THE AFGHAN WAR

Waipawa Mail, Volume 3, Issue 211, 18 September 1880, Page 3

THE AFGHAN WAR

The correspondence relating to the cost of the Afghan War, which has just been presented to Parliament (says the European Mail), goes far to confirm tlie most discouraging view of llie financial situation created by the blundering of the Government of India five months ago. The Budget statement of the Indian Government in February last computed the whole charges for the Afghan War during the threo years 1878-79, 1879-80, and 1880-SI at £5,982,381. According to the latest est imates, this expenditure will be exceeded by fully £9,000,000. If the deficiency be properly apportioned to the periods of time in which it was incurred, the accounts of the last year must be reopened, and provision must be made for a deficit, due to these unsettled war charges, of nearly £6,000,000. The precise amount to be provided on the same account during the current financial l year in excess of the sums set aside for war charges in the Budget is reckoned at £3,370,000. Rut this calculation is still open to correction. The cost of the Afghan War may oxceel even tlio revised estimate which

Lord Ripon and his advisers adopted as provisionally and approximately accurate at the close of last month. Or it may happen that in other respects the anticipations of Sir John Strachey will fall short of realisation. But we may fairly hopo that wo are now acquainted with the full extent of the error into which the Indian Government was unaccountably led, and we are glad to feel that, bad as it is, it is not one with the consequences of \s hich ludia will be unable to cope.

A return has also been issued showing the numbers killed, died of disease, and invalided in each of the three armies operating beyond the Indus in the late campaign in Afghanistan, from tho date of the advance beyond our frontier into tho Khybtr Pass, up to the return across tho Indus of the regiments ordered back at the close of operations in. the field. There were killed in action four European officers,, one native officer, and GDmen ; 19 European officers, 14 native officers,, and 1143 men died of disease; 33 European officers, 17 native officers, and 1885. men were invalided. The total loss was thus 56 European officers, 32 native officers, and 3088 men. This number must have been greatly increased since.