In the Pall Mall Gazette, a writer who believes that
Russia is raising all sorts of dangers to British India in Afghanistan, and who on that hypothesis fights ably and temperately enough against the policy of inaction in Central Asia, accuses the Spectator of error in calling Afghanistan a country north of the Himalayas. Well, well, it is south of the Himalayas, if he likes, but that bit of verbal polemics is surely hardly worthy of the controversy. The valley of Cabool is no more within the moun- tain barrier of India than Savoy is within the mountain barrier of Italy. He knows much better than we do that the mighty Suliman range which divides the Punjab from Afghanistan is usually spoken of in Anglo-Indian political discussion as if it were a giant spur of " the " Himalaya, which it connects with the Western Sea. Call them by any name you will, so that until overtly threatened by Russia you stay within the Indian Alps.. (.fur contention is not that India should not be defended, but that worrying the petty States beyond the North-West mountain frontier is a bad measure of defence. Italy might as well worry Switzerland, to protect itself from Germany.
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