LORD CHARLES BERESFORD ON THE WAR.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3583, 5 January 1883, Page 4

LORD CHARLES BERESFORD ON THE WAR.

Lord Charles Beresford, replying for 'The Navy,' at a. dinner of the Cutlers Company, said': 'The bombardment of Alexandria was a very large affair ; it was a much bigger matter than any of those engaged in it thought it would be,'and it was also a considerably larger affair, he held, than the Egyptians expected. The Egyptians fought most gallantly, and if they had been more practised in the use of their guns, and had also fired their smooth bores, the doctors' list would have been greatly lengthened. Their round shot would have ricocheted over the Avatcr and damaged the British in some way, whereas they stuck to their heavy guns and their shots flew overthc ships. The heavy eighteen-ton guns of the Inflexible had "made terrible haA-oc in the forts, making holes like chalk-pits. AVhcrcA-er there Avas a target b'ke a magazine for the British to get their sight on, the effect of their fire Avas extraordinary. The conduct of the Egyptians was astonishing, and they stuck to their guns for seven hours, or until they Avere disabled; and to give an idea of how plucky they Avere he would explain how difficult it "was'to disable a gun. Where forts were so well built as Fort Ada or Fort Moka, if a shot went into the earth below the gun the effect was nil, AA'hile if a shot went just over the gun it hurt nobody, and thus ito disable a gun became almost like placing a shot in the gun from a distance of 1,200 yards, for it AA-as necessary to hit the gun to silence it.' Lord Charles also referred to the services rendered by the landing parties. From tho 12th to the 16th of July 370 men held two miles of lines against an army of some 9,000 men, Avith a mob of ruffians behind in the city. He could say that of the sixty blue jackets and seventy marines acting as police there Avas not one Avho took off his clothes during those four days. After describing Captain Fisher's ironclad train and the good service it had done, Lord Charles Bersford gave an account of the nightly trips the blue jackets made to the front," as they said, 'to give Arabi his supper.' On August 5, during the reconnaissance, a blue jacket, who Avas sitting on a rail firing at the enemy, Avas ordered by au officer to come doAvn and not expose himself. He remarked that he could see so much better up there. Just then a bullet Avent through his hat. ' That was very close,' AA'as all he said, and almost instantly another struck him. He Avas severely wounded, but his only observation to a messmate Avas, 'AVell, Jack, they've got the range.' They had capital ftm at Aleks, where his comrades got up a story that he paid the Bedouins to come out and fight them. Speaking of the lessons to be drawn from the Avar, His Lordship said it Avas proved, in his opinion, that Avhere forts and ships were at all nearly equal forts Avould beet ships. The yi-ent value of machine guns had also been shoAvn. AVith the Catlings the landing parties had cleared the streets of Alexandria and prevented Arabi retuniiug, and if they had been alloAvcd to land immediately after the bombardment they might have dispersed the croAvds laden Avith loot, have captured Arabi, Toulba Pasha, and other leaders, and saved the toAvn ; but the GoA-ernmcnt had promised that no man should, land, and they Avere bound by the promise.