Lord R. Churchill began a series of speeches in Edinburgh
on Tuesday by a furious attack on the Egyptian policy of the Government, his idea being that we should restore Arabi, re- pudiate the public Debt, sponge out the debt of the Fellaheen, and place Egypt under a truly Constitutional Prince. We have said enough of his extraordinary exaggerations elsewhere, but must add a note here on his remark that Egypt is not the route to India. In war-time, we must, he says, trust to our ships, and not to any transcontinental route. That may be true, though our ships are as useful in the Mediterranean as off the Cape ; but Egypt, if not the route to India, is its gate. If it belonged to any other Power, we should have to keep a Channel Fleet in the Red Sea, fortify every Indian port, and then be everlastingly expecting attack.
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