Russia would appear to have made another advance in Central
Asia. According to St. Petersburg papers of June 4, General Kaufmann had been compelled to declare war on the Emir of Bokhara, and had advanced to Samarcaud. From a bulletin despatched from Bombay on 25th May, a battle took place, pre- sumably just outside that city, in which the Emir of Bokhara was slain, and his army destroyed. No dates are given, and the numbers reported are untrustworthy ; but the main fact is probably correct, and if so, Satnarcand, the position which Jengbis Khan selected for his capital, has fallen into Russian hands. They are still, however, far from Herat, and still further from the true
Indian frontier, the Suleiman. None of the regions thus conquered will give them auy considerable revenue, and in all there is a fanatic Mohammedan 'population, which must be kept down by garrisons.
