The Times of Thursday intimates that Lord Dufferin, after his
visit to Constantinople and to England, will not return to Egypt. That would be a grave misfortune to that country, as any diplomatist who might take his place—say Sir R. Morier, Minister at Lisbon, or Mr. White, Minister at Bucharest—the latter a man familiar with Turkish provinces—would hold a much less weighty influence, and have much to learn, especi- ally about persons, from the beginning. We trust Lord Dufferin will return to Cairo in spite of the rumour that if Lord Ripon resigns in December, owing to his wife's health. Lord Dufferin may be appointed Viceroy. He deserves the Indian post, which he wished for when he was despatched to Canada, but the difficulty of replacing him at Cairo is almost insuperable. The question raised by the Times as to the status of our Representative in Egypt is easily settled. We constantly supplement the regular Ambassador by an Envoy Extraordinary—for instance, that was Lord Beacons- field's official position at Berlin—and there is no reason why the Envoy Extraordinary to the Sultan should not reside in Cairo, which is technically within the Sultan's dominion.
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