The further correspondence respecting the affairs of Central Asia, which is issued today (Friday, June 5, 1885), will be read with extraordinary interest. The study of history which is being actually made before our eyes, must needs be more attractive than the most carefully collated annals of the distant past. "Central Asia No.2" broke off at a tantalising point, just before the news of the Russian attack upon the Afghans at Penjdeh had reached this country.
The narrative is now taken up, and continued to the commencement of last month, when the two Governments agreed upon a reference to the Sovereign of a friendly Power. We may say at once that the delimitation of the frontier is scarcely mentioned in these papers. The points of importance therein referred to, which must be kept in mind throughout the story, are the responsibility for the battle of Penjdeh, the interpretation of the famous Agreement of March 16, and the question how the difference of opinion between England and Russia with regard to General Komaroff's proceedings might best be decided.
Our Tory friends must prepare themselves for grievous disappointment. They will not see in these dispatches the spectacle which alone seems now capable of affording them real pleasure, the humiliation of their country. On the contrary, they will be forced to contemplate the painful sight of English statesmen, diplomatists, and Generals acting in concert to maintain the rights and reputation of Great Britain. His is a discovery on which we offer in advance our sincere condolences to a patriotic, unselfish and high-minded Opposition.
The Conservatives must console themselves by reflecting that, after all, theirs is the common lot. Even the Mawworms of this world, who like to be despised, are doomed to occasional disappointment. We do not think that in the circumstances it would be proper to prejudge the controversy which has been raised over the "unhappy incident" of March 30, when the Afghans were forcibly driven over the Kushk. That is precisely the point which the arbitrator will have to determine. General Komaroff, like Captain Yate, is responsible to his military superiors alone. Whether the orders upon which he acted were compatible with the assurances given by M. de Giers must be settled by a disinterested authority.
We understand that the King of Denmark has been requested by both the English and Russian Governments to decide between them, and that he has accepted this most honourable office. He will have abundant materials for his guidance, he has no personal concern in the matter, and his connection with the Royal families of both countries has been, perhaps somewhat fancifully, cited as ensuring his benevolent neutrality.
These dispatches close with the agreement for a reference of the covenant and its alleged breach of arbitration, and for the temporary neutralisation of Penjdeh. Since that time the bases of reference have been fixed, and the King of Denmark, as we said, has been appointed as arbitrator. The correspondence shows that Lord Granville has scored a considerable diplomatic victory, and reflects the very highest credit upon Sir Edward Thornton, who has taken the tone, equally courteous and firm, which a representative of this country ought to take. - June 2.
Adopted from Daily News, June 1885.
Mongolian prisons
Prejevalsky's Exploration in Mongolia
Ghengis Khan
Foreign retirees in Manchuria
Was Prejevalsky the father of Stalin?
My first trip to Tibet
Mongolia A Culture Under Threat
Funds to Improve Mongolian Prison Conditions
Degrading Conditions at Inner Mongolia’s Prison
An American in Turkistan
The early history of Constantinople
