It is not very easy to ascertain the precise position
of the Powers with regard to armed intervention in Egypt, but it ap- pears to be this,—England and France have agreed, though with many qualms, to employ Turkish troops, on the understanding that when the work is done they shall depart. The other Powers agree to this course, but with the reserve that Austria thinks the Sultan the natural Sovereign of Egypt, that Germany upholds that view because it suits Austria, and that Russia would like a conference upon the whole question. The result of that divergence will be that when the Sultan is asked to retire, and refuses to retire, the Eastern Powers will refuse their consent to the coercion of the Sultan, who then, unless England and France act with the utmost determination, and, in fact, send a fleet to Constanti- nople, will be master of the position.
