The Sun.
London, England, 1867-07-05 00:00:00

PIUCH 4d.
STAMPED sd.

IVA R. IV/711 ABYSSINIA.

The following letter lias been addresied to the
editor of the Tinos:—

Sir,—At length is seems that we are fast drifting.
into war with the Emperor Theodore. It is there-
fore important to consider how such a war is best
to be carried on. And lam of opinion that by our
availing ourselves of the assistance of some one of
the insurgent chiefs, the cost and the work of an
expedition would be greatly reduced, while success
would be more surely and more raFidly attained.
Tn your impression of July 25, 1866, I-gave an
account of the state of parties in Abyssinia at the
time of my return from that country a short time
previously. Since then the changes have all been
in favour of the insurgents and against the Emperor
Theodore, whose army is now reduced to a few
thousand men, and whose territories are little more
than the country in the actual occupation of his
soldiers.

Of all the insurgent chiefs the one to be pre-
ferred is Gobazye, the IVaag Shum, or Prince of
Waag, in Lasta, who is the actual ruler of North-
eastern Abyssinia, or that portion of the empire
contiguous to Massowah and the sea coast, and
whose personal claims to the Imperial throne are far
superior to those of any of his competitors.
Enclosed I beg leave to send you a copy of a

Huleinoir on thesight of Waag Shunt. Gribazye, which
I addressed from Halal to a person of high rank in
England on April 27th, 1866, at which time, as is
recorded in the Times of July Bth, 1866, I ex-
pressed my misgivings (duce, unfortunately, more
than realised) as to the fate of Mr. Hassam's mis-
sion. It the present juncture I would hope that
this memoir may be deemed worthy of insertion in
your columus.—l am, Sir, your very obedient ser-

CHARLES BEKE.

Bekesbourne, July 3.

" MEMOIR.

"The. antiquity and former rank, wealth, and
power of the Empire of Ethiopia, or Abyssinia, are
matters of history. Its inhabitants received Chris-
tianity in the time of the Roman Emperor Con-
stantine, and intimate relations continued to sub-
sist between the Byzantine Empire and Ethiopia till
the rise and advance of Mohammedanism shut the
latter out from the Western World.
" Without dwelling on the details of the internal
history of Abyssinia, it will be sufficient to state
that about 1,000 years ago the line of Christian
sovereigns claiming descent from Menilek, the son
of Solomon, King of Israel, and the Queen of
Sheba, was violently set aside by a female Falasha
(Israelitish) usurper named Judith, who massacred
all the members, save one, of the Imperial family,
and whose descendants occupied the throne for
nearly 200 years. About the time of the Norman
conquest of England this intrusive dynasty was
superseded by a Christian sovereign of the house of
Zagye, whose origin was in Lasta, and whose de-
scendants continued to reign till the year 1268,
when one of the most remarkable events in the his-
tory of any nation is said to have occurred.
"The reigning Emperor Nakwetolaab, at the
instance of the famous native saint, Abuna Tekla
llaimanot, voluntarily abdicated the throne of
Ethiopia in favour of Aikuna Amlak, who claimed
to be descended from the sole survivor of the family
of Menilek. In return for this abdication Nakwe-
tolaab and his descendants were recognised as in-
dependent sovereigns in Waag, the chief province
of Lasts, subject only to the suzerainty of the em-
perors, and with the agreement that if the line of
Aikuna Anilak should ever fail that of Nakwetolaab
should resume the throne. The latter had further
the following personal privileges accorded to them.
They might enter the inner court of the palace with
their drums beating ; might come before the Em-
peror without uncovering the upper part of the
body and rolling the robe round the wdist ; might
be seated at meals before the tables were served (all
other persons standing) ; and might occupy a chair
of State at side of the Emperor's throne, according
to the Abyssinian saying :—' Negus la Wabar,
IVaagshum la Manbar.'
"These privileges were retained inviolate by the
Waagshutns or princes of Waag till the time of the
present usurper Theodore, who barbarously muti-
lated and then hanged IVaagshum Gebra Medhin,
the father of the present Waagshum Gobazyc, and
annulled all his rights and privileges.
" For 600 years from the accession of Aikuna
Amlak the throne of Ethiopia was occupied by the
lineal descendants of that monarch, whose power
and authority, however, kept gradually on the
wane ; till at length, towards the close of the 18th
century, the once absolute Emperors of Ethiopia,
like the last Merovingian Kings of France, became
mere tools in the hands of their mires du palais,
who bore the title of Ras, a dignity which for more
than half a century was hereditary in the family of
Ras Guksa. The form of placing a puppet Empe-
ror on the throne was continued till Ras Ali, Guksa's
grandson, was conquered by his son-in-law, lYedjatj
Kassai, of Kwara, who having subjugated all his
rivals, and scorning the secondary title of Ras, caused
himself to be crowned Emperor by the name of
Theodore 11. In doing so he pretended to be the
Monarch of that name, who, according to a native
prophecy,
of
is to divide the Eastern World with the
Emperors
Rome'—that is to say, the Eastern
Roman Empire—he being crowned at Jerusalem ;
while the Emperor of Russia, as the head of the
'Roman' Empire, is to be crowned at Constantinople,
and in his time all the world is to become Christian.
"This vast scheme, which is rather an appropria-
tion than a fulfilment of the native prophecy, is of
foreign origin. It would be out of place here to
trace it to its source ; but it may be stated as a fact
that the Abyssinians generally did not accept the
present usurper as the true' Theodore' of prophecy,
who is to come from the East, whereas Rassai's native
country, Kwara, is in the West ; that it was only in
consequence of his wonderful successes at first that
they submitted to close their eyes to the discrepancy;
and that in consequence of his excessive tyranny,
cruelty, and oppression—so diametrically opposed
to the attributes of the Christian Monarch they
Moses were led to expect—they now style him
King of Egypt,' and sigh for the who is to
pharaoh,
deliver them from the hands of their oppressor.
"To look for such a deliverer among the degene-
rate descendants of Aikuna Amlak would be use-
less. Since the death of
the Emperor Tekla
century ago, they have
ceased to occupy
Haimanot 11., 1101bVy
justsuccession the throne of their
illustrious ancestors, having
removed from it at the caprice of every powerful
h
gotifil possession of the capital and
i tas or Vizer as a cloak to his
actual e
titleSo frequent: indeed, have been these
,ecsiirfe could
changes that there were as many as six Emperors'
living at one time despised and neglected ; and the
existing members of this family are become so
thoroughly lowered and contemptible, and their
right to the throne so completely ignored, that not
one of them could hope to bring a dozen soldiers to
rally round the standard of the Lion of the tribe of
Judah,' were he to unfurl it—an act of madness
which would inevitably insure his immediate and
violent death.

" Under these circumstances, the line of Aikuna
Amlak may be considered as virtually extinct, and
the existing hereditary Prince of Waag, Gobazyc,
as the descendant and representative of the Emperor
Nakwetolaab, has consequently a right to resume
the throne abdicated by his ancestor, under the con-
tract which siL centuries ago reserved that throne to
his descendants in the event which may be regarded
as having now occurred.
" lialai, Abyssinia, April 27, 1866."

TIIE SHEFFIELD OUTRAGES.—Some further evi-
dence was taken beforo tho Sheffield Commission yester-
day, and the inquiry was adjourned until Saturday, when
Mr. Overend and his colleagues are expected to close their
labours ae far as the examination of witneageo ;4 Goloomed*