The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas t Prevalebit. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1884. The Soudan Expedition.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1400, 9 December 1884, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas t Prevalebit. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1884. The Soudan Expedition.

Of all the little wars undertaken during recent years by England—and, considering that the “ peace at any price ” party have been in power, these have been neither few nor inexpensive —the issue has never been watched with more anxious interest than in the case of the expedition sent to relieve General Gordon in the Soudan. The reports that have reached us from time to time have been so contradictory that it is impossible to say what is likely to happen. At one time we are told that the gallant defender of Khartoum has been killed, and at another that the Mahdi’s army is thoroughly disorganised and his power broken. Unfortunately there is no way of testing the truth of these reports, and all that we know for certain is that a portion of the forces under Lord Wolseley has safely passed over three of the six cataracts on the Nile which separate Cairo from Khartoum. In the meantime, it is stated that the Mahdi is only three hoars’ march distant from the latter place, and it is quite likely that he will make a final attempt to dislodge General Gordon before the relief that has been sent can arrive at its destination. The strange career of Gordon a career that is

unique in military annals gives color to a superstition common in some quarters that there is a special Providence which watches over the actions of this gallant soldier. Perilous as was the mission on which he was sent by the Gladstone Government, it is, taking all things into account, not fraught with so much danger as was his memorable exploit in the Flowery Land, which earned for him the title of “ Chinese Gordon.” That it was more than a mistake, a crime, to allow one man to peril his life by going into such a region as the Soudan, to attempt single-handed the solution of a difficulty w.iich the folly of English statesmen had brought about, cannot be questioned. Nor is it easy to see what 'will be the ultimate advantage, either to Egypt or Great Britain, even should the greatest possible success be attained by Lord Wolselev. It is by no means certain that General Gordon will submit to be relieved, except under such conditions as he may dictate, and as he is as eccentric as he is brave and fearless it may be found that these conditions are impossible. The fact that Khartoum has held out so long, and that the Mahdi’s attacks have been so often repulsed with heavy slaughter, seems to show that the garrison could easily have escaped had the commander so willed. Indeed, it has been contended by some writers in England that the relief expedition is simply a waste of money, and that if it were possible for Gordon to leave Khartoum without receiving extraneous aid, it was his duty to do so. It is, however, too late to consider the question from this point of view now, and we can only hope that we shall receive news ere long of a decisive victory being gained by “ England’s only General” over the Mahdi, and the beleaguered city set free. But even should this be compassed, and the power of the False Prophet destroyed, the Imperial Ministry will still have a difficult task before it, in the shape of providing a satisfactory government for the Soudan. England’s policy in Egypt has so far been a gigantic failure; u has cost us an enormous sum of money and the loss of a large number of soldiers, while the natives them- | selves do not take kindly to the Western institutions which it has been endeavored to force down their throats. With the experience of the past before them, the Gladstone Government should be able to sec matters in Egypt on a better footing, but judging from the character of their foreign policy, it would be unwise to predict success. Brilliant as was the stroke of Lord Beaconsiteld when he obtained the lion’s share of the control over the Suez Canal, the action carried with it responsibilities which his successors have been unable to cope with, and it is to be feared that the end of the Egyptian difficulty will not be any nearer after Lord Wolselev has returned from his expedition, even if he is as successful as his most sanguine admirers anticipate,