ABSTRACT
General Kaufmann s Correspondence with Shir A li.— By way o f an introduction to this chapter, I will give some account of the correspondence of Kaufmann with the Am ir. The opening letter of a series, which led to his overthrow, was dated April 1 1 , 1 8 70 and referred to the arrival at Tashkent of Abdur Rahman. In it Kaufmann wrote that he had answered his request to be admitted to that city by stating that “ the Emperor of Russia graciously affords hospitality to everybody . . . but that he must not in the least reckon on my interfer ence in his quarrel with you ” . He also stated that he was “ quite far from longing to meddle in the internal affairs o f Afghanistan ” . Shir Ali was disturbed and perplexed as to the motive of the Russian GovernorGeneral in writing to him. He forwarded the letter to the Viceroy who advised him to send a reply, thanking Kauf mann for his assurances. This he did, adding that he had consulted the Viceroy in the matter. On December 20, Kaufmann wrote again, reciprocating his friendly senti ments. These letters were, more or less, colourless but, two years later, Kaufmann wrote another letter referring to the boundaries of the state o f Bukhara, which caused a sensation at Kabul. The Amir forwarded it to the Viceroy and drew attention to the Russian desire to establish “ a regular and frequent correspondence with the Kabul Government ” , H e ended his letter with
98 HISTORY OF AFGHANISTAN
an appeal to the British to bestow more serious attention to the maintenance o f the boundaries of Afghanistan. Nevertheless, Kaufmann continued his correspondence while “ positive assurances ” were being given to the British Foreign Office that the “ Imperial Cabinet con tinues to consider Afghanistan as entirely beyond its sphere o f action ” . It is possible that the British Foreign Office, at this period, failed to realize that Russian Turkistan was administered by the practically inde pendent Russian W ar Office.
