92 The Khedive Abbas Talks [1893 



He thanked me for having spoken in his favour in the P.M.G. inter- 

 view. ' The whole English Press,' he said, ' is against me.' I asked 

 him for a history of what had happened. He said : ' As long ago as 

 the end of last summer, when Mustafa Pasha (Fehmy) returned from 

 Europe, Palmer (the Financial Adviser) came to me and complained 

 of my having spoken against him. I asked him how he knew I had 

 done so. He said the people of the Palace were talking. Then Hard- 

 inge came with the same complaint, but could not tell me who it was 

 that had spoken. When Lord Cromer arrived he came to me and told 

 me that I was becoming very unpopular (laughter) in the country be- 

 cause I was not cordial with Mustafa Pasha. The fact is Mustafa 

 is an invalid, and has to go in the summer to Europe. He is not fit 

 to be Prime Minister. When he fell ill, Lord Cromer objected to my 

 taking Tigrane, and offered me a choice of several quite incapable per- 

 sons — Balig Pasha, who is a Cypriote, Affet Pasha, who is one of the 

 worst of men, and Ahmed Shukri, who is quite incapable.' 



He then gave me an account of what had happened between him 

 and Cromer as to the promise of following English advice. I asked 

 him to tell me the exact words, and he said: ' We were speaking in 

 French ' (to me he was speaking in very good English, and I fancy 

 he keeps his French for his English advisers), 'and what I said was, 

 " Que j'avais tout desir d'agir de concert avec le Gouvernement Anglais 

 et que je ne manquerais pas de le consulter sur toute chose de grande 

 importance.' " He denied, however, categorically that he gave any 

 promise of ' following English advice.' I showed him Cromer's des- 

 patch published in the Blue Book, which I had in my pocket with the 

 Queen's Speech, and he said the latter was correct enough, not the 

 other. I then told him that I considered it very important since that 

 was so, that he should at once contradict it officially, as afterwards it 

 would be quoted against him, and he promised to make Tigrane write 

 an official despatch in that sense. I then asked him whether he could 

 rely absolutely on Riaz as against Cromer, and he said ' absolutely.' 

 ' If that is so,' I said, ' and you have the Sultan with you, you have 

 nothing whatsoever to fear.' He said, ' Indeed I am not in the smallest 

 degree afraid of any one. I consider that I have a great responsibility 

 here as ruler of the country and a great duty, and I mean to do it. I 

 do not care what happens.' I noticed that he was reticent about the 

 Sultan, but I did not press that matter. About Tigrane he said, ' I 

 know that I can depend better on Riaz than on Tigrane. Tigrane, 

 being a Christian, has no influence in the country, but Riaz has. We 

 must make use of Christian ministers as administrators, not as heads 

 of the Government.' I then asked him about the amnesty for Arabi 

 and the other exiles. I told him I had had letters from Arabi full of 



