i'ji The; MariItMe catJal of sueZ. 



in the Conference, the Ottoman Porte, on the day of its assembling, 

 handed in to the British Government the following protest in 

 advance, should the decisions of the Conference not favour her 

 Suzerain rights : — 



"The Sublime Porte maintains its reservations respecting Lord Granville's 

 Despatch of 3rd January, 1883, and understands that an insertion will be made 

 in the Conventional Act of the International Conference assembled at Paris for 

 the settlement of the Suez Canal, to the effect that the Government of His 

 Imperial Majesty the Sultan shall have full right to take the necessary measures 

 for the defence of Egypt, whether against a belligerent State, or Egypt itself, in 

 case of internal disorders. " MusuRUS." 



The Commission of Specialists which met in Paris on the 30th 

 March, 1885, terminated its sittings at the end of the summer, and 

 a pricis of its proceedings was communicated to the various 

 European Governments, but no definite line of action was indi- 

 cated ; for, although on many points raised, a general agreement was 

 arrived at, yet on others, and by no means the most unimportant, 

 considerable difference of opinion prevailed. 



The French Ambassador, M. Waddington, on the 13th January, 

 1886, communicated to the Marquis of Salisbury the views of the 

 French Government, to the effect, that having sounded the Govern- 

 ments of the other European Powers, they were all in favour of 

 leaving the solution of the questions, unsettled by the Commission, 

 to friendly negotiation between Great Britain and France ; and the 

 French Premier, M. de Fr^ycinet, therefore proposed in the first 

 instance, to submit a draft statement of'^the various points in dispute, 

 in the hope of arriving at an agreement, and in this course the 

 Marquis of Salisbury agreed, although an early, or satisfactory solu- 

 tion could not be anticipated, in consequence of the pre-occupation 

 by Turkey of pressing affairs in Eastern Roumelia. Moreover, 

 the Government of the Noble Marquis had but recently assumed 

 the responsibilities of Office, June, 1885, and the political forecast 

 was far from reassuring, and it was natural, therefore, that his Lord- 

 ship advised a postponement of further attempts at negotiation. 



CONTINUED NEGOTIATIONS. 



The French Government of De Frdycinet were not, however 

 disposed to allow any political changes in England to bar the way 

 for the Settlement of the Suez Canal controversy, and, within three 



