The Egyptian Bondholders cannot give up their hope that some
Government or other will distrain on Egypt to recover. their bad debts. At first the British and French Governments were to act in concert and depose Ismail, then France was to act alone, and now all the Powers of Europe are to act in combination. Germany in particular, it is asserted, has pro- tested against any disregard being shown by the Khedive to his German creditors. We dare say that is true, as it is also true- that the Khedive has received the remonstrance with great respect, as indeed he has done the remonstrances of France and England, anti would do the remonstrance of Monaco. But re- ceiving remonstrances, and obeying them, are two different things. If anything is certain in the Khedive's policy, it is that he does not intend to give up his financial independence, unless he is coerced by physical force, and the only point for bond- holders to consider is where the physical force is to come from.. England is certainly not going to exert it, nor is France, and such an affair is no more in the way of Germany than a Zulu war. Of course all the Governments will write despatches, and of course the Khedive, when he repudiates, will do it "out of deference to the cry of his population," but the despatches will be as meaningless as the excuse.
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