The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-01-10

and determined rush OF the British which
carried them over the formidable Egyptian
carthworks and into the enemy with the
panic compelling the bayonet. On tho
other hand, the Russians, moving without
spirit or enthusiasm, were, as Lieutenant
Greene strongly maintains, defeated by
the repeating rifles before they got into
their work. In the brief space, perhaps
five minutes, which elapsed between the
time the British attack was discovered and
sought by the Egyptian fire and the time
that the trenches were actually reached,
the little force Of Uighlanders making the
assault at the extreme left must have
been nearly dccimated and five officers
were shot down. The men making this
charge did 80, 1t is said, without cart
ridge In their rifles, and the argument, MS
ordered, became cold steel. They cleared
q space for the artillery. which quickly foi-
lowing, poured destruction into the de-
! tenders. The assault at the other ilank
was delivered simultaneously and with the
wild dash of some OF the Irish regiments
whilst the onslaught became general along
the frontal line. The Egyptians, hewll-
dercd and uemoralized, broke. The House
! hold cavalry. with detachment OF inuiah
horse, were dashing upon them, fcr they
\ had been dispatched an hour ana nali III
advance, and had ridden. around the VII
lage on the cnemy's extreme leN. Inc
Bengal Lancers and other Indian cavalry
| had made a wide detour around the rice
fields, and arrived OPPORTUNITY for pur-
suit and the prevention OF escape In
| that direction. The canal bank also be-
came available IA soon rs the deience
was broken. Submission followed the
Al Oil.
tanned garrison OF 10000 men; but he
was debated. and in disgrace. There was
no time TO augment the force with bodies
of troops elsewhere scattered, for the
British cavalry were in hot pursuit, and
| the city surrendered TO General Drewry
Lowe. The Egyptian war was closed sIngu-
larly enough upon the 18th OF september,
the day about which, whether he ever said IT
or not, the world was beginning TO deride
Sir Garnet Wolseley for a yainglorious
augury and an empty boast. The proba-
bility is that he never said anything OF the
kind, or If he did, that he anticipated that
the conclusion must be forced by that
period on account of the annual flooding
Of the Nile. The whole plan OF the Egyp-
tim campaign reminds one of Stonewall
Jackson his intuitive prescience, his dra-
l
cess. What he planned, that did his gal
Iant soldiers execute, without thinking OF
impossibilities, but with confidence in
victory and dash which was in itself
success.
In conclusion, | would respectfully claim
that Great Britain, with her naval and her
military force, is ''eXpcrt in war;; that
il equalled. she is uneXceIled by any other
| Power: that her commanders have, with
the rarest exceptions, proved equal to their
RESPONSIBILITIES, and have won deserved
IaI,rels for themselves and glory for their
country.
Above all that Great Britain, small in
deed within The narrow limits OF her island
shores, but holding sway over vast pro-
norton of its surface. and ruling more
than one fourth of the family of the earth,
Is everywhere eXeTting her mighty infiu-
ence in righteous progress, and Tor tue
civilization and the good OF mankind.
Respectfully yours,
| GILBERT X. FIRTH.
December G, 1892.
y. S. 1t may be added that the Egyptian
campaign was not after all such cheap
walk-oyer," for the returns show list Of
over four thousand killed, wounded. miss
ing, and invaded men; and from this the
Indian contingent is to be virtually eX-
cludcd.
Since writing the foregoing Arab Pacha
has been sentenced, and by the interycn-
ton OF England his life is to be spared.
The future OF Egypt will be an interest
ing question. 1t is by no means probable
that Great Britain Will annex it, but she
seems as little inclined to ask advice or to
wait on criticism as did Sir Garnet Wolse-
ley in the campaign. Upon this subject
The views of an able American writer arc
worth review. quote from EGYPT I'M
der its Khedves," = book published in
! 1877, and revised and republished during
the progress OF tine war. The author Is
Edwin DeLeon, United States Consul
General in Egypt for a number OF years,
and, 1 am told, a southern gentleman. lie
writes
at seems equally impossible now TO al
low the rich countries named TO anguish
much longer under the sicl1ly beams OF the
waning crescent, To be annexed TO the Rus
sian empire even in part, or TO be allowed
t. relapse into stu greater anarchy than
that which reigns therein to-day, in view
OF their importance strategically and COM
mercially, lying as they do in part
on the route TO India. Among the
various propositions made as to the par
tItion Of the Turkish empire, it strikes
me as surprising that British states
men have not, us in the case OF the Suez
canal, reconsidered and reversed the policy
OF their predecessors and made the dream
OF old Mehcmet Ali, which they so rudely
dissipated, a reality in the hands OF his
successors, under good and sufficient guar
sntees and proper securities that the powers
thus conferred should not be abused, but
exercised for the benefit and improvement
OF the most intelligent, docile, and labori-
Gus OF all the races Of the East, whose only
ties to the Turk are now, as they ever have
been, those OF faith, subiugation, and TAXA
ton"
Respectfully, yours,
GILBERT Il. FIRTH.
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