§ MR. SCOTT (Lancashire, Leigh)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the misapprehensions which appear to have arisen as to the orders given by the Sirdar in relation to the treatment of wounded dervishes at the battle of Omdurman, he will state what were the terms of the instructions issued?
§ MR. BRODRICKWe have no reason to suppose that any instructions were issued by the Sirdar at the battle of Omdurman differing from those which have governed the practice of the British and Egyptian forces in previous engagements. Every effort was made to induce the dervishes to surrender and to avoid unnecessary slaughter.
§ MR. SCOTTI beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that it has been stated by more than one eye-witness that 1280 the camp followers of the Sirdar's army, on the day of the battle of Omdurman, came out and murdered and plundered the wounded dervishes, wounding also some of our own troops by their reckless firing; and what precautions, if any, had been taken to prevent or check such proceedings?
§ MR. BRODRICKSuch statements have been made, and on the occasion of great encounters in an uncivilised country it is clearly very difficult to prevent altogether such action on the part of camp followers. Lord Cromer has been requested to obtain and forward a report on the subject, but it has not yet been received.
§ MR. MACNEILLWill the right honourable Gentleman see that the Report is laid on the table before Lord Kitchener's Pension Bill is taken?
§ [No Reply.]
§ MR. SCOTTI beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of certain statements recently made by General Gatacre in a published article, implying that the Jaalin friendlies employed at the battle of Omdurman so far passed beyond the control of their officers as to murder wounded Baggaras, care will in future be taken to employ only such native allies as can be trusted not to commit similar excesses?
§ MR. BRODRICKThe Jaalin tribe have suffered horrible cruelties at the hands of the Baggaras, and there may have been difficulty in preventing them from retaliating when not observed; but the statement made in General Gatacre's article tends to show that such cases were isolated. Every care will no doubt be taken by the Sirdar and the officers of the Egyptian Army to keep all native allies under proper control.
§ MR. SCOTTI beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been called to the statement of Lieutenant Winston Churchill, in a letter describing the battle of Omdurman, that, on the 9th September, a week after the battle, 1281 there were still a few wounded, who had neither died nor crawled away, but continued to suffer; and, if this be true, how it came to pass that organised assistance was not rendered by the Army of the Sirdar to the wounded on the battlefield; and whether he regards Article VI. of the Geneva Convention of 1864, which provides that wounded or sick soldiers shall be brought in and cared for to whatever nation they belong, as binding in all cases, or as applicable only in the case of civilised enemies?
§ MR. BRODRICKHer Majesty's Government are confident that all possible assistance was given to the wounded dervishes out of the resources at the Sirdar's command. Numbers of them were brought in to the town from the battlefield and received medical attendance from the Egyptian Army doctors. The staff available for the purpose was, however, limited, and it is clearly impossible in such oases to guarantee that wounded men, who probably hid themselves to the best of their ability, shall not for a time escape notice. A special difficulty arose in this campaign from the efforts of the wounded dervishes to kill or wound anyone who came to their assistance. The Article of the Geneva Convention which is referred to is no doubt applicable in all cases so far as it can possibly be carried out.