Birmingham state herald., 1896-03-15
LONDON CABLE LETTER The Anglo-Egyptian Expedition
 Bound for Berber. WILL START IN AUGUST The Main Cost Will Fall Upon the Egyptian
 Treasury, WHICH IS NOW IN GOOD CONDITION The Venezuela Blue Book Gets but Scant Respect on Any Side-It Has Shaken
 Faith in the British
 Claim.
WHICH IS NOW IN GOOD CONDITION

l London, March 14.-It is the opinion in l highly informed military circles that the
 objective point of the Anglo-Egyptian | expedition, mention of which was made 1 in these dispatches this week, is not Don | gola, but Berber. The opinion is based l on the news received from Cairo. It has been learned that the plans of the expedi-
 | ton have been approved by Lord Vol l sey, the commander-in-c chief of the Brit | ish army. The government is interested 1 in minimizing the importance of the ex- 1 pedition and it will doubtless, when ex 1 plaining the matter to the house of com 1 mons, speak of the expedition as an l Egyptian one, arising from the necessity l of checking the projected advance Of the | Mahdists into Egypt. The same reason l for the dispatch of an expedition might l have been given at any time within the | past six months, as, according to current l reports, the Mahdists are concentrating 1 in Dongola, ready for an invasion of
 Egypt by way of Wadyhalfa. Isolated | band of DerviSheS have actually made l sudden raids into the Wadyhalfa district, | vanishing afterwards across the desert. l The object of the expedition Is not the | protection of Egypt, but Is to make d. | version in favor of the Italians at kas- 1 Sdla, Ine ClLy WHlCll tIt lldiiohS Sdp'oiSN | some time ago from the Dervishes and | which the latter are now said to be be- sieging This 1t Is which caused the cab- | met to suddenly determine upon opera | tions which will involve considerable eX- l penditures of money and men. This seems to be the best possible line of ac- l tion to assist Italy without drawing upon | the British treasury while, at the same time, it will shelve indefinitely the de- mands for the British evacuation or | Egyptg ,, | fall upon the Egyptian treasury. which | is now in condition to bear financia!
 | strain The financial report issued yes- | terday by Lord Cromer, the British dl- | plomatic agent in Egypt, shows for 1895 l a revenue of fl, ,088, 900 in excess of the l expenditures This is a most striking | proof t the prosperity of the country 1 under British administration. France may protest against the use of this sur l plus for a war to reconquer the Soudan, l but her protest will be isolated No oth- | CT power than Great Britain need regard | it, and no other power will join in pro- | test against the expedition. Gen. kitch- ener Sirdar of the Egyptian army will | command the expedition, which will con | sist chiefly of Egyptian troops. These, | however, will be strengthened by l2oo | British troops under General Henderson, staff major of the army of occupation.
 Achievements from Malta will keep the British garrisons in Egypt up to- their present strength. The native army will | be commanded almost exclusively by | British officers. Fighting Is certain The | Mahdishay has a large force at Dongola, | and this will undoubtedly be formidably l increased before the expedition has time | to get within striking distance. The Nile will be the line of approach against Don l gola,, which, after it's capture, will be- come the, base of operations against Ser | ber Grave fears are entertained of the | fighting qualities of the Egyptian army, | and the expedition will prove severe | test of its courage. It may be attended | by disaster
 The house of commons sat throughout | Thursday night and until 515 o'clock | Friday morning discussing the estimates. | It was the opening of the campaign of obstruction, the Irish members taking | inc lead therein The conserva tive whips kept enough members on hand to main tain A majority. The ministers took the obstruction quietly. Some deep radicals desire a reform in the relations between l the national liberal federation and the central liberal officers, both of which have a common secretary, though the latter Is under the control of the liberal whips The liberals have generally ad- mitted that the relations between the | two bodies need readjustment. A series | of resolutions will be submitted to the l coming conference of the national liberal 1 federation aiming to perfect the organi- zation and give the party a thorough | working cohesion. At dinner given to l Lord Roseberry by the National Liberal | club on Thursday night the concensus Of | opinion was that these objects would be attained Never since the disaster that l befelf the party in the recent general election have their hopes of the future
 been higher. The conference will be the | largest and the most representative that | the party has ever had This in itself is | ...- .f4 4I.a yfxrn1 nf tr1tn
 | The Anglo Egyptian expedition has the | unstinted approval of the conservative l and liberal unionists, the hesitatng SUD- port of the liberals and the fierce oppo- sition of the radicals. A statement rela- | five to the matter will be made in the | house of commons on Monday by the Rt. | Hon. George Curzon parliamentary sec retary of the foreign office, and this will | lead to the warmest debate of the ses- sion. which will be followed by every de- | vice of obstruction. In gleaning from official opfnion 1t is found that the line of | defense of the government will be de- | nial that the expedition aims at recon ouest of any part of the Soudan and statement that the British troops will be | employed only to guard the line to Wady- halfa while the Egyptian troops advance | to Old Dongola, making their headquar- 1 ters at El Ordeh JNew Dongola). It is stated this afternoon that the Egyption | troops will not go beyond Old Dongola. | Defense, pnot conquest, will be the sub l stance of the governments expedition. l Assurances of this sort will deceive mo- | body
 | Acording to Cairo advices, the 12,000 l Egyptian troops who will take part in | the expedition will begin to advance i'm | mediately. Part of them will march along | the Nile. while the others will proceed in light draught steamers up the river. l which is now so low that in many places | camel transport mast be largely used. 1 Field Marshal Lord Wolsey and General l Kitchener do. not seem to place much
 1 trust in, the Indian troops It Is not ex- | pecteds that the dervishes will make
 l stand at Fl Ordeh. but in case of fight ipg- thf British troops will be ready to . su,port the Egyptians. With a view to