New-York tribune., 1885-02-22
GENERAL BULLERS PERIL.
A REPORTED DISASTER NOT CONFIRMED.


dav of a serious disaster to the force of General
Butler. which is ntrenched at Abu Klea Wells, but
neither the War Office nor any of the news agencies
has anything to confirm the reports. The rumors
are therefore pronounced stock-jobbing canards.
A report from Suakim says: The Turkish o0Iciasat
Jeddeh exhibit hostility the British at Suakm, and
refuse to furnish thom with either supplies or
laborers. The Turks ati Jeddeh are circulating
reports that the British troops in the desert have
been massacred and that General Lord Wolseley
has committed suicide.
The dispatches in The Chronicle and The Daily
Ttleqaph give painfully graphic descriptions OF the
situation of the troops, hemmed IN by hordes OF
| Arabs and having before them apparently only
the alternatives of slaughter starvation. If they
can continue their retrograde movement TO Gakdul
they can bo provsioned and probably succored by
sort from Korti. But to get to Gakdul they must
| rely upon their camels, and they are already re-
duced to the necessity of eating camel flesh to main
| tain their lives. They are intrcnchlng themselves
on all sides with the best materials at hand ana
are continually subjected to harassing fire which
| is fiercest at night. The Arabs have established
thin Gordon OF sharpshooters three sides of their
position, and it is impossible TO return the fire
effectively because the Arab rifcmcn are so widely
| deplovcd The casualties thus far have been small
in actual numbers, but they are terribly large In
| proportion to the whole dumoer of troops In the
| detachment. The officials at the War Office admit
that General Bullers position is critical, but they
express themselves positive that he will be able
to make good his retreat TO Gakdul with mos OF
his troops.
Orders were sent tonight 10 the Chatham naval
depot to ship TO Suakim within two days 20,OcO
Shrapne shells loaded ready for immediate use.
The Woowich Arsenal is now working night and
day turning out artillery material for the same
destination.
The enthusiasm of the London populace for the
vigorous prosecution of the war in the Soudan
reached its elimination to-day on the occasion OF
the departure of the Scots Guards from the capital
Their departure was marked with the same pathetic
incidents which characterized the departure of the
Coldstrcam and Grenadier Guards, only greater
intensity OF feeling was manifested. The march
from the. barracks to Westminster Bridge was
through streets so throngod with patriotic multi
tudes that ii was almost Impossible for the soldiers
to force their passage through As soon as the
Guards came in sight the air was rent with cheers,
and long after they had passed out of view the en-
thusiasm continued to find expression III repeated
huzzas Arrived at the bridge the Guards found
the Prince of Wales, accompanied by bis wIie ana
children. waiting to bid them Godspeed. The Prince
anpeared in the uniform OF the Guards. He adj
dressed them briefly, encouraging them to high en-
deavor, and expressing the hope that the necessity
of their absence from England w VI pIlVi
duration. The Royal party remained while the
Guards embarked upon the steamer to take them to
Gravcsend. The Queen teegraphed her best wishes
! TO the soldiers As the steamer moved down the
river the great throng that had witnessed the EN-
barkation chccred with patriotic iervor The men
were in excellent spirits, and the trip TO Grayesend
was enlvcnod by the singing Of patriotic songs. AT
Gravescnd an enthusiastic greeting awaited tneIn'
and they were transferred to the steamer which
carries them to Egypt amid prolonged cheers.
Every soldier belonging to the Scots Guards re-
ceived present yesterday of ounce of excellent
tobacco 1t was given them by a lady who keeps
her name secret
The Cunard Steamship Company has offered the
Government the use OF the Oregon for transporting
troops to Egypt in case of an emergency without
stipulating terms.
A dispatch from Kori states. that the funeral of
General Sir Herbert Stewart was an impressive
occurrence All the men were i'll tears. The
| IIussars eudeavOrcd by forced marches to reach
| Gakdul Wells in time Tor the funeral, but they
| came too late. They have, therefore, asked per
mission 70 build a cairn to mark the last resting
place Of the dead hero.
The proposed railway between Suakim and Bcr-
Der IS beng widely discussed by London papers.
Many contradictory statements concerning It's OBJ
jcct.Eave been published, and the question as TO
whether IL is intended for military purposes alone,
or is to become permanent way for the beneht OF
commerce, gives rise 10 all sorts of theories as to
| the future policy of the Government III It's treat
| ment of the Soudan question:. One OF
| the nigh officials Of the War Office
said that II was by 10 means certain that railway
! would be built for the entire distance between
| suaklm 0nd Berbcr broad-gauge road such as
had been III some quarters suggested would cost at
| least e, 600, 900, and would take year TO con-
| struct, matter how maay men were employed In
| the woIk. why he said, " should we spend 80
as the Mahdi has been crushed And can assure
| you that the present intention OF Mr. Gladstonc,s
Government is to a lave every British SOL, SOL
| thinGcan be hOnorably accomplished" He further
said that "a fixed decision concerning the railway
would probably not be reached until the arrival at
Suakim of General Graham and the officers Of the
| Engineer Corps When Digna had been wiped ont
| the ground could be properly surveyed, aud that
| which considered most eXpcdlent would be
| done.
John Morley, the Radical Member of Parliament
| for Newcastc-upOn-Ty and who is the leader, of
| the peace party III the House OF Commons. was
asked this evening if the peace party proposed to
support SIR Stafford Northcoles resolution of CEN
| sure. Mr.. Morley replied " Certainly not. That
resolution means that the Government Is 10 blame
for not prosecuting the war with more vigor and
| brutality We believe that the British Govern
ment has not, and has never had any business IN
| the Soudan, and that the sooner 1t gets out and
leaves the Soudan to the Soudanesc the better
| Our programme is this: As soon the Tory
resolution of censure IS disposed Of as 1t Will be
by beng defeated we propose to call for division
| on motion dcnouncing the further prosecution of
| the war. We nave thirty English members OF the
advanced Liberal or Radical party to start with
| How many Liberals VIII DC induced TO vote with
| us don't know, but there may be a good many
Then We have reason TO expect the support Of the
Parnelhes all their recent utterances have been
| in favor of the complete retirement Of England
from the Sudan"
| "And the Tories !"
oh they will show their usual consistency by
| voting with the Ministry"
The rumor that Mr. Gladstone is about to resign
is revived ip spite of seni-oliical denials There
are many contradictory stories ai'oa! The one
| that is apparently the most authentic is to the
effect that the doctors warned Mr.. Gladstone that
his continuance in Office would endangcr his life.
| but that the Premier refused to heed the advice.
| 1t was learned toni ght from trustworthy source
| that Mr. Parnell has limited 20 certain members of
i IL. L 4l,nfh hia rfu