Sir H. Fowler on Tuesday made his threatened speech on
Chitral ; but, of course, did not venture to take a division. The effect of his speech was weakened by its form, which was that of a resume of the recent history of Chitral ; but his view was clear enough. He maintained that the Russians could not invade India by Chitral; that the maintenance of the one hundred and ninety miles of road leading to it would compel us to govern the tribes on each side ; and that the occupation would be exceedingly expensive. He had therefore ordered the Indian Government to retire. He had, moreover, a further reason, holding that we had pledged ourselves, when we began the expedition, not to annex any of the territory through which we passed. Lord George Hamilton, in reply, maintained that the whole Indian Government was in favour of keeping Chitral ; that no addition would be made to the Indian Army ; that the road would not cost more than £130,000 ; and that the retreat would involve a serious loss of prestige. As for the pledges, Lord Elgin, who gave them, declared he had no intention of breaking them, and the Chiefs concerned accepted the views of the Indian Government. As we have argued elsewhere, we think the policy of retreat the wiser ; but there is a mass of opinion on the other side, and it is useless to blink the fact that we have marched northwards from the Bay of
Bengal under some impulse, not that of our own wills, which seems to indicate some steady and powerful historical law.
Previous page
