The Hastings Standard Published Daily. WEDNESDAY, FEB. 10, 1897. THE EGYPTIAN QUESTION.

Hastings Standard, Issue 243, 10 February 1897, Page 2

The Hastings Standard Published Daily.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 10, 1897. THE EGYPTIAN QUESTION.

For the cause that lacks assistance, l'or the wrongs that need resistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that we can do.

Tiikbk i« a ring of defiance in the speech of Sir Michael lliek.s - Beach, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the brief details of which were published by ua a day or two ago. According to the statement of the Chancellor of the Kxcht'tjuor, John Dull is about to tighten his grip on the Soudan. The I'Vonch as may be expected an* furiuu.s, hut why they .should lie so is .scarcely intelligible, .seeing that (ireat Britain wa.s forced into her present po-.ition by French diplomacy. W hen tin* expedition to Dongola had readied its destination, the Caixse dc la J>etto wa.s asked to foot the bill amounting to half a million sterling. The majority of the member* of the Cai.s-e, or rather all of them, except the Ku- iau and I'W'llch de'e.'at. •; vott d for the pay ment. The want of unanimity, which was undoubtedly due to political influence, necessitated au appeal to the Mixed Tribunal*. The judgment of the Tribunal wa.- ad\s r. • to the British interest.-,, and the Kgypti&n Government was compelled to refund the amount advanced to it for the Soudan expedition by the Ciiisse do la I Kite. Adverting to the decision <»f the Appeal Court of the Mixed Tri btinitls. T);e Times of the Mrd of I.)weml»er last has tlie following : '* \\«- have only to remember that the Court of the Mixed Tri bun als i, an exotic, tU&t it teat* upua a b*gi* m-Jtv

political than a judicial, and that the question it had to decide does not fall under any category of municipal law. If we should have to pay for Dongola then it only follows that we rather than Egypt have a right to Dongola. We might be willing to advance money to Egypt, but with this terrible Court before our eyes we cannot do it. Egypt has no borrowing powers, and the Court would, of course, repudiate any debt she might incur. Consequently, if this judgment can get itself executed, we shall be left in the position of having acquired a good deal of African territory at our own expense and on oar own account. That is not what this country intended when the Soudan expedition was launched, but if the decree of the Appeal Court is really valid we cannot help ourselves. In that case, and especially until the Caisse de la Dette can come to perfectly unanimous decisions as to paying us out, it may be feared that the evacuation of Egypt will remain more impracticable than ever." | France and Russia thought to harass and irritate Great Britain, and possibly to place such an obstacle in the way as will prevent the continued occupation of Egypt, or make the position so irksome as to force England out of Egypt. Whatever might have been the intentions of the Continental Powers, the fact remains that their tactics have resulted in giving England a powerful plea for prolonging the occupation of Egypt. Sir Michael Hicks-Beach played back upon the statesmen of Paris and St. Petersburg, and the attitude of the British Cabinet on the Egyptian question will give them plenty of material for serious consideration. " England declines to be worried out of the policy she believes the right one by a mere monetary difficulty," or in other words England will do her duty whatever the cost. In the present inflamable nature of European politics, such a statement and such an attitude as was made and exhibited by the Chancellor of the Exchequer may and probably will have sooner or later a serious side to it. Lord Salisbury has been very successful in his diplomacy, a fact that has been acknowledged by such a pronounced Liberal journal as the Daily News. Is it to be inferred from this that the Prime Minister, who is also the Minister for Foreign Affairs, has cleared the way for a decisive move by Great Britain. It would appear so. Last year England was at cross purposes with several powerful nations, and her position was aptly described as " splendid isolation." But just now all minor difficulties are out of the way, and some of the more serious questions in dispute such as the Vene-zuela-Guiana boundary dispute, are for the moment out of the road. Great Britain is practically free to concentrate her attention upon Egypt and Tnrkey and there is very little doubt of the ultimate success of Lord Salisbury's policy, but before the end is reached it may be necessary to spill blood. The stand taken by the British Government gives a fresh coloring to European politics. Hitherto the other nations have been twisting the tail of the lion, but the animal is now awake and its roar is not sweet music to its tormentors. Who can say whether the year which is now but a few days old will pass into history of peace. The political atmosphere is surcharged with explosive elements and any optimistic forecast would be stupid.