did not succeed in either; and if we followed their own savage custom, we should kill every man we could lay hands upon who had joined in the attack upon our army. But, instead of these bloodthirsty reprisals, the tribesmen find pursuing them messengers bearing offers of pardon if they will merely visit Sherpur and make their obeisance to the British General. They are not asked to submit to any conditions; their safety is assured; and all that is required of them is that they will frankly say what their opinions are upon the present state of Afghan politics, and what suggestions they have to make to guide us in dealing with the people. Some of the tribal chiefs are either in Sherpur, or on their way thither; and we shall soon have an opportunity of hearing what their wishes—if they have any—really are. But, whatever views are put forward, and whatever points may be yielded by men who are in their hearts most hostile to us, it will not be enough to take shallow promises as trustworthy in the future. With all the cunning astuteness of Afghans, the tribal leaders will come in and will try to outwit us, as they have always tried before. If we accept their promises and leave them to be carried out by themselves, they may be looked upon as a dead letter. Rather would it be better to listen to all that they have to urge in favour of a new order of things: Kohistanis, Wardaks, Logaris, Ghilzais of all sections giving their views freely; and then to dismiss them to their homes, warning them that they must rest peacefully until the _will_ of the British Government is made known to them. Let a fixed date be declared on which that _will_ shall be publicly proclaimed; and whether the decision is that Afghanistan is to be annexed, to be split up into provinces, or left to fall to pieces by internal disorder after our return to India, let it be clearly understood that, so long as a British General remains at Cabul, his orders are the law that is alone to be regarded. These orders, also, must be enforced, when necessary, by our soldiers, and something more must be done than sending some sirdar, alone and unprotected, into tribal districts, to carry out our wishes. The only fear is that the amnesty may be looked upon as a sign of weakness on our part, meaning that we dread another uprising; but if, along with our philanthropic forgiveness, we mix the leaven of military preparations on a large scale, the eyes of the people will be opened to our real resources and the power we have at hand to crush rebellion. It must never occur to us again to be shut up in Sherpur for nine days; such investments are fatal to our prestige, both here and elsewhere. The memorandum of a Military Secretary in India, who can seek to reassure the country by the absurd statement that 2,500 men can garrison a cantonment with over four miles of walls and trenches to man, must not be allowed to weigh against the ugly facts we have had to face. With