14 Khedive Abbas on Arabi [1901 



on his landing- at Suez by one of the staff of the " Mokattam," a news- 

 paper carried on by certain Syrians in the interest of the British 

 occupation, who gave a garbled account of what he had said in praise 

 of the reforms introduced under the English regime so as to make 

 it appear -like a recantation of his patriotism. The Khedive, too, never 

 really forgave him nor did Lord Cromer. Arabi was too simple- 

 minded a man not to give opportunities to those ill disposed towards 

 him, and he made the mistake when calling upon Cromer of con- 

 cealing the fact that he had first called on me, and this was used 

 against him. On the 19th Nov. I called on Lord Cromer and spoke of 

 this with him, who made me a history of the pressure he had put 

 on the Khedive to get him to consent to the exile's return, the line 

 taken by him being that Arabi was no longer of any political con- 

 sequence. He had received him but they had had little conversation 

 together. 



The history of Arabi's recall from exile is without doubt that King 

 Edward thought it would be politic and insisted on it with the Foreign 

 Office. I have always suspected that Admiral Lambton's visit to me 

 at Newbuildings, though ostensibly to look at my horses, was really 

 in connection with this matter as during it we had talked much of 

 Arabi. Lambton had been a believer in Arabi from the time of Arabi's 

 trial in 1882, when he had given useful evidence in his favour. Lamb- 

 ton was also with the Duke of York (now King George V) when he 

 visited Colombo and had the talk there already referred to with Arabi. 

 The exile's recall had been in consequence imposed on Lord Cromer, 

 who was conscious that the whole case for intervention by England 

 in 1882 rested on the logic of Arabi's being a rebel and his patriotism 

 unreal. While therefore Cromer submitted to the pressure put upon 

 him by the Foreign Office he was determined to neutralize the good 

 effect of it as an act of tardy reparation for a wrong done by manag- 

 ing to get the pardoned exile put in Coventry by Mustapha Fehmy 

 and the rest of the Khedivial Ministers. In that way Arabi's initial 

 popularity was neutralized and robbed of any political effect. 



" 23rd Nov. — To-day I went to see the Khedive who was as cordial 

 and affectionate as usual. He began by making me an elaborate 

 apology for not having paid me his promised visit at Crabbet when 

 he was in England in June 1900 (I had not been to see him since) 

 and how he had several times asked Rennell Rodd, who had been 

 appointed by the Foreign Office to look after him, to arrange the visit, 

 and how Rodd had always said there was no time. Then I thanked 

 him for having pardoned Arabi, and he told me that Arabi had dis- 

 pleased him by his political pronouncements on arrival and by his 

 always being with AH Fehmy who had behaved so badly to his father 

 Tewfik, and how he had also heard of Mohammed Abdu's having been 



