Two separate sets of reports are arriving from Afghanistan.. According
to one set, Abdnrrahman Khan is advancing on Cabal, either with an army or with a guard of two thousand men, and the British Government has forwarded to him an "ultimatum." If he accepts the conditions in this document he will be recognised as Ameer, and if not he will be resisted. These accounts come from Bombay, but they receive little con- firmation from the Viceroy's very thin telegrams. According to Lord Ripon, Abdurrahman is still at Khanabad, and his advance is only rumoured; but there is a serious gathering of the clans at Ghuzni, though not in the reported. numbers. We presume from all this that the Indian Govern- ment is awaiting letters from Abdurrahman, that upon these letters it will decide between him and Yakoob Khan, and that native opinion in the Hills inclines to the idea that Abdurrah- man will be hostile. All the facts point to the necessity of a speedy decision between the aspirants, as we may have a cam- paign against the clans upon our hands out of sheer misunder- standing. Note that the British troops are gradually occupy- ing positions whence, when the extreme heat is over, a rapid evacuation of Afghanistan can be effected.
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