60 Sir William Hare our t L 1 ^ 1 



Peace Congress, to which as member of the acting committee of the 

 Arbitration and Peace Society I had been invited, but I was very un- 

 favourably impressed with the Italian tone in regard to international 

 matters where the rights of non-European nationalities were at stake. 

 The Italians, like the French and all the Latin races, seemed to me 

 incapable of grasping the idea, which we in England at any rate admit 

 in theory if seldom in practice, that the nations outside the community 

 of Christian civilization have any rights at all. I did not speak on this 

 occasion, but I left the meeting convinced that the establishment of 

 international peace if it could be secured for Europe would bode no 

 good for Africa or Asia, and that as far as these regions of the world 

 were concerned the old proverb probably held good, " When thieves fall 

 out honest men come by their own." 



From Fogliano we went straight on without returning to Rome, and 

 so by the first boat to Alexandria, reaching Sheykh Obeyd on 7th De- 

 cember, where we spent the rest of the winter. 



About the close of the year 1891, I received the following letter from 

 Sir William Harcourt in answer to one of mine from Paris, inclosing 

 a copy of my Paris memorandum. As it is of great importance I give 

 it textually here: 



" Malwood, 16th December 1891. 

 " Dear Wilfrid Blunt, 



" I have not written before to thank you for your paper on Egypt, 

 as you sent me at the time no address. I was greatly impressed by the 

 ability and moderation of its views, and the fulness with which the 

 question was discussed in every aspect. I forwarded it to John Morley, 

 who entirely concurred with me, in the high opinion I had formed of 

 its merits. 



" The question is, no doubt, one of great complexity and cannot be 

 rushed. At the same time I have never varied in my opinion of the 

 mischief and danger of the continued occupation, as far as England is 

 concerned, and though probably you will not agree with me I regard 

 this as by far the most important consideration. It is quite impossible 

 for the Government to take a high line as to occupation after the Drum- 

 mond-Wolff negotiations. The whole thing is summed up in a nutshell 

 by Wolff in his concluding despatch, after the ratification by the Eng- 

 lish Government of the Convention for the Evacuation in 1887, within 

 the space of three years. He says, ' It has more than once been sug- 

 gested that England should take permanent possession of Egypt. This 

 would have been violation of the traditional policy of England, of her 

 good faith to the Sultan, and of public law. In time of peace it would 

 have exposed her to constant jealousy and danger. In time of war, it 

 would have been a weak point, entailing a constant drain on her re- 



