Khartoum was the capital of the Soudan, and an important commercial center.
General Gordon was forced to make a stand here against the Mahdi, and was besieged in Khartoum from March, 1884, to January, 1885. The city which had held out so bravely was at last taken by storm and General Gordon killed. The relief expedition which he had been expecting and hoping for arrived just two days after the city had fallen.
With the fall of Khartoum the Egyptian power in the Soudan was overthrown.
Lord Wolseley made a campaign against the Mahdi's forces, but it was too late.
The Soudanese were lost to Egypt. A strong effort is now being made to reconquer them.
The British officers in the Egyptian army have been ordered back to duty, and it is said that action will be taken in a few weeks. It is expected that the Mahdists will fight to the death, but they will not be as powerful this time as they were before, as they are now no longer united. The tribes south of Khartoum are in open revolt against the Mahdists, and a part of their forces will have to be detached to quell them.
The news from India is still very discouraging.
A fresh outbreak has occurred on the outskirts of Calcutta. Eight thousand workers employed in the silk mills on the Hoogly River have started for Calcutta to help the rioters.
The troops at Barrakpur, fifteen miles north of Calcutta, have been ordered out to intercept the strikers, and prevent their advance upon the city. They are also carefully guarding the bridges which span the Hoogly River. This river is one of the mouths of the Ganges.