The Italian Chamber has been debating the action of the
'Government in Egypt with great vehemence, the Right contend- ing that the British offer to accept Italy as an ally in putting down Arabi's insurrection ought to have been accepted. S. Mancini, Minister for Foreign Affairs, in reply made a curious speech, affirming first that the refusal was not absolute ; secondly, that the German Powers, though ac- quiescent, left to Italy the responsibility ; and, thirdly, that if Italy had agreed, France would have gone to Alexandria too, which one would have thought was a reason for accepting Lord Granville's offer. He denied that Italy was not ready and was afraid of the expense, but admitted that the latter con- sideration had weighed with the Ministry, who, we may add, after the refusal abused England publicly and privately for going on alone. Altogether, the impression left by the speech is that the Italian Ministry do not quite know what they want, -unless it is cheap glory; and that, in any case, they are not the "men with whom one would care to go hunting tigers. It is -evident from the debate that grave Italian statesmen like S. Minghetti feel very keenly the loss of the entente cordiale with Great Britain.
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