'Russia, India and the Persian Gulf' [‎8r] (15/46)

The Western Frontiers of India. 11
position between the native levies of Chitral and the more
military organization of the Khyber Rifles ; to withdraw
the regular troops from the Kurram Valley, increasing
simultaneously the local militia under police officers; to
establish a cantonment at Miranzai, in order to allow of
the last-mentioned withdrawals, a corresponding saving
being effected by giving up the proposed additional accom
modation for the troops at Kohat ; to withdraw the regular
troops from the Tochi and Gomal valleys and from Wana
in North and South Waziristan as soon as possible, and to
replace them by new, chiefly tribal, militia corps, similar to
the Khyber Rifles and the Kurram Militia, one to hold
the Tochi, and the other the Gomal, Valley.
All these proposals were made with the concurrence of
the Punjab Government, and it was estimated at the time
that they would effect a reduction upon the larger programme,
which originally held the field, ot about ^175,000, without
taking into account the savings which annually recur, which
would not be less than ^20,000. Nor should it be forgotten
that, over and above these and other economies, the great
merits of these plans are the addition to our defensive
strength on the border by the enlistment of the tribesmen,
and the increase to our offensive power by the recall and
concentration of the troops of the regular army. Among
the members of the Government of India who concurred
with the proposals of Lord Curzon (who is, of course,
like every Viceroy, and certainly not less than any pre
ceding Viceroy, his own Foreign Minister) were Sir Clinton
Dawkins and Generals Sir W. Lockhart and Sir Edwin
Collen. The Viceroy, however, was not content to leave
this policy to be carried out in future by the Government
of India, acting as heretofore through the Punjab Adminis
tration. In the following year his Government—bereft
now of the counsels of Sir William Lockhart by the hand
of death, and of Sir Clinton Dawkins by his removal to
another sphere, in which none the less his services were
utilized in even more important public business — for