The reader must judge
for himself of the loss in men; yet while he deplores the deaths of brave
Officers and soldiers, and no less the appalling destruction of the valiant
Arabs, he should remember that such slaughter is inseparable from war,
and that, if the war be justified, the loss of life cannot be accused.
But I write of the cost in money, and the economy of the campaigns cannot
be better displayed than by the table below:
Railway: EP 1,181,372
Telegraph: EP 21,825
Gunboats: EP 154,934
Military Expenditure: EP 996,223
TOTAL EXPENDITURES: EP 2,354,354 (EP1 = British P1 0s.6d.)
For something less than two and a half millions sterling active military
operations were carried on for nearly three years, involving the employment
- far from its base - of an army of 25,000 disciplined troops, including an
expensive British contingent of 8,000 men, and ending in the utter defeat
of an enemy whose armed forces numbered at the beginning of the war upwards
of 80,000 soldiers, and the reconquest and re-occupation of a territory
measuring sixteen hundred miles from north to south and twelve hundred
from east to west [Lieut.-Colonel Stewart's Report: Egypt, No.11, 1883],
which at one time supported at least twenty millions of inhabitants.
But this is not all. Of the total EP2,354,354 only EP996,223 can be
accounted as military expenditure. For the remaining EP1,358,131 Egypt
possesses 500 miles of railway, 900 miles of telegraph, and a flotilla of
steamers. The railway will not, indeed, pay a great return upon the capital
invested, but it will immediately pay something, and may ultimately
pay much. The telegraph is as necessary as the railway to the development
of the country; it costs far less, and, when the Egyptian system is
connected with the South African, it will be a sure source of revenue.
Lastly, there are the gunboats. The reader cannot have any doubts as to the
value of these vessels during the war. Never was money better spent on
military plant. Now that the river operations are over the gunboats
discharge the duties of ordinary steamers; and although they are,
of course, expensive machines for goods and passenger traffic, they are
by no means inefficient. The movement of the troops, their extra pay,
the supplies at the end of a long line of communications, the ammunition,
the loss by wear and tear of uniforms and accoutrements,
the correspondence, the rewards, all cost together less than a million
sterling; and for that million Egypt has recovered the Soudan.
The whole EP2,354,354 had, however, to be paid during the campaigns.
Towards this sum Great Britain advanced, as has been related, P800,000
as a loan; and this was subsequently converted into a gift. The cost to the
British taxpayer of the recovery and part acquisition of the Soudan,
of the military prestige, and of the indulgence of the sentiment known as
'the avenging of Gordon' has therefore been P800,000; and it may be stated
in all seriousness that English history does not record any instance of so
great a national satisfaction being more cheaply obtained. The rest of the
money has been provided by Egypt; and this strange country, seeming to
resemble the camel, on which so much of her wealth depends, has,
in default of the usual sources of supply, drawn upon some fifth stomach
for nourishment, and, to the perplexity even of those best acquainted with
her amazing financial constitution, has stood the strain.
'The extraordinary expenditure in connection with the Soudan campaign,'
wrote Mr. J.L. Gorst, the Financial Adviser to the Khedive in his Note of
December 20, 1898 [Note by the Financial Adviser on the Budget of 1899:
EGYPT, No. 3, 1899], 'has been charged to the Special Reserve Fund.
At the present moment this fund shows a deficit of EP336,000, and there are
outstanding charges on account of the expedition amounting to EP330,000,
making a total deficit of EP666,000.'
'On the other hand, the fund will be increased, when the accounts
of the year are made up, by a sum of EP382,000, being the balance of
the share of the Government in the surplus of 1898, after deduction of
the excess administrative expenditure in that year, and by a sum of
EP90,000, being part of the proceeds of the sale of the Khedivial postal
steamers. The net deficit will, therefore, be EP194,000; and if the year
1899 is as prosperous as the present year, it may be hoped that the deficit
will disappear when the accounts of 1899 are closed.'
A great, though perhaps academic, issue remains: Was the war justified
by wisdom and by right?
If the reader will look at a map of the Nile system, he cannot fail
to be struck by its resemblance to a palm-tree. At the top the green and
fertile area of the Delta spreads like the graceful leaves and foliage.
The stem is perhaps a little twisted, for the Nile makes a vast bend
in flowing through the desert. South of Khartoum the likeness is again
perfect, and the roots of the tree begin to stretch deeply into the Soudan.
I can imagine no better illustration of the intimate and sympathetic
connection between Egypt and the southern provinces. The water - the life
of the Delta - is drawn from the Soudan, and passes along the channel of
the Nile, as the sap passes up the stem of the tree, to produce a fine crop
of fruit above. The benefit to Egypt is obvious; but Egypt does not benefit
alone. The advantages of the connection are mutual; for if the Soudan
is thus naturally and geographically an integral part of Egypt,
Egypt is no less essential to the development of the Soudan. Of what use
would the roots and the rich soil be, if the stem were severed, by which
alone their vital essence may find expression in the upper air?
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