2S8 THE MARITIME CANAL OF SUEZ. 



nor opportunity was allowed to the British Government to convoke 

 Parliament, or to await its Re-assembling, for the purpose of securing, 

 in the first place, its approval. 



If Parliament, however, had reason to complain of undue precipi- 

 tation, or of the action of the Executive without its authority, the 

 voice of the Nation was not stifled, nor its powerful organ, the Press, 

 kept in the dark, of the policy pursued, and of the paramount 

 reasons for its immediate adoption ; and, herein, it may be said, 

 truly, that Her Majesty's Government took the Nation into its con- 

 fidence, and kept it fully informed of the Negotiations, and, thereby, 

 enabled them to be guided and strengthened by the expression of 

 its opinion, so universally given by the Press of all shades of 

 political thought and feeling. 



The prevailing sentiment of the country, as gathered from public 

 utterances of eminent men and the leading articles of the Press, who 

 vigorously discussed the transaction, was, on the whole, favourable 

 to the action of Ministers. That it was spirited, could not be disputed; 

 that it was an astute stroke of diplomacy and of statesmanship, for 

 it proved that Her Majesty's Government were alive to the interests 

 of England in its far-off Indian possessions, and that they were 

 ready to protect them whenever menaced, or imperilled. 



Lord Derby, upon whom had fallen, as Foreign Minister of the 

 Crown, the responsible duty of carrying through the delicate nego- 

 tiations with the Khedive and his Ministers, frankly acknowledged 

 to the Marquis d'Harcourt, the French Ambassador, that the policy 

 of England was strictly defensio, non provocatio ; and, moreover, 

 France having so large an interest in the Canal, it was natural, nay, 

 imperative, that England, whose mercantile and maritime interest 

 was larger than all the nations of the world combined, should also 

 have some share in the management of the Canal, proportionate to 

 Her wealth and power. His Lordship, on a subsequent occasion, 

 addressing a meeting at Edinburgh, observed : — 



" There was no deep-laid scheme in tlie matter. We have stated what 

 we want, and why we want it, and Europe is accustomed to believe what we 

 say." 



When Parliament met in February, 1876, the Chancellor of the 

 Exchequer, Sir Stafford Northcote, submitted the whole proceedings 

 to the approbation of the House; and, on February 2 ist, an important 

 debate took place, which was taken part in by Mr. Gladstone and 



