Letter from Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley to Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington

Lord Wolseley writes referring to his earlier telegram of 13 March in response to SCC's telegram of 12 March. He writes that he is attempting to inform SCC as to the current military position in Soudan and whilst accepting that it is difficult for England to be involved in two wars at the same time, it is nothing new. In fact, he writes that for England to withdraw from Soudan now would seen to be "unworthy of a great nation" and would damage its reputation. He writes that should England retreat it would appear that Mohammed Ahmed had won, seeing it as a victory of Moslems against Christians. Should Ahmet be killed or even discredited then Lord Wolseley believes that Britain could easily rule the Soudan for at least one generation. He also writes about the situation in Egypt, acknowleging that England has weak military powers in the region and that to go to war with nations such as Russia and France would result in a military disaster. He writes that converting Egypt into an English province would give command of the Suez Canal which would prove beneficial in the event of war with a strong naval power. He however writes that with the exception of the Suez Canal England has no other interests in the region and recommends withdrawal, trusting to the certainty that England would be able to block the Canal in the event of war. He writes that he recommends the creation of a strong naval base at the Cape of Good Hope, always keeping there a strong British garrison. He lastly writes that he is anxiously awaiting the estimates as to time for the construction of the Suakim-Berber line, confirmation of which may affect his plans. He also makes reference to the death of [General] Gordon and the [Seige of] Khartoum. Sent from: Camp Korti, the Soudan.

Arranged in accordance with ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description, Second Edition, Ottawa 2000 and The Devonshire Collection Cataloguing Guidelines.

Copyright held by Chatsworth House Trust.