Untitled

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 6948, 23 February 1884, Page 4

The Soudan has been abandoned Gordon Pasha has proclaimed its independence. This was the object of bii mission to Khartoum. He went there empowered by the British Government to report,on the state of affairs, and to give efiect to the Khedive's resolution to withdraw hie troops from the, interior of the Soudan. Whatever may bo thought of this settlement, it has the merit of being the easiest way out of the difficulty. It is also in keeping with the foreign policy of the Gladstone Ministry. The keynote of that policy is abandonment. In accordance with hia "scuttling out' theory, Mr. Gladstone withdrew from Afghanistan, from the Transvaal, and f iom Zululand. He is to withdraw from Egypt, and has withdrawn from Soudan. The British army in inarched into a country only to inarch out again. Thu may be statesmanship, but it u not tho statesmanship which has made England a great and powerful nation. In this case, however, there ie a good dsal to be said for it Egypt is powerless to hold tho Soudan, and unless England intended to keep possession of Egypt it u no business of hers to seize and re jam the Soudan. And as the Government hue declared over and over again that they have no intention of annexing Egypt, no fault can be found with them for refusing to annex the Soudaa. What it is reasonable to complain of 13 the vacillation they hare displayed in connection with the revolt under the False Prophet. Months ago they formally repudiated all responsibility of what might happen in the Soudaa stating that the Soudan was solely tlv' affair of Egypt. Then when Hick Pasha's army was annihilated they toot, the direction of Soudan affairs into their own hands. British marines were landed at Souakim, a British force is at thin moment marching against Tokar, and Gordon Pasha was sent to Khartoum as the representative ef the BrltiiH Government. Now the Soudan i» » be abandoned. All this shows a glaring want of pnrpose and consistency. The abandonment, however, will not, we opine, be complete. The probability is that it relates only to that part of the country to the west bank of "the White Nile. Sennar, Khartoum, and Aasou&n. will be retained. Egypt is not likely to lose anything by washlDg its hands of the disaffected territory. Iβ a financial sense it has never been worth keeping. During Gordon Pasha's Governorship the revenue of the Soudui was calculated at £579.000, and the expenditure at £651,000, It is well known that he himself has lons been w favour of its evacuation by the Egyptian*, whom experience had shown him wer» utterly unfit to undertake the government of so vast a country.