from
the fate of Alexandria and brought the rebellion to an end. The Egyptian
troops at Kafr Dauar, Abukir and Rosetta surrendered without opposition,
and those at Damietta followed on the 23rd of September, after being
threatened with attack. On the 25th the khedive entered Cairo, where a
review of the British troops was held on the 30th. The expeditionary
force was now broken up, leaving about 10,000 men, under Major-General
Sir A. Alison, to maintain the authority of the khedive. In twenty-five
days, from the landing at Ismailia to the occupation of Cairo, the
rebellion was completely suppressed, and the operations were thus
signally successful.

The Sudan question.

The authority of the khedive and the maintenance of law and order now
depended absolutely on the British forces left in occupation. Lord
Dufferin, who had been sent to Cairo to draw up a project of
constitutional reforms, advocated the re-establishment of a native army,
not to exceed 5000 to 6000 men, with a proportion of British officers,
for purely defence purposes within the Delta; and on the 13th of
December 1882 Sir Evelyn Wood left England to undertake the organization
of this force, with the title of sirdar. Lord Dufferin further advised
the formation of a gendarmerie, which "should be in a great measure a
mounted force and empowered with a semi-military character" (despatch of
January 1st, 1883). The strength of this military police force was fixed
at 4400 men with 2562 horses, and Baker Pasha (General Valentine Baker)
was entrusted with its formation, with the title of inspector-general.

In a despatch of the 6th of February 1883 Lord Dufferin dealt with the
Sudan, and stated that Egypt "could hardly be expected to acquiesce" in
a policy of withdrawal from her Southern territories. At the same time
he pointed out that,

"Unhappily, Egyptian administration in the Sudan had been almost
uniformly unfortunate. The success of the present mahdi in raising the
tribes and extending his influence over great tracts of country was a
sufficient proof of the government's inability either to reconcile the
inhabitants to its rule or to maintain order. The consequences had
been most disastrous. Within the last year and a half the Egyptians
had lost something like 9000 men, while it was estimated that 40,000
of their opponents had perished."

Moreover, to restore tranquillity in the Sudan,

"the first step necessary was the construc