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.
STATE OF THE CONTINENT.
This year witnessed the virtual conclusion of the war in Spain. The principal event which contributed to this consummation was the rupture between the chief Maroto and Don Carlos. Maroto, indeed, with the battalions of Castile, made their submission, and his defection was followed by twenty-one more Carlist battalions. The terms of this pacification were effected by Espartero; and having concluded them, he led his army towards Don Carlos at Lecumberri. Not daring to await his arrival, Don Carlos withdrew into the defiles of the Bastan; and from the Bastan he fell back to Elisonda; and, finally, on the 14th of September, with six Alavese and two Navarrese battalions, he took refuge in France. The French government assigned to him the city of Bourges for his temporary residence, and he was escorted thither by Marshal Soult. The Carlist chief, Cabrera, continued for some months to maintain his ground in the central provinces; but the struggle finally became hopeless, and at the commencement of the succeeding year, he, with 20,000 men, followed the example of his master, and took refuge in France. In Portugal the arrival of the bill which had been passed for the suppression of the slave-trade, gave rise to much dissatisfaction. The author of the measure, Lord Palmerston, was loudly charged with hostility to Portugal, and a great estrangement prevailed for some time between the two governments. The breach was widened by the demand made by the British upon the Portuguese government for the payment of the long pending civil and military claims due to the subjects of Great Britain. The requisition was, it is said, accompanied by a menace, that, in the event of a non-compliance, the British government would resort to coercive measures. During this year the territorial differences between Belgium and Holland were settled. The terms which the five powers resolved should be agreed upon between the two parties have been seen in a previous article; and it may be sufficient to state that Belgium, at least accepted them with great reluctance. In Turkey events occurred which attracted the notice of European powers. In 1838 the pacha of Egypt had refused to pay any further tribute to the Porte; and this announcement, together with the usurpation on the part of Meliemet Ali of attributes peculiar to the commander of the faithful alone, determined the sultan to make another effort for the reduction of his vassal. He assembled a large army on the eastern bank of the Euphrates, which menaced the Syrian dominions of the pacha; while Ibrahim, on the other hand, proceeded to concentrate his forces around Aleppo. The governments of France and England were apprehensive lest the discomfiture of the Turkish army should be followed by the arrival of a Russian force in the Bosphorus, in accordance with the stipulations of the treaty signed on an analogous juncture at Unkiar Skelessi. Under this apprehension the representatives of their respective courts at Constantinople and Alexandria were directed to make every effort to prevent war. Large concessions were made by Ibrahim through their mediation; but the interpreters of the law at Constantinople assured the sultan that it was the duty of every true believer to take up arms against an impious usurper, and a solemn declaration of war was accordingly read in all the mosques. In the month of June a great battle took place between the contending armies near Nezib, in which the Turks, under Hafiz Pacha, were utterly discomfited; six thousand of them were left dead on the field, and ten thousand were left in the hands of Ibrahim Pacha, together with fifteen thousand muskets, and more than one hundred pieces of artillery. The sultan did not live to hear of this disaster; he died on the 1st of July, and Abdul Mcdjio, a youth of seventeen, assumed the reins of empire. The death of Sultan Mahmoud the Second gave rise to negociation. The first act of the new sultan was to forward to the viceroy of Egypt an offer of pardon, together with the hereditary possession of the province of Egypt, on the condition that he conformed to his duties of obedience and submission. Mehemet Ali appears to have been willing to submit to these terms; but about the same time that he received them, Achmet, the capitan pacha, had revolted from the sultan, and had arrived at Alexandria. The Ottoman monarchy was tottering to its fall; but at this critical juncture England, France, Russia, Austria, and Prussia resolved to uphold the independence of Turkey, as an essential element of the balance of power. The year, however, closed before the negociations commenced were perfected.
CHAPTER LI.
VICTORIA. 1840—1841
Meeting of Parliament: Announcement of the Queen’s Marriage..... Bill for the Naturalization of Prince Albert..... The Civil List..... Question of Privilege: Hansard and Stockdale..... Affairs of China..... Irish Municipal Corporations Bill, &c...... Financial Statement..... The Union of the Canadas..... Ecclesiastical Duties and Revenues Bill..... The Regency Bill..... Prorogation of Parliament..... Affairs of British India..... The Marriage of the Queen..... State of the Continent.