| Show i i THE SITUATION 1 IH THE SOUDAN 1 A Newspaper Correspondent 4 Gives a Graphic View WHAT MAY BE EXPECTED EVGIAXD SLVY PIUOTOKE A EUROPEAN EURO-PEAN VK non c of Commons Puts in an Hour I I I DIcustiip the Mlc KxpeUition and the Indcrsliiadins AVitli the Povrcrs Rej ardinj the Steps Talx Chamberlain on Great IJrit jiint Isolation Stanley Hopes thc British Troops Will Push on to Kliarlouc NEW YORK March 20A Herald special from Cairo says Your correspondent called on Lord Cromer but he declined to express any opinion as to the situation The assumption as-sumption is that he knows very little of the scope of the movement I is known that the orrkr for tie advance was a surprise to him With the experience ex-perience gained through Wdlseleys dilatory atory vaccinating tactics in the Kar toum campaign before the British war office it is practically certain that this expedition will be called forward with sharpness and precision but it is not at all probable that a serious advance al will be made UDOn the very threshold of summer The Soudan and Egyptian troops at Wady Haifa may be pushed to Aka shar while the English contingent will concentrate at Wady Haifa and organize organ-ize for effective work When cooler weather sets in early in September columns from the Nile and Suakim can jnake a combined advance on Ondur man but the guardians of Kh lfa of British tac Abdulla know something Britsh tc tics and may not wait for the cooler weather programme Fully 6000 dervishes der-vishes are reported afoot and ready to light The massacres of Italians at Adowa filled them with warlike zealand zeal-and the fall of Kassala will inflame them with fanaticism They may take the initiative and may fall upon the advance ad-vance column of the Nile and crush i even before the main support can reach Massun 4 c NATIVES DISCONSOLATE While the natives are disconsolate at the prospect of war the English at Cairo are elated Scores pf young men in civil places are striving for permission permis-sion to join the forces and several t English women have volunteered for hospital service The prospect for fighting creates much enthusiasm among the British Knowles has issued Mrs Constance ha an appeal to Englishmen here on behalf be-half of a fund for protecting widows and orphans Many seriousminded observers predict pre-dict that the attempt to carry out Eng i lands long matured policy in the I Soudan will provoke a European war inasmuch as it will afford Russia and Prance th < pretext which they have been year ing for The war correspondents corres-pondents of the London press are rapidly rap-idly concentrating here The troops in Cairo are taken by rail to Ghieren where the Cook steamers receive and carry them to Assouan The North Staffordshire regiment is booked to make the trip on the 26th The young Khedive is said to be elated over the prospect Your correspondent had an interview inter-view with Slatin Pasha the companion com-panion of General Gordon who has had seventeen years of life and imprisonment im-prisonment In the Soudan and who now holds the rank of colonel in the Egyptian Egypt-ian army He is i suffering from an In juy received through a recent fall from his hoise He said u Although I am still lame I shall so to the front at once By reason of my knowledge of the country and my I information a to the forces in the field and my ability to speak the dialects dia-lects of the Soudan residents I ought i to be able tot to-t RENDER GOOD SERVICE RENDER I I really speak Soudanese better than t my native German I think we shall have fighting inside t in-side of a week Our troops today made I the first advance beyond Egyptian I territory They are certain to meet opposition I think we shall find the enemy at least 4000 strong in rifles with oOOO spearmen and with an irregular ir-regular cavalry force of about 2000 The best arms they have are Reming I ton rifles and they are quite out of date now The talk about the dervishes being able to put 100000 fighters in the t field is absurd Not half that number I of fighting men can be mustered in t the whole region They have some regimental and brigade organization i but discipline is lax and supplies always al-ways inadequate t Osman Digna will probably be our I chief opponent The dervishes will I not in this encounter have the fanaticism fanat-icism which the Mahdi inspired in the Gordon campaign 4 Besides the people are much dissatisfied dis-satisfied on account of the oppression and misrule of their government of late I am quite familiar with all the tribes that can be brought against us and we have no fear as to the result I of this expedition Quite a number of European military officers are applying I apply-ing for permission to a ompany us Slrds who is the nominal commander of the Egyptian army will go to the front on Tuesday Much is expected of the trained Soudanese regiments k oOIcered by the British but I would f not care to depend much E ce deend upon Egyptian i Egyp-tian troops such as I have seen |
