PURCHASING 305 



vised transport a scratch pack, one might almost say 

 a transport composed principally of camels, which 

 rapidly dwindled away from the causes which I have 

 so often reiterated in these pages starvation, cold, 

 overwork, &c., &c., and yet again &c. 



What we shall do if a big war were to break out on 

 our north-west frontier say, against the Afghans, or 

 to repel a Eussian advance it is hard to say, but 

 camels would, I imagine, be very difficult to obtain 

 (1) because our losses in Afghanistan were so enor- 

 mous ; (2) distinct loss of revenue to owners, and their 

 aversion to selling ; (3) their preference to hire their 

 camels for trading purposes ; (4) the stories in circula- 

 tion of the countless hardships and miseries that camp- 

 followers had to endure during the late Afghan war, 

 which have done incalculable mischief ; (5) loss of 

 ordinary carrying trade. 



The demand for a large number of camels naturally Effect of 



, ,, . , P demand 



enough causes a rise in the tann for transport of for camels, 

 traders' goods whether the authorities buy or hire, for remedy 

 in either case a sensible reduction is made in the number 

 of animals available for the trading caravans, and 

 prices immediately go up. To obviate this, and to 

 render themselves entirely independent of native 

 owners, should be a sufficient inducement for the 

 Government to breed its own camels. 



The remarks as to the failure of our transport in Failure in 

 Afghanistan apply in like measure to Egypt. In the expedition 

 expedition for Gordon's relief, whatever the reasons d 

 were, we were distinctly short-handed all through the relief 

 campaign, and could have done with double the number 

 of camels from the very commencement. That this was 



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