ASHANTEE-SIR GARNET WOLSELEY-END OF THE WAR.

but at all events the Liberals were out of office before the news of that result could be said actually to belong to them. The fall of the late ministry had been sudden--they seemed to have swiftly slid from power. The appeal to the country had taken the opposition unawares, and they were scarcely ready for the successes of their predecessors.

The very name of Ashantee had to many people something mysterious about it. It was remembered that the Gold Coast had always been associated with thoughts of slavery, of the cruelty of native savage rulers, of bloodshed indulged in as a common ceremony or as a pastime. The Ashantees were the fiercest of the tribes of Western Africa, and lost few opportunities of killing or oppressing the weaker people about them, among whom were the Fantees, under British protection, but incapable of defending the territory or supporting the few troops which garrisoned the forts. Our trading settlements on the Gold Coast, founded in the seventeenth century, had frequently been a source of trouble. They had been relinquished in 1830, after a conflict with the Ashantees, who were afterwards defeated, and a treaty was concluded with them by the governor of Cape Coast Castle, Mr. Maclean, the husband of Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.), whose verses of a sentimental and somewhat melancholy cast were once much quoted. This lady, who married Mr. Maclean in 1838, was found dead in her room, with a phial which had contained prussic acid clasped in her hand. No reason could be alleged for this tragic occurrence; and it excited considerable attention, and probably gave greater interest to her poems than their intrinsic merits would have secured.

For some years the affairs of the Gold Coast settlements were administered by a body of merchant traders, but subsequently were placed under the control of the colonial office. In 1863 hostilities again arose, and were brought to an unsatisfactory end, because of the fatal effects of the climate on the troops. Still later some of the settlements were made over to the Dutch in exchange for other territory, but in 1872 these possessions were by treaty transferred to Eng

VOL. IV.

305

land in return for a small sum of money and for the removal of some of the restrictions which former treaties had placed upon the Dutch in Sumatra. The result of this was that the Dutch became involved in a war with the Sultan of Acheen, who was supported by the Malays; and the King of Ashantee, who claimed from England the continuance of a pension or allowance which he had formerly received from the Dutch, occupied the ceded territory, and commenced a desultory war by attacking the Fantees. Then ensued a series of harassing assaults on our garrisons; and though, when the King of Ashantee was met by a small body of English troops and marines, he was signally beaten, it was believed that while his tribe held possession of the open country the other tribes would make common cause with them. It was determined, therefore, to send a large force, which in the cooler season of the year might push on towards Coomassie, the Ashantee capital, Captain Glover, a commander of much experience in dealing with the natives, having collected on the east of the proposed line of advance a number of Houssas, one of the warlike Mahometan tribes of the country.

Such an enterprise as that of marching an English force through a country swarming with savage enemies, and so pestilential, that, unless a successful termination of the war could be achieved within a few months, the men might be stricken down - the army wasted away with fever-required a commander quick in discerning opportunity, skilful in tactics, and of unflinching resolution. There appeared to be little hesitation in naming to this command Sir Garnet Wolseley, an officer who had already given ample proofs of remarkable ability and rapid decision in circumstances of difficulty on several occasions, and notably in his direction of the Red River expedition in 1870. The promptitude, which was this general's characteristic, was shown by his immediately setting out for the Gold Coast in advance of his troops, and there, at the head of small bodies of men, holding the Ashantees in check, and inflicting upon them several defeats while waiting for the arrival of his regiments.

83

Sir Garnet Wolseley, son of Major Wolseley | stand near the capital, ended in the decisive

of the 26th Foot, may be said to have been born a soldier. In 1852, when he was nineteen years of age, he had entered the army as ensign. In 1855 he became captain, and in 1858 major of the 90th Foot. In the next year he was made lieutenant-colonel, and he obtained his colonelcy in 1863. During nearly the whole of these thirteen years he was actively engaged, and on several occasions had performed distinguished services. After the Burmese war of 1852-53 he obtained a medal. With the light infantry in the Crimea he was severely wounded during the siege of Sebastopol, and received the legion of honour and the Turkish order of the Medjidie. After the siege of Lucknow and the defence of Alumbagh, where he was made brevet lieutenant-colonel, he was specially mentioned in the despatches. In 1860 he was in China on the staff of the quartermaster-general, and served throughout the campaign. In 1867 he became quartermaster-general in Canada, where his success in the Red River expedition was conspicuous for the ability with which he could estimate a situation and take immediate advantage of an opportunity. In 1870 he was nominated a knight-commander of the order of St. Michael and St. George, an honour which was followed by his appointment to be adjutant-general at headquarters. Activity, fertility of resource, and that judicious confidence which appears to follow a readily formed but complete plan of operations were important qualities against a foe whom it was necessary to impress by rapid and effectual successes, and in a country where the enemy must be driven from every standpoint and defeated within so short a time that the victorious troops would be able to return to the coast ready to re-embark before the sickly season had set in. The punctuality with which this was actually effected was something remarkable. The march of the English troops, who fought their way in a series of skirmishes, was almost unchecked; and the final engagement, when the enemy made a

defeat of the Ashantees. The advance had
begun in the last days of 1873, Captain
Glover in the east and other officers in the
west raising native forces with which to con-
verge on the capital. It soon appeared that
the native tribes were almost useless as aux-
iliaries, and it was difficult to secure the ser-
vices of the camp followers and bearers who
were necessary to assist an army in such a
country. On the 5th of February, 1874, how-
ever,
,Sir Garnet had entered Coomassie with his
troops, and there he received the submission of
the king, who agreed to appoint commissioners
to conclude a treaty. It was, however, time to
make the return march, and the troops retired
to Adamsi to await the Ashantee agents, with
whom there might have been more trouble
had not Captain Glover already arrived with
his contingent on the north of the capital,
through which he marched without opposition.
The king relinquished all sovereignty over the
tribes who were under English protection, and
some of his tributary chiefs soon renounced their
allegiance to him. The army was marched
back to the coast, and though many officers
and men had succumbed to the hardships of
that brief campaign, the troops re-embarked
within the time that had been proposed, and
before the sickly season had commenced. The
power of the Ashantee tyrant was over, and
the native savage chiefs had been impressed
by his defeat. The English government then
determined to retain the settlements on the
coast as a colony of the crown, forming the
neighbouring districts into a protectorate.
The native tribes were informed that the pro-
tecting power would include complete control,
and would assign the limits of native autho-
rity or interference. One of the first intima-
tions made by the directions of Lord Car-
narvon to the native chiefs was that the pur-
chase or sale of slaves would not be any longer
permitted, and that thereafter the law would
not recognize the right of a master to the pos-
session of a slave.

CHAPTER XII.

THE LATEST STRIDE.

Footprints of Advance-A Brief Chronicle-Aspects in 1876-Vote by Ballot-Agriculturists and Artisans -Sailors and Ships-Disraeli, Earl Beaconsfield-Imperial Policy-India-Egypt-Suez Canal-The Eastern Question-Russia-Turkish Provinces-Bulgaria-War-"Peace with Honour"-Afghanistan : General Roberts-South Africa: Cetewayo-The Enemies of Ireland-Liberal Reaction, 1880-Two Years Ago The Makings of History-Conclusion.