The business, he
assured Sir Evelyn Baring, in a stream of telegrams, could very
easily be done. It made him sick, he said, to see himself held in
check and the people of the Sudan tyrannised over by 'a feeble
lot of stinking Dervishes'. Let Zobeir at once be sent down to
him, and all would be well.
The original Sultans of the country had unfortunately proved
disap-pointing. Their place should be taken by Zobeir. After the
Mahdi had been smashed up, Zobeir should rule the Sudan as a
subsidised vassal of England, on a similar footing to that of the
Amir of Afghanistan. The plan was perhaps feasible; but it was
clearly incompatible with the policy of evacuation, as it had
been hitherto laid down by the English Government. Should they
reverse that policy? Should they appoint Zobeir, reinforce Sir
Gerald Graham, and smash up the Mahdi? They could not make up
their minds. So far as Zobeir was concerned, there were two
counterbalancing considerations; on the one hand, Evelyn Baring
now declared that he was in favour of the appointment; but, on
the other hand, would English public opinion consent to a man,
described by Gordon himself as 'the greatest slave-hunter who
ever existed', being given an English subsidy and the control of
the Sudan? While the Cabinet was wavering, Gordon took a fatal
step. The delay was intolerable, and one evening, in a rage, he
revealed his desire for Zobeir-- which had hitherto been kept a
profound official secret-- to Mr Power, the English Consul at
Khartoum, and the special correspondent of "The Times.
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