Siege of Khartoum stores dwindled and starvation began to set in for both the garrison and the civilian population. Communication was kept through couriers while Gordon also kept in contact with the Mahdi, who rejected his offers of peace and to lift the siege. On 16 September an expedition sent from Khartoum to Sennar was defeated by the Mahdists, which resulted in the death of over 800 garrison troops at Al Aylafuh. By the end of the month, the Mahdi moved the bulk of his army to Khartoum, more than doubling the number already besieging it. As of 10 September 1884, the civilian
1885 Antrim by-election in the new seat of Mid Antrim where he beat Sinclair's by-election helper Thomas Dickson. Sinclair did however return to the House of Commons at the 1886 general election as Liberal Unionist Party member for Falkirk Burghs in the central Scottish Lowlands. 1885 Antrim by-election The Antrim by-election, 1885 was a by-election held on Thursday 21 May 1885 for the British House of Commons constituency of Antrim in present-day Northern Ireland. The by-election was caused by the death, at the age of only 43, of the sitting Conservativel MP James Chaine on 4 May 1885. Chaine had been one of