THE HERITAGE OF THE KHALIFA.

Evening Post, Volume LVI, Issue 128, 26 November 1898, Page 4

THE HERITAGE OF THE KHALIFA.

It is now beooming less and less probable aa the days go by that Britain and France will come to blows over the possession of the Upper Nile basin. From the outset the prospect of hostilities has been much more remote than a large portion of the Englishspeaking Press would have had us believe. The real risk has lain in the excited condition of French public opinion and in the manifest unrest that pervades the French army. The internal affairs of France have for a long time been such as to create disquiet in the minds of Europeau statesmen, but the Fashoda incident, as we have maintained throughout the orisin, was not sufficient reason for plunging two great oivilisßil nations into tl>e horrors of a modern war. Unless one of the two Governments concerned lost its head, and contrived to place itself in an impossible position, there was no imminent danger. Neither the IVeaoU nor th« British QeTW*>

rnent has, as yet, committed such an error, and, in spite of the braying of trumpets and the clashing of arras, nothing more serious has happened than a useful piece of manoeuvring that, in the case of the i British at any rate, has shown the national fighting machine to be in good working order. The critical nature of the international situation «eeaas to have been poraewhat exaggerated by the English newspapers, which have attempted to instil strongly Jingoistic views into the miuds of the people, The majority of the nation appears to have been behind the Government in the firm stand it took about tbe Upper Nile", aud the Cape to Cairo Imperial highway has become quite a popular idea in the Old Country. Althougli this journal has always endeavoured to avoid all suspicion of hysterical Jingoism, it has recognised tho value of the civilising work being done iv Africa, and has admitted the necessity for the British to carry out the task they have undertaken. Although the superiority of the British claims on Fashoda seems fairly well proved, all broad-minded Britons, free from Jingo taint, will admit that there are two sides to the question, and that equitable, if firm 4 , discussion is to be preferred to hasty indulgence in war or threats of war. The general consensus of British opinion is undoubtedly favourable to the retention of Egypt and the completion of an " all red " line from the Cape to Cairo, but in common fairness the other side of the matter should also be laid before the public. The best exponent of the " Little England " policy, which is the direct antithesis of Jingoism, is Mr. Labouchere, whose views are shared by a considerable section of the Liberal Party in the Old Country. With1 out being ourselves in accord with such opinions, we yet hold that they deserve attention, and we therefore propose to summarise shortly the views recently put forward in the columns of Truth. The history of the present crisis is thus related : — South of Egypt the Nile flows along a narrow channel through the Nubian desert. Beyond Nubia there is a comparatively fertile district which the Khedive Ismail conquered. He made Khartoum the centre of this government, and established small garrisons., but no civil government in Kordofan, Darfur, Bahr-el-Ghazal, and the Equatorial province lying to the west. When the Arabi rebellion broke out the Egyptians were driven out of all the territory south of the frontier of Egypt proper. A native Government was established, and this remained the de facto Government until the British victory at Omdurman. The Brilish went to Egypt to put down the Arabi revolution, under an engagement to retire when the Khedival rule was restored. The British are still in Egypt. Moreover, on assuming the temporary control of the country they notified the Egyptians that no attempt was to be made to reconquer the southern regions. Suddenly this policy was reversed. A joint British and Egyptian force went south, and overthrew in the recent expedition the de facto rule of the Khalifa. On reaching Omdurman, however, the British found the French hud forestalled them by sending an expedition from French Congo to the Nile at Fashoda, where the French flag was flying. This is the substance of the story as told by Mr, Labouchere, aud, although it needs qualifications, it is certainly a possible interpretation of events. The question at issue was whether the French had a right to advance into these regions. The British contended (1) that although it had lain dormant, Egypt's right to rule these regions still remained ; (2) that Italy and Germany had by treaty recognised the British claims ; (3) that Sir Edward Grey had declared a French expedition would be an unfriendly act; (4) that Britain and Egypt, haung jointly conquered the Khalifa, had jointly become owners by riurht of conquest of all the lands over which he either did exercise sway or professed to exercise sway. The French replied that Egypt's rights had lapsed, that German and Italian recognition only affected Italy and Germany ; that Sir Edward Grey's declaration roused a French protest; that "France had an equal right to rest her claims to Fashoda on conquest, the French flag having been raised there before the British 'and Egyptian flags were raised at Omdurmau. After thus stating the case Mr. Labouchere professes his inability to decide the respective claims, \vhich form, he maintains, a delicate question of international law. He contends that the matter is one for mutual negotiations and arbitration, not for bluster and war. He does not think the Cape to Cairo scheme of any value except to speculators, and thinks ib should not be held up as a reason for retaining a '■ swamp in the centre of Africa." " Whether Fashoda, accoi'ding to African international law, belongs to us or to France," he continues, "is a question which I leave to pundits to settle. But that the French should be irritated against us is not surprising. Our position in Egypt is entirely irregular. We obtained a European assent to our temporary occupation of the country for a specific object. Having thus got there we have remained there, and we now openly proclaim that we never mean to leave. Iv the name of Egypt, and acting as we say for her, we. couquer all between Egypt and Uganda. We then announce that we and Egypt have acquired conquerors' rights over these regions. But we know very well that Egypt is another word for England." This is a fair exposition of the Little England policy, and although it does not altogether recommend itself to those who recognise, perhaps sometimes with regret, the inevitableuess of Imperial expansion, it deserves more consideration than many in the extreme " patriotic " frenzy are prone to give it.