The Times' correspondent at Berlin telegraphs, under date December 26,
that the British Ambassador at St. Petersburg has delivered a note to Prince Gortschakoff disclaiming any intention of interfering with Russian progress in Central Asia so long as it does not menace Afghanistan, or any dependency claimed by Afgha- nistan, or any Principality on the Upper Amu. The principle thus laid down, that of creating a broad belt of neutral territory between India and Russian Tartary—as the Russian possessions in Central Asia ought to be called—is the one for which we have contended for years, but the geography of the Debateable Land is far from clear. How far does the line go eastward, and why do we consider it necessary to protect the horrible wretches governing Bokhara, men who punish disobedience in their slaves by blinding them, and leaving them to starve ? In any arrangement of the kind, we must above all things be careful to avoid future boundary difficulties. Nothing is said of the reception of this note, which, indeed, is semi-officially denied, but which was probably presented, though in the form of an informal proposal, and not of a direct demand that Russia should come no further.
