succeeded by Lord Lytton; and a further reply from Lord Salisbury, the
Secretary of State for India, was received by the Viceroy. It reiterated
that the Government at home considered our trans-frontier relations
unsatisfactory; that permanent British Agencies should be established in
Afghanistan; and that we were willing to afford the Ameer material
support against unprovoked aggression, our object being to maintain a
strong and friendly Power in that country. The despatch went on to say
that should the Ameer decline to meet our request, he should be informed
that he was isolating himself from us at his peril.

The next step was taken in May, when the Ameer was invited to receive a
special Mission, which he politely declined. In October our native Agent
at Cabul came to Simla and had an interview with Lord Lytton, who
reiterated the demands of the British Government, pointing out that in
the event of a refusal there was nothing to prevent our joining Russia
in wiping Afghanistan out of the map altogether, of which Shere Ali was
duly informed. In January 1877 a final effort was made to come to terms,
and Sir Lewis Pelly and the Afghan Prime Minister, Noor Mahomed, had a
conference at Peshawur. The first, and indeed the only point discussed,
was the demand that British representatives should reside in
Afghanistan, which was a _sine qua non_. Noor Mahomed pathetically
pleaded that Lords Lawrence, Mayo, and Northbrook, successive Viceroys,
had all in turn promised that this should not be insisted on; and he
ended by saying that Shere Ali would rather perish than submit. It was
evident that further discussion was useless, and the conference was
closed; Noor Mahomed, who was ill, dying shortly afterwards. In March
1877 our native Agent at Cabul was withdrawn, and direct communication
with Shere Ali ceased.

I have given the above _resume_ of the correspondence in 1875-77,