EGYPT. 



241 



amounted to 57,730,449 francs. The number 

 of ships that passed through in 1886 was 

 3,100; the aggregate tonnage was 8,183,313. 

 The English vessels numbered 2,331, of 6,254,- 

 418 tons; the French 227, of 699,194 tons; 

 the German 161, of 314,716 tons; the Dutch 

 127, of 312,965 tons ; the Austrian 77, of 191,- 

 333 tons ; the Italian 69. of 184,960 tons ; the 

 Spanish 26, of 88,077 tons; the Russian 24, of 

 68,289 tons; the Swedish and Norwegian 28, 

 of 47,991 tons ; the American, 7 of 9,767 tons; 

 the Japanese 4, of 9,355 tons; the Turkish 10, 

 of 6,41 9 tons; Portuguese, Belgian, and others 

 8, of 5,829 tons. The canal has a length from 

 Port Said to Suez of 160 kilometres, a breadth 

 of from 58 to 100 metres at the level of the 

 water and 22 metres at the bottom, and a 

 depth of 8 metres. Further improvements are 

 in progress, to be completed in 1888, and for 

 these a loan of 100,000,000 francs was raised 

 on 3-per-cent. bonds among the shareholders. 



Failure of the Anglo-Turkish Convention. The 

 Conservative Government in England has never 

 repudiated the engagement made by the Glad- 

 stone Cabinet to evacuate Egypt as soon as or- 

 der should be restored. While promising to 

 retire whenever a stable native government 

 should be established, it has taken every prac- 

 tical measure to destroy the authority of the 

 Khedive's government, and has prevented the 

 organization of a native army. The reiterated 

 demands of the Porte and the troublesome in- 

 sistence of France did not permit the English 

 to ignore their promises. In 1886 Sir Henry 

 Drummond Wolff was sent as a special com- 

 missioner to Egypt, and as a special envoy to 

 the Porte, to discuss arrangements for the 

 evacuation of the country. The Ghazi Mukh- 

 tar Pasha was sent to Egypt as high commis- 

 sioner of the Sult;m to conduct the necessary 

 inquiries on behalf of the Turkish Government 

 in consultation with Sir Drummond Wolff. In 

 the early part of 1887 negotiations were car- 

 ried on by the British envoy with the Porte at 

 Constantinople. The Turkish Government de- 

 manded before all that a term should be fixed 

 for the evacuation. The English proposed to 

 prolong their occupation for five years more, 

 and then withdraw their troops if the security 

 of the country were not thereby endangered. 

 A proposition for the neutralization of Egypt 

 was considered, the English reserving the 

 right to officer the Egyptian troops, and to 

 march their own forces into the country in 

 case of threatened disturbance. Finally, a con- 

 vention was drawn up by Sir Drummond 

 Wolff and the Ottoman ministers. The first 

 and second articles confirmed the imperial fir- 

 mans relative to Egypt, and defined the limits 

 of the Khedive's rights to be such as the fir- 

 mans prescribe. By the third article the Otto- 

 man Government bound itself to invite the 

 powers to approve a convention for the better 

 regulation of the Suez Canal, which should de- 

 clare the channel to be neutral and free to the 

 ships of all nations, alike in peace or war. It 

 VOL. xxvii. 16 A 



was to enjoy immunity from blockade and all 

 acts of war, while the powers were to be asked 

 to agree that no obstacle should be placed in 

 the way of any measures that might be neces- 

 sary for the defense of Egypt. The fourth ar- 

 ticle asserted the right of the English Govern- 

 ment to maintain troops in Egypt as long as 

 might be necessary for the preservation of or- 

 der and the protection of the country against 

 internal or external dangers; but by the fifth 

 England bound herself to withdraw her forces 

 within three years from the date of the con- 

 vention, or, if danger rendered necessary the 

 prolongation of the occupation beyond that 

 period, to evacuate immediately on the dis- 

 appearance of the danger. Egypt was to enjoy 

 " territprial security," a term that the Sultan 

 considered more consonant with his suzerain 

 rights than the word "neutralization," and the 

 powers were to be invited to sign an act recog- 

 nizing and guaranteeing inviolability. The 

 fifth article provided also that in the event 

 of external danger or internal disorder at any 

 future time, or of the failure of the Khedive 

 in his- duties as a vassal, or in his interna- 

 tional obligations, the country might be occu- 

 pied by Turkish troops, or reoccupied by 

 British troops, each country being bound to 

 notify the other in case of contemplated action, 

 and to withdraw its forces as soon as the rea- 

 sons for the military intervention should cease 

 to exist. The final article provided that Eng- 

 land and Turkey should conjointly invite the 

 powers to approve the convention, and should 

 propose certain modifications in the capitula- 

 tions and in certain branches of the Egyptian 

 administration which should be especially set- 

 tled without further discussion. The proposed 

 modification of the capitulations related chiefly 

 to the extension of the jurisdiction of mixed 

 tribunals both in civil and in criminal cases 

 Another protocol had reference to the passage 

 of foreign troops through Egypt in time of war, 

 should communication by way of the Suez 

 Canal be interrupted. In an annex to the 

 convention it was stipulated that the refusal of 

 any Mediterranean power to agree to the con- 

 vention before the expiration of the three 

 years should be held to constitute a danger 

 from without, justifying postponement of the 

 evacuation. The Turkish negotiators long re- 

 sisted the right of re-entry, on which point the 

 British Government remained firm. On Jan. 

 15, 1887, when the negotiations were reopt-ned 

 at Constantinople, Lord Salisbury sent a dis- 

 patch declaring that the British Government 

 would never consent to leave Egypt to the dan- 

 ger of renewed anarchy, or accept as an ad- 

 missible contingency that the void left by the 

 retirement of the British troops should be filled 

 by the forces of any other power. Finally the 

 Turkish plenipotentiaries agreed to recognize 

 the British right of reoccupation on condition 

 that Turkey should have a concurrent right. The 

 convention was signed on May 22. The British 

 and Turkish Governments had promised to 



