Clarksville evening chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn) 1886-1890, 1888-12-13
A DENUNCIATION
OF Great Britain's African Policy
Promised.
ZULUs AND KAFFIRs GOOD TARGETS
FOR RIFLE PRACTICE.

Alexandrln was nom Darded merely 20
Test Thelr Gnns--The English Army
Greatly Degensrated--The Irish viii
Not Enlist-The CEar Offended at Ger
maBy--othsr Foreign Notes.
LONDON, Dec lS-We are promised still
more scathing denunciation Of the govern
ment's African policy than the sharp attack
made by Lord Randolph Churchill a few
days agoin the house OF commons, which
created such feeling Of disinay in the ranks
of the administration. There is a fine op-
portunity for it, and it will be awaited Of,
though, Of course, no English politician Of
the present generation would dare to tell the
whole truth about the course pursued by
Great Britain for many years in both the
southern and northern portions Of the dark
continent.
OF course, such people as zulus and Kaf-
frs are simply regarded as furnishing excel
lent rifle practice for the British soldiers,
and their territory as merely capital hunt
ing ground, but aggressions in that quarter
are not so popular since the awkward meet
ing with those inconsiderate people, the
Beers, who bad the impollteness to get the
best OF ths shooting.
The army and navy must make some show
for the enormous expense the government Ii
at to maintain them. New great guns and
small arms are being introduced, ana expert
lnents, very much to the discomfort Of some
weak nation, must be made in order to test
them thoroughly. The perfectly needless
bombardment of Alexandria was begun in
order to hnd out the weak and strong points
of the new guns and their ammunition, and
the invasion of the Soudan was undertaken
partly to furnish some favorite officers with
an opportunity to gain promotion and partly
because it was considered time to make
British arms felt In some quarters Of the
world
The result was hardly satisfactory, in one
sense, but it was fortunately discovered that
the side arms furnished by the honest ~
English contractors were of such miser-
able quality that against q civilized foe the
battles would have proved disastrous de-
feats.
The determination to save Suakim is now
generally believed to foreshadow another
advance into Upper Egypt. The place il
only valuable as point of approach to the
OOuUAH TcklOLs anu - ASAASeo OLA nv
tempt in force to recover Khartoum whose
retention by the predatory natives has
ruined the important trade that was slowly
improving the country and people. The
venture will encounter much opposition in
parliament, and military authorities are not
charmed with the prospect.
There is no doubt that the British Grmy
has seriously deteriorated The Irish will
not enlist; there is much trouble in keeping
the Scotch regiments filed, and the desira
BILE class of English will not enter the ser.
vice at all Those who offer themselves d. 0
SO through despair at finding no other means
of existen 70 open to them, and, as might be
surmised, are poor specimens OF humanity,
physically and morally. This is not the
material with which to undertake a cam
paign that would thoroughly test the stand
ing and morals of the best of troops, and ii
is not strange that many high officers pri'
va tely protest against undertaking it,
The press censorship at Suaklm is growing
more rig i'd daily and it is rapidly becoming
apparent that reliable news from that quar-.
ter can no longer be obtained unless it hap.
pens to be of a character especially favora.
BILE to the governments policy. 1t is ru.
mored in military circles that ths Egyptian
troops behaved so badly in the recent sortie
that their almost absolute worthlessness was
confirmed and this is held to be an ample ex.
PLANTATION of the governments sudden resolve
to reinforce the garrison.
1t is we'll remembered that the disastrous
defeat of Baker Pasha, in the former Soudan
campaign, was wholly due to the cowardice
of the Egyptian troops under his command,
and the British military officer of to-day
who places any reliance whatever upon the
bravery of the Egyptian soldiery must be
regarded as totally inexperienced.