We have now given a sketch of the events which have occurred in Cabool, to the fall of the monarchy; and described the several governments into which it has been divided. Its prosperity as a kingdom seems almost to have terminated with its founder, Ahmed Shah Dooranee. His son Timour evinced none of the energy and activity of his parent. Shah Zuman, his child and successor, defective in education, and cruel in disposition, succeeded to a government relaxed by a long reign of indolence. Shah Zuman, and his brothers, Mahmood and Shooja, seem alike to have forgotten, on their elevation to a throne, that they ruled a people whose genius was republican. The total overthrow of the dynasty is universally attributed to the misplaced pride and arrogance of the last kings, who now receive no sympathy from the Afghans in their overthrow. Shooja, indeed, might have regained his power, but for his rash attempts to exercise the authority of king, before he was firmly fixed in it. The Afghans cannot control their feelings of jealousy towards men in power; and this universal envy has dethroned their kings and butchered their nobles. There is not a person of note, that figures in their history for the last thirty years, who has died a natural death. To be happy under any government, they must either be ruled by a vigorous despot, or formed into many small republics.
All the institutions of the Afghans are favourable to a republic; and the supremacy of the Barukzye family in Cabool is acceptable to the people; and I even think favourable to the prosperity of the country. It is by far the greatest clan of the Dooranees, amounting to about 60,000 families, which will enable it to maintain its authority. The late royal family of the Sudozyes, on the other hand, were few in number, and looked for support to other tribes. Of these, the principal were the Barukzyes. Hajee Jumal, the most influential of its chiefs, willingly bowed to the authority of Ahmed Shah; and contributed to fix him on his throne. The successors of that monarch rewarded his services by the murder of his son Poynda Khan; and we have related the atrocious assassination of his grandson the Vizier. Had the royal house treated these benefactors with justice, and their subjects with moderation, they might still have reigned in peace. The hatred of this family to the house of Cabool, and the cause which excites it (the assassination of two of their chiefs), forbid the belief that the Barukzyes will ever consent to their restoration. It is certain that the aid of no other tribe can avail them, for the whole wealth of the country is in the hands of their enemies; and the bulk of the people view their misfortunes with indifference, since it is believed they have drawn them upon themselves. It is evident, therefore, that the restoration of either Shooja ool Moolk, or Kamran, is an event of the most improbable nature. The dynasty of the Sudozyes has passed away, unless it be propped up by foreign aid; and it would be impossible to reclaim the lost provinces of the empire, without a continuation of the same assistance. It is more difficult to revive than to raise a dynasty; and in the common chain of events, if the country is to be ruled by another king, we must look for another family to establish its power in Cabool; and this, in all probability, will be the Barukzyes.
At present, there is no connexion of a political nature between the states in Cabool and any foreign power. The Persians have long talked vaingloriously of invading the country, but if there were no treachery on the part of the Kuzzilbash guards, at Cabool, they could not certainly make an impression on the kingdom. In a general war, the enmity between the different houses would probably be forgotten, and the united force of the Barukzyes alone amounts to about 30,000 horse. While we were in Cabool, the chief received a notice from his brother at Candahar, who had been threatened by an ambassador from the Persian camp. The reply of Dost Mahommed Khan was characteristic:—“When the Persians come, let me know, and as I am now your enemy, will I then be your friend.” The natural strength of Cabool is its best barrier against a successful invasion by an Asiatic power, and if we look to the expedition of Nadir Shah, we are to remember that he was accompanied by many Afghan chiefs, whom he had advanced to favour, and who largely participated in his acquisitions, and the spoils he gained from others.
The political state of Cabool, as a kingdom, becomes at all times an object of the deepest importance to India, from the many changes which constantly take place in that country. Of its four chiefships, one is subject to the Punjab, and another to Persia. The chief of Cabool himself is a man of enlightened views, and may secure a thorough supremacy over the country, on the death of Runjeet Sing. It would not be difficult for him to subdue Peshawur, and he might then seize the provinces on the Indus, and very probably Cashmere. He is a man favourably disposed towards the British Government, as indeed are the whole chiefs of the kingdom. They were not in power when the British mission entered the country in 1809, but our reputation was then established, and the good opinion of all parties has been acquired by our immediate withdrawal afterwards. That circumstance, it is true, was unavoidable; but it has left impressions most favourable to our disinterestedness. In Cabool, therefore, it would not be difficult to form a connexion; and the chief is certainly worthy of notice, since his country lies on the great road by which the manufactures of Britain are imported, and which of late have been considerably increased by his equity and justice. It would require no great expenditure of the public funds to conciliate this chief; and, it is to be remembered, that he is in possession of the most important position in Asia, as regards the protection of British India. Had circumstances brought us into an alliance with Cabool instead of Persia, we might have now possessed more trusty and useful allies, nearer home, than we can boast of in that country. We also should have never incurred a tenth of the expenditure, which has been so freely lavished in Persia.