The incident reported from Jeddah on Friday may turn out
to be extremely serious. A Consular party was riding on Thursday outside the town, which included the British and Russian Consuls, the British Vice-Consul (an Arab gentleman), and the French Consular Secretary, when they were attacked by Arabs, "supposed to be Bedouins." The British Vice-Consul was shot dead, the British Consul was wounded, and the French and Russian officials " suffered serious injury." It is most imprc- bable that Bedouins would commit such an outrage, and we greatly fear the attack was made by fanatics, intent on killing the representatives of the West. In that event it will be most difficult to obtain either justice or reparation, or the needful apologies, and it may be necessary to bombard the town, as in 1858. There is no more fanatical or wicked population in the world than that of Jeddah, which is composed of men who live by pillaging pilgrims, of agents of the Arab slave- stealers, and of a residuum deposited by the endless pilgrim stream. It will be well for Lord Rosebery to act quickly, or the French will, and they may perhaps interfere in their operations with the flow of pilgrims from India.
