[Speech of Horatio Herbert, Lord Kitchener, at a banquet given by the
Lord Mayor of London, at the Mansion House, London, November 4, 1898,
in celebration of the campaign in the Sudan and the successful
recovery of Khartum from the Dervishes, thereby avenging the death of
General Gordon. Lord Salisbury, in a brilliant speech, proposed the
health of Lord Kitchener, to which the latter replied with the speech
that follows.]
MY LORD MAYOR, YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESSES, MY LORDS AND
GENTLEMEN:--It is not easy for me to find words to express the
gratitude I feel for the manner in which the toast proposed by Lord
Salisbury has been received by this magnificent audience, or for the too
kind and too flattering words in which it has been recommended to your
notice. Such a recognition by such an audience is more than sufficient
recompense for any services which it may have been my good fortune to
render. But, my lords and gentlemen, I am fully aware that it is not in
my individual capacity but as representing the Anglo-Egyptian army that
this great honor has been done me. [Cheers.] It is to the excellent and
devoted services of the troops that the success of the campaign is due.
A general would have been indeed incapable who failed to lead such men
to victory; for it was not only, nor even principally, on the day of
battle, that the great qualities of these troops were displayed. The
cheerful endurance and soldier-like spirit with which they bore long
delay during the Sudan summer, between the battle of Atbara and the
advance on Omdurman, was as high a test of discipline and efficiency as
the endurance exhibited in the long marches, or the courage shown at
the trenches at Atbara or on the plains of Omdurman. [Cheers.]
A man may be proud indeed whose good fortune has placed him in command
of troops capable of deeds like these. And remember, my lords and
gentlemen, I include in this not merely the British army but the
Egyptian army also. [Loud cheers.] For, proud as I may well be of having
commanded the British troops in the Sudan, I am no less proud of having
as Sirdar led the Egyptian and Sudanese troops to victory, side by side
with men of my own race and blood. It is on behalf of those and the
combined forces that are absent as well as those that are present that I
desire to tender you our sincere thanks for the great honor you have
done us. It has been contended and in former days with some
plausibility, that the material from which the Egyptian army is
recruited is not capable of being made into good soldiers, but we in the
Egyptian army never held that view; we felt confidence in our men, and
that confidence has been justified. We tested them at Gemeizeh, Tokar,
Toski, Ferkeh, and Abu Hamed, and were not disappointed; and under the
circumstances, perhaps the most competent military critics, the
Dervishes [laughter] showed no disposition to underrate the fighting
power of our men. And when the _rôle_ was changed and from the defensive
we were able to take the offensive they soon acquired that respect for
the Egyptian soldiers that all good troops engender in the minds of
their opponents. [Cheers.]
I had to give the Egyptian army arduous work. They had to construct the
railway; they had to build gunboats, and sailing craft through the
dangerous cataracts, they had to be on incessant fatigues, moving stores
and cutting wood for the steamers. It may be fairly said that had it not
been for the work of the Egyptian army the British troops could not have
reached Omdurman without far greater suffering and loss of life, and it
was not only in these pioneer duties that the Egyptian army
distinguished themselves, for when they came in contact with the enemy
their discipline, steadiness and courage were prominently displayed. At
Ferkeh, and at Abu Hamed, they, with the Sudanese troops, turned the
Dervishes out of their positions. At Atbara, they were not behind their
British comrades, and at Omdurman, when Macdonald's brigade repulsed the
fierce and determined attacks that were brought against them, I am sure
that the thought occurred to the mind of every officer in the British
brigades, who saw it: "We might have done it as well; we could not have
done it better." ["Hear! Hear!"] And how was this obtained? By good
training, good discipline and mutual confidence between officers and
men. It was on these lines that the army was formed and organized under
Sir Evelyn Wood and Sir Francis Grenfell, and I, with the assistance of
the finest body of officers that the British army can produce, have
merely followed in their footsteps, and developed the principles that
they had already laid down.
There is one other point to which I would like to refer before bringing
a speech which may have already been too long ["No! No!"] to a
conclusion. In this great commercial centre it may be of interest if I
allude to the financial side of the campaign. Although the accounts have
not yet been absolutely closed, you may take it as very nearly accurate
that during the two and a half years' campaign, extra military credits
to the amount of two and a half millions have been expended. In this sum
I have included the recent grant that has been made for the extension of
the railway from Atbara to Khartum, the work on which is already on
hand. Well, against this large expenditure we have some assets to show.
We have, or shall have, 760 miles of railway, properly equipped with
engines, rolling stock, and a track with bridges in good order. I must
admit that the railway stations and waiting-rooms are somewhat
primitive, but then we do not wait long in the Sudan. [Laughter.] Well,
for this running concern I do not think that £3,000 a mile will be
considered too high a value. This represents two and a half millions out
of the money granted, and for the other quarter of a million, we have
2,000 miles of telegraph lines, six new gunboats, besides barges and
sailing craft, and--the Sudan. [Laughter and cheers.]
Of course the railway did not cost me £3,000 a mile to construct, and
many other heavy charges for warlike stores, supplies and transport on
our long line of communication, including sea transports of troops from
England and elsewhere had to be made; but however it was done the
result remains the same. We have freed the vast territories of the Sudan
from the most cruel tyranny the world has ever known, and we have
hoisted the Egyptian and British flags at Khartum, never, I hope, to be
hauled down. I have again to thank you, my Lord Mayor, for the great
honor done us on this occasion. I have only one regret which, I feel
sure, is shared by all present, and which has been given expression to
by Lord Rosebery and Lord Salisbury, and that is, that Lord Cromer, who
has supported me during the last two and a half years, is not here to
support me to-night and to receive in person the thanks to which he is
so justly entitled, and which, I am sure, you would willingly have
given. [Loud cheers.]