The sun., 1910-06-07
EGYPT 4 DANGER.
Nshammedan Pupulaiioa . Constant Em'
baFrnmmena 90 England.

To rHE EDTroR oF Tvs sUN-Sir: After
'oFty-fve years careful observation OF the
Eastern question ! am convinced that hs
crucial centre u no, In Aaia but In Egypt
When was In a large military station IN
India In 1902 Louis Napoleon opened the
Suez Canal with great 6clat. and Ne then
recalled the fact that NsoOunt Palmcrston,
the WaFlike Premier Of Britain. when ". de
iesseps In 1859 submitted his plans 10 the
English Government. resisted the pFoposal
with all the weight he could bring 70 bear
against Il. PalmerstOn maintained that
Il tho canal was successful Great Britain
a. the chief mercantile Power connected
with the East would be irresistibly drawn
into more direct interference In EEypt; aud
30 Il came 60 pass
Il Il now seen. so far az England n con-
ceFned. that the mercantile advantages OF
the canal are 10 some extent qualified BY the
political dihlculties TO which it may at any
moment give rise Mr. Disraeli saw that
Il would be necessary 10 take the canal out
Of French control. and when ! was In Egypt
In the winter Of is7s-Is We regarded u a. a
master stroke Of foreign policy when the
Prime Minister secretly acquired possession
Of canalshares 20 the amount Offour million
sterling A. the present time e y said that
these shares are worth At least thirty-,wo
millions sterling
In issS, when went 10 India. Ne crossed
The Egyptian desert on the backs Of camels,
Now there n a railway from Alexandria 10
Suez, and about s.OOO English vessels pass
through tho canal In a single year. In 1859,
when last visited Egypt. the whole Of tho
sudan was IN the hands Of Moslem fanatics.
Now u h a centre Of civilized influences
With schools and Christian MISSIONS. Such
has been the rapid course Of events In
my own observation, and I cannot but think
that n Colonel Roosevelt had drawn atten-
tion 20 the rapid development Of the cOun-
try under the British prOtectOrate instead
Of throwing a bombshell into the midst Of
political parties In Britain he would have
served the good cause much more than
be has done. Both lord CFOmeT and
Lord CurHon have condemned tho inert
Eastern policy Of the Liberal Admihistra-
lion, 80 that L n really a party question, and
the en- President Of the United States has
but added fuel 10 the nre The appoint
ment Of Viscount Kitchener as hs Malesty's
Commissioner IN the Mediterranean a q
clear Indication that SERIOUS dihicultiss
exist IN Egypt a. the present time
In the last letter or nearly the last which
Lord PalmerstOn wrote before his death
ne sdtus ~ 20 huaAlA Ne AuhN IN AnoNk
time ses a power almost a. great a. that Of
ancient Rome II he were alive now
what would he say of that great German
Empire which did not exist IN HE day'
The political difficulties which Palmefst0n
predicted now exist In Egypt. In fact they
are intensely acute. Out Of q population
Of 10. Oh. .Ooo In ERypt at least 1900, O0o are
MOhammedans OF the sunni sect, and In India
the King Of England has n, ,0Q0. 600 Of subjects
WhO are Of the same sect and who are taught
by their religious leaders to look forward TO
a great revival Of Islam, Only a spark IA
needed TO raise a iehad or religious
war for the extension of Islam. lord
CfOmer has drawn attention TO this aspect
Of Affairs In an O1icial paper In addi-
tiOn 10 this there Ia the persistent claim
Of France 10 a Joint control Of Egypt. which
cannot b. altogether ignored. In isoS
Lord Salisbury allowed France TO use the
canal In defiance Of treaty rights 10 con
queT Nadarascar A. a rOTe Og sop 10 the
sensi biitles Of the French people u must
~ remem 6ered that from the French point
Of view the British occupation Ot Egypt
h but tentative and subject TO the Will
of Turkey. France and Russia. II is there
fore In Egypt that the war cloud II 10 he
seen and not In either Japan OF China.
u does not seem that Mr. Roosevelt :
dramatic utterancea Will In any way help
matters The people Of Egypt. like those
Of the far Past, travel IN bullock carts
and not In express trains You cannot
rule Egypt With a big stick II has been
tried ANGLO-lNDIAN.
Nav YoRE. June O.