THE ATTITUDE OF EUROPE.
THE Tories are delighted with what they call the threaten- ing attitude of Europe towards England, and it is pretty clear that no success of Mr. Gladstone's policy in Egypt would give them half the pleasure which would be caused by its a least partial failure. When one comes to look at the matter, how- ever, the threatening attitude of Europe does not look so formidable. It is clear enough that Russia will take her little revenge of insisting that we shall submit all our arrangements in Egypt to the criticism of Europe, just as Lord Salisbury insisted that the arrangements of Russia should be submitted to the criticism of Europe at Berlin. That is a very natural and pardonable bit of retaliation for the policy of Lord Beaconsfield and Lord. Salisbury, and, so far as it is disagreeable to us, we ought to thank the Tories for bringing it about. But after all, it is not of very serious import. It is clear that M. Gaon was directed to make whatever he could of the independent action of England in Egypt, and to utter his little protest against anything like an isolated intervention there. But it is equally clear that our own Government is as anxious to avoid isolated action as the Russian Government is anxious to warn us against it, and that
so long as the Powers do not hamper us in the work of pacify- ing Egypt, the Government will welcome as many guarantees for the protection of the Suez Canal by other Powers as these other Powers are willing to give us. What the present Govern- ment desires in Egypt is a settled government, and a great high- road to India safe from all disturbing international influences, and so long as we get this, the more security is given for the co-opera- tion of other European Governments in the work, the better our own Government will be pleased.
In the attitude of Germany, we cannot find the least sign of hostility. Germany has apparently united with us in asking for the proclamation of Arabi as a traitor, and Las assented tacitly to all that we have done. The Porte is no pet of Prince Bis- marck. Though he does wish to conciliate the Sultan a little, for the sake of Austria, Germany has no desire to see the East goaded into a fatal attempt to throw off the influence of the West. Nobody knows better than Prince Bismarck that Germany is the most typical representative at the present time of the Western attitude of mind, and that anything which gave the East the notion that she could throw the power of the West off her would not only produce massacres, horrifying to all civilised Powers, but would sooner or later play very powerfully into the hands of Ruseia, who could not but gain in the East by the necessity she would be under of protecting her subjects against the Mahomedan revival.
Well, but, it is said, after all our energetic and continuous efforts to keep the alliance of France, what have these efforts come to I—the overthrow of the French Government for giving us very cautious promises, and then trying to keep them. Well, but how does that really injure us ? Had we really alienated France, had we excited her jealousy, and tried to outwit her in Egypt, we might now be in a very awkward position indeed, But France retires, not from any jealousy of England, but from the suspicions which her people feel of the designs of Germany, from their extreme reluctance to be taken at any disadvantage, if any of these designs should prove hostile. It is exceedingly natural for a Democracy which has suffered as the French Democracy suffered in 1870, to be timid for a generation to come of any policy which may seem hazardous ; and no doubt, in this case, the reserved attitude of the Powers was of much more consequence to France than to us. It is no mischief to us to have to act in Egypt with- out France,—France remaining all the time perfectly friendly. There is always difficulty and danger in co.operative action of this delicate kind, and for all our purposes, a friendly abstention of France from intervention in Egypt is even more fortunate than a friendly co-operation there while the work is actually going on. So far as we have the means of judging, Austria, again, is perfectly friendly, though willing to humour the Porte.
On the whole, we see no sign at all of an unfriendly • disposition on the part of Europe,—quite the reverse. That some of the European Powers were anxious to prevent France from welding with us any very energetic and effective alliance, we quite admit. But we are very doubtful whether any such alliance would have been useful just now to either party. At present, our only danger is the poor old Turk. With • him, we cannot possibly co-operate. And yet with him it is very inconvenient just now to fall out openly. We admit that our relations with the Porte are delicate in the extreme. But the Porte is not Europe. And to our minds, the attitude of Europe,—the Porte excluded,—is nearly as satisfactory as, for the purpose of pacifying Egypt, we could wish the attitude of Europe to be.
Previous page
