The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-11-08 00:00:00

REPORTED FALL OF KHARTOUM.

Lord Granville, replying to Lord Salisbury, stated
that there was no truth in the report that the Khedive
had sent telegrams to the Queen and the Prince of
Wales informing her Majesty and his Royal Highness
that he had received news of the fall of Khartoum.
'While the Government were not in a position to say
positively that Klyirtoum had not fallen, they had no
mason to believe that it had.

Lord Salisbury criticised the instructions to Lord
Wolseley. He held that, according to all precedent.
any instructions given to that gallant general ought to
have come from the Government direct and not from
Sir E. Baring, and that those which had been given were
highly objectionable, not merely in form, but in sub-
stance also. They resolved themselves into this sum-
mary—that the policy of rescue and retire confined
itself entirely to the rescue of the two men who had
gone to rescue the garrisons, and that the policy of
rescuing the garrisons had been abandoned.
Lord Granville denied that the form adopted in this
case was not in accordance with precedent. The in-
structions had been drawn up by Lord Northbrook in
consultation with Sir E. Baring and Lord Wolseley,
but they were submitted to and considered by the
Government, who took upon themselves all responsi-
bility in connection with those instructions. His read-
ing of them was that they authorised Lord Wolseley by
military means to enable the Egyptian garrison to
evacuate Khartoum, and that, consequently, they did
not imply the abandonment of that garrison.
Lord Salisbury asked whether the instructions
authorised Lord Wolseley to undertake offensive
operations for the relief of the garrison of Itharton,...
Lord Northbrook replied that when dravvfsig up the
instructions it never occurred to him to suppose that
tieneral Gordon would leave Khartoum by himshif.
Neither had the hyper-criticism of Lord Salisbury ever
occurred to Lord Wolseley. As to the garrisons of the
Soudan generally, he did not think the English Govern-
ment were bound to spend English money and English
lives in going over that country to relieve garrisons
blob showed little disposition to relieve themselves.
Lord Dunraven contended that the Government in-
curred obligations in respect of the Egyptian garri-
sons when they compelled the Khedive to abaedon the
Soudan.

Lord Ellenborough observed that General Gordon bad
been very unfairly treated in having all his important
requests refused by the Government
Lord Salisbury referred to despatches in the Blue-
book to show that so far from the Government having
regarded it as an insult to suppose General Gordon
would leave Khartoum by himself they had given him
direct instructions to do so.

NEW BILLS.
Lord Bramwell presented and moved the first readirg
of two bill—one dealing with summary jurisdiction and
the other with the law of evidence.
Their lordships, at Ave minutes before five o'clock,
adjourned till Thursday.

In the HOUSE OF COMMONS, Nov. 3, Mr. Gorst gave
notice of an amendment to the Address expressing
regret at the neglect of the Government to protect
Montsioa from the Boer freebooters.

KELARTOIIM.

Lord Hartington, a;;;e-r-ii-ig—ii question from Sir S.
Northcote, gave substantially the same reply with re-
gard to the reported fall of Khartoum as had been given
in the Upper House.