NEWS OF THE WEEK.
rpHE negotiations with France have been broken off, and I the Deal Control in Egypt was on Thursday formally terminated, Sir A. Colvin resigning his office; but the English position remains undefined, and legally we are still 'occupying the country on the invitation of the Khedive, who legally may send us away to-morrow. That is not very satis- factory, the legal situation and the actual situation being directly opposed, while the Convention which is to put matters .straight halts, probably through difficulties raised in Constan- tinople. Sir Evelyn Wood is, however, organising the Army on the plan of half the regiments being purely Egyptian and half -commanded by English officers ; Baker Pasha has raised a Gendarmerie, said to be efficient; and a nondescript police for Alexandria and Cairo is getting into order, under General Della -Scala. This police has hitherto been composed of Europeans, Albanians, and Egyptians, but as the two former kill one another whenever they get drunk, the Egyptians are to be ,preferred, and the force has been placed under Baker Pasha. An organisation strong enough to maintain order is, in _fact, being.evolved ; but the essential points of ultimate autho- rity and financial security are still unsettled. According to the latest official statement, revenue and ordinary expenditure exactly balance ; but there is nothing for the British troops, or for the indemnities which, it is expected, will amount to three millions. It will be wise of the Foreign Office to quicken things a little, and be ready with an intelligible plan when Parliament meets.
