A Parliamentary paper has just been issued which gives a
return of all the money spent by us since 1883 on military operations in the Soudan. It appears that the total is 27,890,112, but of this total about £7,000,000 was incurred in the attempt to rescue Gordon and the subsequent work of repelling the advance of the Mahdi, and only 2798,802 in the work of actual reconquest. It is not, of course, fair to argue from these figures that it cost us nearly ten times as much to lose the Soudan as to conquer it ; but at the same time the figures speak eloquently as to the truth of the maxim that military successes cannot be obtained by a sudden and lavish expendi- ture of money. In soldiering, as in most other things, economy and efficiency go hand in hand, while lavishness is too often accompanied by muddle and confusion. The reconquest of the Soudan was cheap and efficient because it was carefully prepared for by competent men, who were anxious, while pro- viding everything really necessary, to eliminate all that was superfluous and extravagant.
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