Chapter XV

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.

OLD OSBORNE HOUSE (1833).]

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.

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.]

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.

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.

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.

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.]

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.

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.]

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.]

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.

AFTER THE BATTLE: ARRIVAL OF LORD WOLSELEY AND STAFF AT THE BRIDGE OF TEL-EL-KEBIR.]