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New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIV, Issue 7975, 15 June 1887, Page 4

From the messages recently received it is clear that the Ameer of Afghanistan is in a serious plight. A few days ago it was reported that, being suspicious of the loyalty of the garrison of Herat, he bad despatched other troops to replace them. This step was taken not a day too soon, as it appears that two of the regiments stationed there had already deserted and joined the rebels. Then carao the news that the Ameer of Bokhara was tempting the Afghan rebels to enlist under his standard; which means, of course, that he is in sympathy with their insurrection, and that he would afterwards employ them in invading the Afghan territory. And now, among the telegrams of to-day, the information reaches us from Oabul, via Simla, that the allegiance of the Ghilzai regiments to the Ameer could not be relied on. These several state - ments seem to warrant the opinion conveyed by the cable that the prestige of the Afghan Ruler is hopelessly shattered, and that his fall is expected at an early date. That the insurrectionary spirit is gaining ground all through Abdurrahman's dominions is undoubted, and its manifestations in his army render his position so critical that flight or death seem his only alternatives. The cause of this widespread feeling of disloyalty, not only among the tribes, but also among the troops, it is not difficult to divine. Its secret is to be found in the seductive effect of Russian gold. Some time since it was asserted on reliable authority that the agents of the Czar were busy preaching sedition throughout the whole northern portion of the Ameer's territory, and they seem to have found in that quarter soil more adapted for the seed they scatter than has been met with in Bulgaria. The result in both cases will probably be so far similar that Abdurrahman, like Prince Alexander, will be got rid of; but there is also this difference likely to be witnessed, that the Afghans, unlike the Bulgarians, will yiold to the temptation of Russian bribes and transfer their allegiance to the Czar. What obligations this state of things may entail on Britain we may conceive from the fact that she is bound by treaty to aid the Ameer in maintaining the integrity of his territory provided he is guided in his policy by hor advice. His death it is true, might absolve them from this compact ; but the problem, how far Britain's own interests and the security of her Indian possessions might require her to suppress the insurrection, would still remain to be solved. One thing is certain, that the British Government will require very soon to decide on the course they mean to pursue.