The Portland daily press., 1896-03-23
RED COATS IN DANGER.
Deryishes Are Fierce and Numerous
in Egypt.

British Troops Are No Longer Invincible-
Rout and Ruin May Await Them in
the Soudan.
London, March 21.-The position of the
ial news from Paris that France will
either not oppose the first credit for
10000 pounds from the Egyptian funds
for the expenses of the Soudan expedition
or will confne her opposition to formal
protest against the use of the money for
this purpose. Russia will remain strictly
neutral and will give no support to
France as against the expedition. Rus
STA is even credited with viewing British
projects with some measure of good will
as being likely to divert the whole ener
gies of Great Britain in direction where
Russian interests are not likely to be
greatly concerned. The war officials here
declare the expedition will be only a re-
connoissance in force and will not admit
that the present phase is anything be-
yond an initial step in the autumn cam
paign. The army intelligence depart
ment possesses only the most vague in
formation regarding the
STRENGTH OF THE MAHDISTS.
Military experts distrust the estimates
made by Slatin Pasha though, as mat
ter of fact, his long captivity among the
Mahdists should, on the face of things,
have made him an authority on the SUBJ
jects. These experts consider the report
made by the Russian traveller, Eliseref,
recently elected member of the Russian
Geographical society, as more reliable
ttrs,, fIokA f Cla%ir DoC ha In he
Khalifa's forces number 40, 600 men, in
Guiding TO- 600 cavalry and oamelry. They
possess 100, 900 rifles, of which 10000 are
Remingtons, really fit for service. Their
artillery is poor. There are 20 guns at
Dongola and five Krupp and ten siege
guns at Omdurmsn.
A correspondent of the Army and Navy
Gazette states that the Dervishes are
low able to deliver @ deadly rifle fire,
and that they will conn ine European tac-
tics with formidable on sets of cavalry
and spearmen in the old style. The cor
respondent declares that the British tao
tics of forming squares and awaiting the
shock of battle will not do now in fight.
ing the Dervishes and if they are followed
will result
IN ROUT AND RUIN.
The consensus of military opinion is
that If a reconquest of the Soudan is in
tended picked force of British and In
dian troops 30, 600 strong will be neces-
sary.
The Belgian Congo free state expedi-
tion under command of Baron DAMS,
which will attack the Dervishes on the
upper Nile. simultaneous with the An
gIo- Egyptian attack upon those on the
lower Nile, is an assured fact. King Leo
pold will shortly come to London to con-
clude the arrangements for the advance
of this expedition to the Nile. Baron
Danis, with stlona torce, is now near
ing Bahr-el- Gazeel. He has with him a
number of Maxim and Krupp guns.
Paris and London fnanciers who were
sounded by Spain on the issue of a
loan on the security of Cuban bonds IS
ued In 1890, declined to enter the pro-
posed deal. The Spanish cabinet now pro.
poses to raise $24 600, 600 by pawning the
bonds with the Bank of Spain, the Bank
OF Barcelona and other provincial
banks, through which national SUBJ
scription loan will be issued.
The Duke of Cambridge formerly COM
mander- in chief of the British army,
will. under pressure from the ministers,
withdraw his claim for a pension of 1900
pounds annually.