1904] Gorst's Quarrel with Cromer 87 



to the vote and carried by a majority. In this I think he was wrong, 

 for, intrigue or not, a parliament is the best chance there is in Egypt 

 of getting rid of English dictation. Cromer has declared such a pro- 

 posal to be beyond the competence of the Assembly. Abdu tells me 

 that Gorst has been certainly helping the Khedive in his commercial 

 speculations, and there has been a quarrel between him and Cromer 

 on the subject. It is not expected that he will retain his post here of 

 Financial Adviser. 



" 4th March. — There has been a good debate about the Somaliland 

 war, more or less in accordance with my programme, published on 

 the 10th February in the ' Daily Chronicle.' Ritchie reproduced some 

 of my arguments, and Willy Redmond rubbed them in. The cam- 

 paign will now be allowed to drop. 



" 10th March. — The following is a story current about Gorst's 

 quarrel with Cromer. It appears that last winter, or rather the winter 

 before, a lady, a friend of the King's, came to Egypt and received 

 what she considered scanty attention at Lady Cromer's hands, whereas 

 Gorst made himself agreeable to her, and an intrigue was started 

 between them favoured by the King, to whom the lady had com- 

 plained, according to which Cromer at the end of the year was to be 

 retired, and Gorst to have his place at the Cairo Agency. It was 

 supposed that Cromer would be willing either to join the Govern- 

 ment at home, or perhaps take the Paris Embassy. The King was 

 dissatisfied at the time with Monson the actual Ambassador at Paris, 

 because, being poor, Monson did not, in the King's opinion, repre- 

 sent him with sufficient dignity. At any rate Gorst was promised 

 Cromer's succession, and counted on it (an arrangement which I had 

 already heard of) as also that eventually Cromer's son Errington was 

 to have the place in reversion. Cromer, however, himself does not 

 seem to have been told about it, and when the time came for the 

 change refused all offers inducing him to budge, and was very angry 

 when he learned what had been going on. Matters, moreover, have 

 been further complicated by money transactions with Cassel. Cassel 

 had lent His Highness half a million at 2.y 2 per cent, to speculate with, 

 while Gorst as Financial Adviser granted Cassel concessions. All 

 this made up an elaborate intrigue, but it has been upset by Cromer 

 who has put his foot down, and now declares he means to stay on 

 indefinitely in Egypt. The Khedive, so Mohammed Abdu says, has 

 been lectured, and told to choose between being a Khedive and being 

 a tradesman. Gorst has had to leave Egypt, and is now through the 

 King's influence being provided with a post at the Foreign Office, as 

 Assistant Under-Secretary, with the promise of an Embassy some 

 day. Errington has been packed off to the Legation at Teheran, and 

 the lady is to come no more to Cairo. I must say that I think old 



