ntry to prevent their
being punished for helping us, they would have served us willingly.
Not that I could flatter myself they altogether liked us, but
they would have felt it wise in their own interests to meet our
requirements; and, besides, the great mass of the people were heartily
sick and tired of a long continuance of oppression and misrule, and
were ready to submit (for a time, at least) to any strong and just
Government.

Lord Lytton, in the hope of saving from the resentment of the Amir
those who had been of use to us in the early part of the war, had
expressly stipulated in Article II. of the Gandamak Treaty that 'a
full and complete amnesty should be published, absolving all Afghans
from any responsibility on account of intercourse with the British
Forces during the campaign, and that the Amir should guarantee
to protect all persons, of whatever degree, from punishment or
molestation on that account.'

But this stipulation was not adhered to. Yakub Khan more than once
spoke to me about it, and declared that it was impossible to control
the turbulent spirits in Afghanistan without being supreme, and that
this amnesty, had it been published, would have tied his hands with
regard to those who had proved themselves his enemies.

His neglect to carry out this Article of the treaty added considerably
to my difficulty, as will be seen from the following letter from
Asmatula Khan, a Ghilzai Chief, to whom I wrote, asking him to meet me
at Kabul.

'I received your kind letter on the 8th of Shawal [28th
September], and understood its contents, and also those of the
enclosed Proclamation to the people of Kabul. I informed all whom
I thought fit of the contents of the Proclamation.

'Some time ago I went to Gandamak to Major Cavagnari. He
instructed me to obey the orders of the Amir, and made me over to
His Highness. When Major Cavagnari returned to India, the Amir's
officials confiscated my property, and gave the Chiefship to my
cousin[1] [or enemy], Bakram Khan.

'The oppression I suffered on your account is beyond description.
They ruined and disgraced every friend and adherent of mine. On
the return of Major Cavagnari to Kabul, I sent my Naib [deputy] to
him, who informed him of my state. Major Cavagnari sent a message
to me to the effect that I should recover my property by force if
I could, otherwise I should go to the hills, and not come to Kabul