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'Précis of correspondence, &c., relating to affairs in Central Asia, Biluchistan, Persia, &c. 1875-77. With appendices.' [‎183v] (371/562)

The record is made up of 1 volume (278 folios). It was created in 1878. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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The Amir’s reply reached Tashkend during the absence of General Von Kauffmann at St.
Petersburg. It was acknowledged by the Acting Governor-General, Kolpakovski, in a very
* Vide Secret, November 1874, condescending letter .dated 6th-18th December 1873, which
Nos. 1-7. was sent* to us in original Russian by the Cabul Agent, with
the Amir’s request that it might be translated into Persian. A photograph of the original
was sent to England, and there translated by Mr. Michell. General Kolpakovski’s communica
tion contained the following remarkable paragraphs :—
“ Being charged with the Government of Turkistan during the absence of His Excellency,
I consider it my duty to express to you my satisfaction as regards the feelings of friendship
and devotion which you set forth in your letter.
“ In despatching the same to the High Governor-General for his favorable consideration
I entertain the hope that he will not refuse your request, and that he will represent to His
Majesty the Emperor your conscientious made of action and your endeavour to become worthy
of the grace of my august master.
* *** * * * * *
« Continue to follow the same straight road along which you have hitherto gone, and you will
become convinced that it is the right and advantageous road as regards both yourself and the
welfare of your people.”
As the Amir’s letter of 16th November 1873 contained nothing of the nature of a
« request,” some doubts were felt whether the translation was correct. The question was asked,
in paragraph 3 of despatch No. 32, dated 1st May 1874, and
F*e£e K.W., Secret, November 1874, Colonel Burne’s demi-ofRcialf reply of 25th September 1874
os ‘ ' shows that Mr. Rolston of the British Museum had pro
nounced the word to be rightly rendered “ request.”
The point was, moreover, noticed in our letter No. 989P., dated 1st May 1874, to the Gov
ernment of the Punjab, wherein it was said that the Agent might be desired, when delivering the
Persian translation of General Kolpakovski’s letter to the Amir, to intimate to His Highness
that the reference therein to a “ request” presumably made by His Highness from the Russian
Governor-General was not understood by the Government of India.
The Commissioner of Peshawur in his No. 64C., dated 27th May 1874, reported that the
Agent had delivered the translation to the Amir; but the Commissioner threw no light on the
meaning of the word request; he merely forwarded a somewhat fuller translation of the Amir’s
letter of 16th November 1873, which had been previously received.
It should be added that in paragraph 4 of despatch to the Secretary of State, No. 32P.,
dated 1st May 1874, attention was called to the tone of General Kolpakovski’s letter, but no
notice appears to have been taken of it by Her Majesty’s Government.
VII.
On the 17thJ December 1873 the Punjab Government forwarded a letter from Syud
XVide Secret, March 1874, Nos. Noor Mahomed Shah, Sudder-i-Azam of Cabul, enclosing
52-56. true copy of a letter from General Von Kauffmann to the Amir.
The Syud wrote :—“ His Highness has read the letter and fully understood its contents.”
Three points should be marked here—(1) it was unusual to address the Viceroy through
a § Minister, (2) no translation|| was asked for, (3) our advice
was not solicited as to an appropriate reply.
General Von Kauffmann’s letter^! gave a brief narrative of
recent events in Khiva, the conquest of the country, the
abolition of slavery, &c., &c.—
“ It is not the wish of His Imperial Majesty to add
territories to his extensive Empire. For this reason, by order
of His Majesty, the country of Khiva has been allowed to
remain as an independent territory as before, and I have
placed Syud Mahomed Ruheem Khan on his own guddee and
in possession of his ancestral dominions.”
§ “ If the Syud writes again to His
Excellency in the same way, it may be
similarly acknowledged, and the Agent
at Cabul may then be told by the
Commissioner at Peshawur to inform
the Syud that it has been the custom
heretofore for letters addressed to the
Viceroy to be signed by the Amir.”
8-1-74. (Sd.) C. U. A.
|| (The copy appears to have been in
Persian.)
If Dated 1st December 1873.
Syud Noor Mahomed Shah’s letter was acknowledged by the Foreign Secretary on
17th January 1874, and he was thanked for communicating General Kauffmann’s letter for
the information of the Viceroy.
The Amir’s reply, dated 25th January 1874, to the Russian Governor-General, was
reported with the Cabul Diary of- 27th-29th January 1874. It merely expressed extreme
gratification at the perusal of General Von Kauffmann’s letter, and acknowledged receipt of
the intelligence that some 460 Afghan slaves released from Khiva were on their way home via
Balkh and Maiipena,

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Content

A compilation of correspondence, reports, memoranda, gazetteer extracts, dispatches and statistics, prepared by Trevor Chichele Plowden, the Officiating Under-Secretary to the Government of India Foreign Department. Printed in Calcutta, by the Foreign Department Press, 1878.

The volume contains:

  • 'Chapter I. Correspondence relating to the establishment of a friendly understanding between England and Russia as to the general policy of the two Governments in Central Asia, with special reference to Afghanistan.'
  • 'Chapter II. The Turkomans of the Attrek [Etrek], Akhal [Ahal], and Merv [Mary], and their relations with Russia, Persia, Afghanistan, and England.'
  • 'Chapter III. Relations of the British Government with Biluchistan [Balochistān].'
  • 'Chapter IV. Relations between the British Government, Cashmere [Kashmīr], and the Frontier States of Chitral [Chitrāl], Yassin [Yāsīn] and Dir [Dīr].'
  • 'Chapter V. Events in Kashgar [Kāshgar] during 1875-1877. '
  • 'Chapter VI. Events in the Khanate of Kokand during 1875-1877.'
  • 'Chapter VII. Events in the Khanate of Khiva during 1875-1877.'
  • 'Chapter VIII. Events in the Khanate of Bokhara [Bukhara] during 1875-1877.'
  • 'Chapter IX. Miscellaneous.'
  • Appendices.

The volume includes two fold-out maps: one stored in a pocket inside the front board; and one at folio 207.

Extent and format
1 volume (278 folios)
Arrangement

The volume is arranged as follows:

  • Table of contents, folios 5-9
  • Alphabetical index, folios 10-40
  • Appendices, folios 178-278.
Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 279; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

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'Précis of correspondence, &c., relating to affairs in Central Asia, Biluchistan, Persia, &c. 1875-77. With appendices.' [‎183v] (371/562), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/253, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100057497980.0x0000ac> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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