IOR/L/PS/5/130, ff 284-367

This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of India Secret Department to the East India Company Secret Committee, Number 7 of 1838, dated 27 April 1838. The enclosures are dated 13 March-27 April 1838.

The papers chiefly comprise despatches to William Hay Macnaghten, Secretary to the Governor-General of India, from Captain Alexander Burnes, on a mission to Cabool [Kabul, also spelled this way in this item] and Captain Claude Martine Wade, Political Agent in Loodhiana [Ludhiana, also spelled Lodiana in this item], with enclosures.

The despatches chiefly concern: British policy towards and relations with the ruling parties in Afghanistan and with the Sikh Ruler Maharaja Runjeet Singh [Ranjit Singh, Ruler of the Sikh Empire, also spelled Maharajah and Maha Raja in this item]; the latter two’s relations with each other, notably over Peshawur [Peshawar]; the Afghan rulers’ relations with each other and with Persia [Iran] and Russia; and the siege of Herat by Persia (with Russian assistance).

The papers notably cover the following matters:

• The on-going negotiations with the Ameer [Amīr] of Cabool, Dost Mahomed Khan [Dūst Muḥammad Khān Bārakzāy], including Burnes’s: repetition of British policy regarding Peshawur, and responses to the Ameer’s proposals of the terms upon which he will not ally with Persia or Russia; report that discussions regarding the ‘adjustment of differences’ between the Ameer and the Sikhs have terminated unsuccessfully and that the Ameer has written to his Candahar brothers stating his loss of hope in the British; and report that he has requested from Dost Mahomed leave to quit the city (ff 289-301, ff 323-333)
• The news of a treaty having been made by the Sirdars [sardars, leaders or rulers] of Candahar [Kandahar] with Persia, which will purportedly be ratified by the Russian Ambassador in Tehran, and Burnes’s belief that the Sirdars have agreed to aid Persia in subverting Herat under threat of being similarly attacked by Persia (ff 303-308)
• A translated copy of Dost Mahomed’s letter to Lord Auckland, Governor-General of India, in which he: complains of the ‘painful delay’ in settling his affairs with the Sikhs; claims he seeks an alliance only with the British; asserts that the Candahar Sirdars made a treaty with Persia out of fear; and notes that Persia’s attack on Herat is a breach of that country’s treaty with Britain (ff 335-336)
• Wade’s observations on events in Cabool, repetition of his suspicions of Dost Mahomed’s ‘true position’, and view that Burnes should instruct the Ameer to send an agent to Peshawur to arrange peace terms with Runjeet Singh (ff 338-344)
• Wade’s reports of his difficulties in ascertaining Runjeet Singh’s real intentions regarding a settlement of his dispute with Dost Mahomed over Peshawur, and his views on how overtly the British should appear to be involved in the negotiations (ff 348-357)
• Intelligence concerning the Persian siege of Herat, including reports of Lieutenant Eldred Pottinger in Herat, which indicate the increasingly unlikely prospect of success by the Persian Army (f 309 and ff 313-317)
• The Governor-General’s decision to discontinue offers of ‘good offices’ to Dost Mahomed for peace with the Sikhs and instructions to Burnes to leave Cabool, including a copy of his letter notifying Dost Mahomed of Burnes’s recall and stating that ‘my further interposition in this affair could not lead to beneficial results’ (ff 360-364)
• News from Dr Percival Lord relating to his and Lieutenant John Wood’s proceedings in Koondooz [Kunduz], including a possible attack on Koondooz by the King of Bokhara [Bukhara], his extended stay to treat the family of the Ruler of Koondooz, and Wood’s exploratory field work (ff 319-321).