Arizona republican., 1899-09-30
The Unsatisfactory Condition of
 British Affairs There.
SIRDAR'S DISAPPOINTMENT
Kitchener Anxious Over inc FIha- Iifa'S Increasing POwer. = An- other PIaa fo Capture Him. Hing NeneItk Aiding inc Der- wishes and Nay Cause Trouble. french Designs on TripoII.

London. Sept 29.-General Lord
 Kitchener, sirdar of the Egyptian
 army. after somewhat prolonged and
 mysterious expeditions to the remote
 regions Of the Soudan, is back again
 at Khartoum, and is understood to be
 devis3ng a great scheme for capturing i the fugitive khahfa General Lord
 Kitchener sits by the telegraph wire
 and nothing is allowed to get out Of the country in the way of news which
 he doesn't approve But information
 has reached England in private com
 municaticns from British officers,
 which indicate that affairs are not so well as General Lord Kitchener would ! like. The khalifa has largely increased 1 his following and has been able to suppress several small risingS of chiefs personally hostile to him. He is cer- tainly getting arms and ammunition via Abyssinia. and the latter fact goes | far tc1 explain General Lord Kitch- ener's anxiety. His great desire is to capture the khalifa and consolidate the Soudan without the assistance of British troops beyond these now in his command.
 Despite the denials, General Lord Kitchener really had a. great deal of in- cipient mutiny in the two Soudanese regiments in July in the neighb0rhcod of Omdurman The regiments were not new levies, but were composed of men who had helped to smash the khalifa's power last year. Their griev- ances were excessive drilling and un- due interference with the number of women officially allowed to be attached to each regiment Some of the men were shot and others sentenced to work with the chain gangs
 General Lord Kitchener's chief anx- iety, however, is believed to be the dubious attitude Of the Abyssinians, in connection with which he has sent to LOndIcn a report which the govern ment would scarcely like to have pub Hshed. King Menelek has the bulk of his big army mobilized and is con-
 
 ner perfectly aimless, unless he en- tertains the design Of interfering with General Lord Kitchener's plans. If it had not been for the Anglo-Egypb.an conquest Cf the Soudan King Ndenelek would have extended the frontiers of Abyssinia to the Nile. He bitterly re- sented being warned off and still claims an outlet on the great river. Hence his coquetting with the khalifa, of which General Lord Kitchener has ample proof. and his benevolent neu- traIity which enables the dervishes to get supplies by way of Abyssinia. The situation would become extremely grave if King Menelek should inter fere when General Lord Kitchener starts out against the khalifa before the end of this year in accordance with his programme. It would be necessary to send British troops to the Soudan and that would be awkward if England were engaged in fighting the Trans vaal and the Orange Free State.
 Captain Harrington, British agent to Menelek's court, was recently in London. He has been instructed to sound the king warily and to promiss kind consideration of his views. King Menelek is a prickly customer and the British policy at this moment is to humor him. As soon as General Lord Kitchener has disposed of the zhalifa and the troubles in South Africa are ended, King Menelek will find a change in the British attitude toward himself and his coun- ny.
 For months the press censor at runis has been extremely vigilant in 'egard to the mention of TTipcli by newspaper correspondents and he has wen gone to the length of requesting epOrters to ignore that question in heir mail reports. This would ex- Jain the strange reticence observed y the Paris press, strange, because it eems certain that some movement of importance is contemplated in north Tn Africa. The bslief in the best in ormed quarters is that France will aise the Moroccan question first, but rivate letters from Tunis positively eclare that there is at this moment
 considerable French force on the rontier, ready to invade Tripoli as 0on as war commences between Eng nd and the TTansvaal. Nothing is lid about the casus belli, but French ipIOmatists may be trusted to find ne on short notice in either Tripoli MOrrOcO