The Life of Yakoob Beg Part 4
YAKOOB BEG'S GOVERNMENT OF KASHGAR.
Yakoob Beg's chief claim to our consideration is that, for more than twelve years, he gave a settled government to a large portion of Central Asia, and that, however faulty his external policy may have been in critical moments, his internal management was founded on a practical and sufficiently just basis. As a warrior he had done much to justify admiration, and had proved on many a well-fought field, and in many a desperate encounter, his claims to be considered a fearless and resolute soldier; but in this quality he was equalled, if not excelled, by his own lieutenant, Abdulla Beg, the Murat of Kashgar, while some of the deeds of his son, Beg Bacha, will rank in daring and surpa.s.s in ferocity anything achieved by the Athalik Ghazi. But in capacity for administration Yakoob Beg far surpa.s.sed his contemporaries, and the merit of his success was enhanced, not so much by the originality of the method adopted, as by the unique vigour and perseverance with which it was put into force. The secret of his power can only be discovered by constantly bearing in mind the fact that he had const.i.tuted himself the champion of the Mahomedan religion in Central Asia. The Ameers of Bokhara and Afghanistan might trifle with the seductive promises of the Russians, and might consent to sacrifice the interests of their religion for a transitory advancement of their worldly possessions; but to such degradations the Athalik Ghazi--true "champion father" as he was--never stooped. With whatever imaginary power the sympathy and good-will of the Mahomedan peoples of Turkestan may have clothed this ruler, there is no question that his att.i.tude towards the Muscovite would have warranted the a.s.sertion of greater power than was ever attributed to him; and the secret of this delusion, an att.i.tude of defiant strength without any solid foundation for so bold a course, can only be unravelled by remembering that the Athalik Ghazi strove to represent, not so much Kashgaria, as the whole Mahomedan world of Central Asia. The necessities of his own position, when, having conquered Kashgar, he found that he had aroused the susceptibilities of the Russians, compelled him to seek in every direction for aid, and to have recourse to every artifice for increasing his strength, or its semblance, in order to avoid the dissolution of his state and a subjection to the Czar. So well did he succeed in his efforts, and so prompt were his movements and so fearless his att.i.tude, that the Russians were deluded into a belief--which was, as we emphatically insist, unfounded--that Kashgar would prove a more formidable antagonist than either Bokhara, or Khokand, or Khiva.
The interior management of a state, which, young in years, yet seemed to tower among its fellows, might be supposed to be a very interesting topic to dilate upon; but on this subject there is less direct evidence than could be wished. Even Sir Douglas Forsyth, in his official report, is not able to throw as much light as is desired on the inner working of the administrative system of Yakoob Beg. Still, such as it is, with the exception of the Russian writer, Gregorieff, he is the only authority on the subject.
To commence with the court and the immediate surroundings of Yakoob Beg, we are struck by two inconsistencies. In the first place, there were no great n.o.bles, or indeed adherents or his family; those chiefs who, whether they were Khokandian n.o.bles or Kirghiz or Afghan adventurers, had proved their fidelity to his rule, and their capacity for service, were actively employed as governors of districts, or as commandants of fortresses in the wide-stretching dominions of their imperious master.
Periodically they came to pay their respects in the capital, and at frequent intervals Yakoob Beg, in his journeys to the frontier, visited them, and superintended their operations in person; but, in so active a community where there was a dearth of mankind, the intellectually gifted members of the society were too valuable to be permitted to devote their energies and their attention to the object of becoming palace ornaments.
Yakoob Beg had forced himself on a people who regarded him with indifference, and he had to maintain himself in his place by a never relaxing vigour. To make this possible, he required a large staff of efficient and trustworthy subordinates, who may be divided into three cla.s.ses of various capacities, viz., soldiers, administrators, and tax-gatherers. Until the last few months of his reign there was no symptom that his system was declining in vigour, or that his supply of competent officials was limited and susceptible of being exhausted. Even in his most prosperous years, however, there was always a difficulty in obtaining a full supply; and in all inferior posts the disaffected Khitay had to be employed. The Tungani of Kucha and Aksu were scarcely more to be trusted in an emergency than their Buddhist kinsmen. Yet the extensive civil service of the state, which undertook the education, the religion, the civil order, the local administration of the people all into its own hands, had to be kept in working order, whatever else might happen. It can at once be perceived that, when a government which never obtained any deep hold on the affections of the people had only a limited population to draw upon, it was only a question of time to solve the difficulty by an exhaustion of the supply of suitable brain material, or by the uprising of an, at heart, dissatisfied people. No one will ever understand the secret of Yakoob Beg's rule unless he constantly bears in mind that his strict orthodoxy as a Mussulman, and his still stricter enforcement of the laws of his religion within his borders, were elements of strength only in his external relations; in his internal affairs they placed him in the light of a tyrant, and prevented his people ever experiencing any enthusiasm for his person and rule. It is doubtful whether outside the priesthood and the more fanatical Andijanis there was any great religious zeal at all, and it is quite a delusion to speak of the Kashgari, as a whole, as being fanatical Mahomedans, in the same degree that it is true to say so of the Bokhariots or Afghans. In addition to there being no n.o.ble or wealthy official cla.s.s in the city of Kashgar, there was also the strange inconsistency of an intensely strict etiquette being enforced side by side with extreme plainness in costume and ceremonial. It is rare indeed to hear any traveller to Kashgar speaking of the richness or finery of court functionaries. Even Hadji Torah, or the Seyyid Yakoob Khan, as he is now called, and Mahomed Yunus, the governor of Yarkand, two of the most trusted and prominent followers of the Athalik Ghazi, were not to be distinguished from a host of minor luminaries in the court circle by any external insignia of their elevated position. Some of the military, officers of the household troops, wore a device of a dragon's head worked in silk over their plain uniform of leather; and this seems to have been a custom surviving the disappearance of the Chinese. Hadji Torah--who recently visited this country, and who had on previous occasions travelled in Russia, Turkey, and India--however, alone among Kashgarian notables, had introduced into his household some of the comforts and luxuries of European life. His example was not imitated by many others, and, after a brief period of fashion, the improvements he had striven to make popular died out and were lost sight of. The ordinary dress of a person above the rank of gentleman is a large blanket-like cloak worn over a close-fitting tunic and breeches; and the dress of the peasant is similar, only his cloak is usually a sheepskin. The Ameer himself set the example of exceeding plainness in his costume, and his followers were far too skilled courtiers to vary their practice from that of their ruler. But what his court lacked in pomp it gained in impressiveness by the perfect system of etiquette enforced, and by the external show of reverence to the ruler and to his religion, manifested in every petty detail of the palace ceremonial. The Ameer received publicly in his audience-chamber every day, when all pet.i.tions and stringent punishments were submitted to him. His _s.h.a.ghawals_, or foreign secretaries, made their report to him on whatever business might be most pressing, whether it was concerning his relations with India or Russia, with Afghanistan or the Tungani; and the local governors, who might happen to have arrived at the capital, were received in audience, either to present their personal respects to the ruler, or their reports of the government of their provinces. But with the exception of a few of his kinsmen, and more intimate a.s.sociates, such as Abdulla, none were permitted to be seated in his presence. Even these could not sit within a certain distance of their sovereign. All subjects who were allowed to approach his person had to do so in the humblest manner, and with the deepest expressions of humility and subjection. His son, Kuli Beg, was still more particular in his intercourse with his subjects. Even his cousin, Hadji Torah, a man whose experience and lineage ent.i.tled him to exceptional consideration, never placed himself on an equality with this youthful despot, and always clothed his words and thoughts when in conversation with him in an outward show of humble respect and deferential obsequiousness. It will be at once surmised, and, so far as our information warrants an opinion, with correctness, that all this terrorism alienated any good feeling from the ruling family that its prowess in the field and the cabinet might have secured for it. In Kashgar we have a forcible proof of the truth of Tennyson's line, that "he who only rules by terror doeth grievous wrong;" and yet, founded as it was on a military system, and on the deepest distrust of the subject races, it could not well have been otherwise.
The most unmistakable proof of how Yakoob Beg's rule was founded, and how it was maintained, is to be seen in the fact that his _orda_, or palace, was one large barrack, the interior compartments of which were devoted to the accommodation of the royal household. His out-houses were filled with cannon of every description, from antiquated Chinese irjirs to modern Krupps and Armstrongs, and his select corps of artillerymen, clothed in a scarlet uniform, seldom left the chief cities, except for serious operations against foreign enemies. At the Yangy-Shahr of Kashgar, too, he kept his military stores, and it was said that in his workshops there he was able to construct cannon and muskets in considerable numbers in imitation of the most perfect weapons of European science. But it must be noted that we have no record of any of his home-made weapons being used in actual hostilities, while the supply of arms received from Russia, or this country, is known to have been made the most of. Besides the natural apt.i.tude of his subjects of Chinese descent for imitation, he had in his service, particularly in his artillery, many sepoys who had deserted our service either at the time of the mutiny or since. These soldiers, valuable either as non-commissioned officers or in higher ranks still, combined with a large number of good troops from Khokand and the mountain tribes of the neighbourhood, gave a cohesion and vigour to the whole army that was simply inestimable. That army, it may be here convenient to say, was divided into two cla.s.ses widely differing from each other, and called upon, except in an emergency, when all the resources of the state were summoned to take part in its defence, to perform duties as opposite as their own composition. The army of the Ameer, founded on that confused a.s.semblage with which he conquered Kashgar, was divided into two bodies, the _jigit_ or _djinghite_, the horse soldier, and the _sarbaz_, or foot soldier. The former of these was the more formidable warrior, being selected for personal strength or skill. The _jigits_ were trained to fight on foot as well as on horse, and were armed with a long single-barrelled gun and a sabre. Their uniform was a serviceable coat of leathern armour mostly buff in colour, and to all intents and purposes they correspond with our dragoons, or, perhaps, still more closely with the proposed corps of mounted riflemen. The _sarbaz_, among whom are included the artillerymen, presented greater varieties of efficiency than his mounted comrade; still he had gone through some regular drill and training, and resided in barracks. He was a regular soldier, and might be trusted in defence of his country up to a certain point. In numbers it is impossible to state accurately how many _jigits_ and _sarbazes_ there were in the service of the state; some months ago they would have been placed as high as 50,000 or 60,000 strong, possibly at a higher number still; now we are wiser on the subject, and we have gone to the other end of the scale. It is probable, however, that Yakoob Beg never had 20,000 perfectly trustworthy soldiers in his army, and that after the conclusion of the Tungan wars, half that number would more accurately represent his force of _jigits_ and _sarbazes_. But in addition to the more or less effective main body, there was a nondescript following of Khitay, Tungani, half-savage Kirghiz, and rude degraded savages like the Dolans, that in numbers would have presented a very formidable appearance. The Khitay must at once be struck out of the estimate, for they were never permitted to go beyond the immediate vicinity of Yarkand and Kashgar, where they kept themselves apart, and were employed as military servants, as sentries, and as workmen in the military shops and factories. The Tungani, who enrolled themselves at various epochs in the service of Kashgar, were more than dubious in their fidelity to the state; besides they were of such questionable courage, that they were no allies of any importance. Even as compared with one another, these were of varying kinds of efficiency; the Tungani who joined Yakoob Beg in the earlier portion of his career seeming to be the best of them. Those who joined after the fall of Aksu and Kucha, less efficient and more ambiguous in their fidelity; and those who dwelt in the country from Korla to Turfan and Manas, were totally inefficient, and not to be trusted to any degree whatever. The Kirghiz and Kipchak nomads were rather a source of danger to their friends than of dread to their foes. Yakoob Beg had, therefore, at his orders but a very limited force to maintain his own dynasty against the machinations of Khoja and Tungan, and to defend a long and vulnerable frontier against many powerful and ambitious neighbours. It was absurd for him to think of venturing single-handed across the path of Russia, and to do him justice he never deluded himself into the idea that he could. All he seems to have aspired to was to resist to the uttermost any invasion of his territory by them, and to die sooner than surrender. Limited in numbers as his regular forces were, they seem to have had every claim to be placed high in the rank of Asiatic soldiers. They were certainly not as formidable a body as the Sikhs or Ghoorkas, probably not as the Afghans; still they were infinitely superior, except in numbers, to any forces the Ameer of Bokhara or the Khan of Khokand could place in the line of battle. To Yakoob Beg alone belongs the credit of their organization.
Yakoob Beg's system of administration was simple in the extreme. A _Dadkwah_, or governor, was appointed for each district, and in his hands was vested the supreme control in all the affairs of his province.
Yet he was no irresponsible minister who could tyrannize as he pleased.
Tyrannize in small ways, undoubtedly, many of them did, but, as the life of the subject could only be taken away by order of the ruler himself, the most powerful weapon in the hands of an unscrupulous viceroy was removed.
At stated periods, too, he had to proceed to Kashgar to give a report of the chief occurrences in his province, and on such occasions pet.i.tions containing charges against the Dadkwah were formally considered in his presence. It may be said that this proceeding was a farce, and it is probably true that a favoured viceroy could laugh at any ordinary accusation against his character. But that would be an exceptional case.
Many Dadkwahs were reduced in official rank, for malpractices, and some, such as Yakoob Beg's own half-brother, were removed for incompetence in their charges. Side by side, too, with the Dadkwah, ruled the Kazi or Judge, who, if of course not on a par in rank with the viceroy, was still invested with complete authority in all legal decisions on crime.
This prominence given to the legal authorities had a good effect on the public mind, for, although the Kazi, as a rule, might not dare to thwart the wishes of the Dadkwah, the effect of the law being supreme was scarcely detracted from. And what was that law? it may naturally be asked. Precisely the same as the law of every other Mahomedan state, with a few innovations traceable to the influence of the Chinese. The Shariat, the holy code of the Prophet followed in all the Sunni states, was enforced by Yakoob Beg, with particular severity; and in its working no sense of mercy was permitted to temper the harshness of its regulations. Crimes committed by women were punished with greater inflictions than the same committed by men; and the ordinary punishments, whipping, mutilation, and torture could be inflicted by order of the Dadkwah. Only in capital cases had the decision to rest with the sovereign. Thieves, beggars, and vagrants found wandering about the streets at prohibited hours were immediately locked up, and brought before the Kazi, who would either administer a caution, or a whipping, if the accused had previously offended. Another check on the abuse of power by the officials was to be found in the following regulation. A charge to be visited with a severer punishment than twenty heavy strokes from the _dira_--a leather strap, fixed in a wooden handle--had to be investigated by a member of each official rank; so the Kazi pa.s.sed a culprit on, with his comments, to the Mufti, the Mufti to the Alim, and the Alim to the Dadkwah. If any of these officials dissented from the remarks of his subordinate, and the matter was found impossible to arrange by mutual concessions, it was either referred to the sovereign for solution, or was permitted to fall through. The Dadkwah had also to be present at every punishment within his jurisdiction, and was directly responsible to the Ameer for any miscarriage of justice. The Kazi Rais, or head judge, had the right to decide all minor matters for himself--for instance, in his patrols through the streets, if he met a woman unveiled he could order her to be struck so many times with the _dira_; or if he found a man selling adulterated food, or using light weights, he could confiscate his goods, or in some other manner mulct him in addition to administering a certain number of strokes. He and his attendants were particularly energetic and zealous in compelling idlers about the bazaars to repair to the mosques at prayer time, and in a very paternal and authoritative manner did the Rais exercise his petty power for the good of his people. Even on his despotism there was some check, as he had no authority to inflict more than forty blows with the _dira_ for one offence. Intimately connected with the administration of justice was the police system, which in its intricate ramifications permeated all sections of society. Much as we may feel admiration for the judicial code, which, up to a certain point admirably administered, ensured a certain kind of rough justice throughout the Athalik Ghazi's dominions, the police laws and discipline have greater claims to our favourable opinion, as evidences of an astonishing capacity for government. In his legal code, Yakoob Beg simply adopted the laws enforced on all true believers by the Koran, and he had no claims to originality as a lawgiver. But as a ruler adopting all those checks on sedition which lie at the disposal of an unscrupulous sovereign, and which were brought to such a pitch of perfection under Fouche and the Second Empire, Yakoob Beg has reason to be placed in the very highest cla.s.s of such potentates. In this achievement, too, he was not a plagiarist, and, as he must have been ignorant of similar regulations existing in Europe, he must be allowed the credit of having originated a system of police in which it is difficult to find a single flaw. In China, indeed, something of the same kind has at all times existed, and at periods when the Emperor grasped the sceptre firmly, and made his individuality felt in the management of affairs, the police were one of the most active tools of power. But even in that empire there is no record of their having attained so complete a control over the actions and sentiments of the people as in Kashgaria during the last decade. It appears, too, that in superiority of system lay the sole pre-eminence of the latter; for the Tungan, or policeman, of China was, individually man for man, a superior cla.s.s to the Kashgarian and other constables of Yakoob Beg. In short, the whole credit of their existence belongs to that ruler.
Let us now give some account of this important body. It was divided into two chief divisions quite distinct from and irrespective of each other, secret and munic.i.p.al. The _secret_ was not, like ours, a perceptible cla.s.s of detectives, acting in combination with the munic.i.p.al, to which was entrusted the discovery of crimes and conspiracies. It may loosely be described as consisting of every member of the community, for all desired to stand well with the powers that be, and the easiest way to attain that object would be to place all confidential information at their disposal. But it is evident that even in a state of irresponsible power, like Kashgar, a clear encouragement, such as this, to invent libels of one's neighbours, could only end in unprofitable litigation and confusion. There was certainly a check on the too zealous imaginations of the subjects, and, although there is not much evidence on the subject, it appears to have been twofold. In the first place a libeller incurred the risk of receiving very severe punishment, particularly if the person libelled were of saintly lineage, or if he filled any official post. This operated as a check on too hasty accusations, especially when it became known that the reward for such service was seldom speedily forthcoming, and scarcely ever answered the expectations of the informer. But this check, which alone seems to have been adopted in the earlier years of Yakoob Beg's authority, was found to be insufficient as his power became consolidated. The secret police then became organized to a certain degree; that is to say, they so far formed a distinct corps that a member had to be approved of either by the Dadkwah or the Rais. So well, however, was the secret of their individuality maintained that few of them were generally known to the people. Suspicion was wide-spread throughout all ranks of society, and the governor in his _orda_, or the Rais in his hall of justice, or the shopkeeper in his booth, or the artisan in his hut, never felt safe that his neighbour, the man with whom he was holding the most friendly converse, was not dissecting his expressions to discover whether they contained anything treasonable. Members of this formidable body were always attached to the suite of either foreign envoys or merchants; and their presence in the rear of the _cortege_, always effectually closed the mouths of the inhabitants, or only induced them to open them to give false or contradictory replies.
There can be no doubt that this secret organization, brought to a high pitch of perfection during the later years of his reign, gave a consistency and strength to Yakoob Beg's tenure of power that was wanting to all his predecessors. In leaving this part of the system, it is as well to point out in conclusion that this detective force was only useful in discovering what was about to occur in the state among Andijani or Tungani, and that it was powerless to attempt the repression by force of any outbreak of popular feeling. Its members were simply spies, and as a body its value vanished when its members became generally known. Constant changing, and the introduction of fresh members, were the sole effectual means of preserving the _incognito_ of a large body of men, and women even, who preserved official communication only with the local governor or judge.
The munic.i.p.al police were subdivided into urban and suburban, and they present a complete contrast to the vague body we have just attempted to describe. Their functions were known and recognizable. They were the functionaries who put into practice the behests of the Kazi, and they maintained order in the streets and bazaars, much as our own do. The _Corbashi_ is the head of this body, and his subordinates are styled _tarzagchi_. They wore a distinct uniform, and had drilling grounds attached to barracks, in which, however, they were not all compelled to reside. They were essentially military in their rules, and presented a powerful first front to all evil-doers and would-be rebels. It was they who accompanied the Kazi Rais in his daily circuit of the streets and market-place, and it was from their weapon, the _dira_, that the ordinary punishment was received. Their princ.i.p.al avocation seems to have been to maintain order in the towns during the night-time, for in the day we only hear of a few of them being detailed for personal attendance on the Dadkwah and Kazi. With sunset their true importance is more visible, for not only were they stationed in all main thoroughfares, squares, and other open places of the city; but until sunrise patrols at frequent intervals throughout the night visited all the chief quarters of the town. The power vested in their hands during these hours was very great, and it was dangerous for any stranger to venture out after prohibited hours. All persons found in the streets after sunset were arrested and incarcerated until the morning, when, if they could give a satisfactory account of themselves, they were released, with a caution not to keep such unseemly hours for the future.
If, however, they were unable to explain their business, a further term of imprisonment was imposed; and it was a matter of some difficulty for a stranger to obtain his complete liberty for some time afterwards. The suburban police fulfilled much the same duties, and on all the country roads patrols pa.s.sed up and down during the night, while pickets were stationed at the cross-roads. In the same manner as in the towns all travellers, except those armed with a pa.s.sport, were interned for a minute investigation into their affairs in the morning. And "thieves, beggars, and wanderers" were chastised at the discretion of the local magistrate. The vagrant laws were as much enforced, too, as they were in this country in the days of Queen Elizabeth, and in a general mode of interference with the thoughts and actions of its subjects, the Kashgarian government had attained a height of excellence that would ent.i.tle it to rank with the Inquisition. Still there was order. No riots occurred to distract the harmony of the public weal, and to an external observer, especially to one belonging to a country where order is considered the greatest _desideratum_, the government of the Athalik Ghazi seemed to be the perfection of an Asiatic state, and that order a reason for attributing all other virtues to its originator.
Travellers, however, who were provided with a pa.s.sport, were accorded privileges of transit, and were permitted, if they felt so disposed, to continue their journeys during hours interdicted to less privileged mortals. In each chief town there were offices for the issue of these permits to travel. Not many obstacles were thrown in the path of those, who left permanent guarantees in the shape of property behind them for their return, in accomplishing their desire for travel; but rarely was permission granted to any one, not blessed with these worldly advantages, to proceed farther than the neighbouring district. Indeed in all cases leave to visit foreign states, other than Khokand or Bokhara, was a matter of difficulty to be obtained, and only in the most exceptional cases was it granted. But it appears that there were some evasions of this regulation by a simulation of religious zeal, for the Sheikh-ul-Islam had it in his power to grant permits to leave the country on pilgrimages to Bokhara the "holy," or to Mecca. In themselves the pa.s.sports were simple in phraseology. They merely stated the name and address of the traveller, the nature of his business, and his destination. Having obtained the consent of the Dadkwah, and the authority of the Kazi, no difficulty was experienced in procuring the necessary slip of paper. Infractions of this permission, by too long an absence, or by proceeding in some forbidden direction, were visited on a first offence with a fine. On a repet.i.tion of it, however, the punishment became more severe. It would be interesting to know how these protectors of the public peace were paid, and by what means. But on this point there is little trustworthy information. We, however, know of one tax which was devoted to the support of the urban police, but of the funds from which the suburban were remunerated, we have no authority for any a.s.sertion. A weekly tax was levied from all the shop and booth owners, to go towards the payment of their protectors; but it is not supposed that this amounted to a sufficient sum to maintain the large force in the more important cities. The difference was probably paid out of the state coffers under the head of justice. Judging from this we cannot be far wrong in a.s.suming that a similar tax was levied on the farmers and country residents for the support of the suburban police; and as the secret police required less outlay in the country than in the cities, it is possible that that tax more nearly defrayed the total cost, than it did in Yarkand or Kashgar. The police supervision and the military terrorism, freely resorted to on all occasions offering an excuse for such an extreme measure, have not been without their effect in leaving traces of their existence and influence in the daily life of the Kashgari, and on the countenances and sentiments of the subject peoples. Where formerly lived a light-hearted and happy race there now seemed as if a never-to-be-removed gloom had settled down on the face of the land, and neither the a.s.surance of security nor the irregular encouragement of the ruler to commerce could remove the blight that had fallen upon the energies and happiness of the people. As one of them expressed it, in pathetic language, "During the Chinese rule there was everything; there is nothing now." The speaker of that sentence was no merchant, who might have been expected to be depressed by the falling-off in trade, but a warrior and a chieftain's son and heir. If to him the military system of Yakoob Beg seemed unsatisfactory and irksome, what must it have appeared to those more peaceful subjects to whom merchandise and barter were as the breath of their nostrils? All the advantages of a perfect police system, heavily weighted by the inc.u.mbrance of a costly addition of spies and tale-bearers, would seem as nothing compared with the loss incurred by the fetters placed on individual motion and enterprise. Considered by itself, the police organization of Kashgar was, perhaps, the most perfect design achieved by Yakoob Beg, and his community of spies will rank with anything in effectiveness that has ever been accomplished by any potentate. But as a permanent addition to his strength it is permissible to doubt whether he really secured his rule by employing the latter, or obtained much more by the formation of the former than the services of a trained body of trustworthy, courageous men. The restrictions imposed on trade by the severance of all communications with the East by the Tungan wars and by the limited amount of liberty granted the native Kashgari, proved most deterrent to all mercantile adventure, and placed in the hands of Khokandians or Russians on the north, and of Cashmerians and Punjabis on the south, most of the trade still carried on with Eastern Turkestan.
The trade carried on by the Athalik Ghazi's state, if we are to judge solely by amount, with foreign countries, was greatest with Russia and her dependencies; but if we investigate the matter more closely we find that the result is a little more satisfactory to ourselves. The direct trade that was carried on by way of Leh with Khoten and Sanju was steadily increasing, while that of Russia by Khokand had for some time remained stationary, if it had not even decreased. And then much of the Russian trade has to be scored to this country, for in the marts of Kashgar, underneath Russian exteriors, were very often to be found English interiors, and the brand of well-known Manchester and Liverpool makers was discovered beneath some gaudy and brilliant-looking cover hailing from Moscow or Nishni Novgorod. Besides, recent investigations have proved that some of the goods exported from Shikarpore, in Scinde, through the Bholan Pa.s.s find their way through the mountainous districts that intervene into the territory of his late Highness the Ameer of Kashgar. Nor had Yakoob Beg totally neglected all means for inducing merchants to enter his state; indeed, his chief objection seemed to have been, not that they should have entered his state, but that they should leave it. Serais were built in all the chief towns for the accommodation of such merchants as might take up a temporary abode within his territory, and the Andijani Serai, or hotel, specially constructed for merchants from Khokand, was one of the largest and most striking buildings in the city of Kashgar. Yakoob Beg had even detailed off to take care of the serai and its occupants a large number of the old Khitay, or Yangy Mussulmans, who were generally employed throughout the city as domestic servants. When we come to the description of the relations of Yakoob Beg with England and with Russia we will speak more fully of the details of those treaties of commerce which were ratified on several occasions, and whose ostensible object was the promotion of trade and other friendly intercourse.
We have now considered the army, the police, the administration of justice, and the court of Yakoob Beg, and the only chief subject that remains to be discussed are the principles of finance adopted by the Ameer. To keep any state, even an Asiatic state, in a fit condition for preserving its independence, a settled revenue is requisite, and Yakoob Beg, whose atmosphere was one of almost continual warfare, was on several occasions pressed for money in a manner difficult to be conceived by us. His military operations languished for the want of the sinews of war, and we are told on credible authority that many of his soldiers received only payment out of the spoil taken at the sack of Turfan and other places. So long as his ordinary expenditure was increased by the addition of an extraordinary war outlay, so long was he unable to make his receipts and expenditure balance. On the cessation of hostilities against the Tungani, and the partial revival of trade in consequence, his fiscal affairs a.s.sumed a brighter aspect, and it is possible that during the last few years of his reign his revenue showed a surplus. But to obtain that success, a most joyful one to every embarra.s.sed potentate, Yakoob Beg had to resort to many strange expedients, and to manifest much patience and long-suffering; and in overcoming petty obstacles and minor details, he proved himself to be a man of more than average ability, no less than he had previously by the skilful manipulation of armies and intriguers. Here again he erected a structure distinct and separate from that handed down to him by the Chinese. Comparatively speaking, the Chinese had been wealthy to the Athalik Ghazi, and they received in moderate imposts on merchandise alone almost a sufficient sum to defray the total cost of their administration. Yakoob Beg had no such certain source of revenue; he had to raise from an impoverished and only half-conquered state a sum almost as large as that required by the Chinese. That he did it remains the chief proof of his skill as a finance minister, and is another reason for our regarding this extraordinary ruler with admiration. We may feel sure that if we could follow closely the history of his fiscal efforts, and the numberless plans that proved abortive, we should have revealed one of the most instructive and interesting narratives of modern Asia.
There are no materials out of Kashgar, if there are such there, for such an investigation however, and we can only follow as best we may be able, the thread of events by the light of such authorities as are at our disposal. In court and personal expenditure he set an example that might with advantage be followed by other rulers in Asia even at the present day, and in a strict economy and supervision of the petty sums that in the aggregate make all the difference in any state between a surplus and a deficit, were to be found the two guiding principles of his conduct.
Kashgaria might be in a very backward state of cultivation, and years of commotion and warfare had undoubtedly thrown it back in the ranks of prosperity and civilization, but the Athalik Ghazi was persuaded of the truth of the Latin philosopher's saying, that "Parsimonia magna vectigalia est." It must be remembered that Yakoob Beg set himself a different task to accomplish than had the Chinese. Their idea was not so much to extend their empire, although there has always been a tendency with the Chinese to be aggressive against small neighbours, as to acquire a territory that could be made a paying thing: much as the pioneers of Anglo-Saxon conquest have made their impression in every quarter of the globe in search of wealth and adventure, did the Chinese by a seemingly irresistible impulse spread over the continent of Asia.
In doing so they were actuated as much by calculation of possible profit as by any desire for military renown. The Emperor Keen-Lung himself was flattered by the triumphs achieved beyond Gobi; but his lieutenants and viceroys aimed at more mercenary objects, and but for the golden promise held forth by a permanent conquest of Turkestan would have induced their master to direct his efforts to some more profitable undertaking. The Chinese, having acquired Kashgar, were far too sagacious to use up its resources by an organized system of pillage, and they accordingly, let it be granted chiefly with a view to their own personal aggrandizement, devoted their attention to the development of its natural wealth by means already detailed in a previous chapter. For three generations the officials grew rich on the prosperity of their dependency, and for the same period the people themselves were scarcely less flourishing. The Chinese had accepted no slight responsibility in undertaking the government of Kashgar on principles identical with those by which they held authority in Tibet; but, owing to wonderful perseverance and good management, they triumphed over every difficulty. The revenue raised for state and local purposes was very great, and it sufficed to preserve good order for many years, and to add permanent improvement to the state in every direction. The task voluntarily undertaken by the Chinese was far more onerous than that Yakoob Beg found he had to execute; but they came to it with many advantages that he wanted. They had a large and faithful army; he had only an uncertain gathering, which might flee or desert on the first symptom of disaster: they had the resources of a great and powerful empire at their back; he had nothing but his own energy and determination: and above all, they had a reputation that added to their strength and facilitated their undertakings, while he was regarded as a mere military adventurer, receiving the contempt of Tungan and Khoja alike. The very nature of things made the Chinese turn most of their attention to commerce, while for years Yakoob Beg's sole thought was to consolidate his military strength and form a large standing army.
For many years, then, Yakoob Beg only spent money on the drilling of soldiers and the purchase of weapons. Now and then, when some danger seemed to threaten him, either from Russia, Afghanistan, or the Tungani, he would devote considerable sums to the construction of forts in the line of the menaced position. But his chief expenditure was confined to his army, and the maintenance of his dynasty by his police system. The administration of justice required a certain sum of money, and the Church for its support came in for a fair share of the good things that were going. It is clear that his expenditure, if not very great in our eyes, would severely tax a population of 1,000,000 people in no very high state of prosperity. The chief source of wealth in the past had always been the trade with China, and when that was broken off, the slight increase in intercourse with Russia and India was not a sufficient compensation. In fact, the country was very poor, without the ingenuity and commercial instincts of the Khitay. During the days of the war under Buzurg Khan, the only means of obtaining the necessary revenue was by despoliation and enforced levies on the occupied portion of the territory. When the western portion of Kashgaria was subdued, Yakoob Beg found himself without any money in his exchequer, and no easy means of filling it presented itself to him. In these straits he had recourse to an expedient that, if not very novel, was at all events very effective.
He issued a proclamation to his faithful subjects to the effect that as conqueror he was landowner of the whole state; but that he was willing--eager would have been the more correct expression--to sell it to them at a cheap rate. He, however, exempted from this the old possessions of the Chinese w.a.n.gs and Ambans, and distributed their extensive domains among the more prominent of his followers, who in return acknowledged their liability to military service. The system was an exact copy of the old feudal regime, and Yakoob Beg was vested with all the rights and authority of the feudal lord of the Middle Ages. The parallel is still further maintained by the large reward that the Church received for its aid to the new ruler. The old revenues, devoted to the support of the temples and religious seminaries in the past, and which had miscarried during the troublous period of the war for the possession of Turkestan, were restored, and fresh possessions were added thereto, to demonstrate the generosity of the sovereign and his veneration for the religion of Mahomed. His old friend the Sheikh-ul-Islam was still more fortunate, and a large estate was set apart for his special enjoyment. Nor does it appear that the Mussulman priests abused the fresh power and advantages they thus secured; for among the toilers in Kashgaria none were more energetic than they in educating the people, and in extending their influence over their minds, both for the benefit of their religion and for the security of the power of the Athalik Ghazi. But in one respect, and it is impossible to exaggerate its importance, Yakoob Beg's endeavours to found a strong military cla.s.s, bound to him by ties of past favours and others yet to come, were abortive; for with rare exceptions his followers refused to fill their new avocation of landed proprietors. Instead of devoting their attention to the questions arising from agriculture and other rural pursuits, they sub-let all their possessions to Andijani immigrants, and, residing in their city _ordas_, gave themselves over either to lascivious pleasures or to complete indolence. Even so distinguished a warrior as Abdulla Beg, the slayer of more than 12,000 persons, as his panegyrists boasted, suffered from the pervading effeminacy on the cessation of active hostilities; and in the lower ranks of the service such deterioration in energy was still more manifest. This change in the spirit of his earlier supporters, among other things, obliged Yakoob Beg to depend the more on the Andijani merchants and shopkeepers, and conduced to his adopting more favourable views on foreign trade in the later years of his power.
The sum of money which he immediately received by the sale of lands placed him in a condition to undertake those wars against the Tungani, which added so much to the extent of his territory and to the responsibilities of his position. Indeed, for several years after its first enforcement it continued to bring in a certain amount to the coffers of the State. But even this resource was transitory, and the sum of money received by this means and in the shape of spoil, from Yarkand, Kashgar, Khoten, and other places, was not sufficient to meet the expenditure caused by the formation of a large army. Neither of these practices could be regarded as a permanent means of obtaining a revenue, for the former would scarcely admit of a repet.i.tion, and the latter soon exhausted itself. So when his rule had become a little settled, and these modes of raising money, in addition to the still more reprehensible practice of robbing foreign merchants, had become out of date to a certain degree, the Athalik Ghazi had to place his fiscal arrangements on a more practical and honourable basis. While he laboured under some disadvantages, already enumerated, as compared with the Chinese, he had the great advantage over them that he strove for an object more easily accomplished than the restoration of Kashgar to its pristine welfare; and in his budget he had only steadily to keep in view how much he required to maintain so many _jigits_, and so many police in his pay, and to keep in his exchequer a small surplus for any untoward emergency. He left the roads to take care of themselves; the irrigation works, sadly wanted in various parts of the state, must be reserved for his successors; and all proposals for the amelioration of the people were shelved for a more opportune occasion. But so many thousand _jigits_ must be in the ranks; so many fresh guns and cartridges must be placed in the a.r.s.enals; and so many adventurers must be induced by good pay to take service in the army as non-commissioned officers, in order that the rank and file should be well drilled. The very necessities of his position compelled Yakoob Beg to make all these military preparations; but the cost was great, and the sacrifices thus imposed on ruler and on people were a terrible strain. Recent events make us inclined to believe that a less active military and foreign policy, and a more peaceable and domestic one, would have tended to have added more strength to the Athalik Ghazi's rule than the somewhat ostentatious military parade to which he had recourse. Be that as it may, Yakoob Beg inst.i.tuted in 1867 two taxes, which may be supposed to represent the two chief cla.s.ses of receipts during his tenure of authority. The first of these was a t.i.the on all the cereal produce of the country; this tax was called the _Ushr_. The second, called the _Zakat_, was a customs due levied on all merchandise entering Kashgar. The _Ushr_ was payable on all land except that occupied by the Church, or by those who owed military service to the crown instead of other payment; and even those who rented land from the n.o.ble cla.s.ses were obliged to surrender a t.i.the to the ruler. It would appear, therefore, from this that it was not so much the land as its legal possessor who was exempt from liability to the usual obligations of citizenship. The danger contained in the acquisition of all the crown lands by Andijani merchants, and the gradual displacement of his more immediate followers through the energy of these people, was not imperceptible to Yakoob Beg, and he accordingly adopted measures for preventing his n.o.bles selling their land without his sanction. The receipts from this _Ushr_ were very considerable, and it was the main source of his revenue for years. We have some idea of the approximate value of land in Kashgar. The method of measuring land for sale, and consequently also for taxation, is peculiar. It is not by any given size that it is computed, or, indeed, strictly speaking by the amount of crop it produces; but at a rate in accordance with the amount of wheat with which it had been planted. The average rate was about a pound for as much land as was sown with 20 lb. of wheat. The tenant, as has been said, paid the government dues and handed over three-fourths of the net produce to the landlord as rent, receiving for his portion only the one-fourth remaining. Under this system it was only in very prosperous years that any but very large tenants made sufficient to earn a competent livelihood. In bad years it is possible that the landlord had to satisfy himself with a smaller share, if he was not induced to surrender his claim altogether for the disastrous period. But the tax-farmers, entrusted with the collection of this rate, were eager to become rich, no less than to earn a good name with the authorities for bringing in a list with no defaulters. The unfortunate people were completely at their mercy, and without any means of ascertaining the accuracy of the claim, or of opposing extortionate demands on the part of the tax-collectors. They paid without a murmur, perhaps without a suspicion of the imposition that was being practised upon them, the sum demanded of them, if they were able; and as their dues were payable without delay and on demand before anything else was taken out of the total sum of the produce, the Athalik Ghazi received his share with regularity, and his tax-collector pocketed the excess sum for his own satisfaction. In many cases it is known that the amount claimed by the official exceeded by threefold the legal demand. Such a system was no less hurtful to the ruler than it was ruinous to the people. That in one tax alone a larger sum should be extracted from the people for the benefit of the officials than was contributed for the necessities of the state, exhibited a very loose system of supervision on the part of the sovereign, and is a strong piece of evidence that in many ways Yakoob Beg was a mixture of contradictions. We can scarcely persuade ourselves that he was aware of these occurrences, and yet how could he be ignorant of them?
In addition to the _Ushr_ there was another tax on home produce, viz., the _Tanabi_, or tax on land devoted to the production of vegetables or fruit. The Tanab is, by the way, a lineal measure of forty-seven yards, and a Tanabi is a piece of land forty-seven yards square. On this extent of land cultivated for vegetables, or fruit, a small tax was raised.
More than any other tax did this vary according to the character of the district, and to the quality of the year's crop. It was seldom less than a shilling a Tanabi, even in the least renowned district, whereas in some parts, in good years, it was five shillings, or even more. Here again, however, the middleman interfered, and exacted as much as he saw there was any possibility of his obtaining. This tax undoubtedly ought to have produced a large sum, as a larger portion of the soil is laid out as fruit and vegetable gardens than for crops; but whether it was more difficult to raise, or there was more peculation _in transitu_ from the tax-payer to the imperial exchequer, it is certain that we hear much less of this tax than we should be disposed to imagine. The two great taxes on home productions were therefore a corn due and a fruit due. The rate was not in itself excessive, and could be paid by any community without embarra.s.sment. It is uncertain to what extent the avarice of the officials had made the conditions of these two taxes more onerous, although, on the most favourable supposition, the citizen was mulcted in no inconsiderable sum. A more serious question for the ruler was, how did it affect his own position with regard to his subjects? Did Yakoob Beg appear in the eyes of the Kashgari as an exacting and oppressive tyrant on account of these heavy impositions?
It is impossible to speak on this point with any degree of certainty, but it is only natural to expect that such was the case. No tiller of the ground can feel grateful to a sovereign who required him to hand over almost one-third of his receipts before he made use of one penny of them, even for the payment of his rent. It is scarcely probable that Yakoob Beg approved of such enormous profits going to his officials; but, that having tolerated petty exactions in his earlier days, he found himself unable to attempt the task of coping with the evil when it had a.s.sumed such alarming proportions. It is impossible to believe that he remained in ignorance of what was occurring under his very eyes, and there is some evident foundation for the accusation that he partic.i.p.ated in the division of the profits of his tax-gatherers. We should be loth to admit the accuracy of such a charge, and yet the arguments in its favour are too plausible to admit of a very confident contradiction. It would not speak well for the efficiency of his secret police if he had remained in ignorance of a fact which was losing him the sympathy of his subjects.
The gold mines at Khoten were worked after the fall of that city in 1868, and continued productive down to the present time. There is no information on the quant.i.ties of the precious metal that are there turned out in the year, but it is probable that they are not very great.
The coal mines near Aksu and Kucha are no longer made use of, except by a few individuals, and the copper mines in that district have, since the departure of the Chinese, only been very partially explored. The jade that used to come in great quant.i.ties from Aksu and Khoten, is still to be found throughout Kashgar; but although it is probable that it still nearly all comes from those cities, the Kashgari themselves tell a hesitating tale as to its place of production. A visitor to Kashgar, on going the round of the bazaars, soon found that the people's tongues were tied by the presence, in his train, of a number of the secret police, who had been specially told off to prevent the Feringhee obtaining any troublesome information on the state of the people, or the resources of the state. A striking instance was given him of the close attention paid by these guardians of order to the veriest trifles. The traveller inquired in one stall where the jade, which was the chief commodity of the merchant in question, came from, and received the reply, Aksu. Proceeding to another shop in the street, he repeated the question, when he was informed that it was imported from Khokand. But the traveller said, your neighbour told me it came from Aksu. The shopkeeper, taken aback by this abrupt remark, became confused, and admitted that it came from Aksu. Warned by a look from the official, he then repeated his original a.s.sertion that it came from Khokand. The use of all this absurd shuffling, and attempt to throw dust in strangers'
eyes, is impossible to discover; for it was a matter of little moment whether jade came from Aksu, or Khokand, so long as we knew that it formed an important commodity, both in the rough and in the chiselled state, in the cities of Kashgaria.
The customs tax, or _Zakat_, is sanctioned by the Shariat, and was levied at all the border posts on the various roads leading into the state. Up to the ratification of the treaties with Great Britain and Russia, its regulations were vague and elastic in the extreme. In fact, any merchant who might have been so foolhardy as to venture into Kashgar would have had reason, before these events, to think himself fortunate if he escaped the penalty of his rashness; for a.s.suredly his luggage would not, but would have been confiscated for the special benefit of his Highness the Ameer. So late as 1869, Russian merchants were robbed of their baggage, and personally ill-treated, and only after long years of negotiation did the Russian Government obtain any satisfaction for the injuries and loss inflicted on one of their subjects. And then how did the Athalik Ghazi send the sum of money he agreed to pay for the loss the merchant had incurred?--why in a depreciated Chinese currency, part of a large number of coins that he had found in a disused temple in Kashgar! Before this, all the external trade had been carried on with Khokand and Bokhara, Afghanistan and Badakshan, and the receipts from _Zakat_ were quite insignificant, barring such treasure trove as the spoliation of a merchant from Tashkent, or from Leh. But with the persistent efforts on the part of the Russians on the north, and of the English native merchants on the south, to pierce the gloom hiding the country of Eastern Turkestan, it became impossible for Yakoob Beg to maintain much longer the incognito he was so jealous in maintaining.
Perhaps also the prospect of deriving an income from _Zakat_, that should smooth down many of his difficulties, was not without some influence on his mind when he came into direct contact with civilized empires. His expectations were far too sanguine, and he seems to have once more, during the last twelve months of his life, become indifferent to the advantages or disadvantages of trade with his neighbours. In fact, when he placed his customs on a fair footing, he found that it would require many years to recoup him for the excessive exactions he surrendered. The merchants who first attempted to commence intercourse with Kashgar became speedily discouraged by the dangers of the route, and the small opening for a large remunerative trade in a country whose wealth and population had been magnified tenfold. In a country where the richest merchant in the chief town possessed only a capital of 8,000, not much could be expected in the way of fortune; and although the legal dues on all merchandise were fixed at an _ad valorem_ rate of 2-1/2 per cent., it was soon discovered that if the ruler happened to be in want of cash he would not scruple to take what he could from the stranger.
Both to the ruler, and to the foreign merchant, the new arrangement contained distasteful matter. The former perceived that he had surrendered some of his imperial rights, and that he was not to be recompensed by his receiving more money, and the latter knew that the treaty stipulation would not save him from having to pay excess fees.
The _Zakat_, far from showing the expected disposition to increase, seemed rather inclined to remain stationary, if not to decrease; and the foreign merchant had obtained some promise on the part of the ruler of personal protection, and of a.s.sistance in the disposal of his wares.
His discontent at the stagnation in the customs soon showed itself by his exacting excess dues, sometimes on British, sometimes on Russian, but more often on Khokandian and Afghan merchants. Instead of increasing his receipts, these strong measures only threw them back, and left him in a worse plight than he was in before. He had not the patience necessary to enable him to wait with confidence the fuller development of trade, nor had he the perseverance or tact to place fresh inducements in the path of merchants to renew their intercourse with him and his state. Many visited Kashgar with merchandise a first time; but few, indeed, repeated the visit. The ruler was off-handed in his reception of them. They were scarcely accorded any liberty in their movements, and the profit of their journey was greatly reduced by the payment of a due of 5 per cent. instead of the stipulated condition of 2-1/2 per cent. It is a pure fiction, therefore, to say that trade with Kashgar had increased during the rule of the Athalik Ghazi through his friendly inclination. If the amount of merchandise imported into his state had increased, it was owing only to the necessities of its inhabitants, and was a fact that must have taken place either by intercourse direct, or through native states, with the two great providers of Central Asia. The exaggerated enthusiasm that it was endeavoured to raise up in this country about this same mythical ruler of Yarkand never spread far, and there was always some scepticism, if there could be no disproof, of the reports of the formidableness of this new kingdom. Looking calmly at the real state of Yakoob Beg's position, even at the height of his power, we find him to have always been a pecuniarily embarra.s.sed ruler, glad of the smallest windfall in the shape of the spoil of a single merchant.
The _Zakat_, his advisers pointed out to him, might be made a most productive source of revenue, if foreign merchants could be induced to bring their wares into the country. The loss the people had felt in the departure of the Chinese might be amply repaired by the appearance of Russian and English merchants to supply the same place that they filled.
If his aspirations were disappointed, and the _Zakat_ did not show any signs of possessing that elasticity which had been predicted, it is probable that in his impatience, heightened by the perception that foreign trade might lead to foreign complications, he did not give the scheme a sufficient time for a fair trial. His other sources of revenue, _Ushr_ and _Tanabi_, and the gold mines of Khoten, brought in a sum enough to meet the current expenses of the government and to maintain in his service as many soldiers as his recruiting officers were able to secure. But there was little if any surplus; and local improvements, and all outlay that might have been reproductive and for the benefit of the people, were strictly forbidden. The only works we can find constructed by him, with a view to the advancement of the interests of his subjects, were the merchants' _serais_, built in each city, and these were self-supporting. Yakoob Beg has no claim to being considered as a beneficent ruler. He was a military dictator, who had shown a rare power for inaugurating a rough system of government, and whose campaigns had always been singularly successful. As a ruler, showing a full appreciation of the wants of his people, and adopting the best possible measures to obtain them, he had no claims to consideration. Indeed, he could not be compared with the Chinese, who, however personal may have been their motives, certainly raised the state to a high pitch of material prosperity, and left many enduring marks of their past occupation. These two dominations, foisted on the Kashgari by the strong arm, while each immeasurably superior to the Khoja claimants, represented two distinct modes of governing a subject race. The Chinese endeavoured to conciliate, and to make the necessity for their presence felt by the people; the Athalik Ghazi was supremely indifferent to the prosperity of his subjects, so long as they were willing to pay him the tribute money, and to serve in his army. An exactly opposite result might have been expected, for there was far more kinship between the Khokandian adventurer and the Kashgari, than there was between the Khitay and the Andijani. Admirers of Yakoob Beg may, of course, plead that his rule had not acquired sufficient consistency to justify him in tasking his strength by great undertakings, such as the construction of roads and ca.n.a.ls. In one respect he had not the labour at his disposal, and he was, consequently, hampered by a difficulty that the Chinese were free from. Still when we remember that all these works ought to have been remunerative, and to have strengthened Yakoob Beg's individual power, instead of taxing his resources, the excuse cannot be admitted as ent.i.tled to our consideration. Yakoob Beg has claims only to be admired for having given us something better than a repet.i.tion of the depravity of the Khoja rulers, and of course among his coevals he is ent.i.tled to far the highest place. If it is only asked for him that he should be placed above them, no one can raise the slightest objection to it; for beyond the shadow of a doubt, he was the most energetic and talented ruler that had appeared among the Khanates for several centuries. But it would be affectation to deny that a higher place than this has been claimed for him; and before according his right to occupy it, the evidence on which his claim rests must be sifted with the greatest care.
Even now I do not say that his claims are unproven; but that it is open to doubt whether his work has not been exaggerated, I think must be admitted by every one who has studied the course of his life in