The Central News published on Wednesday an interesting report of
a conversation between Slatin Pasha and the Secre- tary of the Anti-Slavery Society. The slave trade in the Soudan is more rampant now than ever. When a raid is made on any of the neighbouring tribes, the Khalifa makes all the grown-up male prisoners into soldiers for his army, while the women and children are sold. No external slave trade is allowed, although a certain amount of smuggling is carried on. The Khalifa himself has nearly five hundred wives. Slain Pasha also explained the dynastic situation in the Soudan. When the Mahdi was dying, he appointed three Khalifas, who were to succeed him in turn. The first to inherit the power was the present Khalifa, but though the
other two men selected are still living, the Khalifa is in. triguing for the succession to pass over them and go to his own son. The power of the Khalifa is greatly on the vrane, and he, like the Mahdi, will probably fall a victim to his own excesses. It is very interesting to notice how entirely Slatin Pasha's first-hand information confirms the view of Sondanesa affairs which Major Wingate is known to have held for some time. In spite of all the Khalifa's precautions, that ablest of Intelligence officers contrived not only to abstract prisoners from under the Khalifa's very nose, but to form a perfectly accurate picture of the state of things at Omdurman. No man has ever done secret-service work better on such small resources. The money spent by the Egyptian Government on its Intelligence Department is absurdly small for the results produced.
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