No hint whatever has transpired as yet as to the
plan which the Government will propose for Egypt, and it is probable that none as yet has been decided on. The cause of delay is partly the necessity of consulting local authorities, partly a wish to be sure of' Turkey, and partly a doubt as to the guarantees which it will be indispensable to secure. The Government does not de. sire more responsibility than it can help, and at the same time cannot run the risk of having the work to do again. The deci- sion cannot be long delayed, and is left to a very remarkable
degree in the hands of the Cabinet itself. We never remember to have seen the Press so cautious, and even perplexed, while public speakers either shirk the subject, or, like Lord Bath, acknowledge, with amusing candour, that they cannot form an opinion. As far as we can judge, the general current of feel- ing among the cultivated is in favour of acquiring the suze- rainty by an arrangement with Turkey, and then of trying autonomy ; and among the uncultivated, of taking as little as possible in Egypt, but of holding on with a strong grip to the Canal. We note, also, a strong desire, quite universal, to end the condominium, with an equal desire not to leave a festering sore in the French mind. No alliance at all attracts English electors, except the French one, though France is held to have discreditably avoided her share in the joint work.
