British political ambitions 61 Liberals and Conservatives We published the words of Mr. Gladstone, leader of the Liberals, in 1877, about Britain's ambition to occupy Egypt, pass through it to Sudan, and from Sudan to the equator, and to extend its hand from there to Natal and the Cape, and to annex Abyssinia during the march. Now we turn to the opinions of MPs and newspapers on this matter after the "Kitchener" campaign. In mid-March 1896, Sirdar Kitchener Pasha received orders from his government to advance. On the evening of March 13, the news was conveyed to the Egyptian Prime Minister, who in turn informed Khedive Abbas that night. On March 14, the Egyptian reserve forces were called to disarm. On the 15th, the soldiers traveled to Sudan, and a general command was appointed for mobilization. On the 27th, Sirdar Kitchener took command of the campaign. From March 13 to 16, 1896, the British House of Commons was occupied with this campaign. The government stated, "It is not an invasion; it was ordered to repel the rebels whose situation had worsened after the Battle of Adwa and the defeat of the Italians and the containment of their forces, which are called the Camel Corps." London met the news of the campaign's advance with great satisfaction. Labouchère stood condemning the order for this campaign in the House of Commons, and the Speaker announced the closure of debate and discussion. Lady Cromer described this campaign as "a de facto occupation of the Egyptian territory, and a disregard for the repeated promises since 1882. France was informed that its interests, aspirations, positions, friendship, and enmity were not being played with." The French press described the campaign at the time by saying: "The English people are a commercial people, and they view politics as a commercial transaction. The rule in business is 'the greater the effort, the less the reward.'" Sir William Harcourt criticized the campaign for costing Britain vast sums of money. Lord Curzon replied, "The expenses of this campaign, which cannot be estimated now, even an estimate..."