only a few months since, we, according to an arrangement duly made with Russia, sent a commissioner to define, in conjunction with another commissioner whom Russia undertook to send, the northern boundary of Afghanistan; that the Russian commissioner has to this day never appeared upon the ground, though his British compeer waited months for him; that the delay thus caused was used by Russia for bringing up troops, and for partly seizing and for laying claim to a frontier line encroaching farther upon Afghan territory than any that had formerly been in dispute. All this, and not one or even two articles in the list of our complaints, must be taken into account in judging what the real ground of quarrel has been. It can be no accident, no inadvertence by which we have been affronted, for there is evidence that a fixed and cunning scheme of overreaching and jostling us has for years been adhered to with deliberate persistency. To pass over what has been done is to invite farther and deeper indignity; to let the enemy enjoy the fruit of his domineering, is to suffer serious material damage, as well as to incur merited dishonour; to make an agreement with him while he has made no admission or retractation of his outrage, is simple fatuity.
For where is the sane man who can believe that, after what has happened, any compact or treaty which she may sign will withhold Russia from seizing more of Afghan territory whenever she may find it convenient to do so? Her word and her honour have, in this respect, been broken repeatedly; and there is every reason to expect that she will readily break them again. She has laughed at us – treated us with derision as well as violence; and all the nations have looked on and seen our degradation. How then can we induce her to leave us and our ally in peace? Only by making her respect us; only by so bearing ourselves that she may dread to invade our rights, or to sully our honour. God forbid that we should speak of war as a state to be lightly entered into. But much as war is to be deprecated, there are calamities to which even war is a preferable alternative. Let us remember too, that, humble ourselves as we may, it does not rest with us to say for how long war may be averted. The enemy, when tired with amusing himself at our terrors and our crouchings, will probably decide to exercise us with a little bloodletting, and who is to say him nay?
But the affair is not one (as we have hitherto been considering it) which affects only Russia and the British Empire. The States of Europe witnessing our unreadiness to defend our own, will they not show in their behaviour to us the disrespect which they cannot but feel? And India in all her borders must be influenced by the conduct of the Home Government at this time – that is a capital concern.
We possess and rule India by opinion. The natives, of what class or religion soever, have learned to believe, and to tremble as they think of it, that the arm of Britain stretches powerfully into Asia, and that it is as swift and as certain as it is strong. Surely no oriental has hitherto joined in the same thought the ideas of Britain and vacillation, or of Britain and poltroonery. From the days of Clive to those of Clyde, the natives of Hindustan have been taught in a school which associates the British name with determination and energy, never failing on
