The
words to "extend and consolidate our influence" can, when applied to
barbarous peoples, have no other meaning than ultimate annexation. Thus
the scheme of an advance from the plains of India into the mountain
region, which had long been maturing in men's minds and which was shaped
and outlined by many small emergencies and expedients, was clearly
proclaimed. The forward movement had begun. A fresh and powerful impulse
was imparted after the termination of Lord Ripon's viceroyalty. The open
aggression which characterised the Russian frontier policy of '84 and
'85 had been met by a supine apathy and indifference to the interests of
the State, which deserved, and which, had the issues been less
important, might have received actual punishment. It was natural that
his immediate successors should strive to dissociate themselves from the
follies and the blunders of those years. The spirit of reaction led to
the final abandonment of the venerable policy of non-intervention.
Instead of the "line of the mountains," it was now maintained that the
passes through them must be held.
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