The Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs has made a speech
on Egyptian affairs which contained some remarkable statements. He said the policy of Italy was to maintain firmly its alliance with the three Powers with which it bad hitherto acted in the matter—that is, Germany, Austria, and Turkey—to favour the despatch of Turkish troops as the least of many evils, and "absolutely to refuse assent to armed intervention on the part of certain Powers,"—that is, presumably, England and France. It is useless to form opinions upon telegraphic summaries of an important speech ; but if some of the ques- tioners in Parliament had asked the meaning of these words, instead of reading telegrams from frightened merchants, they would have performed better service. Are we to understand that, in S. Mancini's judgment and that of the Powers allied to Italy, England and France are not at liberty to land troops in Egypt P Or did he only mean that Italy would greatly prefer to employ the agency of the Sultan ?
