The Government has announced that it intends this country to
bear part of the cost of the Afghan war. Lord Hartington was questioned on Thursday, and stated that although the accounts were still not clear, it was certain that the estimated cost of the war would be " enormously " exceeded, even if war ended by October. He should, therefore, propose that a" solid and substantial " part of the cost be borne by the United Kingdom ; but as immediate relief was not needed, he would rather wait
for more facts, before he made his final proposition. The Govern- ment of India thought the general financial position of India not unsatisfactory, but "upon that point," said Lord Harting- ton, who has had a severe lesson about Indian optimism, " I wish to speak with very considerable reserve." We trust the assistance to India, if given at all, will not be a mockery, like the loan of two millions without interest, and that the feasibility of raising a heavy sum on short terminable annuities under the British guarantee will be thoroughly considered.
