The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-21
A HOLY WAR IN THE SoUDAN.
THE CALIPH CALLS UPON THE
DERVISHES TO FIGHT.


Discussed in the House of Com
mOns-The Various Tribes in the
SOudan Uniting.
London, March pa dispatch from
Cairo to the Globe says: The Caliph
/ has proclaimed holy war against Egypt,
calling upon all dervishes capable of bear
ing arms to enroll themselves under the
green banner.
1T is asserted that Osman Digma will
quit Kassala and join the dervish forces
around Dongola.
THE British and Egyptian troops are
in a healthy condition.
"a number of machine guns have been
started for the front. The weather is per-
feet"
In the House of Commons to-day G. n.
CurzOn, under foreign secretary, stated
that the Italian government had communi-
Gated to the British government the in
formation that there was a prospect that
| the dervishes would make an attack upon
| Kassala, and pointed out the effect which
| such an attack would have upon Egypt.
| John Morley asked II a majority OF the
| Egyptian debt commission were competent
| to sanction the proposed expenditure for
| the Dongola expedition.
Mr.. Curzon said that the committee con-
trolled two funds. The largest of these,
| the Egyptian debt required the unanimous
consent of the powers to authorize the
| expenditure of the whole or any part there
| of, but the smaller one, the reserve 1und
| amounting to f2,50O,000. he said, might be
disposed of by majority OF the COM
| mission.
| Morley, amid cheers from the liberal
| benches moved to reduce the vote for
| the foreign office in order to call attention
| to the recent events in Egypt. Mr.. Nor
| said. a.
| queStionably his motion sought vote
of censure upon the government, ana he
| recalled the circumstances that he him
self had moved a similar vote in 1885 upon
| the then liberal government In condem-
nation of it's policy in Egypt.
In the course of his argument Mr. Nor
ley admitted that the occupation of Egypt
by Great Britain had been productive of
much benefit and many blessings to the
! people of that country conservative
cheers). But, he said, the long continuance
of that occupation had been fraught with
great disadvantage to Great Britain 1t
was an unfortunate step the government
was taking to delay the evacuation of
Egypt and divert Egyptian funds from
the purposes of Egyptian development and
the application of the money to England $
| own purposes protesting cries of "Oh,
| OH from the conservative benches) The
new policy, he declared, would impose
| upon Egypt the duty of governing one OF
the most difficult territories on the race
of the earth The government, Mr.. Nor
sley said, had not explained their policy
I
the house with that confidence that the
| country had reason to expect on the eve
of so great an undertaking. So hazardous
a proposal, he held could never be Justl-
fed by a reason so meager, ftimSy, irrele-
want and hollow as the one advanced. Mr..
MOrley's remarks were received with pro-
| longed liberal cheers.
| Mr.. Chamberlain, secretary of state for
the colonial department, said It would be
impossible for the opposition to pass Judg-
ment upon the policy of the government
unless the government first made up their
minds definitely in legard to the immediate
evacuation Of Egypt Nothing % IN Ire, regent 1t
| with more pride and satisfaction than the
| peaceful revolution in Egyptian affairs,
| which had been accomplished with a hand
full of men and a British civil administra-
| ton. If Egypt should be abandoned all
| this would be undone. Egypt must be de-
| Tended if her prosperity was to continue.
The consent of a majority of the powers
had already been given to England's plan
| of meeting the expenses and the govern
ment had no knowledge leading them to
assume that the consent of the remaining
powers, would be finally refused. II the
result of the British expedition should in
a measure relieve Egypt from the con-
slant menace of attacks by the dervishes,
the expenditures incurred would be more
than compensated for. 1t would be inn
possible to fulfill England's duty to the
people as long as the dervishes were per-
mitted to threaten peaceful industry by
their constant raids.
The defeat of the Italians in Abyssinia
had created a new situation. If kassala
should fall the ill effect upon Egypt would
be incabculable. The various tribes Of the
Soudan were putting aside their inter-
| necine disputes and combining in great
effort against Egypt. The wisest policy
was to anticipate their attack and pre-
vent the derVishes from concentrating
against one object. Whatever the Egyp-
tian advance might ultimately be, he said,
it would be limited only by the nature and
| extent of the resistance encountered and
the maintenance of the security OF the
| communities.
Henry Labouchere said the government
should wait before taking action until
Egypt is attacked by the dervishes. The
reluctance on the part of ministers to dis
close their plans ne s6onebere de6aTebE pFee
ed that the expedition, unless checked
by disaster, would go to Dongola, Khar-
Henry M. Stanley, the explorer, who rep
resents the north division of Lambeth.
in the interest of the liberal unionists,
asserted that Egypt had right to re-
claim her former frontiers and that the
opportunity to do so had come. The total
defeat of the mahdists, Mr.. Stanley de-
clared must precede the independence OF
Mr Curzon said that the expedition
| would take strongly defensive position
| at Akasheh, where it would remain until
the hot season, when if it was thought
desirable, it would proceed to- Dongola.
The government, he added. possessed
proofs that there was a general fermeni
among the dervishes, and that they were
threatening Kassala and the Nile val
Sir William Vernon Harcourt, the op-
position leader in the house, said that
the government was entering upon a long,
dangerous and uncertain enterprise. II
would not state the true object or define
the real limits of the expedition. He be-
lieved it would be condemned by the peo-
pie
The Rt. Hon. A. J. Balfour, first lord
of the treasury and government leader
in the house, said there was nothing in
the expedition to excite suspicion or
alarm in France The operations has no
relation to the British occupat tion of
Egypt. The position of Egypt could not be
satisfactory until that country regained
control of a large part of the Soudan. Ev-
erything gained for Egypt would be gained
forever. 1t would not be an advance fol-
lowed by a retreat He was convinced
that in the interests of Egypt and Egypt
alone the government was well advised
in initiating this policy.
vote was then taken on Mr.. Morley's 8
motion and it was defeated by 2S8 to las.
ITALY's COLONIAL POLICY.