The Sun.
London, England, 1869-12-14 00:00:00

NO..

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 14, 18G9

ROYAL EXCHANGE ASSURANCE
OFFICE,
EOYIL EXCHANGE, LONDON.

2lth Ncvember, 1869.

The Court of Directors of the Corporation of the Royal Ex
change Assurance do hereby give Notice, that their Transfer
Books will be shut from TUESDAY, the 14th of December next,
to T UESDAY, the 4th of January following; that the Annual
General Court appointed by their Charter will be holden at
their Office, on the Royal Exchange, on WEDNESDAY, the
22d of December, at Twelve o'clock at Noon ; and that a Divi-
dend will be considered of at the said Court.

ROBERT P. STEELE, Secretary.

THEATRE -ROYAL DRURY- L ANE.
dole Lessee and Manager, Mr. F. B. Ohatterton.
THIN EVENING, at 7, BELLES OF THE KITCHEN. At 8,
FORMOSA : Messrs. Barrett. H Irving, David Fisher, Brittain,
Wright, John Rouse: Mrs Billington, Misses M. Brennan, Mac-
donald. and Katharine Rodgers. Conclude with BORROWED
PLUMES

THEATRE-ROYAL, lIAYMARKET.

-------
'fins EvENDra, at 7 o'clock, FOUNDED ON FACTS; Mr
Compion. After which, I•EW MEN AND OLD ACRES: Mr
Bnckstone. Concluding with HIGH LIFE BELOW STAIRS :
Mr Bnckstone, Mr Kendall, Miss F. Wright, &c.

the present day would venture to engage in. But •
our present meddlings are more illogical, if they are
less disastrous. There was much to be said respect-
ing the danger of permitting Russia to reach Con-
stantinople. The Turkish Empire is not, however,
in any jeopardy of this kind now. The
present tendency of events in the East is
clearly to divide the Ottoman territory
between several rising nationalities—Egypt, Greece,
and Roumania—scarcely one of which is really
friendly to Muscovite encroachments. English
poliCy, then, tends to prevent or weaken the formation
of States that would prove a much more formidable
barrier against the great Eastern Power than Tur-
key itself. We keep millions of Christians under
Mahommedan rule for no good purpose whatever,
even in a political sense. There is no reason, it is
true, why England should incite the Greeks,
Roumans, Montenegrins, Servians, or Egyptians to
prey upon the Sultan. These national movements
should be allowed simply to take their own course.
Propping up an effete Power is costly, and it never
succeeds in the end.:
The social and commercial effects of our "Eastern
policy " aro very deplorable. Some of these peoples
shew no great aptitude for progress. None of them,
however, is so backward as Turkey, whilst others
promise well. The state of things prevailing at
Constantinople is absolutely without hope.
Corruption, misgovernment, and decay are
influences which work slowly, but they destroy at
last, and they rarely permit a reaction. On the other
hand, there is much reason to believe that emanci-
pation from this bad rule would develop the wasted
resources of several fine territories, and particu-
larly of Egypt. This is a country capable
of unlimited production, and that, too, almost
without effort. It is unlikely that a
Government which borrows money ostensibly for
railways and roads, and which, nevertheless, con-
structs neither, will do much for an outlying
dependency. The KnEnivE has shown a disposition
to do all that lies in his power for the benefit of his
country. But for him the Suez Canal could not have
been made. He is fully aware that the prosperity of
a Government depends upon the prosperity. of its
people, and he therefore desires to promote the second
to ensure the first. The finest cotton can be grown
in Egypt; but State aid is necessary to promote the
cultivation of the plant on a large scale. The people will
gladly pay for irrigation ; but the first advance must
come from the National Treasury. To accomplish
these reforms it is necessary that the ruling power
at Cairo should be a Government in every sense of the
term, and not subject to the control of another Cabinet.
The Earl of CLARENDON has determined, however,
with the invaluable aid of the Hon. Mr. ELLIOTT,
to put a stop to Egyptian progress by upholding this
prejudicial control. In addition to being represented
by the SULTAN in all matters of peace and war,
alliances, treaties of commerce, and the like, the
terms which the lirrFnwE has been constrained to
accept, provide that Egyptian taxes shall be levied in
the SULTAN'S name, and that loans must be subjected
to the control of the Porte. What can be the
effect of calling Egyptian imposts after the name of
the SULTAN, instead of the KTrE.DivE, unless it be to
loWer the dignity of the latter in the eyes of his people
at a time when the ruler ought to be most respected
and trusted ? The taxes will be in nowise altered. The
British Government has in this matter lent its aid n
carrying out a pernicious piece of fore alism worthy
only of the diplomatic doings under Louis XIV. If
it were !LA intended that the Khedive should be a
King, it was at least never contemplated to reduce
him to the position of a Lord-Lieutenant.
Much worse is the proviso respecting the loans.
That Egyptian borrowings should be subject to
the approval of the Porte, simply amounts to giving
the most improvident Government in Europe a licence
to teach economy to a State which is at all events
more careful than its mentor. The Turkish Govern-
ment is a notorious offender in the matter of loans. It
is argued that the veto is needed to prevent the
KHEDIVE raising an army to defy his liege lord ;
and to a certain extent this plea is true. Owing to
the interference of the English Foreign Office, the
KHEDIVE will keep up an army to protect himself
against possible eventualities. But if the Foreign
Office had not interfered, it is quite cer-
tain that the SULTAN would never have ven-
tured a campaign across the desert—the Crete
experiences prove that—the quarrel would have
subsided, and shortly a large Egyptian force would have
been less necessary. Under the arrangement secured
by the llon. Mr. ELLIOT, the Egyptian ruler will live
in a state of armed peace. Nor will he fail to secure
loans. By bribing and intriguing at Constantinople,
ho will be able to buy all the " consent "
he requires, and the only result will be that a
certain proportion of all money raised for Egyptian
use will go into the coffers of the Turkish officials,
who now pocket the loans raised for "railways and
roads." The Egyptian tax-payers and the European
capitalists will bear the cost of this pro-
cess. The control will certainly not prevent
the KHEDIVE from maintaining as large an
army as may be needed. But it will,
like the rest of this " peaceful settlement,"
rastrict the development of a country which, on many
accounts, can do more towards the welfare of the
world than almost any other. How short-sighted
has been our Eastern policy where Egypt has been
concerned ! Even NAPOLEON I. saw the value
of this territory, and made gigantic efforts to
sacure it. Yet England has never profited by the
lesson. Some day there will be a rude awakening.
Some day we shall find that, in addition to materially
injuring the interests of ourselves and our neigh-
bours, we have caused the emancipation of Egypt from
Turkey to be purchased from France on terms which
will wofully damage that " Eastern policy," which
has cost so much and gained so little. •

TILE FESTITAL OF THE THREE CHOIRS.

HEREFORD, Monday.

Active preparations have already been com-
menced for the next Festival of the Three Choirs
of Worcester, Hereford, and Gloucester, which will
be held thisyear at llereford. The first meeting of
the stewards took place here on Saturday, when it
was announced that fifty noblemen and gentlemen
had already undertaken the office of steward for
the next festival. Lord Bateman, Lord-Lieutenant
of Herefordshire, is president, and the Lord Bishop
of Hereford has consented to be a vice-president.
The present Dean of Hereford is also a steward, and
is a firm supporter of the festivals, together with
his brother, the Hon. Sir Percy Herbert. The
Dean and Chapter, in response to the usual appli-
cation, have granted the use of the cathedral for the
oratorios, and the secular concerts will be held, as
usual, at the Shire-hall. After some discussion, it
was arranged to hold the festival in the week com-
mencing Aug. 23.
The Birmingham Festival, which happens this
year, will, it is expected, be fixed for the week fol-
lowing, or possibly a week later, so as not to inter-
fere with the partridge shooting.
It is an augury of success for the Hereford Festi-
val that the services of two well-tried and zealous
supporters have again been secured. J. H. Ark-
, wright, Esq., of Hampton Court, has again taken
the chairmanship of the committee ; and Nit.. G.
Townshend Smith, the talented organist of Here-
ford Cathedral, occupies his old offices of conductor
and lion. secretary, in which he has for so many
years rendered such efficient aid in perpetuating
these provincial festivals.

The very extensive Distillery now being erected
at Belfast, with all recent improvements for the matiufacture of
Irish whisky, by Messrs. DUNVILLE & Co., who have gained
a world-wide celebrity for their fine old Irish whisky, is to he
called "The Royal Irish Distillery."

MR. W. H. GLADSTONE,

The Globe—the Conservative organ—has a very savage
attack upon Mr. N. H. Gladstone. "£lO9 lls. 9d. is not,"
it says," a large sum to a Prime Minister's son, neither
does it make a great difference in the national estimates ;
but it would have rather more than paid the wages of
two labourers for a year, at the rate of a guinea a week
a-piece. This is the fraction, as nearly as possible, of the
salary of Mr. W. H. Gladstone, the new Lord of the Trea-
sury, which has accrued since his appointment. We do not
grudge it to him in the least for a corresponding amount
of work, but since he has not, if we are rightly informed, as
yet set foot inside his new office, we think that the money
might just as well have gone to keep two poor fellows for
twelve months. Even if it gave them nothing but bread
and cheese, they would most certainly have been comnelled
to give the country some labour in return."