The coast of the Red Sea being clear, it remains
to attend to Khartoum. It is supposed that General Gordon is locked up there, but the facts hardly amount to so much. On the 8th inst., large bodies of Arabs were threatening the city, and since the 10th all communication has been cut off, but General Gordon may still be holding his own. He has 5,000 men whom he thinks trustworthy, about ten steamers, and the power of shelling Khartoum, besides provisions for six months. He may, therefore, be quite safe, and require no aid. The Government waits for information, but is, of course, preparing its plans, and, as a first step, is organising a large camel caravan to march from Suakim to Berber, under the protection of friendly tribes. It is supposed that with this caravan the Egyptian garrison can be brought off safely, but the plan may be modified when news arrives from General Gordon. The public, in the absence of telegrams, must wait patiently until his messengers can reach either Suakim or Koroshko.
