Lord Lawrence has addressed another most able letter to the
Daily News, protesting against the war altogether. He believes that invasion will produce a violent and bloody struggle, which would end in the deposition of Shere Ali, and ultimately in per- manent occupation. The number of troops required to garrison such a country would be large, and the proportion of Europeans very great, while the aid derived from the country itself would be very small We should be distant from our railways, we should have the formidable Hill tribes in our rear, and if we could restrain these when in possession of Afghanistan, we could restrain them now. Lord Lawrence would ascertain precisely what the Ameer's desires are, and if they are reasonable gratify them, and if unreasonable defy him from within our own border, while he would endeavour to place our relations with Russia on an intelli- gible footing. If we have to fight Russia, it will be all over the world, and not in Central Asia alone, while she can do us little harm by intrigue. The belief that she can, arose during the Mutiny, without any evidence, from a desire to find a cause for that movement outside India, instead of studying the causes inside.
