Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-02-28
GLADSTONE.

\ vote of censure has been moved in
| Parliament against the Gladstone combi-
nation Cabinet. Yet nothing could be
more illogical. The Cabinet has been
driven to the policy it adopted. General
Gordon was sent to the upper Nile, not to
compass a conquest, but the pacifcation of
the Soudan and the definite settlement of a
line between upper and lower Egypt, south
of which the independence of the Soudan
would be recognized. No filter man could
have been selected The respect the Nile
tribes had for him was reasonable founda-
ton for the belief that he would be sue
cessfll in his mission. That step therefore
was wise one and in saying this we
leave out of consideration the premises
that led up to the revolt in the Soudan.
FL Mahdi emboldened by success and long
unrestraimed action during the Arab
Pasha revolt, refused to treat with Gordon
as the representative of Egypt, or as a
mediator from England. He recognized
him only as an intruder, one intermeddling
with the affairs of leader whose commits
sion, he holds, is issued by the King of
Heaven. Gordon, in return, denounced
the False Prophet as REBEL and thus an
issue of actual war was made. The Egypt
ian garrison at Khartoum was hemmed IN,
and Gordons remaining task was, not to
fight and overcome Ell Mahdi, but to Sc
cure the safe withdrawal of the Egyptians
from the Soudan. The Gladstone Cabinet,
voicing the English Government, had an
nounced its readiness to recognize the fact
that the rebellious tribes were fighting for
freedom from Egyptian rule, but circum-
stances made it imperative that Egypt
should be assisted in covering the retreat
of her garrisons, though it is GER
| tain that a goodly portion of the
troops preferred to remain and attach
Prophet Wolseley was sent out to effect
the relief of Gordon and the garrison.
| Gordon himself might have secured from
FL Mahdi safe conduct but he refused to
abandon the men to whose rescue he had
been dispatched With the fall Of Gordon
it would appear that no reason existed for
the English remaining in the Soudan.
Their retiracy from Egypt would have
been in line with the peace policy of Mr..
| Gladstone, and which won him place, and
secured the overthrow Of the Beaconsiield
cabinet The English remain in the Sou
dan then, not to conquer territory, but to
satisfy popular clamor for the assertion of
the supremacy of British arms, which have
been beaten back, defeated and Inundated
by semi-barbarous power. This is the
sum and substance Of the present situation
it is a contest for the supremacy of civil
lied arms. Related to it, however, are a
variety of questions arising out of the
whole English policy regarding Egypt,
and nothing is clearer than the fact, that
so far as that policy relates to the use OF
force, it is opposed to the judgment and
conscientious declarations of Englands
Premier. "The Grand Old Man" is
situated as no other statesman has been be-
fore him. If he falls now, it cannot dis
grace him in the eyes of the political
world. If there is to be visited upon him
any reproach, it will be because he con-
sents to action now that is opposed to his
better judgment. He realizes that he owes
duty to the British public, and that he
many not stubbornly refuse to do It's bid
ding. England's protecting arm has been
one of unvarying i'll to the Egyptians. 1t
was extended to secure Egypt's English
creditors, whose claims compounded in in
terest and bred in number as seldom before
in the history of finance. These creditors
have used the English Government as a
cat's-paw to control the whole system of
Egyptian finances and manage the affairs
of that country solely in foreign interests.
/, France, under the influence of her money
lenders and investors, was a party to
the scheme, and between the two
a full meal was made of nation.
But the genesis of this situation
is not chargeable to Mr. Gladstone
He came into power finding certain condi-
tions that he could not ignore, and of
which he must make the best he could.
Arab Pasha was the natural outsrowth of
foreign control in Egypt. His revolt was
one that the believers in the right of self
government seldom condemn 1t was a
feeble effort to re-establish in Egypt SOW
ereign rights. To suppress this revolt Brit
ish gunners were given opportunity, and
as result Alexandria was made food for
powder in war, brief but terrible A
nation PROSTATE, its legitimate head a
puppet in the hands OF great power this
latter could not, had it desired, afford to
abandon it to other birds of prey. As a
result we have the present situation
England pledged by honor and bound by
the memorable demands of her capitalists
to defend Egypt's southern line and estab-
lish it as far up the Nile as can be done.
II has been bad business from the begin
ing it cannot rebound to the glory of the
Eaglish Government, or augment respect