, 1868-06-30

pUnh0tt SySiOli, usually 81 ouCCtSSiul3 Has
for once broken down, and when the des-
patches appear it will probably be found
that the correspondents have been beaten
as mere penmen by the officers of the
Staff. One good series of letters has in
deed appeared, but not in the columns of
an English newspaper. The special
correspondent Of the Bombay Gazette,
whoever he ls,-he writes like an officer
of Engineers has a. faculty of artistic
Typographical description of which DR..
Russell, Mr.. +. Dicey, or Mr.. Bayard
Taylor might be proud and if The Times
or the Standard, with their ample space,
would watch for and reproduce his letter
upon MagdaIa = not yet arrived hey
would probably give their readers for the
first time a clear idea of the mountain we
went so far 10 climb. The correspond
ents we have, however, have done their
readers at home one seryice,-they have,
without intending it, enabled them to
understand why it is that a minute Eu-
ropean force is so formidable to an Asiatic
Empire, why ii passes through a hostile
country like a bullet through cheese, why
ASlatlc power once questioned always
colIapses with such unexpected sudden
ness. They have enabled them, in short,
to understand the actual working of that
terrible solvent for Asia, the moral force
of civilization, which at this moment,
with less than 10000 white men, holds
down all the tribes of T~artary and all the
nations Of India, EFFORTS treaties from
the masters of China, and issues orders to
every follower Of Boodh not directly a
subject of Pekin..
1t is evident, to begin with, that the
moment We entered Abyssinia the conse-
quence began to appear which has always
followed a European advance into an
AsIatic kiogdom,-socicty began to dis
solve. The rulers tenure then was ques-
toned, questioned in earnest let every
body under him take advantage Of the
opportunity. 1t is clear now, though the
Army as it advanced did not perceive the
fact, that with its advance every man
hostile TO Theodore felt himself more
free. The chieftain of Lasta began a re-
guar course of conquest, and 'annexed"
everything up to the Egyptian frontier.
The chieftain of Shoa proclaimed him
self independent. The Mussulman Gallas
rose, the Christian brigands rose, the
ptdodtCly IOSe3 tIl 1ucOuOie lOuuu Hluh-
self ruler only Of his army, and was COM
PEELED to tell Mr.. Rassam that the owned
only the rocks on which his soldiers were
encamped. All this "rising," even when
universal, does not, indeed, destroy the
empire attacked, for if the invading force
retireS or is defeated, the central author
ity, after more or less of anarchy, usually
regains its own. But the means of de-
fence at its disposal become suddenly Ii
mited instead of drawing on an empire
it draws only on a district, instead of re-
lying on a nation it can rely only on the
soldiery round the colours. 1t is as if the
landing of a French army at Hastings
were to leave our Queen only London
and Kent from which 10 gather strength.
1t has been so in every advance VIZ have
ever made in India, it would be SO were
we ourselves ever defeated in Asia even
in a single battle by a European foe. The
sovereignty in an Asiatic country is de-
[o1 ] -. sI1G L. IL