The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-17 00:00:00

r ONDON, MONDAY, FEB. 17, 1868.

The intelligence from Abyssinia, though some-
what uncertain, is not altogether so favourable as
we could wish. The latest news comes from Malta,
Feb. 16, where the Indian troopship Crocodile has
arrived from Alexandria four days earlier. She
brings reports that the main body of the expedition
cannot advance until the depots have been formed
at Senafe, a task of considerable time, as each
mule's burden on reaching its destination is reduced
to an average weight of 101 b. ! We may
faintly conjecture the length of time which
it would take to form a depot under such
circumstances. Nineteen miles of piping for the
conveyance of water was passing through Egypt
for Abyssinia. A good supply of water is of course
one of the first requisites, and we find from the
earlier advices from Annesley that a great scarcity
of water prevailed there, the daily allowance being
three quarts. It is matter of regret that so many
preliminary arrangements are necessary, and that
the inevitable delay which always attends upon
English expeditions should have weighed down so
heavily the progress of an
_expedition in which so
much depends upon time. As no active or
organised opposition has as yet been offered
to our troops, it seems a pity that
they should not push on faster, so as if possible
to get the captives into English hands. If the ob-
ject of the war were merely to punish THEODORE,
to destroy his dynasty, or open a way into his
country, slow and sure might be the wisest motto,
but since the definite purpose is to rescue a few in.
dividuals from his keeping, the time lost before the
somewhat cumbrous preparations are complete is
matter for regret. Sir R. NAPIER is no doubt most
anxious to effect the liberation of the captives, and
is at the same time influenced by a praiseworthy
desire not to expose his men to unnecessary risk.
The want of knowledge aboet the interior of the
country, the lack of means of conveyance, and the
doubt about the water supply are still embararssing
considerations ; still there are cases in which, as
Lord DERBY said of Parliamentary Reform, " Bold-
ness is safety." It is easy to criticise the actions
of those at a distance without fully appreciating
or understanding their difficulties, and it is not fair
to blame individuals for the defects of a system.
But we should be very glad to find matters going
on a little faster, and especially glad to hear that
some definite plan was arranged for opening com-
munication with the long-imprisoned captives.
The movements of the Egyptians are as unexpected
as they are perplexing. The great jealousy exist-
ing
between the Abyssinians and their northern
neighbours rendered the proffered assistance of an
Egyptian contingent in many ways undesirable. It
was not our object to embroil ourselves with the
whole population of Abyssinia; and, in fact, the
assistance of the chiefs has been serviceable to us.
The proposal of the Egyptians to join our expedi-
tionary force was therefore courteously declined ;
but we now learn th Lt the Egyptian troops which
the 'VICEROY assembled some time since on the
coast are now in motion, quite independently of
the simultaneous movement of Sir R. NAPIER. This
is a complication which is by no means desirable.
We cannot certainly fight the Egyptians for pro-
fessing to aid us, but their assistance is equally ill-
timed and unwelcome. MENELEE and the other
chiefs who have hitherto declared themselves against
THEODORE will assume a different aspect when they
find their neighbours and rivals appear on the
scene. If the Egyptians once get a footing in the
country it will not be. very easy for the Abyssinians
to dislodge them, and they will very likely be un-
willing to retire without retaining a slice of the
country. England generally gets on best when she
has no allies fighting with her, and Abyssinia is as
likely to illustrate this truth as our earlier and
more momentous battle-fields.

Mr. ROEBUCK has written a defence of his late
address on Trades Unions to one of his constituents,
and many will be glad to read it ; for the subject is
one of great importance and interest just now, and
the hon. member's opinions on the question natu-
rally excite a good deal of notice. In the first place,
he makes allusion to the complaint made as to his
not having treated of the duties of capital in the
lecture which he delivered a short time ago in Shef-
field ; but, as he very truly put it, the circumstances
under which he spoke were most peculiar—he was
speaking to working men of a town in
which horrible disclosures had taken place,
relating to acts of murder and cruelty ; and these
deeds had been done by men of the class he then
spoke to. At the same time it must be borne in
mind that there have been many opportunities
afforded to these men of bringing forward charges
against the capitalists, but none such have been
preferred ; and there was no evidence to
show that, if brought forward, they could have
been "substantiated." Hence Mr. ROEBUCK
not unreasonably directed his attention to
the subject now paramount in men's minds,
namely, the " wrong views entertained re-
specting the nature of labour and capital." The
explanation and illustration of these errors took
some time, and besides this the hon. member spoke
very plainly as to the course which he deemed it
advisable for the Legislature to adopt, in order to
remedy as far as possible the mischievous tendency
of the prevailing notions. Some most misguided
individuals have drawn from all this that Mr. ROE-
BUCK'S sympathy for the working man has greatly
diminished, if not altogether vanished ; but this is
only another instance of the very erroneous impres-
sions which people take when their minds are under
the influence of passion or prejudice. We consider
that this letter is a very complete explanation of the
course. taken with respect to this lecture, and should
fully convince those who peruse it that the lecturer
was animated by the most upright motives, and the
iucst con cientious desires in all he said or inferred
on this matter. In fact, Mr. ROEBUCK has hit the
mark when he put it thus—that people have be-
lieved that capital and labour are antagonistic ;
Ind, therefore, if the mistakes of one class are
shown, the errors of the other ought to be exposed.
This was not necessary for the end in view, how-
' ever, and all the fault found Kith the remarks in
qbestion were quite uncalled for.
A better reply to the seditious comments could