LONDON.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXII, Issue XXII, 26 November 1867, Page 5

LONDON.

(from: our own correspondent.) September 26, 1867. Thr " dead season" of London is this year kept alive by the prospects of the approaching war in Abyssinia. The Government stores department at Woolwich, Chatham, Portsmouth, and elsewhere are all on the alert— working full Rwi»ff night and dny packing and preparing all sorts of materiel for the forthcoming campaign. Meanwhile a complete "fleet of steamships' hns been chartered by Government from all the leading Navigation Companies, for the convyance of stores to the " seat of war"— that is, as near to it as ships can go ;— for the " seat of war," properly speaking, is 400 miles or more inland. All these vessels— some five-and-'wenty ov thirty in number— are of heavy tonnage and first-class -build, and have been taken up afc considerable outlay by the Government— which looks as if expense were no object. Indeed the Government gives signs of great earnestness and energy m the prosecution of tbis " little war." which has been undertaken only after long delay and grave deliberation, after every expedient for a peaceful solution had been tried, and no otber alternative was left but recourse to arms. Unfortunately, the present is one of those wars calculated to entail an expenditure of men and money wholly out of proportion to the material or moral results which avo are likely to accomplish. There is no " glory to be gained in waging Avar with a set ol savages, and certainly there is no territory in Abyssinia worth the trouble of annexing to the British Crown. So that in any case the impending war gives no hope of any benefit or advantage to be derived from the prosecution thereof. We undertake it merely from motives of humanity in the first place, and secondly to maintain the prestige of our arms and the authority of Great Britain in the face of Europe and the world at large, bufc more especially of Eastern nations, who understand and respect nothing bufc tbe exhibition of force. Be ifc known then to your readers that Great Britain enters upon this war most unwillingly— far more unwillingly than we entered upon the Ncav Zealand war —or the great Caflrc war— or any of our Indian campaigns. It is estimated to cost; us in hard cash some eight or ten millions sterling. My own opinion, judging from the scale in which the enterprise has been started is, that double the above sum Avill be much nearer the mark when the bill is " footed up" and handed into Parliament by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. But then, as I said before, we have no alternative— the war is forced upon us— our honor is at stake —and willy-nilly- we musfc fight. Somebody will probably ask the question; where is Abyssinia, and who the d— l isKing Theodore about whom all this row has been got up,— what has he done to offend ns, how, when, and why ? This is nofc a question, but a string of questions, aud is by no means so easily answered as some of your readers might imagine. Nay, I will be bold to say there is not one man in teu thousand passing into the city through Temple Bar (unless a politician by profession, whose business is to understand and elucidate such questions), who could give a coherent and satisfactory answer u> the foregoing queries. Not but thafc the subject of Abyssinia and the "Abyssinian 'Captives" has been on tho carpetfony time for the last four or five years, but nobody paid the slightest attention to it until within the last few months, during which it has been brought prominently and seriously under the public notice. Well then Abyssinia is an extensive and elevated tract of table land intersected by a double row of lofty mountain ranges, lying in the north-eastern quarter of Africa, having upon its northern and eastern boundaries, Egypt, the Red Sea, and Ihe Indian Ocean. Its area is said to be aboui 270,000 square miles, and its population is variously estimated from one million to three millions of Inhabitants— who call themselves Ethiopians. There are three or four races, and as many languages in the country. The majority of tho inhabitants are sn'*d to be Coptic Christians, and the head of their church receives his ordination from the Archbishop of Alexandria. But besides the Christians there are a great many Miihoniedims and Jews, and it may be presumed, a few " heathens." The interior of the country issaid tobe by no means wanting in fertility and cultivation therearc various cereal and other vegetable products, and a certain amount of commerce is carried on with Egypt and with other parts of the East by means of the Red Sea. So that the country is by no means utterly barbarous, though civilization is at a comparatively low ebbowing doubtless to the fact that the population are chiefly, though not exclusively, of the " nigger" type, and that the country has always been the seat of internal discord, domestic broils, dynastic feuds, and civil wars. The monarch, accordingly, atlio rules for the time being over these half-civilized tribes is a jealous despot, who has to maintain himself on his throne by means of a system of terrorism, cunning and cruelty. The name of tho present ruler with whom we have to do is Theodore. He maintains the character of his predecessors, and lives in a kind of barbaric grandeur and luxury befitting his position ; he is said to be a man of some abilities, but he is more feared than loved by his subjects, among whom he has numerous enemies and rivals for his throne — the Turkish element being chiefly hostile to him. It appears to be an old custom of the country to " detain " strangers who visit it, whether from curiosity or otherwise, under the hope that they or thoir friends may be induced to pay a ransom for their deliverance. Ifc would furiher appear that about the year 1848 the British Government, from representations which were made to it by some speculative travellers who had visited the interior (I suspect they hailed from Manchester or Liverpool, for Abyssinia is to some extent a cotton growing country), was induced to enter into relationships of amity (for commercial purposes) with the then ruler, and accordingly a treaty of friendship and peace was concluded with the king, Ras Ali, and a consulate was established at Massowah. This treaty was disavowed by the succeeding monarch, and ignored by the present king. In fact the treaty, from the moment of its ratification, became virtually a dead letter. Ifc was impossible to maintain commercial relations with a nation of plunderers and freebooters, many of them quasi-independent chiefs, who levied black mail upon all merchants and traders who entered their territory, and who '* considered every white man fair booty to be fleeced according to the extent of his ignorance or his fears." These are tho words of Mr Plowden, the first consul appointed afc Massowah, some fifty years back. From this report, made at that period to the British Government, who were extremely dissatisfied wifch the result of their enterprise, it appeared that; the Abyssinians, from their isolated position and their extraordinary ignorance, looked with contempt upon other nations, and regarded themselves as the greatest people in the world. It was also shown that

I anarchy was the normal state of the country at large, and that the nominal ruler had but little power to control the turbulent chiefs spread broadcast throughout his dominions. At length, however, he succeeded in putting down for a time his rebellious subjects, bufc nofc before some of them had managed to kill Mr Plowden. For this they had to pay dearly, for 1500 of them were put to death to avenge the consul, and fchafc the king might evince tho respect he entertained for bis friend, Mr Plowden— nofc quoad consul, but quoad friend. The consulship was less than nothing in King Theodore's eyes. At length Mr Cameron was sent oufc, but the king " would none of him ;" he ordered the consul to begone back to Massowah. and took every means of thwarting him in his mission. Consul Cameron, however, unwisely, and contrary to the commands of the king and the instructions of his own Government, went i once more on his own responsibility into tho interior of the country and appeared to ! meddle somewhat officiously with the affairs I or squabbles of the chiefs who were at loggerheads with each other and with the King, 1 with a view, as it would seem, of trying to reconcile the contending factions and establish peace. But in this self-imposed errand lie not only egregioualy failed, but got himself into bad odour with tho King, and incurred the censure of the Foreign Office. This was as far back as 1863. It was further alleged by King Theodore that Consul Cameron had neglected or delayed to forward a letter addressed to the Queen, that he had abused and denounced him as a murderer, and had taken the side of his enemy, the Turks. And accordingly, Consul Cameron was made a prisoner, and has been detained in durance to the present hour. After this, the King " detained" Mr Rassam, who was sent out by our Government to intercede on behalf of Cameron. Besides which, several other British subjects, missionaries and others, to the number of eighteen or more, were " detained" under one pretext or another. The captives are Captain Cameron, his secretary (Mr Kerans), with three servants, Mr Bardel (a painter), Mr Schiller and Mr Essler (natural history collectors), and four missionaries (Mr Stern, Mr Rosenthal, Mr Staiger, and Mr Branders). There Avere also Mrs Rosenthal, and Mr and Mrs Flad and their threo children. It is now pretty obvious that those persons are all detained in captivity and subjected to very great hardships and privations, without auy sufficient grounds whatever, and under the flimsiest and mosfc transparent pretexts. Prompted by motives of cupidity and gain, and instigated by a wily Frenchman in his service, one Bardel, formerly Secretary to Consul Cameron, to whom he owed a grudge, the King, after repeated promises to enlarge his captives, and after repealed but futile remonstrances from the British Government, has hitherto kept his prisoners in confinement— treating them from time to time with great indignity and severity and even threatening them with death, , under a variety of picas, but Avith tbe hope that a large ransom would eventually he paid for their enlargement. It is said thafc the " payment" which the King stipulated for was, that "a number of artificers should be sent out to him, who should teach his subjects the way to make guvs, rifles, and 'ammunition. They were to tako with them a small steam engine, and proper tools and instruments, besides a good supply of gunpowder, gun- caps, some double barrel guns and pistols, and a quantity of carpets, silks, tumblers and goblets." When the demand was made through Mr Flad, one of the captives, the Government, readily assentedto ifc (rather than proceed to Avarlike extremities), and preparations Avere set on foot upon a liberal scale for sending out workmen, tools, &c, but the King was in the first instance Lo release bis captives, on the ground that it was contrary to the usages of civilised nations lo refciin as a prisoner any person who was accredited as an ambassador, or any of those who accompanied him. To this, the King demurred, and wrote many specious letters, full of excuses until tho Government was afc length obliged to take decisive measures to bring him to his senses. 'flu s*-- decisive measures are war. War accordingly we shall have unless the king should relent and repent between this and the Ist of November, by which time Aye hope our troops will be on their way into the interior of Abyssinia— a distance of 400 miles from Massowah on the Red Sea, which Avill be the base of our operations. Our military expedition will be under tlie command of Lieut.-General Sir Robert Napier, an experienced and able officer of engineers, who has seen considerable service in India, will consist of about; 12,000 troops, comprising two Queen's regiments, eight regiments of Punjhiibces, six regiments of cavalry, two batteries of Royal Artillery, besides engineers, sappers, and a large mountain train. All these will proceed direct from India, and will he under fcho direction of the Bombay Government. Besides this there will be some ten thousand mules, camels, and bullocks, to sny nothing of the drivers, attendants, and camp followers, who, it is calculated will make up at least 20,000 more. So that you see ifc will be a work of no small difficulty to transport an army of this kind which will have to carry with it a full supply of provisions (including perhaps water- for the water of the country is scarce and pestilential) besides all fche means and appliances of Avar, and this too over a country where there are no roads, covered with trees, jungle, rocks, mountains, rivers, and arid plains in alternate succession, and whero nature presents every obstacle that can possibly be conceived to the progress of an invading army. So you see we have our work cut out for us in tbis little impending war with his sable mnjesty of Abyssinia. Ifc is to be hoped for the honor of the British army, aud of British generals, that our troops will give a better account of King Theodore and his " blackguards" (arcades umbo) than the 12,000 British troops who were led (?) against tho Maoris some threo or four years back by General Cameron. For the last month the papers have been filled with various practical suggestions for the conduct of this war, by old African travellers aud others, who seem to know something of the country and of the way warfare can besfc be conducted in such an outlandish and fearfully unhealthy region, aud certainly if tho British Government put fcheir foot in it by any such blundering as marked our career in tho early days of the Crimean war, ifc will nofc be for the lack of ■' practical suggestions" from African and Indian travellers. The above is a summary in as succinct and connected a form as I can present ifc to your readers of all that we know about the expedition about to explore the recesses of Abyssinia. The Times will of course send a special correspondent, who I understand will be Dr Russell of world wide fame. Within the last ten days there has been a somewhat audacious, not to say formidable, exhibition of Fenianism at Manchester. Iwo. of the Hiberno- Yankee filibusters—halfhorse, half-alligator sort of fellows— who visited Ireland last spring to lead the rebel-

lion in that unhappy country, were lately taken up by the police at Mancheater on suspicion of being doubtful characters bent on burglary. But it turned out that they were two of the most formidable of the American invaders who showed themselves in Ireland some few months hack. Their names were Captain Kelly and Captain Deasy. In due course they were taken before the magistrates ,- but on their way to prison from the police court, a successful rescue was effected jusfc outside the town, by an armed band of forty or fifty desperate Fenian ruffians who were lying in ambush for the prison van— just beyond a certain railway arch through which the van had to pass on its journey. Armed to the teeth with revolvers, three desperadoes rushed upon tbe van, shot the horses, knocked the driver from his scat, and seized the police, seven in number, who were iv charge of the vehicle. They then with hatchets and heavy stones broke in the roof of the van, seized the principal policeman or jailor who had the keys ofthe cells, and on bis refusal to give them up shot him through the head with a revolver. Having got the keys they liberated tho Fenian prisoners within, and having done so made off at full speed across some fields on the outskirts of the town. _ Tho majority of those avlio were implicated in the rescue have however been captured, including the fellow avlio killed the policeman, and whose name is Allen. He too is an Irish-Yankee. Bufc strange to say the tAVo men who were rescued, Kelly and Deasy, are still at large, though they had handcuffs on when they escaped. Bufc a large reward has been ollered for their capture, and we expect every moment to hear that they are in the hands of the police. There has been a good deal of talk lately about the " Pan-Anglican Synod," which is holding its meetings at the present moment Avith closed doors. The prof any m vnlgus — I mean the Press — are not admitted into the sanctum sanctorum of the assembled Bishops, lest perhaps the neAvspapers should criticise with too free a pen the proceeds of this quasicouncilof the Anglican Fathers. Whether the outer public will ever know Avhat these patres conscripli have said and done is very doubtful. About this same Pan-Anglican Synod there has been a good deal of talk — religious and profane — during the last few Aveeks. But although there has been a perfect deluge ol Bishops of the English Church from all parts of the world, yet I am bound to record fche fact that this circumstance has not produced much of a sensation in Loudon. Perhaps it is because we are rather " used up" in this big city, and require some stronger stimulant than the. advent of a number of black-coated, apron girded, and shovel-hatted, and thoroughly respectable set of middleaged and elderly gentlemen to excite our Avondcr. Bishops are no novelty in Loudon. We may any day of our lives sco half-a-dozen — if we only take tho trouble. Whereas the arrival of the Sultan, or of the Poj)e, or of the Emperor of China, would from its novelty set the multitude agape. With the Bishops it is far otherwise. They come and they go without much parade, pride, or ostentation. Indeed, some of their lordships are very humble ; only a feAV days since I actually saw ono of them— ho was dressed out in his " full regimentals"— apron, hat, and all— near the King's Cross Railway Station carrying a large brown paper parcel under his arm like a draper's assistant. I concluded at once that he hailed from some outlandish place in Canada or tho Western States, or some outlying colonial settlement, where bishops have no proper ideas of episcopal savoirfaire, and don't understand how to maintain their own dignity. Afc all events, it seemed a degree of primitive simplicity which is seldom met with among the " dignified clergy" of the English Church afc the present. But talking of pastors Aye may say — renowns a nos mouions. Just now we have here twenty- three bishops from the colonies, about twenty from the b T niled States, in addition to the English, Irish, and Scotch Bishops. But, they Avill not all take part in the Synod. Out of twenty-eight English Bishops, ten hold aloof, and oufc of oleven Irish Bishoj s, only eight or nine Avill be present. Tbe whole of the Scotch prelates will, it is understood, take part iv the proceedings. This will give a tolal of about seventy six. For a week or more before tho opening of this Episcopal Congress, there was a scries of grand choral services held at a church in the city every day. And sermons Avero preached by several of the leading colonial and American bishops — among the number being tho Bishop of New Zealand. The locality was too much out of your correspondent's way, or he would have been present on some occasions. Bufc what after all you will ask is the meaning, end, and object of this Synod? vrhafc does it propose to do? what can il do? The answer is — nothing, or next to nothing. Ifc will —it may be — tend to promote a little good (christian) fellowship among a number of chief pastors, who have never seen each other before, and avlio perchance may never meet again in this world. Men avlio have been separated from each other by thousands of miles, and avlio meet to tako counsel together for a brief season may derive mutual benefit by an interchange of ideas, as to the best way in wbich their individual duties may be discharged, their functions performed, and the interests of their (locks promoted. They may also profit, by talking over the difficulties which beset the Church at the present day — both from without and from within — and they may be able to devise some practical measures for rendering more efficient the Christian Ministry — who, in this country at least, have been degenerating both socially and intellectually for tho last twenty years or more. All this, you will say, is something — if they only succeed to this extent. So fur it is. But then I say all this has nothing Avhatever to do with the real dangers which beset the Church at the present moment. These difficulties have to do with doctrine, discipline, and ritual ; and these questions the Synod cannot touch, much less settle ; although it may talk aboufc them, and give its opinion extra cathedram, to any extent. But the Synod has no poAver or authority to say or do anything which shall have the slighest logal force or effect. Still it is a good sign of the times that these members of the " Church Catholic," as they all profess themselves to be, should thus meet together upon the platform of a common Christianity and a common creed, and give each other the " kiss of peace" — with the feeling that they arc brethren and fellow- workers in tho great vineyard of one common Master. I believe one point that will occupy their attention will be the possibility of a reunion between the Eastern Churches and the Eng lish Church — a mere chimera; for the two Churches, however much they may hold in common, are yet in some of their essential doctrines so utterly antagonistic that they never could establish anything like full communion between each other, and certainly never will in our time. Still, the Pan-Angli-can Synod is a great fact, and will mark an era in the history of the Episcopal Church of fchis country.