The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, The Morning News. and The Echo. TUESDAY, JULY 18, 1882.

Auckland Star, Volume XV, Issue 3723, 18 July 1882, Page 2

The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, The Morning News. and The Echo.

TUESDAY, JULY 18, 1882.

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrong that needs resistance For the future in the distance, And the good that we can do.

That British interference in Egyptian affairs at the present juncture was a political necessity, few will deny i. but many will at the same time question the wisdom arid justice ol: the shape which this interference has assumed, the methods by which it is being carried out, and the policy which it is intended to inaugurate. John Bright and the British Radicals will not stand alone in protesting against the useless and avoidable destruction of life and property which baa for a week been going on at Alexandria, but their sentiments will be echoed by friends of Justice and Humanity in every part of the world. The erstwhile " Jingoes " of the Conservative Patty, who certainly would not be the first to raiao an outcry on behalf of" inferior races," or in favour of tender dealing with a question involving theprestige of Britain, are condemning1 the Gladstone Government for failirfg to foresee and .take precaulious to prevent tbe anarchy which fcaa resulted from the operations before Alexandria. Wo have commended, and still commend Mr Gladstone's Government, for their prompt determination to maintain, by force of anna if necessary, the interests of Britain in Egypt. We would even agree that the time is fully ripesfor that interference being not fitful, but continuous, and we would be prepared to justify and defend a policy which embraced the establishment of a British garrison at Alexandria or Cairo, so as to ensure at once the proper government of Egypt and the security of the Suez Canal route, Eecent events, if they teach anything, teach that our policy of financial control in Egypt must give place to one of political control. Tho utter failure of the former system has proved that the Egyptians are unfitted to possess tho measure of constitutional free-

clooi enjoyed by them; and a more comprehensive control by Britain and France j YTonidjWe feel assured.conducemore to their welfare and be leas irksome than the mere holding of tho purse-strings has proved to So. But tho approval of such a policy oes not involve aaeeut to the methods by which it ts proposed to inaugurate it. We have formerly characterised the bombardmentof the city of Alexandria as uncalled-for and unnecessari|y cruel, and events have corroborated our view. The result of firing on the city hasbaen to exasperate the Egyptians against .European residents, and hundreds of tho latter hare been massacred; It has led to the wildest anarchy, incendiarism, and plunder ; and has placed the life of the Khedive in imminent danger from the fury of tho populace. No doubt, order has now been restored, but at what a cost I All the anarchy and confusion we cannot but look upon as perfectly preveatible, if the bombardment bad not been bo precipitately entered upon. Why uhould not Admiral Seymour have delayed operations until tho transport ships with troops had arrived and placed him in a position to follow up an attack on the forts by the landing of a force sufficient to cope with the Egyptian troops in tho pity ? To this query the facts at our disposal ofter no satisfactory reply; and the retirement of John Bright from the Cabinet, with a full knowledge of the circumstances, favours the presumption that no satisfactory reply can be given to the question. Thou it would appear that, after all, Turkey is to be called upon to send an army to etfect the pacification of Egypt—such being the recommendation of the Conference of the .Representatives of tho Great Powers. If it is Turkey's duty, why did Britain interfere at all? And if it i» Britain's duty, why should she now shrink from it and roll tho burden on to the shoulders of another ? To thesu questions we cannot hope to have an answer until the arrival of tho mail puts us in possession of necessary details not supplied by the telegraphic messages Oue incidental report—that the French ;«i J Italian war-ships have decided to remain absolutely neutral, although men from the ships oi other nationalities have landed and taken part in the restoration of order in Alexandria—suggests that a reason for the change in tho attitude ot Britain may be found in the mutual jealousies of Franco . and Italy. Outwardly, however, thoro is every appearance ot unanimity among the Powers with regard to Egyptian affairs. The majority of them have approved of the British" bombardment, and they are all agreed upon tho question of Turkish occupation. Wo learn to-day that the occupation by Turkish troops is to be limited to six months, unless tho Khedive desires an extension of the time; and that the necessary funds aro tv bo advanced by the Powers, and to he ultimately repaid by Kgypt. It is reassuring to find from this that, though tho action et the British fleet has been precipitate, it is not likely to lead to an; conflict of interests among tho European Powers, and that the solution of the difficulty may be much more easy than the most sanguine bas yet dared to hope.

There is a view of tho subject suggested, if not fully warranted by the intelligence to hand, which would, if correct, reconcile the seeming contradictory turn which affairs have taken. The suggestion is that tho anti-foreign movement in Egypt, which has led to the present bloodshed, is not bo much the outcome of feeling among the na'ivo Egyptians, as it is tho result of Turkish intrigue and perfidy. Tho Sultan of Turkey was never enamoured of the Angln-Frcnch control of the Egyptian finances, and he only agreed to such control under unmistakable pressure from the Western Powers. The Pashas about tho Ottoman Court would probably like the control still less, as it would deprive them of the wholesale plunder which it is their wont to extort in one way or another from the Imperial revenues; and there was thus ample reason why they should wish the existing control to terminate. Since ever Arabi Bey started his dgitation for the complete control of the Budget being handed over to the Chamber of Notables, She conduct of the Porto has been such as to justify the suspicion that she was secretly instigating and approving of tha movement. 1 ho Sultan made Arabia Pasha, and the bestowal of such an honour can only be construed into a desire to reward the recipient for his services. Again, the Sultan protested against the Anglo- French note guaranteeing the maintenance of the status quo in Egypt, a step which amounted to a direct encouragement to Arabi Pasha. The Khedive is the hereditary ruler of Egypt, as guaranteed by the Sultan's firman, and the Anglo-French note constituted an act most loyal and [friendly to Turkey, so that the Sultan's protest was altogether uncalled for, unless on the presumption that he wished to overturn the existing order of things and get rid of the obnoxious Anglo-French control. If this reading of events is right, it accounts for Britain undertaking a hostile demonstration against Arabi Pasha, which the Sultan of Turkey would have a natural disinclination to do. It would also give a peculiar .significance and appropriateness to the resolution of the Powers, that the work ef restoring the authority ot the Khedive must be cariied out by Turkish instead of British battailous. There will be a savour ot poetical justice if the Sultan is compelled to undo the work which he has been hitherto secretly furthering, and if Arabi Pasha the "rebel" receives his punishment at the hands of the one who was hia prime instigator in hiu treasonable career. It is exceedingly satisfactory in the meantime to find that tbo Sultan, who has done his utmost to break the European concert on the Egyptian Question, is confronted by a thorough consensus of opinion among the Great Powers, and that, instead of being in tbe position, of directing events, he is being coerced into a course of action which, if most repugnant to him, is calculated to secure the peace of .Europe. How long a (fairs may wear this satisfactory aspect is, however, quite another matter.