New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-04-04
ENGLAND AND THE SOUDdM.

regiment mas Deen lelO dU OuaAllu 10 OuWPVi"iJ
garrison to DO replaced either by Indian or
Egyptian troops. The remainder OF the force
has returned to lower Egypt. Lord Hartington's
recent declaration in regard to British control
of the thousand miles of Soudan seaboard means
practically little more than this Sualdm is to
be permanently occupied. The withdrawal OF
the army has been followed by anarchy and
civil war. Osman has taken the field against
tribes that were friendly to the invaders. IT
successful he may be emboldened to threaten
Suakim with the remnant of his brave force. 80
long as he is in arms the revolt in that quarter
cannot be said to have been suppressed.
The prospect of opening the road from Suaklm
to Berber is not encouraging. The chiefs who
may be approached by the British agent will
oreedily accept the brides offered to them, but
no dependence can be placed on any guarantee
which they may give. A more serious attempt
of diplomatic nature is the mission OF Admiral
Hewett to Massowah. King John Is reported to
have offered to relieve Kassala with force OF
5000, or even 10000 men, provided each
soldier shall be paid at the rate of two English
shilings day and two ports shall ibe coded to
him. Admiral Hewett is now in Massowah tor
the purpose of proposing an alliance oil some
sort between Great Britain and Abyssnla
whereby the insurgents in the SOudan may be
reduced to submission. The value OF such an
alliance is prOblematcal. Mr.. Rassam, whose
rescue from prison at Magdala. was the object
of the British expedition to tho mountains OF
the Blue Nile, declares with strong emphasis
that the Abyssinian kingdom merely exists In
name that King Johns word is law only i'll re-
stricted territory, and that tho tribes on the
border lands of the Soudan are absolutely inde-
pendent. He understands Abyssina better
than any other Englishman does, and he says
that no help is to be expected from that quarter.
Sir Samuel Baker has recommended diplomatic
intrigues and the establishment of a new from
tier along the Atbara River, and the cession OF
Massowah and Zoulla. Mr.. Rassam rldicules
these proposals. General Gordon when he left
London, warned Englishmen not to place any
reliance upon the King Of Abysslnia, at least
outside his own mountains. There Is every
reason to believe, therefore, that the ncgotla-
tons upon which Admiral Hewett has entered
will be unproauctive and disappointing.
The battles with the Arabs on the coast have
not effected the deliverance Of KhartOum. The
intrigues with the tribes between SuakIm and
Berber and the negotiations with the Willy
Abyssinian monarch promise to be equally
abortve. The dangers and difficulties, mean
while, have multiplied at KhartOum. General
Gorden has been defeated by horde OF rebels
and openly defed by the Mahdi, whom he had
proclaimed Sultan of KardOfan. Kassala,
SEMINAR and the garrisOns in the Bahr- GhAzelle
he is powerless to relieve, and his own position
since his defeat has been most unenyiable. APP
h. L. Cairo rather
London, for rescue Any expedition that is sent
to KhartOum must go, as he went, across the
Nubian desert from KOroscO and thence by way
Of Bel Der and the river Such march involves
military difficulties that are apparently lnSur-
mountable. The heat would be as Noticeable
in the Korosco desert as on the route from the
coast to Berber From April till the middle OF
November the thermometer averages from
ninety to nlnety-fve degrees in the shade
throughout the Eastern SOudan. 1t is most
unhealthy season and European soldiers would
be exposed to the ravages OF typhoid fever and
dvsentery. Weeks would be required more
over, for the organization OF a baggage train
and the transportation of an army by water
flon Abou Hammed to KhartOum. These con-
sdcrations render it very improbable that tho
British authorities at Cairo will advise the
Home Government to attempt rescue by way
of the Nile Valley.
General Gordon will be left to his own re-
sources. This is the natural inference from
the facts of the situation as they outlined in
the dispatches. Necessity seems to dictate this
course. No English Minister will venture TO
advocate sending an army into pestilential
district in the hottest season OF the year to re-
conquer the Soudan. General GOrdon's fate,
humanity speaking is in his own hands. His
genius NAV save him. His good fortune may
not desert him. The Mahdi may be set aside in
Kardofan, where divisions are said to have
broken out in his council and powerful tribe is
In revolt against him. The rebels now sur
rounding KhartOum may be inclined to make
peace with the heroic Englshman who has
once won their affections and confidence and
given them the best government they have ever
known. Nothing is impossible In the changeful
East. But the chances when coOlly counted are
heavily against General Gordon and in favor OF
new disasters. The Home Government cannot
send reinforcements to him and will not allow
Zobehr. the Sultan OF the slayetraders, to take
his place. 1t leaves him at the post OF danger
and dares not strengthen his hands by proclaini-
ing the permanent occupation OF khartoum. 30
long as the Soudanese are convinced that the
country is to be given up, their loyalty to Gem
eral Gordon must remain species of tleaoher.
| GUS time-serVng. II they had reason to sup
pose that Khartoum was to be retained, and
that he was TO govern 1t permanently, they
| would give him stronger support.
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DEMOCRACY AND THE RIOT
,;,t ~ Cincinnati fa A strong and lurid