The Memoirs of Admiral Lord Beresford
The British admiral was told to:
"Communicate with the British Consul-General on arrival at Alexandria,
and in concert with him propose to co-operate with naval forces of
France to support the Khedive and protect British subjects and
Europeans, landing a force, if required, for latter object, such force
not to leave protection of ships' guns without instructions from home."
It will be observed that Admiral Sir Frederick Beauchamp Seymour was
not given enough men to form an efficient landing party; so that the
futile clause concerning "the protection of the ships' guns" is hardly
worth considering.
The French instructions were at least logical. The French admiral was
plainly told to do nothing except in an emergency.
"On arrival at Alexandria communicate with the Consul-General, who
will, if necessary, indicate to you what you will have to do to give a
moral support to the Khedive. You will abstain, until you have
contrary instructions, from any material act of war, unless you are
attacked or have to protect the safety of Europeans."
Acting on the advice of the Consuls-General, the Khedive endeavoured to
induce Mahmoud Sami and Arabi to resign. The dictators refused. The
Consuls-General thereupon presented them with an ultimatum, and the
Ministry resigned; but the Khedive was subsequently compelled by the
threats of the army and the prayers of the terrified notables to
reinstate Arabi Pasha. That leader at once published a proclamation
stating that he guaranteed the public safety, which failed, however, to
allay the public fears. On 29th May the European population of
Alexandria drew up a memorial, which was telegraphed to the Foreign
Office, stating that they were placed in extreme peril, against which
the force at the disposal of the British admiral was totally inadequate.
Upon the same day, Admiral Seymour reported that earthworks were being
raised on shore, and asked for {178} reinforcements. On 30th May
another line-of-battle ship arrived, with two gunboats, and three
French warships. The rest of the British squadron in the Mediterranean
were directed to cruise within touch of the admiral.
On the 7th June an Imperial Commissioner, Dervish Pasha, dispatched by
the Sultan, arrived at Cairo. He was instructed to play a double part,
the object of his mission being to counteract European influence. It
was a complicated intrigue; but it is not worth unravelling, because
Dervish Pasha presently discovered that the ruler of Egypt was Arabi
Pasha.
Such is a summary of events up to the eve of the riots in Alexandria.
At that moment, Arabi Pasha was military dictator; backed by the army
and supported by popular sentiment: the Khedive, still nominally ruler,
was deprived of power and went in peril of his life; the Sultan, his
overlord, whose dominant motive was the desire to avoid foreign
intervention in Egypt, wrapped himself in diplomatic ambiguity; England
and France, the only interested foreign Powers, each afraid of the
other and both afraid of incurring responsibility, were in a state of
miserable vacillation, for which (as usual) many helpless and innocent
persons paid with their lives and property. In these circumstances,
the advantage lay with the man who knew his own mind. That man was
Arabi Pasha.
It seemed that nothing could better serve his ends than an organised
massacre of Europeans by the populace, during which the police and the
army should remain passive; for nothing could more effectually
demonstrate the power of the dictator, bring the Khedive into contempt,
flout the foreign Powers which had exhibited so contemptible a
weakness, and delight the populace.
Accordingly, on Sunday, 11th June, 1882, a devastating riot broke out
in Alexandria. The natives had been armed beforehand with _naboots_,
or long sticks; the _mustaphazin_, or military police, joined in the
attack; the soldiers remained immobile until Arabi telegraphed his
orders from Cairo, {179} when they at once stopped the disturbance.
During the day, men, women and children, European and native, were
shot, beaten, and murdered, and the town was looted. The loss of life
was estimated at 150 persons.
In the evening the troops restored order, and subsequently maintained
it up to the day of the bombardment. During that period, large numbers
of persons left the city. Refugees of all nations were embarked in the
harbour.
Lord Salisbury, who was then in Opposition, trenchantly exposed the
true character of a policy whose direct result was that British
subjects were "butchered under the very guns of the Fleet, which had
never budged an inch to save them." The Government had not given the
admiral an adequate force. It was the old story of the naval officer
being forced to subserve the ends of the politicians.
In England, public indignation forced the Government to take action.
The Channel Squadron was dispatched to Malta, there to remain at
Admiral Seymour's disposal. Two battalions were sent to Cyprus.
Arabi Pasha brought more troops to Alexandria and continued to fortify
the coast defences. In the meantime the Navy was helping to embark the
refugees.
From this point, the general course of events may conveniently be
related in the form of a diary, thus supplementing, for the purposes of
reference, the detailed narrative of Lord Charles Beresford.
On 11th July the British Fleet bombarded the coast forts. The warships
of other nations took no part in the action. The British force
consisted of fifteen vessels and 5728 men; eight ironclads, five
gunboats, a torpedo vessel and dispatch vessel. The forts were
silenced and the gunners were driven from their batteries.
On 12th July the city was set on fire by the Egyptian troops. These,
accompanied by civilians, looted the city and so departed.
On 13th July the British admiral landed 800 men. It will be observed
that had Admiral Seymour been permitted {180} to land a force upon the
preceding day, he could have disarmed the Egyptian troops and prevented
the conflagration. The Khedive had taken refuge in his Palace at
Ramleh, and the _Condor_, Commander Lord Charles Beresford, was sent to
lie off the Palace to protect him. Captain John Fisher, H.M.S.
_Inflexible_, was ordered to take command of the landing party. Upon
occupying the outer lines, Captain Fisher, finding chaos in the town,
in rear of his position, applied for an officer to exercise the duties
of provost-marshal and chief of police, and suggested that Lord Charles
Beresford should be appointed.
On 14th July the British force was occupying all important positions.
On 15th July Admiral Dowell, commanding the Channel Squadron, arrived
in the _Monarch_. Lord Charles Beresford was appointed provost-marshal
and chief of police to restore order.
Mr. John Ross, the British merchant in Alexandria who gave unsparing
and generous assistance to the British forces,--services for which he
has never received recognition--writes to me as follows:--
"Lord Charles Beresford saved millions' worth of property, causing the
indemnity paid by the European Government to be much less than it would
otherwise have been. I can assure you that there was a chance of the
whole of Alexandria being burnt to the ground, had it not been for the
wonderfully prompt, energetic, and scientific arrangements made by Lord
Charles Beresford... I do not think England can ever be made to know
properly and understand and appreciate enough with regard to what Lord
Charles Beresford did for his country as well as for Egypt in 1882."
On 17th July 1000 Marines and 1700 soldiers arrived. General Sir
Archibald Alison took command of the whole of the land forces, now
numbering in all, 3686.
On the 20th July the British Government decided to dispatch an
expedition to Egypt.
On the 21st July the water supply of Alexandria began {181} to fail,
Arabi having dammed the flow from the Nile into the Mahmoudieh Canal,
and let salt water into it from Lake Mareotis. Hitherto the supply had
been maintained by the gallant exertions of Mr. T. E. Cornish, manager
of the waterworks. Sir Archibald Alison began his attacking movements.
On the 22nd July the Khedive dismissed Arabi Pasha from his post of
Minister of War. Arabi Pasha was now at Kafr Dowar with 5000 to 30,000
men. A battalion of British troops sailed from Bombay.
On the 24th July Mr. Gladstone informed Parliament that the country was
"not at war." On the same day the British troops occupied Ramleh, a
suburb of Alexandria.
At this time Captain Fisher fitted out the armoured train.
On the 30th July the Scots Guards sailed for Alexandria. From the
beginning to end of the war, there were dispatched, or under orders,
from Great Britain and Mediterranean stations, 1290 officers and 32,000
men. Add the Indian contingent, 170 officers, 7100 men, consisting of
1st Seaforths, 1st Manchester, 1 Bombay and 2 Bengal battalions Native
Infantry, 3 regiments Bengal Cavalry, 1 field battery, 1 mountain
battery, and a section of Madras Sappers and Miners. Add to these,
3500 followers, 1700 horses, 840 ponies, 5000 mules.
On the 1st August Lord Charles Beresford, having in the space of a
fortnight saved the town of Alexandria from destruction and restored
complete order, was relieved by Major Gordon.
On the 2nd August Admiral Sir William Hewett, with six vessels of war,
occupied Suez.
On 3rd August the National Council declared its support of Arabi Pasha.
On 5th August General Alison attacked and defeated the enemy on the
Mahmoudieh Canal.
On the 7th August the Khedive issued a proclamation directed against
Arabi Pasha and rebellion.
{182}
On the 10th August Sir John Adye, chief of staff, with the Duke of
Connaught, arrived at Alexandria.
On the 12th August the Brigade of Guards, the Duke of Connaught at
their head, marched through Alexandria to Ramleh, greatly impressing
the populace.
On the 15th, General Commanding-in-Chief Sir Garnet Wolseley and
Major-General Sir Evelyn Wood arrived at Alexandria.
On the 18th August the greater part of the troops embarked for Port
Said, the transports being escorted by five ironclads.
On the night of the 19th-20th August the Navy took entire possession of
the Suez Canal. The _Monarch_ and _Iris_ took Port Said. The _Orion_,
_Northumberland_, _Carysfort_ and _Coquette_ took Ismailia. Admiral
Hewett had already seized Suez.
On the 20th of August the troops and warships from Alexandria arrived
at Port Said, together with Admiral Sir Beauchamp Seymour in the
_Helicon_. M. Ferdinand de Lesseps had done his utmost to prevent the
seizure of the Canal, which, he insisted, was neutral. It is said that
when the troops began to disembark at Ismailia, M. de Lesseps, erect
upon the landing-place, announced that "no one should land except over
his dead body"; to which defiance a bluejacket, gently urging aside the
heroic engineer, replied, "We don't want any dead bodies about here,
sir; all you've got to do is to step back a bit" (Royle, _Egyptian
Campaigns_).
On the 21st August Sir Garnet Wolseley arrived at Ismailia in the
_Salamis_, and, by orders of the Khedive, issued a proclamation
announcing that the sole object of Her Majesty's Government was "to
re-establish the authority of the Khedive."
The advance into the Delta was begun.
On the 24th August Wolseley captured the dam on the Fresh Water Canal.
On the 25th August the enemy were driven back upon {183} Tel-el-Kebir.
Mahmoud Fehmi Pasha, one of the original "Three Colonels," now Arabi's
chief of staff, was captured at Mahsameh railway station.
On the 28th August occurred the action at Kassassin, in which the
Egyptians were defeated. Kassassin was occupied. During the next few
days men and stores were assembled there.