1879-1881.
The Condition of Egypt--Mr. Goschen's Commission--Ismail's _Coup
d'état_--His Deposition by the Sultan--Establishment of the Dual
Control--The First Midlothian Campaign--Commercial and
Agricultural Depression--Sudden Dissolution of Parliament--Lord
Derby joins the Liberals--Second Midlothian Campaign--Great
Liberal Victory--Mr. Gladstone's Second Administration--Charles
Stuart Parnell and the Irish Home Rule Party--War with
Afghanistan--Battle of Maiwand--General Roberts's March--Defeat
of Ayub Khan and Evacuation of Cabul and Candahar--Revolt of the
Transvaal--Battles of Laing's Nek and Majuba Hill--Establishment
of the Boer Republic--Weakness of the Conservative
Opposition--The Fourth Party--Irish Affairs--Boycotting--A New
Coercion Bill--The Irish Land Bill--Resignation of the Duke of
Argyll--Death of Lord Beaconsfield--Military Revolt in
Egypt--Bombardment of Alexandria--Expedition against
Arabi--Battles of Kassassin and Tel-el-Kebir--Overthrow of
Arabi.
[Sidenote: The Condition of Egypt.]
The position and condition of Egypt had grown to be a matter of anxiety
to the Powers of Western Europe, owing to events which it is only
possible to recapitulate here in the briefest terms. Ruled by the
Khedive as an autonomous State, Egypt was also technically a province of
the Ottoman Empire and paid an annual tribute of £695,792 to the Sultan
of Turkey. But the creation of the Suez Canal, the investment of
European capital therein, and the importance to maritime nations of that
highway, rendered the good government of Egypt a subject of
international concern. The Khedive, Ismail Pasha, actuated, no doubt, in
part, by a resolve to develop the resources of his country, but also by
aims of personal indulgence and aggrandisement, had launched into
schemes of such scale and cost that the Egyptian Treasury was virtually
bankrupt in 1877. A Commission of Inquiry, presided over by Mr. Goschen,
resulted in the appointment of Mr. Rivers Wilson and M. de Blignières,
representing Great Britain and France respectively, as Members of the
Khedive's Cabinet. The plan failed to work smoothly; the Khedive became
leader of the Opposition to his own Government, and in February 1879 he
was compelled to submit to conditions imposed by the Cabinets of Great
Britain and France, excluding him from Cabinet Councils, appointing his
son Tewfik President of the Council, and vesting in the English and
French Ministers absolute power of veto upon all measures. Ismail Pasha
accepted these conditions, but on April 7 he suddenly dismissed the
Cabinet and appointed one entirely composed of natives of Egypt. On June
26, in consequence of representations from the Governments of Germany,
Austria, Great Britain, France, and Russia, the Sultan deposed Ismail
and created his son Tewfik Khedive in his place. A new scheme of
government was adopted, whereby Tewfik appointed his own Cabinet, and
the dual control of Great Britain and France was established by the
appointment of two Controllers, Mr. Baring (now Lord Revelstoke) and M.
de Blignières, with full powers to regulate expenditure, with seats in
the Cabinet, not removable except by their own Governments, and with
power to appoint and dismiss all subordinate officials. By the close of
1879 the credit of Egypt, which had been apparently hopelessly shattered
by Ismail's decree in May 1876, suspending payment and unifying the
general debt, was restored by the liquidation of all debts due by the
State.
This, then, was the state of affairs in Egypt towards the close of Lord
Beaconsfield's last Administration. The country had been redeemed from
insolvency by the joint action of Great Britain and France, the
arbitrary action of her rulers had been put under control, and her
internal affairs had been started on such a footing as should protect
the people from oppression and grievous taxation.
[Illustration: _H. M. Sinclair._} {_From the Royal Collection._
OLD OSBORNE HOUSE (1833).]
[Illustration: _Sydney P. Hall._} {_From the Royal Collection._
THE MARRIAGE OF H.R.H. THE DUKE OF CONNAUGHT AND PRINCESS LOUISE
MARGARET OF PRUSSIA AT ST. GEORGE'S CHAPEL, WINDSOR, March 13, 1879.
[Sidenote: The First Midlothian Campaign.]
The bridegroom, attended by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of
Edinburgh, waits at the altar; Her Majesty, with the Princess Beatrice,
and the Princess of Wales with her children, are included in the Royal
group. The bride is escorted by the Crown Prince of Germany on her
right, and her father, Prince Frederick Charles, on her left. The
foremost figures on the left are the King and Queen of the Belgians;
next them are Prince William (now the German Emperor) and his mother,
the Princess Royal, and to her left Princess Frederick Charles, mother
of the bride.]
Meanwhile the course of domestic politics in Great Britain claimed the
immediate attention of statesmen. On November 24, 1879, Mr. Gladstone,
once more the actual, though not the nominal, leader of the Opposition,
started from Liverpool on a memorable tour. The Earl of Dalkeith was
then member for Midlothian. He was the eldest son of the Duke of
Buccleuch, at that time the most notable Scottish peer, of immense
influence north of the Tweed and leader of the Conservative Party in the
North. Mr. Gladstone had conceived the chivalrous idea of doing battle
with this doughty chief on his own ground. The first "Midlothian
Campaign" lasted till December 5, and it took the country by storm. The
failure of the City of Glasgow Bank in the previous year had not only
brought disaster to thousands of persons in the North, but it had
emphasised in a peculiar manner the end of a period of prosperity.
Agriculture, especially, began to feel the full effects of foreign
competition; farmers, whose rents had been gradually increasing as the
value of land rose with favourable markets, now found it impossible to
meet their obligations out of income. There was the usual tendency to
lay the blame of individual misfortune on the Government, and Mr.
Gladstone, though his attacks on the policy of the Cabinet were based
principally on their foreign policy, which he denounced as aggressive,
evoked an immense amount of sympathy and encouragement from those who
listened to him or read his speeches.
[Illustration: _G. Richmond, R.A._} {_From the "Life of Archbishop
Tait," by permission of Messrs. Macmillan._
ARCHIBALD C. TAIT,
ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY,
1811-1882.
Was of Presbyterian descent. Went to Balliol College, Oxford, in 1830,
and was one of the four Tutors who publicly protested against Newman's
"Tract XC." (see page 42). Head Master of Rugby, 1842; Dean of Carlisle,
1850; Bishop of London, 1856; Archbishop of Canterbury, 1868.]
[Illustration: _From a Photograph by H. H. Hay Cameron._
BENJAMIN JOWETT, D.D.,
MASTER OF BALLIOL,
1817-1893.
Educated at St. Paul's School, he went to Balliol College, Oxford, in
1835 as scholar; became a Fellow in 1838; Tutor in 1842; Regius
Professor of Greek, 1855; Master, 1870; Vice-Chancellor of Oxford
University, 1882. He was one of the authors of "Essays and Reviews"
(1861) and a leader in University reform. His influence upon modern
thought has been very great.]
[Sidenote: Sudden Dissolution of Parliament.]
Ministers had still a year more to exist before an appeal to the country
should be necessary, and all was going quietly in Parliament, when, on
March 8, people were taken by surprise on hearing it announced that the
dissolution was to take place at once, and a manifesto from the Prime
Minister, in the form of a letter to the Duke of Marlborough, Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland, was published in the newspapers, setting forth
the imminence of trouble from Irish sedition, and calling on the nation
to be on its guard.
[Illustration: A CARDING ROOM AT MESSRS. J. AND P. COATS'S FERGUSLIE
MILLS.
These works, originated in 1826 in a small factory employing a score of
operatives, now give employment to about 5,000, and cover between fifty
and sixty acres. The sewing machine--itself an invention of the period
covered by these pages--has enormously increased the demand for thread.
The total imports of cotton into the United Kingdom, which were
592,000,000 lbs. in 1840, had grown to 1,757,042,672 lbs. during 1895.]
[Sidenote: Second Midlothian Campaign.]
The country neither realised the magnitude of the crisis, nor did it
perceive grounds for relying more on the Conservatives to deal with it
than on the Liberals. The Opposition was greatly strengthened at this
juncture by the accession of Lord Derby to the Liberal Party, and the
veteran Gladstone, forgetting his resolution, six years before, to spend
the rest of his years in retirement, went forth exulting on his second
Midlothian Campaign. The walls of the Tory Jericho of the North went
down before the blast of his trumpet; the Buccleuch was defeated; only
nine Conservatives were returned from Scotland. The Irish vote, an
important element in all the great towns, went solid for the Liberals in
obedience to Parnell's order "to vote against Benjamin Disraeli as they
should vote against the enemy of their country and their race." Instead
of the majority of fifty which they counted in the old Parliament, the
Conservatives returned to the new one in a minority of forty-six.
[Illustration: _From the Collection of_} {_C. Wentworth Wass, Esq._
ROYAL PLATES: SPECIMENS OF SERVICES MADE FOR HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN.
1. Royal Worcester Plate, emblazoned with the Royal Arms, border of
light blue and gold. 2. Royal Worcester Plate, with openwork border,
gilt, and having turquoise panels. Enamelled by Thomas Bott. Exhibited
at the International Exhibition of 1862. 3. Plate, richly gilt,
ornamented with the Royal Crown and the Arms of the City of London. Used
by Her Majesty at the Civic Banquet celebrating her Accession, 1837.]
There was much speculation as to whom the Queen would send for to form a
Ministry. Lord Granville and Lord Hartington were the nominal leaders of
the victorious party in either House, but the victory was due to Mr.
Gladstone's crusades--everybody agreed in that. On April 22 Her Majesty
sent for Lord Hartington; next day he and Lord Granville were received
to an audience, and thereafter all doubts were set at rest by Mr.
Gladstone receiving the Royal commands.
[Illustration: _From the Collection of_} {_C. Wentworth Wass, Esq._
ROYAL DESSERT PLATES.
4. From a Service made for the Prince of Wales shortly before his
marriage. It has the Prince's initials in gold, entwined with the
Princess's in flowers. 5. From a Service made for the Duke of Edinburgh
on his marriage. Turquoise and gold border, with painted panels. 6. From
a Service made for the Duke of Albany on his marriage. Turquoise, with
monogram, birds and flowers painted in white.]
[Sidenote: Irish Home Rule.]
After the Fenian movement, partly owing to vigorous measures on the part
of the Executive and partly to dissension among its own leaders, had
collapsed, Irish disaffection to British rule took the form of a
constitutional agitation for the establishment of a separate Legislature
for Ireland. "Home Rule for Ireland" became the watchword and goal of a
determined group of members of Parliament, acting under Mr. Isaac Butt,
an able and successful lawyer and powerful speaker, who began political
life as a Conservative. This third party acted together throughout the
Parliament of 1874-80. It was practically the creation of Mr. Butt, but
it soon carried its aims far beyond what he considered legitimate, and
adopted methods of obstructing Parliamentary business, against which he
protested in vain. A stronger man than Butt came to the front in the
person of a Protestant Irish landlord, Charles Stuart Parnell, one of
the most remarkable figures in recent political life. Though not gifted
with the native richness of rhetoric which distinguishes so many of his
countrymen, Parnell quickly acquired an ascendancy in the Home Rule
party in virtue of his genius for strategy, his resolute will, and a
kind of hauteur which lifted him above petty jealousy and interference.
From the first he discerned that the true way to attain Home Rule, if it
might be attained at all, was to maintain scrupulous independence of
both Conservatives and Liberals, to raise every possible obstruction in
the way of legislation, and, in short, to render the Irish party so
intolerable to all Governments, that Home Rule should be granted as the
only means of getting out of an impossible situation. In 1878 a debate
took place on the circumstances of the murder of the Earl of Leitrim,
and Butt was obliged to dissociate himself from all sympathy with the
sentiments expressed by some of his colleagues, and he resigned the
leadership in favour of Parnell. After the General Election the Home
Rulers in Parliament numbered sixty, perfect in discipline and devotion
to their new chief.
[Sidenote: War with Afghanistan.]
[Illustration: _G. D. Giles._} {_By permission of Mr. T. Turner, Carlton
Galleries, Pall Mall, owner of the Copyright._
SAVING THE GUNS AT MAIWAND.
The E/B Battery of Royal Horse Artillery, assisted by a few native
sappers, whilst limbering up, fought the Ghazis with hand-spikes and
other improvised weapons. They lost heavily both in officers and men,
but succeeded in carrying off the guns, and were specially thanked by
the Viceroy and the Commander-in-Chief.]
The pacification of Afghanistan by General Roberts was not of long
duration. After those concerned in the massacre of Cavagnari's party had
been punished with exemplary, if not excessive, severity, attempts were
made to conciliate the people, and the Conservative Government offered
to recognise any Amir at Cabul who might be elected, except Yakub Khan.
Candahar was to be separated from Cabul, becoming an independent State
under British protection, with Shir Ali as Amir. Then came the change of
Government in England, bringing about an important modification in
British policy towards Afghanistan. It was resolved to evacuate both
Cabul and Candahar, resigning the country to the claimant Abdurrahman.
The advance, however, of a rival claimant from Herat, in the person of
Ayub Khan, caused the Government of India to direct General Burrows to
defend the passage of the River Helmund. Beyond that river lay the
territory of the Wali of Zamindawir, an ally of the British in resisting
Ayub Khan's invasion. But the Wali's army mutinied and deserted to Ayub,
and General Burrows decided to retire to Kushk-i-Nakhud, thirty miles
in rear of the Helmund. Ayub then crossed the river, and directed his
march to Maiwand, a Pass over the hills twelve miles north of Burrows's
camp. General Burrows, in total ignorance of the real strength of the
enemy, resolved to march there and clear the Pass. On July 27 he started
with a force of 2,500 men, six nine-pounders, and some smooth-bores.
Unfortunately, instead of keeping to his purpose of occupying Maiwand,
which lay on his right, General Burrows made the fatal mistake of
attacking a column of the enemy which appeared on his left. He found
himself engaged with Ayub's whole army, variously estimated at from
12,000 to 20,000 of all arms. The British troops fought gallantly, but
some blunders, of a nature never clearly explained, made their position
untenable. The order was given to retreat, not before some of the Indian
troops had broken and fled. Next day the broken remnants of General
Burrows's Brigade struggled into Candahar, having fought their way
through hordes of armed villagers along the route, who rose in
excitement at the news of the defeat of the British. All that mortal man
could do to atone for his want of generalship was done by General
Burrows, who fought with desperate gallantry at Maiwand; but half his
Brigade perished, and probably it would have been annihilated but for
the steadiness of the Horse Artillery in action and in covering the
retreat.
[Illustration: LORD ROBERTS OF CANDAHAR.
Frederick Sleigh Roberts is the son of the late General Sir A. Roberts.
Born in 1832, and educated at Eton, Sandhurst, and Woolwich. Gained the
V.C. for rescuing a standard at Khodagunj, in the Indian Mutiny.]
[Illustration: _Chevalier Louis W. Desanges._} {_In the Victoria Cross
Gallery, Crystal Palace._
MARCH OF GENERAL SIR F. ROBERTS, G.C.B., V.C., FROM CABUL TO CANDAHAR:
CROSSING THE ZAMBURAK KOTAL.]
[Sidenote: General Roberts's March.]
General Primrose was in command at Candahar, where he was besieged by
Ayub on August 8. He was relieved by General Sir Frederick Roberts, who
left Cabul on August 9 with a flying column, nearly 10,000 strong, and
performed a march which has become celebrated in British war annals,
arriving at Candahar on the 31st, having covered 318 miles in
twenty-three days. On September 1 he attacked and completely routed Ayub
Khan, who fled to Herat. The war was over: it had cost £5,750,000; Lord
Ripon, who had succeeded Lord Lytton as Viceroy, was directed by the
India Office to abandon the purpose with which it had been undertaken,
and by the end of 1880 the British had evacuated both Cabul and
Candahar.
[Illustration: _Stanley Berkeley._} {_By permission of the Publishers,
Messrs. S. Hildesheimer & Co., of London and Manchester._
THE VICTORY OF CANDAHAR.]
[Sidenote: Revolt of the Transvaal.]
The trouble which broke out in the British Dominion of South Africa in
1880 must be regarded as the direct effect of the system of British
party politics. Forasmuch as, taking their cue from Mr. Gladstone, the
Opposition had vehemently denounced the annexation of the Transvaal, on
the overthrow of the Conservatives the "patriot" section of the Boers
not unnaturally expected the restoration of their independence. But
these hopes were dispelled by Mr. Gladstone and Lord Kimberley, the
Colonial Secretary, in the debate on the Queen's speech to the new
Parliament. They declared that Great Britain was under pledges to the
native population which made it impossible for her to recede. The effect
of this was to exasperate the Boers to the last degree. They rose in
armed revolt, and proclaimed an independent Republic on December 16,
1880. Detachments of British troops were beleaguered by the insurgents
at several places, and a detachment of the 94th Regiment, under Colonel
Anstruther, marching to the relief of Pretoria, suffered defeat, all of
them being slain or captured. The whole Dutch population of the
Transvaal were under arms by the beginning of 1881, and their skill as
riflemen rendered them a foe far more formidable than might have been
expected from their numbers.
[Sidenote: Establishment of the Boer Republic.]
It is a painful duty to record faithfully the events of the succeeding
weeks. On January 24, Sir George Colley, Governor of Natal, entered the
Transvaal with 1,000 troops, attacking the Boers at Laing's Nek on the
28th, when he was repulsed with the loss of seven officers and eighty
men killed and 100 wounded. On February 7 Colley was attacked on the
Ingogo River, and, though the enemy retired at sunset, the British loss
amounted to six officers and sixty-two men killed and sixty-four
wounded. On February 26 General Colley returned to the attack on the
Boers' camp at Laing's Nek. He decided on occupying Majuba Hill,
overlooking the enemy's position; and, owing to the great fatigue
endured during the ascent, in which his men were occupied for eight
hours of darkness, he neglected to intrench the ground. The position was
naturally an exceedingly strong one, yet on the following morning, the
27th, it was stormed by the Boers. The British force, 627 strong, was
routed, with very heavy loss, and Sir George Colley was among the slain.
Sir Evelyn Wood, who had arrived in the neighbourhood with
reinforcements, now succeeded to the chief command, and entered into
negotiations with the Boer commander, Joubert. These resulted in the
conclusion of peace on March 21, the terms including recognition of the
Queen's suzerainty over the Transvaal, but securing complete
self-government to the Boer Republic.
[Illustration: _Lady Butler._} {_By permission of the Artist, and of
Messrs. Graves, Pall Mall._
"FLOREAT ETONA!"
An eye-witness of the attack on Laing's Nek thus describes the incident
depicted: "Poor Elwes fell among the 58th. He shouted to another Eton
boy (adjutant of the 58th, whose horse had been shot): 'Come along,
Monck! Floreat Etona! we must be in the front rank,' and he was shot
immediately."]
[Sidenote: The Fourth Party.]
The task of the Government within the walls of the House of Commons was
rendered an easy one during 1880 and 1881, by reason of the spiritless
and disorganised condition of the Opposition under the mild and
forbearing generalship of Sir Stafford Northcote. The Conservatives,
moreover, found themselves under the obligation of voting continually in
the same lobby as their natural opponents, in resistance to the demands
of the Parnellite Party and in support of measures for the protection of
life and property in Ireland. Little resistance, indeed, would have been
encountered by Ministers, but for the spirited action of a small knot of
members below the Gangway. This group, led by Lord Randolph Churchill,
and comprising Mr. Arthur Balfour, Sir John Gorst, and Sir Henry
Drummond Wolff, allowed no subject to be dealt with without the closest
and most persistent scrutiny. Their diligence, their individual and
varied ability, and their permanent presence on the same bench, soon
caused them to be known as the Fourth Party; and the intrepidity of
their attacks on the Government was not more remarkable than the freedom
with which they taunted the Tory leaders for their inaction, especially
Northcote, Cross, and Smith.
More and more did the Irish Question absorb the attention of Parliament
and the public. Parnell was busy at the work of land agitation, and
explained the means by which landlords were to be driven from Ireland.
Speaking at Ennis, he exclaimed, "What is to be done with a tenant
bidding for a farm from which another tenant has been evicted?" "Shoot
him!" cried a voice in the crowd. "No," said Parnell, "I do not say
shoot him; there is a more Christian and charitable way of dealing with
him. Let him be shunned in the street, in the shop, in the
market-place--even in the places of worship--as if he were a leper of
old."
[Sidenote: Boycotting.]
One of the earliest cases in which this advice was carried into effect
was that of Captain Boycott, the Earl of Erne's agent. The Land League
issued orders that he was to be treated "as a leper of old"; his men
deserted him on the eve of harvest; tradesmen refused to supply goods;
not a soul in the district dared to be known to have intercourse with
him. Captain Boycott was a man of spirit: he brought a hundred Ulstermen
to gather the crops on his large farm; the Irish Government massed 7,000
troops and police to protect them, and henceforth the verb "to boycott"
became the recognised expression for a system which brought infinite
suffering on many poor people.
[Illustration: _Sir J. Tenniel._} {_From "Punch."_
THE IRISH FRANKENSTEIN.
Mr. Parnell is regarding with amazement the monster whom he has evoked.]
But a terrible era of violence and crime, inaugurated by the murder of
Viscount Mountmorres on September 25, 1880, proved that the old methods
of terrorising were far from obsolete, and that the "more Christian and
charitable" boycotting was only a supplement to them. The transparency
of the veil thrown over the connection of the Land League with atrocious
crimes made it necessary to strengthen the hands of the Executive by the
introduction of a fresh Coercion Bill, with clauses specially framed to
deal with the new system of intimidation known as boycotting. Mr.
Forster, by a merciful instruction to substitute buckshot for ball in
the cartridges of the Irish police, earned for himself from the Irish
Party the nickname of "Buckshot" Forster. The debates on this measure
are memorable for the resistance offered to it by the Parnellite party,
which led to the adoption of the "12 o'clock rule" and of the closure.
[Sidenote: The Irish Land Bill.]
[Sidenote: Resignation of the Duke of Argyll.]
No sooner had the new Coercion Bill received the Royal Assent, on March
21, than Mr. Gladstone announced another great measure dealing with
Ireland, framed to conciliate disaffection and redress the complaints of
Irish farmers. The Irish Land Bill occupied the House of Commons during
four months of 1881. Its introduction caused the secession of the Duke
of Argyll from the Cabinet, because, as he explained to the Lords,
though in favour of increasing the number of landowners in Ireland, he
would have no hand in destroying ownership altogether.
[Sidenote: Death of Lord Beaconsfield.]
The Earl of Beaconsfield died on April 19, 1881. If Sir Robert Peel must
be reckoned the founder of the Conservative Party, Benjamin Disraeli
must be claimed as its architect.
[Illustration: _From a Photograph_} {_by Thiele, Chancery Lane._
LORD BEACONSFIELD'S STATUE.
The statue erected to the memory of the Earl of Beaconsfield in
Parliament Square is annually decorated, on "Primrose Day" (April 19)
with palms and flowers, and vendors of primroses drive a busy trade in
"button-holes" amongst the onlookers. A similar tribute is annually paid
to the memory of General Gordon, whose statue stands in the centre of
Trafalgar Square; and for the last two years the Nelson Column itself
has, on "Trafalgar Day," been hung with festoons of evergreens.]
[Sidenote: Military Revolt in Egypt.]
For some time previous to this, affairs in Egypt had not been running
smoothly under the dual control. A military party had been formed, under
the lead of Ahmed Arabi Bey, calling itself national, but really
military, aiming at the effacement of the Khedive and the fulfilment of
the shadowy purpose of "Egypt for the Egyptians." Various disturbances
took place in Alexandria during 1881, but in May 1882 matters wore such
a threatening aspect that the allied English and French fleets were sent
to anchor off that city. The Khedive, in his extremity, had promoted
Arabi to be War Minister, who used his power to put the fortifications
of Alexandria in a thorough state of defence and began massing troops in
the town. On July 7 Admiral Sir Beauchamp Seymour, commanding the
British fleet, warned Arabi that unless these warlike preparations were
discontinued, he should be obliged to open fire. No notice being taken
of this, ships were provided for the safety of European inhabitants, and
on the 10th the British ultimatum was sent, demanding the instant
cessation of the works of defence and their surrender to the British
flag. Arabi having failed to comply with this also, the British ships,
consisting of eight powerful ironclads and five gun-vessels, cleared for
action and took up their positions, the French fleet retiring to Port
Said. The bombardment began on the morning of July 11, briskly replied
to by the guns in the forts, and continued all day till 5.30 p.m.
Resumed next day, it was continued at intervals till the afternoon, when
it was found that, under cover of a flag of truce, Arabi had withdrawn
his troops and abandoned the forts and town. A frightful scene began
directly military authority was withdrawn: the populace broke loose,
pillaging and firing the shops and houses, and massacring about 2,000
Europeans who had not availed themselves of the opportunity to escape.
Arabi, the Khedive's War Minister, was at the head of the Khedive's
army, yet Great Britain assumed the task of dispersing this army in
order to re-conquer the country for the Khedive.
[Illustration: _Sir J. Tenniel._} {_From "Punch."_
A "SELF-DENYING" POLICY!
François (our ally): "C'est tres bien fait, mon cher Jean! You 'ave done
ze vork! Voyons, mon ami; I shall share viz you ze glory!"]
[Sidenote: Battles of Kassassin and Tel-el-Kebir.]
To the unofficial mind the reasons for the destruction of Alexandria and
the invasion of Egypt remain somewhat vague; Mr. Gladstone, however,
found little difficulty in persuading the House of Commons to entrust
him with a Vote of Credit for £2,300,000; and towards the end of August
an army, consisting of about 23,000 of all arms and ranks, landed on the
Mediterranean shores of Egypt; subsequently reinforced by 11,000 more.
In addition to these, there was an Indian contingent landed from the
South, consisting of nearly 8,000 men, making the total strength of the
British land forces in Egypt 40,560 men, under the command-in-chief of
Sir Garnet Wolseley. It was found on landing, on August 22, that the
enemy had placed dams across the Canal to cut off the water supply, and
it became necessary to dislodge him from his position at Tel-el-Mahuta.
This was effected without much difficulty on August 24, the Egyptian
troops, about 10,000 strong, showing little inclination for fighting.
General Graham then advanced, on the 26th, with 2,000 men, to seize
Kassassin Lock, which controlled the supply of fresh water. Here he was
attacked, on the 28th, by a greatly superior force, and for a time the
British were in a critical position. General Graham, however, managed to
hold his own, and heliographed for reinforcements, which arrived in good
time. The Egyptians fought well during the afternoon, but at sunset Sir
Baker Russell led up the Household Cavalry, the 7th Dragoon Guards, and
Horse Artillery, with four guns, and a brilliant charge of these fine
troops threw the enemy into confusion, causing him to break and fly from
the field. The total British loss was only eleven killed and sixty-eight
wounded.
[Illustration: _J. Richards._} {_From the Collection of Sir Henry
Ewart._
KASSASSIN: THE CHARGE OF THE HOUSEHOLD CAVALRY.]
Arabi held a strongly-fortified position at Tel-el-Kebir. On September 9
he attempted a reconnaissance, with 8,000 men and twenty-four guns, but
was driven back with the loss of some of his guns. Tel-el-Kebir offered
a front to the British advance of about four miles of earthworks, with
redoubts at intervals carrying guns. The flanks were protected by
similar works. Wolseley struck his camp on the evening of September 12,
and advanced during the night with 2,000 cavalry, 11,000 infantry, and
sixty guns. At dawn on the 13th General Graham's Brigade on the right,
and Sir Archibald Alison's Highland Brigade on the left, were within a
quarter of a mile of the Egyptian lines. An irregular fire was opened
upon them; they dashed forward to the assault, scaled the outer
defences, bayonetted the gunners, paused to re-form, and advanced
against the inner and stronger works. It remains a question of
honourable rivalry which were first inside the Egyptian position, the
Highlanders on the left or Graham's infantry on the right. At all
events, within half an hour the whole of Arabi's defences were captured,
his army was routed and flying under pressure of the British cavalry.
The British loss in this well-managed affair was very slight,
considering the strength of the position and the strength of Arabi's
army, supposed to amount to about 25,000 men. Eleven officers and
forty-three men were killed, and twenty-two officers and 320 men
wounded. The Egyptian loss was believed to be about 1,000; of prisoners,
3,000 were taken, with sixty guns. The campaign was practically over.
Arabi's troops disbanded themselves, and Arabi himself was arrested in
Cairo. Being brought to trial as a rebel, he pleaded guilty, and
sentence of death was passed on him. This sentence was commuted
immediately by the Khedive for one of perpetual banishment from Egypt.
[Illustration: _Linley Sambourne._} {_From "Punch."_
FIELD MARSHAL VISCOUNT WOLSELEY.
Son of Major Garnet Wolseley. Born near Dublin in 1833. Commanded the
Red River Expedition of 1870 and the Ashanti Expedition of 1873, and was
sent out in 1879 as Governor of Natal and the Transvaal, and High
Commissioner. He commanded the forces in Egypt in 1882 and again in
1884-5.]
[Illustration: _R. Caton Woodville._} {_From the Royal Collection.
Reproduced by permission of the Artist._
THE DUKE OF CONNAUGHT AT THE BATTLE OF TEL-EL-KEBIR.]
The net result of these events was the withdrawal of the _condominium_
or dual control by England and France, the restoration of the Khedive's
authority, and the reconstruction of the administrative and social
system. But the British continued to occupy Egypt as security for the
pacific fulfilment of the reforms insisted on by the English
Plenipotentiary, Lord Dufferin.
[Illustration: _Lady Butler._} {_By permission of the Artist, and of
Messrs. Graves, Publishers of the large Engraving._
AFTER THE BATTLE: ARRIVAL OF LORD WOLSELEY AND STAFF AT THE BRIDGE OF
TEL-EL-KEBIR.]