=Source.=--_Parliamentary Papers_, "Egypt," No. 2 of 1884, C 3,845.
_P. 2. The Cabinet's Instructions to General Gordon._
Her Majesty's Government are desirous that you should proceed at
once to Egypt, to report to them on the military situation in the
Soudan, and on the measures which it may be advisable to take for
the security of the Egyptian garrisons still holding positions in
that country, and for the safety of the European population in
Khartoum. You are also desired to consider and report upon the best
mode of effecting the evacuation of the interior of the Soudan,
and upon the manner in which the safety and good administration by
the Egyptian Government of the ports on the sea coast can best be
secured. In connection with this subject, you should pay especial
consideration to the question of the steps that may usefully be
taken to counteract the stimulus which it is feared may possibly be
given to the Slave Trade by the present insurrectionary movement
and by the withdrawal of the Egyptian authority from the interior.