New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-03-21
CHELMSFORD'S DEFEAT.
AGRrAT nIITCRY IN ENGLAND.
THE ouEEN UNFOLDING THE BEATEN COMMANDO


known n, they are likely to be. The pubic nave
hoo, very patient about the matter They
have made up their minds slowly, but thihk
they have at last come TO the conclusion
that # is Lord Chelmsford himself who is manly
responsible. They are, mt any rate co-Vihceu 'hat
ord Chelmsford is an incapable commander ana
they are beginning to say, with coslderaole P'dih
ness that some other general ought 10 DC sent W
South Africa If the infiuences-or lnlucnce-eA-
rtd in Jord Chelmsford's behalf were not
GO powerful l should say that his lmme-
diate romoyal was probable. The murmurs against
him grow louder day by day. They are. perhaps
strongest in precisely those circles which are OF
ought to be, most competent to Judge OF MS con-
duct-that is, IN military circles. lie mas no de-
Tenders there. Be the immediate occasion OF 'hc
Isandula slaughter what IL may the co""pSo
of the campaign must be the fault Of
the general who planned ana conuuc''"
tor. if not his fault misfortune
canable Of being explained by purely military rea-
sons. In Lord Chemsford's case such reasons are
wanting. To quote an able military critic: In
ten DAYS from the commencement OF operations
fine whole plan of campaign has fallen through.
The Comnander-in-Chicf has been surprised ana
defeated and has lost the whole of bis reserve am
munition arms clothing and food Colonel W ood
ia completely isolated and en- fdr; ana
Colonel PoarsOn's fate quivers In the balance
II is certain that Lord Chelmsford himself womb
have met Colonel Durnford's fate but Tor one CIT
culnstance He was absolutely without lniorina-
ton of the numbers and positions Oh the enemy
lie was hunting for them in his front while ihey
were in fact IN his rear and i'll possession OF his
camn Fit had not been for Lieutenant Chard at
Rorke's Drift. he wouli have been cut OF and an
initiated Are we,' asks the writer L nave
quoted. to continue to conilde III
commander who owes his own personal safety ana
that of half his column to a happy accident-a
sudden inspiration the part oil subaltern
of cngnccrs7 He has endured almost
ovcrr humiliation which can befall a commander.
He has been surprised his flank has been turned,
his camp has been taken. his supplies captured.
His Savage adversary out-gencra!ed him. His
invasion has ended in a retreat, aud Natal is in
papic lest it in turn be invaded. The more out
spoken demand Lord Chelmsforl's recall. The
more moderate suggest that it would bo sufficient
TO put somebody else over his head Those journals
whose opinions wait on Ministerial wishes are
either dumb or cGuivocal.
The one influence cXered for Lord Chelmsford, OF
which spoke, is that of the Queen. 1t IS believed
to be she who stands between tbs beaten general
and the Just angarOf the country. Ii was she who
publicly proclaimed her confidence in him before
the facts were known or could be known fully,
but when enough was known to create q strong
presumption against him, and strong necessity for
some evidence III his favor 1t is She II all reports may
be believed. who now stays the hand of her Minis
tcrs and risks the lives Of her troops and the safety
of great colony by her favOrtlsm for this unhappy
unucky and incompetent commander. No paper
cares to say So but it is said in private Oh authority
watch il Is difficult to dscrcdt. 1t Is added that
she also has prevented the removal of Sir Bartle
Frere. on which the Cabinet was resolved. Yet the
influence of the Crown is believed to exist only as
legal fiction
If, spite of the Queen, Lord Chclmsford's removal
be effected Sir Garnet Wolselcy is fixed BY the
public as his successor. The fact that he is in
Cyprus will not delay but hasten his arrival in
South Africa. 1t is calculated that he could reach
Durham from Cyprus by way Of the Sucz Canal
nine days sooner than from England. This assumes
that one of the dispatch boats is at Cyprus. They
are craft built for such emergencies, can steam
twenty knots an hour, and carry Goals enough to
take them first to Alden. then to Zanzibar, thence
to Durham. Sir Garnet Woseley, whether great
general or not is believed to be. He has, at any
rate, succeeded in what he has hitherto attempted
They say he is gnawing the ends Of his fingers off
in rage at his secusion IN Cyprus, which is the moro
intolerable to him that he was previously offered
anG refused inns very COIlIldHu III NOuJu AlIltd.
Science and literature have each loss to deplore
this week. Professor W. X. Clifford, of whose death
at Madeira the news reached London yesterday,
was less known to the public than to that inner
world of scientific men who give their lives to
search and experiment. Professor Clifford was
above all things a mathematician. He was second
wrangler at Cambridge III 1867, and first Smiths
przeman-the latter an honor which ranks with .
membership. He was elected fellow Of
Trinity College, Cambridge, the next year,
and not long afterward appointed Professor of
Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, i'll University
College. London. But mathematics alone did not
content him. He had profound interest in phtlos-
ophy and entered with ardor into the regions Of
metaphysical inquiry and controversy. These
studies he pursued in what Is properly called the
sceptica spirit; winch is not to be cOnfounded with
that mere inability to believe without evidence
which is sigmatizcd as infidelity. On many points
where metaphysics and theology dispute with each
other for possession, Professor Clifford held very
radical views Certain papers which he published
in The Forfnighty contained propositions of very
startling kind. OF Christianity-of historical
Cbristianity-he was an avOwed opponent; per-
hitting himself to speak of it as that awful plague
which has destroyed two civilizations and but
barely failed to Stag such promise Of good as il now
struggling 10 uNb amongst mtl' Dul THESE, Oo-
serves Mr.. Matthew Arnold, in hls considerable way,
:" are merely the cracking fireworks of youthful
paradox" More orthodox critics than Mr. Matthew
Arnold were more violent, but they might now
agree with HIM in regarding Professor Ciffords
outburst as "haif signing, half smiling, as the
defamation of a clever and confident youth with
the hopeless inexperience. irrcdeemable by any
cleverness, of his age" For he died young. He
was but thirty-four years old. He left great
work behind him. but only the promise OF great
work. l do not suppose he cared much for the re-
ligous feeling lie defied still 1t is interesting to
see how easily his inyectives against an august
system are forgotten and how sincerely he is re-
orntInL hu fhnsn ~ hn ,yern Lis nnnnunntS In IL.