THE ABYSSINIAN PRISONERS.

Timaru Herald, Volume VII, Issue 247, 9 October 1867, Page 3

THE ABYSSINIAN PRISONERS.

We cannot" admit that the question at issue is only whether the half-dozen English subjects m the hands of Theodorus, shall or shall not be got out of his clutches. The question is whether it is wise to allow the English reputation to be lowered m the eyes of every barbarous or semi-barbarous community throughout the Eastern world; 'for it appears to us barely possible to doubt that such will be the effect of making all manner of vain attempts to buy the liberation of the Queen's officers and their companions m misfortune. Our whole Eastern power rests upon our reputation, and as soon as it is perfectly clear that that reputation is regarded as a burden and cannot be upheld, the fosition , of the English authority m ndia will be quite a different thing from what it now is. In one sense, it is perfectly true that it is beyond the power of such a man as Theodorus to make any serious inroad upon the honor. of England, but this is true only to a very limited degree. It is not m the power of a, common pickpocket to disgrace a respectable person by stealing- his. watch; but if the respectable person, knowing perfectly well that he has been robbed, and by whom he has been robbed, prefers letting the matter rest to the trouble of a prosecution, he is very likely to see such other parts of his property as may be exposed to plunder go the way of his watch. It is of the highest importance to have the character of caring so much for your rights that you are ready and willing to take the utmost possible trouble to vindicate them whenever they are invaded. Men and nations who enjoy this reputation are generally allowed to enjoy their rights quietly. This matter of Theodorus is just one of the cases m which it would' be well to act on this principle. Our Indian possessions are conterminous with a variety of more or less barbarous countries, and the natives of India appear, to be already discussing the question whether) we intend to keep up our ancient reputation, or to lower our tone and allow the Russians to have everything their own way. Theodorus is just the sort of person to make an example of,., and the .exhibition of a certain' amount "of force m his case would be a demonstration which would not be without its effect on every part of the Eastern world.

As to what is to be done, the answer appears to be clear enough. We must send native troops from India into his country, "aud force him to give up his prisoners and make compensation as Far as he can. It is said that the effect of this would be to make him kill his prisoners. fVT'e do j not believe it. He would as soon 'kill tHe goose that laid the golden eggs. As soon as the prisoners were put to death he would

have no sort of hold upon us, and he would begin to form uncomfortable reflections upon his own probable fate. Much is not known about the politics of Abyssinia, but this we do know, such politics as they have to consist principally m the intrigues of a set of chiefs who from time to time contrive to dispossess each other. Theodorus himself came to the throne by the simple process of deposing his father-in-law, Ras Ali. It matters very little to us who is King of Abyssinia, but it is pretty clear that plenty of people are to oe found who would greatly like the situation, and that the candidate whom we may favour has ever chance on his side. In short, Theodorus must know that if an English expedition could do little else, it could most assuredly dethrone him, and set m his place any rival whom it might choose to oefriend"; and it does not require much intelligence or experience to be aware of the tact that the position of a dethroned King is neither a wholesome nor even a very permanent one m such a country as Abyssinia. In a word, if he saw we were thoroughly m earnest he would reconsider his position ; and the result of that process might very well be that he would anticipate the incursion of 10,000 disciplined soldiers by liberating his prisoners. But whether or no, one thing is clear ; it is not the duty of the Queen's Government to leave her subjects to languish year after year m captivity; nor is the responsibility lessened when more than one of those captives are the envoys and representatives of the Government itself. — Pall Mall Gazette.