On Wednesday Mr. Leonard Courtney, addressing his con- stituents at
Bodmin, made a powerful protest against the advance into the Soudan, and pleaded that there was still time to keep the expedition within bounds. The idea of the reconquest of the Soudan was vain, false, and foolish. He was not for scuttling out of Egypt, though he was not for remain- ing there indefinitely. But it was possible to be against the Soudan advance whether you were for occupation or evacua- tion. Lord Farrer was converted to occupation, but was strongly against a reconquest of the Soudan. "The Soudan," as General Gordon said, "is a useless possession, ever was so, and ever will be so" [when General Gordon said this we did not hold Uganda], and we ought not therefore to inflict its possession upon Egypt. England's duty in Egypt was two- fold. First, to withdraw Egypt from the Turkish Empire, and, secondly, to act like the trustee of a minor. It was not necessary for the safety of Egypt to conquer the Soudan, and therefore the trustee ought not to sanction its acquisition. If we accept Mr. Courtney's point of view, namely, that we c In and ought, and therefore shall, leave Eygpt before long, his arguments are irresistible. Egypt alone is entirely in- capable of governing the Soudan, even if we conquer it for her. Her past misgovernment of it was a crime against humanity. In our opinion, however, we cannot, must not, and shall not leave Egypt, and therefore if there are good reasons for doing so we need not mind reconquering the Soudan. We shall never, except in the most nominal way, hand it over to Egypt. But there are good reasons for re- conquering the Soudan, though not perhaps just at this moment. It will make Egypt safer. It will open a great highway to the Central Lakes. It will prevent any other Power tampering with the water-supply of Egypt. It will help to put an end to African slavery. It is because we differ from Mr. Courtney as to our position in Egypt that we differ from him as to the reconquest of the Soudan being an ideal worth pursuing.
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