§ Sir WALTER B. BARTTELOTasked the First Lord of the Treasury, Whether the Government propose to take any steps, and if so, what steps, if the reported defeat of the Egyptian troops in the Soudan by the troops of Mahdi, the false prophet, is true?
MR. GLADSTONEIn reply to the Question of the hon. and gallant Baronet, I may state that we are at present in possession of very limited and imperfect information as to what is taking place in the Soudan. There is great difficulty in discriminating between what is true and what is probably untrue or greatly exaggerated. The question is in a state of rumour, and has not yet come to the state of positive and defined intelligence, although there can be no doubt that there has been a defeat of Egyptian forces by the person called the False Prophet. The Egyptian Government is taking defensive measures, and has applied to the English authorities for the counsel and aid of certain officers, and the matter is now under consideration. The hon. and gallant Gentleman will, of course, bear in mind that Khartoum, which is generally spoken of as in the neighbourhood, is more than 1,000 miles away from Cairo.