EGYPT. 



291 



trol was preferred, as less derogatory to the 

 dignity and prejudicial to the interests of the 

 suzerain power. The English occupation was 

 a heavy blow to the religious policy of the Sul- 

 tan, and compromised him in his quality of 

 Caliph, affecting his power far more seriously 

 than was measured by the extent to which his 

 merely political authority and interests in Egypt 

 were overridden. 



The Porte addressed a circular to the great 

 powers on the 17th of June. It recalled the 

 facts of the rebellion of Arabi, the invitation 

 of the Porte to co-operate with England in 

 restoring order, but accompanied with condi- 

 tions and restrictions that rendered it unaccept- 

 able, and the intervention of England alone. 

 As the task was now so far completed that the 

 moral authority and prestige of the Sultan were 

 sufficient to insure tranquillity, it was, in the 

 opinion of the Porte, advisable that the Eng- 

 lish army of occupation should be withdrawn. 

 If, however, the great powers considered that 

 an extraneous military force was required, such 

 a force could be supplied by the Sultan alone, 

 or in conjunction with England, France, Italy, 

 and Spain. 



France, while upholding the rights of the 

 bondholders in defense of the interests of 

 French investors, aimed mainly at the exclusion 

 of the English from Egypt, and the establish- 

 ment of a joint European control. This would 

 repair the loss of dignity she sustained in per- 

 mitting England to undertake alone the Egyp- 

 tian expedition, and to oust her from the dual 

 control. It would, moreover, give French in- 

 fluence and French commercial interests a 

 chance to expand again, whereas the policy 

 pursued by the English was to discourage and 

 supplant French influence. Their efforts to 

 uproot the traditional associations of Egypt 

 with the French were not successful. The 

 power that France exercised in the Egyptian 

 question was derived as much from her influ- 

 ence in Egypt ns from her position in Europe. 

 In proposing a multiple control, France not 

 only subserved in tlie best way the interests 

 that the English occupation left it in her 

 power to assert in Egypt, but derived a satis- 

 faction and various advantages in her other po- 

 litical relations from placing herself in accord 

 with Europe. On account of her possessions 

 in Africa, France was prepared to oppose any 

 extension of Turkish influence in Egypt. For 

 the same reason she regarded the movement of 

 the Mahdi as a menace to her interests, and 

 called for its suppression. 



Germany had the same private financial in- 

 terests to defend as France, was glad to act in 

 accord with the republic as a step toward the 

 reconciliation of the French people, and re- 

 garded with satisfaction any hindrance to an 

 alliance between England and France. She 

 desired, also, to curb the pretensions of Eng- 

 land to the empire of the seas, and to predom- 

 inance in the uncivilized parts of the earth, 

 where the German Government was preparing 



to support the growing commerce of its people 

 with manifestations of naval power and the ac- 

 quisition of territorial control. 



Germany also wished to sustain the policy 

 of Austria, which regarded the extension of 

 English interests in the eastern Mediterranean 

 as detrimental to Austrian commercial pros- 

 pects, and specially deprecated the annexation 

 of Egypt by England, fearing that it would 

 excite Russian aspirations in the direction 

 of Constantinople, which England would not 

 have the same motives to resist as before. 

 Russia also opposed the establishment of Brit- 

 ish dominion in Egypt, probably regarding it 

 as anticipating the final partition of the Turk- 

 ish Empire, in which Egypt was to go to Great 

 Britain as a compensation for the establish- 

 ment of Russia in Constantinople. 



Italy was also an adherent of international 

 control. She voted with England at the Con- 

 ference in the hope of bringing about a com- 

 promise. She was actuated to some extent 

 also by her jealousy of French expansion in 

 the Mediterranean. Her neutral attitude is 

 explainable further by her hope of succeeding 

 England in the military occupation, by agree- 

 ment between England and the powers. After 

 the Conference, the Italian Government was 

 formally thanked for its support of the British 

 proposals, whereupon the German Government 

 extended a similar recognition for the Italian 

 vote in favor of its sanitary proposition. 



The Suspension of the Law of Liquidation. When 

 they failed to come to an agreement with the 

 powers at the Conference, the English found 

 themselves in Egypt in a position in which 

 they must either raise money on the credit of 

 the English Government or lay hands on the 

 assigned revenues, and proceed single-handed 

 to curtail the interest of the bondholders in the 

 face of the European concert to which they had 

 appealed. Either course was calculated to in- 

 volve them more deeply in Egypt. Lord North- 

 brook was sent to confer wdth the Egyptian 

 Government. The Conservatives criticised the 

 non-committal character of his instructions, 

 which were couched in the phrase "to report 

 and advise," used also in General Gordon's 

 original instructions, and prophesied as meager 

 results from sending out a " Cabinet minister " 

 as had come from sending a "hero." They 

 were better pleased with the bold policy that 

 seemed to be inaugurated under the direction 

 of Lord Northbrook in a Khedivial decree of 

 September 18, suspending for six weeks the 

 Law of Liquidation, and directing the mudirs 

 to turn into the Treasury, for the purpose of 

 meeting current expenses and the tribute to 

 Turkey, the revenues assigned to the Caisse de 

 la Dette Publique. The sums thus diverted 

 were applicable to purchases of unified stock 

 in the open market, to which purpose the sur- 

 plus remaining, after discharging the interest 

 on the privileged and unified debts, and paying 

 off a stated number of privileged bonds, drawn 

 by lot, was devoted by the liquidation act. 



