Contradictory nature of General Gordon's proposals-The Darfour Sultan-General Gordon proposes to visit the Mahdi-Or to retire to the Equator—He issues a Proclamation announcing the independence of the Soudan-The Slavery Proclamation— The turning-point of General Gordon's Mission-General Gordon's Memorandum of February 8-Change in General Gordon's views-He asks for Zobeir Pasha-I advise that Zobeir Pasha should be General Gordon's successor-The Government reject this proposal-General Gordon proposes to "smash up" the Mahdi-Conflicting policies advocated by General Gordon- His Proclamation stating that British troops were coming to Khartoum-General Gordon's neglect of his instructions-I again urge the employment of Zobeir Pasha-Difficulty of under- standing General Gordon's telegrams-Colonel Stewart recom- mends that Zobeir Pasha should be sent-I support this view -General Gordon recommends that the Berber-Suakin route should be opened-The Government object to the employ- ment of Zobeir Pasha-I again urge the employment of Zobeir Pasha - General Gordon's communications to the Times correspondent - The tribes round Khartoum waver— The Government reject the Zobeir proposal - I instruct General Gordon to hold on to Khartoum-I again urge on the Government the necessity of employing Zobeir Pasha- The proposal is rejected—I remonstrate-Final rejection of the Zobeir proposal-Were the Government right in their decision? to send a British expedition to Berber-It is rejected-The order to move on Sinkat is cancelled-Remarks on this decision -Proposal to despatch a force to Wadi Halfa - General Gordon recommends the employment of a Turkish force-The General Gordon's motives-Spirit in which the question should be approached-Did General Gordon try to carry out the policy of the Government?-The situation at Berber-Messages to General Gordon and his replies-Sir Frederick Stephenson in- structed to report on the Relief Expedition-The Suakin-Berber Railway-The fall of Berber-The vote of credit-Lord Wolseley appointed to command the Nile expedition - He arrives at Wadi Halfa-Remarks on the above narrative PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR AFTER A PHOTOGRAPH BY G. C. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY Objects of this book-The narrative portion-The effects on Egypt of the British occupation-Chief point of interest in Egyptian reform -Difficulty of ascertaining Eastern opinion. My object in writing this book is twofold. In the first place, I wish to place on record an accurate narrative of some of the principal events which have occurred in Egypt and in the Soudan since the year 1876.1 In the second place, I wish to explain the results which have accrued to Egypt from the British occupation of the country in 1882. The accidents of my public life have afforded me special opportunities for compiling certain chapters of Egyptian history. From March 1877 to June 1880, and again from September 1883 up to the present time (1907), I have been behind the scenes of Egyptian affairs. Besides those sources of information which are open to all the world, I have had access to all the documents in the archives of the Foreign Offices of both London and Cairo, and I have been in close communication with, I think, almost every one who has taken a leading 1 I have dealt fully and unreservedly with the whole of the principal historical events which occurred in Egypt from 1876 up to the time of Tewfik Pasha's death (January 7, 1892); also with Soudan history up to the end of 1907. It would, in my opinion, be premature to deal similarly with events in Egypt subsequent to the accession of the present Khedive. VOL. I 1 B part in Egyptian affairs during the period the history of which I have attempted to write. Thus, I think I may fairly lay claim to be in a position of exceptional advantage in so far as the attainment of accuracy is concerned. Now, accuracy of statement is a great merit. Sir Arthur Helps once said that half the evils of the world come from inaccuracy. My personal experience would lead me rather to agree with him. I cannot say that what I have seen and known of contemporaneous events, with which I have been well acquainted, has inspired me with any great degree of confidence in the accuracy of historical writing. The public, indeed, generally end, though sometimes not till after a considerable lapse of time, in getting a correct idea of the general course of events, and of the cause or effect of any special political incident. political incident. But, speaking more particularly of the British public, it may be doubted whether even this result is fully achieved, save in respect to questions of internal policy. In such matters, a number of competent and wellinformed persons take part in the discussions which arise in Parliament and in the press. Inaccuracy of statement is speedily corrected. Fallacies are exposed. In the heat of party warfare the truth may for a time be obscured, but in the end the public will generally lay hold of a tolerably correct appreciation of the facts. In dealing with the affairs of a foreign country, more especially if that country be in a semi-civilised condition, these safeguards to historical truth exist in a relatively less degree. English opinion has in such cases to deal with a condition of society with which it is unfamiliar. It is disposed to apply arguments drawn from English, or, it may be, from European experience to a state of things which does not admit of any such arguments being applied The number of without great qualifications. persons who possess sufficiently accurate information to instruct the public is limited, and amongst those persons it not unfrequently happens that many have some particular cause to advance, or some favourite political theory to defend. Those who are most qualified to speak often occupy some official position, which, for the time being, imposes silence upon them. There is, therefore, no certain guarantee that inaccuracies of statement will be corrected, or that fallacies will be adequately exposed. Thus, even if the general conclusion be correct, there is a risk that an erroneous appreciation in respect to important matters of detail will float down the tide of history. The public often seize on some incident which strikes the popular imagination, or idealise the character of some individual whose action excites sympathy or admiration. It would appear, indeed, that democracy tends to develop rather than to discourage hero-worship. The first stage on the road to historical inaccuracy is that some half-truth is stated, and, in spite of contradiction, obtains a certain amount of credence. It may be, indeed, that the error is corrected; but it sometimes happens that, as time goes on, the measure of fiction increases, whilst that of fact tends to evaporate. A series of myths cluster round the original idea or statement. In India, as Sir Alfred Lyall has shown, the hero passes by easy stages of transition into a demi-god.' In sceptical Europe, the process is different. All that happens is that an incorrect fact or a faulty conclusion is graven into the tablets from which future historians must draw their sources of information. Turning to the second point to which allusion is made above, I wish to explain the results which 1 Asiatic Studies. |