SENSATIONAL CHARGE BY JOHN BRIGHT.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1570, 19 April 1887, Page 4

SENSATIONAL CHARGE BY JOHN BRIGHT.

'Speaking at the Westminister Friends’ MJeeting-hotlse, St. Martin’s lane, Mr Bright, in' the bourse of a long speech on the evils of war, made the following statement:—" I heard a story thb other day which I know to be true. lam hot able to give the name of the officer who told it. Ido not know what would happen to him. Ho would not be able to go up the ladder any more if it was known; but it was stated, and it is true, that after one of the battles—l think that battle called Abu Elea, in which Some persons whose names are well known were killed on the English side —that in the evening, after the battle was over, this gentleman hsard shots and’ some noise which surprised him. Hie did hot know what was going on, but when he made inquiry ho found that the English soldiers were going about the field of battle, after the hoc blood of the battle was dyer, and they were bayoneting and shooting the poor Arab soldiers lying wounded upon 1 the field, (dries of'shame,' and hisses ) Why, these people have all got a chaplain with them. (Laughter.) They arh suppolsd to hare a religious,service at least bncti a week, if they are not fighting bn that day. (Renewed laughter.) And yet these horrors are perpetrated, and then' dome home And they arb put in the House of Lords and are granted a large sunt of money, and you see in the newspapers whole columns of persons on’ Whom"promotions' and decorations of One kind er another have been conferred, add we go along enjoying these ocoaeional pieces of rapine which M. Polletan spoke'of in the French Chamber. And Ido not know but we may.be on the point of doing it almost any day.” . In bonaequenbe' ofthe above , Startling statamentsoposilively made br Mr Bright, a representative' of the Pall Mall Gazette waited* upon Lord Wolseley, aa the person mdst Tikely to be acquainted with every detail of the 'management of our forces during the Egyptian 'campaign. Lord Wolseley read the paragraph with indignation, and authorises the most emphatic contradiction To Mr Bright’s statements. “I was not, of course,” Lord Wolseley added, “ present myself upon that occasion, but 1 ami perfectly pertain, first, that such practices 1 could not have taken place without some report of it reaching me at some time j and, second, that thb statement is in direct and flagrent 1 contradiction 'to the universal tendency of our men, which is to run even unwiee risk'in doing friendly services to wounded-enemies. After the battle ot Telel-Kebir more thou one soldier was treacherously ‘ killed, Ande an' officer was dangerously wounded; whilb: giving water to woAnded Arabs. ' Anyone WhO knoWs rf any: thing about our soldiers knows perfectly yrell that they hate ! ho, such bloodthirsty instincts as!are attributed to them by'Mr Bright. While'you’re fighting, if a man resists' you he’s shot/of bourse j but when the battle’s over,' and 1 ' with ‘ wounded •' men never I Indeed/ the "very details of Mr. Bright’s story make.' it 'preposterous to a'military man. 1 Yod bontradiot it in my name in tbb most emphatic manner.” ’