THE COMMISSARIAT OF THE SOUDAN.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1479, 4 March 1885, Page 3

THE COMMISSARIAT OF THE SOUDAN.

The Argus correspondent with the exEdition, writing from Koiti on Decernr 2s, says;— Although the advance by the nver baa been mqoh slower that was anticipated in England, and even at Wady Haifa, there ia one satisfactory thing to be qoted about the campaign so far. The commissariat arrangements have workpd to perfection. Some of the mounted men declare that the rations, though one-fourth than they get in barracks, either in •pCngland pr in Cairo, are not sufficient to keep |hem going, but, such as it is, no mi|ii has wanted it for a moment after it was dpe. That la something to say in a column which was at one time 1,000 miles in length, and which is still very nearly 400 miles from one end to the other. At the Mme time it is only fair to state that this has been done by trenching upon the boat stores which were - not intended to be touched until all the stations and depots had been left behind. Now the boats are going qp to the next cataracts much lighter than they were. They will then, if they take the rocks, be less liable than before to have holes knocked in them by the sheer weight of their contents, which gave them too much way, but, on the other hand, they will not, as it appears, carry enough . stores to bring the men near Khartoum, to say nothing of their coming back. It Is said that this will be otherwisp arranged in the ease of the boats which are. to follow those of the Staffordshire men; but I believe that the headquarters have at last realised the troth that it ia far better to carry extra | stores on camels along the banka than to < run any more risks with the boats by over { loading them. If the commissariat has ; not broken down, this is more than can bp for the ordnance store department, Jt tap been short of the most necessary W > tqppiea sinpe the very start. The intense .•f- cold of the early morning necessitated the I '>• iasue"bf extra blankets to the troops ; but fr the store wap soon exhausted, and for two 1 ' there hap not been a blanket to be K‘i for lovp or money. So with boots, e rocks in the cataracts cut the boots to Weeps, but they cannot be replaced, for Uiere are none. It is only within the last - week that one or two regiments have been able to get issued trousers in lieq of those which have become more worthy of JpMstsffs recruits than of trained soldiers. Tommy Atkins is ' proverbially careless with his belongings, but - he cannot obtain eooking utensils, even if be has lost any overboard when his boat has been not difficult to r, do—no barns a hole ia two of them. It I* Mid that this'will teach him to be of fact, it would do nothing of the sort, j- It wdmd only give an excuse several times r* -- ■ a day for indulgence iirthat profane lan- , “*** »uoh an adept, One

might have hoped that after the complete exposure made last session before a Committee of the House of Commons respecting the blunders of the ordnance store department in two years ago, something like efficiency would have been f und in the present expedition, but it Is tio clear that the department needs a very thorough re-organising, and that until it has been put on a new footing alto-

gether, until it has been relieved from the paralysing hand of civilian direction in London, it will continue tp blander as it has done from the Duke of Wellington’s time downwards. A distinguished officer said to Her Majesty that it is probably not the fault of the Ordnance Store Department that it is so far behind, but the answer just admits everything that could be said against the prevailing system. It has no place in the responsibilities of the general officers in the field, and they do not take it into account any more than is absolutely necessary for their own immediate purpose. If the military hierarchy had the responsibility they would look to efficiency. As it is the Department is the latt to bo served, though it is by no means the least important to the comfort, which is the health of the troops. We are decidedly short of camels, and yet the number of casualties among them is less than one-third of what was calcu-

lated upon up to the present time ; for although, except those brought from Aden, the beasts are of no great quality, and indeed', some of them are poor, weakly “ snippets ’’-—they have been so well fed and looked after by the soldiers that thev have done far more work with much less loss than is done by any of the camels on the Indian frontier. It is now fonnd, however, that there is more need for land transport than was ever dreamed of, and, as a consequence, all the private cameh of the officers have been ordered into store, and every member of a mess, regimental and otherwise, is henceforth to be strictly limited to his 401 b field allowance of baggage. There is, as may be supposed, much wailing and gnashing of teeth among those who have up to the present contrived to have their lota of brandy or whisky, and other little dainties in the shape of jams, marmalades, and potted meats, devilled sardines on toast, and kippered herrings for breakfast. Those who, line myself, are the proud possessors of private boats,' have kindly offered to relieve the minds of all the officers on the score of the want of these delicacies, but the response to our generous offer has not, up to the present moment, been all that could be desired. Indeed, one gallant colonel has said that, although he cannot take on his box of comforts, there is nothing io prevent him from making himself very ill by consuming them all before he goes forward. May he suffer accordingly.