THE SOUDAN DISASTER.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IV, Issue 18, 19 December 1883, Page 2

THE SOUDAN DISASTER.

(Per Mail Steaaier.) ! j . . Cairo, November 23. [ A- telegram from Mr Power, an! artist who waa with Hicks Pasba'sj , e?:peaitton ; at jKhartoum, reports that! -the^first attach by "the EgfpCTon Army' was successful,, and it vvas not until the! 1 en&rriy was believer' to be * routed that j J Hicks Pasha accepted a guide. It was ' ■arT emissary of Mahdi who led thei *wny-into the waterless defile where; it, was „ / ;, [ ? ; The French newspaper Bosphere ' "^gyDtienne has an article on the past i and present action Of England m Egypt It insinuates that the victory of Tel El | waswoia by bribery, and blames -England for the bloodshed m the Soudan^ and'expresses a hope that the EnglisbM3taff wilt have the grace to -disappear, and no. longer . tJhwarb- i>he Egyptian Minister ot ' ! ' ;, , . _ , PARis,Nbv. 23. ?\ Jhe Temps says .that a Frenchman numed Souller brganiaed the forces , oj El r Mahdi. Souller,. after the bom- ' oai-tl^nent of Alexandifia, went to Khar- - tpain Mtliput ( a definite .object, and subsequeiitly met -EF Mah'dt4afl gamed , Ei^ confidence., ■•/:'■/ _The French Press now express delight Hicks Pasha's defeat. Jt is -said that tbesuccess of Mahdi ju Eaypt threatens th'e.t Jtnglish T lndian| empire,, ■a'iid prance >by the power of events will xb'e^called upon to resume her posi, tion. in; Jß*gfy ; pt.< . '„ ',,', '"* , ."' ',, „/.., Lohdon, Novemlieifl23. > The Timijs , says Mr Gladstone .stnft' hia coileagues ' must understand that England will hold them answerable if, jby further errors of judgement, Egyjftis allowed to relapse " iaUT anarchy,': aggravated by the pas.sions pf,religibus| * fariactisni and the maddening o^ah invasion by barbarism from the interior of Africa. De Lessepsis of opinion the vis-; ingof.^Eahdi is not dangerous. He says if left he does" ncifc thijik Maji'di wiljget far enough nbrtli to' r ti;ou'bi^tTi^Siiez CaHal. Assunau,hp says,'rmus'6|be strongly iot-fciflfed. . and gnardeH, as that town is 'this inds't mv' pbr^ant. pointy at this junotur'6.' Hej thinks ifc would be very unwiss to send, Engli^li troops to Sondan :^s(s tliejf call-* not stand the: climate. " ;i !^ '".."-.'' ' Berlin, November 23. _, The "defeat of Hicks Pasha ; by. the ; Egyptian rebels caused a'painful s'enk'a^ tion here/ as "eight G-erman officers wei'e" : with, the Egyptian expedition. It is the unanimous o'pitiioii' that Eri^land cannot wifKdraw her forces from Egypt, "firitl'^j&t'sfctf nitKt -avenge the--imtrder' of the commaflderjpf the.jforces. - — - Vienna, -November 23; The Press publishes a recent letter from Major Seckendai^f, who was with Hicks Pasha. Makrt? -geekendarff reports that the mis^iqf Itie troops was caused by the scarj^of jWJater. Mahdi, he wrote, was of 15,000 breech-loading 'ri%s^fi4; guns, and numerous excellent cavalry m addition, and his adherents 'wei'e,?possessed with fanaticism which" prompted them fearlessly to ride to death. Hicks Pasha had "10,000 m,e4/y6O(Kr 'caij£fy besides many pack-horses and mules. His baggage ,ipr,ov ed, a : gre^t.impedimenp .to jhinij. The letter conclude.^, "If our cavalry* sdfiices for ou,t T^Cjs.t r; duty^.,; success „is> 'possible, otherwise the issue will be ; v6ry disastrous. If we are l defeaYed not st soul wjll and~the entire of the, .' Soudan will ; be irrevocably lost, Sirica' L all :the nat^yes will believe that iltahdl is the Messiah." . ".' ' , '.'.'