§ MR. ASHMEAD-BARTLETTasked the Secretary of State for War, Whether it is true that the Mahdi has sent three dervishes with a defiant message to General Gordon, returning the robes of honour which had been sent, declining the position of Sultan of Kordofan, and offering General Gordon the choice between the sword and the Koran; whether the Government have asked General Gordon if he needs British Troops; and, whether they will communicate to the House General Gordon's statements as to his position and power of defending Khartoum?
§ LORD EDMOND FITZMAURICESir, the account telegraphed by Sir Evelyn Baring is that General Gordon received a letter on the 22nd ultimo, brought by messengers who behaved in an insolent manner. The letter proposed that General Gordon should become a Mussulman and asserted the writer's claim to be Mahdi. General Gordon replied, styling him Sheikh, thereby cancelling the Sultanship of Kordofan, and said that there was an end of the matter.