EX-KING OF AFGHANISTAN

No troops marched to Kabul to teach him his lesson,
Departing from precedent, probably wisely, the British
in India decided against that almost inevitable step.
As if it were in default of action to the contrary, Aman-
ullah was granted his wish to conduct foreign relations
via London. It must have surprised him that the
concession should have been granted so readily* In
truth, it meant little to a nation whose chief concern
at the moment was centred in Versailles.

Amanullah made the most of it. Marching into
Kabul, he announced Independence !

" Afghanistan is free 1 " he boasted. " The great
armies of my country have gained their rights as a
nation. No longer are we the subject -nation of Great
Britain, whose armies we met in battle on the plains
of Dacca. Henceforth Afghanistan is an independent
nation, ranking with the most powerful in the world ! "

Such words were hardly considered as of importance
while the Western nations were settling the future of
the world in a palace on the outskirts of Paris. . . .

The stir caused by the end of the War, however, was
adequately celebrated in Kabul. Gradually the affair
at Dacca was magnified into a great and glorious defeat
of the British Army. Nothing was too good for the
soldiers ; no praise was too high for the brave and
ambitious young Amir who had led his troops to victory
and gained full honour for his country.

The Palace was the scene of festivities night after
night. The poor of Kabul city found themselves the
sudden recipients of food and money. History had been.
written. Everything that had been said about the young
Amir, then, had been truth !

Nobody mentioned the two hundred dead left on the
plains. Nobody inquired into the facts and figures of
the battle. It was a famous victory, and it would be

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