1909] Risa Tewfik on Turkish Reform 265 



breadth of ideas. Of Turkey's constitutional prospects he does not 

 speak hopefully ; the Empire is so diverse in its languages and nation- 

 alities. He believes in ultimate autonomy for the provinces, though 

 at present self-preservation makes administrative union a necessity. 

 He approves my recommendation of allowing the interior of Arabia 

 to govern itself in its own way, holding only the seaports and the pil- 

 grim railway. I asked him about Egypt. ' Egypt,' he said, ' is already 

 independent of the Empire, except in name. We sympathize with 

 their desire for a constitution, but they must look for it to England. 

 We cannot interfere or raise any question likely to make trouble between 

 us and England. England will probably allow the Egyptians some 

 kind of Constitution, as much as they are worthy of. They are a 

 corrupt people without courage. Nevertheless there is no danger of 

 the Ottoman Government selling Egypt to England as the price of 

 financial help. It has been talked about at Constantinople, but will 

 not be entertained.' 



" Speaking of the revolution at Constantinople, Dr. Riza Tewfik 

 said that the reactionaries had a certain support from our Embassy 

 through the influence of Fitzmaurice, the Chief Dragoman, our Am- 

 bassador, Lowther, being quite ignorant of Turkish affairs. On the 

 whole I find him quite sympathetic, and he urged me to write to him. 

 He returns to Constantinople this week." 



I went down in the evening to Clouds, where I spent ten pleasant 

 days. 



" i8f/i Aug. — Dingra's last dying pronouncement is published in 

 the Daily Netvs, all other papers being silent about it. * It is a noble 

 declaration of his faith in the destinies of his motherland and in his 

 own. ' My wish,' he says, ' is that I should be born again of the same 

 mother, and that I should die the same death for her again.' No greater 

 fortitude was ever shown by a martyr for any faith. With such men 

 to love her, the Mother India must succeed ; but the British public is 

 so besotted with its own self-satisfaction that it refuses to acknowledge 

 in this martyr's death endured so calmly anything but a murderer's 

 wish for notoriety. The day of reckoning, however, cannot be long 

 delayed. 



" igth Aug. — At Clouds. Lyne Stivens, the doctor, was here to- 

 day, a vulgar, amusing dog, who told a number of good stories. One 

 of them was how the King received Cromer on his return from Egypt 

 when he went to His Majesty to receive the Order of Merit. ' I am 

 happy,' the King said, ' to bestow this final honour upon you, and all 

 the more so because I hear so good an account of your work in Egypt 

 from my friend Sir Ernest Cassel.' This raised Cromer's bile. 



1 See Appendix III p. 443. 



