The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1885-02-06
THE LONDON NEWS.

Tine other day the civilized world wa
rejoicing over the news from thu
Egyptian desert. General Stewart had
met and defeated a large army OF the
.Mahdis troops, and while he was badly
wounded, had reached place Of safety
for himself I'D his little band. The
good news continued that General
Gordon was safe in Khartoum, and
could hold out against any force that
might be brought against him for
many months; Wolseley's relief expedi-
ton was steadily advancing, and the
relief of Khartoum and complete sue
cess of the British, were regarded as
practically ccnsummated. Now comes
the sickeniug intelligence recorded in
another column, that Kharteum has
fallen into the hands of the rebels and
GeReral Gordon has disappeared The
casualties are not given in detail, but
they will necessarily be great. to say
nothing of the backset to the English
that this event means. There is little
upon which to found even hope that
the brave Gordon is alive. The fanatic
Arabs are not given to showing mercy
to the.hased Europeans, and Gordon, if
he we're taken alive, is not one who
would inspire in them any sympathy
or commiseration. Until news to
the contrary is received all but
the most hopeful will regard this
gallant soldier as among the victims OF
MeSlem late and fanaticism. The
"charmed life" of which so mach has
been said, will not avail against the
cruel spear of his captors- But the bad
news does not stop here. General VOL
>seiey and General Stewart are in immi-
nent danger, and in view of the rebel
triumph at Khartoum, II will be strange
if, the Mahdi does not attempt the COM
plete humiliation of the intruders, in
which event few days more may bring
more terrible news from the Soudan.
This must be regarded as one of the
worst mishaps that have befaIlen the
English IN modern times. Almost with-
out execution have the British been sue
cessfnl in their operations throughout
the east. The Afghan and the Zulu
campaigns were carried through with
out serious disaster, and later the
restoration of order in Egypt proper
was a satisfactorily successful piece of
work, but if the Soudan news shall be
verified in all its ugly probabilities, the
present failure is one for which the
English will never forgive themselves.
America viii feel the deepest sympathy
for Gladstone, upon whom the shame
and discredit for this disaster must fall
heaviest. 1t will crush him politically
he must now go out of power, and
what Is more, must go down disgraced
if not despised by the nation in the
direction of whose affairs he has had
SO much to do. 1t is q popularity of
peoples thatthe good statesman does
is lost sight of and forgotten when he
is guilty" of failure, whether or not
that failure comes from incempetency
or an honest mistake of Judgment.
Thus Gladstone will be made respon-
sible for the awful disaster in the Sou
dan, and we Will be surprised If within
the week theEnglish people generally are
not denouncing him with as great We
hemence as they we're over sounding
his praises.
OF course the victory of the Mahdi
can only be temporary. What vas un-
dertaken by the British in half
handed sort OF way, will now be carried
through with certainty and dispatch
that will. be terrible to the rebels. Most
bitterly will the latter be made to re-
pent their brief triumph, for they will
have TO pay dearly in blood and trea-
sure feF all that they have cost the
English