The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1899-01-21
BRITISH BARBARITY.

bulgarian DutCnefleS ana Armenian mas
sacres by the "unspcakaBlc Turk" and
the British conscience is stirred to it's
profoundest depths by the slaughter Of
the Chinese Of Port Arthur by the VIC
torious Japanese. They weep tears Of
sympathy over the Cubans and Filipinos,
and condemn Weyler and the dons in
the severest terms for their oppression
of the Spanish colonial subjects, as if
there never were Hastings and Give,
a Cromwell and Il Kitchener. Liberty,
fraternity, humanity and civilization are
always on their lips when condemning
others for crimes of which they are
guilty themselves.
We are now beginning to learn from
authentic sources of the inhuman bar
Laritle5 recently committed by the Brit
ish in the name of civilization in the
| Soudan. In u recent issue we gave our
readers horrible sketch of the battle
OF Omdurman, where the wounded ma
tive warriors We're killed by British
troops when lying disabled on the battle
field. The AngloSaxon editors in Eng
land and the United States kept silent on
the holocaust, and expended their wrath
on Spain. whose possessions they covet-
ed for the superior race which is ell
tightening the world!
In the current number of the Contem-
porary Review is an article on British
barbarity from the pen of Mr.. G. N.
Bennett, who was with Sir Herbert
Kitchener in the Soudan as represent
ative of one of the London papers. AS
an honest Englishman, he levels a ter
rifle charge against the sirdar of the
Egyptian army. who, with his officers,
either passively or deliberately encour-
aged the wholesale murder of the woun,!-
ed Dervishes after the battle. If what
he says is true, Kitchener babe defiance
to the laws of nations as applied to war.
and merits the Reproduction of all man
kind. We will let Mr.. Bennett tell the
CHASTITY story:
AS the army marched toward Omtur-
man. after the first repulse of the Der
wishes. he says, their track lay through
dead and wounded. "On our left, along
the lower slopes of Gebel Surgham. a
large number of camp followers and
native servants were already busy
amongst the Whitehead figures.
These looters had armed themselves,
somehow or other, with rifles, spears and
even clubs, and made short work OF
any wounded man they came across.
Poor wretches. who in their agony had
crawled under the scanty shade OF a
rock or shrub. were dubbed to death or
riddled with bullets by the irresponsible
brutality of these native servants" But.
we read again. this wholesale slaughter
was not confined to Arab servants. 1t
was stated that orders had been given to
kill the wounded. Whether this was 80
or not says Mr.. Bennett, II do not
know, but certainly no protest was made
when the Soudanese dispatched scores OF
wounded men who lay in their path"
And here is an instance Of how it was
sometimes done:
One of the blacks picked up q barbcd
spear. and as It's former owner sti showed
some feeble signs of life, drove 1t right into
ms face ana then. planting his boot anon
the oervish's head. dragged the spear out
again by main force. and carried Off tho
bnodstaincd weapon.
This llnsollicrly work was not even lcft
to the exclusive control Of the black trpops .
our own British soldiers took part in It, At
one place on the western slopes of Sur
CHAM ] noticed II lin" old Dcrvish with Il
gray beard. who. disabled by II wound in
ms leg. lay PROSTATE beside II small bush
lie had apparently attempted to escape
towards omlurmtn With the rest of tho
khnliia's forces who survived but his
wound had prevented this. and the fugi-
tive had sunk down ON the ground about
eight yards behind his son. Il boy Of II.
who's" right leg had also been l:,ccrntcd by
bullet. Neither tn" fnther nor the son
had any weapons ut I'LL, yet Il Highlander
stepped out of the ranks ana drove his bay
onet through the old mans chest. The
victim of this needless brutality begged In
vain for mercy. and ciutched the soldiers
bhyonet. rch,lenjng his hands in his own
blood IN n futile attempt to prevent a sec
ond thrust.
Mr.. Bennett declares that mo effort
was made by any comrade or officer 70
prevent his gratuitous bit OF butchery
nor, of course, could any officer have in
terfered very we'll, If the soldier-as was
said to be the case-was only acting in
accordance with the wishes of the gen
eral in command" But worse was what
followed. according to the correspondent,
When the conQuerors had actually got
possession Of Omdurman, and it's de-
tenders had escaped or been killed, shells
were thrown from tho punhnats IN fin
river amongst the crowded houses
around the khalifa's palace, where the
defenseless non-combatants were hud-
died. Afterwards the embalmcd body Of
the mahd was dug up from it's tomb, tho
head wrenched off, and the trunk thrown
into the Nile. AS the unfortunate people
| pressed out Of the south end of the town
in panic stricken flight, carrying their
children and what property they could
drag with them, orders We're actually
given to fire on them. with the result
that next day 500 dead bodies were
found lying in the streets The night of
the battle, and even afterwards, the great
city was given up to tho soldiers, and
they looted to their hearts content The
Dublin Freemen's Journal, commenting
on those outrages. truly says:
| This is an Indictment which neither
the English military authorities nor the