The times., 1898-11-13
FRANCES DANGER HEEDED.
England Defers Her Protector
ate Over Egypt.
IMPORT OF OUR ELECTIONS
Englishmcn Struggle With Various
and Vague Ideas of Last Tuesdays
Observation-Disclosures OF the Phil
fppine Prob:csE-Hfnts of European
Intervention-The Kniser's Visit.

London, Nov 12.-The Lord Mayors
banquet has come and gone without
that one momentous word from the lips
of Lord Salisbury for which all Europe
was waiting, and in support of which,
as Europe generally thought England
was putting the last touches to her
fighting machine. Why did Lord Sails
bury fail on Wednesday to proclaim
that British protectorate over Egypt for
which public opinion seemed so insist
ent?
There is reason for believing that
not unimportant section of the cabinet
was strongly of opinion that the time
had come to put an end to the farce of
Turkish sovereignty. which, while
throwing on England the whole burden
of the regeneration of Egypt, allows the
European powers, and especially
France, to harass her every step at
Cairo, Alexandria, and Constantinople,
and now at Fashoda- But Lord Sails
bury is no diplomatic peacemaker. He
has learned much since the days of the
Berlin treaty. He knows that If Eng
land attempted now to annex Egypt,
pensation in Turkey, in China, in
Africa, or somewhere else, and who
could tell whether that international
scramble would result in peace or war?
Lord Snlisbury's Choice.
He knows, too, that though England
has not the trappings of sovereignty in
Egypt. she has, what is far more to the
point, its substance. and further, that
the inevitable revision of the powers of
The mixed tribunals early in the new
year can hardly fail to give England
far freer hand in Egyptian finance.
When, therefore. as credible report
states, NJ. Delcasse pointed out the dam
ger to which an immediate proclama-
ton of a British protectorate over
Egypt would expose constitutional au-
thority in France. in the present infiam-
mable state of French opinion, Lord
Salisbury preferred peace to popularity,
and let the opportunity pass.
The hope of friends of Anglo-French
concord is that this act of British alb
negation may prepare France for that
friendly all-round deal in Africa which,
while maintaining England's undisput-
ed sovereignty over the Nile Valley. win
also give France the consolation of her
African empire in the west and north
which she so covets.
The American Elections.
Amid the furry of their own foreign
troubles, Englishmen have honestly
tried to work out the true meaning of
the American elections. The result is
rather muddle. They wish fervenuy
to believe that expansionism and colon
ial Imperialism have definitely squelch-
ed Bryanism and Populism, and that
the new spirit will. as one writer puts
1t, purge America as with fire. and,
while bringing about an entire reform
in the American civil service, place
England and America side by side in
the difficult task of civilizing dark races
and keeping the world open to all mems
commerce" Hence the prophetic en-
blematic car, which excited no little
cheering in the Lord Mayors show on
Wednesday, despite its rather tawdry
tinsel, for Englishmen never did under
stand the art of effective street page
ants.
Know Little of AIgerism.
If course, there are Algerism and
other things to be taken into account
but Englishmen know little of them. 1t
is enough for them to declare vaguely
that expansion has somehow got the
upper hand, and to believe, as the Spec
tator says today, that as for political
corruption, rings in America will some
day try to fight the churches, and will
be crushed like flies
But what. then. of Lord Salisbury's
alarming assertion on Wednesday that
Americas appearance among the fac
tors of Asiatic, and possibly of European
diplomacy may not conduce to peace.
though it conduce to British interests?
Another Salisbury blazer" was the
first exclamation one heard. for, jealous
as the European monarchs already are
of this American intrusion. such an ad-