The reputation of Dost Mahommed Khan is made known to a traveller long before he enters his country, and no one better merits the high character which he has obtained. He is unremitting in his attention to business, and attends daily at the Court-house, with the Cazee and Moollahs, to decide every cause according to the law. The Koran and its commentaries may not be the standard of legislative excellence, but this sort of decision is exceedingly popular with the people, since it fixes a line, and relieves them from the “jus vagum aut incognitum” of a despot. Trade has received the greatest encouragement from him, and he has derived his own reward, since the receipts of the Custom-house of the city have increased fifty thousand rupees, and now furnish him with a net revenue of two lacs of rupees per annum. One in forty, i.e. 2½ per cent., is the only duty levied in his territory; and the merchant may travel without guard or protection from one frontier to another, an unheard of circumstance in the time of the kings. The chief of Cabool, in his zeal for orthodox government, has deprived his subjects of the luxury of wine and spirits, as being prohibited by his creed. The enactment has driven the Jews and Armenians from his country, since they had no other means to procure a subsistence. A good Mahommedan ought not to regret the loss of such luxuries; but with this single exception, I heard of no complaint against the rule of Dost Mahommed Khan. That chief, in common with many of the Afghan nation, was addicted in early life to wine and its concomitant vices. His prohibition of them may be, therefore, capricious; but he, as well as his court, hold out a bright example of sobriety to the community. The justice of this chief affords a constant theme of praise to all classes: the peasant rejoices at the absence of tyranny; the citizen at the safety of his home and the strict municipal regulations regarding weights and measures; the merchant at the equity of the decisions and the protection of his property, and the soldiers at the regular manner in which their arrears are discharged. A man in power can have no higher praise. Dost Mahommed Khan has not attained his fortieth year; his mother was a Persian, and he has been trained up with people of that nation, which has sharpened his understanding, and given him advantages over all his brothers. One is struck with the intelligence, knowledge, and curiosity which he displays, as well as his accomplished manners and address. He is doubtless the most powerful chief in Afghanistan, and may yet raise himself by his abilities to a much greater rank in his native country.
Political relations of the chiefship.
The differences which subsist between Dost Mahommed Khan and his brothers lessen the influence of all parties, and would lay open the state to intrigue and faction, if invaded. The family of Barukzye have nothing to fear from any other Afghan tribe, since they surpass all in numbers as much as in power. The chiefs of Peshawur and Candahar do not want the wish to injure their brother of Cabool, but they cannot accomplish their purpose. Both of them have had a footing in Cabool, and look with envy on the prosperity of Dost Mahommed Khan. Both have emissaries at his court, who excite disturbance; and both cherish hopes of rooting out one whom they consider a usurper. The task will be found difficult; for the chief of Cabool, besides the moderation and justice which secure him so many friends, enjoys an advantage in his Persian descent, which will prove of material service to him in adversity. He holds the warlike clan of Juwansheer in his interests, and takes every occasion to conciliate this tribe, which has so often turned the scale in favour of different pretenders to the throne. He has acquired their language (the Turkish), and promoted their interests and well-being. The Persians of Cabool amount to about 12,000 families; they reside in a separate quarter of the city, which keeps up an esprit de corps among them. It also gives them a knowledge of their power, which may prove salutary or prejudicial to the factions that divide the country, according to circumstances. The state of fear which an enemy on both sides must inspire has a bad effect on Dost Mahommed Khan’s administration. With his own house as an object of care, he is not likely to pursue conquests abroad, or retrieve the fallen state of Cabool. This alone deters him from attacking Herat, and making some endeavours to wrest Mooltan and Dera Ghazee Khan from the Seiks. He last year made a demonstration against Julalabad, a district between Cabool and Peshawur, worth about seven lacs of rupees a year. He will probably annex it to his power; but, until able to coerce or subdue either Peshawur or Candahar, Dost Mahommed Khan cannot rise above the rank of a chief, or be aught than one among many in Afghanistan. In the present state of politics in the country, he is, nevertheless, the most rising man in the Cabool dominions.
Supplies of Cabool.
Cabool is a country of great strength, but small resource. It abounds in fruit, but grain grows scantily. The Emperor Baber, on his conquering it, imposed a tax of 30,000 khurwars[36] of grain on Cabool and Ghuzni, but found in after-years, when better acquainted with the country, that the levy was exorbitant. The territory has no doubt improved in a lapse of three hundred years; but provisions are dear in Cabool. In summer, the necessaries of life are rather moderate; fruit and vegetables abound, and the city receives supplies from the surrounding country. In winter, the roads are shut, wood is scarce, grain is dear, and the severity of the climate demands warm clothing. The mills which grind the flour are also frozen up, and the poorest people must purchase animal food. The presence of a force in Cabool has the effect of doubling the price of provisions, which is a sure indication of their scarcity. A large army might still find a comfortable quarter in the city of Cabool, and draw the supplies which it required, additional to the resources of the country, from Peshawur and the valley of the Cabool river, near Julalabad. Forage for cattle is most plentiful; artificial grasses are cultivated to a great extent, and prove a most nutritious food to horses. There are likewise most extensive meadows both at Cabool and Ghuzni. One, called Nawur, in particular, near the latter place, would supply a force of 20,000 cavalry. The city of Cabool has been described elsewhere. It has a population of about 60,000 souls, and a bazar of nearly 2000 shops. Each trade has a separate division of the town. Cabool furnishes a supply of articles far beyond what its size would indicate, for it is a mart, and the entrepôt of a great trade.
Strength.
It increases daily under the fostering care of its present ruler. As a place of defence, it is contemptible; the city-wall, which has never been good, has fallen down; the summits of the hills that environ the town are crowned with walls, but they are a useless ornament. The Bala Hissar, or citadel, which stands on the eastern side, is a place of no strength, and the other Bala Hissar below it is even more defenceless. The former building, which stands on an eminence, commands a noble view of the surrounding country, and might be made to command the city, which lies at its base.
CHAP. V.
ON THE AFFAIRS OF WESTERN AFGHANISTAN.
Western Afghanistan.