ted with the chief control of the military arrangements.
This chief was the son of Mussulman Kuli, the Kipchak minister of
Khudayar's earlier days. Either incredulous of the maintenance of a
neutral attitude by Russia, or urged on by a patriotic impulse to free
the enslaved portion of Khokand, these confederates issued a
proclamation of war against General Kaufmann. The border districts rose
in response to the proclamation, the communications between Tashkent and
Hodjent were severed, and confusion for a time reigned supreme within
the Russian possessions. The Khokandian forces hesitated to make any
serious attack and wasted their time in useless depredations in the
mountains. Had a prompt move been made on Tashkent, or even on Hodjent,
the insurrection might have been successful. Bokhara might have struck
in at the critical moment, and Yakoob Beg awoke from the lethargy into
which his warlike spirit was sinking. Such was not to be, however; and
gradually the Russian scare wore off. Colonel Scobelef scoured the
country with his Cossacks; telegraphic communication was restored
between Hodjent and Tashkent; and the country was rapidly cleared of the
rebels. The fugitives who had accompanied Khudayar in his flight were
sent to the rear, and reinforcements were hastily summoned to take part
in the necessary offensive measures against Khokand. It will be
sufficient here to say that, having been defeated in the fight at
Makhram and several other small engagements, the party of Nasruddin and
Aftobatcha sued for peace. This was granted, but Khokand became the
Russian province of Ferghana, Colonel Scobelef was raised to a
major-general, and obtained his Cross of St. George by the battle of
Makhram. This event, generally known as the revolt of the Khokandians
against Russia of 1875, marks an important era, for it convinced the
Khokandians and other Asiatics that any attempt to obtain their liberty,
short of a concerted and organized movement, would be fruitless. There
has been no renewal of the attempt that then failed, but which ought to
have achieved more success.

To the discord unhappily existent among its victims has Russia been
chiefly indebted for the facility with which her Asiatic conquests have
been acquired, and to the same ally it seems probable that she will be
chiefly indebted for their preservation. There is no clearer evidence of
this than the history of this last war with Khokand. But when we
endeavour to divide