The Express.
London, England, 1867-07-04 00:00:00

THE SULTAN AND THE VICEROY OF EGYPT.

The Sultan has accepted the invitation of the
Secretary of State for India, and his imperial highness
will be present at a ball to be given at the new India-
office on Friday, the 19th inst. This invitation emanated
entirely from the authorities at the India-office, who are
using every endeavour to make the entertainment worthy
of the oecaaion, though at the same time they regret that
want of space will limit the invitations at their disposal.
The Sultan will arrive on the 12th inst.

We envies) have great pleasure in announcing that
the hospitality and munificence of a private noble-
man has been interposed to protect the nation from the
reproach which would have been cast upon it if the course,
against which we so energetically protested, had been pur-
sued of lodging the guest of the nation, the Viceroy of
Egypt, at an hoteL Lord Dudley, with a public
spirit which will not fail to be gratefully ►ppreciated by
all who are jealous of our national honour, has placed his
magnificent mansion, Dudley House, Park-lane, and his
establishment at the disposal of the Viceroy during his
stay in this country, and the cabinet have accepted his
offer. We believe the Duke of Sutherland was also ready
to place Stafford House at the Viceroy's disposal, and that
a magnificent fete will be given there in honour of his
highnt Bs.

General Cast, her Majesty's Muter of the Cere-
monies, complains that there are three officers of ceremony
attached to the Court, and yet that at this period, when
there is about to be a review by the Queen in Hyde-park,
• naval review by her Majesty at Spithead the week after
next, and the expected arrival of the Viceroy of Egypt and
of the Sultan in a few days, not one of these officers has
done a stroke of duty, although they are all resident in
London. The reason of this is " simply that other public
departments lay aside the duties that belong to their
several institutions to undertake duties that happen to be
more agreeable to them, and which they do not do so well,
from their comparative unfitness for such a duty." Thus
the Foreign-office have opened communications in her Ma-
jesty's name with the ambassadors and envoys at our
Court, offering them tickets for themselves ani their
friends to see the review; whereas "the diplomatic body
is always considered to form • portion of the Sovereign's
court, and are never in strict propriety offered tickets as
fur a sight, but should have notice given them by the
proper court officer that the Sovereign is about to appear in
public in such and such a function, where • tribune will
be provided for their accommodation ; and it is considered
that respect and duty to the Sovereign requires that they
shall attend on these occasions, unless prevented by illness
or other important avocations. And the office of ceremony
at our court was created more than two centuries ago for
the express purpose of apprising their excellencies of these
matters, and for dispensing all the civilities of the crown
to foreigners of distinction who may resort to the Court of
St. James, and it will be seen at once that while the in-
terference of the Foreign-office is not called fur, it is, as I
have remarked, one that they cannot perform properly,
being constituted for another business. While, therefore,
we are paid for duties which we are not permitted to per-
form at all, the Foreign-office on these occasions lay aside
unnecessarily the duties they are paid to perform in order
to execute others that belong to another institution and
calling. Can we be surprised that they manage these
things better in France r