Page:The Annual Register 1899.djvu/39

 1899.] The Soudan Campaign Sr r "^[31

which was marked by breadth of view and oratorical power. Far from accepting the view that ecclesiastical peers were detrimental, he turned the tables on the Nonconformists by moving an amendment affirming that it was desirable not only to maintain the legislative power of the bishops, but that other life peers should be added to the House of Lords, especially those who would represent the greater religious denominations other than the Church of England. The Eadicals, Churchmen and Dissenters, were alike unprepared for such a flank attack, and unready with a reply. Sir Robert Reid (Dumfries Burghs), however, was put forward to say, presumably on behalf of the front Opposition bench, that any attempt to strengthen the Upper House by such means would .meet with protracted resistance. The Attorney-General, Sir R. Webster (Isle of Wight), while ridiculing the idea that the attendance of the bishops in the House of Lords interfered with the discharge of their spiritual duties, claimed for them a special right to speak on such subjects as education, temperance and the condi- tion of the poor. With regard to Lord H. Cecil's proposal, foreseeing the difficulty of explaining a vote given against a motion made by the Premier's son, he suggested its withdrawal on the ground that the subject was too large to discuss on that occasion. This advice was adopted, and the House was left free to negative by 200 to 129 votes Mr. Lewis's original resolution.

The Opposition, however, found a more promising field for challenging the action of the Government m the general conduct of affairs in Egypt and the Soudan. They elicited at an early date (Feb. 10) that the estimated deficit of the Soudan Budget for 1899 would be at least 317,000/., chargeable to the Egyptian Exchequer. The conduct of the campaign, which had cul- minated in the victory at Omdurman, was not allowed to pass without criticism, and the inadequacy of the hospital accom- modation and nursing staff at Cairo and Alexandria during an outbreak of enteric fever was practically admitted (Feb. 16). The vexed question of the treatment of the wounded Dervishes in the battle of Omdurman, raised by Mr. Labouchere (Feb. 21), elicited the statement that the total number of dead, as counted, was 10,600, and it was estimated that above 16,000 were wounded, exclusive of those killed during the taking of Omdur- man, estimated at between 300 and 400 men. Finally it was agreed that the discussion of the action of the troops on that occasion should be postponed until a subsequent occasion, and for the time criticism was directed to the unsatisfactory condition of Uganda and Unyoro. The vote of 256,000Z. in aid of the British Protectorates in Central and East Africa afforded a good opportunity (Feb. 27) for the discussion of the Ministerial policy in those regions. Sir E. Grey (Berwick-on-Tweed, Northumber- land), alluding to the mutiny of the Soudanese troops under Colonel Macdonald, said that no information had been afforded to the public, and maintained that its causes ought to be