THE SOUDAN--BATTLES OF ATBARA AND OMDURMAN--ARRIVAL HOME--RECEPTION
AT NIDDRIE----DEGREE OF LL.D.--PAROCHIAL DUTIES--PARLIAMENTARY
CONTEST FOR SOUTH EDINBURGH.
Once more Wauchope found himself on the way to the front for active
service, this time back to the scene of his former exploits in the
Soudan. Matters there, ever since the withdrawal of the British and
Egyptian troops in 1885, when the then all-conquering Mahdi took
Khartoum and slew the gallant General Gordon, had gone on from bad to
worse. Over-running the whole valley of the Nile, the Egyptian
boundary-line had been much circumscribed, and was now fixed as far
north as Wady Halfa, the prophet holding almost undisputed sway over
the whole Soudan, except that part of it contiguous to the Red Sea in
the neighbourhood of Suakim. On the death of the Mahdi in 1885, his
tomb at Omdurman became a sanctuary, round which the faithful
gathered themselves. Under the sway of his successor, Khalifa
Abdullahi of the Baggara tribe, cruelty and oppression ground down
with iron hand every neighbouring tribe. Military despotism stamped
out commerce, and trade and agriculture; the people were ruined, and
slaughter and devastation ruled where formerly there had been
prosperity and peace. {147} Even Egypt was not safe from the inroads
of the Dervish host, attempts being made several times to invade its
borders; but Tokar was their utmost limit. In 1892, Colonel Horatio
Herbert Kitchener recaptured that town, but no further attempt was
made to regain lost ground till 1896, when that officer, now
Major-General and Sirdar, or Commander of the Egyptian army, received
orders to advance up the Nile for the reconquest of the Soudan. The
days of Egypt's weakness were past, for during the interval between
this and Tel-el-Kebir, when the then wretched Egyptian army was
smashed to pieces, English officers had been actively licking into
shape a new native force. Drill and discipline, combined with
growing confidence in their officers, had in those years built up an
army able and willing to dare anything. The Sirdar was ready to
fight the Khalifa, but he realised that in an invasion of the Soudan
the real enemy to be faced was the Soudan itself--'its barrenness
which refuses food, and its vastness which paralyses transport.'
These were the problems to be overcome by the general who would
conquer the Soudan and plant his flag on the walls of Khartoum.
Science and engineering skill came to the rescue, and with these
under the guidance of a marvellous military genius that took in every
situation, and turned it to his advantage, the enterprise was
ultimately crowned with success. Hitherto military movements in the
Soudan had been either by camels and weary foot trudging, or by boats
on the Nile. Kitchener determined upon Wolseley's idea of crossing
the desert between Wady Halfa and Abu-Hammed, but not by camels. He
resolved to do it by rail, and to build the railway as they marched.
It was a bold stroke. This is how it was done. Starting from {148}
Wady Halfa, a surveying party set out for ten miles or so, making a
rough survey of the lie of the ground, marking as they went the
proposed course; about five miles behind the surveying parties came
working parties 1200 strong, levelling and embanking where necessary.
Two miles behind these came 550 platelayers, and half a mile after
them a gang of 400 men to lift, straighten, and ballast the line.
One mile behind these again came 400 men to put on the finishing
touches, and the line was complete, but ever progressing to its
ultimate terminus, carrying forward its own materials of rails and
sleepers, as well as supplies for troops on the march. The credit of
this great work was largely due to the young lieutenants of the Royal
Engineers under the direction of Lieutenant Girouard, a Canadian
officer.
[Sidenote: On the Atbara]
It was steady, plodding work; slow, perhaps, as a fighting campaign,
but every mile of advance the army made sure of its position, and was
kept within touch of Cairo. The campaign of 1897 found the greater
part of the Sirdar's force as far as Ed-Damer, seven miles beyond the
junction of the Nile and the Atbara river.
Here a strong camp was formed and preparations were made for
encountering the enemy who were massing some distance up the Nile at
Matemneh, under Mahmoud, the son of the Khalifa, and old Osman Digna.
These joined forces at Shendi, about half-way between Berber and
Khartoum, their strength being about eighteen thousand men.
General Kitchener, leading and directing every movement, returned
from Cairo in December 1897, having arranged with the British
Government for the sending out of a small British force to assist the
Egyptian troops already in the field.
{149}
These were at once granted, and the reserve British force at Cairo,
consisting of the 1st Warwicks, 1st Lincolns, and 1st Cameron
Highlanders, left for the front, their places being taken by several
regiments sent out from England.
With such generals as Hunter and Hector Macdonald the Sirdar had
worked his way up the Nile valley, overcoming all difficulties, with
his Egyptian force of some ten thousand men and forty-six guns. The
arrival of the British Division in two brigades under General Gatacre
in March and April added largely to the strength of the force. The
command of the First Brigade was afterwards given to Colonel
Wauchope, now promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General. How
different his journey up the Nile on this occasion from his
experience fourteen years before with the weary whale-boats! Now,
thanks to the energy of the Sirdar, he could travel to Berber in a
saloon carriage. Speaking of this afterwards, he said he was never
so struck in his life as when he saw that railway across the desert,
which did so much for the expedition.
Before his arrival at the front, however, one brilliant fight had
taken place. Mahmoud had been discovered securely, as he thought,
entrenched some seventeen miles up the river from Abador, or about
forty from Atbara camp; and it was not fitting, notwithstanding the
difficulties of transport by camels for twelve thousand men, that so
large a British force should sit down within so short a distance of
an enemy and not attempt to drive him out of his position. The
forward order was given, and on 8th April, after a long night-march,
the troops found themselves facing Mahmoud's zareba at Nakheila, on
the Atbara.
The story of the attack has been given with all the graphic skill of
an eye-witness, by G. W. Steevens in his {150} book, _With Kitchener
to Khartoum_. When the sun rose behind the Sirdar's men, it revealed
a stockade made up of timber, and a ten-foot hedge of camel-thorn,
with entrenchments behind--a formidable enough obstacle to face.
Without delay arrangements were made for the attack. The enemy's
base rested on the river, and the Sirdar, determined that he should
not escape, formed his force in a semi-circle round him. At 6.20 the
first gun announced the advent of battle, and for an hour and twenty
minutes Mahmoud's zareba was pounded with shot, shell, and rocket,
after which the Egyptian and British troops advanced to the attack
all along the line. Maxwell's, Macdonald's, and Hunter's Egyptians
deployed on the right. Gatacre's British Division had the Cameron
Highlanders in the place of honour, formed in line along their whole
front; then, in columns of their eight companies, the Lincolns on the
right, the Seaforths in the centre, and the Warwicks--two companies
short--on the left. The orders to these were, not to advance till it
was certain the Dervish cavalry, hovering to the left of the zareba,
would not charge in flank. Behind all was Lewis's brigade ready for
any emergency that might occur. Stirring addresses having been made
by the leading officers, the Sirdar called upon the men to 'remember
Gordon,' and all being ready, 'the word came, and the men sprang up.
The squares shifted into fighting formations; at one impulse, in one
superb sweep, nearly twelve thousand men moved forward towards the
enemy. All England and all Egypt, and the flower of the black lands
beyond, Birmingham and the West Highlands, the half-regenerated
children of the earth's earliest civilisation, and grinning savages
from the uttermost swamps of Equatoria, muscle and machinery, lord
and larrikin, {151} Balliol and the Board School, the Sirdar's brain
and the camel's back--all welded into one, the awful war machine went
forward into action.'
[Sidenote: Attack on the Zareba]
The Camerons no sooner got the word to advance than, with a wild
rush, the pipers meanwhile playing 'The March of the Cameron Men,'
they made for the zareba some three hundred yards ahead. Forward and
forward, midst a rain of bullets, they reached the hedge of
camel-thorn. In a few moments it was torn to pieces and scattered
like brushwood, Gatacre being among the first to lay hands on the
obstruction, and the Highlanders were inside the stockade and in the
trenches, where now sprang out of the earth dusty, black, half-naked
shapes, running and turning to shoot, but running away. 'It was a
wild confusion of Highlanders, purple tartan, and black green too,
for now the Seaforths had brought their perfect columns through the
teeth of the fire, and were charging in at the gap.' The enemy
scarcely waited to fight, so impetuous was the rush upon them, and
they fled in the utmost confusion for the river, where they were cut
down by the pursuing cavalry, and General Lewis's half brigade of
Egyptians.
In the attack on the right, the Egyptian troops, led by British
officers under Generals Hunter, Maxwell, and Macdonald, behaved with
great gallantry, carrying all before them. The ground was easier on
their side than that covered by Gatacre's men, and they entered the
zareba a few minutes before the Highlanders, not a man flinching from
the encounter. The battle of the Atbara--thanks to British
discipline and drill--definitely placed the blacks and the once
contemned Egyptians in the ranks of the very best troops in the
world. In forty minutes the Dervish host had been driven out of
their lair, thousands of them had been killed, and four thousand,
including their leader {152} Mahmoud, were prisoners in the Sirdar's
hands. The way was now so far open to Khartoum, but the opportunity
was not yet.
Reserves and supplies were needed, and a strong base had still to be
secured before the final advance on the Khalifa's capital could be
attempted. The whole force, British and Egyptian, accordingly
retraced their steps down the Atbara river to El Hudi, where they
struck across the desert to the various camps they had formerly
occupied at Kenur, Darmali, Assilem, Berber, and Fort Atbara, at the
junction of the rivers.
The 1st Brigade of British, viz. the Camerons, the Lincolns,
Seaforths, and Maxim battery resumed their quarters at Darmali, where
they remained throughout the summer. By the month of August,
however, when Wauchope joined them, casualties in action and deaths
and invalidings from sickness had seriously affected the strength of
the brigade, though officers and men upon the whole stood the climate
well. 'The sick list had never touched six per cent. There were not
fifty graves in the cemetery; and most of the faces at the mess table
were familiar.' The Lincolns, who had come up over 1100 strong,
still had 980; the other three battalions were each about 750 strong,
and the Warwicks were expecting a further draft of men. The total
strength of Wauchope's brigade would thus come to nearly 3500 men.
With eager expectation they now awaited the order to advance on
Khartoum.
[Sidenote: Advance on Khartoum]
The forward movement began on 3rd August, regiment after regiment
first concentrating at Atbara fort, then being shipped by steamer up
the Nile to Shabluka, where they were to reform and make the
remainder of the journey in six marches on the west bank to Omdurman.
Even with several steamers at the Sirdar's disposal it {153} was a
tedious business, and occupied nearly a month. Wauchope's brigade
passed up in the steamers on the 14th August, a four days' voyage,
and on the 23rd, when paraded with the and Brigade, they were
reported as 'in splendid condition.'
On the 25th August, the 1st Brigade marched out of Wad Hamed, and the
scene is described by one who saw it as a most imposing spectacle.
The four battalions of which it was composed moved off with their
baggage at the bugle-call, taking the road in four parallel columns.
'Many of the men were bearded, and all were tanned with the sun,
acclimatised by a summer in the country, hardened by perpetual
labours, and confident from the recollection of victory--a
magnificent force, which any man might be proud to accompany into the
field.' General Wauchope's men were worthy of their commander, and
it was, we may be sure, with no little elation that he stepped out
with them that day on the way to their final triumph.
Keeping his forces well in hand, the Sirdar had the whole army
encamped at Wadi Abid on the evening of the 29th, the British
Division marching in by moonlight. They were now within twenty-eight
miles of Omdurman, and the two following days' marches brought them
within touch of the enemy and in sight of the Mahdi's tomb.
The 2nd of September saw the last stand for Mahdism and its complete
overthrow.
Resting their base upon the river, where they were supported by five
gun-boats, the British formed their camp within a few miles of
Omdurman, the Sirdar taking the precaution to entrench in case of
surprise. Early in the morning the Khalifa brought out his whole
force, computed to be about fifty thousand men, making a dead {154}
onset upon the British position. If overpowering numbers could have
achieved victory he had it in his grasp.
But British coolness and pluck won the day. The Dervish host on
horseback swept the plain with a rush that no infantry could have
withstood. 'They came very fast, and they came very straight; and
then presently they came no further. With a crash the bullets leaped
out of the British rifles,' Egyptians, Englishmen, and Highlanders
pouring out death as fast as they could load and press trigger; while
shrapnel whistled and Maxims growled savagely.
[Sidenote: Battle of Omdurman]
We need not describe the details of the fighting. The Khalifa's
attack was speedily turned into a rout, though many a brave stand was
made by the Dervish host. Attacked on two sides, the British force
gradually spread itself out like an opening fan, under admirable
handling by their generals. At a critical point in the engagement,
when Generals Hunter and Macdonald in the front were being threatened
by an outflanking movement of the enemy's cavalry, Hunter sent for
Wauchope's 1st Brigade to fill the gap between Macdonald on the right
and Lewis on the left. The request went to General Gatacre first
instead of the Sirdar; but with the soldier's instinct he immediately
set the Brigade in motion. Wauchope, cool as a statue, took in the
situation at once, and moved his men forward as if on parade, while
the Lincolns and the Warwicks under his command--said to be the best
shooting regiments in the British army--did great execution, and
effectually kept the enemy at bay. They saved the position, for, as
one correspondent has said, 'It was the very crux and crisis of the
fight. If Macdonald went, Lewis on his left, and Collinson and the
supporting camel-corps and the newly returned cavalry, all on his
right or {155} rear must all go too.' Exposed to a withering fire,
the enemy were unable to withstand the steady discipline of our men.
Defeated on all sides, the Khalifa turned and fled. Then was the
time for our cavalry. With a dash the 21st Lancers made for the
retreating foe, pursuing and slaughtering up to the walls of
Omdurman. The bravery of the Dervishes was unquestionable. They
literally threw themselves upon the British lines, only to be
overwhelmed in a common ruin. Over 11,000 of the enemy were killed,
16,000 wounded, and 4000 were taken prisoners, and this by an army
numbering not more than 22,000 men. On the Anglo-Egyptian side the
losses were comparatively light, killed and wounded not amounting to
above 500.
General Wauchope was fortunate on this occasion in coming out of the
engagement without a scratch. In some respects the battle of
Omdurman has been described as 'a less brilliant affair than the
Atbara. On the other hand it was more complex, more like a modern
battle. The Atbara took more fighting, Omdurman more generalship.
Success in each was complete and crushing.' Mahdism was no more. It
died well. 'It had earned its death by its iniquities, it had
condoned its iniquities by its death.' Gordon was avenged. And not
only so, it was the dawn of a new era for the long down-trodden
Soudan, so that it might in future be a country fit to live in.
We have already referred to General Wauchope's attachment to Scottish
Presbyterianism, and told how loyally and consistently he adhered to
the Church of his fathers. From the days when he was an ensign, it
was known among his brother officers as a _casus belli_ to speak
slightingly to him of his Church. He would stand up for
Presbyterianism, and would suffer for it if necessary, when its
claims were in danger of being thrust into the background. A
difficulty {156} of this kind arose after the taking of Omdurman, and
it is interesting to note how he acted. Orders had been given to all
the chaplains, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, and Anglican, for a
combined Gordon Memorial Service at Khartoum. The Anglican chaplain
in Wauchope's division intimated, however, that he would take no part
in it if the Presbyterian chaplain were to share in the function.
The General used what persuasion he could to move the chaplain to a
broader view of things, declaring that he would not displace the
Presbyterian, whom he considered one of the best of men. He was, he
said, a Presbyterian himself, along with most of his regiment. At
last, when persuasion failed, and the Anglican still held his point,
the General said, 'then there is nothing for me but to report you to
my General of Division.' When General Gatacre heard the story he
reported the affair to the Sirdar, who called the three
chaplains--Presbyterian, Anglican, and Roman Catholic--and said
laconically, something like this: 'You are each under orders, and the
man who disobeys must fall to the rear.' This settled the question;
all of them took a part. The Memorial Service and the formal entry
into Omdurman and Khartoum, taken part in by all the troops, were
most impressive spectacles. These over, arrangements were at once
made for the withdrawal of the greater part of the army.
[Sidenote: Welcome home]
The troops returned immediately down the Nile, the British regiments
being shipped for England, where they arrived in the early part of
October. A hearty welcome greeted their arrival, all classes of
society vying with one another in heaping honours upon them.
General Wauchope hurried home so soon as he was relieved of his
official duties, and after a short visit to {157} Yetholm, where he
was received with great enthusiasm, he and Mrs. Wauchope set out for
Niddrie on Monday, 10th October, by train from Kelso.
It was only on the Saturday previous that the villagers of New
Craighall heard that the General was to return, but short as was the
time for preparation, the determination to give him a hearty welcome
was so enthusiastically proceeded with that when he did reach it, the
rather quiet and dreary exterior of the village presented quite a
festive appearance. Triumphal arches, flags, and streamers floated
in the breeze, and wreaths of flowers and evergreens were everywhere
visible. It was the home-coming of a victor, beloved by his
neighbours, and well known beyond the limits of his demesne.
At the Newhailes station, which was also gaily adorned, the General
and Mrs. Wauchope were received on alighting from the train by quite
a crowd of friends, among others being Sir Charles Dalrymple and the
Misses Dalrymple, Mrs. Arbuthnot and Miss Muir, Councillor and Mrs.
Cranston, Edinburgh, Rev. A. Prentice, Rev. R. Burnett, Liberton,
Mrs. General Hoggan, and Ex-Provost Young, Loanhead, with the whole
village, men, women, and children at their back.
It was a good-humoured, enthusiastic crowd, and at a convenient part
of the road the horses were unyoked from his carriage and their
places supplied by hundreds of willing miners, who dragged the
carriage up to the gate of Niddrie Marischal, where it was given over
to the tenantry.
The procession was a long one, and was headed by the school children,
preceded by the local pipe band. Then came the Niddrie brass band,
playing 'See the Conquering Hero comes,' and after them appeared the
members of {158} the 'A. G. Wauchope' Lodge of Shepherds, bearing
aloft their banner with his portrait on it. The incidents of the
march were many. Some were amusing, some were pathetic, but all told
of the loyalty and enthusiasm of the people among whom the General
had his home. Bunting was displayed on all hands. Women and
children cheered vociferously. At the square of the village the
first halt was made, and an address of welcome in name of the
villagers was presented by Mr. Robert Wilson, one of their number, in
which expression was made of their pride in the distinguished place
the General had held in the Soudan war, of their joy at his safe
return from a battlefield where the mention of his services by the
Sirdar in his despatches for the special consideration of the Queen
had caused them the utmost gratification.
[Sidenote: Lord Kitchener, the Sirdar]
General Wauchope, who was apparently unprepared for such a
manifestation of public feeling, made the following reply:--'I can
assure you that the splendid reception you have accorded me is one
which I shall never forget. I know very well that much of it is
owing to the fact that we have been neighbours now for many a long
year, and there is nothing that gave me greater pride and
satisfaction than being told two or three years ago that the people
of New Craighall looked upon me as being one of themselves. In
addition to that, there is another feeling that has prompted you in
this reception, and it is that in me you recognised one--a humble
one, perhaps, but still one--of those who tried to serve his country
under, perhaps, difficult circumstances; and something is also due to
the fact that we have been completely successful in planting our
standards on the ruined palaces of Khartoum. At Yetholm I said, and
I am going to say it again, that fact alone would be a great gain to
civilisation and to the world. {159} If the Dervish power had been
continued for any length of time, hundreds and, perhaps, hundreds of
thousands of people who in the future will have a chance of living in
comfort and peace, would never have been able to live at all. It was
a power based on murder, rapine, and cruelty, and it was our bounden
duty to put an end to that power, because Great Britain was
responsible for the condition of things that existed in that part of
the world. Scotland was well represented at the battle of Khartoum
by two of our Highland regiments. (Here a voice shouted out,
"Scotland Yet!") Yes, Scotland yet, and Scotland for ever, will be
the cry; and I can speak for those two battalions that they in no way
went behind from what other regiments had done in other fields of our
great empire; and you may be sure of this, that our Scottish
regiments will always be able to show that high and distinguished
valour and discipline for which they have so long been noted.... It
would almost seem by the splendid reception you have given me here,
and which I have had in another part of Scotland, that you thought I
had played a very great part in the campaign. I feel bound, as an
honest man, to disabuse you of such a misapprehension. The campaign
was carried out by a very great man, the Sirdar, Lord Kitchener, who
is a man of great ability, and who in the future undoubtedly will
shine as one of our great soldiers. The campaign was a marvel of
organisation. It was marvellous how that railway was made across the
desert. Great credit was due to the Sirdar, but I should like also
to bring before you another name--that of the general of our
division--General Gatacre, whose constant care and great power of
leading men aided the successful issue of events. There is still
another man I should like to mention. He is a Scotsman, General
Macdonald, who led one of the {160} Egyptian brigades. He got his
chance, and he was able to take it, and certainly by his tactics, by
his coolness, by his perception at the proper moment, he had a great
deal to do with the success of the day; and it was a great
satisfaction to myself to be able with the brigade under my command
to go and support him on a somewhat critical occasion.'
He concluded his address by a humorous reference which pleased an
audience of miners: to the effect that in the near future he hoped
the line to Khartoum would be supplied with coal from the Niddrie
pits! As the cavalcade proceeded, presentations of bouquets of
flowers, wreaths of laurel, and other kindly greetings marked the
General's way. At the entrance-hall of Niddrie Marischal, Mr. Thomas
Skirving of Niddrie Mains, on behalf of himself and the tenantry,
presented an address of welcome. This was feelingly replied to by
the General in a few well-chosen words, concluding as follows:--'No
Roman emperor coming from a victorious campaign could have been half
so well received as I to-day have been, and as long as I live I can
never forget it. If there is one thing that makes a man nerve
himself to accomplish a difficult task, it is the thought that he is
thought well of by the people in the midst of whom he lives. I
cannot tell you all I feel--I should be more than human if I could.'
It may here be mentioned that General Wauchope brought home with him
one of the Khalifa's banners which had been given to him by General
Macdonald as a memento of his timely assistance at the battle of
Omdurman. It is of white damur cotton, with a line of Arabic in blue
across its face inscribed, 'Mohammed Ahmed el Mahdi Kalifat er
Rasul.' On a gold band on the staff is the inscription, 'September
1898. They were brave {161} foemen, these Dervishes.' This and
other trophies now find a resting-place in Niddrie Marischal.
A time of busy activity in metropolitan and county affairs followed
General Wauchope's return home, and his high place as a public man
was now universally recognised. His services were largely in request
specially in connection with public and social functions of various
kinds,--opening of bazaars of ladies' work, inspecting boys'
brigades, presiding at lectures and concerts, school board work,
county council work, and his duties as an elder of the Church of
Scotland--these all engrossed much of his attention and a large share
of his time during the winter and spring following his return from
the Soudan.
[Sidenote: At Windsor Castle]
Honours also were heaped upon him on all sides, but without in any
way marring his simplicity of character, or causing him to be any the
less the plain, free and easy approachable man he ever was, even to
the meanest hodman. To high and low alike he was ever courteous and
considerate, and he most willingly lectured, or presided at lectures,
concerts, or meetings of friendly societies, wherever he thought he
could be useful. For his distinguished services in the Soudan
campaign Wauchope was now promoted from Brigadier to the rank of
Major-General, and towards the end of November 1898 he received the
Queen's commands to attend at Windsor Castle, and had the privilege
on that occasion of dining with Her Majesty along with his brother
officer Sir William Gatacre--not the first time he had been similarly
honoured.
Of course every other engagement must give way to a summons of this
kind; and Major-General Wauchope's presence at a meeting in Dalkeith
on the evening of the same day had to be dispensed with, though much
to the disappointment of those who had come to hear him speak.
{162}
At bazaars he was always happy in his remarks, and whether the object
were the building of a new church, or a manse, or getting up funds
for a drill hall, he commended it with earnestness and wit, and at
the same time did not stint his own contribution to the cause. On
one of these occasions he was appropriately introduced to the company
by Dr. Gray of Liberton 'as a sincere Christian, a true-hearted
gentleman, a brave soldier, and a modest man.'
In the work of the Boys' Brigade and Volunteer gatherings he was
delighted to give his support, and was frequently asked to take a
part in their meetings both at New Craighall and Portobello.
It was so characteristic of the outspoken candour of his nature, that
his inspections were not matters of formal display, or the mere
occasion of fulsome praise. Drill to him was business; and he was
quick to detect faults, and if needful correct them. Once at an
open-air inspection of the Portobello Company of the Boys' Brigade,
after a thorough examination of the lads, he addressed them upon the
various points of drill, and emphasised certain weaknesses noticed by
him; for, as he expressed it, 'he did not come there to tell them
they were the best creatures on earth, for he did not believe they
were. Taking all things into consideration, he thought they did very
well, but they might do better.' The spectators were somewhat amused
at the critical attitude of the General, but it was none the less
appreciated, for on this subject an ounce of criticism from him was
worth a ton of praise from any other person.
[Sidenote: Liberton School Board]
The same qualities of thoroughness and close application
characterised General Wauchope's conduct in the School Board and
Parish Council of Liberton, of both of which he was for some time a
member. He was specially {163} interested in the education of the
young, and spent much time making himself acquainted with the
intricacies of the code and details of school management, and on a
recent occasion it is recalled how at the annual visit of the
Government Inspector, he followed close upon the Inspector's heels
during his visit, in order that he might fully comprehend the whole
system of public school education, and make himself familiar with its
requirements.
On one occasion, in the absence of the chairman, Major Gordon
Gilmour, he was called upon to preside at a meeting of the School
Board, but having ridden over from Niddrie House to Liberton
Church--in the vestry of which the meeting was held--in riding
costume, with top boots, spurs, riding-breeches, etc., he was
reluctant to pose as chairman. Yielding to pressure, he, however, at
length consented, jocularly appealing to the reporters not to _take
off_ his coat, or mention his costume in their report!
In the routine of parochial work the General took his full share, and
never shirked discussions on even the smallest details of poor relief.
While he did not care to bulk largely in the public eye, and was
specially desirous that his private benefactions should be known as
little as possible, yet it was well understood that he was an
unobtrusive but most liberal benefactor to the district. Dr. Andrew
Balfour of Portobello gives the following instance. 'I remember
well,' he says, 'that ere he went out to Egypt as captain in the
Black Watch, during the Arabi Pasha rebellion, he said to me, "Now,
Balfour, I will trust to you to let me know of anything going on at
Niddrie in which I can lend a helping hand." It so happened at that
time we started reading and recreation rooms for the miners, so I
wrote to him, as he desired, with the result that he at once sent
{164} me a kind letter and an order for £25 to help the scheme.'
His private benefactions were as a rule administered with
praiseworthy discrimination, as the following incident will show.
Two little boys had been caught pilfering coal and were lodged in
jail. On the circumstance being reported to the General, he visited
the little fellows in prison, and learning the circumstances of their
family, and that their mother was a poor, struggling, hard-working
widow, he at once sent her half a ton of coals, and the boys were
liberated.
On the 14th April 1899, General Wauchope had conferred on him the
honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by the University of Edinburgh.
The spring graduation ceremonial in which arts, science, and law
degrees are conferred, is generally of an interesting character, but
on this occasion it was more than usually imposing. This was owing
in some measure to its being performed in the recently opened M'Ewan
Hall, an adjunct of the University, and the handsomest hall in the
city; but more especially from the fact that like honorary degrees
were to be conferred at the same time on Lord Wolseley, the Marquis
of Dufferin, and other distinguished men.
It was a magnificent spectacle, and the large audience which crowded
the spacious hall at an early hour in the forenoon cordially greeted
the General as he ascended the rostrum to receive the degree from his
father-in-law, Sir William Muir, who as vice-chancellor presided on
the occasion.
In formally presenting him to the Senatus, Professor Sir Ludovic
Grant took occasion to say: 'It is a fortunate coincidence that a
graduation ceremonial which is honoured with the presence of the
Commander-in-Chief, should also {165} include among its distinguished
guests one who is so noble an embodiment of all that is best and
bravest in the British Army, as is to be found in General Wauchope.
Here in Scotland his name is a household word, synonymous with high
courage and devotion to duty. It were superfluous to recall the
occasions on which their gallant commander has led the Black Watch to
victory, or to rehearse the long tale of all his exploits and all but
mortal wounds. But it is not in his capacity as a soldier only that
he does with his might that which his right hand finds to do. There
is not a miner in the village of Niddrie who will not testify to the
watchful guardianship which he exercises over his people. He has
thrown himself with characteristic zest into public affairs, and we
all know that the battle of the warrior is not the only form of
contest in which he has shown himself a dauntless foeman. The
University rejoices to inscribe the name of so gallant and
public-spirited a soldier on her roll of honorary graduates in law.'
That General Wauchope had not only won his spurs but his doctor's
hood in fair fight goes without saying. His military services could
not refuse him the former; and it says much for the discrimination of
the great Scottish University that it should have discerned in one
whose scholastic education was of the smallest, and who certainly had
not the benefit of a university training, a fitting subject for so
great an honour as it conferred. But the Senatus recognised this
fact, that his life all through had been an educational training,
equal at least to all the learning of the schools. A life of hard
experience well utilised has often achieved great results, as in
Wauchope's case it did.
But honours of this kind did not turn his head, or cause {166} him to
forget the commoner duties of life, or lessen his interest in others.
He could and did sympathise with distress and trouble, and even the
brute creation were not forgotten by him, as the following instance
will show. Lord Wolseley arrived in Edinburgh the day preceding the
graduation ceremony, and was the guest of General Wauchope at
Niddrie. One evening the two officers were taking a walk together
round the grounds. As they passed the cottage door of one of his
tenants, the man's daughter was noticed to be leading a horse which
was labouring under a severe attack of inflammation. Wauchope at
once stopped and inquired of the girl what was the matter, and on
being informed, the two commanders were soon as much engrossed in the
discussion of the poor animal's malady, and the best remedy for it,
as if it had been a question of important military strategy.
One other event in civil life gave General Wauchope in the summer of
this year considerable notoriety. On the sudden death in June of Mr.
Robert Cox, the member for South Edinburgh, he was, at the urgent
request of the Unionist party, induced once more to enter the lists
as a candidate for parliamentary honours against Mr. Arthur Dewar,
advocate, who represented the Liberal party.
The contest was a short one, but while it lasted it was sharp, for
both the candidates and their supporters threw themselves into it
with vigour and earnestness.
As in his famous campaign against Mr. Gladstone, the chief feature of
the General's policy was the integrity of the Empire, as opposed to
the cry of Home Rule for Ireland, and although other subjects formed
a part of his programme, still that was for him the root question of
all others at the time.
At a largely attended meeting of his supporters, held {167} on the
9th June, Mr. John Harrison, the chairman, in formally nominating him
for the vacancy, spoke of the name of Wauchope 'as one which stirred
the blood of every one who had any pride in his country. He was
known wherever the English language was spoken. Wherever the British
went he was known as a gallant soldier, who had done his duty to his
country in many climes and in many circumstances, as a soldier of the
Crown. He was known in a narrower sphere all over Scotland as an
honourable politician, who fought some years ago a good fight in
Midlothian. He fought an uphill fight--what some considered an
impossible fight--and in losing it he scored a tremendous success.
But he was also known as a good neighbour, whose ancestors had
resided at Niddrie for centuries back.'
General Wauchope's speeches at this and various other meetings, held
almost daily for the following two weeks, were of a most stirring
nature, but were always characterised by courtesy towards opponents,
and the utmost frankness in stating his opinions. He scorned to
'hedge' a question to secure votes, and when challenged with being a
Tory, and therefore ineligible for a Liberal constituency, he boldly
took up the challenge. 'Mr. Dewar had said he was a Tory. (A voice,
"Quite right.") Quite right. Yes. Mr. Dewar was quite right. He
never said he was wrong. He often wondered why there should be any
disgrace in being called a Tory. Who had done most for the working
classes in days gone by? Who passed the Factory Acts? Did Mr.
Gladstone or Mr. Bright pass the Factory Acts? No; it was the Tory
party--that party which had been so much abused.' At another time,
referring to free speech, he said: 'He knew there were many in the
hall opposed to him in politics. There was no use putting the
blinkers on that {168} fact; but he did not see why, though thus
opposed, they should not meet together as free citizens of a free
city, and have it out thoroughly. He never liked to use the word
opponent. He always said "political" opponent, because he found that
some of the best friends he had were politically opposed to him. He
was pleased to think that in this country more and more both sides
were coming together to discuss political affairs in a quiet and
proper manner. It was not always so. When he was young, things were
much hotter then. There was more powder in the air.'
In reference to our foreign policy, the General spoke in the highest
terms of Lord Salisbury's dealing with the Soudan question, as
compared with that of Mr. Gladstone's Government, when divisions in
the Liberal party had led to so much loss of life and money without
corresponding results. And in regard to the Transvaal question, then
beginning once more to attract public attention, he insisted strongly
that his great anxiety was that peace should be preserved. There was
no man, he said, who was a greater lover of peace than he was, but he
deprecated the vacillation and weakness and change of policy of 1881
that caused all the trouble then, and from which all the present
trouble had arisen. What he wanted to see now was a strong and firm
line taken, and he believed matters there would be put right. It
could not be to the advantage of the Transvaal that British subjects
should be treated as they were being treated now. What he wanted was
that their people should be treated as human beings, and have the
same voice in the government of the country as was given them in any
other civilised country.' He admitted that the Jameson Raid was a
most unwise and wicked proceeding, and had done a great deal to
damage their {169} relationship with the Transvaal, the Orange Free
State, and the Dutch portion of South Africa; 'but although that was
true, it did not remove the fact that the position of their
countrymen in the Transvaal had not been improved. The great mass of
them had nothing to do with the Jameson Raid. They were British
subjects, who went out there under the _ægis_ of the British Crown,
and surely it was their bounden duty as a nation to see that their
rights were respected.'
The poll was taken on 19th June, with the result that Mr. Dewar, the
Liberal candidate, was returned with a majority of 831 over 4989
votes given for General Wauchope. The General in a manly speech at
the close assured his supporters 'they had no cause to be
discouraged, for they had only to gird up their loins, and victory
would one day rest with them. He felt no bitterness whatever in
regard to this fight. He was honoured by their call, and they had
told him he had not dishonoured them. They had fought a square fight
on both sides, and if he was right in his estimate of the citizens of
South Edinburgh, they would very soon put matters right. It was only
the difference of 400 men going from the one side to the other, and
he would, so far as in him lay, do his very utmost at any time to
stand by and aid them.'
It is due to Mr. Dewar to say that he looked upon the General as 'a
foeman worthy of his steel.' In returning thanks to his supporters,
he frankly acknowledged that 'we have won a victory against the
strongest and most gallant opponent that could have been put in the
field, and I rejoice to say that the contest has been carried on with
the utmost courtesy and good feeling on both sides.' These words,
spoken, as it were, in the very heat of the {170} controversy, were
more than confirmed some six months after, when the sad news of the
General's death on the battlefield reached Edinburgh.
The annual meeting of the South Edinburgh Liberals--which was
intended to be of a social as well as business character--was held on
the evening of the 13th December, the very day on which the news
came; but instead of going on with the programme of proceedings, it
was resolved out of respect for the General's memory only to go
through with the ordinary formal business and then adjourn, Mr. Dewar
remarking, 'that having regard to the sad intelligence just received,
it would be utterly out of place that anything in the nature of a
social evening should be held.... When he stood before them in that
hall a few months ago, he had told them he counted it an honour to be
opposed by a soldier so distinguished, and a man so eminent and
thoroughly respected as General Wauchope. As the election proceeded,
their regard for him increased day by day, and now that he was dead
he felt as if they were in the very presence of death; ... and every
one would agree that the proper and respectful course to take was to
give their last tribute to a man who was a gallant opponent of
theirs, and who became their friend; and they should place upon his
grave a wreath of respect and regard.' The chairman, in seconding
the proposal, said 'he had frequently come in contact with General
Wauchope at the election, and it was remarkable that during the whole
contest, however keen it was, their opponent never uttered one single
word he had cause to regret. No election,' he added, 'was ever
fought with more good feeling than the contest between Mr. Dewar and
General Wauchope.' And as showing the entire accord of the large
meeting with what had been said, the audience in {171} silence, and
upstanding, signified their sympathy with the resolution, and quietly
dispersed.
General Wauchope's political contests were thus characteristic of the
man. There was the set purpose, the indomitable will; no shrinking
from declaring what he thought was the truth, but an ever dauntless
standing up for the right at any hazard, all combined with a modest
diffidence of his own personal merits, and the utmost respect and
courtesy for his opponents' opinions. It has been said, 'he makes no
friend who never made a foe'; but the General had a happy way of
turning his political foes into fast friends.
With him political opinion did not sever the ties of friendship.
Personalities did not enter into his political life. He would hold
his own tenaciously, and give blow for blow in fair fight, but there
it ended. Meeting a number of friends at the Church Offices, 22
Queen Street, shortly after this election, who were sympathising with
him on his defeat, he cheerily replied, 'Oh, I don't think much of a
man if he can't take a beating.'
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