St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1882-07-21
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT After.

When the history of Great Britain
comes to he written for the 10Th centu-
ry, no chapter will be more disgraceful
and defenseless than the chapter that
begins with the bombardment of Alex
andria. A great commercial city ruin
ed. its homes and business houses
burned or plundered, or both, its pub
lie buildings destroyed, lives taken not
only by war but by atrOciOus murder,
and all for what No answer can he
given that will not shame the power
that did the deed. Mr.. Gladstone
meets at this juncture one thing in his
administration that he cannot defend.
His close of the war in Afghanistan,
his settlement with the Beers in South
Africa, both showed the statesman who
was not afarid to take Il moral stand
against all the false patriotism, the
jingoism, of England. But how has he
fallen We do not need to wait for
history to pronounce upon the conduct
of Great Britain in this affair of Egypt.
There has been not a jot of credit in it.
Great Britain claims to hold that the
sultan is the suzerain, of Egypt but
she did not wait for any action on his
part. She claims to hold that the khe-
dive is the ruler of Egypt; but she
did not wait to hear from the khedive.
She declares that she is not making
war, because the only power now in
Egypt is Il rebel power, that of Arab.
against which it is not possible to
make war, She is therefore merely
chastising rebels-not against her au-
thOrity, as there can be no such rebels
in Egypt-but against the authority OF
the khedive, for their disObedience
when she, Great Britain, through her
admiral, ordered them to stop fOrtify-
ing Alexandria. What a gross abuse
of international courtesy, as well as
common humanity, this attack of the
British fleet was
The British government has taken a
tremendous burden on its shoulders,
already sufficiently laden with home
troubles. 1t has now practically I'M
dertaken to maintain the khedive by
protesting merely to act as police in a
riot against himself. He has been
recognized in Parliament as the Fright
full ruler" of Egypt, and Arab as a
rebel against his proper authority.
There is no inquiry as to how he can
of Turk who was depOsed by league
of private European bondhOlders that
put him in his fathers place as their
more convenient tool. What possible
influence can the creditors mechanical
toy have over the people of Egypt 2
Tewfik has no more business among
them than England has, and Arab
clearly has a considerable support, in
GLIDING the army who knew it. There
is nothing more notable in the matter
than the fact that the sultan dare not
actively interfere. Through a term of
years the Turkish element has been
diminishing in Egypt, and the national
feeling has been growing constantly.
England has now committed herself
to settle the complications of Egyptian
politics. The sultan is out of the
question by his own default, and be-
cause he has no force to spare from his
own immediate domain. The khedive
is a puppet, which England may en-
deavOr to remOunt, and engage to pull
the strings that shall give him again
the semblance of life. But she can
only accomplish this by occupying the
country in force, since whatever else
may be uncertain, it is plain that the
Turk is no more welcome than the Eu-
rOpean, and that the position of Arab
is one of uncOmprOmising hostility to
BOTH Springfield Republican.