cabool had any disposition to become feudatories of Persia. Thus supported, the shah set forth on his expedition; but owing to the appearance of the cholera by the 3rd of November, 1836, he had only reached Asterabad. His army was in fact reduced to such a deplorable condition, from the scarcity of provisions and the predatory incursions of the Turcomans, that all hopes of undertaking a winter campaign against Herat were given up, and, despite the remonstrances of the Russian plenipotentiary, the shah led back his forces into Persia. In the meantime Mr. M’Neill had succeeded Mr. Ellis, and he did not fail to make known the advice which had been tendered by the Russian ambassador in the late expedition; and Lord Palmerston directed the Earl of Durham, our envoy at Russia, to inquire of Count Nesselrode whether the Russian envoy was acting in accordance with the instructions of his government. It was stated in reply that if Count Simonich had acted in the manner mentioned, it was done in direct opposition to his instructions: he had been ordered to dissuade the shah from prosecuting the war at any time and in any circumstances. It was added, that our minister in Persia must have been misinformed; but in a subsequent despatch, Mr. M’Neill stated that tire information he had given had been confirmed by the concurrent testimony of all the Persians with whom he had conversed on the subject, including the prime-minister. The allegations against Count Simonich were, in fact, indisputable; and the prospect of a combination of Russian and Persian influence could not fail to alarm the government of India; and as the shah’s designs against Herat were not given up, Mr. M’Neill was instructed to inform him that any attempt to prosecute schemes of aggrandizement in Affghanistan would diminish the cordiality existing between England and Persia. Mohammed Shah, however, was so far from giving up his designs upon Herat, that he sought to obtain a more intimate alliance with Russia; and he was so far successful, that an envoy was dispatched by him with presents from himself and the Russian envoy resident at his court, to Candahar and Cabool. His preparations for war were still continued; and in the midst of them a messenger arrived from Herat to negotiate an arrangement. Mr. M’Neil was invited to take part in the conference. The terms brought by the envoy from Herat were so advantageous that the British envoy recommended the Persian government to accept them, lest the British government should suspect that Persia, in persisting to prosecute the war, had other objects in view than those avowed. The conditions, however, were rejected, and it was evident that the shah would only be satisfied with the sovereignty of Herat. His troops were again put in motion on the 23rd of July; but in consequence of obstructions, on the 14th of October they had advanced no further than Nishapoor, about half the distance from Teheran to Herat. About this time an emissary from Russia appeared in the Persian camp, from whence he proceeded to Candahar and Cabool; everywhere giving out that he was sent to intimate the arrival of a large Russian army to co-operate with the army against Herat. Dost Mohammed, the chief of Cabool, had sent agents to St. Petersburg, as well as Teheran, to procure assistance against the Sikhs; and shortly after, he applied with the same intention to Lord Auckland, who had just arrived in India as governor-general. Lord Auckland decided on sending Captain Burnes on a commercial mission to Cabool; and that officer reached the capital of Dost Mohammed about the time that the Persian and Russian agents arrived in Candahar and Cabool. Negotiations were commenced between these various agents and the chief of Cabool; and they were not concluded when the Persian army arrived before Herat. The shah had previously captured the border fortress of Ghorian; but he was destined to meet with a different reception before the city of Kamrau Shah: week after week elapsed, and not the slightest impression was made upon its walls. While the siege was proceeding, Lord Auckland directed Mr. M’Neill to proceed to the camp, and make one more endeavour to effect a pacific adjustment, and to obtain redress. He had so far succeeded as to bring the mind of the shah to be favourable to a treaty; but all his efforts were again set aside by the arrival of Count Simonich, the Russian envoy, in the Persian camp. The siege, therefore, continued, nor could subsequent efforts made by Mr. M’Neill set it aside. His failure was made known to the British government; and on the 21st of May he received a despatch from Lord Palmerston, which authorized him to inform the shah that his designs were in complete contravention of the spirit of the alliance subsisting between the two nations; and that he must expect the cessation of intercourse in the event of such hostile proceedings being persevered in. In consequence of this direction Mr. M’Neill wrote the following letter to the Shah of Persia:—“I am directed to inform your majesty that if Herat should have surrendered to your majesty, the British government will consider your continuing to occupy that or any other portion of Affghanistan as an hostile demonstration against England. Your majesty is no doubt informed by your government of Fars, that a body of British troops, and a naval armament, consisting of five ships of war, have already arrived in the Persian Gulf, and that for the present the troops have been landed in the Island of Karrak. The measures your majesty may adopt in consequence of this representation, will decide the future movements and proceedings of that armament; but your majesty must perceive, from the view which her majesty’s government has taken of the present state of affairs, and from the effect which must have been produced upon the minds of her majesty’s ministers and the British authorities in India, and by the subsequent proceedings of the Persian government, with which they were not then acquainted, that nothing but the immediate adoption of measures complying with the demands of the British government, can induce the authorities acting under the orders of that government to suspend the measures that are now in progress for the defence of British interests, and the vindication of British honour.” Before this declaration had come to the hands of the Shah, the Persian army, after six days of incessant battering, had made a general assault upon Herat; but although the troops went forward courageously, and had even planted their standards three several times upon the breach, they were finally defeated in their attempt: the Affghans attacked them sword in hand, with energy too resolute to be resisted, and drove them with great slaughter across the ditch: nearly two thousand Persians were slain. This failure, however, had not the immediate effect of forcing the Shah to raise the siege.
In the meantime Captain Burnes had failed in his mission to Cabool, and Lieutenant Leach, who had been sent to Candahar, had met with the same ill-success. A treaty had been concluded between Persia and the latter state, under the warrant of the Russian minister; and a treaty of nearly similar import was in progress at Cabool. Under these circumstances preparations were set on foot for marching an army into Affghanistan. The moment was very critical: there was a prospect of Persian dominion and Russian supremacy in all the Affghan states. By Russian subsidies, Kohun Dil Khan, chief of Candahar, besieged Furrah, a dependency of Herat; and Dost Mohammed Khan, chief of Cabool, commenced a system of hostile intrigues even in India. The Ameers of Scinde were called upon to join the league against the English even by the Shah himself; and his efforts were seconded by the Russian emissary, who had so successfully fulfilled his mission at Candahar and Cabool. But notwithstanding all these efforts, the failure of the recent assault of Herat, together with the debarcation of troops at Karrak, and the military preparations which were being made in the north of British India, finally led the Shah to comply with all the demands of the British ambassador, and to abandon his enterprise: the camp broke up on the 9th of September, 1838, and returned to Teheran. Later in the year Count Nesselrode disclaimed on the part of the Emperor of Russia all intentions of disturbing the tranquillity of the British possessions in India; and by the month of February, after considerable negociation, harmony was restored between the Russian and the British governments. The operations of the British army in India were not, however, wholly set aside by these events. At the time of the raising of the siege of Herat, and the retreat of the Shah of Persia, “the army of the Indus” was encamped at Simla, and was about to be put in motion for Ferozepore, on the Sutledge. At Simla, Sir Harvey Faroe, who commanded the troops, under the direction of the governor-general, published a manifesto, which set forth the causes for the assembling of the army, and the objects which the British government had in view. As regarded the objects in view, the governor-general said, in the manifesto, that he felt the importance of taking steps for arresting the rapid progress of foreign aggressions towards our own territories, and that his attention was naturally drawn to the position and claims of Shah Soojah, who had, when in power, cordially acceded to measures of united resistance against internal enmity; and as the Barukzye chiefs were unfitted, under any circumstances, to be useful allies to Great Britain, or aid us in our measures of national defence, the governor-general felt warranted in espousing the cause of Shah Soojah, whose popularity had been proved by the best authorities. A tripartite treaty had, therefore, been concluded between the British government, Runjeet Sing, and Shah Soojah, whereby the maharaja of the Sikhs was guaranteed in his present possessions, and bound to cooperate in the restoration of the Shah. The manifesto further set forth that a guaranteed independence would be tendered to the Àmeers of Scinde; that Herat would be left in the possession of its present ruler; and that Shah Soojah should enter Affghanistan surrounded with his own troops, and supported against opposition, foreign or domestic, by a British army. As soon as these objects were effected, the British army was to be withdrawn from the Affghan territory; but British influence was to be used to further every measure of general benefit, and heal the distractions which had so long afflicted the Affghan people: even those chiefs whose hostile proceedings had been the cause of the measure, would receive a liberal and honourable treatment. The grand objects, therefore, for which the British troops were assembled at Simla, on tire Jumna, were to dethrone the hostile chiefs of Candahar and Cabool, and to re-establish the Shah Soojah in his dominions. On hearing of the raising of the siege of Herat, the intentions of the Indian government were in some degree modified. It was determined not to send forward the whole force, a part only being thought sufficient to effect the objects in view. The army of the Indus was in fact reduced to a corps d’armée, and it was to be commanded by Sir John Keene, the commander-in-chief at Bombay. The army was divided, and proceeded by two different routes; the Bombay division being destined to bring Scinde to submission. The first step of this division was to march upon Hyderabad, which was captured without any effectual resistance. The seizure of the capital was followed by the occupation of Kouratchee, the richest city in Scinde. By these means the Ameers were brought to contract a fresh treaty with the Indian government; agreeing to make an immediate payment of £300,000; to abolish the tolls on the Indus; to maintain an auxiliary corps of four or five thousand men under the command of British officers; and to pay a tribute amounting to nearly one-half of their revenue. Each Ameer, moreover, was for the future to look upon the English government as his suzerain, and procure his separate recognition at its hands. In the meantime the Bengal division was descending the bank of the Sutledge to unite with the Bombay army at Shikarpore, on the confines of Scinde and Affghanistan. The whole army assembled at Shikarpore, with the contingent of Shah Soojah, towards the beginning of March. The fatigues of the march, together with the assaults of the Beloches, had already made fearful havoc with the ranks of the expedition; and as they proceeded their sufferings increased. In the midst of trials and difficulties, however, they pressed forward., and towards the middle of April, they assembled beyond the reach of danger, in the valley of Pisheen. How dreadfully they suffered in their route may be inferred from the fact, that of 6,000 men which comprised the contingent of Shah Soojah, only 1,500 escaped. Their greatest dangers were encountered in the defiles of Bolau, where they not only had to contend with the natural difficulties of the pass, but with the elements and fierce wild robbers, who hovered upon their flank day and night. In the valley of Pisheen, however, the survivors recruited their strength, and then proceeded to action. Candah offered them no resistance; Kohun Dil Khan quitted the capital and took refuge with his brother, Dost Mohammed., at Cabool. The Bengal division entered the city of Candahar on the 24th of April, and the Shah Soojah was solemnly crowned on the 8th of May. The troops spent several weeks at Candahar, but on the 27th of June they marched forward to Ghisneh. Operations, however, did not recommence till the 21st of July. Ghisneh was captured, after a fierce struggle, on the 22nd, and the son of Dost Mohammed taken prisoner. The capture of this strong fortress made a great impression upon the Affghans. It was expected that the fortress would have kept the English in check for some time; and under this impression Dost Mohammed was proceeding towards the capital with his cavalry and a park of artillery. On hearing of the fall of Gisneh, however, his army broke up, and Sir J. Keene then resumed his march along the rich valley from Ghisneh to Cabool. Shah Soojah entered Cabool on the 7th of August; and his rival, Dost Mohammed, being abandoned by all but the members of his own Barukzye tribe, fled beyond the mountains of the Hazareh into Bokhara. In order to complete the conquest Major Outram was sent into certain disturbed districts between Cabool and Candahar to tranquillize the disaffected Ghilzee tribes, who had not yet acknowledged Shah Soojah, and replace the refractory chieftains with newly-appointed governors. Khelat was also reinvested: that fortress was captured by General Willshire, and the khan, Mehrat, with many of his chiefs, fell fighting, sword in hand. Having achieved these conquests, Sir J. Keene, leaving a detachment for the protection of Shah Soojah, returned home with the main body. Mr. M’Naughten remained as resident at the court of Cabool. Such was the issue of the campaign in Afghanistan. Subsequently her majesty rewarded the services of the more eminent actors in the war. The governor-general was created Earl of Auckland, Sir John Keene was created Baron Keene of Ghuznee in Affghanistan; and baronetcies were conferred on Mr. M’Naughten and Colonel Pottinger.