Part 54 (2/2)

In the meanwhile, the Egyptian battery, attached to the 1st Brigade, had been brought into action on the right of the position, and was doing good service. The infantry deploying in line, the West Kent on the right, and the Berks.h.i.+re and Durham Regiments on the left of the guns, kept up a steady fire, a.s.sisted by the Egyptian Camel Corps.

Notwithstanding the volleys of the Martini-Henrys, a large body of spearmen managed to creep up un.o.bserved, through a deep ravine in front of the line of infantry, to a spot where the dismounted camels of the Egyptian Camel Corps had been placed.

The spearmen then made so rapid a rush that the men of the Camel Corps had not time to mount, and so were driven back fighting hand to hand with their a.s.sailants, who pressed them closely. The West Kent Regiment, which on the attack developing had been moved to the left of the line, came to the a.s.sistance of the Camel Corps, and shooting down numbers of the enemy, the rest fell back and fled to the hills. The brigade, then swinging round to the left, was directed upon the village of Ginnis, and, though time after time attempts at a stand were made, the enemy were eventually all dispersed, and at 9.15 the village was occupied, the Dervishes fleeing south, in the direction of Atab.

The 2nd Brigade, after disposing of Kosheh, had continued its advance in the direction of Ginnis, which it entered on the eastern side, a quarter of an hour after the 1st Brigade had taken possession.

The cavalry went in pursuit of the fugitives until 10 a.m., and by that time the Dervish army had been dissolved into a ma.s.s of disorganized and terror-stricken Arabs. Many of them crossed over to the west bank and escaped into the desert.

The camp at Ginnis was seized, and four guns and twenty standards captured.

The British and Egyptian loss in the fight was only seven killed and thirty-four wounded, and if, as estimated, out of a force of 6,000 men, the Khalifa's troops had 500 killed and 300 wounded, it must be admitted that the engagement partook more of the nature of a _battu_ than a battle.

After the fight, and on the same day, the 1st Brigade advanced to Atab, five miles to the west of Giniss, whilst the cavalry continued the pursuit to Abri, which on the following day was occupied by Buller's brigade.

The action at Ginnis was a serious check to the Khalifa. Not only had his emir Abd-el-Medjid with eighteen minor chiefs been killed, but the prestige which the Mahdi's successor enjoyed amongst his followers had also sustained a severe blow.

The remainder of his scattered-forces was now collected at Kermeh, about 30 miles north of Dongola, where, under the command of Mohammed-el-Kheir, they awaited reinforcements.

CHAPTER LIV.

FINANCE, THE SUEZ Ca.n.a.l, AND THE ARMY OF OCCUPATION.

In the year 1885, each of the subjects mentioned in the heading of the present chapter came prominently to the front. In the following pages it is proposed to deal with the different matters in succession.

_Finance._ In July, 1885, Egypt, thanks to the good offices of Great Britain, was enabled to arrange a very th.o.r.n.y question which had arisen with regard to her finance. To explain what occurred, it is necessary to refer to the events which had previously taken place.

Under the financial decrees of Ismail Pasha, certain revenues were a.s.signed to the Public Debt Commissioners to provide for the interest and Sinking Fund of the debt. Although, by the Law of Liquidation accepted by the Powers in 1880, the rate of interest was reduced, the provision for the Sinking Fund was left untouched, and the result was that the debt was gradually reduced by about a million. This, however, was too good a state of things to last. The expenses caused by the insurrection in the Soudan, the necessity of providing for the payment of the Alexandria indemnities, and other pressing claims, not only rendered it impossible for Egypt to continue the reduction of her existing debt, but made it indispensable to contract a fresh one in the shape of a new loan.

In March, 1884, at the invitation of Lord Granville, a conference of the Great Powers was held in London to discuss the situation. To purchase the goodwill of France, what became known as ”The Anglo-French Convention” was entered into. By this, subject to the acceptance by the Powers of the British financial proposals, the British troops in Egypt were to be withdrawn at a fixed date, unless the Powers, in the meantime, should agree to their remaining. Lord Granville pointed out the absurdity of Egypt continuing to pay off her old debts at a moment when the funds at her disposal were insufficient to meet her current expenditure. The British proposals, which involved not only a suspension of the Sinking Fund, but also a further diminution in the rate of interest, were opposed by the French representative; and Lord Granville, in a somewhat summary manner, dissolved the conference. Lord Northbrook was then despatched to Egypt as High Commissioner, and in September, 1884, no means having been discovered of relieving the financial tension, the Egyptian Government, under his advice, adopted the strong measure of directing the governors of the provinces, as well as the heads of the customs and railway administrations, to pay directly to the Treasury the balance of their receipts for the current half-year (which closed on the 25th October), instead of to the ”Caisse” of the debt. It is worthy of remark that there was at this time sufficient money in the ”Caisse” to pay the interest on the debt, and the funds intercepted would simply have gone to swell the Sinking Fund. The step, nevertheless, was a clear violation of the existing arrangements between Egypt and her creditors, and naturally raised a storm. Protests rained in from all quarters; and some of the Powers, notably France, Germany, and Russia, used strong language. The Commissioners of the debt also attacked the Khedive's Ministers in the Mixed Tribunals. The Egyptian Government, realizing that it had got into a ”tight place,” again by British advice, meekly bowed its head and directed the payments to the ”Caisse” to be resumed. The Cairo Mixed Tribunal on the 18th December gave judgment directing the Government to refund the money diverted.

This they were absolutely unable to do, and an appeal was lodged, partly to gain time and partly because the negotiations with the Powers, abruptly broken off by Lord Granville, had been in the meantime renewed.

At last, on the 18th March, 1885, ”The London Convention” came to the aid of Nubar Pasha and his Cabinet. The effect of this agreement and the declarations dated the 17th March annexed to it was that the Powers acquiesced in the issue of a new loan of 9,000,000. Foreigners were made liable to certain taxes, and the Law of Liquidation was modified.

Further than this, the Mixed Tribunals were declared incompetent to proceed with the action against the Government. On 27th July, 1885, a decree embodying these terms was signed, and a situation full of embarra.s.sment was happily put an end to.

_The Suez Ca.n.a.l._ It should be mentioned that in the declarations annexed to ”The London Convention” was one which provided that a commission composed of delegates of the Great Powers should a.s.semble at an early date to consider the measures to be adopted to secure the free navigation of the Suez Ca.n.a.l in time of war. What possible connection there was between this question and that of Egyptian finance it is hard to say, but, the engagement having been made, it had to be carried out, and the negotiations were at once taken in hand.

The International Commission for dealing with the matter held its first sitting in Paris on the 30th March, 1885, and proceeded to discuss the various points involved.

As stated in a previous chapter, the attention of the Powers had been called to the matter by Lord Granville, then Foreign Secretary, as far back as the 3rd January, 1883, though thus far no progress had been made.

By the 13th June, 1885, the Commission had agreed on the text of a convention by which the freedom of navigation of the Ca.n.a.l in war-time was to be secured, and the Commission then concluded its sittings.

It should be mentioned that the British delegates, in approving the arrangement, formally declared that they did so under express reservation against the application of any of the clauses which might be incompatible with the existing situation in Egypt, or which might fetter the action of Her Majesty's Government or the movements of Her Majesty's forces during the British occupation of Egypt. From the date last mentioned, the question was under discussion by the respective Governments till more than three years later, when the Convention was concluded, and finally ratified by the Powers on the 22nd December, 1888.

The princ.i.p.al provisions of the Convention were the following, viz.:--

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