, 1882-08-12
The SUcZ Canal.
From the Times

u L1OtlOu " dNJOuI IIlIIcllls ny MI. NOuIlcA
had its origin III the natural anxiety felt
among English men of business respecting
the security and freedom of the Suez
de LesSepS, conveyed in a telegram to his
illuStrious father, has favoured the i'm
preston that the Canal has been peremp-
torily closed by order Of Sir Beauchamp
Seymour. 1t was explained by Mr..
Gladstone and Sir Charles Dixie that all
this vehemence has been reused by a Sim
pie misarprehension. There has not been,
as NJ. de Lesseps persuaded himself, any
violation of neutrality" any "abuse of
g force" any "act Of violence on the
part of the British Admiral, for which the
British Government is to be "held It.
Gponsible." What has happened is open
to no cavll whatever, even among the
most irritable and suspicious of our neigh
bours. Sir Beauchamp Seymour has in
no way coerced the owners and masters
of any ships intending to pass through the
Canal. He has only given a caution, adj
dressed, in their own interest, to British
vessels, which, however, they are at liber-
ty, it appears, to disregard, if they choose
to encounter the risks inseparable from
the present state Of affairs in Egypt. "If,'
as the Prime Minister said on Wednesday,
. the Canal is Clear-aMl we have not the
I" least reason to believe that it is other
&" wise there is no objection to vessels
+" proceeding through it.7
The excitement, though speedily dist
pated, may serve to remind us of the
extent and the diversity of British inter
ests in Egypt. They differ not only in
degree, but in kind, from those Of any
other Power, great or small. Our prOprie-
tary rights as owners of the shares sold by
Ismail Pasha in 1875 constitute only one,
And by no means the largest, element in
the British claim to q pre%pOnderating
voice i'll any settlement OF the Egyptian
question. To our interest as prOprietOrs
must be added our observation-disclosures
amounting to u monOpOlY-0f the CONNER
Cial benefits of the Canal route, and to us
alone of all European States is The freedom
Of passage by that route indispensable as
connecting y vast Oriental Empire with
the seat of Government in the West. Any
one of these reasons would suffice to iuSti-
fy the pretenSiOn of England to intervene
in Egypt should the Canal be directly or
indirectly endangered, or any attempt
made to impair English influence over its
management. Taking all these together
they are Of irresistible force, as every
English Minister, Liberal and ConServA-
tives, who has been concerned with
foreign politics has emphafically declared.
The argument founded on our proprietary
rights came into existence only after the
purchase of the Khedive'S shares seven
years ago, but that transaction was vindi-
Gated by political and commercial argu.
ments, the strength of which has since
that time been steadily augmented. Look
ing back upon the situation at the opening
of tho Session Of 1876, when, although the
purchase Of the shares was attacked by the
Liberal party, at that tins in Opposition,
there was u difference Of opinion respect
ing the duty Of England in case the Canal
should be threatened, it is manifest that
the interest of this country in maintaining
the security of the works and complete
freedom of transit for British vessels in
time of war and peace has increased in
national Importance.
The Suez Canal accounts, lately furnish.
ed to Parliament, down to the end Of the
last financial year show that of the sum of
four millions sterling raised in 1876 by
the issue of Exchequer Bonds to cover the
payment to the Khedive and the inciden-
tai expenses in the previous winter,
E3,663, 900 remains unredeemed. The
bonds, bearing 81 per cent. interest, were
to be redeemed within a period of So years
by the application of an annual sum not
exceeding G200, 900 to the payment of
interest and principal, and the application
has been made for the past six years
almost exactly up to the limit fixed. TAe
property which passed by that purchase
from the Khedive to the British Govern
ment consisted, it will be remembered,