"FIRST SLAUGHTER, THEN SCUTTLE."

Dunstan Times, Issue 1206, 10 April 1885, Page 3

"FIRST SLAUGHTER, THEN SCUTTLE."

(Fiom the Pall Mall Gazette, February 13) Hopeful and encouraging as a sign of English brotherhood all round the world is ihe offer ihit Mew South Wales has male to despatch two batteries of artillery and one regiment of mfnutry, fudy equipped, from Sydney to Soakin, in 3d days from the receipt of the reply from the Imperial Government. That is a generous off r, nobly oonoi ived and adm'rably tim>-d. Not all the talk that theie has been concerning f deration—useful and necessary as much of that has been—can coranare in solid value to this spontaneous offer of Colonial help. The great mother of free nations, still mourning for her best and bravest son is encouraged in the midst of her sorrow by a cheery message across the seas from the moat English and most thriving of the Spates that hive sprung from her lions. No sooner does the Colony learn the fatal news than the wire that brought the telegram of death even on the threshold of victory, throbs once more with the message of sympathy and help. Is Cordon dead?— then Now South Wales will hasten to despatch both men and guns to aid the 0 d Country in discharging the duties which she owes to civilisation and mankind More welcome message seldom reached us at a darker time “ porpentous ” indeed must he the “ degeneracy ” which permits such loyalty to coot, and alienates the sympathy and affection of those stout Englishmen beyond the sea.

But, paradoxical though it may seem, it is not less true than if we were to accept this generous offer we might inflict a dam aging blow upon the loyalty of the Australians. It would never do to allow the men of New South Wales to cross the world only o send them packing back as we sent -dr Fre ler ek Roberts lack after Majuba. We must not make fools of our Colonial forces as we have so often ma la fools of our own soldiers. Still less mint we stain the ban Is of our Australian Colonists wi'b the mere revengeful slaughter of the Arabs of the S m lan. The Ministeiiai policy of massacre and retire, which in all its n .ked hideousneas, finds support this m mine from the Scotsman and sundrv other thoroughgoing organs of the party, is no- a policy in support of which we can ask our tell -w subjec s •f the Antipodes to fir. a shot Just imagine the revulsion of feeling that would be produced in t e Colony when the survivors of the campaign returns 1 to tell how the whole might o* the Empire had been employed, not, as Mr B osw rth Smith says, •to stanch at the junction of the two Niles what Livingstone used to call 'he open so-e of the worl I,’ to stop the s'ave trade at its source, to bring or ler out of anarchy, and civilisation out of barbarism, among those magnificent races ” —a nohle pu pose, for which ttie English hot-h at Horn.) and beyond the sea migit well be proud to fijit -but meiely to slaughter to nvage. and to burn, and then, having spread desolation, to scuttle back to our ships. If we must commit murder wholesa'e, as we committed it in 'he opinion of every man under General Graham's command when wo fought at Teh ao l Tama-i without opening the mad to Berber, let us at least doourbu chcr’s work without oeamirolling the fair escutcheon of Young Austra ia with innocent blood. If we are going to Bei her. t.o Khartoum, to Senar, to raise the only tribute worth talking of to the mi-miry of General Gordon in the shape of a strong and civilised government, where now slave traders reign supr.me, by all means let us welcome Colonial help. But if we are only going to slaughter and to scuttle, for Heaven’s sake let us not associate the colonists in our crime.

The issue is plain and unmistakable. We have three courses before us in the Soudan. The first and only policy that is wor. hy of England is to accept resolutely once for all the responsibility of establishing a settled Government at Khartoum. Our garrison might be compose.l o c Turks, wnom we could recruit by an arrangement with the Sultan to whom the Sou ian b-lou.s, They are the best soldiers in the world, a d none •r« belter behaved vhen under English officers. The control of the new State, which should he limited as closely as possible to the river anil railway route bom Suakin toSenaar, should be vested in English bands. Under that scheme Dougola woul! be the most southerly Egyptian province. Below that we should hold the Nile for the Suitau as we hold Cyprus, suppressing the slave trade, developing commerce, anil protecting the population which Gordon died to save. The second policy is that of immediate retirement. Apart from other objections, we doubt whether such a policy is possible from a military point of view If we are to cut and run the fatal flight from Cal ul may he repeated, first in the Ba nda Do-ten, and then in the toilsome descent of the Nile, We can of course allow the Soudan to be evacuated by ma-sacra once more. That is possible. But as the garrisons to he speared this time would be E iglish. the decision to leave them to their fate would nardly he pionounced wi hj as light a heart as in the case of those poor Egyptians whom the G ivernment now so bifer'y regret having tried to help. If, however, it were possible to retreat at once without massacre or without handing over our adies to the enemy, this plan is nfinitely to be preferred to the third and worst scheme of all, which is that which Ministers have unanimously adopted, for, acco'ding to th“ Birmingham Post, Mr Chamberlain has resolved to make Mr Morley a present of the Radical lead, and to stick to his programme of smashing the Mah II at Khartoum and then leave the country.

To that policy we are resolutely and unalterably opppse I. In that crime we refuse to have either part or lot, and we do not believe that the Ministers will lie able to induce the country to perpetrate it, be they never so unanimous. Of course, we are well aware that some Mini ters sar that i; is premature to talk about the future. All that has been decided as yet is to smash the Mahdi to vindicate Bnlish power at Khartoum. As for what follows after, they will leave that to ciaciiinstauces, relying upon the chapter of accidents, an 1 believing ihat in all probability we shall not he able to get out, no matter what we say. We cannot accept that arenm-mt. We refus > to p'unge blindly on to Khartoum as we plunged blindly on to Cairo. We decline to ■ orifice 10,000 men and £10,000,000 to Heap no a hotao mb of victims over the grave of General Gordon. To execute the mission to which Gordon dedicated the Best years of his life—yes —for that England will go to Khartoum. But merely for v ogeanoo, merely to slaughter so many thousand Arabs to reassert British authority and then to Seattle out of the country, leaving all those who have helped us to be massacred by their enemies—for that England will neither se d man nor gun to Khartoum, or oven to Suakin, except solely to protect the retreat of Lord Wolseley.s force.