Lord Hartington delivered a weighty though not brilliant speech at
Rawtenstall, in Lancashire, on Saturday, full of guid- ance as to the intentions of the Government. He repeated in the most emphatic way that the Government were ascending the Nile to rescue General Gordon, and not to reconquer the Soudan, nor to restore to the Egyptians powers which they could not use for the benefit of the people. He also reiterated the statement that the British occupation of Egypt was a temporary one, and that the instant the work was done the Government would provide for the just rights of other nations, and retire. HQ even made it a charge against the Opposition that, by advocating the permanent retention of Egypt, they roused in foreign Powers a jealousy and suspicion of any measure which possibly in Tory hands might be turned to a purpose not intended by those who proposed it. He rebuked Sir Richard Cross for the violence of his language on politics, saying significantly that his violence increased as his conviction grew that he should never again hold office; and he rejected with disdain the imputation that, if the Government agreed to any compromise on the Reform Bill, it would be unwilling or unable to adhere to it. Unable, he said, and yet they called Mr. Gladstone a Dictator !
