Our scientific frontier / by W.P. Andrew.

  • Andrew, W. P. (William Patrick), Sir, 1806-1887.
Date:
1880
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Our scientific frontier / by W.P. Andrew. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Besides having, from circumstances, taken an interest in the political questions stirring the nations of Central Asia, I have for a long period been honoured with the friendship of many distin- guished Officers and Civilians who have spent a great portion of their lives in the frontier lands of India, and it is chiefly on their friendly suggestion and approval that I am emboldened to give my views on so grave and intricate a question as the settle- ment of the frontier on our north-west border. Attention in this little work has been almost exclu- sively given to such measures as would save India from the recurrence of needless alarms of invasion, and I have said nothing as to the future fate of Afghan- istan—that is a matter of high policy to be deter- mined by events still in the future; but we cannot -r«. leave the country until we have put down armed re- sistance at Ghuzni and elsewhere. And when this is done, we cannot retire and leave nothing but anarchy behind us ; we cannot consent to give Herat to Persia, i.e. to Russia; to take it ourselves would be a certain embarrassment in Asia, and might complicate matters in Europe. Let the Afghan princes and sirdars be allowed freely to choose* the man they would have to rule over