Russia's  difficulty  of  maintaining  an  army  of  ten  times  that  size
would  be  great  in  either  that  city  or  Kabul,  whose  inhabitants  are
half  starved.  The  requirements  of  a  Russian  army,  according  to
Colonel  Hanna,  would  be  for  150,000  men  at  least  1,000,000  tons,
and  it  is  unlikely  that  any  general  would  enter  on  an  Indian  invasion,
defended  by  British  and  native  troops,  with  less  than  three  months'
supplies.  Skobeloff  had  two  and  a  half  months  for  use  against  the
Turkomans,  and  we  had  six  months  in  the  Afghan  War.  A  three
months  supply  would  mean  "  1,000,000  tons  to  carry,  for  which
something  like  500,000  camels  would  be  required,  equal  to  the  cargo
of  forty  large  steamers."  If  she  could  get  all  these  animals,  how
would  they  be  fed  among  the  mountains  and  fruitless  deserts  which
intervene  between  Afghanistan  and  British  India  ?

Russia  has  no  intention  of  invading  India  at  present;  she  is  too
much  occupied  with  her  railway  to  Port  Arthur  through  the  Gobi
Desert,  that  will  take  years  yet.  Her  invasion  of  India  would  be  a
fish  not  worth  the  fly.  So  the  bogey  can  be  dismissed  for  the
present.
In  the  meantime,  if  we  can  put — which  we  cannot  do  to-day  with
our  70,000  establishment — 50,000  British  troops  on  the  frontier,
that  force — ^trained,  acclimatised,  and  fitted  by  time-— would  be  ample,
pending  other  arrangements  should  reinforcements  be  required.
This  could  be  managed  properly  under  the  twelve  years  system.  It
•would  greatly  reduce  the  cost  of  trcufutport.     It  would  reduce  the


386  The  JVeshninster  Review.  Oct.
necessity  for  large  numbers  being  sent  annually  to  the  hills.
Bednce  hill  charges,  redace  the  cost  of  inland  transport,  and,  finally,
most  important  of  all,  redace  the  number  suffering  from  oontagioos
diseases.
