The Strength of the Mahdi's Army.

Thames Star, Volume XVI, Issue 5061, 2 April 1885, Page 2

The Strength of the Mahdi's Army.

The actual or approximate strength of the Mahdi's army has now become • question of the utmost importance. Many conjectures hare been hazarded upon thie interestingly vague poittt, but the statements of a correspondent who writes to the Globe on the authority of Arabi Pasha are well worthy of consideration in the War Office. The • conversation with Arabi, says the correspondent, took place shortly aftar the annihilation of Hioka Pasha, and boyo directly upon the question of the relief of the Egyptian garrisons in the Soudan. In the opinion of Arabi this enterprise would be futile in the hands of an Egyptian army, and a work of enormous difficulty in those of a British force. He declared with great positiveness that the strength of the Mahdi's army was fully 150,000 spears, and he supported hit allegation upon many interesting deductions, drawn from his own investigations when in power. Arabi admitted that tbia was a tributary force, held in large de* tachments by many chiefs; but ha added that in any crisis, such as that which formed the subject of conversation, the national leader, whoever he might be, would be able to draw all the fighting tribes round his standard. The moat" thickly populated part of the Soudc*, said < Arabi, is the Southern division, end here the Mahdi could in a single day place el his back 60,000 or 70,000 men, all armed and full of fanatical enthusiasm.